Wine Wednesday: King Estate Luminous Pinot Gris

When K and I were on our trip to the Northwest a few weeks ago, we did a little bit of wine tasting.  Of course I couldn't miss my favorite winery in the world, King Estate.  We decided to pick up a bottle of this limited edition Luminous Pinot Gris.  Don't be fooled by the pink color, this is not a rosé!  I am not a fan of the rosé, so I was surprised that I actually liked this wine.  That's because unlike a rosé , which is traditionally made from red grapes that are separated from their skins,  this is made from Pinot Gris grapes and is allowed to soak with the skins for 72 hours.  Traditionally Pinot Gris is separated from its skins before fermentation, because the Pinot Gris grape is actually purplish grey.

Anyway, this is a really nice crisp, dry wine.  It isn't at all sweet, but it isn't too tart.  It's nicely balanced.  The skins added tannins, which give it a tiny bit of astringency.  I realize that doesn't sound like something you would want to find in your wine, but it worked here and was not at all unpleasant.  This wine was great with spicy foods, but also it cuts sweetness nicely.  I served it with some easy happy hour foods, a  few kinds of bruschetta and also some figs stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto.

Because this is such a great summer wine, and figs are such a great summer fruit, I decided these two had to be on the same table.  I made my favorite fig and goat cheese bruschetta, along with pesto and sopressata bruschetta, and a new one with brie, figs and prosciutto.  

I had some figs left over, so I quartered them lengthwise, almost but not quite to the bottom.  Then I stuffed them with goat cheese, wrapped them in prosciutto and topped them with freshly cracked pepper and a little drizzle of honey.  Then I baked them for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  

Wine:  King Estate Luminous Pinot Gris
Year: 2011
Region: Oregon
Purchased From: King Estate Winery
 Price: $18
Verdict: 5/5

Bruschetta

The bruschetta inspiration: Postinos

 OK, FINALLY we have made and purchased alllll of the necessary pieces in order to put together a pretty amazing bruschetta board (or plate, in my case).  As I mentioned in my previous post, K and I had date night at a local wine bar called Postino that is known for it's bruschetta.  We decided to recreate this at home, and admittedly 4 kinds of bruschetta requires lots of different ingredients.  It would be all well and good to just make one or two of these.  But if you are serving it as a meal instead of a little snack, or if you are having a party, it is nice to have the variety.  Although prepping the ingredients can take a little while, once you have everything prepped these come together pretty quickly, which is what makes them a great food for entertaining.  The four kinds of bruschetta we attempted were:

Brie and Apples with Fig Jam
Prosciutto with Figs and Mascarpone
Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese
Salami with Pesto

What I bought (prosciutto not pictured)

Start out with a couple of loaves of good French or Italian bread (I make my own, but you can also buy it)
Slice into about one inch thick slices, brush both sides lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Lay out on a cookie sheet and place in a 350 degree oven for 3-4 minutes.  Flip them all over, and then put them back in for another 3-4 minutes.  You want them a little toasty.  After this, you can start assembling the different bruschetta.

Toasty

Brie and Apples with Fig Spread

Ingredients:
Brie (I used double cream)
Granny Smith Apple, very thinly sliced (we used a mandolin slicer)
Fig Spread (Make your own, or you can usually find it in the fancy cheese section of the grocery store)
Honey

After taking the toast out of the oven, spread with a thin layer of fig spread, and then top with a slice of brie. Put it back in the oven for a few more minutes, until the brie is a little melty.  Remove from oven and top with  thin slices of apple.  Drizzle with honey.  DONE!

Prosciutto with Figs and Mascarpone

Ingredients:
Mascarpone Cheese
Dried black mission figs, sliced
Prosciutto
Fresh ground pepper

After toasts come out of the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes.  They can still be warm, you just don't want them too hot when you spread on the cheese.  After they have cooled down, spread with mascarpone, top with slices of figs and then a slice of prosciutto.  Sprinkle with just a tiny bit of fresh ground pepper.

Mascarpone and figs, just top with Prosciutto 

(This was the easiest one because this is the only one that I didn't have to make any of the ingredients for.  I also thought it was the most bland.  It might be that the mascarpone was not the best brand, I have not worked with that type of cheese before.  but in the future I might even replace the mascarpone with goat cheese)

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
Soft Goat Cheese
Roasted Red Peppers, diced (Make your own, or buy)

After toasts come out of the oven, spread with goat cheese and then top with the diced roasted red peppers.  Done!  So quick and easy.

