A taste of comfort…

Sometimes, comfort food is needed.  When you had a rough day at work or the changes in weather call for it, a simple dish can lift your spirits.  Granted, my Friday went well, and with the weather getting cooler, my taste buds were craving a dish that was soothing and flavorful.

Enter Chicken Pot Pie.  I did not have a lot of time to devote to making the original version, but I found a simple version that only took me five minutes to prepare and thirty minutes to bake.  It was healthy and comforting at the same time.

Chicken Pot Pie (adapted from Paula Deen’s Hurry-Up Chicken Pot Pie)

2 c. chopped, cooked chicken breasts

2 c. mixed vegetables

1 can of Reduced Fat Cream of Chicken soup (I used Cream of Mushroom)

1 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. tarragon

1 1/2 c. Instant Biscuit Mix

1 c. Milk

Preheat oven to 35o° F.

In a greased 13 X 9 casserole dish, layer cooked chicken and frozen vegetables.  In a bowl, combine soup and broth with seasonings.  Pour soup mixture over the chicken and vegetables.  In another bowl, combine biscuit mix and milk.  When it is mixed, spoon  over the chicken mixture.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.

 

Makeover, Travels, and a Massive Storm

Well, first and foremost, do you like my new look?  I think this best reflects Charm Offensive Cooking’s real mission to share food and travel experiences.  It’s also bright too…yay!

Since I am done with raving over the new look, I guess I should tell you about my travels.  Recently, my boyfriend and I attended his friend’s wedding in Colorado Springs.  We had a great time visiting Colorado, even though there were a few snags with our airline and rental car.  Colorado was amazing, as we enjoyed great weather and beautiful scenery.  Between visiting Pike’s Peak and Garden of the Gods, we were certainly hungry and thirsty too.

Since Colorado has a lot of great breweries, we decided to visit Colorado Mountain Brewery in Colorado Springs.  This restaurant has some amazing brews on tap and great food.  However, it took forever for us to get a table (especially considering that we were not there during peak hours), and the waitress made an error with entering in our appetizer.  It was no big deal though, because the food and beer were worth the wait.

My boyfriend had the 7258 Blonde Ale.  It was a crisp tasting blonde ale that did not have a hoppy taste.  I had the UniBrau Hefeweissen.  This Hefeweissen was great and had citrus hints that made this stand out from the other hefeweizen beers that I have had in the past.  Little did I know that the beers we had selected would pair amazingly well with our food order.

For an appetizer, my boyfriend and I decided to order the Venison Eggrolls, which were filled with venison sausage, black beans, Monterey Jack cheese, peppers and onions.  They were amazing and were complimented by the two sauces served alongside of them.  They were so good that we ate them all before taking a picture.

Scenes before we ate dinner...soon there would be nothing left.

My boyfriend ordered an amazing burger, which was served with some awesome sweet potato waffle fries.  This burger was referred to as a Fourteener, and my boyfriend chose the Uncompaghre Peak, which was a ground angus burger with cotija cheese, sliced avocado, tomatillo, and charred Anaheim chili salsa.  It was probably the best burger that my boyfriend has ever had, and the quality of this burger far surpassed the ones here in the DC market.

I ordered the BBQ Bison Tacos, which were phenomenal.  You could tell that everything was freshly prepared.  The pulled BBQ Bison was combined with the brewery’s own black bean salsa.  They were topped with melted Pepper Jack cheese and charred tomato salsa.  Additionally, they were served with homemade guacamole, which was the best I have had, and tortilla chips.

The food was super yummy.  For dessert, we ordered their ice cream floats.  I ordered a coke float, while my boyfriend ordered a float with their Monumental Stout, which reminded me of Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, with coffee and chocolate hints.

The wedding was amazing.  The food was all homemade and consisted of a garbanzo bean salad, BBQ beef, chicken, and grilled fingerling potatoes.  It was simple, and this is something that I really liked about their reception.  Additionally, they had a bar that featured some of the many breweries throughout Colorado.  They had Fat Tire (and yes, Fat Tire has made its way East to Virginia), Shiner Bock (My boyfriend and his friend attended college together in Dallas), a Colorado Springs microbrew, and the traditional Coors Light.  I had a Fat Tire and a bottle of the microbrew, which was comparable to the Hefeweissen I had at the brewery the previous evening.

