Oooh My Gush.. Yes Please!! : )..

Sooo, our Missouri Wine Board and wineries

have come up with recipes made with

various wines.

Sounds yummy.

Like..  This..

 

Blackberry Wine Cake..

Winery: St. James Winery

Ingredients:
1 cup Blackberry wine
½ cup chopped pecans
1 (2 layer) box white cake mix
1 3-oz box berry flavored gelatin
½ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs


Glaze Ingredients:
½ cup St. James Winery Blackberry Wine
1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup (1 stick butter)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease and flour a bundt pan. Sprinkle pecans in the bottom. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and gelatin. Add eggs, oil, and 1 cup of wine; blend thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes until cake tests done. Remove from oven; turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the powdered sugar, butter and ½ cup wine in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Pour ½ the mixture over the warm cake; let set for 30 minutes. Pour remaining glaze, which will have thickened somewhat, over cake.

 

That sounds scrumptidly delishus!!

 

Click here for more recipes..

: )..

 



Winery Passport Program.. Game On!

Once again, had a fantastic wine mob meeting

a couple weeks ago.  Chocolate, Vignoles,

tasty veggie treats and our great friends

made for a great weekend..

Can't wait for our next meeting.

We are heading to one of the vineyards

that we haven't had a mob meeting at yet..

It's out in the country, super quiet

and super fantastic with delicious

vignoles, including one mixed with Strawberry.

Yummy!  Can't wait!

Winery Harvesting.. : )..

I'm planning to help a couple of our local wineries with their first grape harvests this weekend.  Ladoga Ridge Winery in Smithville is having their harvest starting at 8am Saturday.

 I plan to join them..

 

And then, Sunday, Fence Stile is having

their first harvest, also starting at 8am.

Again, I plan to join them.  : )..

Soo, I'm thinking, my weekend is starting

to look pretty good!

Not for long!  Lol.

 

A Day of Wine and Roses..

Had a hard day visiting a couple local wineries.  Whew.  Such a hard, hard, hard day.  : )..  We started at Belvoir Winery in Liberty, MO, where I had a wine tasting and pairing party last year.  It used to be called Odd Fellows, which was home to indigent, elderly people or orphaned boys.  It has a long, storied history, and is reportedly haunted.  They hold regularly scheduled paranormal parties and have reportedly heard doors opening and closing, footsteps running up and down the halls, kids giggling, and supposedly some of the party members have felt something tugging on their clothes.  One of their bartenders, ironically enough, said he didn't believe the reports.  Lol.  We haven't seen him since that day, and we've been out there a few times since then.  Hmm.  Coincidence?  Perhaps.  Or..  Is it?

Here are some pics from Belvoir..

 It's a ghostly apparition!

(just kidding, it's a graduation balloon)

 My favorite..  Sorelle Dolci..

Sweet Sisters..

(Suhweet white wine)

 Aww.  No more Sweet Sister.
(too bad they can't have ghost wine in the empty bottles)

Belvoir's roses, not sure why my phone

added a little extra color to them.

They really were nice rose bushes!

(It might have been a ghostly apparition..)

 Now that's my kind of wine glass!

 We moved on to Fence Stile Winery
in Excelsior Springs, MO,

where I had a winery dinner for four

last year as well.  Deelishus food,

deelishus desserts and some deelishus

wines!  : )..

Their grapes look great!  Or grape!

They had an event last October where they invited the public

to come along and help them bring in their last harvest.

I almost went, but it was freeeeezing cold and super

early in the morning.  I plan on joining the fun this year

though!  They say they will probably have another one

in August.  How many people can say that they helped a winery

make their wine?  I'm thinking that sounds like a lot of fun!

Not to mention, pretty great knowing that I can buy a bottle

after it is ready to go.  : )..  I think I'd have to save it.

All in all, such a hard, hard, hard day.

Whew.  It's a hard life, but some one's gotta live it!

Chococherry Kiss.. Ohhh yeah..

Swung by Ladoga Ridge on my way home from work Friday and picked up the door prize basket that I won from the Teacher's Appreciation Night last week.  I've got the Chococherry Kiss wine chillin in the fridge.  It's calling my name every time that I get close to the kitchen.  I can hear it.  Jan!  Jaaaan!  Oh, Jan!  I'm sitting right here!  Luckily, I've been able to resist it.  Truth be told, lol, I'm afraid that once I open one and drink it, that I'll get attached and want more.  Ladoga Ridge may only make it available around Valentine's Day, and they may come up with something different next year.  One bottle of that deeelishus Chococherry Kiss just won't be enough!  It's.  Just.  That.  Good.  : )..

