Entertaining is fun, but it's also a lot of work.  Today's recipe "Beef Mother Clone" from Pedroncelli Winery can ease the pain a bit by reducing the time you have to spend cooking in the kitchen.  As Julie at Pedroncelli Winery says "My husband, Ed, and I like to entertain but we don't always have time in the kitchen.  This stew is easy and the time it takes in the oven helps us to get the rest of the dinner ready for our guests."  Thanks Julie - we can use a little extra time…

Beef Mother Clone

Serves 6-8

• 2 lbs stew meat, trimmed of fat and in 1 ½ inch cubes
• 1-2 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• flour
• finely ground black pepper
• salt
• 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1-1 ½ ounces dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 cups Pedroncelli Mother Clone Zinfandel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Soak dried mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes, strain, save and reserve soaking water, rinse mushrooms.  Heat Dutch oven to medium high.  Pour ½ T of olive oil into pan, add onion and sauté for 10 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté 2 more minutes.

Scoop out onion mixture and set aside.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat to medium high.  Roll beef cubes in mixture of flour, pepper and salt (to taste).  Add beef cubes in batches and brown on all sides.  Take meat out and set aside.

Add mushrooms to pan and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add onions and beef to pan.  Pour in beef broth and zinfandel.  Secure lid and put in oven for 1-2 hours - the longer the better. Check halfway through to add liquid (more broth, wine or water) if necessary.   Serve over pasta or polenta.  Enjoy with a glass of our Mother Clone Zinfandel.

About Pedroncelli 2004 Zinfandel Mother Clone, Dry Creek Valley

The Pedroncelli Zinfandel style is to showcase the Dry Creek Valley personality of fruit and spice.  The result is a deep purple red in color, this is a full bodied wine with many classic Dry Creek Valley characteristics:  aromas and flavors of ripe boysenberry, jammy with subtle coffee and butterscotch accents.  This is a concentrated Zinfandel that offers a nice balance of fruit, spice and tannin.  The finish is long and packed with flavor.  

About Pedroncelli Winery

Since 1927, when John Pedroncelli, Sr. purchased the vineyard and a small winery in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley, two elements remain unchanged: the exceptional Pedroncelli family farms vineyards, and the family's dedication to making fine wines.  Three generations have called Geyserville, in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, home since 1927. Tending the land and making wine is much more than a business to us - it is our lifestyle.