Wine Cork Place Holders
What you need:
6 corks per place setting
1 rubber band
1 strand of raffia twine per place setting
2 sheets of card stock
 This
is a fun, easy craft idea that costs only pennies (not counting
the wine)
if you plan in advance. Before I made the place holders, I saved
wine corks for months. I usually keep bows and ribbons from
presents I receive, and I chose the raffia I used for this craft
from my ribbon box. The only cost was for the card stock I
bought to cut into place cards.
I made these place holders as a birthday gift for my boyfriend,
Don. He loves wine, and has his own wine cellar and lots of
wine-themed accessories. He also enjoys cooking and giving
dinner parties, so this was a perfect present for him.
While I was working on the project, I discovered some corks
brought back
some pleasurable memories. My batch included corks from the
wine I’d chosen when we attended a wine tasting to raise
scholarship money for the University of Southern California.
There was one from the restaurant we’d eaten at on my birthday
and another from our six-month anniversary celebration. I
enjoyed looking at the corks and remembering when we (or more
usually, Don) drank the wine.
When I spread my corks out, I found I had a lot of corks from
several types of wine. When Don finds a vintage he loves, he
tends to buy a case of it. Because I had lots of the same corks,
I used two per setting.
I chose six corks and placed them in two rows of three, wine
stain side down. I made sure any interesting pattern faced
toward the outside, and matching corks were not
placed in the same row. I secured the six corks with a rubber
band.
 Then
I took a business card and inserted it on the top between the
two rows of three. I rolled the rubber band towards the bottom
of the corks in order to have room in the middle for the raffia.
My raffia was thin, and I wrapped it around three times before
knotting it in the center of the front row.
Using nail scissors, I cut off the ends next to the knot. (But
if you prefer, you can
keep the
ends long or tie
 them
in a bow.) Then I made sure
all the
names/patterns faced out. I
secured the raffia with a drop of glue on the knot.
Once the glue was dried, I removed my business card. I then cut
name cards from cream-colored card stock. I wrote Don’s name on
the card and placed on the holder. The rest of the cards, I left
blank so at future dinner parties I can write the name of guests
for each one.
I made Don dinner for his birthday, using the cork place cards
for our table settings. He was surprised and pleased. I hope
when you make this craft project, you’ll be pleased too.
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State
and Regional Specialties
Layered Chicken Tortilla Casserole from California
4 whole, baked chicken breasts
1 dozen corn tortillas
1 small (4.5-ounce) can diced green chilies
1 can (10.5-ounce to 10.75-ounce) cream of chicken soup
1 can (10.5-ounce to 10.75-ounce) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 onion grated
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
Cut chicken and tortillas into slices. Set aside. Mix soups,
milk, onion, and chilies in a large bowl. In a large, buttered
casserole dish, spoon soup mixture on bottom, then layer
chicken, cheese and tortillas. Top with layer of cheese. Cover
with foil and let stand in refrigerator to blend flavors. Bake
at 325 degrees for one hour.
I sometimes mix flour tortillas with the corn tortillas. This
dish has a great flavor and is one that everyone in the family
loves.
Shrimp & Citrus Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
In
Northern California, fine wine and locally produced cheese often
play a major role in the meal, and along the coast we enjoy
fresh seafood.
Here’s a recipe from
Mirassou Winery that uses typical made-in-California
ingredients: shrimp, avocado, oranges, and lettuce.
For the dressing:
1⁄4 cup orange juice
1⁄2 ripe Haas avocado (Reserve the other half for the salad
below.)
1⁄4 cup sour cream
1⁄4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice
1⁄4 cup water
3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
3⁄4 teaspoon sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup salad oil
For the salad:
2 seedless oranges
1 head butter lettuce, washed and torn
3 red radishes, cut into thin wedges
12 large, cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, chilled
1⁄2 ripe Haas avocado
Cilantro leaves as needed for garnish
Pour orange juice and the remaining dressing ingredients into a
blender. Blend for about 30 seconds, or until the dressing is
smooth and the cilantro is very finely minced.
Peel the oranges with a sharp knife as you would a melon. Slice
the orange into 1⁄4-inch wheels, and cut each in half. Place the
lettuce in a mixing bowl, and toss with about half of the
dressing. The leaves should be evenly coated and flavorful, but
not soggy. Transfer the dressed leaves to a broad, shallow,
salad bowl. Arrange the orange segments, radish wedges and
shrimp on the lettuce, and drizzle the salad with additional
dressing to taste. Garnish with whole cilantro leaves and serve
immediately. Serves 6.
