Make this delicious Roast Pork with House Rub entree for Saturday dinner; turn leftovers into Sunday picnic sandwiches!
We’re very excited that the Fourth of July is on an actual weekend this year. (Honestly, it’s kind of a bummer when it lands on a Wednesday, right?) This weekend we’re making Chef Rob Bleifer’s Roast Pork recipe for our Saturday evening entree and pairing it with our Lloyd Cellars Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. Then for our Sunday Fourth of July celebration, we’re going to chop up the leftover pork and toss it with barbecue sauce to make pork sandwiches. This strategy allows for less time in the kitchen and more time to celebrate with friends and family…and to sip more Pinot Noir! Follow the former Food Network Executive Chef’s adventures on Instagram: @chef_robear
Chef Robert Bleifer goes for a classic, pairing pork with our Lloyd Cellars Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. What makes this recipe so satisfying is the rub and the technique to bring it to the table.
The Pastafarians were the first to connect String Theory and single-bowl noodle dishes through abstract thought. We arrived at this saucy mind space after a couple of glasses of Lloyd Cellars Pinot Noir. Image courtesy of venganza.org.
As the world of science continues to pursue a unifying theory to explain physics, known as String Theory, the culinary world solved the one-bowl meal conundrum centuries ago. In 2005, a team of archaeologists reported finding an earthenware bowl that contained 4000-year-old noodles at the Lajia archaeological site in China. So from Asian noodles to Italian spaghetti (there’s a Marco Polo relativity joke somewhere here), these unleavened dough strings have been the cookery connectors in serving up endless deliciousness in single-bowl servings.
Our good friend Chef Robert Bleifer, former Executive Chef at Food Network and father, knows the advantages of serving up healthy, one-bowl meals to the family. Here, he shares his Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs recipe. But, of course, he’s ‘adulted’ the meal by pairing our Lloyd Cellars Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir with this tasty and easy recipe. Dish up this combo to friends and family and let your minds wander off to places yet unexplored!
Make sure to follow Chef Bleifer’s culinary adventures on Instagram: @chef_robear
You'll want to gobble down Chef Robert Bleifer's turkey meatball and spaghetti recipe – each bite followed by a sip from a goblet full of our robust Lloyd Cellars Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir!
1/4cupfresh breadcrumbsplace 1 large slice of bread in a spice grinder or mini-chopper
1/4cupfreshly grated parmeggiano
1teaspoondried Italian herbsbasil, marjoram, oregano, thyme
1clovegarlicminced
1egg yolk
2teaspoonskosher salt
2tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil
1/2cupdry red wine
1cupchicken stock
4cupsmarinara sauce
1poundspaghetti
Fresh grated parm and basil for servingoptional
Instructions
In a medium-large bowl, mix together: turkey, breadcrumbs, parm, herbs, garlic, egg yolk, and salt. Mix thoroughly and form into balls slightly smaller than ping-pong balls. You should have close to 20.
Place a large saute pan medium-high heat, add the oil, and brown the meatball on all sides (adjusting the heat as necessary to keep from burning.)
When fully browned, deglaze with red wine, scrape up any stuck browned bits and let reduce until just a tablespoon remains. Transfer to a medium saucepan with the stock and marinara. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes. If the sauce has gotten too thick, add water to bring back to the consistency of the jarred sauce.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. Add pasta and cook al dente, according to packaged directions.
Drain pasta, immediately toss with sauce and serve immediately.
Serve with extra grated parm and fresh basil if desired.
Keyword Chef Robert Bleifer, Lloyd Cellars, Pinot Noir, Recipe, Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist, short story writer, poet, teacher, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century.
Our Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir is a Classic Pairing with Roast Chicken and a Good Read
June 16th is National Bloomsday, commemorating the life and legend of Irish writer James Joyce. The significance of June 16 is taken from his 1922 novel, “Ulysses,” which takes place on June 16, 1904, and follows a day in the life of the story’s protagonist Leopold Bloom. (Coincidently, “Ulysses” was published just after the end of the Spanish Flu Pandemic.)
