Exploring Languedoc-Roussillon

On March 14th we began our study of Languedoc-Roussillon wines. Thank you Dennis Kohl for helping me pick them out.

First we sample the white wines. My favorite was the La Ciboise. It was a blend of......

As we sampled the white wine we also sampled delicious cheeses provided by Jan: Brie, Swiss and Cammebert the delicious quiche made by Beth.  The quiche was a great pairing especially with the Marsanne. 

I love the way Jan labels the cheeses with the wines they best pair.

More about these wines later.....

Next we turned to dessert. I made a cherry sauce and sweet wine served brioche. It was so much fun making brioche for the first time.  It was so pretty and super delicious. We used Sauterne for the

sweet wine.

It was great to sample the red wines with Jan's spicy arugula salad and the salsa and onion relish that Dianne provided with baguettes.

More about the reds later....

Through all that tasting and analyzing the puzzle was also completed. Yeah puzzlers.  Thanks for coming with me on this wine journey.

Cherries with Sweet Wine and Brioche

This recipe is from Jacques Pepin Heart and Soul in the Kitchen cook book, p. 359

I made this for one of our puzzling, food and wine events in March 2017. We were studying the

wines of the French Languedoc-Roussillon region. We tasted wonderful cheeses, Brie and Camembert. The quiche was a great pairing with the Marsanne. Then on to dessert. We then shifted to some red wines and a great arugula salad.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups sour cherries, pitted ( sweet can also be used)

1/4 cup sugar (2 T sugar if using sweet cherries)

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 brioche rolls ( about 2 ounces each) split in half) Note: I made a brioche loaf and used 1/2 slice for each serving.

4 fresh mint leaves

1 375 ml bottle sweet Sauternes, chilled. Can used Madeira or port.

Directions

Mix the sugar and cherries Ina bowl and cover and refrigerate. This can be done a few hours ahead.

Whip the cream to a soft peak. Refrigerate..

If you are making brioche, you will need to do that 2 days in advance. Fun but time consuming.

At serving time, arrange a brioche half in each of 4 martini glasses. Cover with cherries and their juices. Top with cream and mint sprig and serve.

At the table, pour about 1/3 cup of Sauterne into each dessert glass, taking care to pour it around the whipped cream, not over it. Serve the extra Sauterne in wine glasses as an accompaniment to the dessert.

Exploring South America and South Africa

On February 27th we tasted 4 reds and then did a blind tasting. That was so much fun!

I made a coconut butternut squash soup (Sopa de Abóbora e Coco)

which paired perfectly with the Torrontes.

Jan made a salad and Dianne made 2 breads one from Peru and one from Brazil.

We actually did pretty well with the blind tasting.  The Malbec did throw us off a bit.

Jan liked the Muscato from South Africa.  I wasn't very fond of the Chardonnay.

Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte

Recipe from Alina Kunze's Grandmother (3/2017)

So first you make what we call "biskuitboden", that is the thin layer of cake that goes between the other layers.
For that you need:

5 eggs
175 g of white sugar (3/4 cup)

125 g of flour (1 cup)
A tbs full of baking powder
50 g of corn starch (1/4 cup)
15g of Cocoa powder (1/8 cup)
Vanilla

Instructions:
Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites with half of the sugar until they are firm.
Then mix the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar. Combine the two masses slowly by hand.
Mix flour, baking powder, starch and cocoa and carefully mix under the mass. Add vanilla.

You need to preheat the oven to around 180 degrees Celsius and bake the dough in a "springform" baking tin ( I hope you know what I mean here that's all my translator told me). It needs to bake for around 25 minutes and then be taken from the tin and cooled all the way down.

Then you will need
around 350 g of cherries ( the same that I described above)
30 g of starch (1/4 cup)
25 g of sugar
And a sip of cherry water ( it's a liquor, and can also be left out)

You need to separate the cherries from the juice and keep 250 ml of it. Then take four spoons of that juice and mix it with the starch and the sugar. Bring the rest of the juice to a boil and slowly mix in the starch mix to thicken everything.
Let it cool down and then mix in the cherries and add as much alcohol as you'd like.

