Saturday, August 22, 2009

Vineyard Recipes - Cass Vineyards





What could be more beautiful than the view of where wine begins, a vineyard. These pictures are of Cass Vineyard & Winery http://www.casswines.com/ located on California's central coast in Paso Robles. They specialize in wines made from Rhone Valley (France) grape varieties like; Syrah, Viognier and Grenache. They do it well! I had the pleasure of tasting some of their wines and was very impressed. Ted and Lisa Plemons are the owners of this estate and in my opinion exemplify, through their winery, what wine is all about - passion and full expression of a place. Lisa, yes we are on a first name bases, provided these recipes just for my readers. I've tried them, I love them and you will too. Enjoy!

Cass Winery Crab Cakes with Corn

1 lb. crab meat (we use Phillips Crab)
1 cup cooked corn (frozen petite white corn works well)
¼ cup finely diced onion
½ cup finely diced pepper (green, red, orange, yellow, or purple)
½ cup finely diced celery
1 cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ¼ cups saltine cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Tartar Sauce (recipe follows)
~ Combine the crab meat, corn, onion, pepper, and celery in a bowl, and toss with a rubber spatula..
~ In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise with the mustard and cayenne pepper. Stir into the crab meat mixture, and add salt and pepper. Gently fold in the egg and ¼ cup of the cracker crumbs with a spatula.
~ Form the crab mixture into eight patties. Carefully coat the patties with the remaining 1 cup cracker crumbs, and chill, covered, for at least 30 minutes.
~ Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium-size skillet. Cook the crab cakes over medium heat until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, adding more oil and butter as necessary. Serve immediately, with Tartar Sauce on the side.

Makes 4 luncheon-size portions
Remoulade Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco sauce
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
2 tablespoons tiny capers, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco together in a bowl. Fold in the , parsley, shallots, and capers. Season with salt and pepper, and refrigerate, loosely covered, at least 1 hour before serving (so the flavors will come out).
1 ½ cups


Tartar Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco sauce
¼ cup finely diced dill pickle
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
2 tablespoons tiny capers, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco together in a bowl. Fold in the pickle, parsley, shallots, and capers. Season with salt and pepper, and refrigerate, loosely covered, at least 1 hour before serving (so the flavors will come out).
1 ½ cups
Copyright - The European Wine Table 2009