Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!

Happy Beaujolais Nouveau day!  The third Thursday of November every year is the day that the new Beaujolais comes out.  Beaujolais is a light, fruity wine, meant to be served slightly chilled, enjoyed young, and paired with almost anything!  As a dry red-wine drinker, I think of this as an afternoon or white wine.  I have read that the Beaujolais should actually be consumed by the May after it comes out.  CAN DO!  Sounds like a perfect wine to me! 

In celebration, tonight I am opening a bottle and enjoying it with a light and simple meal of deviled eggs, cheese and crackers, and caramelized pears.

For those of you looking, this is a nice wine for Thanksgiving dinner.  I thought this year's Beaujolais seemed almost sparkly.

A votre sante!

Beaujolais Noveau
C'est rouge,  et délicieuse
Le francais et dur 

You can get this year's Beaujolais for just ten dollars at the Green Grocer on Grand.

Kimchee Shepherd's Pie

To my delight, I recently came across a creative food I hadn't tried.  A friend took me to a new place in Chicago called Del Seoul, where the specialty is Korean Barbeque Tacos.  The food was fabulous (pictured here) and what inspired me (which sounded a bit gluttonous at first) were the pork-belly kimchee cheesy fries.

Here is my new take on an old family standard inspired by that recent trip.

Kimchee Shepherd's Pie

Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum

Kimchee Shepherd's Pie!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lbs ground turkey
• 1/4 cup barbeque sauce (I like Bone Suckin' Sauce, Spicy)
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 jar kimchee (approx 15 oz)
• 5 potatoes
• cheddar and jack cheeses

1. Chop the potatoes and boil until soft for mashing.
2. Sautee the onion and garlic until soft and aromatic.  Add the turkey and saute until cooked through, stirring.  Add the barbeque sauce and stir.
3. In a souffle dish, put the barbeque ground turkey on the bottom.  Layer with the kimchee, straight from the jar.
4. Once the potatoes are soft, drain, return to pan, and mash using a bit of butter, olive oil, sour cream - whatever you typically use.  Grate the Monterey Jack cheese into the potatoes and spread atop the turkey/kimchee layers.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Pull out and top with grated cheddar cheese to cover and bake 5 minutes more until cheese melts and begins to bubble.

1. Serve warm.