If you are among my dearest and loyal friends who follow this blog, you might note that I previously posted about falling off my low-carb diet horse last weekend on account of a very sinful Pasta Alfredo in Pasta Bella. What I failed to tell you was the overwhelming guilt I had after a few bites that I decided to just eat half. The waitress offered to box the remaining half but I firmly declined. Bad move. I have been thinking about that dish all this time…
It wont’s be in a couple of weeks before we return to Fredericksburg so I decided to just make my very own. I DVR’ed the two X-Files episodes that I missed so I need a great dish to watch it with.
Good news: my version, is a one-pot dish, pretty much like all that I cook. This blog should have been titled The Lazy Cook, but it was already taken.
Bad news: I am so falling off the horse for this one. This is not exactly a diet dish. Far from it. The only way this dish could land in Weight Watchers is if the serving is one tablespoon.
the cast of evil characters: half and half, heavy cream, parmesan, garlic paste and pasta.
Cook pasta according to package directions. I would normally use angel hair, but it looks like I don’t have it in my pantry so ordinary spaghetti will have to do. Cook al dente. There is nothing worse that soggy pasta…except gluten-free pasta! Haha.
D cleaned my cooking station. Everything was scrubbed and shined. Time to get it messy!
Make sure you get an extra cup of pasta water. This will come in handy should the sauce come out clumpy or goopy, water it down with the pasta water, problem solved.
Drain in coriander and wash with cold water. Dropping the temperature will prevent it from cooking further, thereby avoiding the soggy pasta
Now for the Alfredo sauce, you only need to remember that the ratio of milk to cheese is 1:2. In this case, I will be using 1/2C of half and half plus 1/2C of heavy cream = 1 cup, then have 2 cups of parmesan. You don’t’ have to use half and half, all heavy cream would be perfect. I mean if you’re the person who could use the calories, then more power to you. I wish I was you…
Start by melting the butter. Yes, there is butter, I didn’t include this in the picture of ingredients because I didn’t want to scare peopleStir in milk and cook in low heat. Add garlic paste. Fresh chopped garlic is even better.
You may season with salt and pepper. In this case, I didn’t. Because really? All this cream and cheese AND salt? Seriously, though. The parmesan has some saltiness to it. It’s really enough. Fresh-cracked pepper would be great though.
Piece de resistance — truffle oil. Forget everything I said about the cream, cheese and salt. Truffle oil is the game-changer. Add 1 tablespoon and tell me how it changed your life.
Here’s my Pasta Alfredo. Note the wavy bowl. I fell in love with wavy dishes when Villeroy and Boch came out with their New Wave design. A little impractical but oh-so-pretty. I was just talking to my dear friend Yassy earlier and we talked about having the need to enjoy our own company as we grow older, coz eventually we will end up being alone. So even as I eat this by myself (D is at work and B is in school), I treat myself fancy. I will change into pajamas and eat this while I watch the new X-files. Is that a great plan or what?
We get our winery membership wines at every start of the quarter. We have a couple in Napa and Sonoma and a butt load in Fredericksburg. For those unfamiliar with the concept, let me start with the good stuff.
You get discounted prices (10-15%). You get about 3-5 bottles every quarter.
You are also able to purchase selections which are limited in quantity most of which are the award-winning wines, not readily available to wholesalers.
You get a free wine tasting at any given time, usually the new mixes available to keep yourself updated.
For those wineries that have restaurants, you get priority seating or dedicated areas usually with prime view or front and center if they have entertainers which is almost every weekend.
The last two applies if you would rather pick them up from the winery as opposed to having it delivered. Now if you opt for the delivery, like we do with our California memberships, it gets kinds gnarly. As much as I would want to, we can’t go to California every three months; we both have the dirty w-word: work! These wines (and mortgages) don’t’ pay for themselves. This option gets you 3-5 bottles of their selection that will fall under your preferences (cab, merlot, syrah etc). In some ways, its nice because every delivery is a surprise. So if you are truly adventurous and want to partake as much variety as the winery has to offer, then this is a good option too.
January marks the beginning of the quarter so we already got notices that we can now go ahead and pick up our bottles. This is not our first rodeo so we know that the key to “longevity” in a wine-filled day is a full stomach. We decided to have a nice early lunch at Pasta Bella. They haven’t been open for long but already I am hearing a lot of good reviews. We tried to have dinner here a couple of months ago with Steve and Ginger but the wait was too long. This time, we came in as soon as they opened for lunch so we were seated immediately. Yey!
The place is not much to look at. In fact, as soon as the doors opened, I can already whiff some cooking-smells from the kitchen. The first thought that came to me was “oh no, my hair will be smelling like spaghetti”. However, it did remind me of the fact that during my long stint in Italy, the best food I had were always from hole-in-the-wall places like these.
D was happy because their wine selection included one of his faves, Cabernet Franc from Messina Hoff.he had Pasta Bella Special #3 which was Angel hair pasta with diced chicken, wild mushroom, sun dried tomato and Jalapeño flakes.I had chicken piccattain many of their good reviews, a lot were about the pasta Alfredo, so I decided to have it on the side as well.