Throughout Ulysses, food plays an important role in revealing the characters’ personalities. Food and its consumption receive a complex and subtle significance reflecting social class, temperament, and offers opportunities for interaction.
Lloyd Cellars is all about the role food plays in our lives, and over the past year-and-a-half, the impact it’s had on the hospitality world and especially restaurants. We’re celebrating the resilience of restaurateurs, chefs, servers, and front- and back-of-house folk with our ‘Back to Fine Dining’ campaign to inspire people to get out and support!
We’re also sharing recipes from our friend Chef Robert Bleifer to inspire families to once again gather around the table with friends to break bread and toast to better times. We thought Chef’s Herb-Roasted Chicken recipe was a good fit for the day, though we’re sure Joyce would have requested the bird’s livers fried.
Enjoy and remember to follow Chef Bleifer on Instagram at @chef_robear!
Chef Bleifer is all about the spatchcock technique – the chicken cooks more evenly as it's on a level surface, so the breast and thigh meat are done at the same time. It's all about balance, just like our Lloyd Cellars Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, a blend from the Rio Vista and La Viña vineyards.
If you choose, you can marinate the chicken at room temperature for 2 hours before cooking, or just go straight into the oven.
Spatchcock the chicken, aka remove the backbone, so that the chicken can lay flat for cooking.
The easiest way to remove the backbone is to cut along each side of the backbone with kitchen shears, starting next to the tail and working your way down towards the neck.
Once the backbone is removed, either press hard on the middle of the breast to help flatten the chicken or make a slight cut on the underside by the keel bone to make this easier.
Once the chicken is spatchcocked, gently slide your fingers under the skin and place half of the chopped herbs and garlic under the skin.
Rub the chicken all over with olive oil.
Season liberally with salt and pepper and season the underside with the remaining chopped herbs and garlic.
Heat oven to 400.
Place the chicken on a large sheet pan or shallow roasting pan and place in oven with the legs towards the back of the oven. Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, rotating the chicken after 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 160 in the breast and 180 in the thighs.
If you had marinated the chicken at room temperature, cooking time should be somewhat shorter. Begin checking the internal temperature after 60 minutes.
When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and place on a carving board and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Serve with rice or potatoes and your favorite seasonal vegetable.
Lloyd Cellars was honored to have our very own winemaker Rob Lloyd as a panelist of seven featured winemakers from around the world
In the spirit of continuing education for beverage professionals and consumers, The SOMM Journal — in association with National Geographicand SommCon — is hosting a series of complimentary, one-of-a-kind wine-tasting webinar series entitled Geographical Digest. The events are hosted virtually by winemakers from across the globe and broadcast live. Videos of the webinars are available on-demand soon after airing.
~ The Synopsis and Featured Regions and Wineries ~
Winemakers have a funny relationship with Pinot Noir: The quirky grape can gratify or frustrate, be delicate or durable, muse or mischief, but one way or another it always inspires passion and pride. Lars Leicht of The Somm Journal, and Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson, co-host this Pinot parley with seven wine whisperers from distinct terroirs around the world.
>>> If you’d like to jump ahead to Rob’s interview, it begins at 1:06:45 <<<
Curry Up and Try This Delicious Food and Wine Pairing
As we transition from spring to summertime, outdoor dining and picnics can become a weekly event. Creating simple all-in-one dishes that hold up well to time and travel is a winning strategy. Chef Robert Bleifer’s Curried Chicken Salad is the perfect East-meets-West dish that can be served on bread, in a lettuce wrap, or over a fresh green salad. We hope you enjoy and remember to follow Chef Bleifer on Instagram at @chef_robear!
Tip: keep your curry on the milder side when pairing with wines.
2 ½cupschopped cooked chickenleftover or rotisserie
1small applechopped into ¼ inch pieces
1/4cupchopped toasted walnuts
1small stalk celerychopped into ¼ inch pieces (optional)
Salt & pepper to tastemy chicken was very well seasoned, and I didn’t need to add additional salt
Bread and baby romaine for serving
Instructions
Add oil to a small saute pan, stir in curry powder and place over low heat. Stir often for about 3 minutes, or until the curry mixture gets fragrant and just starts to bubble. Pour the curry into a medium bowl and add mayo. Stir in remaining ingredients and season with salt andpepper to taste. Serve with bread and greens.
