Apple Cider Sangria

well...I can't forget to post this :)

APPLE CIDER SANGRIA

1 bottle Pinot Grigio
2 1/2 cups Fresh Apple Cider
1 cup Club Soda or plain water
1/2 cup of Cinnamon Simply Syrup (recipe below) OR 1/2 cup Cointreau, Triple Sec or Grand Marnier
2 apples, cored and chopped~other fruit would be tasty as well

Stir all to combine and allow to mellow in fridge for an hour before serving.

CINNAMON SIMPLE SYRUP
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cinnamon stick 3 inches long
6 or so whole allspice
2 inch piece of fresh ginger
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

In a small saucepan bring all ingredients to a boil, reduce heat and keep at a rolling boil for 5 minutes. I only used 1/2 of the quantity for the sangria, but feel free to add to taste. I put the cinnamon stick and allspice into the sangria as well.

Chocolate Loaf Cake & Pumpkin Sage Beer Bread Recipes

Good Morning! Thanks to all that came ove to The Boulevard market last night for our tasting! As promised, here are the recipes for the Chocolate Loaf and Pumpkin Beer Sage Bread. You can find the Pumpkin Fondue recipe HERE. Enjoy and happy weekend!

CHOCOLATE LOAF

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup NATURAL cocoa powder (I used Valrhona that we sell at the market. This is not the same as "Dutched" and you won't get the same results substituting)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Buttermilk
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks (I used Callebaut 66%)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 loaf pan or use 3 disposable pans.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all liquid ingredients including eggs and egg yolk. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until well combined. Add chocolate chunks. Pour into prepared pan(s).

Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. I baked the small pans 1 hour and 10 minutes and thought it was a little too long, I should have taken them out at an hour. They were just a bit too dry and crumbly for my preference. Cool in pan for 20 minutes and gently tap out to remove.


PUMPKIN BEER SAGE BREAD

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hearty dark beer
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter, slightly cooled
3 Tablespoons fresh Sage, sliced thinly
1 cup toasted, chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9 inch loaf pan.

Melt butter and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin adding the beer carefully to prevent a foam over, then stir in the butter. Pour wet ingredients into dry and fold gently until just combined. Stir in sage and walnuts and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes and remove from pan.

Ridiculous Fudgy Brownies

8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter; more softened butter for the pan
3 oz. (2/3 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pan
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2-1/2 oz. (3/4 cup) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 or 9 inch square pan with tinfoil.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk or stir in the sugar, followed by all four of the eggs and the vanilla. Stir in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, starting slowly to keep the ingredients from flying out of the pan and stirring more vigorously as you go. Stir until the batter is smooth and uniform, about 1 minute.

Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing it so it fills the pan evenly. Bake until a toothpick or a skewer inserted 3/4 inch into the center of the brownies comes out with just a few moist clumps clinging to it, about 40 minutes

Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi Sec

I asked a friend to talk about Dm. Huet Vouvray Demi Sec a bit since she knows the wine makers and I thought you might like to see the photos she has taken of the vineyard and winemakers! Enjoy!

1095: the vineyard
1102: Me with Hugo and Sarah Hwang, the Managing Director and President of the estate
0894: Le Haut Lieu
0889: Le Haut Lieu

Domaine Huet is known as one of, if not the, finest vineyard of Vouvray, producing extraordinary chenin blanc. The vineyard was first established by Victor Huet in 1928 after he returned from WWI and he and his wife fell in love with the house and the land. He decided to try his hand at winemaking, and the rest is history. His son, Gaston, became winemaker in 1937 and really built the Huet legacy. Le Haut Lieu was their first parcel, and produces much of their grand cru wines. They now have two others, Le Mont and Clos du Bourg, both of which also produce outstanding wines. Today the vineyard is owned by Anthony Hwang and run by two of his children, Hugo and Sarah. They are wonderful, energetic, and hard-working young people who are passionate about the estate and its wines. We've had the pleasure of getting to know them over the last several years, and see them whenever we're in Amboise (which is about 20 minutes outside of Vouvray). Visiting the vineyard is always a joy, and we always walk (or usually ride since we go on our bikes) away with wine. The photo of me with Sarah and Hugo is at their "Portes Ouvertes" or Open Doors, which is always held in May. They present and serve about 25 or 30 of a variety of their wines and vintages, served with local treats that complement them, and often have an art display. It's truly a treat! One of our favorites is the 2007 demi-sec, a beautifully smooth wine that is neither too sweet nor too dry. Sometimes the label "demi-sec" scares us off, but it shouldn't…and this is not just dessert wine. It's beautiful with goat cheese or appetizers with cheese in them (although the French would never have a cheese plate as an appetizer). It's also lovely with chicken with a cream or other sauce. It can also offset the heat of Thai or other spicy food. We did a Mexican dinner in France for about 20 friends, including Sarah and Hugo, and served this with it, with rave reviews from our French friends. It's also fabulous after dinner, with a strawberry shortcake, an almond cake, or a crème brûlée. So buy some and enjoy…I can't wait to tell Sarah and Hugo that we were actually able to buy some and hope to get more.