Anyway, here's the basket that I got..  Chococherry Kiss..  In the fridge..  Calling my name..

Jaaaaaaaaaaan!

Yesterdays Post..

Soo, apparently, I never finished my post from yesterday.  I started last night after we returned from our dinner, but was soo tired that it never got done.  Lol.  We had a great dinner at Fence Stile Winery in Excelsior Springs, MO yesterday evening.  It was one of the top rewards from the Missouri Wine Organization's Wine Tour that promotes over 100 wineries in our state.  It took visits to over 60 wineries to make it to that level, and although that sounds like a lot of driving, most of the wineries are all clumped together.  It took a little doing, but it was done.  : )..

We had some great food, great wine and had a great time at the winery.  Here are some pics of the food and dinner.

 A little Sweet Enchanment, a fruity red wine and some water to begin..

 Some delicious appetizers.  Pimento spread and artichoke spread.

Buffalo Chicken Soup.  Yummy!

 Chicken Alfredo with broccoli and then some Shrimp Scampi too.
You cannot go wrong by feeding me shrimp!
Yummy!

 One eclair, one coffee flavored dessert and then one chocolate puff pastry,
there was one other one that didn't make the picture.  Lol.
These desserts paired with a glass of Fence Stile's Enticement
Sparkling White Wine?  Ooooh, soooo good!
(William, one of the owners, also said Enticement makes a great Mimosa!
Can you guess what I'm having for breakfast?
I knew that I was saving that bottle of Enticement at home for something!)

 Two bottles of delicious wine!

 Love the lights as we left.

Especially the sunburst pattern.

All in all, it was such a great night!
Buon cibo!  Buon Vino!  Buoni Amici!
Good food!  Good wine!  Good friends!
For sure!

 I would like to give a huge Thank you to Fence Stile Winery,
Missouri Wine Organization and also
to Ventana's Cafe and Coffeehouse
for a great dinner!
: )..

TGIF.. : ).. For sure..

Milo loves playing with Fergus.  Fergus hates being put in the kennel at night so that I can sleep without having to worry what he's up to.  And now?  Milo "bumped" his nose at me when I put Fergus in the kennel last night, letting me know that he wasn't finished playing with the little guy yet.  Lol.  He kept poor little Fergie Ferg company since it didn't sway me and make me open the door to let him out, so Milo laid down on the floor next to the kennel and watched him for a while.  Eventually, they both crashed out.

This weekend is going to be crazy.  One of my friends, and her Shiba Inu, will be here because we are having our winner, winner another non-chicken dinner winery winner dinner at Fence Stiles Winery in Excelsior Springs.  It's the one that has the Tuscany Pasta, the New Orleans pasta, the Buffalo Chicken Soup (ok, so I guess it's not totally a non-chicken dinner, lol.) and some other assorted items.  I am soooo looking forward to that.  It was rescheduled from February, and was almost rescheduled again.  One of the owners is from India and needed to return to her family after her father had a massive heart attack.  He stabilized however, so she flew back and still wanted to do our dinner this weekend.  : )..  I love their winery, their wines and their hospitality.  They have always been warm and welcoming and I am glad that her father is doing better!  Here was a link to the menu we were able to choose from.

At least we will be home most of this weekend so poor little Fergus won't have to spend much time in his kennel.  : )..  He and Milo can play and play and play to their hearts content.  Or until one of them falls asleep.  Fergus has unearthed the mother lode of squeaky toys.  Milo loves the squeaky parts out of stuffed animals and will tear them apart to get to it.  We have decided it is easier to just buy him the replacement squeaky parts to save him the extra trouble.  After having bought probably, oh, say, five or six packs that hold four in each, I never actually wondered what Milo did with them.  Until last night when Fergus was clawing under the love seat.  I got my handy dandy back scratcher, aka the toy hunting stick, and found 13 squeaky toys under the love seat alone.  Ahh.  It was a squeaky toy graveyard.  Milo was going nuts.  Ahh.  The joys of puppies.  I'm ready to get this weekend started!  One 8 hour shift to go!

ChocoCherry Kiss.. Oooh yeah..