Lloyd Cellars Partners with Former Food Network Executive Rob Bleifer for Instagram Influencer Awareness Campaign, Recipe Blog Series
Prescription Vineyards Sponsors Tampa Bay Restaurant Week June 17 – 27, Launching New Wine & Music Showcase Event ‘Friday-Eve Live’ on Opening Night at Epicurean
(June 2nd, 2021, Napa Valley, CA) –Lloyd Cellars and Prescription Vineyards are returning to in-market work after fourteen months of sheltering in place. Lloyd Cellars, founded in 2008 by Rob and Bonnie Lloyd, felt that an important mission when getting back to market work is to bring awareness and support to restaurants as the nation begins to reopen.
“In our small way, we want to inspire people to get back to fine dining,” said winemaker Rob Lloyd. “If all the small, medium, and large wineries made this a priority, the wine industry could have a positive impact on a segment of our business that was the hardest hit.”
Lloyd Cellars has partnered with former Food Network Executive Chef Robert Bleifer to create delicious content for its June’ Back to Fine Dining’ Instagram Influencer campaign with Social Media agency, ApexDrop. In his 24-years at Food Network, Chef Bleifer was responsible for everything from managing the kitchen of 18 food stylists and recipe developers to coordinating with production teams, chefs and hosts, guest chefs, and much more. He was also an on-air presence, judging numerous Food Network Challenges, catering the three Food Network Wedding specials, and many other ‘cameo’ appearances. He’s now in the development stage of several new projects, including a book. Chef Bleifer can be followed on Instagram: @chef_robear.
In 2015, Rob and Bonnie founded their second label, Prescription Vineyards. Primarily focused on retail, Prescription Vineyards is presenting the opportunity for restaurants to feature its Clarksburg Chardonnay and Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon on wine-by-the-glass menus. “We saw Tampa Bay Restaurant Week as a way present our wine-by-the-glass program in a high-profile way,” said Director of Sales, Greg Moore, “while also supporting and bringing awareness to restaurants and getting people back to the table. We’re excited to be the first exclusive wine sponsor in the 15-years that Creative Loafing Tampa has produced the event.”
As part of the in-market efforts, Prescription Vineyards is also launching a new consumer event, ‘Friday-Eve Live.’ Playing off the pop-culture phenomenon of people jump-starting their weekend by calling Thursday nights’ Friday Eve’, the event is part wine tasting, part musical showcase. ‘Friday-Eve Live’ will launch on the opening night of Tampa Bay Restaurant Week on Thursday, June 17th, in partnership with Creative Loafing Tampa and iHeartRadio/Central Florida, and hosted by Epicurean and Élevage SoHo Kitchen & Bar in Tampa, Florida. Tickets are $25 advance, $35 at door if available.
“iHeartMedia is excited to be a part of and attend ‘Friday-Eve Live’ on June 17 at Epicurean,” said April Easterly, Promotions Director at Rumba 106.5 and US 103.5. “As the kick-off to Tampa Bay
Restaurant Week, our very own Tampa Talents can’t wait to experience the great food and sips from the Bay. Katie Sommers on middays with 93.3 FLZ, and Ian Beckles, who is on evenings as Co-Host of Beckles and Recher on 95.3 WDAE, will be attending.”
Musical guest Carl Wockner was named the first and only Australian artist to win Top Honors at the International Acoustic Music Award’s 2015 (USA). He also scored in the top of the AAA category for the release of his album Crayon Days with producer Michael Flanders in Nashville, Tennessee. He was recently awarded “Musician of the Year 20/21” by Western Australia Prestige Awards. “Bonnie and I love music,” said Rob Lloyd, “and helping artists get back to work just feels right.”
A portion of Tampa Bay Restaurant Week proceeds benefit Feeding Tampa Bay!
