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From your friends at TanTerra Wines: Happy Holidays! We’ve got a wonderful treat for you: it's a holiday meal menu that will make your mouth water and titillate your taste buds from start to finish. And we're giving you Mama Marie's home recipes to get you from the store to the dinner table. (We had to coerce her a little but, in the end, she's glad to make so many tummies tickle!) Here's the how to: FIRST COURSE: Fried olives hand stuffed with goat cheese and herb filling with roasted beet salad with oranges, pistachios, and a lovely lemon vinaigrette paired with Tanterra Tannat - Syrah. To make the Cheese Herb Filling:, you'll need 3/4 cup ricotta cheese, (well drained), 6 ounces goat cheese at room temperature, 1 cup fresh herbs(basil, parsley, thyme and marjoram), finely chopped , 1 egg and salt and pepper to taste. In a mixing bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients. Chill in the refrigerator a few minutes to firm up the filling. Stuff olives of your choice, (wee recommend the large black Spanish olives), and enjoy. Roasted Beet Salad: Start with 6 medium beets with beet greens attached, 2 large oranges, 1 small sweet onion, cut through root end into thin wedges, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 1/4 cup pistachios and 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim greens from beets. Cut off and discard stems. Coarsely chop leaves and reserve. Wrap each beet in foil. Place beets directly on oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool. Peel beets, then cut each into 8 wedges. Place beets in medium bowl.
Cook beet greens in large saucepan of boiling water just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Squeeze greens to remove excess moisture. Add greens to bowl with beets. Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Working over another bowl and using small sharp knife, cut between membranes to release segments. Add orange segments and onion to bowl with beet mixture. Whisk vinegar, oil, garlic, and orange peel in small bowl to blend; add to beet mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour and Voila! To make this delicious Lemon Vinaigrette, start with 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 1/2 medium lemons), 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil. In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup lemon oil, then olive oil. This dressing can be made up to 3 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature and stir before serving.
SECOND COURSE: Uruguayan beef with wild mushrooms and a black truffle au jus sauce and marbled potatoes paired with TanTerra 100% Tannat. Start with some free range organic Uruguayan beef. If you can't find that, grain fed USDA Choice beef can be supplemented. Don't trim the fat! That's the best part! Next, to make your Black Truffle reduction sauce, you'll need: 1 leek (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped, 1 3/4 cups finely chopped shallot (10 ounces), 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 2 cups dry white wine, 2 large fresh thyme sprigs, 1 1/4 ounces preserved black truffles (preferably winter truffles), finely chopped, 4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth, 4 cups heavy cream 1/4 teaspoon black or white truffle oil, or to taste. Wash chopped leek in a bowl of cold water, then lift out and drain (do not pat dry). Steam leek, shallot, and garlic (in any water clinging to leeks) in a 4-quart heavy saucepan, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add wine, thyme, and truffles and boil, uncovered, until most of liquid is evaporated, about 12 minutes. Add stock and boil until reduced to about 2 cups, about 25 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 2 3/4 cups, about 40 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into another saucepan, pressing on and discarding solids. Whisk in truffle oil and season with salt and pepper. Marbled Potatoes: Start with 1 pound of red potatoes, 1 pound sweet potatoes, 2 large scallions chopped, 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt, 1/2 cup whipping cream whipped, add Nutmeg to taste, 1 teaspoon salt , 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine, 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley. Cook the red potatoes and the sweet potatoes separately in water to cover in saucepans until tender; drain. Cool slightly and peel. Mash in separate bowls.
* Sauté the scallions in 1/4 cup butter in a skillet until tender. Stir half the scallions into each bowl of potatoes.
* Whisk the sour cream with the whipped cream in a bowl. Fold half gently into each bowl of potatoes. Add half the nutmeg, salt and pepper to each bowl.
* Layer the potatoes 1/2 at a time in a greased 1-quart soufflé dish. Swirl with a knife to marbleize. Sprinkle with a mixture of the bread crumbs, melted butter and parsley.
* Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. THIRD COURSE: Humboldt Fog cheese served with a Tannat reduction sauce and a herb and mini apple salad paired with TanTerra Tannat - Cabernet Sauvignon. To make the Tannat Reduction Sauce, pour around 2 cups of TanTerra 100% Tannat into a saucepan. Set flame to medium, (or medium-high if you're using an electric stove). Once steam begins to rise off of the wine, reduce flame to an extremely low temperature. DO NOT ALLOW THE WINE TO BOIL! Let the wine continue to warm for 2-3 hours, after which it will reduce down considerably into a syrup. NOTE: As long as your stove is consistent with its heat, there is no need to stir the reduction. Feel free to keep reduction on back burner at low flame, and ignore it! Pour the reduction into a plastic storage bottle, such as a squeeze bottle, so that it may be easily accessed and used. There's no need to refrigerate your Tannat reduction. This recipe will yield about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of reduction Tannat Wine Reduction Sauce. Herb & Apple Salad: Start with 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, 2 Tbsp. olive oil , 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt, 1 tsp. prepared mustard (such as Dijon), 1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest, 2 tsp. lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, 1 cup walnut pieces, 1 cup cored and chopped apple, 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning spice blend or dried dill.To make the dressing: To make the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine the lemon zest, yogurt, oil, mustard, vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper, and mix well.
To make the salad: In another bowl medium bowl, combine the walnuts, apples chunks, dill and cooked chicken, and set aside. Pour the dressing onto the apple mixture right before serving, and stir until blended. Arrange on serving plates and serve chilled. Enjoy this wonderful meal and please do send your comments, suggestions and other pairings that you discover while experiencing the wonderful world of Tannat! Happy Holidays from all of us here at TanTerra! |