Monday, March 19, 2012

By Popular Request, I present "The Zin Fest Recipes "

The first big Paso wine festival for 2012 is now history. In spite of cold, rainy, windy conditions it was a huge success. Per Cazo Cellars had over 200 visitors and at least half asked for a recipe or two. If you haven't visited, we always offer sit-down paired wine tasting but on the Festival weekends we go beyond our usually cheese and chocolate. Here are the Pairings for this past weekend:

With the ZinG Barrel Sample, we paired CORN RELISH and Multi-grain Tostito's Scoops
1 can black beans (rinsed)
2 cups corn (I use frozen white corn)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4-6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
5 green onions, chopped

Mix everything together and marinate overnight (or at least 4 hours).
Drain oil and vinegar. Serve with tortilla chips or as a side dish. Can easily be doubled or tripled.


With the barrel sampling of 2010 Zin we paired the SPICY ZIN BALLS

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Onion, minced
8 cloves of fresh Garlic, minced
1 Green Bell pepper
1 Jalapeno
1 Cup B.B.Q. Sauce, your choice I like Sweet Baby Ray's
1 cup Catsup
1 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon New Mexican Chile Powder
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Cup Per Cazo Zinfandel Wine
Cooked meatballs (I used a large bag from Costco)


In a food processor, add the bell pepper, jalapeno, onion and garlic into the food processor, mince until fine. Set aside.
In a large saucepan heat olive oil till smoking, add onion and pepper mixture. Saute until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients except wine and bring to a boil. Cook about 10 minutes, add the Zinfandel Wine and cook 30 minutes until thickened and delicious. Gently fold in the meatballs and bake in oven about 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

And last but not least, the pairing with the LH Zin are the famous ZIN BROWNIES

1 package Ghirardelli Brownie Mix
Red Wine (I used Zinfandel but any good red will work)

Prepare brownies as directed but substitute the wine for the water.

Thanks to all who made the effort to seek us out of the 200+ wineries this weekend. We loved meeting you and hope you will come back and share another glass of wine with us!
Cheers!!!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Recipe for Cranberry Pecan Chevre Spread

So many of our visitors are requesting the recipe for the cheese pairing for the Syrapé that I promised to blog about it.

We had been pairing the wine with the Celebrity Cranberry Goat Cheese but it is a seasonal item at both Costco and Trader Joe's. Once again the old adage that necessity is the mother of invention rings true. Below is the recipe. It's easy, quick and as long as you have a Trader Joe's near by, fairly economical. The best part is that tasters prefer it to the original pairing! I love it when a plan comes together!

Cranberry Pecan Chevre

1 log Trader Joe’s Goat Cheese w/ honey
1 8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 pkg. Trader Joe’s Rosemary Pecans with/cranberries
1 pkg. Trader Joe’s Dried Cranberries (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Blend all above ingredients in food processor.

Pair with Syrapé. If you are out, go to www.percazocellars.com and place an order.