Camacho Watcho

While I like to have a good time, I have to admit that bachelorette parties get a little much for me nowadays. So when I got the invite for a friend’s bachelorette party at Spill the Wine for a five-course dinner with wine pairings, I was ecstatic! Food, wine, friends…perfect!

The group of fifteen of us gathered there a few Saturdays ago, seated on the wine bar side as the restaurant was full with a wedding reception. *What a great idea for a wedding reception location!* Individual menus printed with both the courses and the wines sat waiting for us, which of course I loved!

The first course was a salad with radishes and a mango vinaigrette paired with a Radcliffe sauvignon blanc. The salad was good, perhaps a little too much vinaigrette on mine, but it paired well with the light sauvignon blanc. *You may notice the hefty wine pours from the previous picture…I wasn’t complaining!

The next course was a beautiful piece of salmon (a generous portion in my opinion) with warm peaches and balsamic vinegar. I loved the salmon, but wasn’t crazy about the Valley of the Moon chardonnay it was paired with – it had absolutely no flavor.

The third course was my favorite. Perhaps this was because it was comfort food and I had had two glasses of wine by this time, but I loved the wild mushroom croquette with cream sauce. The table was buzzing about how good this dish was, which I equated to a scoop of hot dish with a lightly crisp exterior. Yum! And the wine – Luzon monastrell/syrah was a very nice pairing.

Unfortunately the next course, grilled beef tenderloin kabobs with red onion and peppers, was a flop. Overcooked, dry and absolutely no seasoning sums up this course. The Root 1 cabernet sauvignon was good, but not good enough to save the dish.

Last, but definitely not least, we were served dessert. Vanilla bean ice cream with a triple berry coulis (the menu only listed raspberry so the additional berries were a yummy bonus)! Paired with a sweet dessert wine, I was in heaven. There is something so simple and tasty about ice cream and berries.

I’ve always really liked Spill the Wine. They have a nice wine menu and good wine specials – $15 bottles of wine during happy hour and 1/2 priced bottles on Mondays. The food is good – the salads are consistently great.

And our wine dinner?

Overall it was good. It had its highs and it had its lows. However, for the bargain price of $35 for five-courses plus wine, I thought it was a great deal and a fantastic idea for a bachelorette party.

Although the weather had turned a little chilly last Saturday, we kept our plans and headed to Hastings, MN to the Alexis Bailly Vineyard. We were there for their Fall Open House in celebration of their fall harvest of their Nouveau Foch wine. We arrived mid-afternoon and were surprised to see rows and rows of cars parked all along the border of the vineyards. We found a spot a good distance away and set out in anticipation of what was to come. The main building is an open barn-like structure with high ceilings and wooden rafters. With beautiful wooden wine barrels throughout, it truly has a rustic feel. The room was packed, but the mood was light and festive and the line to the tasting bar moved quickly.



For a $10 tasting fee we received etched Alexis Bailly tasting glasses and had free reign to taste any and all of their ten wines ranging from light whites to rich reds to sweet dessert wines. They also had strategically placed platters of delicious cheeses throughout the room for nibbling. As for the wines, we did enjoy the Nouveau Foch and Isis, their Ice Wine. The other wines weren’t particularly special to us, although it did seem as though others were enjoying them. As for the cheeses, they were fantastic!


After our tasting, we moved outside where they have a beautiful outdoor patio and lawn with art structures throughout that is perfect for picnicking and playing bocce ball on their courts. They are ready for any type of picnic you desire with their large Harvest Table, plenty of large rocks for sitting and an expansive lawn to spread a blanket. We hadn’t thought ahead like other couples we saw lounging and eating, but we quickly added this picnic spot to our list of summer activities next year. It would be beautiful on a warm summer night. But if you can’t wait that long, they do have winter hours and a yummy sounding event coming up – The Annual Wine and Chocolate Tasting – on November 22nd. Wine and chocolate…sounds perfect!

Alexis Bailly Vineyard
18200 Kirby Avenue
Hastings, MN
651.437.1413

It’s no secret that I absolutely loved the three months I spent in Uruguay! I shared many a story last year on my blog about it and I continue to long for the good times and good food that I had there. Therefore, when I heard that Anthony Bourdain had travelled there this past February and No Reservations would be airing the show in late July, I was excited! I DVR’d the show and sought out some friends for an Uruguay party!

