Strawberry Habanero Preserves

[indyfrisco]

When I was in Napa, I met a couple at the happy hour at the Embassy Suites. The wife had already passed out so I was just sitting in the happy hour atrium by myself. This couple asked to join me. Anyhow, we got to talking about ourselves and somehow I mentioned my BBQ sauce. He was extremely interested in getting some so I gave him my card.

He emailed me saying he would like one jar of each, Mild, Medium and Hot. He also said he would send me his staple, Strawberry Habanero Preserves. Got them in the mail the other day. First thing I did was pull out some whole grain wheat thins and cream cheese. Spread a little cheese on the cracker, dipped it in the preseves (very runny but held to cracker and cream cheese) and ate it. At first, I really tasted the strawberries. Then, after about 5 seconds, the habanero kicked in. WOW this was good shit. I like spicy and this was right up my alley. It reminded me so much of my BBQ sauce because the effect is about the same...taste the sweetness and then the kick.

I wish it was strawberry season so I could score some strawberries cheap. I can't wait though. I plan on ripping off this guy's idea...for fun at first. I am going to make some of my own and can it. This shit is so good, I put it on some pork tenderloin I grilled the other day. Awesome. I will also make some Cranberry Habanero Preserves for thanksgiving fried turkey. I've never really gotten into the preserves thing, but with all my equipment for BBQ sauce, I figure I might as well.

Brent's BBQ Sauce will be one of many Brent's Specialty Sauces...someday.

[Dinsdale]

When I was in Napa

Did you go all the way up the highway (29?) to St Helena or Calistoga? Some pretty freaking scenic shit to be had around those parts...and I'm quite the "scenery snob."

[indyfrisco]

Yes. Beautiful country it is. I pulled over a few times just to "gaze" upon the fields and fields of grapes. I'm definitely a wine lover, and it was like being at the playboy mansion, single with a 4 hour erection, Viagra not needed. I would love to go back someday, but the Mrs. wasn't as entrenched as I. We would probably go back with some frineds though who have not been. I would have liked another day or so in the wine country.

Bring yer fucking pocketbook though...worth every penny.

[indyfrisco]

Actually, there were just fields and fields of pruned vines as we went in February. I would love to go in season.

[Dinsdale]

fields and fields of grapes

Out West, we call those "vinyards."


My buddy used to live in St Helena, in an old, old winery. Now, he lives in a double-wide* near Hillsboro, at an old, old farm, which is now a vinyard/winery, where I'll be heading very shortly, since I need to go pick up my salmon fishing goodies...and probably pilfer some wine while I'm at it. Nice having my old bud back around, but the visits to Napa and Sonoma were pretty cool, too.



* -- Ahhh, the glamorous life of a winemaker. Probably not quite what the corksniffers think it is.

[indyfrisco]

I won't get into the wine making and beer making debate with you. I've dabbled in both myself. I have made some really good beer and some high alcohol/bad tasting wine...err...mead. I will say my wine making abilities are the suck unless the only intent in drinking it is getting drunk. As a wine lover, that's not my goal.

And Dins, if you can make ANYTHING remotely close to Rubicon, grasshopper is ready to learn. That was $140/bottle and the best tasting stuff I have ever had. My best beers have been IPAs, and I would say they are similar to Sierra Nevada's. I've made stouts that were good, but I don't like to use a steak knife, serrated or not, to drink my beer.

[Dinsdale]

And Dins, if you can make ANYTHING remotely close to Rubicon, grasshopper is ready to learn.

No prob...


First, buy up a bunch of top-notch Napa cab (although with the whole climate change thingy, there's often deece cab grapes to be had in the U&L...got drunk on some as-yet unreleased cab last weekend).

Then, get yourself a few thousand bucks worth of stemmer/crusher.


Then, get yourself a few thousand bucks worth of lab equipment.

Then, get yourself a few thousand bucks worth of fermenting tanks.


French Oak barrels....yeah, probably a few Grrrrr.....top-notch barrels are $800 a whack.


Once you're in it this deep, I'd HIGHLY recommend getting someone with an enology degree as a consultant. Definitely want to stay on top of it, and make the adjustments when necessary.


Then, you just need a few years, and some really expensive pumps and filters to do your racking.


And a climate-controlled place to store your barrels for a few years...usually easiest to dig one into a hillside(might be tough in Indiana).





That's a start. Still game?



BTW-if you don't know what you're doing, there's a chance you can get really sick from homemade wine.

[Ken]

Out West, we call those "vinyards."

... and then the rest of the country calls 'em "vineyards".

[Dinsdale]

Ouch...guilty.


I'm sticking with the "typo-defense," though.

[Ken]

I'm sticking with the "typo-defense," though.

Okay, gotcha.
Sucks when the same exact typo occurs in the same exact post twice. I hate when that happens.

