Sicily - Meeting Vini Gambino, our day at a winery

In full disclosure, I did not take this picture, but more on that below...

 

Try saying it with your best Italian accent... "hey, Vini Gambino!".
Haha, sounds like something out a Godfather movie.

Actually,  "vini" is just winery!

Sicily is one of those places that maybe you haven’t spent a lot of time considering.   
You may think “the Godfather” and spicy sauces, but not much else.  Until you go there… 

Sicily is like a three pointed island, and the symbol of the island is a slightly disturbing female head with three legs sprouting from it; each leg symbolizing the corners of the island.  (Shown in the photo on the left,lower corner)

The top NE “leg” of the island, is where we got off the boat in Messina, the 3rd largest city on the island. A car and driver took the six of us to take us to Taormina, a beautiful Roman/Greek town on high mountain slopes above the sea.  We drove for over an hour on twisty hillsides going up, up, up until we reached seemingly pinnacle outlooks for the view of the towns and beaches below.  

 We spent some time exploring in Taormina but the event of the day was a lunch and tour at a local winery. We drove up, up, up again towards Mount Etna.  Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe, and when you ask the last time it erupted, you usually hear … yesterday!   

Yes, it is that active.   
Unfortunately for us, the day was quite cloudy, with only moments of clearing to view the sites, our driver sent us a picture he took of Etna on a day she was blowing off steam (pictured above).

While Italy is very well known for their wines and is usually #1 in the world for top producing country (going back and forth with France in the last decade), but you don’t often hear of great Sicilian wines.  The reason is quite simple, many of the wineries in Sicily are small and most of their wines do not get exported, Gambino is one exception that exports.  The  Gambino Winery is on the hilly slopes below Etna and are distinctive for their minerality from the volcanic ash that peppers the vineyards below.  The volcanic ground ( called “ripiddu”) is very rich in minerals salts which supplies an equilibrated sugar content of the grapes and a proper relation between acids and alcohol. 
Which simply means, the wine can have some high alcohol content!

There were many terraces of established vines as we ascended to the winery itself.  The Gambino winery has been in operation for over 25 years and is family owned, however the new winery building is quite new, state of the art, and quite lovely.

Normally, the view from the winery can give you views of the island and the hillside towns below, the day we visited it was most socked in with low clouds and misty rain.  

It did clear for a short time, and we saw this view, which is pretty nice, especially with a good glass of wine in your hand.

We managed a walk of the vines and winery grounds before the rains started.

This guy was totally enjoying his wine, huh?

Eventually we headed in to view the wine making operation.  The grapes are picked by hand to ensure the ripeness of the fruit. Inside we walked through the stainless tanks, the oak barrel aging room, the bottling operation and the label machine.

Upstairs we headed to the tasting room for a lunch and wine tasting.   
























We tasted four wines, two whites and two reds that were paired to our lunch.
Here's the meats and cheeses, a yummy lemon jam and a little couscous salad.  We ended with a local spicy sausage that paired well with their bold red wine.

 

The condiments/accoutrements, not shown was the wonderful fresh baked semolina french bread.

 

We tried four wines, they were all terrific:

- Feu d'O- White

- Tifeo- White

- Tifeo- Red

- Duvanera- Red












The steel tanks were huge and filled a couple of big rooms

Aging room filled with casks of french oak


















 


 The bottling machine

The label and cork "sleeve" machine

The rest of the group was chatting with this guy operating the machine, but I could see that the group was standing in his way to refill the bottles to keep the machine going, so I got to work and started loading it while the others talked.  













 

I like that this shot caught the motion of my hair as I filled the chute with bottles needing labels.

As we made our purchases, the clouds started to become more heavy and the skies darkened.  The sudden clap of thunder, and lightening was so loud and close to us, caused everyone to gasp.  We ran to the waiting van with our purchases just in time to witness a torrential downpour of rain.  As we snaked back down the twisty roads the rain made huge rushing rivers following along with our van. It was a good day.

Here's a link to their website

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Southwestern Grilled Pork Tenderloin

I love living near wine country!
In Washington you can head out to Woodinville, to visit winery's and do some tastings. Okay, so almost all of the vineyards are in Eastern Washington, the tasting rooms are plentiful in Woodinville.  We belong to a lot of the wine clubs, some fancy and some with everyday selections.

Kestrel is one of those wineries... however, they have both fancy and every day choices.  We keep thinking we'll drop our membership, but then we stop in and have a tasting.  We both agree that they are the most friendly and comfortable places to sip and try new wines!  Another perk?  They have two other tasting rooms in the Eastern part of the state, Leavenworth and Prosser.  

This last weekend, we stopped on a Sunday just to see if we had anything to pick up (wink, wink) and to our complete happiness we had two pick ups to take home!  Yay!  
One was a two bottle pack of their 2011 Winemaker's Select co-ferment Syrah.  Inside the bag, was a recipe they shared as perfect to pair with their wine.  

