Appetizers for Another Wine Tasting

Each year, for the past few years, the Aberdeen Boys and Girls Club has been holding a large fundraising event. Wines are available to try and many people bring foods in, myself included, to eat while walking around tasting wines. My stance on this is to make particular foods that will pair the best with the wines I am serving at my table, and this has made my table sought after. I believe this has much to do with the fact that if a wine and food are properly paired, both the wine and the food will taste better.

Four of the Appetizers Served: Clockwise from top left: Lemon Artichoke Pesto Crostini, Smoky Beef and Currant Empanadas, Spanakopita Cups and Potato and Pea Samosas with Green Chutney

few years back, in with the auction held each year for a wine tasting for 20 to 25 guests at someone's home, my appetizers have been included as a part of the auction. This year, the people who won the auction held their wine tasting this past Friday evening. Generally, I am not informed of what particular wines the wine distributor will be bringing, so I go about creating appetizers that will possibly pair with at least a couple of wines, and ensuring that things will taste good.

At this wine tasting, the couple hosting chose to try each appetizer with wines I suggested might be best, and then taking it a step further and testing others, to see how they paired. I was extremely happy to see this approach, and there turned out to be some exceptional pairings. 

Rosemary & Parmesan Wafers

All the 6 appetizers I made were ones I had made before, minus the Rosemary Parmesan Wafers (recipe below). For example, I had made the Smoky Beef and Currant Empanadas a few years ago, originally to pair with a Malbec at the B&GC fundraiser. While they also went well enough with the Malbec at the wine tasting on Friday evening, it was an amazingly "smoky" flavored Zinfandel (Predator Old Vine Zinfandel, 2015) that really stole the show as a pairing for the smoky flavors of the empanadas.

Another surprise was the wines that paired with the little Potato & Pea Samosas. For the Samosas, I originally made them as Chicken and Raisin Samosas, to serve with a White Conundrum wine. They are easily made into Potato Pea Samosas by increasing the amount of potatoes in the recipe to 1½ pounds and eliminating the chicken entirely. A White Conundrum blend was also served at the wine tasting on Friday, and that was the direction I steered people. But while it was really a lovely pairing, I got thinking about a Carmenere wine I had researched years ago. The distributor had brought a different Carmenere (and the second I have ever tried) to this wine tasting, and I recalled how the articles I read on Carmenere stressed that it went well with things that contained cilantro. Since the green chutney I served with the samosas was made with cilantro and mint, I wondered. . .

And again, this was a most fantastic pairing, far better than even the Conundrum White. A total surprise and just perfect. The Carmenere was Casillero del Diablo Reserve, 2015. 

Other appetizers went well with the wines I suggested, such as the Hoisin Pork with Blackberry Chutney, which I wrote about when I tested the recipe on July 14th. I figured that its best match would be a Pinot Noir, and it certainly was. Anything more forcefully flavored just did not work at all, and I tasted it with a Cabernet, a Merlot, and also with a red blend. None of these did the appetizer any favors. The Joel Gott Oregon Pinot Noir 2012 was perfection with this appetizer. 

Rosemary & Parmesan Wafers

It was a really wonderful opportunity to taste and test wines with appetizers, particularly since I do so much of this king of food and wine pairing. At the last minute, I decided to add in one last appetizer, little Rosemary Parmesan Wafers, thinking it might just pair well with a Chardonnay. At home, I happened to have a Cabernet Sauvignon open, so I tasted one of the little wafers with that Cab, and it went wonderfully well. I was anxious to taste them with the Folie a Deux Russian River Valley 2014 Chardonnay, and this also did not disappoint. 

I omitted the chicken from two appetizers, mainly because at least one of the attendees at the wine tasting on Friday was vegetarian. The recipes themselves are easily made without the chicken. In the case of the Lemon Artichoke Pesto, when I made it originally, I first made the Lemon Artichoke Pesto and then sauteed the chicken in a pan and then pulsed it in the food processor, before adding it to the Pesto. I had tasted the pesto to see if the flavors were good on their own; they were fabulous. Once adding the chopped chicken, it made more, of course, and it tasted good, but it tasted good either way. If choosing to make this recipe (click the link to the recipe title above), simply omit the chicken and the next couple of ingredients, and proceed. The recipe was originally created to pair with a Pinot Grigio, and it paired nicely with the New Zealand, Peter Yealands Pinot Gris 2014, as well as with the Folie a Deux Chardonnay mentioned previously.

