Red Wine Caesar Salad

Ingredients

2 Raw eggs
2-3 Garlic cloves
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
1/2 C Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C Dry red wine (I used Selection Australian Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre)
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Tsp Red wine vinegar
Splash of Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
Romaine lettuce
Croutons
Extra Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Directions

In blender whip eggs, then add garlic cloves and Parmesan cheese. Blend well.

Next gradually add the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine, vinegar and the Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Blend until creamy.

Place dressing in refrigerator for no less than 30 minutes to thicken. While dressing is thickening, rip and wash lettuce, shake off extra water. Place in bowl and add Caesar dressing, croutons and extra parmesan. Serve.

Originally published in The Wine Cellar June 2019

Red Wine Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

6oz Chocolate chunks or squares (Best to use 70% cocoa or above.)
3/4 cup Red dessert wine (I used a Chocolate Raspberry Port, but any port will work.)
1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Heavy cream (For vegan use coconut cream.)

Directions:

Use a double boiler, or makeshift a double boiler by placing a large bowl over a medium pot with about 2 inches of water in it. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Heat the double boiler on medium-low heat and add the chocolate, dessert wine, and sugar to the bowl. Begin stirring slowly and evenly when the chocolate starts softening. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.

Place the bowl with the melted chocolate mixture in it over another bowl that is half filled with ice water. The bottom of the bowl with chocolate should not touch the ice water. With a hand mixer, beat the chocolate-red wine mixture until it turns into a thick, smooth pudding. Leave the bowl over the ice water to continue to cool.

In medium bowl using a hand mixer, beat the cream until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. You want these to be really stiff peaks, not just until the cream starts to solidify. You should be able to scoop with a spoon a tower of whipped cream that won't fall. With a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate-red wine blend. Continue folding until no white streaks remain. Garnish with mint leaves or fresh raspberries if desired and enjoy!

Originally published in The Wine Cellar January 2019.

Dark Chocolate Pavlovas with Red Wine Soaked Strawberries and Red Wine Syrup

Ingredients

Pavlovas:
6 Large egg whites
2 Cups castor sugar
3 Tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted
2 Tbsp red wine
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Wine Soaked Strawberries:
1 Pint fresh strawberries halved or quartered
1/2 Cup red wine
1 Tbsp sugar

Red Wine Drizzle:
1 Cup red wine
Whip Cream for garnish - optional

Instructions:

For Pavlovas:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Decide if you want individual pavlovas or one large one. For one large, draw a 9 inch circle on the paper with a pencil. If individual, draw a circle or a little heart shapefor the size of the pavlovas you want. Flip the parchment paper over so the pencil marks are on the bottom.

In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form with electric mixer. Then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until stiff peaks form. The meringue should start to look shiny. Now sprinkle the sifted cocoa powder, wine and chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold in the ingredients until thoroughly mixed.Using a spoon gently drop dollops of meringue into each of the circles on the parchment paper. (I could not pipe them because the chopped chocolate would clog the piping bag). Gently even out with a small spatula. Put the meringues in the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 300°.

Bake for about 30 minutes to one hour and 15 minutes depending on the size. The pavlovas should be crispy and dry on top. Press your finger gently past the crust and you should feel a squishy spring like texture. Turn off the oven but leave the pavlovas in there. Open the door slightly and cool completely.

For Strawberries:
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour.

For Wine Drizzle:
Place wine in a small saucepan and bring up to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and let the wine cook down until it is the consistency of syrup. Do not cook until it is hard.

To Serve:
Place pavlovas on a plate, gently place a small dollop of whipped cream on top and carefully spoon strawberries with a little bit of the juice on each pavlova. With a spoon drizzle the wine syrup over the top of each pavlova.

Originally published in The Wine Cellar February 2018.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes with White Wine Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

2/3 C Crushed Gingersnaps
2 Tbsp Melted Butter
1 pkg Cream Cheese
1 Can Pumpkin Puree
1/4 C Sugar
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs

Directions

Line muffin tin with heavy duty muffin liners( i use the foil lined liners). In a medium bowl, combine gingersnap crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle into the bottom of each liner, and press down with back of spoon. Bake for 5 minutes. In a large bowl mix cream cheese, pumpkin puree, sugars, spices and vanilla. Add eggs a mix till fluffy. Pour into cups 2/3 full. Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire racks, then remove and refrigerate. Drizzle Caramel sauce before serving.

White Wine Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

1 c sugar
1 c Sweet White Wine (like German Riesling)
2 Tbsp salted butter

Directions

Place 1 cup of sugar a large saucepan (larger than you would ever think you would need). Heat the sugar over medium heat. DO NOT STIR the sugar, until the edges start to melt. After that point, you can stir the sugar occasionally to aid the melting process. (This will take about 15 minutes, be patient.)

While the sugar is melting heat the wine in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat until it has reduced by half. Remove from the heat.

Once your sugar has completely melted, reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook it to a deep golden/amber color. (This will take about 10 minutes.)

Once the sugar has reached that beautiful dark caramel color, remove it from the heat. Gently pour the wine reduction into the caramelized sugar, drizzling it down the side of the pan. Your sugar will bubble, sputter and steam (all of the water and alcohol in the wine is instantly coming to a boil because the sugar is so hot).

