Shear pleasures to be thankful for

Two of my favorite words and sensations for my mouth, Pouilly Fuisse (poo-E fu-say) and chocolate. Pouilly Fuisse is from the southern half of France within the Burgundy region and it's 100% chardonnay. You'd recognize it by its golden yellow color, smells of green apples, earth and a hint of vanilla. The taste is reflective of the aroma with an added creaminess that lingers in your mouth. The wine I sipped all afternoon while helping to prepare our Thanksgiving meal. The chocolate pudding, well.... I ate one for breakfast, one for lunch and one after dinner. You see, I made enough ramekins of Nigella Lawsons Gooey Chocolate Pudding to eat all day. I justified it by telling myself that it was Thanksgiving and that I deserved it. Who doesn't deserve dark chocolate anything anytime! I know it's bad....you'll see what I mean when you see the recipe, but it's worth it. I'll work it off. In thinking about Thanksgiving, being able to enjoy myself with a glass of great wine and capping it off with a decadent chocolate pudding is one of the best pleasures in my life and one that I am truly thankful for. Sharing both with family and friends.....now that puts a lasting smile on my face.

Enjoy

Gooey Chocolate Pudding

• 4 1/2 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Italian 00 for all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 400. Grease 4 ramekins with butter, coat with flour and shake off excess. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and flour. Set aside. In a microwave safe dish melt butter and chocolate, pour into egg, sugar and flour mixture. Whisk until fully combined. Pour mixture into ramekins and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are firm and cracking slightly and the edges set.

Chic De Vigne Wine Society of Atlanta

I created a "LinkedIn" group called Chic De Vigne Wine Society of Atlanta. Chic De Vigne means "vineyard chic" in French. I named it this because I believe that it embodies a wine lifestyle or way of life that can be achieved by all of us. We can learn a lot about lifestyle from wine regions abroad, each has one thing in common, a shared priority, family. From a lifestyle as simplistic as Italy to the elegance of Paris. I envision a movement to where the main priority in our lives is our relationship with family and friends, and at the center of it all is the sharing of great food and wine. So join the movement, it doesn't matter what city you live in. To start you off I'm sharing my favorite recipe (complements of Gourmet Magazine) with the name of my favorite St. Estephe. Usually I hide in the closet with my Bordeaux, but in honor of my lifelong purpose I think I'll share it. Enjoy, and join us on LinkedIn. Chic De Vigne, "where people, wine and great food meet".



Spaghetti with Spicy Tomato Olive Sauce

1/2 cup calamata olives cut lengthwise into slivers
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 (14 to 15 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 lb spaghetti

Cook olives, garlic, and red pepper flakes in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and salt and simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up large pieces of tomato, until sauce is slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, cook spaghetti in a 6 to 8 quart pot of boiling salted water.

Drain spaghetti in a colander and add to sauce. Cook, tossing, over moderately low heat until pasta is coated, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Serves 4

Wine: Frank Phelan Saint Estephe 1998

Pineau de la Loire - Chenin Blanc

The Loire Valley in France is my second favorite wine region, the first being Alsace, France. This vast wine region houses some the most exciting versatile grape varietals around. This region knows what it likes and knows what it does well, Chenin Blanc (Vouvray and Savennieres) and Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume). Not to mention the red varietal Cabernet Franc (Chinon). True, you have to know a little about French wine region names in order to know which grape variety your getting, but that's part of the fun, unless of course the wine bottle actually says Chenin Blanc like the one above. This Chenin Blanc is from India. I bought it about a year ago at a Korean food store. I love going into those types of ethnic food stores because I never know what exciting wine I'm going to come home with. I remember my first thought after seeing the bottle..."India does Chenin Blanc"? Thinking now, how could they not? Chenin Blanc is a climate adaptable grape. It can be dry or sweet depending on the climate it grew in. I knew that since India was warm that the wine would probably taste like my favorite Savennieres....stone fruit with a touch of honey. I was right. What a yummy wine! It had the right balance and acidity and went very well with my Pumpkin Pie Brulee.

enjoy


Flaky Crust

• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 3/4 cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold overhang under and crimp decoratively. Pierce dough all over with fork. Freeze 15 minutes. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 12 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Whisk pumpkin and 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl to blend. Whisk in eggs, then cream, spices, and salt. Pour filling into warm crust. Bake pie until filling is set in center, about 50 minutes. Transfer pie to rack; cool 30 minutes. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle pie evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar. Broil until sugar melts and begins to caramelize, turning pie for even browning, about 1 minute. Let pie stand until topping hardens, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle pie again with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Broil again until sugar browns, about 1 minute. Refrigerate pie until topping hardens, about 30 minutes. Serve or keep refrigerated no more than 2 hours longer.

thanksgiving, me and wine

Thanksgiving is probably the best holiday there is. I can always feel its vibration sometime around the middle of October. It's the best holiday because we pull out our best recipes, and share. My family has incorporated a themed Thanksgiving tradition. Each year we pick a different food type or region. For instance, last year was Italy. We feasted on braised short ribs, made the Italian way....we had sausage lasagna, canoli...all things Italian. Wonderful Italian wines were served; Brunello, Barolo, and Chianti. It was a Italian feast that any Italian would be proud of. The year before that was seafood...lobster, crab, lobster bisque soup and loads of french white wines like Chablis, Chassagne-Montrachet, and Montagny. It was a feast our founding celebrators, the Greeks and Romans, would have been jealous of. I'm not sure yet what we are doing this Thanksgiving. But what I do know for sure is that the glass above will be full of something wonderful, the company will be great, and maybe, just maybe the food will live up to years past.

vineyard chic - a splash of pumpkin

Fall is such a great time of year. For me its like New Year's.....new season means new beginnings and fall decor. My belief is that your home is a direct reflection of who you are, my reflection shows that I'm a French County girl, so all things French is what I like to be surrounded by. Here's an idea for your coffee table (French trinkets with a splash of fall); this rout iron glass table has a few French antique trinkets on it, trinkets I've collected over the years, coupled with what exemplifies fall....pumpkins. Neutral with a splash of your favorite color always works. My favorite is orange. So in honor of the new fall season, I'm sharing my favorite French Pumpkin Soup recipe......enjoy!

French Pumpkin Soup

serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, peeled and diced
• 4-3/4 pounds pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed and diced
• 1 small potato, peeled and diced
• 5 cups water
• sea salt
• 3/4 cup gruyere or comte cheese, grated

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring until it begins to turn translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the pumpkin, the potato, and the water; stir, and then season lightly with salt. Cover and bring t a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook covered until the pumpkin is so soft that it comes apart, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree the mixture in a food processor or with a wand mixer until smooth and uniformly blended.

Taste for seasoning, and serve with the cheese alongside.

Have this soup with your favorite Alsace Riesling.