Shiraz/Syrah with Chicken & Pasta

Tonight began our "Wine Pairing Wednesdays".  Our first pick:  Shiraz/Syrah.  We had 3 wines to choose from, a 2007 Cupcake petite syrah, a 2009 Shoo Fly Shiraz, and a 2008 McWilliam's Shiraz. 

Wendy was our host for the evening. She paired our wine of the evening with a dinner adapted from the recipe below.  Wendy baked the sauce and chicken together and served it over noodles, along with a bacon Cesar salad and garlic bread.  (and leftover Halloween candy for desert)

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (or 1 Tbsp dried tarragon)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 4 boneless chicken breast halves,(about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 cups chopped fresh tomato (1-2 tomatoes, depending on their size)
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

1 Get the grill started on medium high heat. While the grill is heating up, whisk together half of the tarragon, half of the oil, and all but 1/4 teaspoon of the minced garlic in a shallow dish. Lightly pound chicken between sheets of waxed paper to uniform 1/2-inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to tarragon mixture and turn to coat. Let stand 10 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, blend the tomato and remaining olive oil until smooth. Add the vinegar and remaining tarragon and garlic and pulse until well mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3 Grill chicken until brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plates. Spoon sauce around chicken.

On a sillier note, here are some quotes from the evening.  We hypothesized about what men talk about when they get together, well boys, here is what we ladies talk about...

"He was standing a foot away and it still reached!"

"It's appropriate for public..."

"I'm good!  I'll show you!!!" (as she reaches for the empty bottle)

"He went to Afghanistan for a year...over the summer."

"Some wine?"..."I'm not crying!"

"They've been tasting each other for a while?...Is that really what you just said?"

Halloween Party at Alyssa's

All the WWN ladies were there. Wizard of Oz style!

Thanks for being my sisters...‏

Email Foward from Katelyn... right on ;-)

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

'Don't forget your sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.'

'Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women...your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'
 

But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mother really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.

BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.
 
Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you....Or come in and carry you out.
 
Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family: all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other.

Shiraz paired with Turkey Chili

Tonight Wednesday Wine Night was hosted at Steph's House. We had Turkey Chili and corn bread. It was delicious on this cold fall night! Wendy paired the meal nicely with a Shiraz. For desert we had Peter's birthday cake :-) Overall, a nice relaxing night with good conversation.

Quotes of the night:
"Would you or would you not wax your babies uni-brow?"
"So... Are they hot meals?"
"I never think of turkey as meat"
"Our 1st casualty!"
"We need a bigger one for the mushroom"
"He has the perfect back hair"

Chateau St Croix Vineyard

We purchased a Living Social Coupon to visit Chateau St Croix Vineyard. On Saturday, October 9th Katelyn, Wendy, Betsy and Stephanie met at Wendy's house around 11am to venture up the St Croix valley to visit this beautiful winery. What an amazing weekend to drive this way! All the leaves had just peaked in our area and were vibrant and beautiful! Not to mention the weather this day was about 85 degrees and sunny!

After getting slightly miss-directed by the directions from the Internet, we found our way to the winery at about 12:30. We caught the tour of the facility. The one fact I remember the most is the reasons for the different corks. Real corks have a 3% failure rate, synthetic corks 2% and screw tops only 1%. This only solidified our love for the screw top. The reason the failure rate is lower is because it is sealed tight whereas the real corks let air in for the wine to breathe.

After the tour, we picked our cheese plates and tasted our 5 wine allowance. The wines that we tried were their Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and three ports, Frontenac Port, Ruby Port and Cigar Wine Port. This was the first time I have had a port and they were delicious. Very sweet and about 22% proof. As a part of the coupon we got to take home 4 bottles of the Thoroughbred Red wine.

After the tour, we drove south and stopped for lunch at a cafe in St Croix Falls Wisconsin. We sat outside and had a taste of the Honeycrisp wine from the Indian Creek Orchard. Delicious!

Then we headed back towards Stillwater to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. We walked around Downtown Stillwater, grabbed dinner and enjoyed each others company. It was a very relaxing and beautiful day!

Funny Quote of the day - "We can't do our hair here because this is a classy place"

In the beginning...

In November 2009 three friends, Katelyn, Wendy and Stephanie decided to have dinner and wine one Wednesday night to catch up. It was then decided to do this every Wednesday.  This is where it all began... Many more friends have joined us along the way including Betsy, Kristy and Alyssa. We have shared many great Wednesday nights drinking lots of wine and sharing the last weeks experiences life has given us. It is our therapy!

Some of the great memories from the last year include:

• Minnehaha Falls
• Pool Party @ Kristy's
• Psycho Suzie's / 331 Club to see Katey Bellville perform
• O'Garas for St Patricks 2010
• Babysitting for Katelyn (Wonder Pets, This is Sewrious)
• Boat Party on the St Croix
• Playing Mall Madness @ Steph's
• Visit from Betsy's British friend Tony
• Champ's & Steph's house for Betsy's Birthday

• Housewarming Party @ Steph's

• Engagement Part for Kristy & Lorenzo

• Special tour of Underwater World by Wendy & Dinner at Crave for Steph's birthday April 2010 at MOA. 

• May 2010 garage sale preparation at Steph's house. Wendy & Steph walked in the SGK 3 day

• Camping at Lake Maria State Park in June 2010

• Wendy & Stephanie's walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the cure

• Toby Keith Bar in September 2010

Only a few Wednesday's were missed as life is always unpredictable. We have grown closer and stronger as friends. What would we do without WWN? Almost a year later and here we are... starting a blog to share our experiences and fun times not only with each other but with the people we love if they care to read!

This blog is intended to be a journal documenting our nights together including what we drink and where we go and if your lucky some funny things that are said! I hope you enjoy! The first post will be up shortly about our recent weekend trip to Chateau St Croix winery on October 9th.