Had a wine tasting and pairing party for my friend at Ladoga Ridge Winery in Smithville, MO today.  Rumors of the ChocoCherry Kiss wine being dee lish us..  have been verified as absolutely, definitely, without a doubt..  True!  Yummmy.  We enjoyed all the wines and delicious food that they served, but then we were rewarded at the end of the visit with a dessert that was definitely worth the wait!  They had a concoction made with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry, but then poured some of the ChocoCherry Kiss wine over it.  It was soo yummy.  : ).. 

We had a great time with some great friends..

We allll took a lotta pictures..

 Lol..  : )..

 Drank a lotta great wines..

And drank more great wines..

Until it was all gone and we were ...  done..

Whatta great way to spend a great day!

: )..

Thanks Ladoga Ridge!!

Happy New Year! : )..

Indeed.  Hope everyone had a great one.  The picnic / wine tasting was awesome.  It was 66 degrees yesterday afternoon, so we all got to enjoy a couple bottles of wine and what I thought was a bottomless picnic basket that our friend packed along.  She brought crackers, cheese, crab dip, fruit, cheesecake and a whole lot of other stuff.  They bought a lot of wine, I'm thinking that they agreed, Ladoga Winery in Smithville, MO has it goin on.  : )..  They opened a bottle of the Blackberry and a bottle of the Strawberry Rhubarb wines to enjoy with the snacks.  Lemme tell ya, once the Blackberry had a chance to lose it's chill, that was some deeelishus wine!  Yummy for sure!  We had such a great time!  Buon Cibo * Buon Vino * Buoni Amici!  Good food * Good wine * Good friends!  What an awesome way to start the New Year's Eve festivities.

We went to the Famous Seamus and the Travelbongs show as well.  Luckily we took our camera because one of the group members told us his plan for the show before they started playing.  He proposed to his girlfriend during the show and I got it on video for them.  I would post it on here, but I am working a 16 hour shift at my old group home today so I'm not able to post the video right now.  Yup.  That says 16 hours.  Lol.  I'm working a double shift on the first day of 2012.  : )..  It's an easy job so...  What's better than earning a little extra money to start the year off right?

Alrighty..  Better get back to workin..  I'm working really hard right now..  Can't you tell?  The biggest part of this job is staying awake..  I've got my caffeine close at hand..  I am good to go!

Woot! Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner Winery Partay.. : )..

Belvoir Winery.  Steeped in history, rumored to be haunted, recently renovated, recently opened, awesome.  Cashed in on the wine tasting and pairing party.  Thoroughly enjoyed it!  : )..

 Good Food * Good Wine * Good Friends

 Our host Jesse setting up the first round of drinks and food.

 Group shot from our camera timer while setting on a ledge above the fireplace mantle.  : )..

 Surprise!  Dineen from the Missouri Wine Organization stopped by to snap a couple pictures for their next newsletter.  Awesome.  : )..

 The damage done after six rounds of yummy food and drinks.  Lol.

 The hits for the day, Sorelle Dolci, my favorite and the majority favorite of the group, and Casanova, which was a dry, dry red wine that was a favorite of those who didn't like the sweet wines as much..

 You better watch out, you better not cry, Santa was keeping an eye on us.

Oooh, it's a ghostly apparition.  Lol.  : )..

Anyway, had a great time with some great friends.  Looking forward to more fun, another time.

Forward my mail.. I have moooved.. : )..

Umm.  Yeah.  Sooo.  Wine Tour Part Two.  Please forward all mail for me to Ladoga Winery, Smithville, MO.  Yeah.  It was just that nice!  Suhweet, suhweet, suhweet tasting wines.  Gorgeous facility.  Cozy.  Friendly owners!  Everything you would want in a winery.  They had a couple of comfy leather chairs that just screamed, "Drink some wine here right here!"  We relented.  Lol.  There wasn't a wine that I tasted that wasn't delicious.  No oaky - licorice taste, whatsoever. 

They were also having a buy one, get one half off today.  My friend put that discount to good use!  : )..  We also know exactly where we are having our second wine tasting / pairing party.  The owners told us, they have only been open for two months and want to get into the parties.  They can host one in December, and get this, they will accommodate us on a Saturday evening at 6pm after they close.  They are offering us an exclusive, private tasting / pairing party.  SOLD!  Sign us up! 

Fence Stile was a booger to find, but lemme tell ya!  It was sooo worth the trouble.  They have a bridge out that blocks people from coming in the normal way, so we had to find and go in the back way.  Turns out, it's only one road over from where we got Auntie Em.  : )..  They were just as great as Ladoga.  My friend and I are both qualified for a free dinner for four at any winery of our choice.  Hmm.  Pairing party at Ladoga.  Dinner party at Fence Stile.  I love the Missouri Wine . Org.  They are awesome.  It's going to be a great time here in the next couple months.  Awesome. 

