Holiday Sparkling Cocktail

Looking for an alternative to the mimosa for Christmas morning? How about a Pear, Pomegranate Prosecco cocktail?

I was flipping through the December issue of Family Circle magazine while getting my hair done (there were no People magazines available) and thought I would try this. The ingredients are easy to find and pomegranates are in season.

(photo and recipe courtesy of Family Circle Magazine)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pear nectar

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

2 cups chilled seltzer or prosecco

Pomegranate seeds for garnishing (optional)

1. In a large pitcher, stir together pear nectar, pomegranate juice and seltzer or prosecco. Place pomegranate sees in bottom of 4 glasses (if using).

2. Divide cocktail among glasses; serve.

Serves 4. Takes 10 minutes to make.

Pear nectar and pomegranate juice can be found in the same place as apple juice and sparkling cider in our local Harris Teeter grocery stores.

Looking for some other cool holiday cocktails? Here's a few that look interesting ...

S'mores Martini from the Bar at the Peninsula Chicago

Candy Cane Martini from the Peabody Hotel in Memphis

Hot Apple Pie from the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco

Have a great holiday!

Holiday Party Tips

Last weekend as I was catching up on past issues of the Charlotte Observer (yes, I still look through the "real" paper) I noticed an article on the front page of the Home section titled "20 Party Do's and Don'ts". Of course I had to read it to see if I had committed any (and how many) party faux pas along the way. As I read through the article, I realized that I agreed with many (if not all) of the advice given. Seeing that it's prime holiday party season, I thought this would be a great article to share.

I tried to find it online on the Observer's site but gave up after 10 minutes. Luckily, I still had the printed copy (see, it's good for something) which led me to the original source, an article from House Beautiful magazine which actually lists 101 Do's and Don'ts for hosting/attending a party. Even better! I've looked through the list and here's my top 10 Party Do's and Don'ts (in no particular order).

1. Loosen Up: "Have a stiff drink before anyone arrives. If you are having fun, everyone will have fun." -- Miles Redd, designer (Tip #5)

2. Charm the Host: "Don't come to a party empty-handed." -- Jayne Michaels, designer (Tip # 8)

3. Don't Recipe Search on Party Day: "Don't try a new recipe at a party." -- Tricia Foley, designer/author (Tip # 9)

4. Don't Delay Dinner for Tardy Guests: "Don't wait for late guests. People resent being hungry." -- Issac Mizrahi, fashion designer (Tip # 16)

5. Prep Ahead: "Get everything ready the day before." -- Suzanne Kasler, designer (Tip # 47)

6. Have Drinks Ready: "Have beverages visible from the moment guests step in the door." -- Matt and Ted Lees, chefs/cookbook authors (Tip # 51)

7. Play with the Centerpiece: "Flowers are overused as centerpieces. Use seasonal fruit, a tureen, or an interesting sculptural centerpiece instead." -- Christopher Spitzmiller, ceramic designer (Tip # 13)

8. Follow the One-Bite Rule: "Keep hors d'oeuvres to one bite. No one wants to talk or kiss with a mouthful." -- Larry Laslo, designer (Tip # 18)

9. Keep Champagne on Hand: "You should always have a cold bottle of bubbly stashed in your refrigerator in case friends drop by, and a bottle of something sparkly for non-drinkers." -- Christopher Hirsheimer, Co-founder, Canal House Cooking (Tip # 28)

10. Make Extra Food: "Don't be stingy with food and beverages. Like my old grandma used to say 'I'd rather have lots of leftovers than have someone leave my party hungry.'" -- Frank Fontana, designer, TV personality

Of course, I always follow #9 ... but not for company ... in case I have a bad (or good) day at work.

Check out the full article and browse House Beautiful's website for other great ideas. Have a great holiday!

Holiday Wine Elf

We hosted our first Open House for the holidays yesterday. As promised we had wine and nibbles and a visit from our favorite wine elf, John from Tryon Distributing.


