Amazingly easy summer appetizer!

Hola!! from the kitchen of Guida and Vita!  

Today we have a super simple, tremendously refreshing appetizer to go with the Vino Rosato!  

Sip, nibble and ENJOY!!!!

Watermelon Wonder

All you need is a watermelon, feta cheese squares, fresh mint leaves and a box of toothpicks.

Cube watermelon into bite sized pieces.

Place a square of feta cheese on each piece of watermelon.

Top with a mint leaf.

Then skewer it together with a toothpick.

Voila! 

You now have a refreshing and yummy summer appetizer.

This months recipe is brought to you by Darci, our brand new wine club manager.

"The second I tasted the Mistella, I knew it would be PERFECT 

with the baked pear recipe I love to make!"

Cinnamon-Mascarpone Baked Pears

1/3 cup Mascarpone cheese

2 tsps sugar -I use coconut sugar now for everything 

(its healthy..no difference in taste and you use it 1-1)

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup apple juice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 medium ripe pears

2 tsps brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 °F
2. Halve pears lengthwise and core. Place core side up in a medium baking dish.
3. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar and a 1/2 teaspoon butter into each cavity.
4. Pour juice into baking dish and bake 25 minutes until pears are tender.
5. Combine cheese, sugar and cinnamon
6. Top each pear half with 1 1/2 tablespoon cheese mixture and serve warm.

Blue Cheese & Ganache Truffles by Michelle

Chocolate and port is a perfect pairing. A perfect way to top off a great meal…or a wonderful gift combo. Many of you recognize Michelle’s friendly face from the Wine Room.

Ingredients:

8 Ounces of semisweet chocolate (a cacao content of about 60% works best & I like a bag of Ghirardelli because they're already small)

½ Cup of cream (for chocolate with 70% cacao, increase the cream by about a tablespoon or two)
Crumbled blue cheese

24 Mini cupcake liners (pre-line a baking sheet with these before you start the process)

Directions:

1.   Chop the chocolate into fairly even, small pieces—a heavy serrated knife works well or hammer. 

2.   Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from heat. Add the chopped chocolate to the cream. For an extra smooth truffle, add butter. Wait a minute or two until most of the chocolate and butter is melted.

3.   Transfer to a mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth. Once the chocolate is mostly melted, quickly but gently transfer the mixture to a bowl so that you can form your emulsion in a cooler environment.

4.   Whisk the mixture vigorously until it’s thick and smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl and incorporating all the cream and chocolate. If you have one, an immersion blender helps make sure the emulsion is stable.

5.   If the ganache shows signs of breaking at this point (if it looks curdled or oily), you can add a few drops of cream to help re-emulsify it. A well-emulsified ganache should look like chocolate pudding: thick, smooth, and glossy. Leave it in a cool spot to firm up for at least four hours, ideally overnight.


6.  To add blue cheese to the equation, I use mini cup cake papers and drop a bottom layer of ganache in each one. Then add a bit of blue cheese on top of each one, finishing with another layer of ganache to seal in the blue cheese before putting the truffles into the fridge to chill and harden.


7.  Store them at room temperature for up to a week, in the fridge for two to three weeks, or in the freezer for two months.

Serves 2 dozen truffles

Coq Au Vin

This yummy Coq Au Vin recipe comes again from our Tasting Room Manager, Nancy. She is a culinary goddess who lived for a while in France. Her recipe is based on a Julia Child recipe with some modifications and the inclusion of Two Amigos Wines. Nancy uses either our Tirare il Dito or our Cuvee Classico and then serves that wine with the dish as well. Bon Appétit!!

Ingredients:

1 bottle Two Amigos Cuvee Classico or Tirare il Dito
6 oz of lean bacon

2 T butter

2 cut-up chickens or 8 chicken pieces (thighs and breasts)

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

¼ cup cognac

1-3 cups chicken stock, best quality

½ T tomato paste

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp thyme

1-2 bay leaves

20-24 peeled white onions, about 1 inch in diameter

1 ½ T butter

1 ½ T olive oil

½ cup beef bouillon

Herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf, ¼ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth

½ lb fresh mushrooms

2 T butter

1 T olive oil

2 T minced shallots

3 T flour

2 T softened butter

Directions:

1.     Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons (1 inch by 1.4 inch). Simmer for 10 minutes in water. Rinse in cold water and dry.

2.     Sauté the bacon slowly in hot butter in a heavy fry pan until it is lightly browned. Remove to side dish.

3.     Dry the chicken pieces thoroughly. Brown the chicken in the butter in the pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, return the bacon to the fry pan with the chicken.

4.     Cover and cook slowly for 10-20 minutes, turning the chicken once.

5.     Uncover, pour in the cognac. Ignite the cognac with a match averting your face. Shake the pan back and forth until the flames subside.

6.     Pour the bottle of wine into the pan. Add just enough stock to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer slowly for 1 hour or more until the chicken juices run clear yellow when the meat is pricked with a fork.

7.     While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

8.     Heat butter and oil in a skillet; add the onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, being careful not to break the skins.

