Pairings
Mulled Wine
Ingredients:
- One bottle of wine that is fruit forward (the Ruby Crowned Kinglet or European Starling are the best)
- 4 Cinnamon Sticks plus extra for garnish
- 4-5 whole Star Anise (or 5 drops pure extract)
- 8-10 whole cloves
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ of an orange rinds (no white) & 2-3 slices of the orange; slice extra orange halves for garnish
Directions:
- Put all ingredients in a slow cooker & stir
- Heat on low for an hour to an hour & a half, then turn dial to keep warm
- Serve in a clear mug with an orange slice and cinnamon stick
Mulled Wine can be cooled and bottled in either a wine bottle or canning jar to reheat later. Just remove all the bits from the wine first.
Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients:
- Pint of whipping cream
- ½ cup Nutella
- Fresh berries for garnish
Directions:
- Pour whipping cream in a chilled bowl and use your mixer or beaters on high until stiff peaks form. If it’s too warm, put the bowl in an ice bath and continue to whip
- Slightly melt the Nutella in a microwave safe dish. Nuke 10 seconds at a time. You want a smooth, flowing texture – you don’t want to heat it too much or it will break the cream.
- Fold into the whip cream until just mixed. Don’t over stir or the whip cream will not remain stiff.
- Serve with fresh berries as a garnish
Rack of Lamb
Ingredients:
- One rack of lamb
- 3-4 tbsp. Whole grain Dijon mustard or white wine mustard (Boars Head sells the best products)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- Salt & Pepper
- ½ tsp Rosemary (dried)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cups soft bread crumbs (hotdog or hamburger bun bread is best)
- Mint jelly to dip
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 385 degrees
- Slice the rack of lamb with the grain, separating each rib. This is the trickiest part – the bone angles so you’ll need to cut carefully to avoid it. Feel around for it with your hands before cutting so that you get even, beautiful slices.
- Place each piece of lamb on a parchment lined pan
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper (be generous with the pepper)
- Smother each piece with the mustard
- Sprinkle the minced garlic over the lamb evenly
- Sprinkle the rosemary over the lamb evenly
- Place all of the soft breadcrumbs on the mustard covered lamb. Press it down so that it sticks nicely to it
- Brush the bread with the olive oil. This prevents the bread from burning.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on the level of doneness you are after. Med-Well is the best.
- Serve with mint jelly on the side.
Cheese Fondu
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Gruyere cheese coarsely grated
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- ½ to ¾ cup white wine
- Juice of 1 lime or 2 tbsp bottled lime juice
- White Italian loaf cubed
Directions:
- Coat the grated cheese with the cornstarch
- Put the wine, lime juice and garlic into a pot. Bring it to a gentle boil
- Reduce heat to med-low and begin putting in the cheese a handful at a time
- Whisk cheese until melted then put more in and whisk. If it gets too thick, add a couple tbsp more wine. Cheese should be the consistency of “nacho cheese sauce” and smooth
- When all the cheese is melted and smooth, transfer it to a heated fondu pot and maintain the temperature hot enough to keep the cheese melted. And electric one works much better than a candle operated one.
- Dip the cubed bread in the cheese! Enjoy!