Join Lloyd Cellars for a romantic evening of rare wine tasting that begins with a champagne reception under the stars at Santa Barbara’s charming old-world Carousel House. Extremely limited reserve level wines are matched with gourmet appetizers from top local chefs, artisan cheeses, fresh fruits, olive oils, and more while live music keeps things super cool.
Bob Blumer has New Idiom for 2022: ‘When Pigs Swim Upstream’
As we wish all of our friends and family a Happy New Year, we also thought we’d wrap Bob Blumer’s ‘Pescatarian Holiday’ Recipe Series by committing the wonderful sin of adding bacon into the mix. It’s been seven weeks of this series – inspired by the Feast of the Seven Fishes and Winemaker Rob Lloyd’s pescatarian ways – so it’s only fair to our meat-eating fans to feed their need for some fatty goodness. Right?
This is the seventh and final installment of Blumer’s ‘Pescatarian Holiday’ 2021 recipes series with Lloyd Cellars. If you’d like to see all of his ‘Pescatarian Holiday’ recipes, we invite you to scroll through our Online Recipes section. Shop our Online Store or utilize our Store Locatorfor local shopping!
Rinse and pat dry fish inside and out. Drizzle cavity of trout with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff cavity with 4 lemon slices and 2 sprigs of thyme.
Wrap trout with bacon like a mummy, using toothpicks to hold bacon in place. Each trout will require approximately 6 strips of bacon.
Grill for approximately 5 minutes per side, or until bacon is crispy and trout is cooked throughout. Resist moving fish around, but peek underneath to ensure that bacon isn’t burning. If necessary, modulate the heat so that the bacon doesn’t burn before the fish is cooked.
Notes
Level of difficulty: As easy as wrapping a gift, then putting it on the BBQActive prep/cooking time: 20 minutes Grilling time: 10 minutesPan version: Trout can be pan-seared in a dry pan over medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes per side, or until cooked throughout.Advance work: Trout can be wrapped in bacon and refrigerated earlier in the day.
Lloyd Cellars is recommending that you embrace and fight being crabby this holiday season. First, by supporting Blumer’s efforts in fighting hunger through Chefs Cycle for No Kid Hungry. You’ll feel so good knowing you’re helping feed hungry children. Second, by embracing Blumer’s savory Crab (Cup)cakes recipe below to share with friends and family this holiday season. This magical recipe, which pairs beautifully with both our Carneros Chardonnay and Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir is guaranteed to lift the spirits of even the most committed Grinch in your social circle.
About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 6 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty.
This December, Blumer launched his 12 Drops of Christmas campaign on Instagram @BobBlumer. Every day he is offering an item from his art archives or cookbooks. Where noted, 100% of the selling price will be in the form of a direct, tax-deductible donation to @NoKidHungry, as part of his fundraising for the upcoming 2-day, 200-mile Chefscycle.
Other items—which will be noted—are conventional sales. His first drop was a signed, limited-edition lithograph he illustrated for his book Surreal Gourmet Entertains. It is 22” x 32” on fine art paper. The price is a $200usd, tax-deductible donation to NoKidHungry. He’s covering the postage and is happy to personalize it. There are a few available. DM him on Instagram @BobBlumer to order and arrange for the direct donation.
cupcake liners; muffin tin (not uncommon, but crucial); piping bag with a startip (ideal, but not necessary)
Ingredients
Crab Cupcake
1small beet
2medium russet potatoespeeled and quartered
2tablespoonsheavy creamat room temperature
2tablespoonsbutterat room temperature
Salt and pepper
1egg
1green onionfinely sliced
2tablespoonsred bell pepperfinely chopped
2tablespoonsbread crumbs or panko
1tablespoonsour cream
zest of 1 lemon + 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2tablespoonsfinely chopped Italian parsley leaves
1garlic clovefinely chopped
¼jalapeño pepperseeds discarded, minced
8ouncesfreshfrozen or tinned crab meat (your choices will vary depending on your shopping options. But fear not, all versions will be tasty in this recipe)
Instructions
To Finish & Serve
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Spray interior of muffin tin with spray oil. Line the tin with 4 paper liners. Generously spray interior of liners. Spoon crab mixture into liners. Gently press crab mixture down and flatten level with the top of the tin.
Just before putting cupcakes in the oven, reheat potatoes by covering the bowl with aluminum foil and placing it over a pot of boiling water for 5 – 10 minutes. When potatoes are steaming hot, finely grate approximately 1 tablespoon of beet and add it to potatoes. Blend thoroughly with a fork. Add more beet for a deeper color if desired.
Bake cupcakes for 8 minutes, or until cakes are fully set, yet still moist. Remove cakes from tin immediately so that they do not continue to cook.
Use a piping bag with a star tip, or a table knife to ice the cupcakes.
Notes
Level of difficulty: About the same as making cupcakes from scratchAdvance work: The crab mixture can be prepared earlier in the day, to the point that the cakes are ready to be baked. Bake and ice just before serving; Mashed potatoes can be made earlier in the day then reheated over a double boiler just before serving (add grated beet after reheating)
Keyword Bob Blumer, Crab Appetizer, Lloyd Cellars, Recipe
Our Inaugural ‘Ferments & Fashion’ Mixer Brings Style and Smiles to Chicago’s Bustling South Loop!