The scene was set to happen at my house this past Sunday with our friends Ed and Carly. They had joined Kyle and me for the last ten days of our trip and had travelled in Uruguay and Argentina with us. We were prepared to eat and drink like Uruguyans and to enjoy the show! In true Uruguayan fashion, we started out the night with some beverages and appetizers. The wine was a Sauvignon Blanc from Pulenta Estates in Mendoza, Argentina. We had drank that wine in Mendoza as we stood under a trelise in the dappled sunlight, looking out at the Andes Mountains in the distance. Ahhh…that was the life. Our appetizers were twofold, a chorizo wrapped date wrapped in bacon and the typical melted provolone with oregano. Sweet and salty – I love that combination! If you’re wondering, the provolone platter was a purchase in Uruguay; you see these everywhere there!

We then started the show and began our asado (the Uruguayan terminology for grilled meat fest…my translation). A few tears came to my eyes as I watched Anthony drive around La Plaza Independencia, where I ate lunch every day when I was there. And we were overall happy with his choices for locations – Punta del Este, Jose Ignacio, Cabo Polonio, Montevideo (of course). I longed to be there with him. I was a little disappointed, however, that he kept hooking up with non-Uruguayans to get his tours and information. He made a comment at one point that he had not met any true Uruguayans…uh, try talking to some of the locals. I promise, they are very friendly and many speak English. The best part of it all was he and his brother eating at el mercado del puerto…at the same parilla where Carly, Ed and I had eaten just eight months prior! The show ended and our food fest began.

A quick overview of the food we grilled and how we prepared it. A true asado is not really a grill like we know it. I wrote about it last year when I was invited to an asado by an Uruguayan, so if you’re interested in the grill and technique, I’ve linked to it here. In true Uruguayan fashion, however, we did keep the preparations simple. Just sliced some veggies (peppers, onions, sweet potato) and threw them on the grill (parilla) along with corn on the cob, a large steak and some sausages. Although we were missing the typical blood sausage and sweet breads, we were pretty proud of how our asado turned out.

We broke open the second bottle of wine, a cabernet sauvignon from Finca Familia Cassone and again we were taken back to our wine tour in Mendoza. We had wondered if the wine would taste as good as it did that day in the sun, and we were not disappointed. Wow. For dinner, we served up our food family style, with a big platter of veggies, a platter of meat and, of course, a side of chimichurri. I am in love with this chimichurri (I’ve included a link to the recipe here). The food was simple and delicious.

The only non-South American part of the evening, besides the fact that the party ended at 10pm instead of the usual 4am that would happen there, was the dessert. I had previously bought some key limes that I didn’t want to go to waste. So, although this is not typical to Uruguay, we ate homemade key lime pie for dessert. And I have to admit that it was good!

A trip down memory lane on a wonderful Sunday night. Both Kyle and I said that we can’t wait to go back to Uruguay. Punta del Este…here we come! Well, maybe not now…but soon.

I know, I know, I know…The A to Z Produce Pizza Farm has been written about a lot lately. But I had plans to go there to see what all the fuss was about and I am glad that I did. So in the spirit of sharing experiences, I decided to go ahead and write about it from my point of view.

Last night we headed to in Stockholm, WI for some pizza made at the home of A to Z Produce. We had heard about this originally from S4xton, who went to the farm a few months ago and then returned again recently. This is a working farm that opens to the public for brick oven pizza production on Tuesdays. Since it is located an hour and a half outside of Minneapolis we needed to plan ahead. We picked a random Tuesday a month or so out and set a date. We were a little disappointed by the rain that fell on the morning of our outing, but then decided to continue with our plans anyway. Our thought was that perhaps the rain would keep away a lot of the crowd. In hindsight, this did not happen and I’m glad for it. The crowd is simply fantastic; but I will get to that later.

We left Minneapolis around 3:30pm loaded down with picnic baskets of wine, blankets, plates, cups, napkins, forks, etc. (you have to bring everything in and you take it out with you as well). A quick drive on 94 into Wisconsin and then several miles winding through Wisconsin farmland and we were there. We arrived a little after 5:00pm and, thankfully, beat most of the crowd. Staring up at the menu board and knowing that most of the ingredients were raised or produced on the very farm upon which we were standing was a great feeling. We chose two pizzas – one with sausage (happy pigs!), Kalamata and green olives, tomatoes, red onion and fresh mozzarella and the other with Kalamata olives, tomato, garlic, basil and Bulgarian feta. They told us it would be 15-20 minutes, but to come back 5 minutes early.

We took the time to wander the farm and to set up our picnic area. Actually, I wandered the farm while I let my friends set up the picnic. Around the farm are several buildings, including a small barn that is empty but for a picnic table in the middle. I could just imagine having a soiree there on a cool fall evening with a big group of friends…that sounds pretty good, actually. There was also abandoned farm equipment and wagon and a shelter with cows and chickens.

