Okanagan wine touring day 3! (80 wines, 19 wineries)

So it was a boring, rainy Friday afternoon. What to do?? What else would I do...... So we figured we would do the Lakeshore Wine Route, Which consists of Tantalus Vineyards, St. Hubertus, CedarCreek, and Summerhill Pyramid. Then a couple of the "Fab Five" after that. The View and House of Rose. I wish I would of took some pictures but the though skipped my mind. Next time! I'm sure I will be back soon.

Tantalus was our first stop. We really liked the Riesling. It was really crisp and had a great flavour. They have a beautiful tasting room with a huge wall of windows overlooking the lake and vineyard. Worth a visit just for that.

Summerhill Pyramid was next. They had the first sparkling wine that I have tried so far. It won an award of some kind I don't remember now but they do make it the traditional Champagne way. I can see why it won though it was delicious! We also tried their Cabernet Sauvignon and their Baco Noir. Both had this strange Petrol taste that I've never experienced before, which is always fun to me even if I didn't particularly love them. It also shows you how important "Terroir" is when it comes to wine making. Where the grapes are grown makes a huge impact on the final wine. Even if it's the same grape variety in the same valley. Their Ehrenfelser, which is a German varietal white, was more on the sweet side compared to CedarCreeks. It didn't seem to have enough acidity to be very refreshing but that's just me. I also don't get the pyramid thing? I don't get what the point of it is. They did have a really nice view as well here though.

CedarCreek had some of the best wines of the day for sure. I really loved how much more balanced and fruitier their reds were compared to others of the day. Really liked their Syrah.

St. Hubertus was the last one for this area. They had the greatest Rose I've had so far. Really interesting strawberry jam on the nose and cranberry on the palate. So good!

So after these we took a scenic trip through South East Kelowna. Winding roads and Fruit trees all along the way. It was really nice. Most of the wineries we came across here were closed though :( with the exception of The View Winery. Their tasting room is in a old fruit packing house with the tin siding and red trim. Very industrial looking and really cool. We tried all their wines here plus a dry cider and a very interesting cherry fortified wine which i really didn't like but to each their own. The dry cider was awesome though and I can see myself sitting at the beach one day with a six pack of them if the sun ever decides to shine on me again soon. Anyway the wines were pretty delicious too. They had a Pinotage (The first so far) which was really good.

Last stop was House of Rose. Their wines were so different from the rest. All very fruit forward compared to others. They also have an icewine and rose blend which was really awesome for a fraction of the cost of icewine. Their wine shop was super cute too. There are a few more wineries around here I want to try some other time when they are open so I might come back to this one and pick some up.

Saturday we checked out the farmers market and did a tasting at Tree Brewing. We tried 8 beers and they were all really great and different. I loved the Winter Ale. Too bad it's seasonal though :(

So so far I've tried about 80 different wines at 19 wineries and one brewery. Life is good here in the Okanagan!

Masoor Dal

Sometimes really good things come in not so good looking packages. I learned to cook this dish from an Indian cooking class I took last year. It was super fun and I learned a few great recipes including this one. I still go back to it every once in awhile when I'm craving something different. I know it may not look as fancy or delicious as others but the flavour is all there. It's the spices that make this such a great dish and some are very good for you too. Did you know that turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties? Plus lentils are really good for you as well so eat up and know your doing something good for your body. To warm you up on a cool rainy day it's perfect. Try it tonight for Meatless Monday!

What you need:

1 large onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 thumb size knob of ginger, minced or 1/2 tsp or so of powdered ginger
2 cups of red, yellow or green dried lentils (I use red)
4 1/2 cups of vegetable stock or water
1 Tbsp thyme
1 Tbsp tumeric
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp cardammon
(Alternately, if you have some Garam Masala on hand you could use that too. It is a blend of all or some of these spices and is really tasty)
Salt and pepper to taste

PREHEAT a large pot on Medium and add a glug of oil or ghee (clarified butter) to the pot. Add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until soft (ten minutes or so) but not browned.
MEANWHILE rinse your lentils in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a mesh strainer very well until they are no longer foamy (you will not want to skip this step. Trust me!)
ADD spices and water or stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with Basmati rice, Some kind of sweet/spicy Chutney (My favorite is mango chutney or salsa, spicy or not) and some pappadums. You can find pappadums in the Indian food section at the grocery store and are like a big chip that you fry in oil or you can also do it in the microwave but it's not as good that way. The directions are on the back of the box anyway but it's really easy and really fun. I just put a big bowl of rice and the pot of Dal of the table with everything and let people help themselves.