We had a great time in Colorado, and I look forward to making a return visit in the future.  Hopefully, the next time, my boyfriend and I will be able to tour Breckenridge Brewery and New Belgium Brewing Company.  Breckenridge has an awesome Vanilla Porter (made with real Vanilla Beans), and it has now become an inspiration for another cupcake recipe that will be featured here within the next few weeks.

After the celebrations, we headed to visit my boyfriend’s family in Texas.  I love Texas!  However, we had some snags with the airline again.  This caused us to be stranded overnight in Memphis.  It was too late to go downtown and visit some BBQ joints.  Since we were tired and cranky, we hung out at a restaurant near the airport.  The food was so-so, but I enjoyed my Chicken Lettuce Wraps.   The wraps featured Kung Pao chicken on a bed of cellophane noodles.  My boyfriend ordered a ham and cheese panini with onion soup.  It was okay, but we both thought my dish was a lot better.

The next morning, we headed straight to the airport early and boarded a flight to Dallas/Fort Worth.  I was looking forward to eating a great meal and hanging out with my boyfriend’s family.  We ate at the Baja Grill in Keller, and it was a great restaurant.  My boyfriend and I ate brisket tacos, as well as enjoying an awesome frozen margarita.  It was the first time I have ever had brisket tacos.  The brisket was fork tender and served on flour tortillas with a mild cheese.  The tacos were accompanied by refried beans and rice.

While we were in Fort Worth, we visited Rangers Ballpark, Kimball Art Gallery, the Omni theater, and visited with my boyfriend’s niece and nephew.  It was a great time.

Aside from the fun times, we also went to The Gingerman, which is a great pub in Fort Worth.  This pub has one of the best selections for craft beer.  I ordered a bottle of Wild Blue Blueberry Lager, which was a little sweet (Blue Point Blueberry Ale is one of my favorites) for my liking, and my boyfriend had Maredsous #6, which was a great Belgium ale that has some spicy hints with a caramel like sweetness.  Once we were finished with our beer, we decided to try some other ones.  I sampled 512 Pecan Porter, which had a smoky hint and rich taste, but I settled on a pint of Breckenridge’s Vanilla Porter.  My boyfriend ordered New Belgium Brewing Company’s Sunshine, which is a wheat beer with coriander and orange peel.

Later that afternoon, my boyfriend decided to spoil me with going to Razzoo’s, which is a local Cajun restaurant in downtown Fort Worth.   The only Cajun food that I have had was Zatarain’s Jambalaya, so it was great to finally have some really authentic cuisine.  My boyfriend insisted we order Gator Tail, which was a deep fried alligator tail.  It was really unique tasting, and it was served with a sweet/spicy cocktail sauce.  My boyfriend ordered Crawdaddies 2ways (crawfish etoufee and crawfish tails).  This dish also had dirty rice, fries and pups.  The etoufee was great, and the crawdads weren’t bad either.

I ordered the Oyster Po’Boy, which was deep fried oysters on top of french bread with a garlic spread, lettuce, tomato, and onion.  This Po’Boy came with fries and pups (jalapeno hush puppies).  The oysters were very good, and I really enjoyed the texture of the french bread.

Overall, I feel like I have picked up ten pounds from this trip, but the memories will last forever.

Last but not least, Hurricane Irene is coming for a visit.  Depending on whether or not power outages happen, I might make a super yummy treat that involves peanut butter, chocolate, and caramel.  However, I hope everyone is prepared for Irene and stay safe.

Giving cupcakes a special buzz…

I have hit my baking groove once again, and my oven must be either loving or hating me for the extensive use this week. This week was rough and stressful. When I got home at night, I either fell asleep on the couch or went into the kitchen to start on a list of recipes. Monday’s stress/boredom session brought about banana oat bread, which was okay…but nothing to write here about. I also made homemade tortilla chips seasoned with Penzey’s Spices Arizona Dreaming seasoning, which complemented the fresh salsa I had on hand well.