I also took some time to watch the pizza magic happen. The basic production was for the order to be taken outside and run into the kitchen where the pizza would be prepped. It was brought out to one of two brick ovens, where it was fired for a few minutes, turned and fired again. When it was ready, one of the workers would go out and yell the person’s name, who would then rush over to pay and retrieve their pizza. They have this down to a science, including the part where they ask the person if they want to take a picture of their pizza before they slice it. Very nice touch!

Returning back to the main lawn, I found our picnic area set and my friends working through a bottle of rosé. I plopped down, poured some wine and continued snapping some photos of my friends, other tables and the cats that were wandering around the area. It was all so perfect and, oh, so relaxing. We watched as more and more cars arrived and people unloaded their picnic supplies to set up. There were definitely newcomers like us to arrive with a couple of chairs and a blanket. Then there were those who could make a living of pizza farm picnicking. These were the groups with tables, tablecloths, small picnic tables for their kids…the works. My favorite was a group of ten ladies with a table, chairs, chandelabras, and large floral arrangements. When I went over to ask if I could take their picture, they agreed and told me that they were celebrating a couple birthdays (one was the cute lady in the front with the white hat). I hope when I’m older that my girlfriends and I can come back and celebrate life like these ladies were.

After a few minutes, Carly and I decided to go up to the ovens to wait for our pizzas (we are both very punctual and really didn’t want to make them shout our name above the noise). We arrived with a few minutes to spare and were rewarded with the opportunity to see our pizzas come fresh out of the oven and into our pizza boxes. Wow.

Back at the picnic blanket, we dug into our treasures. Overall this pizza was good…how could it not be when the ingredients are the freshest around and it was made not even 2 minutes ago? A surprise to us was the wheat crust, which was tasty but not consistently cooked (a little overdone on the edges and a little soft in the middle from the tomatoes). The toppings, however, were fantastic. Salty olives, crumbly feta, and sausage that was sweet and flavorful…delicious! It didn’t take long for us devour almost all of the two pizzas and then sit back, full and satisfied. (As a note, Kyle and I discussed that next time we would bring some small appetizers like cheese or olives to eat while we wait and split just one pizza…next time).

We packed up and left, noting how many cars there were lining both sides of the road outside the farm. We took a different route home and cut directly over to the river and drove along it on the Wisconsin side. It did take us a little longer to get home, due to a stop in Maiden Rock for a beer and a stop in Hastings for DQ, but that route is definitely the better way to go.

The Pizza Farm experience is definitely worth the trip and our goal is to make it an annual affair. Fresh food, good wine and great friends…that is something to celebrate.

A to Z Produce (Pizza Farm)
N2956 Anker Lane
Stockholm, WI

There is nothing like waking up in the morning to a wonderfully, home cooked breakfast. I’m not usually a bed and breakfast fan – typically the bed(room)s are too Victorian and the breakfast is an awkward event of eating in a common room with complete strangers. While I would say that eating with complete strangers is pretty much ineviable at a b&b, The Napa Inn really makes it worth your while. In preparation for our long day ahead of us, we enjoyed yogurt, fruit, granola, blueberry crumble and quiche. Yum! Breakfast is such an essential meal when visiting wine country.

To get to our first stop of the day we drove north, almost to Calistoga, to Sterling Vineyards. We were in pursuit of an aerial tram ride to experience, what we hoped would be, spectular views of Napa Valley. We were relieved that arriving early in the day meant that there were absolutely no lines for the tram and that the self-guided tour and the overlook balcony were scarcely occupied by other view-seeking tourists. What a way to start the day…standing high above the vineyards with the sun shining overhead…it’s truly lovely. While the tram is definitely worth the visit, my overall assessment of Sterling is that I highly recommend the tram ride and the self-guided tour, but the wines were just ‘okay’.

We had intended to head south to our next winery directly after leaving Sterling, but while we were enjoying the view from the overlook balcony we had noticed a huge castle just across the road. Honestly…it has turrets and everything…a true castle. Our curiousity got the best of us, so we immediately headed over to the castle to get the scoop. It turned out to a castle built by the Sattui family for their winery, Castello di Amarosa. Although we were interested in touring the castle the next public tour wasn’t scheduled for quite awhile, so we settled for a wine tasting. Interestingly, while I’m not usually a big fan of rose or dessert wine, I really enjoyed both at this winery. While this was not a planned stop, I do think it was fun to visit the castle and have some tasty wines. Oh, and also, there were rumors that Adam Sandler was there filming a movie. While we did see the trailers and other equipment, we didn’t see Adam himself…darn!

