You can’t go wrong with fresh South Carolina tomatoes! The east coast of the Carolinas is the home of the most delicious and flavorful tomatoes that have ever been grown! Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, are loaded with fiber, and are only about 35 calories each!  Tomatoes become more flavorful when they're allowed to ripen on the vine.  Green tomatoes will change color and soften, but the sugar, acid and aroma compounds are locked in once the fruit is picked. Choose local vine-ripened tomatoes because the less the tomatoes have to travel the more likely it is that they were picked ripe.  Fragrance is a better indicator of a good tomato than color. If the tomatoes smell fresh and tomato-y, they will taste that way.  Remember – never refrigerate fresh tomatoes. Cold temperatures make the flesh pulpy and destroy the flavor.  Always store fresh tomatoes at room temperature, stem up. When I was growing up, no Sunday dinner was complete without fresh, sliced tomatoes. Granny Baker used to peel her tomatoes, cut them into thick slices, and serve them with salt and pepper.  What I wouldn’t give for one of those Sunday dinners!

Avocado, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad

6 medium tomatoes

8 ounces fresh or buffalo mozzarella cheese

1 ripe avocado

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon whole-grain mustard

Pinch of sugar

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Using a sharp knife, slice the tomatoes and mozzarella cheese into thin rounds.  Halve the avocado, remove the pit and peel off the skin.  Slice the flesh lengthwise. Place the next 4 ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well blended.  Season with a pinch of sugar, salt, and pepper.  Arrange the sliced tomato, mozzarella, and avocado overlapping around the edge of a flat serving plate.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette. Sprinkle evenly with chopped fresh basil and toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

Beaufort Tomato Pie

1 (9-inch) deep dish frozen pie shell, baked and cooled

2-3 large ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Dried sweet basil

Chives

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup (scant) salad dressing

1 cup (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Fill pie shell with tomato slices.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil, chives, and green onion.  Mix salad dressing and cheese.  Spread over tomatoes, sealing to the edges.  Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 6 to 8.

Tomatoes Florentine

8 medium tomatoes

8 strips bacon

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen,chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup sour cream

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Few drops hot sauce

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided

Cut across stem end of tomatoes and remove pulp.  Salt tomato shells and turn upside down on paper towels to drain well. Cook bacon until crisp.  Drain, saving 4 tablespoons drippings.  Crumble bacon and set aside.  Saute onion in bacon drippings.  Stir in spinach and cook, covered, until tender - about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add sour cream, bacon, Worcestershire sauce,  hot sauce, and half of cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Fill tomatoes with spinach mixture and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Top with remaining cheese and place back in oven until cheese is melted. Serves 8.

Summer Salad

1/2 cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 medium sized tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 large cucumbers, peeled and diced

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 small sweet red pepper, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper, diced

Mix vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Place tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers in a salad bowl.  Toss with the vinaigrette.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 6 to 8.

Tomatoes Provencal

4 slices bacon, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

5 medium tomatoes

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 tablespoon butter

Fry bacon in a medium skillet until crisp; remove bacon, reserving drippings in skillet.  Drain bacon and set aside.  Saute onion, garlic and mushrooms in skillet until tender.  Stir in bacon, flour, and seasoned salt.  Cut tomatoes into  ½- inch slices.  Place ½ of slices in a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish.  Spoon ½ of bacon mixture over tomatoes; sprinkle with 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.  Repeat layers.  Dot with butter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8.

The writer owns Catering by Debbi Covington and is the author of the cookbook, Dining Under the Carolina Moon. Debbi’s website address is www.cateringbydebbicovington.com. She may be reached at 525-0350 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Over the past two years, Terlato Wines International has received more than 700 90+ ratings – more than any wine import company in the world. As the world’s best luxury wine importer with a global portfolio of more than 50 brands, Terlato markets more than one out of eight bottles of wine over $14 sold in America.  We went to an amazing tasting of nearly 60 of their wines in Charleston, which we would call the "best wine tasting of our lives, to date."