While I was looking through recipes yesterday, I found the one my boyfriend’s mom recently sent to me: Honey Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Vanilla Buttercream. Something about this recipe intrigued me, and soon before I knew it, I was whipping up these cupcakes. There was something I didn’t expect while baking…that I was going to have a lot of cupcakes leftover. Instead of jumping right into the recipe, I should have cut the ingredients in half for less cupcakes. However, they turned out being a hit and voila! people loved them.

You might be asking…where can I find lavender? Well, there are several places in Northern Virginia. First, you can pick your own at Seven Oaks Lavender Farm in Catlett, Va., which is located outside of Warrenton. The other place to find it would be Penzey’s Spices. You will have to ask for it. I bought mine at Penzey’s, since I did not have time to pick my own. However, I would be tempted to do so at a later time.

Also, you might be asking whether you should use local honey or store-bought honey. While I prefer the taste of locally harvested honey, the mere convenience of the store-bought variety sometimes wins over. Since I am out of my jar of local honey (thanks to my seasonal allergies), I used clover blossom honey from an organic grocery market. It yielded similar quality.

Honey Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Vanilla Buttercream

(Recipe adapted from Ohio Magazine, July 2011 edition)

Cupcakes:

5 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. dried lavender (8 oz. fresh lavender…see note)

2-1/2 c. sugar

3 c. vegetable oil

2 c. buttermilk

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. bourbon vanilla extract (if you have Madagascar or Mexican vanilla, you could use either one as well)

4 eggs, at room temperature

3/4 c. honey

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda by hand. Set aside.

Note: If using dried lavender that has been processed, mix with sugar. If using fresh lavender: pulse lavender in food processor. Transfer to a mixing bowl and combine with sugar. Mix the lavender sugar with the flour mixture.

In a mixer, combine the vegetable oil, buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, eggs, and honey. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Portion batter by filling cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Yields 3-1/2 dozen cupcakes

Honey Vanilla Buttercream

1 lb. butter, softened

seeds of 2 Vanilla Beans

1/4 c. honey

2 tsp. dried lavender or 2 tbsp. fresh lavender (pulsed in food processor)

1 lb. powdered sugar

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter with the vanilla bean seeds. Add the honey and lavender and mix at medium speed until combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar until ingredients are thoroughly combined and a spreadable consistency.

Spread on cooled cupcakes.

Leftovers? There’s a solution.

Lately, I have been making a conscientious effort to limit eating out at restaurants and to start eating healthy. Even though, I have a busy schedule and a tight budget, there is no doubt that I have found ways to eat great food that is healthy and budget friendly.

Last week, I made an awesome stuffed peppers dish that used lean ground beef, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. The meat had an amazing flavor, and since there was more meat than peppers, enter leftovers. As I was racking my mind on what I would do to utilize the meat, one recipe came into mind: Sloppy Joes.

With the leftover meat, I added some Elmer’s “It be bad” barbecue sauce. Tribe guy’s Mom brought me a bottle of this sauce during Easter, and it was awesome, since it added a sweet and spicy kick.

Overall, I thought this is one way to create a new spin on leftovers.

Stuffed Peppers

4 Red or Green Bell Peppers
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1 can of diced tomatoes with onion and garlic
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1 pkg. of instant cooked rice (like Uncle Ben’s microwaveable rice)
1 tbsp. Smoked Paprika
1 tsp. Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the top off the peppers and remove the seeds, discard.

In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp. Olive oil with minced onion and garlic. After the onions and garlic begin to soften, add ground beef. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika. Once the meat is brown, add tomatoes and rice.

In a 13 x 9 baking dish, make sure that the peppers are facing up and fill with meat filling. Top each filled pepper with a slice of smoked mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

When finished, remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes, serve immediately.

Sloppy Joes

With leftover ground meat mixture, warm it in skillet. Once meat is reheated, add 1/2 – 3/4 C. Barbecue sauce of your choice. Heat until bubbling. Serve with sandwich buns or Texas Toast.