I failed to take a close up of the Goat Cheese and Red Pepper - So this is the best I can do!

Salami with Pesto

Ingredients:
Pesto (Make your own, or buy in refrigerated section)
Salami, thin slices

After the toasts come out of the oven, spread with pesto.  Top with 2-3 slices of salami.  Done!

Finished Prosciutto and Fig on the left, just need to top the Pesto with Salami

Transfer all the bruschetta onto a large serving platter or two and serve to your dazzled guests.  Best served with wine.

 I personally think that making many of the ingredients from scratch improved these bruschetta.  Because they are very simple, the ingredients are all major stars.  If they are only mediocre, your bruschetta will probably also be mediocre.  Make sure that the ingredients you do buy are the highest quality!

Casual Happy Hour

It all started with an instagram

DIY: How make your own Roasted Red Peppers

One of the last things I decided to make for the bruschetta was the roasted red peppers for the Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta.  We normally will roast these on the grill when we are barbecuing, but since we weren't using the grill right then I decided to make these in the oven.  You can of course buy a jar of these, but roasting your own is so easy and usually cheaper (right now I have been buying bell peppers for .88 cents each here in AZ, unbelievably cheap!).

Weirdly shaped peppers!

I roasted two of them, which made enough for 5-6 bruschetta.  I was surprised that it made less of a final product than I thought, so I was glad that I had roasted two and not one.

Nice and blackened.

Cut the peppers in half, removing the stem and seeds.  Place skin side up on a foil lined cookie sheet.  Move your oven rack to the highest position and turn on the broiler.  Put the cookie sheet of peppers under the broiler and roast until the skin is blackened.  This took mine 10-15 minutes, but watch them very carefully!   Don't go walking away and getting distracted.  The skin should be black in most places.  Then take them out and immediately put in an airtight container.

Pepper Sauna

If you don't have something with a tight fitting lid, just put them in a bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap.  You want them in a pepper sauna.  Leave them alone and don't open the container for 15-20 minutes.  Then you can take them out and peel off the blackened skin.  There you are, left with a beautiful roasted pepper.

Pepper fillet

 I chopped mine up and tossed them in a little olive oil, then stored them in a jar until I wanted to use them.

DIY: Pesto (Nut free)

Ok, so we are on our way to making the bruschetta, but I still have a few more things to make.  The next item is pesto, for the Pesto and Salami Bruschetta.  I absolutely love making pesto, it is a quick and easy favorite for summer, and can be whipped up and thrown on some pasta for an easy meal.  In this case it is the base of a very simple bruschetta.

Gather olive oil, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, and lemon 

I like my pesto super garlicky, so if you only like garlic a normal amount you might want to tone it down.  If you are the kind of person that looks at a recipe that calls for one clove of garlic  scoffs, and then uses 5 cloves, this is the recipe for you  (remember that since this is not cooked, the garlic flavor is very strong).  Also, most pestos use nuts, such as pine nuts or walnuts.  I don't include those because I don't really like them and I don't find them necessary.  I add a tablespoon of lemon juice both for flavor and to preserve the bright green color.  I notice that if I don't use lemon, the pesto starts oxidizing very quickly, and turns a less pleasant color.

Basic Pesto

2-3 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1-3 cloves of garlic (one for garlic normals, 3 for garlic lovers)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

I like to grind my parm right in the food processor, so cut it into chunks and then pulse in food processor until it is a crumbly consistency   Add garlic cloves and pulse until combined.  Add fresh basil, then while food processor is running, stream the olive oil through the top feed until you reach your desired consistency (for me that was about half a cup, but you may need to add more or less depending on your preferences and how much basil you have).   Add lemon juice and pulse to combine.  Then add salt to taste.

The lemon juice is really great at maintaining that bright green color.  I also stored it in a mason jar, so the airtight environment might have helped preserve that as well.  I have had this in my fridge for a few days now and it is still a beautiful green color.

