Marinated Manchego Cheese

Serve with cellar temperature Cuvee Jalama, Temperance, or Encantado Syrah.

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, very finely chopped
• 3 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 12 oz. Spanish Manchego, sliced 2 x1x ¼ inches
• 1 10 oz jar Fire Roaster red & yellow peppers, under oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 sourdough baguette

Mix oil, green onions, shallot, and cumin seeds in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Arrange cheese slices in a single layer in a baking dish. Drain and slice red peppers to fit once slice over each piece of cheese. Pour dressing over cheese, and refrigerate covered for at least 12 hours, and up to 24 hours.

Slice baguette into ½ inch rounds to fit under each piece of cheese, and place on piece of cheese and pepper onto each round. Place on serving platter, and pour remaining dressing over cheese. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature prior to serving.

Pasta e Fagioli con Salsiccia

Serve with cellar temperature Cuvee Jalama, Temperance, or Encantado Syrah.

• 1 ½ cups Great Northern beans
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 4 Cloves garlic, crushed with garlic press
• 1 28 oz can plum tomatoes, tomatoes crushed
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon fennel
• Dash of crushed red pepper
• Black pepper
• 6 ounces tubetti pasta
• 5 ounces spinach, washed and dried
• Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Sort beans and place in a large bowl with enough water to cover beans by 2-3 inches. Soak overnight, or until beans have doubled in size.

Heat a non-reactive 6-quart pot or Dutch oven, over medium high heat. Add sausage, and brown, breaking into pieces with a spoon until sausage is completely cooked through. Remove from pot and set aside. Drain fat.

Add olive oil to pot and heat to medium. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Add crushed garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomatoes with juice, beans, and broth. Add seasoning, fennel, crushed red pepper, and black pepper to taste.

Heat to boiling over high, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Add sausage and cook for at least another 10 minutes.

In a separate saucepot, cook pasta in unsalted water until al dente. Drain and add to beans, and remove beans from heat.

Just prior to serving, add spinach to beans and pasta. Fold bean mixture over spinach until it is wilted. Sprinkle with cheese and serve with additional cheese available on the table.

Grilled Steaks with Shallot-Thyme Butter

Serve with cellar temperature Salsipuedes Pinot Noir.

• ½ pound room temperature butter
• ¾ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, rinsed and dried
• 10 chives, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 4 rib-eye or New York strip steaks, 6-8 ounces each

Prepare gas or charcoal grill. The fire should be so hot you can hold your hands over it for only a few seconds.  Cream the butter with a fork, integrating all of remaining ingredients except the steak, using about ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Taste and add more of any ingredient you feel necessary.

Grill the steak for about 4 minutes per side for rare, and about a minute or two longer for medium-rare to medium. Season steak with salt and pepper as it cooks.

Drop about 1 tablespoon of the flavored butter onto each steak and serve.

Wrap and refrigerate or freeze the remaining butter for future use.

Wild Boar in Wine Sauce With Pappardelle

Serve with cellar temperature Cuvee Jalama, Temperance, or Encantado Syrah.

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 pounds wild boar sirloin, cut into 1" cubes
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 12 wild mushrooms, scrubbed and thinly sliced
• 24 basil leaves, sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 2 cups Syrah
• 2 cups brown veal stock or chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 cups chopped canned organic plum tomatoes
• 2 cups strained canned organic plum tomatoes
• 1 ½ pounds fresh pappardelle or tagliatelle
• ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Season the boar with salt and pepper. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat until it is smoking. Add the boar, brown the boar on all sides, turning often, for about 10 minutes. Add in the onions, mushrooms, basil, rosemary, and oregano. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the Syrah, stock, vinegar, and tomatoes. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and stirring occasionally, cook for 2 to 3 hours, or until the boar is tender and the sauce is thick.

When the boar sauce is ready, bring 8 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pappardelle and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water; return to the pot. Fold in the boar sauce, and half of the pecorino, and toss until the pappardelle are evenly coated. You may need to add a little of the reserved cooking water to dilute the sauce.  Transfer to a warm serving bowl, sprinkle the remaining Pecorino and the parsley and serve hot.

Serves 8.