Viewing Posts in the ‘Recipes’ Category


March 10

0
2010

Winery Chefs Participates in 2010 Napa Valley Mustard Festival

Chef Richard Haake and the team from Winery Chefs have been participating in the Mustard Festival this year. On March 12 Richard and his wife Virginia will be serving Dutch Mustard Soup with Ham and Cheese Croutons at Black Stallion Winery for the Mustard Recipe Competition. Below is the recipe for those who miss the event.

Dutch Mustard Soup with Speck Ham and Gouda Cheese Crouton

Serves 6

Soup;

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup leeks, white part only, finely sliced and rinsed

1 cup yellow onions small diced

½ cup celery, small diced

1 cup russet potato, small diced

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons white pepper

3 tablespoons flour

4 cups chicken stock or rich vegetable stock for vegetarian option

½ cup cream cheese, room temperature

½ cup crème fraiche

½ cup Gouda cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard, preferably Grey Poupon Harvest

salt and white pepper

Crouton:

2 slices of sour dough bread

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, preferably Edmond Fallot

2 slices Speck Ham

¼ cup shredded gouda

1 tablespoon soft butter

1 tablespoon chives, sliced

Soup:

In a large pot over medium heat add the butter and allow it to melt. Once the butter melts, add the leeks and onions. Cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Stir well. Cook for 5 minutes. Lightly sprinkle the flour over the top of the vegetables while continually stirring. Cook for 3 minutes. Slowly stir in the chicken stock. Use a whisk if necessary to prevent lumping. Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are falling apart. Remove the soup from the heat. Allow the soup to cool slightly. Carefully puree the soup in a blender. Return the soup to a clean large pot and place over medium high heat. When the soup returns to a simmer whisk in the cream cheese and cream fraiche. Once the cream cheese is incorporated into the soup stir in the gouda and cook until it melts. Whisk in the whole grain mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce to low heat until you are ready to serve.

Croutons:

Preheat the over to 375°F. To make the croutons lay out the two pieces of bread. Spread the Dijon mustard on one side of the bread. On the other slice of the bread place the two slices ham and top with the gouda cheese. Place the other slice of bread on top of the cheese forming a sandwich. Butter both sides of the sandwich with the soft butter. In a non-stick pan over medium high heat toast the sandwich on both sides. Use a spatula to press down the sandwich. Remove the sandwich to a cutting board to cool. Slice the crust of the sandwich. Cut the sandwich into small cubes like a crouton. Place the croutons on a sheet pan and bake for 7 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

To serve ladle the hot soup into a bowl. Top with crouton and sliced chives.

December 02

0
2009

Ziata WInes releases inaugural Pinot Noir with recipe developed by Winery Chefs.

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I knew Karen Cakebread had created something special when I tasted her inaugural Sauvignon Blanc this past summer. It just scored a 90 in the Wine Enthusiast. I have a palate for these things and when you get to taste a wine during recipe testing you learn a lot about different nuances of a wine. She’s done a great job with her 2008 Pinot Noir. Karen has posted is the perfect seasonal recipe for this time of the year that pairs with this new release. Get a bottle and try it out.
http://www.ziatawines.com/

July 27

0
2009

Ziata Wines by Karen Cakebread

My good friend Karen Cakebread is making two great food friendly wines under her new label Ziata. My wife, Virginia, thinks the Ziata Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best wines she has tasted this year. I created a fun summer time recipe the pairs perfectly with this beautifully structure Sauvignon Blanc. To learn more about Ziata Wines and Karen Cakebread visit her website at http://www.ziatawines.com

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Grilled Zahtar Rubbed Shrimp and Fattoush Salad
Serves 4 to 6

Zahtar Spice:
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
4 tablespoons sumac
1 teaspoons fresh picked, chopped lemon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
*Reserve some of the spice mixture to use another time with fish or poultry

1 pound medium 25/30 shrimp, peeled, deveined and tail intact
¼ cup olive oil

Dressing:
½ cup lemon juice
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sumac

Salad:
2 pita rounds, torn into pieces and toasted or ready made from the store
2 romaine hearts, rough chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 English cucumbers, peeled, seeded and medium diced
¼ cup mint, roughly chopped
½ cup parsley, roughly chopped
1 avocado, quartered, pitted, peeled and cut into pieces

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Grind the sesame and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice mill. Combine the remaining spice ingredients and mix well.

