I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Red Wines
Grilled New York Strip Steak with Coffee Marinade and Rub
Coffee adds great flavor to both a marinade and dry rub for a grilled New York Strip Steak. This recipe for coffee marinated steak is easy enough for a weeknight, but indulgent enough for a special occasion. For years I used to give Sean a hard time for being obsessed with visiting Starbucks on a…
Maple Chipotle Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon
Cedar Plank Salmon is amazing when coated with a sweet and spicy chipotle dry rub, cooked on the grill giving it that smoked influence, and finished with a maple syrup glaze. Sweet, spicy, and absolutely incredible. And if you don’t have a grill you can easily do this in a hot cast iron pan and…
Red Wine Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak
Grilled Skirt Steak is a delicious cut of beef that cooks up quickly and marinates perfectly in our savory red wine marinade. It is great for weeknight meals, or your next Taco Night. Since moving to the country we’ve had to get serious about weeknight dinners. Before, when we lived minutes away from several grocery…
Winter Reds — January 2018
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Smoked Meatballs in a Cranberry Pinot Noir Sauce (recipe and video)
Smoked meatballs braised in a sweet and savory cranberry Pinot Noir sauce is one of our all time favorite holiday appetizers. It’s always a hit at a party! Guess what? The mystery of the Cranberry Pinot Noir Meatballs has been solved!!! The first time I wrote about this recipe I told you about how we…
12 Wines for Fall Sipping
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Smoked Pulled Lamb Sliders
Lamb Shoulder is slow smoked to perfection, and then tenderly pulled making incredible smoked pulled lamb sliders. You are familiar with using a pork shoulder, which is usually slowly smoked to perfection and then used to make delectable pulled pork sandwiches. But have you tried the same method with a lamb shoulder, and using that…
The Move, The Barn, New Beginnings
If you’re here for BBQ recipes, you won’t find any today. But I promise you we have some exciting new recipes and videos coming up next week. Today is all about our big move. So if you’re ready to sit down with a cup of joe and see a ton of pictures, continue on… I’ve…
12 Wines to Keep Summer Alive!
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Blueberry Bourbon Baby Back Ribs
Blueberry Bourbon Smoked Baby Back Ribs have incredible rich and savory flavors that will wow your guests next time you smoke ribs. This is a fun smoked baby back rib recipe to try if you want to change up from traditional BBQ flavors. Blueberry season has officially arrived in the Pacific Northwest. I friggin love…
Easy and Tender Smoked Salmon Fillet (recipe and video)
The Best Smoked Salmon ever! Brace yourself for the easiest, freshest, tender-est, and most flavorful smoked salmon fillet. And I’m not talking about lox, we’re talking fresh salmon, cooked on a smoker, and slowly smoked to perfection. We’ve got our secrets to great tender salmon, along with a full recipe and video. Salmon is one…
Red Wine Marinated Smoked Tri Tip (recipe and video)
An award-winning recipe for Marinated Smoked Tri Tip from our very first BBQ competition, made with a wine marinated Tri Tip and smoked slowly to perfection. Serve alone or with a delicious chimichurri sauce. Scroll to the bottom for the the video. We have learned a lot about smoking tri tip over the years. It has…
Smoked Beef Short Ribs, Red Wine Braised (recipe and video)
We’re upping our short rib game with this recipe for Smoked Beef Short Ribs finished with a Red Wine Braise. This recipe has dinner party or holiday meal written all over it! About a year ago we posted this recipe for short ribs saying it was a work in progress. We love to test and…
12 Wines for Spring Sipping
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Smoked Lamb Burgers with Rosemary Aioli and Pickled Onions
Change up your burger routine with a killer Smoked Lamb Burger with Rosemary Aioli! We’ve been talking a lot about Easter lately, and how I’m just not into ham (what I was raised on eating for Easter dinner). We’ve done Prime Rib a few years in a row now. But this year I’ve had mad…
A Taste of Idaho Wines. Yes, Idaho!
Last fall I had the opportunity to discover a new-to-me region of wine, located just outside of my own backyard. It might be surprising to many, but this region has a lot more in common with its well known neighbors than you might suspect. And it’s definitely a region I’ll be keeping a close eye…
Smoked Sausage Ragù and Parmesan Polenta
Smoked Sausage Ragù is a simple way to add some smoked flavor to your next ragù sauce. Serve over creamy polenta and pair it with some delicious red wine and you’ve got yourself an awesome dinner. There are several ways to incorporate some smoke flavor to your favorite Italian dishes, like a rich ragù sauce,…
Weekend Wine Love — Winter Comfort
I like to review wines here the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see here are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of different styles that we think will work, then write about the one that was the best…
Weekend Wine Love – A baker’s dozen
I like to review wines here the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see here are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of different styles that we think will work, then write about the one that was the best…
Smoked Coq au Vin — and wines to pair
How to add smoked flavor to a traditional Coq au Vin. After several requests from the photo I posted on Instagram of our Christmas dinner I decided to share some insight… It was just the four of us for Christmas this year. No family. No traveling. Just us. Typically we go big and smoke a prime…
Smoked Meatballs with Cranberry & Red Wine Sauce on AM Northwest (video and recipe)
Guys, we got to back on AM Northwest! This time cooking up one of our favorite holiday appetizers – Smoked Meatballs with a Cranberry & Red Wine Sauce. Scroll to the bottom for the video, or just click here. Several years ago I discovered a very cool use for canned cranberries at a very unlikely…
Smoked Prime Rib (recipe and video)
How to cook the perfect Smoked Prime Rib Roast every time. Plus a recipe and video tutorial on smoking prime rib. Prime rib is a big holiday favorite. It’s dramatic. It’s big. It’s delicious. Let’s be honest, it’s also incredibly expensive! So when we decided to post our recipe and technique for Smoked Prime Rib…
Smoked Tri Tip and Wine Pairing
A fool-proof recipe for easy Smoked Tri Tip. Tri Tip is an easy, quick, and affordable alternative to smoked brisket. Learn the secrets to perfectly smoking this lean and delicious cut of beef from a BBQ caterer. Bonus is this recipe comes with perfect wine pairings! We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again. We absolutely…