We spoke with Terlato Vice Chairman John Terlato in the wine cellar at Breakwater Restaurant in Beaufort. At the time, John was on his way to an event on Spring Island, where his brother has a home.

Happy Winos: John, it's a real honor to have you here at Breakwater. You, your father and brother have virtually transformed the luxury wine business in America over the past 50 years.  Your father was the first to introduce the varietal Pinot Grigio into America with your bestselling Santa Margherita. Is there a word or phrase that sums up your family's philosophy of success?

John Terlato:  Without question it would be “Quality endures.” In fact, our motto is: Consider quality a way of life. We do.  The pursuit of quality is not only what drove my father throughout his career – from the retail store to the distributing business to marketing fine wines – but it is also what guides and drives my brother and me and our entire team today.  If one looks at the portfolio of wines we offer (I call it an embarrassment of riches) he/she would find this same commitment to quality. In our portfolio are some of the finest wines the world has to offer and these wines (and their owners) have five common threads: 1. A total commitment to quality; 2. Passion for wine and winemaking; 3. An unbelievably talented and visionary winemaker; 3. Amazing soil (no substitutes here!); 4. Best in class farming capabilities and practices (in the tough vintages the great farmers wine!); and 5. Family owned and operated.  In 1996, when we purchased our first winery, we had the opportunity to apply this intense focus on quality to winemaking as well - which has been great fun. The results, at Rutherford Hill, Chimney Rock, Sanford, Alderbrook and Terlato Family Vineyards, are stunningly rewarding. These unbelievable, hand-crafted wines are just delicious!! Our goal is to produce wines that are complex yet subtle, powerful, yet elegant. I believe this is the true art of winemaking. How cool is that?

HW: How does your company keep its competitive edge in such a crowded wine world… How do you consistently 'knock it out of the ballpark'?

JT:  I hate being redundant, but it all comes back to quality – and being genuine. When we are making decisions about wines to offer to consumers or wines we might craft from our vineyards, we focus on four elements:

1. Is the quality and consistency there, year in and year out? If a winemaker and/or vineyard is producing wines of great variability in taste and/or quality, the consumer will recognize this disconnect. Consistent high quality winemaking gets you in the gate. I am NOT referring to vintage variability, I am talking about quality variability – there is a huge difference.

2. How will this wine exist at the table? We always think about food – “not that there’s anything wrong with that!” How will this wine perform on the table with food? That’s where most wines are enjoyed, and where you may have had some of your most memorable wine moments (that you can speak of in polite company).

3. Price/value relationship: Will the consumer believe this wine is a good value at its given price? Consumers are super smart – they possess a visceral responsiveness to price paid versus value. Simple: “this wine was a great buy at that price” or, “I wouldn’t purchase that wine again—it wasn’t worth it.” We taste our wines double blind and we force rank the wines alongside wines that are $10 to $15 more expensive per bottle. If our wines score well in that double blind tasting against more expensive competitors, it’s likely a consumer will recognize that value. This is a really demanding discipline but we do this for every wine we are associated with.  Tough job, but someone has to do it!

4. Genuineness – Is this wine a true representation of the varietal (be it Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Merlot etc) as the varietal was meant to be?  Pinot Noir is this beautiful, sexy, seductive varietal with incredible subtlety. Yet, it possesses great depth and character. If a winemaker honors the intrinsic subtleties of the varietal and its characteristics, then the consumer can enjoy those subtleties and complexities as they were meant to be. If, on the other hand, a winemaker engineers a varietal into something it was not meant to be (engineering Pinot Noir to be highly extracted and high alcohol as a substitute for Syrah or Cabernet for instance) well…it’s engineered. Grapes should be cultivated – not engineered! Life is too short to drink engineered wines.

These reference points allow us to “knock it out of the park.” It’s not really an original thought, but quality is quality and most consumers can tell the difference between “great” and “just ok.” We are wine consumers as well, and in most instances probably really demanding wine consumers.

But perhaps most important is innovation, hard work and an unbelievable team of dedicated, honest, solution driven people who are totally passionate about wine and food. These are the ingredients that make up our success.

