Name: Mushroom Terrine with Grape Compote
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 9 h
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1.5 to 1.75 lbs of mixed mushrooms (The original recipe recommends porcini and a couple of different types of chanterelles. I used a mix of various kinds including a high percentage of cremini.); ¼ cup olive oil; 3 shallots, finely diced; 3 to 4 garlic, finely diced; 1 bunch of parsley, chervil, or half a bunch of each, chopped; 5 sprigs tarragon (or substitute in 1 tsp dried), chopped; 1 cup cream; 1 packet of gelatin; Salt, to taste; Pepper, to taste; 2 Tbsp butter; 1 Tbsp vinegar; 1 Tbsp sugar; 1 lb grapes, rinsed and dried (The original recipe recommends Muscat or Chasselas, but I used regular red table grapes here.)

Côtes du Rhônes are among my most regular everyday go-to’s. They’re kind of the quintessential bistro wine since they tend to not be expensive and are pretty food-friendly. For the same reasons, they fall into a sweet spot for what I’m usually looking for in a weeknight wine. Similarly, if I’m having a party (when parties were a thing) and need to supply wine for lots of people, I’m bound to have a few bottles of CdR around because they also tend to be crowd-pleasers, in addition to having those wallet-friendly prices. The Rhône also happens to be one of my very favorite wine regions, so I get to please my own palate as well.

Côtes du Rhône is actually quite a large AOP/AOC with 86,000 acres, and as is usually the case in large regions, there is a lot of variety and quite a bit more to know than one might expect. Here are the basics:

It covers the whole region. The Côtes du Rhône AOC was established in 1937 and covers the entire Rhône Valley. That said, the grand majority of CdR comes from the Southern Rhône.

Most Rhône wine is Côtes du Rhône. This is the entry-level appellation for the region, and the majority of the wines released from the Rhône fall under it – over ⅔ according to GuildSomm.com.

CdR’s come in Red, White, and Rosé. The overwhelming amount of wine is red as over 95% of the region’s vineyards are planted with red grapes, which of course can be used for rosé as well, but you will find white wines too. Today we’re going to look at an example of each.

There are levels. While Côtes du Rhône is the entry point and the base of the region’s quality pyramid, there are few more levels.

In 1966 the Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC was added for villages deemed to be producing wines of consistently higher quality.
Next up are the named Côtes du Rhône Villages. These communes get to attach their name on the label. Currently, there are 21, but more are occasionally added.
The Crus sit at the top of the pyramid, which includes all of the Rhône’s most famous appellations like Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côte-Rôtie. There are 8 in the north and 9 in the south. We’ve previously explored:
- Crozes-Hermitage (Northern Rhône)
- Gigondas (Southern Rhône)
- Ventoux (Southern Rhône)
- Rasteau (Southern Rhône)

Famille Perrin

I recently received a set of samples of Famille Perrin’s Côtes du Rhône wines and I thought this would be a great opportunity to explore the range of CdR colors together.

The Perrin stepped into the wine world in 1909, Pierre Traminer bought the famous Château de Beaucastel and then transferred it to his son-in-law Pierre Perrin, a scientist who further developed the property. His son, Jacques, then continued his father’s work and continued expanding the family’s holdings. His sons Jean-Pierre and François now head up the business with the fifth and 6th generations involved in the company as well. They now have a wide range of holdings and wines spanning the entire Rhône pyramid, as well as participation in ventures around the world.

The family is also a leading organic grape grower in the Southern Rhône. The began working with organic farming techniques in 1950, and later biodynamic farming in 1974. They are trying many different techniques at their properties around the world, including an innovative renovation at Château de Beaucastel, as described in the article by Jill Barth on Forbes.com, and Regenerative Farming at Tablas Creek here in California, as described in this post by Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles. Their organically certified Nature Côtes du Rhône line, the red of which is described below, is another example.

THE WINES

For this post, I’m looking at three of their Côtes du Rhône, all of which are pretty classic examples of their respective CdR color and all very good values.

These wines were provided as media samples. Please note that no other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Côtes du Rhône Reserve Blanc 2019

Average Price: $12

Blend: Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier

Alc: 13%

Nose: White flowers, sweet honeysuckle, melon, white peach, and apples jump out of the glass.

