Paso Robles Wineries Valentine’s Day Dinner Recipes & Local Wine Pairing

It’s Valentine’s day this Saturday and we are giving you the cream of the crop of recipes and local wine pairings to make the best date night at home possible.  Even if your date is your cat, a group of single friends or your mom…treat yourself and your loved ones with some excellent food and vino!  These meals are easy to make, make use of our local fresh food and our fantastic selection of wines that are but a quick drive or delivery to your door.

Appetizer: GRILLED SCALLOPS

3/4 cup butter 2/3 cup chopped onions 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 pinch salt 1 1/2 pounds sea scallops 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1.	Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.
2.	Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in lemon juice and salt. Place scallops in a large bowl, and toss with butter mixture. Let stand for about 2 minutes.
3.	Thread scallops onto skewers, or use a wire grill basket. Cook on preheated grill for about 4 minutes per side.
4.	Return butter mixture to saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and keep warm while scallops cook. Toss with grilled scallops and serve.

Salad:

Oso Libre Winery 2012 Rosalinda Rose’

$27

Blend of Mourvedre 41%, Syrah 36%, Grenache 21%, Viognier 2%

www.speedfind.com/OsoLibreWinery

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8 ounces bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces 3/4 cup orange juice 1/4 cup shallots, minced 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 4 large oranges, peeled and segmented 10 ounces spinach, rinsed and chopped

1 medium head radicchio 6 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 6 ounces fresh oyster mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts 1 (3 ounce) package enoki mushrooms

1.	Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.
2.	Whisk together 1/4 cup bacon fat, orange juice, shallots, olive oil and vinegar.
3.	In a large bowl, combine the spinach and radicchio.
4.	Heat 2 tablespoons reserved bacon drippings in skillet over medium-high heat. Add shitake mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add oyster mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; add to greens and toss.
5.	Pour dressing into same skillet and boil 2 minutes. Pour dressing over greens. Add bacon, orange segments and chopped hazelnuts. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish salad with enoki mushrooms and serve.

 

Entree:

HammerSky Vineyards 2010 Zinfandel

$49

Deep tones of red fruit, spicy pepper and rich aromas

www.speedfind.com/HammerSkyVineyards

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3 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 1 pinch salt 1 1/2 pounds flat iron steak

1.	Whisk together the honey, vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, tarragon, rosemary, garlic powder, white pepper, and salt. Pour into a resealable plastic bag and add the flat iron steak. Squeeze out excess air, seal, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 6 hours.
2.	Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil grate.
3.	Remove the steak from the marinade, shake off excess, and discard the remaining marinade. Cook on preheated grill to desired degree of doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Side Dish:

Clavo Cellars 2010 Petite Sirah ‘Dreamer’

$32

Savory flavors of blackberry and blueberry with a hint of chocolate

www.speedfind.com/ClavoCellars

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2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup honey 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2.	Mix the olive oil, honey, rosemary, salt, and black pepper together in a large bowl, and stir the sweet potato cubes in the mixture to coat. Remove sweet potato cubes with a slotted spoon, and arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven until tender, about 45 minutes. Turn oven heat up to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and bake until browned, another 15 minutes.

Dessert:

Peachy Canyon Port

$32

Zin Blend with tones of brown butter, nuts, mocha and rich fruit

www.speedfind.com/PeachyCanyonWinery

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1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup white sugar 18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet

chocolate 1 cup unsalted butter 6 eggs

1.	Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.
2.	In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
3.	Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
4.	Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5.	Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
6.	Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

All recipes from our friends at AllRecipes.com