With a personal goal to try new things and push the limits of my cooking, I found a fun inspiration. It seems that Ancient Fire Wines and I have something in common; neither one of us are big pasta eaters. Now that’s not to say we don’t like pasta; we just couldn’t eat it every day. Ancient Fire Wines wrote a blog called Light & Easy Pasta Bake, and it looked wonderful. Now, I didn’t have all the ingredients in the house to make Jason’s pasta dish so I started scheming my own. It is such a fun thing to be able to take a risk and try something new, especially with cooking. You know the flavors you like and usually have a general idea of what tastes good together. That’s when the magic happens: trying combinations you have never tried before and coming up with something tremendous.

Now, just like Jason’s, my wife loves, loves, loves pasta! It’s very funny to read his blog and find these commonalities. It’s also fun to note that every once in awhile we like to make our wives happy and cook a little pasta. This dish is, according to my personal critic (my wife), one of the best pasta dishes I have made to date. Her exact words were, “You can make this any time!” And you  know, when momma is happy, we’re all happy. It’s a simple dish I threw together with random ingredients, and then we devoured. I am learning a great lesson in cooking. You have to take the things that are not your favorite ingredients (in this case, pasta) and find a way to make them their own. I am not a fan of red tomato-based sauces (I prefer cream white sauces). Also, I am a carnivore by heart, so almost any dish that is loaded with meat, I can take it a long way. When you try this dish be prepared for an amazing delight.

Italian Sausage & Linguini

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 Box Pasta, uncooked

1 Small Onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Italian Sausage Links, casing removed

1 Cup Button Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 Cup Olives, chopped

1 1/2 Teaspoons Italian Dressing Seasoning Blend (I used Good Seasons brand)

1 Cup Half & Half

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 Green Onion, diced

3 Slices Tomato, diced

Directions

1. Cook linguini to directions on the box.
2. In a large skillet, saute onions in butter until lightly opaque on medium-high heat.
3. Crumble sausage and cook until no longer pink (about 5 to 7 minutes).
4. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 more minute.
5. Stir in olives, Italian dressing mix, and half & half.
6. Bring to a boil; then simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.
7. Add tomatoes and mix in right before serving (you don’t want to cook them, just warm them up)
8. Serve and garnish with green onions and Parmesan.
9. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Wow! This past Saturday evening, some friends, my wife, and I experienced an exemplary evening of the Manly Housewife’s credo of “good food and good friends,” and you may now add to that “great wine!” All the group being nearby residents, we took a short little trip out to a quiet little winery called LightCatcher, just outside the community of Lakeside, that we had been hearing good reviews about. It was truly one of the best dining experiences we have had in the last couple of months. In these ever-increasing days of the busy, always-on-the-run lifestyles we lead, it’s a rarity when you just slow down and MAKE the time to just discover a new-to-you local establishment and spend some quality time with some of your best friends. This night was such a night.

As you enter the doors to the winery, you are immediately surrounded by a comfortably elegant tasting room and gift shop, filled with unique wine corks, wine-inspired memorabilia, and all the accompaniments of excellent wine. A delightfully jolly gentleman named Terry welcomed us to the winery from behind the tasting bar and made all of us feel instantly at ease. All the winery’s available wines can be taste-tasted for between $2 to $3 each (some for 3 for $5). Some of the people in our group are not avid wine drinkers, and Terry, also owner and host of the establishment, was wonderful at expertly and thoroughly explaining the different wines offered and assisting in the selection of wines that matched each person’s unique taste preferences (e.g., “sweet,” “dry,” and even “crisp,” as one of our group requested of him).  Each of us in our group of friends sampled 3 different wines and found ones to fit our palates. Here are the wines that we taste tested:

Donnie & Elizabeth

1. 2008 Jackrabbit Merlot – “Fruit forward and spicy,” according to the menu description; however, this was our least favorite of our trio. We felt it would be decent with a steak but not just as a good sipping wine.
2. 2008 Texas Roads Remuda Red – “Softer, easy drinking blend of Cabernet Sauvingnon and Merlot.” We enjoyed this wine very much and felt it would be great for sipping while enjoying a good book.
3. 2005 LightCatcher Cabernet Sauvignon – “Deep plum, raspberry, cherry, raisin, oak, and spice.” This is an amazing wine, our favorite of the three we tested. We liked it so much, we ordered a bottle to enjoy with dinner. The complex flavors blended well and could be enjoyed as a sipping wine or during a bubble bath. My wife’s first impression of this was, “This wine is doing something good to my tongue!”