1

Chicken Oscar

This was always one of my favorite things to order back home at the various Bavarian restaurants in the area. Its so good I could eat it everyday but better for special occasions maybe? It's great for impressing someone of your amazing cooking skills too no?! Crispy breaded chicken topped with crab, asparagus and buttery Bearnaise sauce. Sound good to you?? I thought so......

What you need: (Serves 2)

2 chicken breast
1/3 cup or so of flour
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup or so of bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp or so of salt and pepper (I always wing it when it comes to salt and pepper, use your discretion)
1 can of good quality crab meat or fresh crab
8-10 asparagus spears (not too thick ones)

SEASON your asparagus with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil and roast at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.While its baking you can make your sauce and prepare your chicken.

My recipe for Hollandaise sauce is here . All you need to make it into a Bearnaise sauce is add some fresh chopped tarragon. Voila! You can make this ahead and refrigerate it to reheat later if you like too.

NOW you need to make your chicken like a schnitzel. Place your chicken breast in a large Ziploc bag or between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them flat with the flat side of a meat tenderizer or other similar object until they are a uniform thickness (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick). A rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy pan works in a pinch.
USE three shallow dishes for your coating. Flour in one, egg and milk (mixed together) in another and your seasoned bread crumbs in another. Dip each breast first in the flour, shaking off any excess, then the egg and milk mixture, then your bread crumbs.
HEAT a large pan on medium-high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add your chicken and fry until golden and cooked through on both sides. This doesn't take too long, about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes a a side.
WARM up your crab while the chicken is cooking in a pan with a little butter if you like or just in the microwave if your in a hurry.  

To put it together just top your chicken with the crab and the roasted asparagus and top with your sauce.

Pan Seared Strip Loin with Sautéed Mushrooms and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes

I discovered this new grocery store called Urban Fare in Kelowna and it is awesome! So many great gourmet foods and local sustainable foods as well. I found some really interesting mixed mushrooms there to go with this great looking Triple A Alberta beef strip loin. I never, ever eat red meat except on very rare occasions. This was amazing. A rare indulgence, and very easy to prepare.

What you need: (Serves 2)

2 amazing steaks of your choice
Butter
A large bunch of interesting mixed mushrooms (remember they shrink when cooked)
1/2 a large onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic minced
A sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme, chopped
Your favorite red wine
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper

IN a medium size frying pan heated on medium. add a knob of butter to your pan and when hot and melted add you onions and saute until they just start to brown.
ADD your garlic, rosemary and mushrooms and cook until they become tender and their moisture has evaporated. Add a big glug of red wine and reduce until you have a nice saucy consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm in the oven until your steak is done.

I use a big griddle pan to make my steak but you could do them on the BBQ or just in a frying pan if you like. Just make sure you season them well with salt and pepper on each side and that your pan is nice and hot before you add them so they form a nice crust. I cook mine on medium-high or so for about 5 minutes a side for medium rare depending on how thick they are. Mine were pretty thick.

For the Potatoes just peel about 4 potatoes and dice them roughly. Add them to a pot of boiling water until tender. Drain and add a handful of Parmesan cheese, a big knob of butter, a few glugs of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Mash them up really good and your done! Simple and soooo good! 

Eggs Benedict with Canadian Bacon and Home Made Hollandaise Sauce

Making your own Hollandaise isn't as hard as you may  have heard as long as you follow a couple simple rules. It is an emulsion sauce, so basically the trouble you may have is that it can separate on you if you do it wrong and it will look all curdled and really disgusting. Luckily I also learned how to bring it back if you do screw it up. :) This recipe makes about 1/2 cup or enough for two people (2 eggs each) it is easily doubled too.

What you need:
2 egg yolks
1 Tbsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of salt (unless using salted butter)

2 English muffins
4 eggs (the fresher the better)
White vinegar
8-12 slices of Canadian Bacon
Fresh basil, tarragon, parsley, dill etc.