Yup, you guessed it.  It was this one.  Knowing I had two thawed pork tenderloins to use, I made this.  I only changed up the recipe a little, adding salt & pepper to the marinade/paste.

(I forgot to photograph the garlic, but I did use it)

Serves 6
Ingredients

2 pork tenderloin (about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs), any silverskin/membranes removed
5 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil

 In a small bow, mix all the ingredients (except the pork) well into a thick, dark paste.  Rub mixture over all the surfaces of the tenderloins.

 I dabbed the mixture all over the pork and then put them in a bag and "Massaged" them all over- - keeping my hands clean.  Refrigerate and let sit for 2-24 hours.  I did it for about 6 hours, and I thought it was great.

Grill over medium fire, or a smoker at 250 degrees, for about 20-25 minutes.  The internal temperature should reach 145 degrees F.  Remove and cover with foil, letting it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve with grilled corn on the cob, or a Southwestern Edamame Salad

Here's what it looked like after taking off the grill.

Elliott's Oyster New Year

The biggest oyster party on the West Coast!
You know you all had a good time if you have to Google "overdose on oysters?"
Right?
Yes, well for the record, you can get too much zinc with too many oysters but not to worry too much.  If you like fresh oysters, special fundraisers or just a good time, I might suggest you plan ahead for next year's Elliott's Oyster New Year event on Nov 7th 2015.

It sold out this year and we were packed in at Pier 66 with hundreds of other bivalve lovers. 
Over 30 separate oyster growers came to shuck them fresh just for us.
It's a good cause too!  It helps oyster growers throughout the region.
Plus, it's fun.
And there is oysters, and wine, and local beer, and local music. And it's fun and delicious too.

All proceeds benefit the Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF), a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring the Sound’s water quality and native marine species and their habitats.  


Elliott's explains it like this: The oyster new year is when the cool fall weather moves back into the Puget Sound region.  It kicks off the season when oysters come into their prime—developing a crisp, firm texture and clean taste characteristics. Elliott’s long-standing partnerships with responsible growers ensure that everything they serve comes from a sustainable local resource dedicated to the well-being of our environment. 

For the record, even if you don't like oysters too much, you can still have a very, very good time at the event with lots of other heavy appetizers, desserts, wine, beer and live music.

Featuring 30+ varieties of local oysters shucked to at a 150-foot oyster bar, all from the Puget Sound (except for this picturesque Kusshi guy from Vancouver Island and maybe one from Maryland that was in the brochure (but we never saw them...)

Here's the highlights:

• 30+ varieties of local oysters shucked to order at the 1500-foot oyster bar
• Fresh seafood buffet
• Over 60 wineries (!!!)
• Local microbrews
• Live music
• The famous Oyster Luge
• People’s Choice “Most Beautiful Oyster” contest (in the raw, no less!)

So many wineries, so little time.

Oh yeah, we did have a bunch of time, so we did get to try many great local, Californian, Italian and French Wines.
I just had a little sip.
A little sip here, and a little sip there.


Some of our favorites?

• Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
• Januik Sauv Blanc (WA)
• Chateau St Michelle Sauv Blanc (WA)
• Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (OR)
• An Austrian Winery with a "Singing  Gruner Veltliner"... maybe it was the name. 
• Danzante Pinot Grigio (Italy)
• Heck!  They were all good!

The Oyster Luge.


Who wouldn't want an oyster skating down an icy 4 foot slope into your mouth?


Yep, not me. 


You'd better stick your tongue out if you want to make sure to catch that sucker!

















A live band, a little jazz, some rock and a lot of dancing!
A good time was had by all.

Victoria BC Food Fest

Everyone needs Tea at the Empress, it's the thing to do in Victoria!

The last time we had tea at the Empress was in 1985, on our honeymoon.... so it's been a while.  The Empress is now a Fairmont hotel, so it's a splurge to stay there, however, you can find some great deals in the off season if you look.
However, Tea at the Empress is no bargain, that's for sure, at $50 a person.  We almost talked ourselves out of going, but our sister-in-law, who had never been, said "this time, I AM going".  LOL, okay, we're in too.
So, just in case you've never been, maybe you'd like to see what you get for the money.

The service and atmosphere are beautiful, and the view is fantastic looking out over the inner harbor of Victoria from the Palm Court at the Empress Hotell.   You start by choosing your type of tea from the tea menu.  It arrives in the classic silver pot and poured by your waiter.  A very civilized small table sits by your dining table, so you don't have to impede your access to the goodies when they arrive. Shortly after your tea is served, you get some strawberries and cream to start your tea.  After that, each table gets a three tiered plate stand of goodies.  You start at the bottom and work your way up.
Here's what you get for the price, 5 different kinds of finger sandwiches: ham, curried chicken salad, smoked salmon pinwheel, classic cucumber, and the best egg salad I've ever had (and I'm no fan of egg salad).  Each type of sandwich was perfectly paired with just the right type of bread.  I especially liked the curried chicken salad on some sort of rye bread. The raisin scones, with cream and jam are delicious. Simple, classic and fantastic.