It’s Summertime in the city…

Since I have been on vacation or busy with work, I have not had time to update Charm Offensive Cooking.  However, I am planning to add more throughout the week.

My boyfriend came over to my apartment, and we cooked dinner together.   We had bratwurst, blackberries, yellow and orange peppers to use, so we decided to make a german-style feast of sorts.  First, I made a blackberry crisp, which was amazing served with vanilla ice cream.  While the crisp was baking, I helped my boyfriend with dicing up some peppers, onions, leeks, and peppers for the brats and potato dish.  First, we sliced the yellow and orange peppers in thin slices and diced the leeks.  This was going to be sauteed with butter, ground mustard, and a sea salt mixture with smoked paprika and fresh ground pepper.  Then, I sliced the onions and potatoes in small slices.  I added this to butter for frying.  After a bit, I added some dill, bacon bits, celery salt, fresh ground pepper and some sea salt.

While the veggie dishes were cooking, I removed the blackberry crisp and set up another pan for the bratwurst.  Next up were the bratwursts.  The brats were poached with a bock style beer and a special ingredient, which might not seem so complimentary….sweet pickle juice.   Once the brats were finished, the sauce in the pan was too good not to write about.  This sauce was a beer-amel (a caramel that tasted like a sweet beer).  It went beautifully with the brats.

Overall, the menu was great and it just complemented the relaxing weekend.

The brats were taking a beauty bath in the bock/pickle juice mixture.

Brats in Beer

a package of bratwurst

1 bottle of bock style beer

1/3 c. sweet pickle juice

Poach the brats in beer and pickle juice mixture.  Do this until the brats are done and the sauce is a thick consistency.  Serve the brats with the sauce immediately.

The potatoes were awesome..bacon makes everything taste better

Who thinks vinegar and mayo-based potato salads are overrated Salad

4 Red potatoes, thinly sliced

1 vidalia onion, thickly sliced

2 tsp. dill

4 tbsp. butter

1/4 c. bacon bits

2 tsp. celery salt

freshly ground sea salt and pepper

In a saute pan, melt butter.  Add potatoes and onions.  Saute for a while, then add dill, celery salt, sea salt, pepper.  Cook until potatoes are fork tender.  Serve immediately.

Brats are not awesome without peppers and onions.

Awesome Sauteed Peppers and Leeks

1 leek, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp. ground mustard

2 tbsp. bock style beer

1/2 tsp. sea salt/smoked paprika mixture (like Penzey’s Smoky 4S seasoning)

freshly ground pepper

3 tbsp. butter

In a saute pan, melt butter, then add peppers and leeks.  Cook until peppers start breaking down, then add pepper, sea salt/paprika mixture, ground mustard, and beer.  Once the peppers and onions are tender and broken down, serve with the brats.

Last but not least, I am star of the show...dessert

Blackberry crisp was the perfect way to end the meal.  Of course, I had to share this recipe on Crystal Clear Conservative, since we all know dessert is the best part of any meal.

With every season, there’s a cake!

Every season has a dessert that pairs well with it. For winter, there is always the infamous Red Velvet Cake (if you are from the South) or Gingerbread cake. For spring, coconut cake and any cake that uses a seasonal fruit generally rules. Fall always brings apple cake or cakes involving pumpkin. These cakes are generally the “little black dresses” for each season.

However, summer generally follows the spring trend of cakes utilizing seasonal fruit. That was until Deb at Smitten Kitchen posted a recipe that should be the cake of summer. When you think of summer, you think of fruity beverages, like Piña Coladas and Margaritas.

I made the Piña Colada Cake for a family gathering, and it is an easy recipe to make.  This cake received rave reviews for the most part, and it definitely will be in my collection for summer desserts.

As a twist to this recipe, I added 1 tbsp. Cream of Coconut and 1 tbsp. Pineapple Juice to the Powdered Sugar for the glaze.  The only thing that could have made this cake better was increasing the rum in the cake batter.  I used Dark Rum for the cake, and I realized that I could increase the tropical feel by adding Coconut or Mango rum to the mix.

