Hey Brother, Pour the Wine

I grew up listening to Dean Martin .....

                                                   (He is so handsome)



                     This weekend I planted my very own grape vine.

I remember when I was a child .....

My grandparents use to grow grapes in their back yard on a Big hill!
We would have to walk up that big hill everyday and pass the grapevines
to cut through to get to our bus stop to go to school.

My friend Jackie is such the Agriculturist.

His plant had a baby so I decided I was going to try
and tackle my own grape vine.

Hopefully by the end of summer my plant can look like his
which is already producing grapes.
( Hope I don't kill it I don't have much of a green thumb)

Were planning on having a wine making party.
(In a year ...Long wait-that is when I believe my plant will start making grapes)

Reminds me again of childhood memories, I would watch the Lucy Ball show with my grandparents and the grape fight episode was one of our favorites & TV Guide.

En route to Rome by train, Lucy is spotted by a famous Italian cinema director and chosen to play a part in his new movie "Bitter Grapes." Lucy sets out to immerse herself in the role. When she nonchalantly wanders into a vineyard inhabited by a motley assortment of Italian-speaking women, she is dispatched to the wine-making area to crush grapes with her feet.

I'm not really sure what kind of grapes I have growing red or white
I guess we have to wait and find out.

History of wine ....

Health Benefits of wine.

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One of my Grandma's Recipe cooking with wine.

Stuffed Artichokes.

Ingredients:

• 4 artichokes

• 1 lemons (& zest)

• 8 Portobello Mushrooms

• 6-8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• kosher salt

• freshly ground pepper

• 1 cup coarse bread crumbs

• 2-3 large cloves garlic

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

• 2 cups vegetable stock or water

• 1/2 cup of Prosecco ( Italian white wine)

You will need a pressure cooker for this recipe.

Directions:

Wash the artichokes.

Gently pull and spread the leaves outward to expose the purple-tipped leaves at the center.

Cut the artichokes and clean out the center core.

I use a serrated knife to cut & grapefruit spoon to scoop.

   Pull out the purple-tipped leaves to expose the fuzzy choke.
               Scrape away the choke all the way down to the artichoke
                            heart-the smooth, firm flesh below the choke.

Use scissors to clip the pedals.

The Artichokes is now ready to be stuffed.

For the stuffing:

Clean the mushroom and remove stems .

Cut the mushroom in small slices.

                                          Saute the mushrooms with Extra Virgin Olive oil.

Add Garlic-pressed.

Set aside the sauteed mushrooms to cool down.

Once cooled in a mixing bowl combine the mushrooms,breadcrumbs,

grated cheese, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning& lemon zest.

Optional: Add one beaten egg.

Chop 2 cloves of garlic.

Gently spread open the center and leaves
and add the garlic all between .
(My husband helped out with this step)

Start Stuffing!

                      The Artichokes are now ready to soak in the sauna....
    Get the bath ready !
                   In the pressure cooker add water, wine, garlic & lemon.
Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice then add the whole lemon in the pressure cooker.
Note : Pour enough Filter water & wine to cover the bottom third of the artichokes.

Nestle the artichokes into the pressure cooker .

Drizzle top of the artichokes with more Extra Virgin Olive oil.

Close the lid on the pressure cooker and steam on high for 25 minutes.

Be careful with pressure cookers can be dangerous, once the steam is coming out fast, or with mine the pressure button rises to the top, then remove from the heat.

                      Plate the Stuffed Artichoke. Serve hot in shallow soup plates,
   spooning some of the cooking liquid around the artichoke.

                                                   How to Eat an Artichoke:

Begin with a cooked artichoke.
Starting at the base of the artichoke, pull off one leaf.
Draw the base of the leaf through your clenched teeth to scrape off the soft portion, discarding the rest of the leaf.
As you progress upward from the base, the leaves become more tender, with larger edible portions until you reach the choke (the undeveloped flower).
What remains is the artichoke heart which is then cut and eaten.