The Spanakopita Cups I made are such a tasty little treat and so very simple. With the flavors of spinach and Feta cheese, they pair excellently with a Sauvignon Blanc wine. In this case, it was Decoy, Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc 2015. Interestingly though, there was a rosé that also paired well, having just enough acidity to work with the flavors. It was a Jean-Luc Colombo 2014 Cape Bleue Rosé.

Rosemary Parmesan Wafers

Rosemary Parmesan Wafers

Makes about 55 to 60 wafers

3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
½ cup almond meal
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated finely 
½ teaspoon salt
½ - 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 sticks (½ pound) cold, unsalted butter
2 egg yolks, lightly whisked 

In a small bowl, rub together the sugar and rosemary. Or, pound with a mortar and pestle. Pour this mixture into a food processor and add in the almond meal, flour, Parmesan and salt. Pulse to distribute ingredients. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add them all at once to the bowl of the processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle the egg yolks into the bowl and pulse until the mixture begins to come together into a ball. Turn the mixture out onto a greased surface and divide in two halves. Roll each half of the dough into a long, narrow cylinder, the length of a paper towel roll. If you have an empty paper towel roll, or two, these will make excellent tubes to house the dough later. 

Once each half of dough is rolled into a neat cylinder, set two pieces of plastic wrap onto a counter and set the dough roll at one edge. Roll tightly and twist the ends to seal. If the paper towel roll is handy, slide the dough into the tube. Repeat with the other roll of dough.

Place the rolls of dough into the refrigerator for at least two hours or up to two days. If in a rush, freeze the dough for about 30 minutes. If the dough is left in the freezer for longer, it will have to be slightly thawed in order to slice them and bake.

Preheat oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove one roll of dough from refrigerator or freezer and unwrap from the plastic film. Set the roll on a cutting surface and slice into ¼-inch thick slices. Set the slices of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1-inch apart. Bake the wafers for about 15 minutes, or until very lightly browned at the edges. The wafers will seem quite soft at first, but will firm up once cooled. 

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

These wafers make a wonderful pairing with a Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc wine.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Empanadas to Pair with Malbec

April 12th is the date of the upcoming Winefest Rennaisance Wine-tasting event for the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen. I will be hosting a wine rating and food pairing in one area, in order to try and help people better pinpoint what they like or dislike in a wine, and to see what a correct food pairing can do with the flavor of the wine. Many people like wine, but know little about it. Many will blacklist a whole grape varietal on the basis of tasting a wine made from one vintner's interpretation. Others will believe a Riesling is synonymous with "Piesporter" - one very tiny area - knowing nothing of the grape and its possibilities. I try to rectify these misapprehensions wherever I go.

For this wine tasting event, I will have six different wines, from all over the world. I have fairly well made decisions on the foods to pair with each of these wines.

1. Prosecco from Italy will pair with Smoked Salmon Mousse atop a Savory Hazelnut Blue Cheese Wafer
2. Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc) from France will pair with Individual Chicken Artichoke Cheese Balls atop baguette slice
3. Conundrum White blend from California will pair with Chicken and Raisin Samosas
4. Pinot Noir from California will pair with Chicken, Pear and Onion Tartlets with Chevre Cream
5. Malbec from Argentina will pair with Smoky Beef & Currant Empanadas
6. Port from Portugal will be paired with a dark chocolate, still undecided in form. 

I had recently made the Chicken, Pear and Onion Tartlets, (see my blog of February 24, 2014) to pair with a Chenin Blanc. In this case these same flavors will pair as well with a Pinot Noir, so I have that recipe already, with the flavors well paired in my mind. The two wines causing more angst over the pairing were the Conundrum and the Malbec. I decided to try the empanadas first. A little while back (blog of January 7, 2014) I made empanadas with leftover Barbecued Pork, and using puff pastry as the dough. While these tasted wonderful, there was too much pastry dough-to-meat-ratio. At the time I filed that concept for later. Yesterday I finally got around to checking out other possibilities.

Smoky Beef and Currant Empanadas

The particular Argentinian Malbec's flavor profile is "smoky, rich with black fruits, cocoa, hints of tobacco and leather. . . fat, layered and boldly rich." I read in many places how Malbecs go exceedingly well with sausage and richly spiced foods. At first I thought of creating my own sausage, but as usual, my ideas morph continually over a period of days as my mind cogitates. What I ended up deciding on was using my own "Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub" with an extra dose of Smoked Paprika to really pick up on the smoky aspect as well as the cocoa flavor. I added currants to the flavors to bring in a subtle sweet fruitiness. I first thought of using pork, changed to pork and beef, and then, finally just beef. 