The last component is the cream. For that you need:
800g of cream (28 oz)
40g of sugar
Vanilla
2 packages of the powder that helps making cream hard is it cream of tartar in English?
Just mix everything together until it is really firm

When the cake has completely cooled down, you should cut it into three layers horizontally. One of them will be the base of the cake. If you put it back in the baking tin, it will be easier to layer but you can also do it free style
So on the first cake layer, you put a layer of cherries, then cream and repeat until you have used all three cakes. Be sure to keep some cream for the sides, to make the cake look pretty on top of the outer layer of cake you can put little dollops of cream and then sprinkle the whole cake with chocolate shavings

It should then go into the fridge for at least 3-4 hours

Coconut Butternut Squash Soup - Sopa de Abóbora e Coco

Link to recipe The Spruce

Butternut squash has a sweet nutty flavor that is delicious when roasted (as in this roasted butternut squash soup) or when baked into desserts (like this pie). But butternut squash can also go tropical - as in this rich savory soup made with creamy coconut milk. Pumpkin and squash "carries" like this one are popular in Thailand, but the Latin versions don't typically include curry powder, though a touch of chile pepper is always welcome.

Any winter squash works well in this soup. There are many options for garnishing this soup, such as crumbled queso fresco cheese, roasted corn kernels, chopped tomatoes, and cilantro, spicy aji salsa, or several boiled shrimp.

What You'll Need

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chile pepper, or 1 tablespoons fresh minced chile pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 cups spinach leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It

1. Peel butternut squash, then cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds (and the fibrous material around the seeds).
2. Roast seeds (optional): Separate seeds from the squash, and rinse well. Place seeds in a shallow pan with 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toast seeds in the oven at 350 F until dark golden brown and crispy, stirring once or twice, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove seeds from oven and set aside to let cool.
3. Chop squash into 1/2 inch cubes. Peel and dice onion. Peel sweet potato and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Wash spinach, dry thoroughly, and roll it up tightly in a bunch. Slice spinach crosswise to make thin ribbons.
4. Place vegetable oil and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until onion is soft and fragrant.
5. Add the squash, sweet potatoes, cumin, cinnamon, and sugar to the skillet and cook, stirring often until vegetables are lightly browned.
6. Add the chicken stock, season with salt and pepper, then simmer vegetables over low heat until they are tender (about 15 minutes).
7. Once squash and sweet potatoes are cooked through, use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a blender (reserve cooking liquid). Add coconut milk and lime juice to the blender and process until it's smooth.
8. Add blended mixture back to the soup and whisk gently over low heat until evenly heated through. Stir in spinach ribbons and heat for 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Serve soup warm garnished with the toasted seeds.

Puzzling with Friends & Wine: The Journey Continues

February 21, 2017
Dianne is bringing a new puzzle.  This time 1000 pieces. We will be testing the new puzzle mat compliments of the TLT Group.  Thanks Sally and Steve!

The focus is on Australia and New Zealand

Menu:
Lamb meat pie: Beth Kost
Mesclun and Mango Salad with Ginger Carrot Dressing: Jan
Dover bread: Dianne
Pavlova with Kir Royale Sorbet: Beth

The wines:

I can't wait to try the Black Bubbles.

The Black Bubbles was a fan favorite. My favorite was actually the Pinot Noir from New Zealand.  It was a 2011 and sort of amber in color.  I liked how smooth it was, more smokey than berry.  My least favorite was the Chardonnay.  I would like to try another Chardonnay from this region before passing judgement.

The lamb meat pie was absolutely amazing and a super paring with the Shiraz. 

Cloudy Bay did not disappoint. I discovered that goat cheese and sauv blanc are delicious together.

Wine and Cheese Pairing Resources

Thanks Jan Pitzo.  This is the best resource for wine and cheese pairings.

http://winemonger.com/blog/the-wine-and-cheese-pairing-guide-grape-by-grape-cheese-by-cheese/2012/05/17/