Chef Rob Bleifer teases his Lloyd Cellars ‘Back to Fine Dining’ six-part recipe series with his Savory Biscotti
As part of our June 2021 celebration of getting ‘Back to fine dining’ (yes!), we’re excited to announce our partnership with Chef Robert Bleifer, who most recently served as Executive Chef & Vice President of Culinary Production for Food Network for 24-years. Chef Rob has created six recipe pairings to share with our Members and fans, which we’ll dole out in a six-part blog series now through June!
Chef Rob was responsible for everything from managing the kitchen of 18 Food Stylists and Recipe Developers to coordinating with Production teams, Chefs/Hosts, Guest Chefs, and much more. He was also an on-air presence, judging numerous Food Network Challenges, catering the three Food Network Wedding specials, and many other “cameo” appearances.
We invite you to follow Chef Rob on Instagram @chef_robear! He’s got a lot of new projects in works and you’re going to want to be the first to know!
FYI, sister winery Prescription Vineyards is also celebrating ‘Back to Fine Dining’ by being the exclusive wine sponsor for Tampa Bay Restaurant Week this June 17 through 27. Click here to learn more…
We’re going to jump-start Chef Rob’s series with something we’ve never seen before, a Savory Biscotti recipe to pair with our Lloyd Cellars Carneros Chardonnay. This certainly redefines the idea of ‘breakfast for dinner.’
Happy home cheffing!
Chef Bleifer Savory Biscotti
Sure, you love biscotti with your coffee in the morning, but now it's wine-thirty and you're still craving pastry. Chef Robert Bleifer comes to the rescue with his Savory Biscotti to pair with our Lloyd Cellars Carneros Chardonnay!
Prescription Vineyards is returning to in-market programming as the exclusive wine sponsor for Tampa Bay Restaurant Week happening June 17th – 27th, 2021. A portion of the proceeds benefits Feeding Tampa Bay!
In our Lloyd Cellars Market Update, we always share recent scores and links to promotional assets such as Shelf-Talkers, Line Cards, Data Sheets, and Bottle Shots.
~ Please read on for more marketing activities and links to our recent blog features! ~
Joel Quigley, Director of Marketing Communications | Joel@LloydCellars.com | (707) 495-0831
Chef Bleifer Partners with Lloyd Cellars
As part of our June 2021 celebration of getting back to fine dining (yes!), we’re excited to announce our partnership with Chef Robert Bleifer, who most recently served as Executive Chef and Vice President of Culinary Production for Food Network.
Chef Rob was responsible for everything from managing the kitchen of 18 Food Stylists and Recipe Developers to coordinating with Production teams, Chefs/Hosts, Guest Chefs, and much more. He was also an on-air presence, judging numerous Food Network Challenges, catering the 3 Food Network Wedding specials, and many other “cameo” appearances.
Sip Sip Hooray Podcast Interview with Winemaker Rob Lloyd is Live!
As we shared in our Q1 report for 2021, we have a series of virtual events scheduled throughout the year. OurSip Sip Hooray Podcast with Award-Winning Media Hosts Mary Babbit and Mary Orlin, all integrated with our ongoing Instagram Influencer campaigns with ApexDrop, has posted for April. Check out the podcast featuring our very own Winemaker Rob Lloyd, who’ve they’ve dubbed the Chardonnay King!
Stay tuned for June when Chef Rob shares his recipe pairings with Lloyd Cellars wines and into the future as he announces exciting new projects from the culinary mind of Chef Robert Bleifer!
In addition to ApexDrop’s robust content generation and product sampling, each campaign with the 50 Instagram Influencers has had a total following of more than 750,000 followers. Over our last three campaigns, our total reach has surpassed 1.5 million with our Engagements reaching more than 60,000. We invite you to visit our Instagram accounts with Tags to see the quality and diversity of our content and, of course, follow us!
The launch of the highly anticipated New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia by National Geographic Books is the catalyst for the innovative approach and synergies among industry leaders in their categories. The SOMM Journal — in association with National Geographicand SommCon — invites you to participate in these complimentary, one-of-a-kind wine-tasting webinar series entitled Geographical Digest.