Pairing suggestion: a crisp Sauvignon Blanc.
Lobster
Chowder and French Meat Pie
Contributed by Norah
Wilson
Coming from a Maritime province (New Brunswick), I had to go
with a seafood recipe. I chose lobster chowder (yum!). Lobster
is harvested in all four Atlantic provinces and Quebec, and
Canadian lobster is enjoyed in 55 countries. But I couldn’t
leave it at just that. Given our Acadian heritage, I’ve also
included a recipe for Tortière (meat pie). Tortière, while great
year round, is often eaten in French-Canadian homes after
midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
Lobster
Chowder
1 large onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
4 large potatoes
2 cups hot water
3 cups lobster meat, cut in chunks
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons parsley, freshly chopped
3 cups light cream
2 cups milk
In a deep skillet, melt the butter and sauté onion until tender.
Add potatoes, water, salt, pepper, thyme and parsley. Bring to a
boil. Turn down heat and simmer for approximately 15 minutes
until potatoes are tender. Sauté lobster in additional butter,
and add to potato mixture. Add heated milk and cream. Combine
well, re-heat but do not boil. Serves 8.
French Meat Pie (Tortière)
2 pounds lean ground pork
1 pound lean ground beef
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 to 2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1 cup water
3 medium potatoes, mashed
2 packages piecrust mix
Combine pork, beef, onion and garlic in a large, heated skillet.
Cook, stirring often, until meat loses pink color. Stir in
poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, celery, sage and water. Cover.
Simmer 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer 10 minutes longer. Remove
from heat. Stir in mashed potatoes. Cool. Prepare piecrust mix.
Divide into fourths. Put crust into 9-inch pie shell; spoon half
of cooled meat mixture into shell. Fold edges of crust over
meat. Brush the whole thing with egg. Put on top crust. Trim.
Brush with egg. Cut slits in middle. Repeat for second pie. Bake
at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees
and continue cooking for 25 minutes. Bake and freeze or serve
right away. Yield: 2 pies.
Brunswick Stew
By Maureen
Hardegree
Some people, probably from Brunswick County, Virginia, will
claim Brunswick Stew as theirs, but folks here in Georgia will
argue the stew’s origins began in the city of Brunswick, where
city elders erected a cast-iron pot memorial complete with
plaque. In October, Brunswick, Georgia, holds its Stewbilee, where
competitors vie for the title of Brunswick Stewmaster. Although
you will find some recipes that include lima beans and squirrel
meat on the list of ingredients, the following recipe is lima
bean and squirrel free. Of course, if you feel compelled, go
ahead and add them—just don’t ask me to eat it.
Note: This recipe is a great way to use leftover pork roast.
Stew Ingredients:
1 pound chicken thighs, cooked and finely chopped (Buy thighs
with skin to make broth.)
½ pound pork, cooked and finely chopped (Use leftover roast.)
½ pound finely ground beef
1 small package frozen, white, sweet corn
1 onion, minced
2 potatoes, minced
¼ cup butter (to brown onions and potatoes)
1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped, stewed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth (Use the broth from cooking your chicken
thighs.)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Sauce Ingredients:
3 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
¼ cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups ketchup
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup dark-brown sugar
Place chicken thighs in large stew pot, cover with water and
boil until done. While chicken is boiling, chop leftover pork
roast finely. Cook finely ground beef, drain excess fat and
reserve until cool. Place cooled, cooked ground beef in food
processor, and pulse to a fine crumb size. Mince onion and
potatoes. Sauté in butter in skillet until brown. Remove from
heat and reserve. Once thighs are cooked, remove from pot and
reserve liquid. After thighs are cool, remove skin and bones.
Chop meat finely. Return 3 cups of chicken broth to big pot,
plus all the finely chopped meats, the onions and potatoes. Add
a can of chopped, stewed tomatoes and frozen, white corn. Add
freshly ground pepper to taste and two pinches of salt. Stir and
bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer.
Mix sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over
low heat. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Continue simmering
for 10-15 minutes then add to stew mixture and stir.
Transfer to a Crock-Pot® and set on low. Simmer in Crock-Pot at
least 2 hours. Stir occasionally until ready to serve. Check
salt and pepper to taste. If you like a little heat, add a dash
of Tabasco to your individual bowl of stew. Serve with a slice
of warm cornbread.
For metric conversions of the measurements above, consult any
of the following sites:
http://southernfood.about.com/library/info/blconv.htm
http://www.thatsmyhome.com/recipes/conversion.htm
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/conversions.htm
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