Stefano Secchi Made a Movie….And We Got A Fabulous Dinner

Butter poached lobster on burrata.

Several months ago I did a post about our friend, Stefano Secchi, asking for support of  his movie which was then in the fund-raising stage through Kickstarter.  Though he is an incredibly talented, Culinary Institute of America trained chef who also received his undergraduate degree from SMU and worked on Wall Street, he wants to make movies.

Chef Stefano Secchi

He followed this desire last summer to film his first screenplay on location in Sardinia and New York.  Inspired by his father and uncle and their Sardinian heritage, Shilo, An Italian Immigrant’s Debt to America  wrapped filming early last fall and since then Stefano has been in Dallas, once again cooking at his family restaurant, Ferrari’s Italian Villa in Grapevine, and editing the film.   To help with funding the film Stefano included incentives at various donation levels, including everything from his dad’s secret Linguine with Clams recipe, to Associate Producer and Executive Producer credits, to a multi course tasting dinner in Dallas or LA.

We’re Tasting: Spring Sangria at our 8th Anniversary Dinner

Sunday night we celebrated the 8th anniversary of Dallas Uncorked, my little baby (as anything you work so hard at immediately becomes like a child). With flowing flutes of Cava from Segura Viudas and stellar glasses of Numanthia and Termes we toasted the success of the past 8 years and cheered in anticipation and excitement for years to come.  We have hosted a lot of tastings, made a lot of dinners, opened a lot of bottles and made many friends over the past 8 years, thank you to all of those who have supported us and continue to as we bring unique, educational wine events to our members throughout the Dallas community.

This year was all about Spain, so what better way to start than with a light and refreshing glass of Sangria.  I didn’t want it to be too heavy so we opted to use a Spanish Rose of Garnacha as the base, and took a little help from Spain’s Italian friends with the addition of a bottle of Moscato to bring in a bit of sweetness, and Spain’s French friends with a half a bottle of Calvados apple liqueur and a cup of Cointreau orange liqueur.  Add in fresh citrus, berries and soda and you are sure to please any crowd, especially those in the mood for a celebration.  More on the dinner to come, but for now, the recipe.

Recipe:

Spring Sangria
(made 50+ 8 oz servings)
3 750 ml bottles Rose wine (we used a Rose of Garnacha)
2 750 ml bottles Moscato wine
2 cups Calvados
1 cup Cointreau
1 liter lemon-lime soda
2 liters club soda
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Fresh berries, lemon slices and lime slices for garnish

Preparation:
Stir all of the liquid together in a large container and refrigerate for an hour or two before serving.   We had such a large crowd that we wanted to make sure everyone got some fruit so we added the fruit to each glass; if adjusting for a smaller crowd add the fruit to the pitcher and muddle it a bit before adding ice to help it break down into the sangria.  Serve over ice in rocks glasses.

Chef Andrew Ormsby and I enjoying a pre-dinner sangria

Dallas Uncorked 8th Anniversary Dinner…Almost Sold Out

We are so thrilled to celebrate Dallas Uncorked’s 8th anniversary on April 29th with our buddy Chef Andrew Ormsby featuring incredible, delicate and simply delicious Numanthia wine and bright and bubbly Cava from Segura Viudas as we enjoy a night dedicated to the beauty, intrigue and flavors of Spain.

I just returned from Spain a few weeks ago, there on an assemblage (or the art of blending wine) journey with Segura Viudas, an incredible Cava house which uses the traditional Champagne method in the production of its Spanish sparklers.  It is easy to see why do many people fall in love with Spain, Barcelona in particular, as the vibrant city lured me in with its stunning architecture, friendly personalities and, obviously, delicious Catalan cuisine and fantastic Spanish wine from Penedes to Priorat, and Toro to La Mancha.

Our celebration will bring some of the excitement, sounds, colors and flavors of Spain to Dallas in a long table dinner for Dallas Uncorked’s 8th anniversary, with proceeds from the evening going to Charity:Water and The Meadow’s Museum at SMU.   We only have about 10 tickets left so don’t delay as this will be a night to remember, and one that will help you fall in love with Spain like I did.  Tickets available here.

We’re Cooking: Pavlova

WOW!  I was a bit ambitious the other night as I cooked dinner for some of our friends in Hawaii.  We have made it a bit of a tradition to host at least one big night of feasting with the wonderful friends we have made on the Big Island.  Again, we got up in the morning and went up to the Waimea Farmer’s Market and loaded up on fresh veggies, some Alaskan caught salmon, big strawberries, and a beautiful, super ripe pineapple, then made a quick stop by the fantastic 4 acre Kawamata Farm to see our friend Raymond Kawamata and pick up some huge beefsteak tomatoes, baby cucumbers and just ripe baby eggplants. We filled in the rest a the local market and spent all day cooking and cooking for our 7pm dinner for 8.  I wanted to make a special dessert with some of the fresh fruit we had found at the farmer’s market and was inspired by the massive pavlovas our friend Chef Andrew Ormsby makes for his kids.  It is one of their favorite dessert, made of beautifully baked meringue, topped with a sweet pastry cream and mounded with lots of whipped cream and berries.  I wasn’t going to be quite as ambitious, but wanted to make something beautiful and tasty for our friends, holding my breath at every minute to make sure it would work.  I knew I wanted to keep the strawberries bright and fresh, but thought grilling the pineapple would add a yummy layer of sweet caramel and slight smoky flavors to the dish, made only better by macerating the pineapple all day in fresh basil and Van Gogh Vanilla vodka.  I love Van Gogh’s flavored vodkas made with real extracts, keeping the flavors vibrant. Wow, a beautiful presentation followed by layers of crisp outside, yet still light and moist inside meringue topped with candy like pineapple with a kick, a mound of sweet whipped cream and fresh strawberries.  A success and a delicious end to a wonderful night with friends.

Recipe:

Pavlova with Grilled Vanilla Pineapple and Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
For the pavlova -
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons corn starch

Tickets On Sale For Our April 29th Anniversary Party!!!

This year it is all about Spain as Dallas Uncorked leaps into our 9th year of bringing entertaining, educational and unique wine events to our Dallas members.

April 29th we’ll lead you through an evening of Spain with Chef Andrew Ormsby creating extensive tapas while Cava flows in celebration, followed by a paella fest created on his massive paella pans acquired while he was traveling and cooking through Spain.  Spain’s leading grape, Tempranillo will be featured as well as a classic white Sangria.  Spanish flamenco and classic guitar music will fill the air as we celebrate this 8th anniversary through the evening at the long table dinner under the stars at Chef Ormsby’s Studio.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Charity:Water and the Meadows Museum at SMU for their dedication to arts education and appreciation centered around their extensive founding collection of Spanish art. The Meadows Museum houses one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Spanish art outside of Spain.  Tickets available via our website, www.dallasuncorked.org