Makes one 14” paella pan (serves 6 to 8)

Serve with: La Crema Pinot Noir Rosé

By La Crema Culinary Team

Paella Ingredients:

• 1½ Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 (6 oz.) Spanish chorizo sausage, diced
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• Pinch of saffron threads
• 1 can diced tomatoes (8 oz.)
• 2 cups paella rice (Arborio rice may be substituted)
• ½ cup white wine, such as Chardonnay
• 3½ cups chicken broth (or water)
• 8 to 10 small fresh clams
• 8 to 10 small fresh mussels
• 8 to 10 large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ lb. fresh cod, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces
• ½ cups English peas, shucked from the pods (frozen & dethawed peas may be substituted)
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt, plus more for final seasoning
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

Paella Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat a large (14”) paella pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil.  Once the oil has heated slightly, add chorizo and sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Add onion and bell pepper and continue cooking for 4 minutes.
3. Add garlic, paprika, saffron and tomatoes; sauté for 2 minutes more, stirring often.
4. Add rice and stir to coat.  Cook the rice for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the wine and allow to boil and cook down until the pan is almost dry.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate sauce pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil.  Carefully, add the boiling broth to the paella pan and continue to cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.  Stir and reduce the heat to low.  Cover the paella and allow to simmer for 8 minutes.
6. Arrange the clams and mussels around the paella.  Allow the seafood and paella to cook for 4 minutes.
7. Season the shrimp, cod and peas with salt and add to the pan.  Cover and allow to cook for an additional 6 to 7 minutes.  Once the shrimp and cod are cooked through, the rice should be tender and the clams and mussels should have opened and finished cooking.  Salt to taste.
8. To garnish, add lemon wedges and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Sensible

For the sensible male who has too many ties already, why not get him a travel tie holder? Thanks to CoolMomPicks.com, we found this clever gift idea which you can purchase on Pireerpon Thicks this Father’s Day. Don’t let the guy in your life wear a wrinkled tie again!

Sporty

You can’t plan a Father’s Day gift without considering a sporty gift but this one has a little twist on it…Your guy can now go golfing and enjoy his favorite beverage without having to leave the course! Thanks to Digital Trends, we found this golf club drink dispenser which you can order online at Sharper Image.

Sentimental

Last but certainly not least, we have the sentimental gift. For those men in your life that appreciate these type of gifts, a homemade gift is the best way to go. From homemade cards to personalized t-shirts to DIY garden stones, you can’t go wrong. Check out Sarah’s website, Sweet Thing Designs, for step-by-step instructions to make these great Father’s Day garden stones!

Check out each website for more clever gift ideas this Father’s Day and try to avoid another tie this year…

Happy Father’s Day to all of our guys!

Serves 4

From the La Crema Culinary Team

Ingredients for the pan-seared halibut:

• 1 lb. fresh Pacific halibut, portioned into 4 (4-ounce) pieces
• Kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp. butter

Instructions

Season the halibut fillets with salt.  In a heavy-bottomed sauté pan over high heat, sauté the halibut in vegetable oil.  Once the fish is brown and caramelized on the first side, add the butter and flip the halibut.  Cook on the second side until done and remove fish from the pan.

Ingredients for the sweet peas & grapefruit:

• ½ cup white wine, such as Pinot Gris
• ¼ cup golden raisins
• ½ cup fresh sweet peas, shucked & blanched
• 1 fennel bulb, shaved thin
• ¼ cup grapefruit segments, cut into ¼ -inch pieces
• 3 French radishes, shaved thin
• 1 Tbsp. shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp. chives, minced
• 1 Tbsp. mint, sliced thin
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Kosher salt

In a small pan, add wine and bring to a boil.  Add raisins and turn off the heat.  Allow to cool.  Strain off the wine and add raisins to a bowl with sweet peas, fennel, grapefruit, radishes, shallots, chives and mint.  Dress with olive oil and lemon juice and toss to coat.  Salt to taste.

To serve, spoon the salad onto 4 serving plates.  Top each with a piece of pan seared halibut.