Palate: All came back on the palate, and were joined by almonds, lemon cream, and stony minerals. It showed medium acid and medium body.

Find more details on the wine here.

Côtes du Rhône Reserve Rosé 2019

Average Price: $12

Blend: Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah

Alc: 13%

Nose: Cherry blossoms, tart cherries and strawberries.

Palate: The flowers and juicy red fruits were rounded out by a lightly creamy texture. Medium acidity and medium body.

Find more details on the wine here.

Côtes du Rhône Nature Rouge 2018

Average Price: $13

Blend: Grenache, Syrah

Alc: 14.1%

Nose: A bouquet of herbs and flowers, with berries and rosehips.

Palate: Crushed berries, pepper, and pencil lead. It reminded me of brambly raspberry and blackberry bushes at the edge of a forest. Medium body, medium + acidity, and medium/medium + tannins.

The grapes for this wine are certified organic by Ecocert.

Find more details on the wine here.

THE PAIRINGS & HOW THEY WORKED

Our friends Dee and OWD visited the Rhône Valley last year, back when we could travel, although they focused on the Northern Rhône. Dee picked up this little recipe booklet for me put out by Inter-Rhône and I thought it would be fun to pick a couple of recipes to try and then see how each of the wines worked with them.

I chose a mushroom terrine with grape compote and a braised pork dish flavored with preserved lemon and rosemary. I made a meal out each and served the dishes with the wines over two nights, however, these were originally intended to be an appetizer and a main dish respectively. I’ve adapted each bit from the original. Here’s a little about each and how they worked with the wines.

Mushroom Terrine with Grape Compote and Cheese

While this is written as a terrine, which is certainly to be the more elegant presentation, I kind of prefer the creamier texture of pâté, and you can easily go either way with this recipe. For the pâté (which is the direction I went), just use an immersion blender on the mushrooms, or run them through the blender. To turn this into a complete meal, I served it with a salad and sourdough bread I’d baked. I also had some Moses Sleeper cheese – a creamy, bloomy rind cheese that’s just a little funkier than a basic brie-style IMHO – so I included it in the spread.

Greg and I agreed that the rosé was the MVP in this spread. Regardless of the composition of the bite, it seemed to work quite well.

The red was the runner up. It worked with the mushrooms and wasn’t too bad with bites involving the cheese or even the compote.

The white version worked solidly well with bites that had mushrooms and cheese, as well as with the salad. It definitely did not work with the grape compote.

Braised Pork with Preserved Lemon, Rosemary, and Fennel

I love the flavor components in this dish, however, preserved lemon is an intense flavor and I shouldn’t have used as much as the recipe indicated. It kind of took over, particularly in the leftovers after the flavors had sat together overnight. I’ve written it here the way I should’ve made it, with the quantity drastically reduced, as well as making a couple of other adjustments. My grocerry store also didn't have pork loin, as requested by the recipe (and it would've been my preference), so I had to adjust for tenderloin, and I give instructions for both below. I served it all with Israeli couscous and a salad, of course.

The overall winner was the white CdR. It was refreshing with the pork and resonated well with the lemon and herb flavors in the wine.

Greg and I were split on the other two wines. I preferred the rosé, which I thought was refreshing, and matched the weight of the food. Greg felt it brought out a melon note in the wine that he didn’t care for.

He preferred the red as a close runner up, and for bites that were predominantly pork, the choice was particularly close. I have to say that I was surprised. I didn’t expect the red to work with the flavors in the dish at all, and I had to agree that it wasn’t half bad.

To me, there is a floral note in fennel, and in turn, the dish brought out the floral notes in each of the wines.

Mushroom Terrine with Grape Compote

By: Nicole Ruiz Hudson, Adapted from recipe by Inter-Rhône

Prep Time: 15 MinCooking Time: 45 Mininactive time: 8 HourTotal Time: 9 Hour

Ingredients:

For the Mushroom Terrine

1.5 to 1.75 lbs of mixed mushrooms (The original recipe recommends porcini and a couple of different types of chanterelles. I used a mix of various kinds including a high percentage of cremini.)
¼ cup olive oil
3 shallots, finely diced
3 to 4 garlic, finely diced
1 bunch of parsley, chervil, or half a bunch of each, chopped
5 sprigs tarragon (or substitute in 1 tsp dried), chopped
1 cup cream
1 packet of gelatin
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

For the Grape Compote

2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 lb grapes, rinsed and dried (The original recipe recommends Muscat or Chasselas, but I used regular red table grapes here.)