[ppanther]

fields and fields of grapes

Out West, we call those "vinyards."


My buddy used to live in St Helena, in an old, old winery. Now, he lives in a double-wide* near Hillsboro, at an old, old farm, which is now a vinyard/winery, where I'll be heading very shortly, since I need to go pick up my salmon fishing goodies...and probably pilfer some wine while I'm at it. Nice having my old bud back around, but the visits to Napa and Sonoma were pretty cool, too.



* -- Ahhh, the glamorous life of a winemaker. Probably not quite what the corksniffers think it is.

I went to a winemakers party at Rex Hill Vineyards once... it was FANTASTIC. Winemakers sure do like themselves a lot, though. Esp. the one my mom works for.

[Ken]

I went to a winemakers party at Rex Hill Vineyards once.

Lots of modest people there, I'm sure.

[Dinsdale]

I went to a winemakers party at Rex Hill Vineyards once... it was FANTASTIC. Winemakers sure do like themselves a lot, though. Esp. the one my mom works for.

Rex Hill isn't too far from me, at all...but you knew that.


Funny thing is...just my observation from being around the wine business more than most, but still being a neutral observer....


The arrogant ones are always the ones that don't know shit. Seems to be a universal rule.


The couple I know that consistantly outclass their competition, are flannel-wearing, cheap-beer swilling, gunrack-in-the-truck white-trashers. Who probably would never be caught dead at one of those "winemaker parties." I know my buddy (who is the one and only winemaker at his establishment...no one else is allowed to even touch anything before it's bottled, and that includes the owner...part of my bud's agreement) not only doesn't attend such things, he freaking leaves the property(he lives there) when those functions go on, as a general rule(unless he thinks there might be some chicks there to give the "private tour" to, of course).


But as a general rule, the more hoity-toity the winemaker and staff are, the shittier the wine is.


And if the Rex Hill dude is that enamored with himself and his abilities...dude needs a reality check. I'm pretty sure my bud knows that guy, and doesn't think too much of him, if it's the guy I'm thinking of.


The pricks definitely outnumber the cool people in that industry.

[indyfrisco]

BTW-if you don't know what you're doing, there's a chance you can get really sick from homemade wine.

Stomach flu sick or just the regular kind of sick?

[indyfrisco]

The arrogant ones are always the ones that don't know shit. Seems to be a universal rule.

Who was it that was looking for a self-deprecating remark again?

[ppanther]

Honestly, the party was outstanding, and all the winemakers WERE there. It wasn't "for" Rex Hill Vineyards, it was merely hosted by them. All (or most) of the winemakers in the Willamette Valley were there, and all of them brought out their reserves (so as to properly impress each other) and opened bottle after bottle and put them out on one huge table. We were simply to approach the table with our glass and pour whatever we wanted to try... when a bottle ran out, it was quickly replaced with more.

I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would complain about a party like that. I don't care if it's 'hoity toity', I drank some fantastic wine that night. It was FUN.

I don't recall Rex Hill being one of my favorites, though.

[Dinsdale]

BTW -- I worked on the building of a new winery in Amity a couple years ago or so. Can't remember the name of it...it's the vacuum truck dude's place...about a block west of the highway. In a building that had a fire-restoration done.


Yup, I'm famous with the Amity wine industry, as well. My epicosity knows no bounds.

[ppanther]

BTW -- I worked on the building of a new winery in Amity a couple years ago or so. Can't remember the name of it...it's the vacuum truck dude's place...about a block west of the highway. In a building that had a fire-restoration done.


Yup, I'm famous with the Amity wine industry, as well. My epicosity knows no bounds.

:D

How famous are you with Amity Vineyards??

And seriously, the best thing about knowing someone important up there is the Oregon Wine Tasting room and my ability to taste any amount of any wine I want for free.

When I was up there with my future husband the first time, my mom took us there and we got properly hammered by merely tasting. The proprieter kept pouring us more every time we ran out, telling us why this was different from the last, all kinds of fun stuff. A guy who was in there paying for his tastings said "how do I get that kind of treatment?" and I pointed to my mom and said "that has to be your mom." And then he said, to my mom, "would you like to adopt me?"

Maybe it was the amount of wine we'd already drank, but at the time it was HILARIOUS.

We'll be up there in one month-btw

[indyfrisco]

I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would complain about a party like that. I don't care if it's 'hoity toity', I drank some fantastic wine that night. It was FUN.

Ditto. We were paying $15-$50 apiece for wine tastings at Napa and that usually included only one small tasting of the reserves. I woulda enjoyed that party much, hoity toity and all.

[Dinsdale]

All (or most) of the winemakers in the Willamette Valley were there

Oh, I can just about guaranfreakingtee that not all of them were there. If I had read this about 5 minutes earlier, I could tell you for sure, since I just got off the phone with one of them.


