Simple Little Cheese Cakes

I  blew off the leaves on the deck and patio this week-end to make way for a picture perfect summer entertaining  season.   Last summer season wasn’t so picture perfect with all of the rain.  This year, hope springs eternal for plenty of sunshine.  

This season also I will be sharing with you recipes we make with our gourmet wine gelée.   We will also be sharing some recipes from local artisans.  Recipes from cheese makers, spice makers, and flavored olive oil makers, to name a few.   Should be fun and informative.  And of course I won’t forget to share  my wine picks which will hopefully come in handy for you .   So let’s begin….

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for brushing
• 7 whole graham crackers
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• Pinch of salt
• 10 1/2 oz CalyRoad Creamery fresh chèvre, softened
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons crème fraîche (5 ounces)
• The European Wine Table Wine Gelée, any flavor

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut out four 3-inch rounds of shirt cardboard.   Brush the insides of four 3-inch-round and 2 1/2-inch-deep ring molds with butter (found at Target stores). In a food processor, grind the crackers with the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of the sugar.   Set the molds on the baking sheet and line the bottoms with the cardboard rounds, trimming to fit.   Pack the crumbs into the molds; press to compact. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg, egg yolk, salt and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.   Add the fresh chèvre and beat until smooth.   Fold in the crème fraîche.   Spoon the mixture into the molds and smooth the tops. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cheesecakes are just set but not browned.   Let the cheesecakes cool, then refrigerate them until chilled, at least 1 hour.
Heat a sharp, thin-bladed knife under hot water; dry the knife.   Carefully run the blade around the edge of each cheesecake.   Pressing up on the cardboard, ease the cheesecakes out of the molds; return to the baking sheet.   Cut four 11-by-2 1/2-inch strips of parchment paper.   Wrap the paper around the perimeter of each cheesecake to form a collar that extends 1 inch above the surface; secure with tape.

Spread wine gelée over each cheesecake and refrigerate until chilled and set, about 20 minutes.

Remove the parchment-paper collar from each cheesecake. Carefully remove the cardboard bottoms and serve.

*the original recipe is from Food & Wine magazine enhanced by Mary of Cheeses & Mary

enjoy,

Simply Jacqueline

simplicity

If you’ve ever had the experience of an afternoon wine tasting  at a vineyard or winery, I’m sure you noticed how serene the surroundings were.  You could probably feel the energy of agriculture in the making; growing and vibrating around you.   Take that experience and fold it into a week-end, which is just what my family and I did in early August.  We stayed in a beautiful cottage overlooking the vines at Stonewall Creek Vineyards.  Our friends the winemaker’s hosted us.   The view from the cabin displayed the beauty that God intended.  The view was further enhanced by the lovely dinners and wines and kinship shared, between the two families, among the vines;  dangling cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot were awaiting their October picking.   I still remember the fruity taste of the Beaujolais Fleurie and the vibrancy of the Stonewall Creek Vineyards Yukari Rosé….  it was all perfect.   Even The Rare Wine Company Madeira paired with dessert was perfection.   You know it was a gift, in a world where everything is hurry, hurry, hurry, time stood still that week-end and we were able to just be…..I suppose  just as God intended.

enjoy

Lafite

Chateau Lafite-Rothchild vintage 1899…..I wonder what this wine would say if it were opened today?  Would it say I’m old and tired? or would it say thank you for cellaring me under the most perfect conditions so that all of my contents could meld together to give you the experience of wine you will never forget?  Probably the latter.

This 19th century, post phylloxera, bottle of wine was produced by a first growth estate within Bordeaux, France.  Those familiar with the term “first growth” know that the grapes that produced this bottle of wine were grown on one of the most prestigious plots of land in the world defined in 1855.  This bottle blended with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and possibly a smidgen of petit verdot grapes, grown on gravelly soil, is a collectors item worth about $289,000.  In fact it was purchased at auction,  within a group of other equally prestigious Lafite wines.  Why?  I would hope for the experience of the evolution that happened in the bottle over time…a seamless and continuous mellowing that would be tasted with each sip from the glass…. bouquet and flavors of….mint, cedar, tobacco, almond, spice, cherry, violet…..on and on it would go.

The significance of this is not to dangle what wines we can’t afford….the significance is experiencing, to the fullest, what wines we can afford.  You see, all wines, from different price points and regions have aromas, bouquets and flavors to experience with each sip taking you to it’s place of origin giving you an experience you’ll remember…...yes, even with a $15.00 bottle of Bordeaux.

enjoy

Yesterday’s Wine

I haven’t written on my blog for a while.  I’ve been busy perfecting our family’s gourmet product business.  I’ve learned though that nothing is ever perfected, perfection is a myth.  The only thing there is is growth, so growing we are doing. 

Sometimes in life we lose sight of what’s really important; what makes our heart sing.  Wine makes my heart sing.  I love sipping it, talking about it, teaching it…it speaks to me on many different levels, from the domestic to the finest from around the world.  My hope is to enlighten you so that it speaks to you too.  So let’s get on with it….

I had a wine the other night from California; Mark West Pinot Noir (vintage 2010), light rubyish rust colored red, smells of cow pasture and red fruits - tastes of subdued raspberry with a short tannic bite.  It was a pleasurable wine, true to California’s fruity style without being overly alcoholic, %13.8.  The smooth pinot fruit calms the alcohol.  It’s a wine that pairs ever so perfectly with grilled meats; skirt steak, hamburgers, etc.

I liked it a lot, in fact I’m sipping it as I type.  I love my wine job  :  )

 

enjoy