Kabobs and Dipping Sauces

A key to making good kabobs is to precook those ingredients that take longer on the grill so that they finish at the same time as any veggies you add. If not, you'll end up with underdone meat or overdone veggies. For the kabobs last weekend I used bison rib eye, about 6 oz per kabob. Yellow and Green Bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, fresh mushrooms and Vidalia sweet onions. I pre-cooked the onions and bison.

I did two dipping sauces.

To pair with our 2006 Uvas Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon:

Cherry Dipping Sauce

1 Cup chopped fresh Bing cherries.
6 oz Cherry preserves
2 Tbsp BBQ sauce
2 cups red wine (I used our 2006 Haut Tubee)
3 pinches salt
1 pinch pepper

Combine all ingredients in a saute pan and heat to a burble, stir and reduce @ 10-15 minutes.

To pair with our 2006 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon

Mint Dipping Sauce:

1/4 Cup chopped fresh mint.
6 oz mint jelly
6 oz basil jelly
2 Tbsp BBQ sauce
2 cups red wine (I used our 2006 Haut Tubee)
3 pinches salt
1 pinch pepper

Combine all ingredients in a saute pan and heat to a burble, stir and reduce @ 10-15 minutes.

A note on the preserves and jelly. I used home made preserves from our friend Wes when possible. Home made are usually lower in pectin and have cane sugar vs corn syrup. I know basil jelly may be hard to find, but any basil based preserve would due, otherwise double the amount of mint jelly.