Althought John poured four awesome wines, he was the big hit of the afteroon in his elf outfit which consisted of Santa hat, turtleneck sweater, suspenders, festive boxers and tights. The only thing missing was pointy elf-shoes. Maybe Santa will bring him some this Christmas!

Thanks for being a great wine rep and an even better sport, John!

Best of Appetizers 2010 - Ham and Gruyere Thumbprints

We originally planned five recipes for our Best of 2010 Appetizers class this past Wednesday but I decided to add one more, one of my all-time favorites, Ham and Gruyere Thumbprints, into the line up. I've been making this recipe for years and it's become a staple. Since it can be made in advance (and even frozen until ready to use), it comes in handy for wine tastings and if I have to take an appetizer to a party.

The original recipe came from Martha Stewart but I've modified it to suit my taste buds. I use my proven recipe for pate a choux, add Parmesan cheese to the dough and double the amount of ham.

The recipe starts out with making pate a choux (also called choux paste or cream puff pastry), a base that can be then used for sweet or savory pastries like cream puffs, eclairs, gougeres or thumbprints. The ingredients for pate a choux are simple but the technique requires a little skill. Sarah, one of our new friends, helped with this recipe. Here's what she did.

Water, butter and salt are heated in a saucepan until it just begins to boil (notice the small bubbles). Don't boil it too much or else the water begins to evaporate which throws off the liquid to flour ratio.

Once the water boils, add the flour in quickly (all at once) and start stirring. The flour will absorb the liquid mixture and will come together in a ball. Stir until the dough pulls away from the side and leaves a thin film at the bottom of the pan. Let it sit (off the heat) for about five minutes.

After the dough has cooled, eggs are added one at a time. This is the coolest part of making pate a choux. When you first add the egg and start mixing, the dough looks slimy and loose. As you keep stirring the egg absorbs into the dough and becomes smooth. By the time the last egg is incorporated, the dough is silky and manageable. From here, you can go sweet or savory. We added diced Black Forest ham, parmesan and a little pepper. Some of the thumbprints were piped using a pastry bag and some we formed using a cookie scoop. Then we wet our fingers with water and stuck a thumb in each one to make an indentation. The thumprints were baked for about 25 minutes at 400F. Little blocks of gruyere were added and then baked again until they melted.

This is what they looked like before we ate them. They were yummy. Of course.

Turkey Talk

Thanksgiving is just 4 days away. If you're cooking, the clock is ticking. Tick, tock. Have you decided on your menu? Do you know how big of a turkey to buy? Fresh or frozen? Do you know how long to cook it? Who's going to carve it? And what about all those leftovers?

Don't panic! There are tons of resources available on the web. Let's start with a plan ... a schedule of what to do when. Martha Stewart has this covered. You don't need to follow it to the letter but you can get an idea of the major tasks you need to complete and when you should do them. Here's Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving Planner. Epicurious has a planning checklist and Williams Sonoma has a Thanksgiving Timeline with a handy grocery list.

Next, what are you going to cook? Again, Martha has lots of options for you, about 27 different ways to cook your turkey. As does Epicurious, but they only have 18 suggestions.

You're probaby wondering how big of turkey you need to get. The general guideline is about 1lb per person. If you want leftovers, plan for a 1.5 lbs per person.

Now the big question, fresh or frozen. I prefer fresh. I usually order it from the grocery store a week in advance and pick it up before the day before Thanksgiving. If you prefer a frozen turkey, make sure you allow enough time for it to defrost and follow the proper thawing techniques. Here's what the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) recommends:

The next decision is how to cook it. I like to brine it first and then roast using basic ingredients. Brining tenderizes the meat and adds flavor to the meat, especially to the breast. Once again, Martha Stewart provides detailed steps on how to brine a turkey. If you prefer action, check out Williams Sonoma's video. Click on the icon next to Brining. I like to keep the recipe (for brining and roasting) simple so the turkey can be the star. I usually put salt, sugar, peppercorns, crushed garlic and thyme in the brine and I stuff the cavity of the turkey with a head of garlic, thyme, onion and sometimes half of a lemon. These are called aromatics and add flavor to the turkey. Brush the bird with butter and you should be set.