Lunch was on our minds as we left the castle and headed south. We aborted plans to go to V. Sattui to the picnic area, as even the overflow parking was overflowed, and headed into Yountville to see what restaurants were there. Lucky us, there was a father’s day car show in Yountville so it was completely crowded and there was quite a wait for any restaurant in the area. Despite this, we were hungry so we decided to wait it out. My crispy fish ‘n chips and beer were worth the wait.

Our plan was to end the trip at Artesa, a winery at the very southern end of the Napa area, in the Carneros Valley. We had visited Artesa on our last trip as well, and thought it was the most spectular building and view. Truly it is amazing to drive through the winding roads, not seeing a winery in sight, when suddenly you come upon Artesa. Parking in the lot, you’re still left wondering a bit about what you are about to see. But, climbing the steps lined with a trickling fountain and beautiful stainless sculptures, your imagination is put to ease and your breath is taken away. At the top are pools of water, shining in the sunlight. Abstract sculptures rise from the water, watching over the fruits of the valleys below. Simply beautiful.

We went inside, eager with anticipation, to taste a flight and then enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony. Despite this, we were sorely disappointed. The servers were unfriendly and hardly uttered a word to us beyond those necessary to ensure we kept on track with our flight. We quickly finished and asked to purchase a glass to head outside but were told that if you had drank a flight that they would not sell you any further alcohol. Huh? We did go outside on the balcony but left shortly after in search of a winery that stayed open passed the normal 5 o’clock.

We hit the jackpot in discovering the Domaine Carneros, a winery that specialized in sparkling wine, was both open late and located just across the highway from Artesa. Score! Ending the day with a flight of sparkling wine was simply perfect. I highly recommend Domaine Carneros for a truly relaxing wine experience with beautiful views.

The summary of our trip? Great friends, great food and good wines. I honestly can’t ask for more than that.

First of all, thank you so much for all the recommendations of places to visit in the Napa/Sonoma area. Although we could not visit them all, we did hit several and we had a great time!

Going to wine country can be daunting with so many wineries to choose from. We had been to the Napa area once before and spent most of our time in two valleys – The Russian River Valley and Napa Valley. We decided for this trip, we would focus the first day on Sonoma Valley and the second on Napa Valley.

Our first day was a short day, as we started in San Francisco by picking up some good friends from the airport and then made our way up north. Our first stop was Matanzas Creek Winery, located near Santa Rosa. It is, of course, a winery but it also is known for its lavender fields. This is actually why I wanted to visit Matanzas Creek, as I had read the lavender would be in full bloom during our visit. The setting is beautiful with the road winding around the lavender fields and then ending at the base of a beautiful wood building. Inside, we had our first flight in our wine country tour and also sampled the many lavender products. Although we didn’t buy any of the wine, we did purchase some cooking lavender, which I am looking forward to experimenting with soon.

After our wine, we took some time to wander through the lavender fields. With the lavender blowing slightly in the breeze and the sun shining bright, we all took a sigh of relief and realized that, yes, vacation had officially started.

Our next stop was to pick up some sandwiches at a nearby deli to take to Gundlach Bundschu Winery, located just east of downtown Sonoma. We really loved this winery. First of all, it is a sustainable, organic vineyard, which I think is really interesting. And secondly, it was such a laid back winery experience, which is such a breath of fresh air in wine country. We quickly side-stepped the tasting crowd, bought a bottle of Tempranillo and settled outside on a hill to eat our picnic lunch. Nothing can be better than drinking a bottle of wine and knowing that the grapes were grown and the wine was made on the very farm you are sitting on. Truly amazing. After lunch we took a walk down to through portion of the vineyards – no guide, no fuss, just a leisurely stroll amongst the vines. Lovely.

Once the crowd was gone, we went back to the tasting room to try more of their wines. I really loved that as you were tasting, they would take out a map of the farm and show you which plot the grapes were grown on that made the wine you were drinking. We decided on a couple bottles to buy and were pleasantly surprised when they packaged them in a Gundlach Bundschu bag. The bag holds up to six bottles of wine and is reusable or, if preferred, completely recyclable. These guys have got their act together.

After a quick nap at our B&B, we headed back to Sonoma to wander the plaza before dinner. Unfortunately the stores were closed, but I’ll have to make a note to do a little shopping there on our next visit.