Instructions:

For the Mushrooms

Rinse mushrooms, trim off the woody ends of any mushrooms that have them, then slice up mushrooms.
Sweat shallots in the olive oil in a large pan over medium/medium-high heat until beginning to turn translucent, then add in the garlic and continue to cook for about 30 seconds. Add in the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. As the mushrooms begin to release cooking juices, spoon out about ¼ cup of the juices, and set aside. Cook the mushrooms until they’ve softened and the majority of the remaining liquid has been cooked off.
Optional: For a terrine with a creamier, paté-like texture, blend the mushroom with an immersion blender (or regular blender).
Sprinkle the gelatine in the reserved mushroom liquid and let stand for 1 minute. Add the mushroom-gelatine mix to a small saucepan along with the cream, whisking until the gelatin is fully dissolved, then reduce the liquid by about ⅓ over medium-high heat.
Add the mushroom-cream sauce to the mushroom mixture, along with the chopped herbs. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour the mixture into a terrine dish or small casserole dish. Weigh the terrine down with a board or a plate. Store in the fridge and allow to set for at least 8 hours.

For the Grape Compote

Melt butter in a deep pan, then add in the vinegar, sugar, and grapes. Toss everything to dissolve the sugar and coat the grapes well. Cook for about 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.
Serve the terrine and with the grape compote.

https://www.sommstable.com/2020/09/all-colors-of-cotes-du-rhone-with-famille-perrin.html

mushrooms, terrine, pate

appetizer

French

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thesommstable on instagram and hashtag it #sommstable

Created using The Recipes Generator

pork, braise, fennel

dinner

French

Servings: 4 to 5

By: Nicole Ruiz Hudson, Adapted from recipe by Inter-Rhône

Braised Pork with Preserved Lemon, Rosemary, and Fennel

Prep Time: 10 MinCooking Time: 60 MinTotal Time: 1 H & 10 M

Serve with a side of Israeli couscous as shown here, potatoes, or rice.

Ingredients:

2 to 2.5 boned pork loin or tenderloin (however, note the two will require different cooking times)
1 to 2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp honey
6 sprigs rosemary
6 bulbs fennel, quartered
1 preserved lemons, sliced
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the pork and brown on all sides, then place on a separate plate and set aside.
Reduce the heat in the pan to low, then add garlic and cook until it’s beginning to turn fragrant and lightly golden (1 to 2 minutes), then add in the honey, lemon juice, sprigs of rosemary, and 6 oz of water. Stir to combine, allow the mixture to come to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Add in the fennel and the preserved lemons, along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
If you’re working with a pork loin, add it back to the pot now, cover, and cook over very gentle heat for 50 mintues to 1 hour 15 minutes (the final internal temperature should be between 145° F medium-rare) and 165°F for medium to medium well). If you’re working with pork tenderloin, the cooking time will be at the lower range of this, about 50 minutes.
When the pork is cooked through to the desired temperature and the fennel is tender, remove from the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning. Allow the pork to rest for about 5 minutes, then slice and serve with the fennel and lemons.

https://www.sommstable.com/2020/09/all-colors-of-cotes-du-rhone-with-famille-perrin.html

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thesommstable on instagram and hashtag it #sommstable

Created using The Recipes Generator

*****

Check out these previous posts and recipes related to the Rhône:

*****

The rest of the French Winophiles blogging group are exploring various aspects of Côtes du Rhône, hosted by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla. If you happen to see this post early enough, join our twitter chat at 8am Pacific Saturday 9/19/20 by following the hashtag #Winophiles.