Special thanks to Sweeney Taud StudioZ & Social Club for hosting us, to DJ Simmy for stepping in on the turntables, and of course vintage clothing stylist Derricka Cole for her paring vintage collection with our vintages. Check her out at @old_new_thrifted2. The following is a gallery that was captured by our friend and photographer Gina Gabero!
Bob Blumer comes clean on making the Thanksgiving kitchen way more interesting!
To celebrate the 2021 Holiday Season, Lloyd Cellars and Celebrity Chef and Cookbook Author Bob Blumer will share seven fish recipes beginning the week of Thanksgiving.
Inspired by Winemaker Rob Lloyd’s pescatarian predilections and the annual Feast of the Seven Fishes, Chef Blumer brings his creative and playful twist to each recipe.
We all know that smiles over delicious food are one of the world’s greatest gifts, especially these days!
Additionally, the Thanksgiving turkey can be a challenge at times to deliver a juicy bird to the table – and it takes hours. Blumer’s surreal ‘Dishwasher Salmon with Honey-Ginger Sauce’ is, believe it or not, one of the most consistent, quick and entertaining ways to deliver perfectly poached filets to your guests.
Bob Blumer, host of Food Network's The Surreal Gourmet, has been doing it for years, claiming to have cooked salmon in dishwashers around the world. All you have to do is wrap the salmon tightly in foil, stick the packet in the top rack, and run it on a regular cycle. ~ Food Network
Place 1 fillet in the center of each square and fold up the outer edges.
Cut 4 14-inch(ish) square sheets of aluminum foil.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon lemon juice over each fillet. Season with salt and pepper.
Fold the last ¼-inch of each seam over itself 2 or 3 times and pinch the aluminum foil extra tightly to create an airtight and watertight seal around each packet (see photo). To test if the packets are airtight, press down gently on each one with your hand. If any air escapes, rewrap. (SEE PHOTOS BELOW)
Place foil packets on the top rack of the dishwasher. Run dishwasher for the entire “normal” cycle.
While salmon is “cooking”, prepare the honey-ginger sauce.
When cycle is complete, take out salmon, discard foil, place one fillet on each plate. (Note: Don’t be concerned about the opaque white beads that appear on the fillets. They are simply a redistribution of the salmon’s natural fats.)
HONEY-GINGER INSTRUCTIONS
To a small saucepan add honey, soy, sesame oil, ginger, orange zest and black pepper.
Simmer over medium-low heat for about 3 – 5 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken. Add hot sauce to taste, if desired. Reserve. Reheat over a low heat just before serving.
To Serve Spoon honey ginger sauce overtop each fillet and finish with sesame seeds and green onion.
Notes
Do not attempt to cook a whole fish (don’t think it hasn’t been tried).
Always place fish packets on the top rack.
Make sure other items in the dishwasher, such as silverware, are securely stowed so that they do not fly around and pierce the foil packets.
Set the dishwasher to the “normal” cycle. Some modern dishwashers have “economy” and “cool dry” settings, which are undesirable because they conserve heat. On the other end of the spectrum, the “pots and pans” setting can overcook the fish.
Run salmon through the entire wash-and-dry cycle.
Only attempt to cook salmon while doing the dishes after you have mastered the art of creating air-tight packages.
Level of difficulty: As easy as loading the dishwasherShortcuts: Skip the sauceAdvance work: Salmon packets can be prepared earlier in the dayOven method: Don’t have a dishwasher? Bake foil-wrapped packets in a preheated 400°F oven for 12 minutes (imagine that!).
VIVINO Scan data illustrates 71% growth since the launch of our 2021 marketing and communications campaigns. Prescription Vineyardsin-market programming continues with its exclusive ‘Friday-Eve Live’ wine and music showcases through the end of 2021 – both virtual and live.
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
The Somm Journal & Nat Geo Webinars
The launch of the highly anticipatedNew 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.
July 29th 2021 @ 11am PT 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
The Somm Journal and Nat Geo’s Post-Coverage of the Pinot Noir Webinar Featuring Rob Lloyd with Six Int’l Winemakers
‘Friday-Eve Live’ Goes Virtual for Our ‘Wine & Music to Rock Your World’ August Promotion
‘Friday-Eve Live’ is a production of Lloyd Cellars and Prescription Vineyards, in partnership with A&R Worldwide and Passport Approved Radio and our family of musical artists.
Lloyd Cellars & Prescription announce sponsorship of Hispanic Heritage Month, partnership with two-time Grammy Award-winning Latin artist, Marlow Rosado!
In support of Hispanic Heritage Month, Prescription is underwriting Marlow’s Colorful Sounds concert at Ramkat in Winston-Salem on September 30th in partnership with the Hispanic League. The North Carolina market visit also includes in-store consumer tasting in Winston-Salem and Charlotte.
Texas November In-Market Visit Fouces on Austin Food & Wine, with Promotional Partnerships and Events with Austin Monthly and San Antonio Current
Our November Texas in-market campaign, combining events, print and digital promotions, media lunches and dinners, and ApexDrop Instagram Influencer Holiday Campaign, is expected to generate several million impressions.
One-on-one consumer tastings at exclusive venues in Austin and San Antonio will create demand for our wines at retailers and restaurants throughout the Lone Star state!
The Drop on ApexDrop!
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!
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 <<<