Chef Bleifer says, “Do not fear the risotto, embrace its meditative deliciousness.”

Chef Bleifer Mushroom Risotto

The making of Chef Rob Bleifer’s Triple-Mushroom Risotto can help reset life’s priorities


As an everyday staple dish in Northern Italy, we ask ourselves how risotto came to be considered the realm of trained chefs, or at the very least, accomplished home cooks in America. Making risotto does take attention, like systematically stirring in whatever stock a recipe calls for – here Chef Rob Bleifer’s dish is made from chicken and mushroom stock.

Perhaps it’s because instant gratification and a lack of patience are a hallmark of American culture, especially today when answers to anything are a quick Siri question away and overnight shipping has become a standard. As a society, we all need to slow down a bit and taste the beauty of life, and the meditative process of making a delicious risotto is something to embrace, not fear.

Chef Bleifer recommends that you pour yourself a glass of Lloyd Cellars Carneros Chardonnay, take a deep breath, and gently stir his Triple-Mushroom Risotto into existence for the good of humankind…

Follow the former Food Network Executive Chef’s adventures on Instagram: @chef_robear

Chef Bleifer Mushroom Risotto

Chef Bleifer Triple-Mushroom Risotto

Chef Robert Bleifer
Chef Robert Bleifer delivers the rich earthiness to the bowl with his Triple-Mushroom Risotto to pair with our Lloyd Cellars Carneros Chardonnay!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian

Ingredients
  

  • 8 oz cremini or white button mushrooms
  • 8 oz mixed wild mushrooms
  • 4 cups chicken stock not broth
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • Salt & pepper
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parm
  • 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley optional

Instructions
 

  • Remove the stems from cremini mushrooms and chop the caps.
  • Trim the stems from wild mushrooms and slice mushrooms.
  • Place mushroom stems into a small saucepan with the stock and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 1 hour. Strain and discard mushroom stems.
  • In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Add chopped creminis and saute for 3 minutes. Season with salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until the mushrooms have released and then reabsorbed their liquid. Add the onions to the cooked creminis, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for about 7 minutes, or until the onions are wilted, but not browned. Add the garlic and rice and saute for 1 minute, until the garlic is fragrant and the rice is completely coated in oil.
  • Add the white wine and stirring often, let reduce completely.
  • Add 2 ladles of hot chicken/mushroom stock to the rice and stir often, until almost the stock is completely absorbed. Repeat with remaining stock until the rice is tender, but not mushy. If all of the stock has been used and the rice is still undercooked, add water 1 ladle at a time, until the rice is tender.
  • Remove the pan from the heat, stir in grated and season with salt and pepper as needed.
  • Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and saute the mushrooms until browned and just cooked through. Season with salt & pepper, deglaze with the remaining 1/4 cup of wine and let the wine reduce completely.
  • If the risotto has thickened too much, add a touch more of the hot stock or water, until the proper consistency. (Perfect risotto is neither pasty nor soupy.)
  • Transfer the risotto to a serving dish and top with the sauteed mushrooms.
  • Top with chopped parsley, if desired.
  • Serve, as in Italy, as its own course, or serve it as a side dish to virtually any fish, chicken, pork, or beef dish.
Keyword Chardonnay, Chef Robert Bleifer, Lloyd Cellars, Mushrooms, Risotta

Chef Bleifer’s Roast Pork Recipe Carries the Fourth of July Weekend!

Chef Rob Bleifer's Fourth-of-July Menu

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

P.S. We plan to make pork tacos on Monday 🙂

Shop >>> Lloyd Cellars Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

Roast Pork with House Rub

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.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

Pork Roast

  • 1 Pork Shoulder about 2 inches thick and 4 pounds.
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons dry rub recipe below
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

RUB

  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions
 

  • Combine all the rub ingredients in 1 cup jar with a lid and shake until completely mixed. Store for up to 6 months with your spices.
  • Preheat oven to 230 degrees.
  • Rub pork all over with oil. Season with herbs and salt.
  • Place on a large sheet pan or shallow roasting pan and roast for about 4 hours or, when internal temperature is at least 180 and as high as 207.
  • Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
  • Slice and serve either on your favorite bread or with roast potatoes and your favorite seasonal vegetable.

Notes

Chop leftover pork, toss with BBQ sauce for delicious leftover sandwiches.
Keyword Chef Robert Bleifer, Lloyd Cellars, Pinot Noir, Recipe, Roast Pork

Celebrate National ‘Bloomsday’ with Chef Rob Bleifer’s Herb-Roasted Chicken

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!

Click here to order our Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

Chef Bleifer Herb-Roasted Chicken

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.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 chicken 4-5 pounds
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 sprigs rosemary stems removed and chopped
  • 4 sprigs thyme stems removed and chopped
  • 4 sprigs marjoram stems removed and chopped
  • 1 large clove of garlic sliced thin
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • 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.

Source material: https://nationaltoday.com/bloomsday/

Lloyd Cellars & Prescription Launch ‘Back to Fine Dining’ Parallel Promotions in June

Carl Wockner Headlines Friday-Eve Live in Tampa
Lloyd Cellars & Prescription Vineyards Launch 'Back to Fine Dining'  Parallel Promotions in June 2021

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!

Former Food Network Exec Chef Rob Bleifer Partners w/Lloyd Cellars – Serves Up Savory Biscotti as Starter!

Che Bleifer Cameo - Savory Biscotti
Chef Robert Bleifer
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's Savory Biscotti

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!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Italian

Ingredients
  

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup grated parm
  • 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions
 

  • Set an oven rack to the middle shelf and preheat oven to 350.
  • Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together, flour, salt, and baking powder.
  • In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk eggs and then whisk in oil and cheese, herbs, and honey.
  • Add the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula.
  • With floured hands, transfer the dough to a floured work-surface.
  • Roll into a log about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide (it will be flat).
  • Place the log on the cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, until the dough is firm to the touch and lightly golden in color.
  • Cool the log on a rack and lower the oven temperature to 325.
  • With a serrated knife, cut the log into 1/4 inch wide cookies (slice straight across for shorter biscotti or at a 45 degree angle for longer biscotti.
  • Place the sliced biscotti cut-side down onto the cookie sheet and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until dry and golden.
  • Cool on racks and serve immediately, or when fully cool, store in an air-tight cookie tin for several days.
Keyword Chardonnay, Chef Robert Bleifer, Lloyd Cellars, Savory Biscotti