A Côtes du Rhône from Franck Balthazar and A Deconstructed Pairing by Robin Renken on Crushed Grape Chronicles
A Côtes du Rhône Tasting by Payal on Keep the Peas
All the Colors of Côtes du Rhône with Famille Perrin by Nicole Ruiz Hudson on Somm's Table
A Trio of Côtes du Rhône Pairings by Cam on Culinary Adventures with Camilla
A Window Into Chateau-Neuf-Du-Pape Through Maison M. Chapoutier by Susannah Gold on Avvinare
Back on the Rhône Again by Christy Majors
Beef Tongue Stew with a Côtes du Rhône Gigondas by Wendy Klik on A Day in the Life on the Farm
Côtes du Rhône and Clearwater Camping: Charcuterie in God’s Country by Terri Steffes on Our Good Life
Côtes du Rhône: Essential French Wines by Jill Barth on L’Occassion
Lamb Meatballs Paired with Côtes du Rhône by Jane Niemeyer on Always Ravenous
Leaning Savory with a 2016 Alain Jaume Côtes du Rhône by Linda Whipple on My Full Wine Glass
Rhone Roam #3: Crozes-Hermitage Is Syrah, Condrieu Equals Viognier Paired with Fall Fish #Winophiles by Gwendolyn Alley at Wine Predator
Rhône Wine with Brisket by David Crowley at Cooking Chat
Turkey Does the Côtes du Rhône by Andrea Lemiux at The Quirky Cork
What the Heck is Côtes du Rhône Villages? by Mel at Wining with Mel

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links, from which I might earn a commission at no cost to you.

I haven’t yet had the chance to work a harvest, but I have had the chance to catch glimpses from time to time, and it’s always really illuminating. Right around this time last year, Greg and I had the opportunity to spend a weekend at Forlorn Hope in Murphys California, in the Sierra Foothills.

By “had the opportunity,” I mean I sort of invited us . . . ish. My friend Monique was working as their harvest intern. Her partner Dorian and I used to work together at Bay Grape and have remained friends since. Dorian wanted to visit but was without a car at that moment, so I volunteered Greg and me to drive.

Wine tends to evoke romantic images of what working in a vineyard is like, but it’s important to remember that wine is an agricultural product, and as such growing the grapes and making the wine is A LOT of hard work. It was hot AF the weekend we visited Forlorn Hope, and while Dorian, Greg, and I alternately hid from the sun and took walks in the vineyards when temperatures allowed, Monique and the rest of the team were doing hard labor in the sun.

A few pictures from vineyard walks.

Different wineries each do things their own way, and they certainly march to the beat of their own drummer at Forlorn Hope (a quick scroll through their Instagram paints a picture), but the way the work is divided is fairly typical, at in terms of broad strokes. Vineyard manager Demetrio Nava heads up a vineyard team during harvest. They bring in the grapes and then the team at the winery sort, crush, press, and get the grapes ready for fermentation. That winery team consists of owner and winemaker Matthew Rorick, director of operations and Jill-of-all-trades Danielle Shehab (who is also now making wines under her own label Shehab Wines), and two to three others – in 2019, that included Monique. That’s not a lot of people to do a whole lot of work. Bigger wineries might have larger teams, but it's never easy labor.

Monique, me, Danielle, Dorian, and Matthew. This was actually taken earlier in the year on another trip up to to Forlorn Hope.

I asked Monique to share some thoughts on her harvest experiences as she’s had the chance to work at a couple of very different places:

Having only moved to California 3 years ago, I count myself fortunate to have two harvests under my belt. My first harvest was in Napa, working for a smaller, conventional, winemaker. Everything about this first harvest seems extremely structured, in hindsight, but I loved it. During this time, some of my friends worked for “natural wine” producers and visiting them in their cellars got me curious to learn about winemaking for this perspective.

I actually linked up with Danielle, of Forlorn Hope, during my first harvest. A chance meeting turned into a great opportunity for me and came with the added bonus of living on the property. I got everything I asked for and more! From lessons in visually identifying grapes to swimming through ice-cold water in a cave. Most of our meals came straight from the garden (Sidenote: I came back to Oakland with a much lower tolerance for spicy food). The harvest was intense, to say the least, but I'm grateful to have the experience and to have met so many genuine people.