Light the grill. Toss the shrimp in the spice mix, covering the shrimp evenly. Thread the shrimp on soaked bamboo or metal skewers. Brush the shrimp with olive oil and grill for approximately 2 to 3 minutes a side until the shrimp are cooked. Remove from the grill and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl, mix well and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine all the salad ingredients. Add the dressing, season with salt and pepper and toss together.

To serve, portion the salad onto plates. Remove the shrimp from the skewers. Top the salad with the shrimp and serve.

July 24

2
2009

The Olson-Ogden Project: a detailed look into the recipe development program of Winery Chefs

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I’ve known Tim Olson, winemaker and partner of Olson-Ogden wines, for many years.  When he learned about my new business venture, he was intrigued and generously offered to help with a beta test for the Winery Chefs recipe development program.  Throughout my career, I’ve cultivated a keen sense of what winemakers, marketing executives, and consumers look for in a wine and food pairing.  However, even with eight years experience, I continue to take the process seriously and realize there’s always more to learn.  As a result, I’ve designed the following program in an effort to dig deeper and focus on the winery’s personality and character of its wines.

I’ve outlined the steps of our beta test below:

discuss the client’s basic wine and food philosophy and determine the purpose of the final recipes

Tim and his business partner John Ogden are in the midst of updating their website as well as developing plans to increase media exposure.  And, because they are renowned for producing food-friendly wines, recipes would perfectly complement their marketing content.

administer a Winery Chefs recipe development questionnaire 

This is a crucial step in the process as it taps into the winery’s personality as well as the client’s personal feelings on wine and food pairing. The goal of the questionnaire is to find what works for the client and to clarify the message the winemaker wants to convey to the consumer.

As expected, Tim brought the same level of passion he has for winemaking to the questionnaire.  The answer to the following question says it all:

Q:  How do you see your customer using these recipes?

A: As a basis to experiment from.  In my view, food and wine pairings, while an interesting distraction from the demands of daily life, tend to be quite far down on the list of priorities, even for the discerning gourmand.  I think more and more people are discovering the joys of staying home and cooking a good meal with a good bottle of wine.  But the message is clear: keep it simple and make it fun.

submit potential ideas and recipes to the client

This was a back and forth process, but ultimately a mushroom risotto recipe resonated with Tim.  And because the recipe paired well with both his Pinot Noir and Syrah, it also supported Tim’s feeling about the versatility of his wines.  The risotto was the perfect choice.  It’s simple, fun, seasonal, and as it turned out, pairs perfectly with both wines.

develop the recipe

  • Keep track of measurements and procedure.
  • Test the recipe with the wines to ensure the pairings work, and make adjustments if needed.
  • Test the dish with the client, presenting the final product in a style that best represents the client’s style, brand, and personality. 
  • Once the dish is approved by the client, type and edit recipe.
  • Test recipe again.

 

professionally photograph the finished product

This step is optional, though I highly recommend it as a beautiful photograph will inspire the consumer to try the recipe for themselves as well as add visual interest to a recipe card, website, or cookbook.  Winery Chefs works exclusively with Kristen Loken, an accomplished local photographer.

Finally, the finished product is delivered to the client in disc format.  Each step in this process is essential to create quality recipes and collateral marketing materials that directly correlate with the winery’s brand and unique character of its wines.

The recipe for Olson-Ogden Mushroom Risotto can be found at: www.olsonogdenwines.com.

To view Kristen Loken’s portfolio, please visit www.kristenloken.com.

I will be meeting with Tim next week to taste through the 2007 vintage and will start working on new recipes for their website. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

April 20

0
2009

Pickin’ and Grinnin’ - Saveur

 

This article was written by my good friend Tony Poer who works for Meyers Family Cellars. I have been home wine making for many years. I believe this experience is intricate to my wine knowledge and helps me to be a better educator of wine and food. Many of my friends enjoy my creations from my home winery, Dirt Floor Cellars, and as I continue to blog I will share recipes that I create for the latest vintages from DFC.

 

“My wife and I moved to the Napa Valley last fall. Shortly thereafter, I was enlist to take part in an “artisanal grape-demolishing operation” by my friend Richard Haake….”

Click here for full article

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