Now it's time to cook the turkey. Most recipes suggest starting at a high temperature (400F or higher) for about 30 minutes and then backing it down to 325F for the remainder of the cooking time. This is what I normally do. And since no wants dried out turkey meat, make sure you cook it for the right amount of time and check the internal temperature to make sure it's cooked enough. This is where the USDA comes in again.

Here's some details from Williams Sonoma on checking internal temperature of your turkey. Again, if you prefer action, check out the video from Epicurious on how to check if your turkey is done.

So you're turkey done's and you need to carve it. This takes some skill ... after all, you've spent hours cooking the turkey, you want to make sure it looks as great as it's going to taste. Here's how Martha does it. And for those who prefer video, here's how Epicurious does it.

By now, all the heavy lifting is over (and cleaning too). You need to figure out what to do with the leftovers. Well as you might've guessed, everyone has an opinion. So here's the links to the most popular sites:

Martha Stewart Leftovers
Epicurious Leftovers
Williams Sonoma Leftovers

I hope you found this helpful! Have a great Thanksgiving!

Bite Size Desserts

I've been wanting to do a class on mini-desserts for a while now and finally got the opportunity with the Golden Girls earlier this week. The idea was to create several bite size desserts that are fairly easy, can be made in advance and would be perfect for holiday entertaining. Here's what we came up with:

Cheesecake Tartlets with Cherry Topping

Cheesecake Tartlets with Caramelized Pineapple Topping

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Espresso Pot de Creme (served in espresso cups)

Espresso Pot de Creme (enough for a party)

Happy Halloween

It was frightful evening as we opted for ghoulish instead of gourmet at our Haunting Halloween class last night. Here are some of the highlights from our menu:

Witches Brew

Dirty Little Devil's Cupcakes

Jello for Brains

Meringue Bones

Check out our website for more photos of the event!

Women and Wine Dinner at Fleming's

Every October, Fleming's hosts a Women and Wine dinner in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month featuring women wine makers. This Friday, they focused on three of the leading wine makers in Napa Valley: Cathy Corison of Corison, Kristin Belair or Honig and Janet Myers of Franciscan.

The wines were part of a delicious four course meal. The Corison Cabernet Sauvignon (2000) was served first with house cured salmon and citrus creme fraiche on a crispy wanton. It was a brave pairing (delicate salmon with a bold cab) but the end result was amazing. The richness of the creme fraiche was a great balance for the cab. I'm going to try this at home since they shared their recipe for creme fraiche with me.

The Honig Cabernet Sauvignon (2006/2007) was next and paired with butternut squash bisque served with what I will call a very large crouton (a toasted slice of their rosemary baguette topped with melted danish blue cheese and bacon). The soup was warm brown in color with a touch of sweetness ... Carolyn called it liquid pumkin pie. I think they drizzled some of the danish blue cheese fondue that was on the crouton in the soup which provided contrast in both color and taste. Overall, this was a nice combination of sweet, savory and salty! The amazing quality of the wine was that it cleansed the palatte from the last course and complemented this course.

The last wine was a Magnificat Napa Valley (2005/2006) and it was served with rosemary scented baby lambchops, Parmesan risotto, maple roasted parsnips and a red wine demi-glace. While everything on the plate was delicious, the lambchops (6 chops on my plate) and the parsnips were my favorites. The lambchops were cooked perfectly to medium on the inside and had a nice sear on the outside. The parnsips were cut uniformly into batonnets (1/2" x 1/2" x 2 1/2 - 3") and were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and sweet all over. I need to try this at home too.

By the time dessert came, we were way too full for anything but a bite. This was probably the weakest part of the meal ... caramel pudding with what looked like pieces of Heath Bar and homemade shortbread (which was quite yummy).

