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.

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.

simplicity, elegance and french baked eggs

This beautiful room filled with Parisian flare is actually a dining room within a restaurant called Les Bons Enfants. The restaurant is located about 1 and 1/2 hours from Paris in northern Burgundy, France. This is how they dine out in France, surrounded by simple elegance. I frequent the web site France Today often, just to keep up with French trends and to get ideas on living my life more simply. I've come to think that living life simply is not just what you surround yourself with, but what you surround your inner self with. Your inner simplistic self creates your outer simplistic world. With that said, I'm envisioning myself at this beautiful table with family and close friends eating brunch; baked eggs, country sausage and sparkling Italian wine, Prosecco. Enjoy the recipe:

French Baked Eggs

you need enough ramekins to feed 1 eggs per person (if 4 people, then you need 4 ramekins), salt and pepper, Gruyere cheese, and heavy cream

• melt a pat of butter in each ramekin (in the microwave)
• grind a little salt and a little pepper into each ramekin
• carefully crack one egg into each ramekin (don't break the yolk)
• using a tablespoon, top each yolk with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream
• then top each with grated Gruyere cheese or cheese of your choice (about 2 tablespoons of cheese)
• put each ramekin on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 11 to 16 minutes, depending upon how soft of hard you like your yolk. I like mine runny.

serve with county sausage and your favorite Italian sparkling wine, Prosecco.

Enjoy

Lemony Paired with Lemony

Since lemon is one of my favorite mouth sensations, I decided to bake a pie and pair it with an equally lemony wine. This delicious pie is from a recipe I found on the Food and Wine web site, Lemon Ice Box Pie. First of all I don't really bake all that much, unless of course it's lemon or chocolate related. So I'm really proud of myself for attempting and accomplishing what I set out to do, which was to pair a lemon pie with my favorite lemony wine, Orvieto. The combination was perfect! as evident from the "oh my gods" from the friends, I served it to. Now in order to save my figure, I'm going to share the remains of this pie with my neighbors.

On second thought....this pie is worth the extra 30 minutes on the treadmill......

Enjoy!