She paints a pretty nice picture – and I admit that harvest is an experience I’d still really love to have myself – but make no mistake, I saw her working her ass off. Moreover, harvests in California are getting more and more complicated.

Monique is currently working at Oakland Yard – one of Oakland's awesome independent wine stores.

SOME THOUGHTS ON HARVEST

Like I said, making wine is hard work in the best of times. The hours are also really long. To protect the quality of the grapes, vineyard teams often pick at night or really early in the morning. If fruit sits out in the heat, it can start to rot or mold. I don’t think it’s any surprise that this causes off-flavors that will come out in the wine. Nobody wants to drink that! Therefore, once the grapes come in, teams have to work quickly to process the grapes.

As an agricultural product, wine is also subject to the mercy and vagaries of the weather. This is why wine geeks talk about vintages and vintage variation – the expression and quality of the wine varies depending on what happened in the weather that year. In the best of times, waiting for the grapes to hit the proper level of ripeness while praying that some fall storm won’t roll in with rain to dilute their juices can be nerve-racking. With global warming, the weather is getting crazier and crazier every year. This makes it even more difficult for winemakers and vineyard owners to plan, which can cause problems even in generally good years like 2019. The roller coaster ride can leave winemakers scrambling to find grapes to buy to make their wines in vintages that have unexpectedly become difficult, and growers struggling to find buyers in bumper crop years.

Harvest dates seem to be sliding around the calendar, which adds more complications. Last year, I remember winemaker friends commenting on waiting and wondering when grapes would be ready to be picked. This year, harvest began way early. My friend Kristie of Tessier Winery will be celebrating a birthday this weekend; she never really gets to celebrate because she’s usually in the middle of harvest around now. She’s already wrapped up this year. In a text the other day, she commented that this has never happened before in her 13 years working in wine.

Now, add in the fact that wildfires are becoming a regular fixture of harvest-time here in California. Of course, it’s 2020 and the Zombie Apocalypse, so things are extra complicated to completely understate the matter. The entire West Coast appears to be on fire and many of us are living in an eerie cloud of smoke. (As I write this the AQI is 220, and it was close to 300 this morning.) I can stay in my apartment; those working in vineyards and other agricultural fields don’t necessarily have that option. The fires started up about a month ago, and we still have a few months of what’s typically fire season to go.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sari Blum (@sariblumphotography) on Sep 10, 2020 at 3:21pm PDT

This was the Bay Area on Wednesday – I'm borrowing it from a photographer friend's Instagram account since I didn't take any myself. Since then it's been a gross, dense grey.

Beyond health and safety concerns, a lot of people’s livelihoods are now regularly being threatened. I was speaking to Jennifer Reichardt of Raft Winery for Slow Wine the other day, and she mentioned that several of the vineyards she works with are currently under threat. Even if they survive, the grapes hadn’t been harvested yet might be tainted from the smoke. You can start to see the domino effects of economic problems: the vineyard owners lose their land in the worst case, or can't sell their grapes this year, which is better, but still economically damaging; the winemakers make less wine so there is less for them to sell; and so on.

Then there is the little matter of the pandemic and all the complications that go with that. Normally, a good percentage of harvest workers are international. (This goes both ways, a lot of people who work harvest regularly will switch off between working in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.) International workers aren’t an option during a pandemic, so a lot of wineries were scrambling to find help. Once teams were/are in place, there are the difficulties of keeping people safe while working.

These are just some things to consider about what’s going on as people pick the grapes that go into this year’s California vintage. While places like Australia and Spain have been dealing with similar issues with fires, other places are dealing with different sets of problems, like increasingly frequent and intense hailstorms, droughts, and other forms of extreme weather. It’s getting more complicated everywhere.

Now that I've bummed you out by talking about the difficulties of harvest, let’s get back to . . .

THE WINE

For this post, I opened a bottle I had "in the cellar" of the Forlorn Hope Ost-Intrigen Ricci Vineyard St. Laurent 2016 (Average price $29). While Matthew Rorick has vineyards and has been moving more and more to using his estate grown fruit, the grapes for this wine came from Ricci Vineyard in Carneros.