My favorite wine of the evening was the Corison cab, rated 90 points by Wine Spectator. Check out the link for a description of the wine, as well as Wine Spectator's write up. I'm hoping the local distributor still has some of this left for sale ... I'm going to try to get a few bottles!

Baked Alaska!

I didn't realize I haven't posted anything July ... SORRY! I have been cooking (and eating and drinking) all summer ... trying new things like Baked Alaska which we did for our 60's Dinner Party (individual servings) and for a birthday party last night (traditional serving).

Baked Alaska is simply cake topped with ice cream and covered with meringue which is then browned. The trick is to freeze it as you build it. Here's how I did it ...

First, I made a devils food cake in a 9" round pan. Then I took a carton of pistachio almond ice-cream and pressed it into a plastic-wrap lined bowl (which also happened to be 9" in diameter) making sure the top was smooth and flat so that it would sit on top of the cake properly. I put the ice-cream back in the freezer to re-harden. Then I removed the ice-cream mold from the bowl, placed it on top of the cake and put them both back into the freezer.


I made a traditional meringue and then covered the frozen cake/ice cream and then stuck that back into the freezer.

Just before serving, I removed it from the freezer and used my torch to caramelize the meringue. The end result was yummy!

Plain Old Vanilla

When I was little, my favorite ice cream flavor was chocolate ... vanilla was too boring and strawberry was just too foreign. Of course this was a long time ago and in Trinidad when those were our only options, except for the local flavor which flavored with coconut and thickened with Birds Custard powder. While there was an abundance of sugar (and eggs) in Trinidad, heavy cream was non-existent and vanilla extract (most likey imitation not pure) was such a luxury that it was reserved for wedding cakes!

As I got older and learned there were more flavors to explore, "31" or so on a monthly basis, I still stuck with some variation of chocolate. Once I started cooking and experimenting with "fancy" desserts that called for pure vanilla extract or vanilla beans, I ate less chocolate ice-cream and more vanilla as I began to discover how complex something as simple as vanilla is.

Did you know ...

• Vanilla was first cultivated in Mexico, in the state that is currently known as Veracruz?
• Most of the world's vanilla comes from Madagascar, Indonesia, Mexico and Tahiti but is also grown in Costa Rica, India, Uganda and Jamaica?
• Vanilla is the only fruit-bearing member of the orchid family and is harvested only once a year?
• Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron due to the intensive manual labor needed to grow the vanilla pods?
• Flowering normally occurs in the spring and must be pollinated within 12 hours of the blossom opening ... all pollination is now done by hand since the only insect capable of doing this is the Melipona bee which is native to Mexico?
  
  

  

Not so ordinary now, huh? And all vanillas don't necessarily taste the same ... each of the major types of vanilla has it's own characteristics and suggested uses, for example:

Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is an overall versatile vanilla with a rich, creamy mellow flavor and velvety overtones. It is ideal for baking and cooking -- sweet or savory. It is perfect in cakes, cookies and pastries. It adds a touch of sweetness to succulent seafood sauces or marinades and cuts the acidity of tangy tomato sauces.

Tahitan Vanilla has fruity, anisic notes that enhance fruit dishes such as cranberry sauce or cherries jubilee. Its delicate flavor is best used in recipes that do not require high heat such as refrigerated and frozen desserts, pastry creams, fruit pies and sauces, smoothies, shakes, puddings and custards.

Mexican Vanilla offers a deep spicy flavor and spices up citrus fruits such as lemons, limes and oranges but can also mellow out the bitterness of dark chocolate. It cuts the acidity and smooths out the heat in spicy tomato-based dishes. Try it in cookies, cakes, frozen desserts, barbecue and spaghetti sauces, and salsas.

Check out Nielsen-Massey's site for more cool info on vanilla!

Eating in South Africa

World Cup fever is still blazing at the office ... people are "working from home" so they can watch the important matches and the discussions about instant replays and bad ref calls get more and more heated every day. I don't mind ... the focus on World Cup reminds me of 9.5 glorious weeks I spent there ... working, meeting new friends, eating and drinking!