HW: With 700 wines in your award winning portfolio, what's your personal house red and house white that you are drinking right now?

John Terlato:  Yikes! Are you kidding me? That’s like asking me which one of my children I love the most!! So the real answer is – are you ready? – all of them! Every dinner presents a new opportunity to share a wine or wines with my friends and family. It just depends on the moment… the food, the people who will be joining us at the table, the weather, bathing suits or jackets and ties, etc. Some days it’s Burgundy; others, Rhone. And then there is Australia and South Africa – Yum!!  Don’t forget California Sauvignon Blanc or Italian Pinot Grigio!! Then sometimes, I just feel like having a bottle of Barbaresco or a big California red.  Really depends on my mood. I guess you can say I am moody about my wine. So many wines… so little time!

HW: What's the best bottle you've ever tasted?

JT:  Wow, another tough question… this interview was supposed to be easy! Well let’s see, the setting and the place certainly had an impact on my decision… the bottle of unbelievable Vintage Rose Champagne (Bollinger) shared with my girlfriend at the time, consumed with the most delectable smoked salmon from the outer Hebrides on the evening I asked her to marry me.  Yep – that would be it!! That is my final answer – no lifeline needed.

HW: We know your company has an amazing focus on correct wine and food pairings.  Can you give our readers a few of your favorite food and wine pairing tips?

JT:  1. Trust your palate. When you eat a great piece of fish or a fabulous slab of ribs, or an unbelievable lamb chop – your mouth, head, stomach and taste buds know it. Trust those same instincts when it comes to pairing food and wine. If the food and wine together is enjoyable in your mouth, it’s probably a good match.

2. Taste the same wine with different foods to see if the wine causes the food to taste more or less delicious? Does the food cause the wine to be more enjoyable or less enjoyable? I love this exercise. To further this thought; I will pour a glass of Terlato Pinot Noir for my guests, and then prepare three different salmon preparations: 1. Soy marinade; 2. Grainy mustard; 3. Olive oil, salt and pepper. I then place one of each of the servings on each person’s dish and ask my friends which salmon preparation goes well with that particular wine? It’s great fun and it really gets people thinking about how foods affect the flavor of wine and vice versa. You can almost see the light bulbs illuminate.

3. When tasting foods and wines, try to identify and/or recall flavors, smells and textures- I refer to this as palate memory. Your palate, which is the connection between flavor and smell receptors in your mouth and nose and your brain, is capable of recall if you focus on it and attempt to develop that recall capability. It’s like Sudoku – the more one practices the greater the development of the skill.

4. Read my Father’s book - TASTE: A Life in Wine. Seriously, this isn’t a plug to sell more books; we didn’t print enough of them. Each chapter concludes with a wine and food pairing. For example: The last chapter of the book gives the recipe for Lamb Loin A La Bordelaise paired with EPISODE, a wine of which we only make 400 six packs.  It is a perfect pairing.

5. Don’t make it too serious – this is supposed to be fun. Have a good time with your friends and family, share great food and great wine.

HW: Breakwater Restaurant is on track to be the number one seller of M. Chapoutier wine in South Carolina.  Your father discovered this legendary Rhone Valley winemaker and you import his fabulous wines to America.  The bottle is also famous for it's distinctive Braille label because the plot of land where the vineyard is located belonged to Maurice Monier de la Sizeranne, the inventor of Braille, and also winemaker Michel Chapoutier wanted to reach out to include all people with sight-impairments, who were lovers of good wines.  What are your thoughts on what makes Michel such a talented winemaker?

JT: OMG – The man is brilliant; he’s a brilliant winemaker, brilliant farmer, brilliant conversationalist! And I love that he calls himself a wine lover! He is well traveled and well versed and can talk about just about anything, sex politics and religion included. Can you tell we all enjoy his company? Add a little wine and the night is off and running.