We ate 1 or 2 of the sweets, but had no room to finish them.  The lemon curd tart and the shortbread were my favorites, but we packed away the white chocolate grand marnier cake, the chocolate truffle cake and the chocolate mousse for a pick me up later. We ate them on the Gulf Islands ferry boat on the way home.  
Left, A little bit of the beautiful ceiling detail in the Palm Court tea room.

Below, when it's time to go, you get a little box of their famous Empress blend tea to take home. We were groaning a bit when we left, but a little walk over to the BC Museum for some wandering through the exhibits was just the thing.  It's a great museum, and highly recommended.

A rainy day in Victoria with a couple of old gents strolling through town on their way to the Tartan festival.  It's not every day you get to enjoy a fuzzy sporran swinging down the street in broad daylight.

Irish Times Pub- This place is right downtown on Government Street a couple of blocks from the Harbor.  It's a great old building, maybe a bank in the old days, but not a great pub.  We didn't eat here this time, but did manage to stop in for some beers a couple of times.  


They have the normal beers you'd expect with about 30 on tap; the classic Irish, Guiness, Harp, Kilkenny and a great beer called Innis & Gunn from Scotland.  Its stout beer aged in old whiskey barrells and it made everyone in the group say "wow" after one taste.  So different, and so delicious, I can't wait to find it somewhere else in Seattle. 

Brasserie L'ecole was written up in Sunset magazine last month as one of the top places to go in Victoria.  Looking on "Yelp" it was confirmed as a terrific place to go, OK, so I will go already!  The menu changes every day, and they post a PDF of that day's menu on their website, which is a fun way to get an idea of what's cooking for dinner. Also, they don't take reservations and the place is small, so my advice is get there at 5:30 when they open and get your name in for dinner.  We got there at 5:35 and every table was filled, so we gave our cell phone number and the hostess told us she's call us when the table was ready, probably around 7:30.  We meandered back down to the Irish Times for a beer while we waited, and presto, before we knew it was time.  We saw so many people get turned away that night, mostly because I'm sure it's a challenge to turn their tables more than 3 times.  Our service was amazing, and we never felt rushed.  

Here's the wine we chose, and at $50 a bottle, it was amazing and a bargain compared to most wine lists.

The green salad, with hazelnuts, green apple and lardons.  You know lardons, right?  Big, fat hunks of crisp bacon, on your salad. 
My sister in law was gracious enough to let us all try her lardons.  Really, I'm not sure I could have shared.

I had the smoked raw ahi, with sweet potato fries and some celeriac slaw.  I can't remember what those little orange spots of color were, but they were delicious and I finished them up in no time.

The chicken liver mousse was pretty good, but not as good as my Mom's.  I know... who even says that?  

These days, I make my Mom's recipe for chicken liver pate for my husband who is a big fan.  Maybe I will have to blog this some day, it really is delicious.

This is a terrible picture of the french onion soup, but it was delicious with cheesy goodness, and the classic sweet onion soup.  I need to make some of this again.  
I especially like these classic lion bowls.  I really need some.


Below, I had the beef that is slow roasted like a pot roast, then sliced and pan seared, served with a peppercorn sauce and homemade gnocchi and pureed carrots.  It was topped with frizzled, crispy fried kale, a very nice touch.


My hubby and brother in law both had the steak and frites.  The frites were some of the best I've had... ever... and served with homemade aioli.  Divine.

An old favorite, Pagliacci's.  
This place has been a favortie place in Victoria for over 40 years.
It's another restaurant that doesn't take reservations, so be prepared to wait.  Luckily, these tables turn quickly and we waited only a short while.
The bread alone is worth the trip.  I can't remember when I've eaten more bread at dinner.  Normally, I say NO to bread.  Not at this place.  They will keep bringing it and bringing it.
I keep eating it and eating it.

I wish I might have taken another picture besides the bread and the antipasto platter, but we were having such fun, we just didn't.  Whether you have a pasta, a steak or a salad entree, the place is consistent and well priced.  Worth a trip to check it out.  It's nothing fancy inside, a NY Italian-style one room dining room where people are loud, chatting and having fun.  Just the place for a casual night out in Victoria.

My advice, get outta town, get outta the county and take a little jaunt to Victoria for some fun.

 

 

After a dinner like that, you really do need to gt out and stretch your legs.  The inner harbor is all lit up with the lights from the parliament building.  A great weekend getaway in Victoria was had by all.

Where in the world have you been? 
Here's a couple other travel posts I've written over the past couple years.
Elephant Handler for the day in Chaing Mai, Thailand
Thai Cooking School Adventure
Meat Anyone?  A trip to Hamburg
Japan- Best Boxed Lunch EVER
Japan Adventure- Part 1
Japan Adventure- The Food- Part 2
Iceland- The Weekend Adventure
In n' Out Burger "Animal Style"
Singapore Flying Crab 
Singapore Fruit
Turkish Spice Market Delight
Jamaica's Blue Hole and Jerk Lunch