Here are some of the traditional food and drink of South Africa ... some of the pictures are mine, some are from the web.

The South African version of a barbecue is the "braai" (used to describe the meal, the process of cooking and the cooking area/tool). South Africans are fanatic about their braais ... within 24 hours I was invited to a braai, some of my co-workers were even showing off pictures of their braais. Most have dedicated areas of their homes set up for their braai ... so they can cook out in winter. One friend even had heated tiles in his braai. This is my friend Christopher (from NYC) getting ready to braai!

Another tradition South African meal is the potjiekos (pronounced poiki) which cooked in this three legged cast iron poiki pot which is either placed at the base of the braai or hung from a hook installed in the braai. The dish is layered, starting with meat, then potatoes and then vegetables. It was very yummy and takes about 2 hours to finish ... which goes by quickly when drinking South African wine!

This is a bunny chow ... no bunnies are ever harmed in the making of this dish. It is a quarter or half of a loaf of bread that is hollowed out and filled with curry (veggie, beef, chicken, mutton, etc). The idea is that you look like a bunny eating it. The one I had did not look this gourmet ... it was from a take out place and was absolutely delicious.

This is another thing South Africans are fanatical about ... biltong ... what we consider beef jerky. Everyone has their own special recipe ...their meat of choice, their spice blend and they method for curing and again. This was not my favorite ... but I tried it several times ... I had to!

I don't remember what this is called but it was good. This was on my last day and I guess they wanted to make sure I wouldn't starve on my long flight home!

There were so many other amazing things I ate in drank during my visit ... like rooibos tea which made me think of hibiscus, and Amarula, a cream liquer that is made from the marula tree ... this tastes a little like Baileys and I often had this for dessert. There were some other stuff that I didn't care for like boerewors, a dried sausage that was in the same category as biltong in my mind and mielies, the local starch that is made into a porridge (yuck)!

Todd's Farewell Tasting

In addition to Mom and I, fourteen of our friends showed up last Thursday night to say good bye to Todd and taste some of Oregon's finest wines.

Before we even tasted the first wine, Todd had us laughing with story from earlier that day ... he was training his replacement, it was her first day and they were riding in her car. Unknown to him, there was a welcoming committee to greet her ... an ant's nest lodged in the crease of the passenger seat. After she freaked out a little and got in her car, she called him with a humane way to get rid of the ants. His car now smells of an organic orange smelling ant repellant and they're hanging out in his Shop-Vac at home. Let's home they stay there!


While we cruised through seven wines, Todd had us cracking up with his unique brand of humor "Todd-ims". Here are a few that I wrote down in context of the conversations:

He's moving to Willamette Valley, which when properly pronounced rhymes with "damn it". It's also the home of "no flash, no trash" wines.

When opening one of the wines he warned us "this one will smack you around a little bit" and he described another as tasting like "wet forest floor".

He had only good things to say of the wine makers ... one was described as "a complete and utter wine dork" and another was "a pinot noir bad a$$".
As usual, the wines were good and the food was yummy but the company was the best. Here's a link of some of the photos from the tasting: http://www.gourmetontherun.com/images/Todd_s_Farewell_Tasting.pdf

We have a new rep and when asked about him and what's he's like, Todd said "he'll say stupid things too!"

Vegging Out

Our "Vegging Out" class started with a trip to the Davidson Farmer's market early yesterday morning. With a cup of coffee in hand and no menu in mind, Tracey, Emily and I did a brief walk through to get the lay of the land and survey our options.

Our first purchase was squash blossoms ... something none of us ever had but read much about. Then we picked up some fresh leeks and young garlic from the same farmer. We went over to the other end of the market and bought elongated beets, a couple pounds of patriotic potatoes (red, white and blue) and some mild onions. Our last stop was for hierloom tomatoes. Our menu was sketched out and we headed to the Fresh Market in Cornelius for the rest of our ingredients.