Dinner reservations were at a restaurant just off Sonoma Plaza at The Girl and the Fig. Now, I know that I tend to get excited about food and restaurants, but I want to make something clear…All four of us left this restaurant agreeing that this was one of the best meals we had ever had. Ever. I know it was partly the combination of being on vacation in wine country with great friends, but we all agreed that from the setting to the food to the service, it was fantastic!

We were seated outside on a large patio with lush plants and blooming flowers throughout and two fireplaces and strings of lights that set the scene so perfectly. After much pondering of the menu, my friend and I decided to share several items. We started with steamed mussels with garlic, leeks and herbs and also a cheese and cured meat sampler. The mussels were so fantastic that after we finished them, we mopped the sauce up with the grilled bread and then wished we had more. Our next course was a fig and arugula salad with toasted pecans, chevre, pancetta and a port vinaigrette. Yummy! Our main entree was the flat iron steak served with green beans and a truffled goat cheese macaroni and cheese. I would have licked my plate clean if it would not have been impolite. Dessert (yes, we ate dessert after all of that) was shared among us all – a plum crumble and a chocolate tart. This was all washed down with two bottles of wine and some coffee. Two and a half hours later, we stumbled out of The Girl and the Fig. Bellies full, we were ready for a full night’s rest in preparation for our adventures in Napa the next day.

Last Saturday night Kyle and I decided to stay in. A good meal, a bottle of wine and a few games of Cribbage was on order for the night. Okay, I’ll admit it…I lost a few games to Kyle. I don’t like to admit it, but I did. However, this is highly unusual to “beat a Camacho girl at a game”, as Kyle put it, so he better relish in the victory…for now. Next time, I’m bringing my A-game.

The purpose of our night, however, was not for me to lose in Cribbage. Rather, we had stayed home to try some new recipes and to relax with a chilled glass of wine. I had picked up some Columbia Crest Riesling at Surdyk’s a few days earlier and decided to try it. I’m not usually a fan of Rieslings, but I have to say that I enjoyed this one. It was sweet (of course) but it was light enough that I didn’t feel like I was drinking a fermented piece of fruit like some Rieslings can taste. Overall I would definitely buy it again. It’s cheap ($8) and it’s a great wine to keep chilled for a hot summer afternoon.

We paired the wine with an appetizer of a quick oven pizza. I love these quick pizzas because you can make them so quickly and it’s easy to keep ingredients on hand. For this pizza, I took a tortilla (a wonderful cheater way of doing a thin crust) and topped it with sliced pear, blue cheese crumbles, fresh rosemary and raw walnut pieces. I baked it for 10 minutes at 375 and then drizzed honey on top before serving. Delicious!

I did a second appetizer course of sliced mushrooms with buffalo mozzarella, olive oil and herbs. This was broiled and then served with crusty bread to mop up the goodness. I had read about this recipe, but I didn’t have the oven proof platter necessary for broiling it correctly. I did like this dish, especially the olive oily mushroom residue at the bottom that we soaked up with the bread, and I’ll definitely have to try it again after I purchase a platter.

Our main course was halibut topped with basil-shallot butter. This is a recipe that I adapted from Bon Appetit. Instead of grilling the fish, however, I pan seared the fillets for a few minutes to get a wonderful brown crust on top and then finished them in a 450 oven to bake them through. I loved the crispiness of the fish and thought the basil-shallot butter added a lot of flavor. That being said I have had better versions of herbed butter than this particular recipe. I would consider trying this again substituting the basil-shallot butter for a different herbed butter topper, as I overall liked this dish, particularly the combination of textures with the crisp, flaky fish and the cool, rich butter.

I didn’t have my game on for the Cribbage, but that was after a good performance on the dinner. Staying in on Saturday night is sometimes just the needed thing.

I’m looking forward to an upcoming trip to the Napa Valley area…can’t wait for some good food and some good wine! I’m dreaming of a time not so long ago when I was lounging at Bouza Winery in Uruguay. Ahhh, the memories!

We’ve been to the Napa area one time before and loved it. Our favorite wineries of that trip were Artesa, Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyard and Hanna. We also loved the picnic area at V. Sattui. Located right on the Silverado Trail, V. Sattui has a large fresh deli with salads, cheeses, breads and other great picnic items. They also have a large picnic area outside their tasting room that is perfect for a mid-afternoon snack or lunch. The Freets recently returned from a trip to Napa and sent the following pictures along of his picnic at V. Sattui.

I’d love to get recommendations for other wineries and for restaurants to visit on our upcoming trip. Please send me your favorites and what you like your recommendation. I can’t wait to experience Napa again! Pictures and stories will shortly follow.