Suhru Blog

Cooking with Suhru: Baked Brie

It may seem the obvious choice, but you can never go wrong with a baked brie! Hot, gooey cheese? Yes please! However if you are looking for an elevated approach I highly recommend dressing this classic appetizer up with a handful of chopped nuts, fresh fruit or fruit jam and a few fresh herbs which will take this simple (albeit delicious) dish to the next level.

While there are a variety of wines that you could choose to pair with this particular dish—think Brut, Sauvignon Blanc or a variety of reds—at Suhru we are partial to the Teroldego. The bright red fruit flavors, subtle tannins and soft acidity make this an excellent pairing for a rich, savory dish like a baked brie. The fresh fruit of preserves will bring out the ripe red fruit notes on the pallet while the fresh herbs nod to the savory quality of the wine on the finish.

 

Baked Brie Recipe

Cooking with Suhru: Shiraz

Once the cool weather sets in there is nothing quite like a Sunday Roast served over a bed of root vegetables, paired with a bottle of Shiraz and shared with family and friends!

Given our family's Australian heritage—winemaker Russell Hearn was born in and grew up in Australia—lamb and Shiraz are a regular occurrence on our family dinner table. There is something about the soft, spicy hints of pepper and ripe red fruit notes that make Shiraz—Australian style Shiraz in particular—such a fantastic pairing with lamb. 

This particular recipe was developed by Assistant Winemaker Brad Ulrich and showcases the classic Lamb Roast in a new way. Stop by the Tasting House to pick up a Lamb Roulade Recipe Card complete with wine pairing and tasting notes. 

Lamb Roulade Recipe

Cooking with Suhru: Sauvignon Blanc

One of the wonderful things about Sauvignon Blanc is that it is, what I like to call, an all weather wine. Looking for a rich, nuanced wine to pair with a cheese and charcuterie board? Sauvignon Blanc! Need a dry, cold wine to sip by the pool? Sauvignon Black is perfect. How about a crisp, nuanced white to pair with a savory pasta? You guessed it, Sauvignon Blanc!

While I personally love this varietal in all seasons, it is a particular favorite of mine in the cooler months. Now that the temperature outside has begun to drop, I find myself time and time again reaching for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. One of my favorite meals to pair it with is no other than Roasted Butternut Squash Orzo, or what has become known in my house as "the lazy man's risotto". 

This meal is on regular rotation in my house and works well with any selection of fresh herbs, including rosemary, sage, or thyme. For a richer flavor I recommend swapping out the vegetable broth with chicken broth and mixing in a little parmesan to the dish as well as sprinkling on top. This is a great staple recipe that is easy to play around with and make your own. Grab a bottle of Suhru Sauvignon Blanc and get cooking!

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Cooking with Suhru: Garden Pesto Gnocchi + Sauvignon Blanc

Late August brings warm days, soon to be cooler nights, and an abundance of fresh produce! One of our favorite summer traditions is harvesting basil from the garden to make homemade pesto. With my garden currently overflowing, this recipe has been on regular rotation.

The key to a good pesto (or a good wine for that matter) is good ingredients. The better the ingredients, the better the end result. You can easily make pesto year round but garden or farm stand fresh basil makes the best pesto if you ask me! Throughout the month of August I try to make as much pesto as possible, filling my freezer with jars of pesto to last the entirety of the year.

I like to think of pesto as a building block. It is such a delicious staple to start a meal and works wonderfully in hot or cold pasta dishes, with sausage, as a veggie dip, spread on a sandwich, over roasted veggies and more! It's a very simple summer option but is a great starting point to build a wide variety of meals. With an abundance of fresh, home grown tomatoes and basil overflowing from our gardens, we at Suhru are sharing our go to summer pesto recipe served atop gnocchi and paired with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

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Cooking with Suhru: Blackened Fluke Tacos + Dry Riesling

Summer brings many things—long days, warm weather, the opening of pools, time spent on the water, lazy days at the beach, and in my house endless talk about fishing and a fully stocked fish freezer!