But since you didn't report of any large drunk guys getting their fill of attitude, and beating up the mouthy ones, I'm pretty sure at least one of them wasn't in attendance. I'm also guessing another one of them (who has sold more of his wine than most of those guys put together...big place) was probably too busy drinking Hamm's and avoiding "those people." In February, the last place those guys want to be is in a winery, since February is a good "nothing much to do around here" month. Unless someone really wanted to be seen...which is kinda ghey.

I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would complain about a party like that.

Regardless of company, I rarely complain about free booze.


I'm guessing Rex Hill had something up their sleeve, rather than just being "nice." They're part of an effort to make something of a conglomorate, and are in the early stages of trying to push out the little guy. They also buy up the cheap shit, and sell it under a single brand, A To Z. Rex Hill was pretty key to their effort, since if you drive from Civilization to the Northern Wine Country, it's the first place you come to heading south. By having a tasting room on 99W closer to the population center than anyone else, they essentaiily can intercept their competition's customers, and get them to part with cash for their cheap shit, before people are exposed to the better outfits in Dundee and points south....but I believe A To Z plans on offering up competitor's wines...for a price. Rex Hill/A To Z is kind of playing dirty-pool, in that regard. I wouldn't be suprised if this was soon countered by increased advertising/promotion from the Washington County wineries, in an effort to get Portland residents and the tourists to head west instead of south for winetasting tours. We'll see.

[ppanther]

Well one thing I can say about Rex Hill is that their grounds are pretty sweet. I've been to a lot of vineyards and few are nicer for picnics (or in this case, parties).

I should not have said ALL the winemakers were there -- a LOT of them were. And it wasn't in February... it was several years ago and if I remember right, it was in September. There was some REALLY good wine on that table, I don't think they pulled out anything that retails for under $40-50 and I'm sure it went up from there. They might have had cheaper stuff out but I wouldn't know because I made it a point to try the good stuff.

And you'll be happy to know that I have never purchased anything from Rex Hill and that the party was the only time I've even been into their tasting room. There are much better options much closer to my family, as you know.

The only wine I *had to* buy after that party was Panther Creek, and I don't think it had anything to do with how it tasted. But it was pretty good anyway.

Oh man now I am TOTALLY in the mood for a trip to the Oregon Wine Tasting Room! Can't wait!

[Dinsdale]

How famous are you with Amity Vineyards??

I think I know one of their employee's offspring. I'm epic like that.

And seriously, the best thing about knowing someone important up there is the Oregon Wine Tasting room and my ability to taste any amount of any wine I want for free.

Oh...you mean people pay to do that?

Ponderous.

When I was up there with my future husband the first time, my mom took us there and we got properly hammered by merely tasting. The proprieter kept pouring us more every time we ran out, telling us why this was different from the last, all kinds of fun stuff.

Cool, but you're not reeeealllly cool unless you're slurping it straight out of the barrel with a theif(for the rest of you, it's an eyedropper-like thingy to get wine samples out of barrels).


That's what was kind of cool about my friend's previous employer, Mt Baker VinEyards in NW Washington(if there was a cool thing about that employer), is all of their grapes were pretty much "imported" from Eastern Washington, and they grow a buhzillion varietals there, so when it came time to barrel-taste, they was quite the selection. Unlike here, where it's "hope you like Pinot," and we debate which vintage is better(you can keep the rest of the crap we grow around here...although my bud also has his own private label, and does cab and syrah from Eastern Oregon).

A guy who was in there paying for his tastings said "how do I get that kind of treatment?"

Nothing like walking into a winery looking like a complete slob, with a guy who's an even bigger slob, and getting preferential treatment. Hoity-toity BODE, if you will.



BTW -- Second-coolest wine label ever...






My friend worked there, too, wayyyyyy back when. Damn, we used to drink that Niagara like it was going out of style...horrrrrrrible wine, but young chicks always dug it, and it was free. I think it still sells for $5 a bottle or something, and they can sell it as fast as they can plop it in a bottle...ponderous.

[Mikey]

We're right in the middle of strawberry season here. You can go to any roadside stand and get a 3 basket box of berries that were picked within the hour for prolly $6 - $8, for the reddest, fattest, sweetest berries you'll ever taste.

I'll probably pick up 2 boxes on Saturday or Sunday to make strawberry shortcake for Easter.
A couple of "secrets" for strawberry shortcake:

Get a few blood oranges (some here prefer to call them "red" oranges). Grate the zest off of some of the oranges and squeeze the juice in with the strawberries. Add a little of the zest to the berries, and sweeten with honey before chilling. Make shortcakes using recipe from Bisquick box, and add more of the orange zest to the shortcakes before baking. Another thing to try is adding a little balsamic vinegar to the berries...it adds a nice sweet bite to them.

Garnish with thin wheels cut from the blood oranges.