DIY: Fig Spread

The other night, K and I went on a date at a local wine bar called Postino.  They are one of Phoenix's favorites, and now have three locations in the metro area.  One thing they are most known for is their bruschetta.  I wasn't aware that bruschetta was such a thing until coming to Arizona - they really, really love their bruschetta here!  Most wine bars offer "bruschetta boards" where you have a menu with many choices of different kinds of bruschetta, and you can get a combination of several of them to try.  Most Phoenicians will claim that Postino has the best bruschetta in town, and I have to agree it is pretty damn delicious.

Bruschetta Inspiration at Postino

We have an out of town friend coming to visit, and K asked if I thought I could recreate our bruschetta at home.  I have already written about how I love to make bruschetta as a quick easy appetizer, and I was up to the challenge of trying out some new recipes   And because I am extra ambitious (Read: unemployed and bored), I decided to make several of the ingredients from scratch.  I was totally going to buy everything, but I realized that A.) with four different kinds of bruschetta, that grocery bill was going to add up fast and B.)  Homemade is almost always better than store bought.

Get 10 ounces of dried Calimyrna figs

Stem and quarter

Grab a fresh lemon

The first item that I decided to make at home was a fig spread for the Brie and Apples with Fig Spread Bruschetta.  I stumbled upon a recipe from none other than my hero, Ms. Martha Stewart herself.  After reviewing to make sure I wasn't getting in over my head (you have to watch that with Martha), I decided to give it a try.  This turned out to be ridiculously easy and delicious   Even if I wasn't making bruschetta, I would like to have this on hand for throwing together easy appetizers.  Putting this out with some cheese and crackers would instantly elevate it to a cheese platter.  Or just spread it on toast.

Squeeze that lemon

Simmer the figs with sugar

Throw the cooked figs in a food processor

Fig Spread
(From Martha Stewart)

10oz Dried Calimyrna Figs, stems removed and quartered
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cups water

Combine figs, sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cover, let simmer until most water has evaporated and figs are easily pierced with a sharp knife ( Martha says 20 minutes, mine took closer to 35 - so just keep checking them after 20 minutes)

Transfer to food processor, add lemon juice and puree until you reach your desired consistency.  Add up to 1/4 cup of additional water if needed (I didn't as there was still quite a bit of water left in the pot of figs).

Blend figs with lemon juice

For some reason I was afraid this was going to turn out bland and horrible, so I was very surprised when it was delicious.  I immediately put it on a cracker with cheese. 

Amazing

Heaven

Stay tuned, I will post the recipe for the bruschetta soon!

Cucumber Mint Gimlet and Bacon Leek Tart

I realize that I have mostly been posting recipes on this little blog.  I didn't intend for it to become a food blog, but honestly, cooking is the main thing that we do for entertainment around here.  It works out nicely since I like to cook, we love food, and most of the restaurants around here suck.  So without further apologies, here is your Friday happy hour post.

This week has been a long one, friends.  It's one of those weeks where you start wishing that tomorrow was Friday on Tuesday.  I don't really know what my problem is, I don't even have a job.  Seriously, I am about one quarter of the amount of busy that I was when I lived Portland.  But I still really look forward to weekends because it means I get to spend more time with K, and also this summer Stats class has really amped it up, so not having to do 4-5 hours of homework a night on the weekend is pretty awesome.

Anyway, to help take the sting out of the fact that it was only Wednesday, I decided to throw us a mid week happy hour.  Since I still have a bunch some gin lying around from the Lavender Collins, I have been looking for some other gin cocktails to try.  We also had a few ingredients from our CSA that I wanted to use up, so I came up with HH menu of a Bacon, Leek and Gruyere Tart and Cucumber Mint Gimlets.

App Happy

I was excited to use our cucumbers, and a cucumber drink just sounded so refreshing.  I thought it would make it EVEN MORE refreshing if I incorporated mint into it somehow.  I am really loving the idea of making flavored simple syrups since I discovered how easy it is, so I decided to make a mint syrup for this drink.  Don't worry, this one is even easier than the lavender syrup from last week.

Mint Simple Syrup

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup of fresh mint, torn into large pieces

Directions
Place all ingredients in a small pot, bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Take off the heat and let it steep for about 20 minutes.  Strain to remove mint.  Makes about 1 cup.

Simmering syrup

Cucumber Mint Gimlet

Ingredients
3 oz Gin
1.5 oz mint simple syrup
Juice of one lime
1/4 cup diced cucumber 

Once you have the syrup made, these come together pretty quickly.  Peel, seed and dice 1/2 of a small cucumber (or all of it if you plan on having a few of these).  Place the cucumber into your shaker with your lime juice and muddle.  Add your gin, mint syrup and ice.  Shake to combine and strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with a sprig of mint or a slice of cucumber if you want to get fancy.

