Recipes and Food Pairing Suggestions
Tickled Pink Sangria
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 oranges
4 bottles Tickled Pink
1 quart orange juice
Ice
Lemon-lime soda
Pour sugar in bottom of large pitcher. Peel oranges and place peels in sugar. Use a mortar to bruise orange peels, mashing with sugar to release oils. Remove peels and discard. Pour in wine and add orange juice. Add soda to taste. Stir well. Add desired ice to chill. Section oranges and float at top of mixture. Enjoy!
2007 Iowa Nouveau is a Natural with a
Hearty Vegetable Soup
By Bob Wersen
The fruity flavors in the Tassel Ridge Winery 2007 Iowa Nouveau pair nicely with a hearty vegetable soup. There are lots of ways to make a good vegetable soup. I’ve developed my recipe below after experimenting for several years. What I wanted was a meatless soup that I could make quickly and then eat for several days. I use the fresh vegetables that are available and supplement them with frozen or canned as necessary. And, I wanted to end up with a soup that was as low in Sodium as possible while still being tasty.
The last batch of soup took about 45 minutes of chopping and two hours to fully cook.
I normally chop a half of a small head of cabbage and put that in the soup but I had forgotten to buy that. And, I normally use fresh tomatoes but didn’t have any. The point is that there is nothing sacred about the exact ingredients. Use what you have in the fridge. Generally, I will avoid using cauliflower, zucchini, and broccoli because they cook to pieces quickly.
Ingredients:
1 medium white onion with paper skin removed and then chopped into ½ inch cubes
1 ½ pounds carrots peeled, washed, and chopped into ½ inch segments
½ pound of celery washed and chopped into ½ inch segments
4 medium red potatoes diced into ½ inch cubes
½ pound of frozen okra diced into ½ inch segments
1 can (14.5 ounces) of diced tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) of garbanzo beans
¼ pound of frozen corn
¼ pound of frozen peas
46 ounces of low Sodium V-8 Juice
2 ½ quarts of water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup Quaker quick Barley
2 Tbl. of Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. of Tabasco Sauce or to taste
I use a 10 quart pot. Put a 1 quart of water in the pot and then chop the onion. Bring the onion and chicken bouillon cubes to a rolling boil and put the chopped onions in the pot. Cook the onions for about 10 minutes while you are peeling and chopping the carrots and celery. Put the carrots, celery, and V-8 Juice in the pot. Keep the heat on while you chop the potatoes, okra, and cabbage. Then add these vegetables. Fill the V-8 Juice bottle with water and add that to the pot. Season with the Worcestershire and Tabasco Sauces. About 30 minutes before serving, add the barley.
I found that the soup needed salt. I sourced mine from some additional Tabasco that I added to the bowl. Tabasco does contain salt but with the spice, I think that I add less salt than I would if I just reached for the salt shaker.
The soup is great with home-made bread and the 2007 Iowa Nouveau.
We usually eat what we want on the first evening and then divide the balance up into what we will consume each following night. In that way, the entire batch of soup does not have to be re-heated each time we serve it.
Mulled Wine
If your holiday plans call for mulled wine, we offer three mulled wine recipes for your consideration. The Tassel Ridge Winery team has tried the first two and they’ve given their “thumbs-up” on them. The third is my idea of a mulled wine and I’ve prepared it many times.
- Sweet Mulled Wine:
- 1 bottle Red, White, and Blue
- 1 tsp. whole cloves
- 1 tsp. whole allspice
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1-2 cinnamon sticks
- 1-2 orange slices
- Stir sugar into wine until dissolved, add all ingredients into a crock pot on low, float the orange slices on top. Serve warm.
- Traditional Mulled Wine:
- 4 cups cranberry juice
- 1 ½ cups apple cider
- 1 ½ cups Twilight
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2-4 ounces Bisschopswijn mulling spices* (add to taste)
- Combine liquids in a pot and stir in brown sugar to dissolve. Add mulling spices in muslin bag (provided in Bisschopswijn package) and heat over medium heat until hot. Reduce temperature and simmer 30-60 minutes. Serve warm with cinnamon stick for stirring.
- *Bisschopswijn is available at Tassel Ridge Winery. It contains a mix of cinnamon pieces, whole cloves, whole allspice, orange oil and cinnamon oil.
- California Mulled Wine:
- 1 bottle of 2007 Nouveau (available soon)
- 1 tsp. whole cloves
- 1 tsp. whole allspice
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2-3 orange slices
- 1 cup of water
- Put water and spices in a pot and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add wine and sugar. When the wine is completely hot, it is ready to serve. Just add orange slices and pour into cups with handles (it will be too hot to use glasses).
Wine and Food Pairing Suggestion
Bob Wersen
Do you like barbequed swordfish or tuna? Pair our Brett’s Blush with any fish. Brett’s Blush is especially appropriate when the fish is blackened, Cajun style, or when you serve a nice salsa with the fish. Preparing blackened fish is easy. Just rub the fish with olive oil and then sprinkle lots of Cajun blackening seasoning on the fish. It is then ready for the barbeque. My favorite salsa for use with fish is really simple. Take ½ papaya and remove the seeds. Combine with chopped cilantro, diced red onion, sugar, rice wine vinegar, and a shot of Tabasco to give it some zip. This is more than enough for two servings and can work for four servings. Regardless of whether you pair Brett’s Blush with fish prepared Cajun style or with salsa, you’ll have a memorable meal.