[ppanther]

We're right in the middle of strawberry season here. You can go to any roadside stand and get a 3 basket box of berries that were picked within the hour for prolly $6 - $8, for the reddest, fattest, sweetest berries you'll ever taste.

I'll probably pick up 2 or 3 boxes on Saturday or Sunday to make strawberry shortcake for Easter Sunday.
A couple of "secrets" for strawberry shortcake:

Get a few blood oranges (some here prefer to call them "red" oranges). Grate the zest off of some of the oranges and squeeze the juice in with the strawberries. Add a little of the zest to the berries, and sweeten with honey before chilling. Make shortcakes using recipe from Bisquick box, and add more of the orange zest to the shortcakes. Another thing to try is add a little balsamic vinegar to the berries...it adds a nice sweet bite to them.

Garnish with thin wheels cut from the blood oranges.

FANTASTIC. Our Easter dinner is also going to end with strawberry shortcake. I probably won't use the bisquick mix, mostly because I have a GREAT shortcake recipe -- but the orange zest will be great on the berries. I also love BV on berries, but I'm not sure I'd want that with my shortcake. I can't seem to imagine all those tastes working just right. But the orange? Yeah, that'd do. Does it have to be a blood orange? Is it just for the color matching qualities? :)

[Mikey]

Doesn't have to be blood oranges. I used navel the first time I tried it. The blood oranges just make a really nice garnish because of the color and size (they're not too big). Personally, I don't use the BV but I tried it once and it was pretty good.

Would you be willing to share your shortcake recipe? I've just always used the Bisquick recipe because it's at least 1,000,000 times better than anything you can pick up in the store. The zest in the shortcake makes a huge difference...very fragrant and mixes well with the berries. It's especially appropriate here because all the citrus trees are now in bloom.

[ppanther]

Doesn't have to be blood oranges. I used navel the first time I tried it. The blood oranges just make a really nice garnish because of the color and size (they're not too big).

It's just cool enough for Easter dinner, too. I'll be using blood oranges.

What, about 1 tbsp zest for a recipe that makes 6 shortcakes? I love the honey idea, too. I usually just use sugar, but much prefer honey.

[Mikey]

Actually I usually use about 1/2 honey and 1/2 sugar for sweetening. The honey adds a nice flavor. I think a little more than a tbs for six, maybe two heaping ones. It's not realy critical, just add it in last and go by what you think looks good.

[indyfrisco]

Round here, strawberry season is in June. I'll be able to get strawberries from local fars for like 1$1 per pound. We have "pick yer own" farms. I will load up then. For now, I will buy some from my shit grocery mart and can them as a test.

[indyfrisco]

Oh, and I just want to take one more jab for good measure....all this Rex Hill talk? Sounds very foo-foo to me. Maybe that's just the country grocery store in me talking...who knows.

[Dinsdale]

The cork-sniffing winery crowd is about as foofoo as it gets. Pinkies waving around like there's no tomorrow.

As a heaten, I just like hanging out in the winery itself, as opposed to the tasting room. Hate the "social scene," but I enjoy messing around in the vineyard, and playing with the cool toys in the winery. Pretty fscinating process, winemaking. The retail process is another story.

[ppanther]

I love tasting rooms. I'll have to make a point of waving my pinky next time in case the unsocialized heathens are watching.

I get the cynicism and all, it happens in a lot of industries... but the winemakers should maybe not spend their time resenting the behavior of the crowd that pays their bills. Just sayin'.

[Dinsdale]

Oh, I don't think it's a case of bitin g the hand that feeds them. I'll speak for one of them, since it's a very old buddy who tends to babble a lot as he quaffs.

I think the customers are generally loved. It's the holier-than-thou contingent who think their poo don't smell that's annoying, and aren't an uncommon occurance. They usually want to make it clear that they know more about the wine than the guy who made it, and use tech terms that don't apply, or are applied wrong...that sort of thing. And it seems like there's a segment of the winery owners/winemakers that get sucked into the suck, and become awfully snobby. Certainly not a rule or anything, but visit enough tasting rooms, and you'll find that crowd probably sooner, not later.


S'all I'm sayin. Sometime people with money think it qualifies them as an expert or something.

[ppanther]

Oh yes. I am actually right there with you on that!! I don't think I know everything about wine (in fact I have admitted that there are times when if given a blind taste test, I could tell you if the dry red was good... but no way could I identify the varietal... and I was told by an actual person who knows stuff for reals that most people can't, in fact probably NO ONE can without fail). I can ALWAYS tell when someone is one of those people you're talking about. Wine "experts". Bleh.

I hang out with people who just really like the wine.

[Atomic Punk]

I'm sticking with the "typo-defense," though.

Okay, gotcha.
Sucks when the same exact typo occurs in the same exact post twice. I hate when that happens.

Beat me to it. It happens.