Rorick started his Forlorn Hope label in 2005, after a period of skateboarding for a living for a while, serving in the navy repairing periscopes during Desert Storm, later working at many different wineries in several countries, making time to surf in between. (Check out this interview from 2013 for more of his fascinating backstory.) In 2013 he bought the 75 acres that are now called the Rorick Heritage Vineyard and began the process of converting it to organic farming.

It’s a pretty spectacular place with sweeping dramatic vistas as the winery climbs up to 2,000 feet, with schist and limestone soils and rocks that sometimes jet out strikingly from the hilltops. He grows a wide array of grapes, a lot of which are pretty uncommon in California and are very worth exploring. In addition to making wines from the grapes grown here, Rorick also sells grapes to an impressive list of wineries, some of which you can check out here.

While stunning, it’s definitely a bit of a trek to get out to the vineyard and winery. Luckily, the Forlorn Hope’s tasting room, Outland, is far more conveniently located in downtown Napa, a space he shares with Poe and Farella wineries.

St. Laurent

St. Laurent (aka Sankt Laurent, Saint-Laurent) is a bit of a “rare creature” (as Rorirck refers to his wines on the labels), but it’s far more common in Austria, where it probably originated, as well as the Czech Republic, and elsewhere in central Europe. It’s also gaining popularity in Germany. It’s long been thought to be an offspring of Pinot Noir crossed with another unknown grape, however, DNA profiling has shown the two to be genetically distant (at least according to Wine Grapes), so it remains a bit of mystery.

This one showed notes of sour black cherries and blackberries on the nose, with savory herbs, pepper, and light floral notes that wafted in the background. All those notes reemerged on the palate, along with more savory notes including a quick dab of tomato paste, earth, and a pinch of sweet spices. It had juicy medium + acidity; the body and the tannins danced on the line between medium and medium+, while the alcohol on this wine was actually pretty low at 11.19%. The overall effect of the wine on the palate was that it had richness, but was at the same time still lean and lifted.

As best I can tell, Ost-Intrigen means “Eastern Intrigues” (or something like that), and I did indeed find it intriguing, and yet it didn’t take itself too seriously.

I couldn't find a tech sheet on this wine, but generally speaking they make no chemical adjustments, or add anything in, other than minimum amounts of sulfur in some wines, and fermentations are all with native yeasts. They use also no new oak allowed in the winery.

I will note that Forlorn Hope is a a darling of the natural wine movement, however, I rarely find them to be funky. They're sometimes experimental, but pretty clean in my experience.

THE PAIRING

We cooked most of the nights we were at Forlorn Hope, given that we were the interlopers and it was the least we could do. By “we,” I really mean Dorian was head chef and I played sous chef. Dorian has a catering business and is a queen of the grill, so before the zombie apocalypse hit I was hoping we’d be able to all get together an open some FH wines alongside some of her BBQ, but alas that’ll have to wait for some other time. (Be sure to check out her website for the bakery offerings and follow her on Instagram to get info on the occasional pop-ups she’s been doing during Covid.)

On one night we were there though, Ruben, another winemaker who often works with the FH team during harvest made Juicy Lucies – my first time trying these. A Juicy Lucy (or Jucy Lucy) is a burger that originated in Minneapolis that has American cheese tucked into the middle of the burger so that it becomes all molten and melty in the center as the burger cooks. When you bite into it, the cheese oozes everywhere.

I decided to recreate the memory by making Juicy Lucies to go with this wine . . . sort of. Greg and I have taken to putting pimento cheese on burgers and we just couldn’t resist doing it this time, so we ended up with pimento cheese on top and American cheese in the middle, and it was GLORIOUS. I also made some grilled onions to put on top and piled it all on homemade buns (I have been loving this recipe). It was one delicious mess!

Purists will certainly say that these are no longer Juicy Lucies, so Greg had the idea to call them Juicy Lucifers given the pimento cheese and hints of spice in the burger mix.

The pairing was also freak’n fantastic, the only issue was that I couldn’t stop to take a note on the ins and outs of how it worked. I was just seamless and SOOOO GOOD!