May 11th 2021 @ 9:00am PT National Geographic “Pinot Noir: Aspects from Delicacy to Durability“ Webinar, moderated by Master of Wine Andrea Robinson, in association with the Somm Foundation Winemaker Rob Lloyd to Speak to Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
July 29th 2021 @ Time TBA Buyer’s Forum: In association with the Somm Foundation, Prescription Vineyards tastes along with 40 qualified wine buyers featuring the upcoming release of our 2019 Clarksburg Chardonnay Winemaker Rob Lloyd & Director of Sales Greg Moore Lead Our Discussion
September 14th 2021 @ 9:00am PT National Geographic “Balancing Act: Chardonnay at its Best’ Webinar in association with the Somm Foundation Winemaker Rob Lloyd to Speak to Carneros Chardonnay
Note: These webinars are part of a year-long marketing campaign that includes advertising, editorial, and social media
Lloyd Cellars 2019 Carneros Chardonnay Lush notes of lemon cream pie add to the silky mouthfeel of this superlative white. A hint of sage, cinnamon, and jasmine make it exotic. Texturally generous with spiced sandalwood and voluptuous notes of chamomile and honey. ~ Meridith May, Publisher
Lloyd Cellars and Prescription Vineyards have an exciting year planned for 2021. Here in our Market Update, we share recent scores and links to promotional assets such as Shelf-Talkers, Line Cards, Data Sheets and Bottle Shots.
Additionally, we have a series of virtual events scheduled, including Webinars with National Geographic and The Somm Journal, an upcoming Sip Sip Hooray Podcast with Award-Winning Media Hosts Mary Babbit and Mary Orlin, all integrated with our ongoing Instagram Influencer campaigns with ApexDrop. These Instagram Influencer campaigns also feature our pop-culture partnerships with top chefs and musical artists.
Though in-market event planning is still fluid due to Covid, we are putting down markers and making appropriate plans to support our distributor and on- and off-premise partners. Please read on the for more details and links to our recent blog features!
The launch of the highly anticipated New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia by National Geographic Books is the catalyst for the innovative approach and synergies among industry leaders in their categories. The SOMM Journal — in association with National Geographicand SommCon — invites you to participate in these complimentary, one-of-a-kind wine-tasting webinar series entitled Geographical Digest.
May 11th 2021 @ 9:00am PT National Geographic “Pinot Noir: Aspects from Delicacy to Durability“ Webinar, moderated by Master of Wine Andrea Robinson, in association with the Somm Foundation Winemaker Rob Lloyd to Speak to Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
July 29th 2021 @ Time TBA Buyer’s Forum: In association with the Somm Foundation, Prescription Vineyards tastes along with 40 qualified wine buyers featuring the upcoming release of our 2019 Clarksburg Chardonnay Winemaker Rob Lloyd & Director of Sales Greg Moore Lead Our Discussion
September 14th 2021 @ 9:00am PT National Geographic “Balancing Act: Chardonnay at its Best’ Webinar in association with the Somm Foundation Winemaker Rob Lloyd to Speak to Carneros Chardonnay
Note: These webinars are part of a year-long marketing campaign that includes advertising, editorial and social media
ApexDrop Instagram Influencer Campaigns
ApexDrop is a marketing firm that manages a network of thousands of Instagram Influencers. We produced three campaigns from October 2020 to February 2021, including our holiday campaign in partnership with Celebrity Chef, Author, and Artist Bob Blumer, to celebrate the holidays and his new cookbook Flavorbomb. Blumer has had three shows on the Food Network, has penned many award-winning cookbooks, and holds 8 Guinness World Book of Records.
We have scheduled three campaigns for 2021 running March through August. With each effort, we engage with 50 hand-selected Instagram Influencers. We set the theme, hashtags, and photo wish list. All User-Generated Content, including comments/reviews and photos, becomes the property of Lloyd Cellars for promotion through our Social Media Networks and beyond.
In addition to the robust content generation and product sampling, each campaign with the 50 Instagram Influencers has had a total following of more than 750,000 followers. Over our last three campaigns, our total reach has surpassed 1.5 million with our Engagements reaching more than 60,000. We invite you to visit our Instagram accounts with Tags to see the quality and diversity of our content and, of course, follow us!
