It was a dark, stormy night...

By: Teri

Last night was gloomy and doomy, promising rain (which I'm watching right now as I write this, from my window...), and I was craving some comfort food. I thought the perfect accompaniment to our meal on such an overcast, chilly evening would be one of my favorites of the British pub fare - yorkshire pudding! My family in New Zealand made this frequently with roast dinners. Traditionally it is cooked in the fat of whatever meat you are serving; in most cases, roast beef. Naturally I, being stubborn and completely unwilling to deprive myself of any yummy carbs, wanted to create a vegetarian friendly version. The thing about yorkshire pudding, though, is that its rather bland on its own. Not only is it usually cooked in beef fat, but its also drenched in gravy. Gravy I can do. But I wanted to add a little oomph to the usual recipe to lift some of the blandness.

I happened to have sour cream and chives laying around, leftovers from the weekend's chili, and I thought, why not? I've substituted the sour cream for milk in this recipe - it added a little extra fluffiness as well as flavor. I also added one tiny red chile pepper from our own garden, along with the chives. You don't have to do that unless you're feeling particularly brave. I was!

Yorkshire Puddings with Sour Cream and Chives

1 cup sour cream (full fat)
1 cup flour, packed
3 medium sized eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 large stalk chopped chives, down to the whites
1 small red chile pepper, seeded and chopped finely
vegetable oil

Mix flour and salt, then add sour cream and eggs, blend well. Mixture will be a wet dough. Once blended, don't over-stir, as stirring too much will toughen the puddings. Add chives and chile pepper, stir lightly to incorporate. Add a small amount of vegetable oil to each cup of a muffin tin; just enough to cover the bottom. Spoon batter into the muffin cups. As it hits the cup, the vegetable oil should rise a bit and almost cover the dough. If this doesn't happen, add a bit more oil to ensure there is enough to cook the puddings. Bake for 20-25 minutes on 350 degrees, or until lightly browned on top.

I served these with a mild mushroom gravy (I'll save that recipe for another time), three-pepper dirty rice, and corn on the cob. The carnivore hubs had a steak and declared that the yorkshire puddings went perfectly with his meal. So I suppose if you insist on a slab of beef, this recipe could be adapted to meat-friendly once more. Just don't tell me about it!

These yorkshire puddings are easily suited to your own taste - you could substitute dill and cheddar, or even ricotta for the sour cream and a dash of cinnamon, and serve 'em for breakfast. The sky is the limit. I figure if you're going to be untraditional and make a standard staple your own, do it with gusto! Cooking is nothing if not an ongoing experiment!

As for a tasty beverage to serve with this meal - leave it to me to break with tradition on the second post and have a beer instead of a glass of wine! C'mon, its pub food! British food goes so well with a nice cold one, and these yorkshire puddings are no exception. I happened to have one of my favorite beers in the fridge and it worked perfectly.

Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde is a light, pale ale with a hint of juicy strawberry. The berry flavor isn't overpowering; just a crisp, subtle berry flavor that went perfect with our meal. It offset the spiciness of the dirty rice and the savory depth and heaviness of the yorkshire puddings and gravy. Nom...

A little cheese with that wine, eh?

By: Dayna

I wanted to start the first post off on the lighter side. Something easy and simple.




On my and my husband's conquest to find the perfect dessert sipping wine we took a day trip to Habersham Winery in Helen, GA. This is one of the many quaint little wineries that sprinkle the North Georgia foothills. After tasting 4 different sweeties, including a Riesling, and three from their “Summer Harvest” line, ( i.e. sweet and cheap at $11 each!), we decided on the White Muscadine.




Muscadine is a variety of grapevine that orginates in the South. These little juicy treasures thrive in high heat so the south is where it at, yo.




Habersham Winery Muscadine is a translucent, golden color. At first sniff, your nose is enveloped in the sweet, smooth aroma of muscadine. Sweet is an understatement, actually...I'd like to bathe in this shit. Mmm hmm. Subtle notes of crisp fruitiness make this wine yum yum yum. It seriously tastes like you picked a muscadine off the vine. The finish was smooth and semi-dry and wonderful and I will drink again and again and again.

http://habershamwinery.com/main.html




Because this wine is so sweet and light, you want to pair it with something mild and creamy. A semi soft mild cheese works perfectly. Here I prepared an Herb Cheese that is simple and quick, and dern good.