The calendar backgrounds are available in eight different dimensions depending on the size of your monitor.

Instructions:

1. Download Your La Crema Calendar Wallpaper below by clicking one of the monitor dimensions below. Don’t know your screen dimensions?
2. Then right click on the image and select “Set As Desktop Background.”
3. We recommend either choosing the “Center” or “Fit To Screen” options.
4. For more information on changing your desktop background: Windows | MAC
5. For more information on determining the dimensions of your monitor, click here.

Recipe by the La Crema Culinary Team

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

For the fennel soup:

• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 fennel bulbs, stalks and fronds reserved and bulb sliced
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• ¼ cup Chardonnay verjus
• ¼ cup white wine, such as Pinot Gris
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp. sugar
• Kosher salt
• ¼ cup crème fraîche or sour cream

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pot over medium heat.  Once the oil has warmed slightly, add the sliced fennel bulb and yellow onion.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the verjus and wine and increase the heat to medium-high.  Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the vegetable stock, water, sugar and a pinch of salt.  Once the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, bring a medium sauce pot of water up to a boil over high heat.  Submerge the reserved fennel stalks and fronds in the boiling water for 1 minute and then shock in ice water to stop the cooking.
5. Transfer the fennel stalks and fronds to a blender along with the simmered soup ingredients and blend for 1 minute or until smooth.
6. Stir in the crème fraîche and season with salt.  Stain through a sieve and chill.

Serving instructions

• 6 large sorrel leaves
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Pour 4 ounces of cold fennel soup into each serving bowl.  Cut the sorrel into thin strips and garnish each bowl with a small pile of sorrel and crumbled feta.  Enjoy with crusty bread.

A Summer Soiree

Julie Engel of Gal meets Glam believes that every gal can add a little glam to her life with small things to make her day a bit more special. Here she plans a casual summer night in with some of her best girlfriends to relax, eat good food and drink delicious wine.

Read more …

“The fruit forward taste of La Crema Pinot Gris is the perfect summer beverage.”

Make Your Moment: Life List #38 – Host A Grown-Up Dinner Party

Last February, when I went to La Crema’s winery and vineyards, I happened to mention this life list item to Aimee, the wonderful woman who took me all over Sonoma.  ”At some point, I just want to have a dinner party with great food, great wine — just a really lovely, intimate evening with close friends.”

Read more …

Nonetheless, no matter how we do it, I think we owe it to ourselves — and our friends and family, people who are important to us — to create these events, these moments of joy.

The Perfect Picnic With Blogger Glitter ‘N Glue

Summer is finally here and it’s time to celebrate in style! I was thrilled when Lucky Magazine and La Crema asked me to celebrate by planning the perfect Summer gathering. For me Summers are all about creating memories and picnics are a great way to spend a memorable and relaxing afternoon with friends and family. It’s been years since I’ve picnicked but I plan on making 2013 the Summer of chic and stylish picnics!

Read more …

Location, location, location. Cozy spots with plenty of shade make prime picnic real estate.

A Perfect Summer Kickoff Soiree with Bubby and Bean

Whether I’m playing hostess or attendee, my favorite dinner parties are those that feel effortless – the ones that forgo stuffy, extravagant traditions and allow for the type of simple (yet still well-styled) pleasures that make you feel like you’re on vacation. Summertime is a natural when it comes to providing the perfect backdrop for these types of gatherings (think golden lighting, warm air, late sunsets). So when Lucky Magazine and La Crema Pinot Gris asked me to team up with them for a summer entertaining series and to host an outdoor get-together that showcased my personal style, I was all about it.

Read more … 

A summer cheese tray featuring a variety of fresh local cheeses, almonds, olives, red grapes, homemade preserves and crackers is a perfect complement to a refreshing summer wine like La Crema Pinot Gris.

How do you turn beautiful summer days into lasting memories? Share your thoughts below!