Marci & Donna

1. 2008 Happy Cat Semi-Sweet White Wine – “Tropically fruity blend that is floral and pretty.” This was their least favorite wine (probably more about the name association alone, due to Marci’s dislike of house cats LOL!).  Both sweet wine lovers, this wine would probably be fine for someone with a more “evolved” palate, but for new wine enthusiasts it was a bit too dry.
2. 2008 Texas Kiss Rose’ – “Cranberry, watermelon, red raspberry” – Both agreed this was the favorite wine, and this was the one they ordered to drink with dinner.
3. Happy Dog Sweet Red – “Delicious Cherry, Blackberry & Spice”  This was also positively received by both. This is a great, sweet, light-tasting table wine that goes well with a spicy dinner.

Alberto & Veronica

1. 2008 Texas Roads Hummingbird – “Sauvignon Blanc, round and smooth with the flavors of apple, pear, and butterscotch.”
2. 2007 LightCatcher Bobcat – “Syrah/Mouverdre/CabFranc blend, light bodied and fruity.”  This bottle was chosen for dinner and enjoyed down to the last drop!
3. 2008 Texas Kiss Rose’ (reviewed above and high ranking by our group).

After the tasting, we were escorted into the the cool, candlelit  bistro, aging-barrel room to enjoy dinner. The wines we ordered were delivered to the table. We slowly savored our wine and sampled the available trays of Greek olives, served in warmed rosemary and orange- infused olive oil, which were utterly delicious! LightCatcher offers and ever changing menu, based on the current wines available and taking in-season produce into consideration. Glancing over the menu, we all found selections that appealed to each one of us: the carnivore (me), the fish lover (my wife), the comfort-food traditionalists, the risk taker, and the almost vegetarian. . .

Even though LightCatcher offers an eloquent setting and tranquil atmosphere (not one screaming child in the place!), dishes are served family style and, as our varying first courses arrived, we felt comfortable passing them around the table so everyone could share. Listed below are the appetizers we enjoyed and shared:

Warm French Brie. Roasted garlic, shallots, butter served with toasted focaccia (This was delectable and artfully prepared; it was probably the only appetizer that was completely finished. Everyone wanted another bite of this one.)

Warm Spinach Artichoke Spread, served with toasted pita wedges. (Good, but unremarkably unique.)

Texas 1015 Onion Rings with a smoked paprika aioli sauce. (This dipping sauce my wife an I loved; others did not care for it.)

Zorba Flatbread – Fresh Spinach, mozzarella, blue cheese, pine nuts, and lemon (As delicious as this was, the overabundance of gooey, melted cheese was a bit overpowering; it was much like a lemon-tasting, deep-dish pizza.)

LightCatcher offers a slate of Second Course options, which include some wonderful-sounding salads, incorporating dried fruits, nuts, seeds, and cheeses, but we all elected to pass on this course and head directly to the main courses. Again, we all tried to order different selections, not to be a pain in the fanny to our server, but so that we would have the opportunity to share with our dining companions and get a better over-all review of the menu offerings. We were not disappointed by our selections, featured in the pictures below:

Chargrilled Marinated Flank Steak, lemon gouda orzo, sauteed’ cherub tomatoes and a grilled half peach. (This was the most perfectly prepared flank steak I have ever had; although I, sheepishly, admit to not touching my pasta or veggies.)

Andouille-Stuffed Roasted Chicken, Boursin-jalapeno-chipolte grits served with tempura green beans. (This was a meal meant for, and enjoyed by, a queen! Wow! What robust, smoky flavors! Many of us kept nabbing “green bean French fries” from this plate while its “owner” was occupied.)

Grilled Salmon with asparagus cream sauce, peas, roasted fingerling potatoes, cucumber and shallots. (I am not the biggest fan of salmon but for the sake of review, my wife MADE me try this dish. This particular salmon was perfectly prepared, firm fleshed and tasted fresh out of the ocean. I would order this for myself when we go back!)

Chicken Fried, Thin-Cut Beef Ribeye Steak served with mashers, garlic cream gravy, broccolini and carrots. (One of our dedicated carnivores ordered this and his only comment was “freakin’ awesome!” This is high praise coming from this particular individual who tends toward a critical review on anything resembling Chicken Fried Steak, since he’s had it in some of the best restaurants in Texas. This dish looked and smelled wonderful and had even the almost-vegetarian at our table wishing she would have ordered that!)

Chargrilled Hand-Cut Beef Tenderloin 8-oz Fillet served with Mashers, roasted sweet onion with butter sauce. (Meat was superior quality and butter-soft, perfectly cooked and gone in minutes from all the sharing that went on!)