Homemade Herb Cheese

1 gallon whole Milk
1 pint Half and Half
1 cup of white vinegar
¼ cup fresh chopped basil leaves
¼ cup fresh chopped Thyme
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes without oil
1 tablespoon Sea Salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
Olive oil to brush on before serving




Line a colander with cheesecloth or a flour sack towel and set in sink. Put milk and half and half in large pot over medium heat to a low boil. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. I've used lime juice, lemon juice, and vinegar for this. Vinegar is the best if you do not desire a limey or lemony taste in the cheese. Stir until the milk separates in curds. Transfer mixture in cheese/towel and let it strain. When cooled enough to touch squeeze excess liquid out with hands. The more liquid you get out the better it will set. Once you have removed liquid open up the cloth and add basil, thyme, salt, and pepper Feel free to substitute dried herbs for the fresh ones. The flavor with be milder, so you may need to use more. Make sure that you mix these ingredients up well. Your hands work well for this. Next, transfer the cheese to a container that will work as a mold. I have a medium sized plastic container that works great for this. If you'd like, use a few small containers to make several servings. Press cheese into your container and close with a lid. If you notice liquid coming out as you are pressing into mold then you haven't released enough whey from your cheese. After molding the cheese pop in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours at minimum. When you are ready to serve, garnish with a little sprig of extra basil and brush with a nice light coat of olive oil and you are set.







We enjoyed this cheese with the Muscadine wine while watching the movie "Vacancy"...Holy shizzz, the wine was a perfect match with the light, creamy mildness of the cheese. It complimented the wine, while not overpowering it.

...And the movie was disturbing..yipes.

Welcome All!

Welcome to the Vinotarian! We are Teri Drake-Floyd and Dayna Evans, two 20something chicks from North Georgia who love food, wine, and all things decadent! We created this blog in the hopes of sharing some of our favorite recipes, most with a vegetarian or vegan spin, as well as sharing with you the findings of our quest for the perfect wine pairings at an affordable price. Our mission is to create gourmet-style meals with the perfect glass of vino – without going bankrupt in the process. You won't find any 'wine snobs' here. We'll also from time to time share some health and beauty tips as we see fit. Its all about living the good life, however you can find it...

A little about us:

Teri:

I'm 28 years old and work from home as a freelance writer and independent contractor. I am married to the incomparable 'Bflo', who is a talented musician and artist, and we have one child – two-month old Callum. I have been a vegetarian for 8 years. The Simpsons are to thank for my vegetarianism - the episode where Homer bites into the pig in the top hat, and he says, “I’m delicious!” took me off meat forever. I love to experiment with vegetarian cooking and bring meat-eaters over to 'the dark side'. My favorite cuisines are Mexican, Indian and Italian (of which I claim ¼ heritage!). I also enjoy a good glass of white wine, with my favorite being Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc, though I'm on a constant quest to find a red that I like enough to drink regularly. I studied and worked in New Zealand for three years, from 2002 to late 2005, and I was heavily influenced by the cuisine as well as the amazing wines! My other loves in life include travel, reading, writing, genealogy (I am my family's genealogist!), photography, and old school video games. I am a fairly kooky person; extremely liberal and always willing to engage in debates and discussions!

Dayna:

I am 27 years old and spend my days doing hair and nights basking in the glow of wine-thirty. Hip hip!

I am married to Benjo, master of all things game. This includes air soft, video games, and even a lil ping pong. We have one daughter, Bella, who is almost 5. I've been an on again, off again vegetarian since I was 13. In the last year I have experimented with moderation in all things. So, some nights we'll eat Blackened Tofu, the next night Chicken Tikka Masala. It makes the hubs happy. My favorite cuisines are Indian, Creole/Cajun, and French. I grew up in Florida and have never been able to successfully be vegan for my love of seafood! Dern you, shrimp. I'm super versatile in my wine selections whether it be a full bodied red, a light, smooth white, or anything in between. My absolute favorite if I had to choose would be Columbia Winery Riesling. Melts in your mouth! Like Teri, I also adore genealogy. I've found that I'm way too Irish for my own good. I also enjoy writing, reading, cooking, and crafts like crochet, knitting, and quilting. I am on a conquest for the perfect wine hangover cure, so stay tuned- Your head might love me someday.

We hope you'll join us as we try out new recipes (and surely have some disasters along the way), visit Georgia vineyards and local shops and stores in our quest for the best bottle of vino, and everything in between!

Heart,

Teri and Dayna