Otherwise, this was a great cake recipe.

The Unofficial Start of Summer

Lately, I have been on the road traveling to visit family, but also getting away from it all. Needless to say, I have been yearning for a weekend to cook at home and enjoy the company of friends to balance the chaos that has been occurring in life lately. Well, I have finally had the opportunity to jump back into the kitchen to prepare a good meal.

This weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to have a mini picnic at a local park to celebrate the beautiful weather we had over the weekend. For starters, our menu included homemade guacamole, burgers, Italian Sausage with peppers and onions, and rum-soaked berry shortcake. Along with the meats, guacamole, and shortcake, we had great wine and conversation.

We started with the guacamole. I love guacamole, as it is a cool, refreshing dip with a lot of healthy stuff in it. Paired with a multigrain tortilla chip, you have a good nutritional snack. We also had deviled eggs, which I ate, since BF does not eat them. Deviled eggs mark summer picnics, and Whole Foods has some of the best.

Before leaving, I began to prep the rum-soaked berries. After removing the stems and halving strawberries, I added blueberries to be combined with 2 oz. dark rum and 1/4 c. sugar. After stirring the berries with the rum mixture, it was off to the refrigerator to chill until later in the evening.

After preparing the dessert, I moved on to working on the peppers and onions. I started off with 2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil to heat in a skillet. Once the skillet was warm, I added the onions (coarsely sliced), one red bell pepper (sliced), and one green bell pepper (sliced). I cooked until the peppers and onions were soft. The onions were beginning to caramelize.

While the peppers were cooking, I diced an onion and combined it with a pound of ground beef. In addition to the onion, I added some bread crumbs, Penzey’s Smoky 3S seasoning, and pepper.  I made mini hamburgers that I would be taking with us (along with the sausages), since the apartment complex does not allow grills.

Thankfully, our friend came to join us for the picnic, because we could not eat all of the food alone. Our friend brought a bottle of wine as a gift. Monte Ducay Tinto Pergamino is a smooth tasting wine with hints of cherry. This wine was a beautiful red that paired well with the two meats, but it was perfectly fine to drink alone.

I also had some leftover Church Creek 2009 Cabernet Franc. Two weekends ago, I traveled to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to visit three wineries and enjoy some time away from the hectic pace of the DC Metro area. The Church Creek label is made by Chatham Vineyards, and this winery offers great wines. The Cabernet Franc is a smooth tasting wine with hints of raspberry. It was aged in French oak for nine months. This wine pairs well with Italian dishes, in addition to some good barbecue. We had the wine with the burgers, and it was a great way to finish the bottle.

Overall, you can’t complain about the unofficial start of summer. Picnics, good food, great wine, and tons of great company create memories to come.

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados, mashed
1 lime
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c. Vidalia Onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp. cumin
Cilantro to taste

First, cut avocados and scrape the avocado out into a bowl, mash the avocado and squeeze the juice from the lime onto the mashed avocado. Add the minced garlic clove, onion, tomatoes, diced jalapeno, cumin, and cilantro. Continue to combine all ingredients, and promptly serve.

Have a great summer! I will try to have some more updates in the next few days from my travels, including two winery reviews and some more innovative ideas from the kitchen.

I feel bad for neglecting you…

Here it goes…I’m sorry that I have not updated this site for a while. This stuff happens when you are too busy with life, work, writing for two additional websites, studying for class, and nursing an injury. Due to this long list of excuses unforeseen circumstances, it has impacted my cooking/baking. Not to worry, we still have wine reviews.

Let’s start with Easter dinner. My boyfriend and I hosted dinner at my apartment for our families. It was their first time meeting each other. The food was delightful, and I didn’t even have to cook, as my boyfriend prepared the meal. Our menu included: Country Ham basted in Dr. Pepper, Macaroni and Cheese, Easter Bread, and two salads. If I can get the recipe for the ham, I’ll include it in a follow up. Right now, we are finding creative ways to eat ham.