Fluke season opens on Long Island in May with the peak of the season occurring in the beginning of July. Over the last few weeks Brad (Suhru's assistant winemaker and my husband) and I have spent quite a bit of time on the water fishing from kayaks, boats, and the beach which means we have lots of fluke to go around. There is no shortage of excellent ways to cook this delicious local fish, however one of our summer favorites is blackened fish tacos!

A few years ago while looking for spice rub recipes I stumbled across a recipe on EverydayMadeFresh.com that became the inspiration for the recipe below. When it comes to freshly caught fish I like clean, simple flavors that highlight the natural flavors of the fluke which is why I tend to keep the toppings pretty simple and scarce. If you are looking for additional flavors, shredded carrots and chopped green onions both make excellent additions to the cabbage slaw.

Fluke Taco Recipe

Cooking with Suhru: Pinot Grigio + Easy Shrimp Bake

Nothing says summer like shrimp on the BBQ! Pair it with a nice, chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio and you have quite the quintessential summer evening! 

I stumbled across this Delish.com recipe for Grilled Shrimp Foil Packets a few weeks ago and it has quickly become a staple in our household and one that is sure to make a splash this summer at a BBQ because it has all the wow factor with very little work! This delicious dinner is fast and easy for a mid-week meal and with no mess and quick and simple cleanup, it is quickly becoming one of my favorites!

I have long been a fan of the Cajun/Louisiana Crawfish Boil, and while not quite the same, this 30 minute recipe is a close second! But don't take my word for it, try it with a bottle of Pinot Grigio and prepare for an all around excellent evening!

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Cooking with Suhru: Sauvignon Blanc + Goat Cheese Asparagus Pasta Salad

One of the (many) great things about living on the East End of Long Island is the incredible access to fresh, local produce throughout the Spring, Summer, and early Fall months! I have been patiently awaiting the arrival of local asparagus and now that Wickhams Farm Stand (across the street from the Suhru Tasting House) has asparagus on the stand nothing will stop me from eating it at least once a day!

Given my love for asparagus you can only imagine my delight upon stumbling across Lauren Lombardi's Farmers market pasta salad with Catapano goat cheese (another favorite!) recently featured in the May edition of Northforker!

Lauren's original recipe can be found on Northforker.com, however I have included her recipe with a few additions of my own below. I'll be serving this at all my upcoming outdoor and warm weather events, paired with a crisp, cold bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, I hope you enjoy!

Try the Recipe

Cooking with Suhru: Smoked Chicken & Cabernet Franc

It's a beautiful day for a smoked chicken and a glass of red! With the weather warming up, we are so excited to be able to pull out the smoker from the garage and smoke a dry rubbed chicken on the grill!

We do a lot of grilling in the warmer months and in the last few years have done a lot of our outdoor cooking on our smoker. Smokers are a great way to infuse extra flavor into grilled dishes and allow for more precision when cooking your meats. Last Thanksgiving we experimented with cooking a turkey on the smoker which kickstarted a quest to perfect the perfect smoked poultry (and started a new Thanksgiving tradition)!

A favorite has been smoked chicken. We use a classic dry rub and throughout the cooking process spritz it with apple cider vinegar. A smoker allows for quite a bit of experimentation so play around with the flavors, wood flavors, and cooking times till you find the one you like best, not a bad project for the warmer days ahead!

Pair this meal with a bottle of Cabernet Franc, some grilled veggies, and a little alfresco dining and you have quite the evening ahead of you!

Learn More about our Cabernet Franc

Cooking with Suhru: Fish & Chips with Pinot Grigio

Is there anything more quintessentially beach town summer than Fish & Chips ? I think not. Pair it with a bottle of our crisp and refreshing Pinot Grigio or crack open a Pinot Grigio can and you have the all the makings on a perfect backyard BBQ! 

In the Hearn household Fish and Chips is taken very seriously. My father (our winemaker, Russell Hearn) is Australian and growing up whenever we would go to visit his family in Perth one of the first things we did after stepping off the plane was go get a Fish & Chips dinner. There is something about the savory, sweet flavor of the flaky fried fish paired with the salty chips all smothered in malt vinegar that will forever taste like home. Now as adult, pairing it all with a crisp bottle of Pinot Grigio just makes the flavors sing!