9.     Pour in the bouillon, salt and pepper to taste, add herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for up to 50 minutes until onions are tender, but retain their shape, and the liquid is evaporated. Remove the herb bouquet and set aside.

10. Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. When the butter begins to foam, add the mushrooms. Shake and toss the pan for 4-5 minutes. As soon as the mushrooms have begun to brown, remove the pan from the heat.

11. Toss the shallots with the mushrooms and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes. Set aside.

12. Picking up at #6, remove the chicken to a side dish and simmer the liquid in the pan for a minute or two, skimming off the fat. Then raise the heat and boil rapidly, reducing the liquid to about 2 ¼ cups. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaves.

13. Blend the butter and flour together into a smooth paste. Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a wire whip. Bring to a simmer while stirring. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.

14. Arrange the chicken in the pan, place the mushrooms and onions around the chicken and baste with the sauce. If the dish is not to be served immediately, set aside uncovered. It can wait indefinitely.

15. Slowly, before serving, bring to a simmer, basting the chicken with the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is hot through.

16. Serve the chicken on each plate. Decorate with fresh parsley and serve with parsley potatoes.

17. Serve TAW Cuvee Classico or Tirare il Dito with the meal!!! Yum!!!

Makes 4-6 servings

Catherine's Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho

(photo credit John Burgess / The Press Democrat)

We have been lovin' our new Vino Bianco with Guida and Vita on the label. It is a delightful Viognier and folks in the tasting room seem to love it too. Our dear friend/chef/owner of Glen Ellen's Olive and Vine Restaurant, Catherine Venturini has a FABULOUS Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho and she feels it pairs beautifully with our Viognier. 

Below is her recipe and here is a link to the restaurant. Definitely should be on your bucket list if you have not yet been there! Catherine was also recently featured as a spotlight chef in one of our local Sonoma County newspapers and here is a link to her story that also includes other recipes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 Cups peeled, chopped seedless watermelon (about a 6-pound melon)
1 Medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped fine
1 Cup peeled jicama, chopped fine
1 Cup diced red onion
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Finely chopped Serrano chile (or to taste)
Juice of 2 limes
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
Sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzle on top

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except olive oil, salt & pepper in large mixing bowl. Puree half in food processor, or to desired smoothness. Transfer to another large bowl. (You can puree another few cups, or add the remainder, whichever you prefer for consistency. Also, it can be all done in the food processor if you like it smoother.)

Add salt & pepper to taste, and more lime if needed. Cover and chill for several hours. Serve very cold in chilled bowls with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Makes 6 servings

Smoked Salmon Spread

So many of us are enjoying wonderful white wines at this time of the year! Our spring shipments to both our La Familia and GlenLyon wine clubs included Chardonnay, which is a beautiful pairing with this Smoked Salmon Spread recipe. One of our Wine Room managers, Nancy Fine, has altered this recipe from San Francisco A La Carte. It is easy and fabulous! In Nancy’s words’, “This hors d’oeuvre is a hit every time!”


Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Smoked salmon
3-4 Shallots, finely chopped
2 T capers
2 Tsp chopped fresh dill
1/2 Cup sour cream
1/2 Cup mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley
Crackers, such as Triscuits or pumpernickel bread

Directions:

Chop the salmon and mix with the minced shallots, capers, dill, sour cream and mayonnaise. Blend well and spoon into serving bowl.

Top with pepper and chopped parsley.

Cover and chill. Serve with crackers or pumpernickel bread.

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer

To ORDER Two Amigos Chardonnay go to our order page HERE!

Quinoa Pie With Butternut Squash

Guido and I enjoy our hearty winter meals but also love to find yummy vegetarian meals as well. The base for this recipe is quinoa which is a great source of protein. This healthy alternative to a meat based menu is easy to prepare and makes a great meal with just a salad. It would even qualify as part of the recently touted Mediterranean Diet. Remember, recent research claims the Mediterranean Diet, which includes a glass of wine each day, has proven to
enhance health and longevity!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, halved crosswise and seeded
18 fresh sage leaves, plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped sage
1/2 onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice (about 3/4 cup)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup quinoa
2 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought vegetable stock
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º. Brush 2 rimmed baking sheets with 1 tablespoon oil. Cut 5 1/4 inch thick rings of squash; cut remainder into 1/4-inch dice. Place squash on sheets. Toss with 1 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 12 sage leaves. Bake until tender and just golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely. Keep oven on.

Heat remaining teaspoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add Quinoa and stock; bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat. Simmer until liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 2 minutes.

Stir together Qinoa, diced squash, chopped sage, parmesan, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Coat a 9 inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Arrange 6 sage leaves face down in plate; top with squash rings. Press quinoa mixture on top.
Bake 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter. Serve wedges warm or at room temperature.

                 •                                         •                                          • 

There are at least two Two Amigos Wines that would pair well with this entree. You might try the TAW Vino Rosso or the TAW Chardonnay. Either one would pair wonderfully.

Check out our newly installed Shopping Cart to order wine... if you are so moved!