One way is to fry it like bacon and season it accordingly. My boyfriend likes to season it different ways using herbs. For one variation, he created a savory version using sage, thyme, rosemary and dill. This was my favorite version. Another variation was a more sweet-heat version, using cumin and Penzey’s Baking Spice. There was a barbecue version using smoked paprika, chipotle hot sauce, brown sugar, and cumin. This was awesome and made me crave some Riscky’s BBQ…can’t wait for Texas. The curry version was also yummy.

Aside from ham, I haven’t done much in terms of wine tasting. The day after Easter, my boyfriend and I wanted to try two awesome wineries near Front Royal. Philip Carter Winery was our first destination. When we arrived, we noticed that it was closed, despite what the website said. We decided to travel to Fox Meadow Winery instead, and it was well worth the trip.

Fox Meadow Winery offers some of the best red wines in the region. They were all so good that we had a tough decision to make. We loved their Syrah, which paired well with a good sharp cheddar. We also loved their Freezeland Red, which is a semi-sweet wine. The Cabernet Franc was out of this world and would have paired well with a steak. I also liked their Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.

The atmosphere was great, and the owner of the winery did a superb job explaining the food pairings for the wines.

I’ll have more later. Hopefully, I’ll make that Piña Colada Cake over the weekend that I have been promising my boyfriend.

Luck of the Irish…or Luck of the Unicorn

Lately, we have been blessed by beautiful weather here in Virginia. Today, despite the sneezing from allergies, my boyfriend and I decided to visit Unicorn Winery in Amissville. Three weeks ago, we attended my friend’s wedding in Fredericksburg, and while traveling back from the ceremony, we visited Hartwood Winery. Hartwood was having a Mardi Gras festival, and Unicorn was there providing tastings as well. One of the owners gave us a complimentary tasting card, and we decided to visit.

Unicorn Winery is a small winery, but they offer amazingly good wines at reasonable prices. We happened to visit during their St. Patrick’s celebration, which we happened to miss since they ran out of soup. However, the staff made up for it by providing a fun atmosphere with the tastings. The man in charge of our tastings was very knowledgeable about the wines and what food would pair well.

Some particular favorites included:

2008 Chardonnay: If you don’t like a lot of oak taste, then this wine only provides just a little hint. This wine is full bodied with hints of apple blossom, honey, and pear. It would pair well with seafood, especially scallops and mussels.

2008 Traminette: Thai food will pair well with this wine. With hints of honeysuckle, lavender, and citrus, this wine has a sweet, smooth taste. Traminette was first produced at Cornell University in 1984.

2008 Meritage: This Bordeaux-style blend provides a literal party in your mouth, as hints of berry, smoke, and cherry come into play. This full bodied wine will get better with age. In fact, our tasting guide told us that the 2002 vintage is served at the Inn at Little Washington. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. Enjoy this one with good BBQ or Sharp Cheddar. This is also a good wine to enjoy with cigars.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: This wine is as full bodied as you might think. In fact, it was a light bodied wine with strong hints of cherry and raspberry. The smoky hint would pair well with a burger or any pasta dish.

Overall, the atmosphere and great wines made this worth the traffic we encountered earlier. This wine was truly a luck of the Irish find.

Can Red Wine Save the Day?

I love a glass of red wine. Whether it’s a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, the smooth and complex taste always seem to refresh my palate, as well as accompany a good dish. Recently, I have been reverting back to the reds, after a craving of Chardonnay in the fall after a trip to upstate New York. One thing is for certain, Virginia has no shortage of good red wines that are comparable to many in Napa Valley or Washington State.

Currently, after finishing my new favorite, Scarlet Oak Red (Naked Mountain Winery, Markham, Va.), I decided to try Rappahannock Cellars‘ Noblesse Rouge. Noblesse Rouge is a Bordeaux blend with blends of Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is smooth tasting with a lot of depth. The smoky hints are perfect, and it complemented the pizza I had earlier, along with the 72% Dark Chocolate I had for dessert.

This winery is one of my favorites in Virginia, and their red wines are excellent. As for the wine, it definitely provided some rescue from the stresses of tax season. Not to mention, the red wine is filled with flavenoids, which is good for you too.