Such a great day.  Such great wineries.  Had a lot of fun and laughs.  Getting ready to head out to see Famous Seamus and the Travelbongs.  Should be a great night too.

Picked my puppy up this morning.. Yay..

It was a long, long, long night last night with just a little sleep.  Emmy was worried about her little brother and I'm sure he was worried without us.  I should have dropped him off with a shirt we had worn but not washed yet, but didn't realize he would be there overnight.  : (..  Poor little Milo.  Lol.  He keeps getting knocked out and wakes up missing a body part at the vet's.  Neutered.  Claws.  He keeps disappearing a piece at a time.  Lol.  He's probably wondering what he's going to lose next.  He still can't quite put a paw on what it is he's missing, but he's sure there is something gone.  Hmm. 

Had an early, early, early day because I was there at 7am when they opened and then went to work early.  Got off early.  Only one more early in / early out 6 hour shift to go and then I have five whole days off work!  Wow.  I won't know what to do.  Lol.  Actually, I've pretty well got it all planned out.  Dinner at a friend's house with some of the yummy Johnsonville Sausage Stuffing (still haven't made it, but it looks and sounds great still).  Two days chocked full of winery tours and then..  A couple days of rest.  Yay.  Here are a couple more wineries I plan to tour..

Fence Stile, Excelsior Springs, MO:

  So, they had a harvest / lunch Sunday.  I woke up in time, let the dog out, realized how freezing cold and icky it was and went back to sleep snuggled up with Milo.  Lol.  So much for that fun, I'm betting they will have one when it's getting warmer.  I'll be there then!

Ladoga Winery, Smithville, MO:

Aha, a winery near a nice touristy lake.  My way to spend a little time, sippin wine.  : )..  Love the barrel tables.  Looks great.

Amigoni Urban Winery, Kansas City, MO:

Nestled in downtown Kansas City, we were only a couple buildings away from this one a couple weeks ago.  Sounds like an interesting winery.

All in all, there are 9-10 more wineries in this area.  We will have at least two days to visit them, so it won't be all in one afternoon.  I'm putting together a strategic map to optimize each day's wine tour so that we don't miss one and have to backtrack.  Lol.  Also, I'm skipping the dry wines.  Ick.  Last time?  I had a little oaky-licorice heartburn / acid refluxish action going on.  No more of that.  Lol.  I will pass.  Should be an interesting vacation / holiday time. 

My friend also wants to check out the Plaza Lights, thankfully not the Plaza Lighting Ceremony.  We can watch that on live tv from inside a warm house, instead of cram-packed like a can of expensive, hoity-toity sardines stuck in a freezer.  Lol.  A whole bunch of people crammed together in freezing weather to watch them ooooh flick a switch and lights to come on.  Woooo.  Yay.  That's how exciting it is.  Lol.  I'll stay home.  : )..

One more winery..

After hitting five last weekend, I needed food so I missed hitting Albonee.  Finally made it today.  It was a little further out than I thought it was, but I got to see where our Truman Road goes after the point that I usually turn off.  : )..  Here are some pics of the winery and my growing winery stash..

 Sorry, had to take this shot from the side, there were some people enjoying the fire pit and I didnt want them to think I was trying to take their pictures.  Lol.

 I have a corkscrew, apron, neoprene carrier, and four yummy wines (I kinda cheated and added a Pirtle bottle we have had for a bit).  Now I just need to figure out what foods go with which wine.  : )..

 Really loved the Jowler Creek Nort.  Yummy stuff!  Caramel and vanilla undertones with a raisin aftertaste.  Deeelish!

And our Winner Winner Chicken Dinner Winner is.....

By overwhelming opinion, both on here and elsewhere, the winner, winner, chicken dinner winery winner is...  Belvoir Winery...  Steeped in history, rumored to be haunted (yikes!), recently rennovated, newly opened, highly recommended, very welcoming, and ooooh so charming, it was a given that it was above and beyond all of our other choices...  : )..  It's going to be a fun day!  Woot!  Pictures to follow in a couple weeks...

And on another note, yay, we've accumulated enough wineries on our list to qualify for the dinner for four.  Missouri Wine . Org probably thinks we are a couple of winos.  : )..  Lol..  I'm sure the wineries won't complain!  (we won't either!)