There we selected a loaf of rosemary focaccia bread, mushrooms, a vanilla poundcake, strawberries and chicken cutlets.

Now our menu was set ... bruschetta and roasted garlic with focaccia, frittata, chicken picatta, roasted potatoes, stuffed squash blossoms .... and for the grand finale ... chocolate bowls filled with poundcake, vanilla bean ice cream and flambed strawberries.

Our second course was an artichoke and leek frittata. I modified a recipe I found on-line at Williams Sonoma. It was yummy ... unlike other frittatas I've made, this one was cooked mostly on the stove top and then broiled at the end to add color to the top.

For the entree, we stuffed the squash blossoms with a sauteed mushrooms, panko bread crumbs, Parmesan and herbs. Tracey roasted the patriotic potatoes with the elongated beets, onions and herbs from her garden. I made chicken picatta but left out the lemon juice and capers since I thought it would clash with the Malbec we were drinking.

For dessert, we made chocolate bowls and filled them with the pound cake and ice cream. Then I sauteed the strawberries with Grand Marnier, lit it on fire and ladled the warm mixture into the bowls ... the heat from the strawberries melted the chocolate making it one, big, oozing chocolaty bite of goodness!

Here's a link to more photos: http://www.gourmetontherun.com/images/Vegging_OUt.pdf

World Cup Fever!

For months now the guys at work have been talking about World Cup ... I take that back ... it's been at least a couple of years that they've been scheming on how to get tickets and have been arguing if the stadiums and the country would be ready for the games.

As the official start gets closer, the conversations are longer and more frequent. Today at lunch, they were discussing which team is the favorite to win, and more importantly about the players that made the Brazilain squad.

Since I had nothing to contribute about the players and the game, I pulled the only piece of World Cup information I had readily available ... what Food and Wine Magazine suggests you drink to support your favorite team.

Here's a link to the article: http://foodandwine.com/articles/world-cup-wine-party

I have to say ... based on their suggestions, it's hard to support a favorite team.

Mother's Day Brunch

Mother's Day along with Easter and Valentines Day make up the holy trinity of eating out holidays. Rather than brave the crowds, we did brunch at home.

First course: warm cranberry scones (Mom likes them with butter, Debbie likes them plain and I like a little strawberry jam).


Second course: stuffed French toast (with ham and cheddar) and sauteed apples.

Only coffee and tea this morning. Saving the champagne for later!

Happy Mother's Day!

Todd's Visit to France

Our April wine tasting was all about Todd's first visit to France in late March. This tasting was like the others in that we had a lot of fun and drank some great wine (1 sparkling, 4 whites and 1 lonley red). However, it a first for us in two ways ... we had 24 attendees (plus Mom, Todd and I) ... a record for us and we had an audio-visual presentation ... Todd shared some of this photos with us.

As usual, Todd has several one-liners (we call these "Toddisms") and lots of great stories to tell. Since I was drinking too (and had very little to eat), I will do my best to recap some of the highlights of the evening and his trip.

Todd and his GF Margaret in Sancerre

Toddism: "It takes a lot of beer to make good wine"

Todd estimated he gained 5 lbs on this trip. I think this has something to do with it ... a restaurant that served over 100 savory crepes plus another 40 or so dessert crepes. Yep, he ate the whole thing!

Toddism: "Rolling up in our European Mini-Van"

Seems the guy second from the right is a real wine stud ... 28 years old and owns his own vineyard. Too bad he's married with a couple of kids.

So while the other guy is a wine-stud, this is the Man's Man of wine. He has his own vineyard and chateau with a courtyard and a big dog laying in the courtyard.

Le Cav

Members of the Natter family ... who were awesome hosts and shared some of their oldest wines with Todd and his group.

Nice hat!

Rocks that are native to the Loire Valley

Bad Habits!

P.S. None of the wines we tasted were date wines! ;-)