And with that dish, I have officially fallen off the wagon from my low-carb diet. But let me just say that it was totally worth it. I would fall all over again for that pasta. It was cheesy, creamy, decadent and tasted like each bite was 8,000 calories (because i am pretty sure it was).
So with our tummies sufficiently lines with carbs and fat, we set off. Our first stop was Grape Creek Winery. This winery is one the prettiest here in Fredericksburg. Their dedicated section for members is right next to the vineyards. They also have a gorgeous outdoor trattoria. If it weren’t for the fact that it chilly today, we would have started out here with pizzas.
Getting some sun and wine to warm up on this chilly day.
We tasted a couple of their new selections and this our loot.
Merlot, Cuvee Blanc and Grand Rouge Sweet Wine (for me)
Next stop is Alexander Vineyards.They have a really good selection of champagnes. French law states that the term “Champagne” is exclusively used for wines that come from this region. So this is one of the unique wineries in the area whose grapes are not from Texas or any part of the US. Theirs are imported from the small village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger near Epernay in Champagne, France.
Decor here is minimalist, very different from the usual wineries exuding a lot of Texan vibe.Our loot, two Sauternes, (rich sweet wine for me), and Graves (Grand Vin de Bordeaux for D)
Our next stop is a popular favorite : Messina Hof. This is our latest membership because being very popular, each time we come here, it’s always crowded. Some time last month, we were able to beat the crowd and realized why—their wines are fantastic. You see so many bottles of their stuff in HEB and Specs but those are not even close to what they have in their wineries.
Tasting roomWine-tasting is a token system. You buy a certain number of token and each wine selection has a token value.free glasses if you sign up for membership. yey!!!our loot: Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon, Sparkling Almond, Sweet Sangria and Moscato.
Our next stop is a total gem. We found Chisholm Trail Wineries by accident. We were looking for authentic pizza made from a wood burning oven, and Google led us to this. It is tucked amidst hills and rivers, the last thing you would expect is an award-winning winery. And they do have a chef making Napoli-style pizza in a wood-burning oven in the back…
D with the winery’s official mascot, Jack. He is a donkey who roams around the winery with his little pal, Daisy. He is featured in the label of their winning-est wine. He is a celebrity in his own right.Our loot: Almagres (totally awesome port),Bad Ass Blush (note Jack on the label) year 2013 and 2014 and Ghost Rider (sweet red wine)
Bad Ass Blush is hands down the best sweet red that I’ve had. And trust me, I’ve had a lot…It’s a double gold medal winner, and rightfully so. The wacky name is consistent with that of the winery’s vibe; fun, unpretentious, in-your-face-Texas without the brassiness. If you can appreciate the long and winding road that leads here, this is one place you wouldn’t want to miss.
Next on our stop is Kerrville Hills Winery. This is another award-winning winery located just outside of Fredericksburg.
Our loot: Cake Sera-sera, award-winning Texas Syrah (for me) and D had an American Cabernet Sauvignon (2006). We are short of one bottle, Muskrat Love, an orange Moscato, because they ran out. I should have it in two weeks.
Last stop is Santa Maria Cellars, a stone’s throw from our house. Our house sit on top of a hill and this winery is literally on top of another hill next to ours. This area is not called Texas Hill Country for nothing…
This winery is owned by an Argentinian couple. Martin Santa Maria used to be a professional rugby player before he became an award-winning winemaker. He will tell you his wild tales on how he ended up in this side of the world during wine-tasting. He is delightful!Our loot: Cab Port, Muscat Canelli, Red Moscato (all for me) and D had a limited edition Cab Sauvignon
We went to HEB to grab something to cook for dinner. Here’s another delightful treat: their HEB here offers wine-tasting of Non-Texas Wines.
Our loot
From left to right: 14 Hands is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington. Chain Gang Pitch Black Red s from Monterey County, California. Terra d’Oro ‘s Zinfandel Port from Amador County, California.
One of the wonders of being here in Fredericksburg is that time always seems to be on a crawl. We did all this in less than 5 hours! There are a lot of miles in between but there isn’t really much traffic. I cannot believe how productive I am being here. I can’t do three things back in Houston without spending most of my day and consuming most of my gas! (hello…10MPG beast of a G-wagen!!!)
The sun was still shining high and bright when we got home. Amidst all these, Beans stayed at home because he had Algebra project…poor kid. We pre-empted a hang-over by having coffee and left-over Italian Cream cake from Pasta Bella.
My cappuccino and D’s super-sized espresssoAdded bonus: D made a “bunny” image on the cappuccino foam! So talented!!!
I’m getting the salmon ready for the grill for our dinner. I haven’t decided which wine to have with that. We’ve done this kind of round-up for a couple of years now. If you include those from California, all the bottles can really add up, so choosing one for dinner is not exactly simple. “An enriched life is one that is filled with options”— I like that.
Speaking of not-easy choices, we are heading out early tomorrow to make in in time for the Brady-Manning showdown. I’m still not sure who to root for. Either way, it should be fun. Can’t wait!!!