Grilled scallops and saffron rice paired with Tassel Ridge Candleglow White
Jene Cain
Ingredients for two servings of scallops:
1 pound of scallops
Pam vegetable spray or bottled vegetable oil to coat scallops and grill
Spice Islands Beau Monde seasoning
Lemon wedges
4 small strips of bacon fried and diced fine
Tartar sauce – optional
This recipe uses frozen scallops. Substitute fresh scallops if you can get them. Note: scallops that are frozen without any additives are called “dry packed” while scallops that are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) are called “wet packed.” STP causes the scallops to absorb moisture prior to the freezing process. STP also makes scallops appear more appealing when they are thawed so it results in high prices per pound. But, this moisture makes them very difficult to brown when grilling or pan frying. Our suggestion is to avoid STP treated scallops whenever possible.
Thaw the scallops overnight in the refrigerator, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a tray or disposable aluminum foil pan, spray lightly with Pam vegetable oil or coat lightly with bottled vegetable oil. Season lightly on both sides with Spice Islands Beau Monde seasoning. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator if they are going to be held for more than 30 minutes before grilling. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before grilling.
Prepare the grill. Use a generous amount of charcoal. These scallops were grilled on a Weber Smoke Joe. Standard size or other charcoal grills will work as well. When the coals are hot and you are ready to cook, spread out the coals and place the grill on top. Clean the grill with a grill brush or crumpled aluminum foil using tongs. Make a crumpled piece of aluminum foil and lightly coat with vegetable oil or Pam spray and rub this over the grill to lightly coat it with oil.
Place the scallops on the grill with a timer handy. Cook from 4 to 10 minutes depending on the degree of doneness you like. Turn after the first two minutes and turn again every two minutes. Check on the cooking progress by feeling how firm the scallops feel with the tongs. If you are using a gas grill, you may have to adjust the cooking times depending on how hot the grill is.
Remove to a warm dish and either serve immediately or hold covered with foil in a 150ºF oven for a short time.
Serve on warm plates with the diced bacon either sprinkled over the scallops or served in a side dish with lemon wedges and tarter sauce.
Ingredients for two servings of classic saffron rice:
1 cup of long-grain white rice
2 cups of water or chicken stock
1 T butter
1 T finely minced onion (optional)
½ tsp salt
1 small pinch Saffron, crumbled
Place butter and minced onion in a heavy quart saucepan. Sauté over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add rice, Saffron, water or stock, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (about 18 minutes). Note: this is based on a recipe from Penzeys Spices at www.penzeys.com. Preparation time is 10 minutes. Total cooking time is 25 minutes.
Grilled scallops and Saffron rice paired with Tassel Ridge Candleglow White
Pan Fried Jerk Seasoned Pork Loin Medallions
By Jene Cain
(May also be prepared on a gas or charcoal grill)
Serve this meal with Tassel Ridge Edelweiss wines. For those who prefer a dry wine, White Blossom is a perfect choice. Our 2006 Iowa Edelweiss is semi-sweet and also pairs well with spicy foods. Both wines are made from Iowa-grown Edelweiss grapes.
Jerk seasoning, thought to originate in Jamaica, is spicy and like curry can contain different spices depending on the maker. The following is the list of spices in Penzeys* Jerk pork version: paprika, allspice, ginger, red pepper, sugar, ground Grenadian nutmeg, black pepper, garlic, thyme, lemon grass, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and mace.
Ingredients:
1 Whole pork tenderloin, not seasoned or packaged in a marinade
Jerk pork seasoning
Vegetable, peanut or olive oil
Rinse the meat and trim off any excess fat on the tenderloin. Cut crosswise into ¾-inch medallions (rounds). Place the meat on a dish or in an aluminum pan and sprinkle with the jerk seasoning covering both sides. Season lightly if you want mild spicy heat or heavier for a hotter pepper flavor.
Bring a medium skillet, non-stick, plain or cast iron up to temperature using medium heat on a stovetop. Pour in a small amount of oil; just barely coat the bottom of the skillet. Arrange the medallions in the pan in a single layer. Brown on both sides, turning occasionally, until done. Pork is best served cooked medium-well, leaving just a tinge of pink in the center. If you are cooking to temperature, the thermometer should read 150°+ to 165°F. The USDA recommends 170°F. Allow the meat to rest for several minutes before serving. Serving suggestion: place the meat on a warm platter or serve on warm dinner plates.
Garnish with fresh lime wedges, and a tropical fruit salsa. Make the salsa with course chopped fresh or canned pineapple, mangos or papaya along with finely chopped jalapeño and red onion. Squeeze a small amount of fresh lime juice on the salsa mixture and add a few drops of rice wine vinegar to taste.
Rice or couscous makes a perfect side dish.
*Jerk pork seasoning can be purchased from Penzeys at www.penzeys.com