Your sugar will turn into a solid mass. Heat your sugar and wine mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has melted again and the mixture begins to thicken, 15-20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Store any unused caramel sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. The caramel sauce will harden in the fridge, soften it by heating for a few seconds at a time in the microwave.

Originally published in The Wine Cellar October 2017.

Slow Cooker Red Wine Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 Large Onion, thinly sliced
4 Garlic Cloves, finely grated
½ C Chicken Stock
½ C Dry Red Wine (I used a Malbec)
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 ½ Tbsp Chili Powder
2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cumin
¼ Tsp Cinnamon
½ Tsp Smoked Paprika
2 -3 splashes Worcestershire Sauce
1 Cup BBQ sauce (I used a spicy bold one)
4 lbs Pork Loin

Directions

Place thinly sliced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. In a large mixing bowl, place brown sugar, chili powder, salt, cumin, smoked paprika, and cinnamon together and mix well. Add wine, chicken stock, worcestershire sauce, bbq sauce and garlic in to the spices. Set pork loin on top of onion slices and pour the spice mixture over top of loin. Set slow cooker to low and cook for 8 hours. Once done cooking, remove the loin from the sauce and shred using 2 forks, set aside. Pour off liquid from the slow cooker, set aside. Return the meat back into the slow cooker and slowly add the liquid back in to the slow cooker till desired consistency. Serve on buns.

Originally published in The Wine Cellar September 2017.

White Wine Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

3 Cups Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Unsalted Butter
2 Cups Sugar
4 Large Eggs
Zest of 3 Lemons + 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 Cup White Wine (I used a Citrus forward Pinot Grigio)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325F Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla to the butter mixture. Add flour mixture and the buttermilk, alternating 1/2 cup of each, mix after each addition. Add wine to cupcake batter. Line muffin tin with paper liners and fill each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes approximately 24 cupcakes.

To finish each cupcake, using a filling piping tip and pipping bag, fill piping bag with lemon curd ( recipe below), and insert into cupcake. Fill cupcake and as you pull out of the cupcake, pipe a small amount of lemon curd on top of the cupcake. Using a star tip and a clean piping bag, pipe seven minute frosting (recipe below) on top of lemon curd. Using a kitchen/pen torch, brown the meringue.

Lemon Curd

8 Large egg yolks
Finely grate lemon zest of 2 lemons
1/2 Cup Lemon juice
1 Cup Sugar
1/8 Tsp Salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold cut into chunks

DIRECTIONS

Combine yolks, zest, lemon juice and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, while scraping sides of pot to ensure mixture is well blended, until mixture is thick enough to coat back of spoon. Approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter, one chunk at a time. Add salt and mix till smooth. Strain through fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover surface of lemon curd with saran wrap to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate about 1 hour till set.

7 Minute Frosting
1 1/2 Cup+ 2 Tbsp Sugar
2/3 Cup water
2 Tbsp Light corn syrup
6 Large egg whites, room temperature

DIRECTIONS
Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Now continue boiling WITHOUT stirring until candy thermometer reaches 230 degrees. Meanwhile, whisk egg whites with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. While still mixing egg whites, add the 2 tbsp sugar to egg whites until combined. Soon as syrup reaches 230 degrees, remove from heat. While mixer is on medium low speed, pour syrup down the side of bowl in a slow and steady stream into egg white mixture. Raise speed to medium high speed until mixture is cooled and stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use IMMEDIATELY.

Originally published in The Wine Cellar March 2017.

Red Wine Truffles

INGREDIENTS

16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup red wine (Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon), at room temperature
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature & halved
3/4 cup natural unsweetened or Dutch-process cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS

Place the semi-sweet chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Microwave in four 15-second increments, stirring after each, for a total of 60 seconds.

Stir until almost completely melted (I had to micro mine for a couple more rounds before the chocolate was melty). Set aside.

Pour heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisking occasionally, heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Gently begin stirring with a wooden spoon in one direction.

Do not forcefully stir. Once the chocolate and cream are completely smooth, gently stir in the wine and butter until combined.

Cover with plastic wrap pressed on top of the mixture. Let the ganache mixture sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours, or until it reaches a soft, scoopable consistency (I ended up putting mine in the freezer for a bit to speed things along).

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. Pour the cocoa powder into a bowl.

Remove the ganache from the refrigerator. Measure 1 teaspoon, roll between your hands into a ball, roll in the cocoa powder, and place on the baking sheet.

Repeat with the rest of the ganache. For pretty presentation, I roll some truffles more heavily in the cocoa than others.

Serve immediately or cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Originally published in The Wine Cellar December 2017.

Drunken Cheese Bread

INGREDIENTS

1/2 baguette, sliced in 2 inch slices
1/2 small yellow onion
450 grams cooked ham, thinly sliced
3/4 cup White Wine
1 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Pinch Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 400F. Grease a 9 inch baking dish with butter and place bread in buttered pan. Scatter ham, onion, and garlic over bread. Pour the wine (I used Pinot Grigio, but feel free to use any dry white wine) over the bread and top with pepper and Gruyere cheese.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes until cheese has melted and the edges brown. Serve hot. Just put out plates and let people dish themselves. Easy!

Originally published in The Wine Cellar, May 2016.