Thursday, March 30, 2017

Wine Club Gets Healthy (ish)!


Maybe aging is finally affecting us, because everyone in Wine Club is finally trying to be sorta kinda healthy. Don't worry, we're still dipping into some mac and cheese or pizza on occasion, but we're making more room for green things. In this spirit, we had a "healthy favorites" wine club that was super delicious! Only problem? I ate so much it couldn't possibly be considered healthy!


We chose wines we thought would suit our respective dishes. We sampled:
  • Sheep Thrills Pinot Grigio: Delicate floral and tropical fruit aromas, perfect with my bell pepper panzanella. 
  • Love Noir Pinot Noir: This is an especially delicious and lush pinot noir with "generous notes of dark cherry." It was a fantastic match for our espresso-soaked steak. 
  • Alamos Malbec: Ripe red fruit flavors with notes of vanilla and anise. 
  • Kris Pinot Grigio: Hints of lime, tangerine, apricots and almonds with a long finish.


On one side of the table, we had Stacie's "green spaghetti," with broccoli, mozzarella cheese and olive oil, Erica's steak marinated in Savor the Olive's espresso oil, and Lauren's Fresh Market fruit and custard tart.


On the other side of the table, we had Ashleigh's Famous Kiwi Guacamole, Lauren's amazing quinoa salad and my bell pepper panzanella (from a Plated recipe). 

My overloaded (and delicious!) plate. I can pretty much wholeheartedly vouch that all of these were tremendous, and — maybe not together — healthy options.

Click for the panzanella and guacamole recipes!

Bell Pepper Panzanella
Ingredients:
- Red, Yellow and Orange Bell Peppers
- Baby Arugula
- Minced garlic
- Capers
- Red wine vinegar
- Olive Oil
- Ciabatta
- Shaved parmesan
- Salt & Pepper
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees and rinse all produce
2) Dice bell peppers and cut ciabatta into 1-inch cubes
3) On a baking sheet, toss ciabatta with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper, and optionally, garlic powder. Arrange in a single layer and bake until toasted and golden, approximately 10 minutes.
4) On a separate baking sheet (or you can share one and do this in stages), arrange bell peppers in a single layer and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast peppers 10-15 minutes until softened and charred.
5) While bread and peppers are in the oven, place minced garlic on a cutting board, sprinkle with salt and using a large knife, press into a paste.
6) In a large bowl big enough to hold the salad, place the garlic paste, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil and capers (as many as you want, but recommends 2 tablespoons). Whisk to combine.
7) Transfer arugula, toasted bread and roasted red peppers to bowl with vinaigrette and toss to coat.

Ashleigh's Nearly Famous Kiwi Guacamole:Serves 6:
3 ripe avocados, chunky diced
2 ripe Kiwi, diced
1 jalapeƱo, finely diced
Salt to taste
2 tsp Lime juice
1/4 cup of Red onion, diced
Mix together in bowl. Good for 1-2 days refrigerated.

1 comment:

Gina-mom said...

mmmmm, the food sounds delish!