The main courses were simply brilliant, each in its own right. How the small  kitchen staff delivered such diverse selections so masterfully prepared in such a quick time left us all impressed and astounded.  Most of us had almost finished our wines when the call came for desserts. Almost just like Texas Hold ‘Em, we were all, save one, in!

Peach Bread Pudding with Warm Sangria Better Sauce

Peach Cobbler with very homemade crust and fresh peaches

Key Lime Pie with Mango Sorbet and Toasted Macadamia-Nut Britttle 

In conclusion of this Out ‘n About with The Manly Housewife Gang, all I can say is that we have definitely found a new hometown favorite in the LightCatcher Winery! There wasn’t a moment of our time there that we didn’t feel comfortable and happy and indulged. Every single one of the staff was professional, courteous and extremely proficient at his or her respective job.  The LightCatcher wines are stellar and far and away more than we expected to discover in our own backyard. The atmosphere is cozy and welcoming, with a touch of elegance and grandeur that makes one feel special for the evening. We will definitely be returning for one of their Sunday night jazz sessions. LightCatcher Winery & Bistro gets the seal approval from the entire Manly Housewife Team!

Please be sure to check out their website at http://www.lightcatcher.com/ and see their Facebook Page.

They are located close to Azle, Texas outside of Fort Worth.
6925 Confederate Park Road, Fort Worth, TX 76108

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, my wife and I attended Carrabba’s Tastemaker Event in Plano, Texas, on Saturday. The entire event was a fantastic experience for us! When we received the initial invite from Foodbuzz to attended this event, we were both excited for the opportunity to meet some new people and sample some, hopefully good, Italian cuisine. We were not disappointed. The people we met were immensely interesting, talented, and fun, and the food and atmosphere were amazingly wonderful.

During the event, we learned a lot of inside information about Carrabba’s, from all about how they prepare meals to their service protocol. My wife and I both have worked in a large-chain restaurant (which is where we met), and, we, therefore, try and avoid any chain restaurants as much as possible, preferring freshly prepared meals and not those that come from premixed bags poured into pans and just warmed up for serving. It was refreshing to discover that most all of Carrabba’s dishes were made from scratch, including the pasta, which we were told had a two-hour shelf life. After two hours, the pasta is no longer permitted to be served to the public, and a new homemade batch is prepared, keeping each pasta dish always at the peak of freshness and flavor.

When we arrived at the event, we were met at the door by a pleasant host and Josh Goldschmidt, the proprietor of this location. Both greeted us with a handshake and offered us beverages. Being in unsure waters if we could drink-drink or just enjoy tea and water, I asked for a glass of water. (I quickly learned a little bit later that we were welcome to drink-drink, too!) We were seated with several fellow food bloggers, with whom we were quickly exchanging friendly introductions and respective blog information. Let me tell ya, what a great way to meet people with the same passion about food as yourself. Our new friends were all delightful and loved to talk about food. We all certainly did not run out of topics to discuss!

Josh explained to us that we would be observing a cooking demonstration and then be served lunch. We were escorted over to the cooks’ station, where we were introduced to the gentleman who would guide us through the steps to prepare the Carraba’s pesto sauce.

Now, you blog regulars know me and how I enjoy a great adult beverage with any meal. I mean, come on! Good food and good drinks just go hand-in-hand. It was during the pesto demonstration that Josh made my. . . uh, OUR. . . day and asked the magic question, “May I get anyone some Blackberry Sangria?” I thought about that for about 30 seconds (there was a pause in the demonstration, because my wife and I and the other food bloggers lost our concentration at the mere mention of that yummy-sounding Blackberry Sangria). Let me tell you, coming from my bartender background and the love of a good drink, I do not say this lightly. . . if you get the chance to eat at a Carrabba’s near you, absolutely do not pass up on the chance to get their Blackberry Sangria. Hands down, this is the best sangria my wife and I have ever had!

I am not going to lie, I, shamelessly, asked (okay, BEGGED) Josh several times for this recipe. It was light and fruity, yet not as thick and heavy as are some wine-fruit juices blends. It was also not too overpowered with the use of super-sweet syrups and sugars. It was a perfect blend of all elements in a high-quality sangria, and I would put it up against any ordinary sangria recipe out there, including my own. Josh never gave in to divulge the recipe but laughed and joked about it with us all afternoon. Trust me, though, this is a must-have if you go to Carraba’s.

After the interesting and informative pesto demonstration, we were led to our table, neatly set up with personalized menus, showing each of us were we were to sit. The staff continued to fill our glasses with wine and sangria as we perused menu selections. They started us of with a delicious Bruschetta Con Pesto, which is a grilled bread topped with fresh pesto, tomatoes, basil, and Ricotta Salata cheese. It was served warm and had that great crunch with every bite. It was perfectly and expertly prepared.

