Lunch fit for a King

...Or 50 Cellar rats working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week!

Each week a member of Wahluke Wine Company makes lunch for the whole crew, cellar workers, the maintanace crew, Bottle line, office and viticulture staff and any roaming winemakers.

Lunch for 50, no easy task! And boy can these guys and gals eat!

I chose to prepare America's Test Kitchen Baked Ziti.

Thick noodles, White and red sauce, cheese on top of cheese. I knew they would LOVE this dish.

Cheesy, cheesy goodness. 

6 Trays of Baked Ziti, 4 loafs of garlic bread, 6 bags of salad

4 Hours of preparing

3 Hours of cooking 

30 Minutes of Silence at lunch... Priceless

This was actually my first time preparing Ziti on my own, although I have had this recipe at my parents house many times.  Some may call me crazy, but I like to think I am ambitious.  I followed my father lead and added a little extra Mozzarella, a little more cheese never hurt anyone.  Post Ziti kitchen looks like a red bomb went off but this is totally worth all the dishes!  The Ziti comes together easily.

I like to get as much as I can out of a dish like! When making Baked Ziti for just C and myself, I use two 8 inch square pans and am able to have not only dinner and left overs, but a whole pan in the freezer for unexpected guests or when I don't what to cook!  What is better than that???  

What are your favorite recipies to cook for a crowd?

Have any that were great on a small scale but was an epic fail when done for many mouths?

October in Wine Country

October

The month harvest is in full swing here in the Columbia Valley.

Apples are being plucked from their trees,

Grapes are being transported to the winey, 

There is a feeling of accomplishment in the air as the fruits of this years labor are off to market.

Fall colors on the Wahluke Slope are in full force.  Trees are dropping their leaves.  The vineyards are turning golden and orange with some red sprinkled throughout the long rows.

What signifies fall for you?  

For myself, fall begins in late summer when a certain virus in wine grapes turns the leaves from healthy and thriving green to the beautiful but problematic red.  It sure is beautiful, isn't it?

Tutorial: Grapevine Wreath

Once the grapes are harvested, I love to find uses for the lovely shoots.

This fall wreath was quick to put together, looks great and adds a touch of fall.

Plus I know I can adjust the decor for seasons to come! Score!

What You Need-

• Grapevine
• Pruning Shears
• Hot Glue Gun
• Decor of your choice!

To Make Wreath-

1. Cut shoots post harvest. leave pleanty of buds for next year and remove only from vigorus areas
2.  Remove any leaves and stems from the shoot
3.  Twist shoots together, Working to tuck the ends into the loops of the other shoots
4.  Continue to work shoot, twisting them into the wreath.  Add until desired thickness.

The green shoots are more malleable, they will become brown as they dry out.

I added some burlap and linen rosettes.

I found the tutorial from Pinterest

Secure with a hot glue gun, add cloth for a bow and hang!

A Season in IGs

Mid way through October.

I honestly start to get giddy.  The end is in sight.

 Two more weeks of bringing in fruit. Two weeks. 2!

2013 Season has flown by.  I mark each year with the passing of the growth stages in the vineyard.  From the first leaf tip showing to the fruit being harvested and sent to the winery, I find so much beauty in the work I do.

The spring of 2013 was warm!

 Mid 80's in April gave way to rapid shoot growth with bloom much earlier than past years.  

The anticipation!

A hot summer meant an early verasion.

The berries get soft.

The red grapes go from little peas to beautiful red and purple grapes

Then fall comes along.  

Harvest is hard work. 

But twice a week I drive around with our winemaker, tasting berries, making enology decisions while analysing fruit quality and the fermentation it is destine for.  

Always learning

Some viticulture scientists at WSU IREC in prosser helped to identify this herbicide damage. Everyday I find something new, always learning on the job.

Happy Wednesday!

Time is flying by in the Vineyard!

Hot days and lots of sunshine has had a large impact on the vines! Veriason, the moment the grapes go from hard green peas to soft translucent yellow or red grapes is upon us!

Veraison in Cinsaut

The year has been interesting, hail in june and july damaged some wine and juice grapes, corn and other crops above Sunnyside.  Besides that, it has been a, dare I say it, Normal year!  Everyone was worried as disease pressure was high for the first half of the growing season but to every one's relieve, 2011 has not repeated itself!

Powdery Mildew Single Berry Infection

Owens Meat Market

The word is out.  

Owens Meat Market in Cle Elum has the best meat in Washington.  I personally am a poor judge (for the last 5 years I have only eaten animals that live in water...) but my father and fiance both agree, if you haven't been to Owens, you are missing out.

After a weekend in Seattle, I stopped for gas in Cle Elum and decided to surprise Chad with an Owen's Filet Mignon.  I don't think his mouth has stopped watering since I got home.  I think we will open a bottle of Shining Hill tonight to pair.