Since he took over the estate in 1990, Michel has revolutionized his family’s winery and the Rhône Valley wine industry. Innovations introduced by him have included: biodynamic viticulture, intelligent vineyard management, vintage dating for all the estate’s wines, and the elimination of fining and filtration.  In fact, the biodynamic model created by Michel in the 1990s has become the standard by which the entire biodynamie industry is measured in contemporary Europe. When it comes to the concept of terroir, trailblazing winemaker Michel Chapoutier will be the first to tell you that terroir is more than just a “unique combination of climate, subsoil, and exposure to the sun.” Terroir is also about people, he will tell you, “that’s one of the reasons my family and I live among our vineyards.”

All one has to do is spend 10 minutes with Michel and you realize you are in the presence of a genius and a visionary. This man is thinking way ahead of the crowd.

HW: Any final thoughts?

JT: Sure. First, you guys are great!! I totally enjoyed your company and our time together. Second, how about a quote that my dad used in his book; it’s by Andre Simon: “Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, and every day more civilized.” And lastly, I am so looking forward to seeing you in October for our winemaker dinner at Breakwater!!

HW: We very much look forward to your return to Beaufort!

Friday night is Steak Night at our house.  A juicy rib-eye steak served with mashed potatoes and a fresh green salad is a delicious way to start the weekend!  When you’re in the mood for something a notch above your usual steak and baked potato, whip up these delicious and simple steak marinade and mashed potatoes recipes. The tasty marinade comes together in no time and flavors the meat beautifully without overshadowing it. The steaks can be grilled inside or out, or can be quickly seared to medium with a mere two or three minutes per side under the broiler.  Add a classic lettuce wedge salad,  dressed-up crescent rolls and yummy chocolate pie to complete your meal. Enjoy!

Marinated Rib-Eye Steaks

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons white balsamic or white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 (8-ounce) rib-eye steaks

Place mustard, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a gallon-sized zip-lock plastic bag.  Squeeze well to combine.  Add the steaks and marinate, refrigerated, for 1 hour.  Cook the steaks 3 to 5 minutes per side on a hot grill, or 2 to 3 minutes per side under the broiler.  Serves 2.

Chive and Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

3 pounds potatoes

1/2 cup butter

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup sour cream

1-1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

In a saucepan, bring potatoes to a boil in enough water to cover.  Lower heat to a simmer and cook until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Drain.  Place potatoes, butter, horseradish, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mash until potatoes are softened and butter in incorporated.  Stir in sour cream, cream and chives.  Taste for seasoning.  Place in a lightly greased baking dish and heat in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes just before serving.  Serves 4 to 6.

Iceberg Lettuce Salad

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 ounces crumbled blue cheese

1 large head iceberg lettuce, cored, and cut into 6 wedges

1 large ripe tomato, diced

6 strips of bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled

Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, cider vinegar and garlic powder in a blender. Pour into a bowl, fold in blue cheese, and season with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Place lettuce wedges on chilled salad plates and drizzle with the dressing.  Top with diced tomato and crumbled bacon.  Serves 6.

Pecan, Olive and Parmesan Crescents

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

1/3 cup finely chopped green olives

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls

Milk

Paprika

Combine pecans, olives, cheese and thyme in a small bowl.  Unroll individual crescent rolls onto a cutting board.  Cut each triangle lengthwise into 2 equal triangles. Sprinkle pecan mixture evenly over each piece of dough, press firmly into dough.   Roll up each triangle, starting at the wide end.  Place rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet, curving them into a crescent shape.  Brush lightly with milk; sprinkle with paprika.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until browned.  Serve hot.  Serves 8.

Chocolate Chess Pie

2 (1-ounce) semi-sweet chocolate squares, melted

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (9-inch) pie crust, unbaked

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over medium-low heat.  Set aside and cool slightly.  In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Add sugar and beat well.  Beat in evaporated milk.  Add chocolate, butter and vanilla and mix well.  Pour filling into unbaked pie shell.  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.  Serves 6 to 8.

The writer owns Catering by Debbi Covington and is the author of the cookbook, Dining Under the Carolina Moon. Debbi’s website address is www.cateringbydebbicovington.com. She may be reached at 525-0350 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .