Benefactors Cellars Shiraz 2011

thanks to f Yeah Wine for the picture.

Time for a quick wine review. This time from the 2011 Benefactors Cellars Shiraz from TJs. I have a new philosophy when it comes to sub $10 wines that I like to call the 2 buck chuck factor. Basically it states that if a wine is not clearly better then 2 buck chuck then it automatically gets a thumbs down.  There are tons of wine reviewing websites out there who have a 10point scale or a 5 wine glass scale or some other gauge used to determine how good or bad a wine is. I simply decided to go with a yea or nay which is solely based on how it stacks up to Charles Shaw. I figure it is clearly not better then a bottle of wine that cost a handful of coins how good can it be?

So then, that brings us to the Benefactors Cellars Shiraz 2011. It basically had a nose akin to that of Robitussin and really have no other attributes whatsoever. Gave it another shot the next hoping it may open or somehow turn into Opus 1 but alas it was the same schfilk I drank the night before. Without going into further detail I will say this wine does not trump the Shiraz offering from Charles Shaw this it receives an resounding nay vote. Apparently, Benefactor Cellars had a much better vintage a few years ago that caused a buying frenzy so hopefully future offerings may be better. For the record, I also have a bottle of the Benefactors Cellars Cab that I will review in the near future...hopefully with better results. So for the benefactor cellars shiraz once again.....I give this laurel and a hearty Nay. I would not recommend it with the unexpected cheddar, nor paired with a torta from la chiva torta nor with even the lowest grade of offering from the Meat House in Mission Viejo, I would not drink it on a boat, I would not drink it with a goat.

Until then....here is a picture of a bunch of red headed kids eating ice cream.

Trader Joes Unexpected Cheddar

Unexpected Cheddar from TJs

Was at Trader Joes and picked this up as an impulse buy to go with my Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cab....and what a pleasant surprise. As a matter of fact to say I liked this would be a gross understatement as this very well maybe the finest cheese I have ever had. Melts in your mouth with a fantastic flavor...flavorful but not too sharp with a consistency that is pure magic. 2 very large thumbs up for this one. I enjoyed it far more then I did the TJs Vintage Reserve Cheddar which was no slouch. If you are a cheese lover...this is a must buy as is the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cab. Not that you will ever confuse it for Silver Oak or Ridge-but for a sub $10 price point it is a fine example of the varietal.

TJs Wine Home Run and another Beef Palace plug....

Was in Huntington Beach the other day to visit my parents and stopped by Trader Joes. I picked up a bottle of BearBoat Syrah for 3.99 based on a workers recommendation. Did some homework and found this is wine is going for $20 bucks on some wine sites.  Opened and aerated it and it without question is a homerun of a wine bargain at $3.99 a bottle. At $20 you would think it was a good bottle for the price point; at $10 you would think it a best value....at $3.99 get it, get it now, get it in vast quantities.

Black Pepper Sausage.....el yum yum

Also stopped by Beef Palace to pick up a chicken to bbq....best chicken in town and the butcher comped me one of their black pepper sausage. Check out the pic....I will be buying more sausages in the future. $5.99 a pound is well worth it for this quality of meat but thats not surprising since the Beef Palace rocks.  Click the pic to see the details...

I rove my baby back libs...Uncut, Uncensored & (temporarily) Raw

Knew I had to BBQ at least once this weekend and after seeing some delicious looking Chinese Style Salt and Pepper Wings was fully prepared to do grilled hot wings but once at the Market noticed Pork Short Ribs were only 99 cents per pound. Hadn't planned on taking on the low and slow method needed to make the best ribs but it is a holiday weekend and with just me and the family and I didnt need to buy a wheelbarrow full. Looking at the selection though I noticed Baby Backs weren't really all that much more. "Hmmmm, short ribs are so much work trimming and cutting and etc etc, wouldn't some semi low maintenance baby backs be better?"

With that I was in full blown rib mode.

I didn't have a handy rub ready as the 5lb bag I used to use for ribs was given to my brother during one of his Texas Smoker Frenzies he does every so often. In Lieu, I took some Chef Paul's Pork Magic and mixed it with Chef Paul's BBQ Magic with some additional Brown Sugar courtesy of Trader Joes and some Lemon Pepper.

Rubbed and Ready!





Next step is to balance the temperature (275-300 degrees) and get the smoke chips smoking without catching fire. Now on your standard Weber this can be pretty easy but with Propane its kind of balancing act using one burner to get the chips smoking, turning it off in time to prevent flare up, and cranking up another burner to keep the temp consistent. It is a bit daunting, but with red wine in hand on a holiday weekend-how could I complain?

Low and Slow with plenty of smoke.




After Roughly 3 hours its time to pull those puppies off but not before doing the BBQ glaze for 15-30 minutes. I cant stress enough to use the Olive Oil Trick when doing BBQ sauce on the grill. It's easy-basically cut up a bunch of garlic, and whip olive oil into any store bought BBQ sauce using a wire whip. This lessens the sugar concentration in the sauce to prevent burning as well as adding garlic flavor. Wont kid you-I used the Hickory BBQ Sauce from Walmart. Very good in that the garlic give an extra dimension in flavor and the Hickory BBQ Sauce has a tangy nuance that works perfectly with the sweet spicyness of the Dry Rub. Should mention as well that while I am not a big fan of White Corn-this year must be a good year for it as I have had it from a couple of different store and its been incredible every time. I recomend Henry's Market who had it 4 for a Buck. I laughed at the people checking the corn a the store making a mess in the aisle- at 25 cents an ear do we really need to check for quality and spend 30 minutes looking for the perfect ear?

Red Five Standing By-Almost There!



Finally, the ribs are ready to go! I was drinking a bottle of Avalon Cabernet that's constantly pimped by the people at Wine Pavilion in Lake Forest but I have to say its not that good....not even for the price. Maybe I should buy a Wine Aerator and try it again but overall not a good example of the varietal by any stretch. At this point I cant recommend enough the Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells Merlot at Costco but now I just may be outright babbling. Ribs are a hell of a lot of work-but when done right are worth the wait.

Showtime

January Pic a palooza

Some recent recipes and creations I came up with for your visual stimulation.

The first is a boneless leg of lamb stuffed with vegetables and garlic and cooked on my brothers Texas smoker. Very very good...basically the veggies steam in the moisture generated from the meat. I also did some smoked white cheddar that was incredible as well but alas I failed to take a picture of it.





























Next couple of items were a pasta dish I did the other night as well as one my wife's favorite side dishes. We used 1/2 regular penne pasta and 1/2 whole wheat penne pasta just to be healthy. I made a meat sauce using sausage sans casing sauteed with sauteed, mushrooms, yellow and green peppers, and some other goodies I had in the veggie drawer. For the bread I admit I cheated, I used the garlic butter they give you from Zankou chicken and topped it with some fresh parmesan. I actually tried it both ways-once with fresh grated parmesan and one using the powdered store bought pre grated parmesan. Oddly enough for garlic bread, the store bought stuff is much better IMO as the texture really makes the bread.

















As for this dish, my wife sautee's Shitake and Enoki Mushrooms with bacon and asparagus. It is arguably one of my favorite sides and works equally well with italian or asian dishes. I bought some cheap wine at Trader Joes for the occasion but it was horrible. It was french table wine called L' Authentique and was cheap enough but in this case it wasn't a diamond in the rough as much as it was a rough in the rough. The second bottle was much better and also cheap called La Boca Merlot. Not outstanding but for 2.99 a bottle a great value for an every day drinker.