Thanks Sandra!!

Beer Mustard!

We hosted a "Make your Own Beer Mustard" workshop last night at The Market during our Thursday tasting. Thanks so much to all that stopped by and I hope you had fun trying some new brews! I will apologize for a bit of disorganization on my part...John has shared his sore throat and summer cold with me. (He says I caught it from the dog :))

Here's a re-cap of the recipe and tasting.

BEER MUSTARD for Preserving

1/2 cup Coleman's Dry Mustard
1/3 cup Beer (robust style works the best)
1 Tablespoon Mustard Seeds, black or yellow
Salt & Pepper to taste

Choose to add 1/2 cup Horseradish for spicy mustard or 1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. If you will be hot water bath canning, add 1 teaspoon white vinegar to mixture. Fill sterilized jars with a 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims attach lids and finger tighten rings. If canning; process in hot water bath canner for 10 minutes. If freezing, freeze up to 1 year.

The mixture really needs to sit a month to mellow and allow flavors to meld.

Enjoy!

Summer Salads from The Market Tasting

Thanks a million to all the folks that came to Thursday's tasting event! Hope you enjoyed the salads and here are the recipes! A big thanks to Prochaska Farms for the awesome vegetables, they made our salads super great!

Watermelon Salad

1 small watermelon, rind removed, seeded and sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 lb. Bleu Affine or Danish cheese

3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (I used our Boulevard Market bottled one!)
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used Mas Portell brand from Spain)
Salt and pepper

Toss to combine watermelon, onion and bleu affine cheese. In a small bowl combine vinegar and lemon juice. With a whisk, add olive oil in a thin drizzle, constantly whisking until emulsified. Salt and pepper to taste.

I laid my fruit and cheese out on a large platter and drizzled with the dressing. Magnificent!


Halloumi & Sweet Corn Salad

3 large ears of sweet corn, blanched and cut from cob
4 ounces Piqullo peppers, sliced (These are Spanish peppers that have been roasted and peeled) or sauteed sweet red peppers
1 package Halloumi cheese, approx. 8 ounces

2 Tablespoons fresh chives
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

Grill Halloumi over high heat until browned and crispy. Combine cheese, peppers and corn.

In food processor, pulse chives and oil until pureed.

Drizzle Chive Oil over vegetables and toss to coat. Salt and pepper to taste.

I only used about 1/2 of the chive oil recipe on my dish and saved the rest to use on chicken!

ZUCCHINI & WALNUT SALAD

1/3 cup toasted walnuts
3 medium-ish zucchini, sliced ¼ inch thick
4 T Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 ¼ cups mixed greens
½ cup fresh torn herbs
3 ounces romano cheese, curled
2 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

Tear greens and herbs and toss lightly in a large bowl.
Toss zucchini with olive oil and grill over high heat on a BBQ grill until tender.

Toss zucchini with greens, sprinkle with toasted walnuts and romano. Lightly whip balsamic vinegar and evoo until emulsified and drizzle over greens.

White Sangria

I'm always in love with Sangria in the summer, but I'm not fond of the overly sweet, fake fruity stuff, so I created my White Sangria to be refreshing and just lightly sweet. By using a simple syrup, you can ad just the sweetness you like versus waiting for sugar to dissolve or cooking your wine and allowing to cool. Feel free to use the simple syrup for Mint Juleps, Mojitos or drizzling over fresh fruit. If mint is not your thing, you could easily use rosemary, basil or thyme for an herbal edge that gives your sangria layers and layers of flavor!! Of course you can use whatever fresh fruit you have and enjoy the most. We love lemon slices and strawberries or fresh peaches and blueberries as combos!

SIMPLE SYRUP
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
a handful of fresh mint leaves (cut this amt down for thyme or rosemary, use the same for fresh basil)

In a small saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a boil and cook 5 minutes. Bottle up and refrigerate up to 1 month.

WHITE SANGRIA

1 bottle DRY white wine (I used a Spanish Verdelho from Rueda)
16 ounces cold club soda
1 batch simple syrup
handful of fresh raspberries
3 fresh plums, chopped
2 handfuls of frozen green grapes instead of ice

Make sure all of your ingredients are cold. Mix all ingredients in a pitcher, allow to sit about 15 minutes and enjoy!!