Quick note, I also put a little hot sauce on a bit of my burger for an extra kick, which was quite tasty, but it did throw off the pairing a bit.

burgers, pimento cheese

dinner

American

Servings: 6

By: Nicole Ruiz Hudson

Juicy Lucifers

Prep Time: 15 MinCooking Time: -4 MinTotal Time: 11 Min

These burgers are a riff on Juicy Lucies, but as we’ve added pimento cheese and some spices with a little heat, we decided to call them Juicy Lucifers. I prepared these in a cast-iron skillet inside, but of course, you can also cook them on a grill outside.

Ingredients:

2 pounds 85% lean / 15% fat ground beef
salt, a generous pinch or as needed
¼ tsp pepper, or to taste
Pinch of smoked paprika
Pinch of umami powder
Pinch of garlic powder
Pinch of onion powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
6 American cheese singles
Cooking oil, as needed
6 buns
About 12 Tbsps pimento cheese

Optional Toppings

Mayonnaise
Mustard
Ketchup
Hot sauce
Lettuce
Onions, raw or grilled (as shown here)
Tomatoes

Instructions:

Mix together the beef with salt, pepper, all of the spices, and the Worcestershire sauce. Make a small test patty and cook in cast iron skillet. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Divide the beef into 6 portions. Split each portion into 2 balls and form into two patties. Place a slice of American cheese in between the two patties and form the burger around the cheese. Make divet in the center of the burger. Repeat with the other 5 burgers.
Heat cooking oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook each burger for 3 to 4 minutes per side, for medium-rare, or to the desired level of doneness. Work in batches as needed. Once the burgers are cooked, allow them to rest for 5 minutes.
While the burgers are cooking and resting, spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of pimento cheese on the top half of each bun. Warm buns in a toaster oven or oven until the cheese is lightly melted.
Once warmed, place desired condiments on the plain half of the bun and place a burger on top, followed by the remaining bun half and serve.

https://www.sommstable.com/2020/09/a-harvest-at-forlorn-hope-juicy-lucies.html

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thesommstable on instagram and hashtag it #sommstable

Created using The Recipes Generator

*****

The Wine Pairing Weekend blogging group (#WinePW) are exploring the theme of climate change while also celebrating harvest. Read the invitation to re/consider harvest here. If you see this early enough, join our Twitter chat this Saturday Sept. 12 at 8am Pacific by following the hashtag #WinePW

Terri at "Our Good Life" celebrates Harvest Time at Twin Meadows Winery .

Andrea at "The Quirky Cork" discusses The Art of the Harvest .

Deanna at "Asian Test Kitchen" pours French Style Wines by the Sea from Windy Oaks (With 3 Fab Food Pairings)

Susanna at "Avvinare" declares Robert Biale Petite Sirah & BBQ, A Perfect Match .

Nicole at "Somm's Table" posts A Harvest at Forlorn Hope & Juicy Lucies .

Jane at "Always Ravenous" hosts a Fall Harvest Dinner with Wine Pairings .

Robin at "Crushed Grape Chronicles" highlights Regenerative Agriculture at Tablas Creek - A Meaningful Way to Farm .

Cam at "Culinary Adventures with Camilla" shines the spotlight on Donkey & Goat: The Brandts Bring Natural Farming Philosophies Into the Cellar .

Lori at "Exploring the Wineglass" describes Harvesting the Land While Overcoming Global Changes .

Sue and Gwendolyn at "Wine Predator" have A Harvest Conversation with The Ojai Vineyard’s Adam Tolmach and Fabien Castel .

For fun, I leave you with a few more of Greg's pics of the vineyard.

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Famille Perrin

THE WINES

Côtes du Rhône Reserve Blanc 2019

Côtes du Rhône Reserve Rosé 2019

Côtes du Rhône Nature Rouge 2018

THE PAIRINGS & HOW THEY WORKED

Mushroom Terrine with Grape Compote and Cheese

Braised Pork with Preserved Lemon, Rosemary, and Fennel

Mushroom Terrine with Grape Compote

Ingredients:

Instructions:

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Braised Pork with Preserved Lemon, Rosemary, and Fennel

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Did you make this recipe?

SOME THOUGHTS ON HARVEST

THE WINE

St. Laurent

THE PAIRING

Juicy Lucifers

Ingredients:

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