There are many rules of thought and suggested guidelines when it comes to food pairing. However one of my favorite wine and food pairing hacks that works especially well with Pinot Grigio is any meal that you would squeeze lemon over will pair beautifully with our Pinot Grigio because the bright acidity and hints of lemon in the wine will compliment the dish in the same way that a squeeze of lemon would, opening up the flavors and adding that little bit of contrast!

Over the last year, Brad & I have been busy testing and tasting every fish & chips recipe we can get our hands on to bring you the best one out there for at home cooking! (It's a hard job but someone has to do it) We finally found the one! I can't recommend enough The Spruce Eats British Fish and Chips recipe! However my suggestions to taking this meal to the next level:

1. Cook the whole meal on the grill outside to keep your house from smelling like fried foods.
2. Don't bother peeling the potatoes, the little bit of potato peel adds some nice texture and flavor to the chips.
3. Be sure to pickup some malt vinegar and dowse the whole plate before digging in. Enjoy!

Learn More about our Pinot Grigio

Cooking With Suhru: Mac & Cheese

There are few dishes that provide more warmth, satisfaction, and comfort than homemade mac & cheese! Maybe it's just me, but there is something completely irresistible about hot cheese no matter its form, but if I had to pick a favorite way to eat it, this recipe takes the cake every time!

Good friends of the family and members of our Wine Club—Tom & Nancy—introduced us to this recipe many years ago on a family ski trip and ever since it has been one of my winter staples (and I think you'll understand why)!

Whether sharing dinner with friends after a long day on the mountain, dressing it up (and adding lobster) for an appearance at Christmas Eve, or enjoying as a little comfort food in a long, cold winter, this recipe hits the spot every time!

Mac & Cheese with a bottle of wine may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but don't knock it till you try it (trust me)! Pair your decadent baked mac & cheese with a fruity, medium-bodied wine like our Merlot and you have a perfect night in!

So without further ado...

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Tom's Famous Baked Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 stick of salted butter
• 1/2 cup flour (more or less if needed)
• 1 pint half & half
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 pound Velveeta
• 1 pound hard cheese (whichever variety you like)
• 1 pound macaroni noodles
• 1 pound ham or bacon, cubed (optional)
• 1 packaged shredded cheese (whichever variety you like)
• 1 tbsp paprika

Directions:

1. Make a rue, by first melting the butter in a large saucepan on medium heat. Once melted, add diced onions and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, roughly 5 minutes.
2. While the onions are cooking, get your flour and half & half ready, measuring each into their own small bowl and set aside. Prepare the cheese by cutting the hard cheese and Velveeta into cubes and set aside.
3. Once onions are translucent, turn off the stove top and slowly add flour into the onion mixture, stirring constantly to keep it from burning. Once the flour is fully combined, slowly pour in the half & half stirring all the while.
4. Add salt, pepper and mustard to your rue and stir. Your mixture should be a smooth liquid, not a solid. Add milk as needed to ensure you maintain a soupy consistency as it thickens. 
5. Turn the heat back on to low and slowly add the cubed cheese & Velveeta, stirring all the while. (You will get a nice arm workout while making this). Stir until the cheese has fully melted and is one homogenous sauce. Turn off stove top and set cheese mixture aside.
6. Cook the macaroni following the instructions on the box for al dente.
7. While the macaroni is cooking, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease your casserole dish(es). I prefer to split mine into two smaller round Pyrex's and freeze one (uncooked) so I can pull it out of the freezer and throw it in the oven on a day I don't feel like cooking. 
8. Once the macaroni is finished cooking, drain and pour into the cheese mixture. Add the cubed ham and mix until well combined. 
9. Pour the macaroni and cheese mixture into your baking dishes. Top the mixture with your shredded cheese and sprinkle with a dusting of paprika.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cheese is bubbling and a brown crispy crust has formed on the top of your macaroni and cheese.
11. Serve with a bottle of Merlot and enjoy!

For more Recipe and Pairing Suggestion, checkout Cooking with Suhru!