From the La Crema Culinary Team

Serves 8 as a side dish

 Ingredients:

• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 Asian pears, julienne
• 2 celery stalks, julienne
• 2 tsp. jalapeño, minced
• 2 scallions, bias sliced
• 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 C. cashews, toasted and chopped
• Kosher salt

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the lime zest, lime juice and olive oil.  Add the pear, celery, jalapeño, scallions, cilantro and ginger and toss gently.  Salt to taste and top with toasted cashews.  This salad pairs wonderfully with poached shrimp or any firm white fish.

Handled with care

Making this wine required planning and a healthy dose of TLC. La Crema Winemaker, Elizabeth Grant-Douglas says it all starts with finding the right place to grow the Pinot Gris, grape, a fairly finicky varietal.

“In warmer regions, the bright acidity drops, alcohol levels go up and the grapes ripen so fast they have no time to develop flavor.”

For this reason, the Winemaking Team chose Monterey, where the cool, maritime-influenced climate leads to one of the longest growing seasons in California.  And in 2012, near ideal-growing conditions resulted in excellent fruit quality at harvest.

Grant-Douglas and the La Crema Winemaking Team chose to harvest the grapes at lower sugar levels (or brix) than our Chardonnay or Pinot Noir in order to highlight the clean, crisp flavors. “Gentle” harvesting of fruit was emphasized to avoid introducing color and bitterness to the wine. Whenever possible this meant hand-harvesting the grapes during the cool morning hours into small bins that would preserve the grapes intact until they reached the winery.

Night harvesting in Monterey

“Pinot Gris expresses itself best when handled minimally,” said Grant-Douglas. “That’s why our grapes were pressed without de-stemming and the free run juice was kept separate from the pressed juice.”

Additional care was taken in fermenting the wine. Slow, cold fermentation and constant monitoring during and after fermentation were emphasized in order to preserve the delicate fruit and floral aromas.

Tasting and pairing

The result is a wine that opens with aromas of white peach and lemon drop. On the palate, layers of yellow plum and ripe pear are punctuated with sweet spice and tropical notes with a lengthy, elegant finish.

This is a wine that is best paired with sandals, hammocks and long warm summer sunsets. An excellent food wine, our Pinot Gris is a fantastic compliment to the light pastas, fish and salads of the season.

“We were intrigued with Pinot Gris because it gave us the chance to create a white wine in a different style, yet with the nuance, delicacy and texture for which we’re known,” said Elizabeth Grant-Douglas, winemaker. “It’s bright and juicy, with subtle floral hints – in short, the perfect choice for spring and summer.”

With the summer months approaching, it’s time to get your fashion in order. And what goes better with May fashion than our new La Crema Pinot Gris? Our Pinot Gris is perfect for dinner time, party time and now summer time, so why not pair your outfit with your wine? Here are some great summer time outfits to show off while you sip.

Dinner Time

When it comes to summer time dinner fashion, try a flowy, light dress which will be perfect for summer nights whether it’s indoor or outdoor. Add some flair with a flashy belt, cute wedges and a light cardigan like Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere. Grab your cutest clutch and you’re ready for a dinner out with the girls or out on a date!

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Party Time

Summer time is all about the backyard BBQ’s, sitting by the pool and enjoying a nice cold glass of wine with your friends! Get your party time outfit right with a cute and casual dress or skirt, great for any day party. Add some flair with cute strappy sandals, a simple accent belt and a colorful satchel like Jessica from What I Wore. Break out your shades and you are ready to sip some Pinot Gris by the pool.

What I Wore

And Now…Summer Time

When you aren’t having BBQ’s with friends or out on the town this summer, enjoy a nice glass of wine relaxing at home in your comfortable summer time look. A simple collared tank, bright pair of shorts and a colorful belt screams you’re ready for summer vacation and relaxation! Pair it with some cute shoes like Vanessa from Stylishly Me and you’re set to stay in or head out for the day to enjoy the summer sun.

Stylishly Me

For more summer time fashion tips, check out each blog and be on the lookout for the La Crema Pinot Gris coming this month. Get ready for next month’s fashion post about vacation styles!