October 22, 2019 Update:  These were originally paired with a Malbec wine, and there was nothing at all wrong with that pairing. I converted some people to Malbec on that basis. However, at another wine tasting, with the same empanadas, meant to pair with a Malbec, again that pairing was very good. But!

In the course of the tasting, I happened to try these empanadas with a Predator 'Old Vine' Zinfandel. This wine has a slightly smoky note and it was the absolutely most fabulous pairing for these empanadas, ever.

Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub 

Makes 1⅓ cups rub mix
 
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika, preferably Spanish
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons smoked paprika (Pimienta de la Vera)
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder, or more to taste
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon chipotle powder, optional
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
 
Mix all ingredients until thoroughly blended. If storing, use an airtight container and keep in a cool, dry place away from heat or light.

I had no real empanada dough recipe, so I looked online and found an Argentinian woman's site with recipes for real Argentinian Empanadas and the dough. I am not using the filling recipe in any way, shape or form, but the dough recipe intrigued me. Not a yeast dough, yet kneaded for 10 minutes to build the gluten. I know my way around yeast doughs, but had rarely seen a dough where kneading was so important without yeast. The closest thing to this idea is when making pasta or noodle dough. I had to try it out. The woman's recipe was in Spanish (see her site here), but as I spoke Spanish very fluently for a good 10 years, I had no difficulty with that part. Her measurements were in grams and milliliters, so I weighed and measured it to cups and ounces.

Empanada Dough

Enough for about 40 or more (4 - 5 inch) rounds

3¼ cups all-purpose flour (use an extra 1/4 cup aside if needed)
½ teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces
1 egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons milk
⅔ cup lukewarm water

Left, sealed edge; Right, folding and crimping

In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer, place the flour and salt. Add in the butter pieces and with a pastry blender or whisk attachment, cut in the butter. Switch to a dough hook (or use a spoon if by hand) and mix in the egg, starting from the center, as when making noodle dough. Add in the oil and milk and continue to mix. Begin adding the warm water. When the dough comes together, if kneading by hand, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, allow the dough hook to knead the dough for 10 minutes. Once kneaded, set the dough aside in a bowl, lightly covered, and set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

When ready to work with the dough, I found the dough to be very elastic, which made it easy stretching it over the filling without holes. Roll the dough thinly. Being so elastic, after cutting 5-inch rounds, they shrunk back to about 3-inches. After cutting out all the circles, I rolled each one individually to about 5 inches before filling. Exact roundness is unnecessary. Moisten all around the edge of the dough, place a rounded tablespoon of filling in the center, then stretch the one side over to completely enclose the filling, pressing very firmly to seal. 

After sealing, begin folding and crimping the edges, again pressing very firmly, creating an almost braided appearance. I had never done this before, so it wasn't until about my 30th empanada (out of 38) that the folding process began to be remotely even. The empanadas can be baked or fried. I prefer baking. Brush the tops well with one beaten egg. Prick the tops with a knife in 3 or 4 places. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes, until golden and glossy.

Smoky Beef & Currant Empanada Filling

Enough for about 38 empanadas

Smoky Beef & Currant Empanadas, out of oven

2 tablespoons bacon fat or other oil
1½ pounds sirloin, cut into very tiny cubes
1 teaspoon salt
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced or through a garlic press
¾ cup currants
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon bacon fat or other oil
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 can (8-ounces dry weight) mushroom stems and pieces, minced
2 tablespoons Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub, above
1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)
½ teaspoon salt

Dry the meat well on paper toweling. Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the first 2 tablespoons of bacon fat and then the meat. The meat will begin to leach out a lot of liquid. Generally this is to be avoided, but I wanted enough of the liquid to soften the currants later. Sprinkle on the first teaspoon of salt and cook the meat until there is just a little bit of liquid left. Add in the garlic and toss well, then the currants, cooking until the liquid has evaporated. Remove the mixture to a bowl. 

Add the tablespoon of bacon fat to the pan with the onions and cook, stirring frequently until the onions begin to look golden, but not browned. Add the finely chopped mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms and onions start to brown. Return the meat mixture to the pan, along with the Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub, smoked paprika and the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss well to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool to at least lukewarm.

Fill the empanada wrappers with this mixture; seal, crimp, brush with egg wash, prick with a knife and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.

These empanadas came out far better than I even hoped. The flavors are spectacular, and I can easily (in my mind) taste the flavors with a Malbec wine. The use of bacon fat to fry the meat and onions was to incorporate more of the smoke and sausage idea. All the flavors married perfectly. My crimping may be pitiful, but the flavors were precisely right.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.