SET a pot with about an inch or so of water on the stove and heat until it's barely simmering
WHISK egg yolks and lemon juice in a bowl until they get ribbony and double in size (this part doesn't have to be exact as long as you whisk it really well for a few minutes it should be fine)
MELT the butter in a glass measuring cup

SET your bowl on top of your pot like a double boiler. You could also use a double boiler if you have one.
SLOWLY whisk in your melted butter. I mean REALLY slowly. A few drops at first then a very thin stream, whisking constantly. Your sauce will start to thicken when it starts to heat up. If it gets too hot your eggs will scramble. If you see this happening or it starts getting too thick add a little warm water to it and keep whisking. When it is the right consistency, turn of the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Add the cayenne pepper and salt and  keep the sauce warm but not too warm or it will separate. It may sound finicky but once you get the hang of it it's really easy and works out well. If you leave it too hot and it does separate you can try adding another egg yolk and whisking vigorously over your water again. It's not the best but at least you didn't waste the whole thing!

To make poached eggs is pretty easy too. All you need to do is get a wide pot with a few inches of water in it to barely simmering (you don't want any simmering just bubbles on the bottom of the pan). Add a splash of vinegar to the water. This will help the whites from spreading out all over the place. It won't make your eggs taste like vinegar unless you put in too much (it's about a Tbsp per cup of water). Crack your eggs one at a time into a small bowl and add them to the water gently. It will take about 3 minutes or so for soft yolks and about 5 for firm yolks. Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs once they are cooked and place them on a clean kitchen towel or paper towel to get all the water off of them.

To put it all together just toast your english muffins, add a few slices of Canadian bacon (MMM!), your egg and a generous scoop of sauce. I topped mine with fresh basil. It was AMAZING! You can try anything you want with this recipe too. smoked salmon or bacon, black forest ham, asparagus, tomato, whatever you like.

You can add tarragon to the sauce to make it a Bearnaise sauce as well. Serve it over chicken, fish, schnitzels or green beans too.

Okanagan wine touring day two!!

Day two of wine touring. This time we headed over to West Kelowna to check out the two other biggest wineries, Mission Hill and Quails' Gate. We also checked out four smaller ones which were all really nice but a few stood out for me more then others. We tried about 50 wines so there is no way I can remember and write about them all so I guess I'll just talk about the ones that left an impression on me the most.

Mission hill was our first stop. Definitely the nicest and biggest. However there is definitely a sense of ostentatious-ness here. The tasting room was huge but it was like an antique store as well with books about Venetian decor and architecture. I guess that theme runs throughout the whole winery.  That being said it was pretty amazing all together. Worth a visit. We tried all white wine here. The one that stood out for me was the Legacy Series Perpetua. Made from Chardonnay. It was really smooth but really expensive. The tastings here were also the most expensive at $8 for 4 wines. They have awesome Pinot Noir here too.

The Bell tower at Mission Hill Estate Winery

Mission Hill Arch

Next we went to Quails' Gate. This was one of my favorites. We tried a few different types but the ones I loved the most were the Stewart family Reserve Old Wines Foch. Which is a bold and intense red that had this crazy barn yard smell that reminded me of my aunt and uncles cattle farm. Think leather and wood and earth. It's hard to explain and doesn't sound that good but try it with a big steak or something and OMG. I will definitely buy a bottle to keep for at least 5 years. The other wine I loved was the Botrytis Affected Optima. This is a sweet dessert style, late harvest wine that has been affected with something called "Noble Rot" Basically it is a fungus that turns the grapes to a raisin which concentrates the sweet fruity juices. This sounds not that great I know but it is soooo amazing! To me it had roses on the nose and tasted like sweet fruity green iced tea with a bit of honey, but with enough acidity to make it refreshing and crisp. LOVED it. Expensive but worth it.

The view at Quails' Gate

Next we tried Volcanic Hills. We were the only ones at the tasting bar at the time but it seemed like we just went too fast through these wines. we tried about 8 kinds. None that particularly stood out for me though.

Next was Mount Boucherie. They had a few nice ones. We tried all reds here. They said they had over 300 acre of vineyards, which I think is the most of this whole area. Surprising since they have such a tiny little tasting room. They were all pretty good. Especially the Summit Reserve Syrah. It was like BBQ in a glass. Just wow. Seriously is smelled like BBQ.

Rollingdale was one of my favorites because of their amazing icewine. Made from Chardonnay. It reminded me of Honeycomb cereal. So good! worth the $100 price tag even maybe......Really cool guys who work there too. Definitely no fancy wine tasting room to be found here.

Last stop of the day because we were getting to the point where driving isn't a good idea anymore. Little Straw vineyards. They had some really nice ones too. All well balanced. Tastings were donations only BTW so bring cash!