Two servers proceeded to take our orders, as all the food bloggers continued to get to know each other and share information on what we do and hope to do with our blogs. It as truly fascinating to experience all the different ethnicities and the styles of cooking that were represented at this table. To me, the most amusing common denominator was the overwhelming, consistent distaste for chain-style restaurants. We all laughed and joked that had it not been for this event, we probably would not have tried Carrabba’s on our own, due to our assumption that it was just your average chain restaurant. However, we all agreed that not visiting one of the Carraba’s restaurants would have proved to have been a bigger mistake.

Our next course consisted of  a salad or soup of our choice. Me, not being the soup kind of guy, and my wife thinking it was too hot for soup, we both jumped into the cool, fresh salads. She chose the Mediterranean and I had the Caesar salad. Both were good salads and tasted so refreshing on a hot Texas summer afternoon. (Soups offered were a Sicilian Chicken, Minestrone, or Sausage/Lentil.)

From there came the main course, which we had three to chose from. I selected Tag Pic Pac, a pasta dish served with shrimp, crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil. My wife, the pasta lover in the family, enjoyed the Rigatoni Campagnolo, which included pasta smothered in a fennel sausage and pepper sauce and topped with a nice goat cheese. Both dinners where delightful, and choosing two separate dishes allowed us to sample each others’ meal. (You know you always want to know if the person you’re dining with got the better dish than you! You KNOW you do!)

Tag Pic Pac with Shrimp

Fresh angelhair pasta tossed with crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, and extra virgin olive oil, topped with garlic shrimp

Rigatoni Campagnolo

Large tubular pasta tossed withe Italian fennel sausage, roasted red bell peppers and pomodoro, topped with a medallion of Caprino goat cheese

All in all, this was spectacular event with some fascinating people and extraordinary food. We all discussed getting together for another Foodbuzz event. My wife and I both look forward to that. We would like to thank Foodbuzz and Carraba’s for collaborating and hosting this event. Also please check out the other food bloggers’ that sites that attended this Foodbuzz Carraba’s event. They were a  were an entertaining group, and I am sure that their blogs are just the same.

Just Food Snobs

My Simple Food

Dinner and Conversation

Cookie Loves Eating

Sweet N Spicy Comforts

Also check out Carraba’s Facebook Page and website

One last thank you to Josh Goldschimdt and his team at Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Thank you for the superb hospitality and delectable food.

The Manly Housewife

I have had a ton of requests for my sweet potato French fries that accompanied my Bacon Wrapped Burgers yesterday, so I am going to share that recipe with you; however, I did not want to cook two meals in a row, so I will be giving you two sweet potato fry recipes.

Last night I made a great super-easy, go-to main course dish that even the most basic cook could put together. I accompanied it with corn and no-fry/baked sweet potato fries. Now these sweet potato wedges were a first time cook for me.  A great friend of mine told me that I had to try this recipe. I like my sweet potato fries the unhealthy way of deep frying them, but the baked way took them to a whole new level. I hope you enjoy all the below recipes.

Simple Barbecue Sausage

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Pound Smoked Sausage cut into ¼ inch pieces

½ Small White Onion, chopped

1 Cup Your Favorite Barbecue Sauce

1 Teaspoon Red Pepper

Directions

1. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add sausage and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add onions, barbecue sauce, and pepper, and cook an additional 5 minutes.
3. Enjoy!

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Serves 4

Ingredients

4-5 Medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled down to the dark orange layer (remove skin and whitish under layer)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Good Chili Powder

1/8 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Salt

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 400-degrees F.

2 Cut potatoes into 1″ wedges.

3 Toss in bowl with oil, sugar, and spices.

4 Place potatoes as single layer on lightly sprayed baking sheet.

5 Bake for 35-40 mins, turning potatoes every 10 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 Large Sweet Potato, cut shoestring style (leave skin on)

3 Cups Vegetable Oil

1 Table spoon Chili Powder

½ Tablespoon Onion Powder

½ Tablespoon Garlic Powder

1/8 Teaspoon Cumin

1/8 Teaspoon Red Pepper

Salt & Pepper

Directions

1. Add oil to a deep pan and heat to 350 degrees.
2. Carefully add cut potatoes to grease (you can do this in batches).
3. Mix all spices in a bowl and set aside.
4. Cook potatoes for 15 minutes, until boiling slows and fries are floating to the top of the grease.
5. Remove fries and let drain on a couple of paper towels.
6. Coat the fries in spice mixture, grabbing the corner of the paper towel and lightly toss the fries to evenly coat.
7. Serve with anything from sandwiches to steaks.
8. Enjoy!