Beautiful but Deadly:  these guys are sneakily strong

Bacon, Leek and Gruyere Tart

I wanted to use puff pastry as the crust for this, but for some reason I couldn't find it whenever I was at the store.  I saw some phyllo dough, and figured it was pretty much the same.  It's not.  Also, I now sort of hate phyllo dough, it's a huge pain in the ass to work with.  So, if I make this again, I'm going to try it with puff pastry.  But the phyllo did end up giving this a super crispy crust, which was nice.

Ingredients

2 small leeks, diced
2-3 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
2-3 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded
6 sheets of phyllo dough
2 tablespoons butter, melted

I would recommend having everything prepped and ready to go before working with your phyllo, as I said it is a pain in the ass and I totally burnt my bacon while I was trying to multi-task.  To prepare your leeks, cut off the root and and the tops where the leafy green part starts.  Slice into small rings, and put them in a bowl of water and swish them around to clean and separate some of the rings.  It also might help to slice the whole thing lengthwise first, which I didn't do, but would have made cleaning them easier.

Start by placing one sheet of phyllo dough on a cookie sheet lines with parchment paper, brush with butter, and top with another sheet of phyllo.  Repeat until you have about 6 layers.  Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese,  then top with the leeks and bacon, followed by the rest of the cheese.  Place into a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes.  Watch carefully, this cooks fast.  Remove when the edges are golden brown.

This was a nice mid week happy hour, and pretty easy to throw together.  But now it's the real weekend, so go enjoy it!

I only drink gin in the summertime

Back when I worked for an evil insurance company, I became friends with a coworker who introduced me to a beautiful concept -  "Martini Friday".  And trust me, when you worked there, you needed a few martinis by Friday.  Actually, you really needed them everyday, but I digress..  She and her husband would mix some fun drinks and make some delicious appetizers to start the weekend off right.  I fell in love with the idea of a mini celebration every week, and so have adopted the idea for myself.  Last Friday I decided to start our own Friday Happy hour.  The drink of the week was the Lavender Collins, which I adapted from Fratelli in Portland.  The apps are some of my favorite, easiest appetizers in my repertoire. Fig and Chevre Crostini and Bacon Wrapped Dates.

Lavender Collins (adapted from Fratelli, Portland, OR)

1/2 oz Lavender Syrup
1 1/2 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin (Or whatever gin you prefer, I'm not the gin police)
Juice of half a lime
Club Soda

Combine the lavender syrup, gin and lime juice in a martini shaker with ice.  Shake it up like a pro.  Pour into a low ball glass over ice. Top it off with club soda, give it a gentle stir and garnish with a slice of lime. (Click here to see my post on making your own lavender syrup, or if you don't want to make it you can buy some - Monin makes a good one)

Lavender Collins

Fig and Chevre Crostini

I love this appetizer, it's great for summer when figs are in season!

Half of a French Baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices
5 oz Creamy Herbed Chevre
5-6 Fresh Black Mission Figs, sliced crosswise
Honey
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Slice your figs crosswise into about 4 slices, discarding the top and end piece. Arrange your bread slices on a cookie sheet covered in foil.  Spread chevre on each slice of bread, and then top with one slice of fig.  Drizzle honey over all of the crostini and finish off with a dash of black pepper.  Place under the broiler in your oven until the edges are nice and brown and cheese and honey starts to get bubbly ( It only takes a few minutes, watch it carefully so they don't burn!).

Bacon Wrapped Dates

As K says, wrapping anything in bacon is the easiest trick in the book.  These are super simple and will have everyone thinking you're a genius. 

12 pitted dates
4 slices of bacon, cut into thirds

Wrap each date in a third slice of bacon ( I've found that is the length that fits perfectly around a date, but your results may vary).  Secure with a toothpick ( I didn't have toothpicks last week, so I threaded 4 of them onto a wooden skewer and made bacon date kebabs).  Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy.    Allow these to cool for a few minutes or you and your guests will burn their mouths in your haste to eat as many as possible.

These are the kind of apps I want for a causal happy hour - easy but still a little impressive.  Have a good weekend!

Our Friday Happy Hour