It's that Wine Time of Year

This year marks the 4th Annual Winefest Renaissance, held for the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen. This year the Winefest will be held on April 9th, at the Ward Hotel. And, once again, I will be creating foods to pair with wines of my choosing.

Parmigiano Stuffed Prosciutto Wrapped Medjool Dates

After a brief scan of the list of wines to be available, I opted for an Italian theme, selecting a Roscato Prosecco, a Barone Fini Pinot Grigio, a Chianti and a Secco-Bertani (a mix of Corvina and Merlot). I had never tasted any of these particular wines before, though I have had other Proseccos, Pino Grigios, and Chiantis. The Secco-Bertani was new to me. I had to quickly make a decision on what foods to pair with these wines, so I followed my normal route of first going online to find all the information I could about each particular wine, vintner, flavors, pairings and such. Then I looked through my own lists compiled over the last few years, with a table of the wine varietal and what foods pair well with each. 

I sent in my wine choices and the pairings I had decided on, only to find out that after all, the two reds would not be available. Drat! Meanwhile, I went ahead with my planning for the foods to pair with the two white wines.

Parmigiano Stuffed,
Prosciutto Wrapped Medjool Dates

For the Roscato Prosecco, which is described as "sparkling, fruity with a hint of sweetness," I went through my table list. I felt that dates would provide sweetness, though too much sweetness and the wine will taste sour. A fine balancing act is required. I know that antipasti platters are said to pair well with Prosecco, so I though of wrapping the date with prosciutto. To add balance to those sweet dates, I also combined enough chevre goat cheese with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano to hold it together and stuffed the dates with this mixture. After tasting one made up in this way, I felt that they still needed another component. I happened to have some Blue Diamond BOLD Habanero Spiced Almonds on hand, so I pressed two of them into the cheese stuffed date before wrapping with the prosciutto. This seemed a bit better. I am planning to open a bottle of Prosecco to taste with them, later. Meanwhile, I took a few down to my husband's office for the people there to taste and critique.

Parmigiano Stuffed, Prosciutto Wrapped Medjool Dates

Makes 22 - 24

Making Parmigiano Stuffed Prosciutto Wrapped Dates

12 ounces Medjool dates (about 22 to 24 dates), pitted
2.25 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
4 ounces Chevre or Montrachet goat cheese
45 - 50 Bold and Spicy Almonds (Habanero or Sriracha spiced)
6 - 8 ounces Prosciutto 

Mix together the Parmigiano Reggiano with the goat cheese, to form a thick paste. Divide the mixture into about 3/4-inch diameter balls (weighing approximately 0.25 ounce each). There should be at least enough balls to fill the amount of dates. Be sure your dates are pitted. If not, slice into one side of them down the length to reach the pit and remove. Lengthen each of the cheese balls into logs and stuff them inside the dates. Press in two of the spiced almonds.

Most prosciutto comes in about 4 x 8-inch thin slices. I sliced down the length, making two thinner lengths out of each slice. Roll each of the filled dates with one of these halves of the prosciutto slice and secure with a toothpick, if needed. These may be made ahead a couple of days, if needed.

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For the next wine, a Pinot Grigio, I went with the flavors of lemon, artichoke, parsley and chicken. I made a Lemon Artichoke "pesto," which was absolutely fantastic on its own, and then cooked up a chicken breast, cooled and finely minced the chicken, adding it to the pesto mixture. I set this atop a toasted baguette slice, and Oh My! These are so good - all I can hope is that they do well with the Barone Fini Pinot Grigio at the event. Unfortunately, though these wines are on a list to be available for the event, they are not currently available for sale in the local stores. 

Lemon Artichoke Pesto with Chicken atop Toasted Baguette Slice

Lemon Artichoke Pesto with Chicken atop Toasted Baguette

Lemon Artichoke Pesto
with Chicken atop Toasted Baguette

Makes about 50

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, white pepper and dill for sprinkling
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1 packed cup parsley
zest of 1 lemon (save lemon for juice later)
2 - 4 cloves garlic + white vinegar
3 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, in cubes
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ teaspoon each: salt and pepper
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
1 teaspoon capers, drained
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil

A baguette, sliced about ¼ inch
olive oil for brushing

First, set the artichokes to drain in a colander and set aside. Butterfly the chicken breast so it lays flat and about ½ inch thick. Season both sides well with salt, white pepper and dill, and place in a very hot skillet with the tablespoon of olive oil. Fry to a deep brown, then turn and brown the opposite side. The browning provides wonderful flavor, so do not eliminate this step. Lower the heat to low or medium low and allow the chicken to cook through, about 10 minutes, total. Allow the chicken to cool while making the pesto.

Lemon Artichoke Pesto
before adding chicken

Finely mince the garlic into a small bowl. Cover with the vinegar and allow to set for a few minutes. This helps eliminate the strong raw-garlic taste. When ready to use, drain off the vinegar.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the parsley, lemon zest, the drained garlic, the Pecorino Romano cubes, walnuts and salt and pepper. Run the processor to finely chop. Stop to scrape down sides, then process until very fine. Add in the drained artichokes with the capers and lemon juice and process to a paste. Add in the olive oil to combine. Pout out into a bowl, replacing the processor bowl.

Cut the cooled chicken into cubes and place in the vacated processor bowl and pulse until the chicken is fine, but not pureed. Fold into the pesto.

To serve, brush the baguette slices with olive oil and set them on a sheet pan. Preheat the broiler with the rack in the highest position and broil the breads until nicely toasted, about 1½ minutes. Watch closely! Scoop a small amount of the Lemon Artichoke Pesto with Chicken onto each slice.



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.

An Appetizer to Pair with Prosecco

That little dark green spot - Prosecco area

One of the wines I chose to use in the upcoming Winefest Renaissance wine tasting event (for the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen) is Mionetto Il Prosecco. I had the very great pleasure some years back to actually meet Mr. and Mrs. Sergio Mionetto at a Mionetto luncheon wine tasting. Three Mionetto Proseccos and a Moscato were served with small portions of foods created to set off the flavors of each wine. It was an amazing experience, though I am not truly fond of any sparkling wine. "What!?" you might say? "You don't like sparkling wines?" Nope. It's the fizz I object to, which is the whole point of a sparkling wine, I realize. I cannot deal with the fizz in any beverage, so I completely left off drinking any soft drinks a very long, long time ago. 

Still. I know that sparkling wines are high on most peoples' lists, and so I am pleased to serve a Prosecco in my part of the wine and food pairing. Prosecco is a grape grown in  the hills north of Venice and Treviso, where the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene mark the limits of the Prosecco area. The "Il Prosecco" line covers the lower end wines of Mionetto, though they are still a pleasure with their fresh, crisp, fruity flavors, and easy to open little bottle caps. At the Mionetto Prosecco tasting luncheon, each Prosecco was served with seafood; shellfish in particular. I love seafood, and shellfish in particular, though I have a slight allergy. If I am willing to swell up for a few days, I can eat it. My husband, however, dislikes any seafood, and shellfish in particular. If a very white fish has enough breading and is smothered with enough tartar sauce and ketchup, he will usually tolerate it. Shellfish however, he will not even try. Needless to say, we left that luncheon and he got a burger. I ate everything on my plates and some of his! 

Green Pea Pancakes with Smoked Salmon Mousse

Anyway, back to the wine event. I am planning to pair the Il Prosecco with Green Pea Pancakes with Smoked Salmon Mousse. I have not tasted them paired with the wine myself, but I must say, the little appetizers are amazingly good. The crispness and fruitiness of the wine should pair well the Green Pea Pancakes, as well as the Mousse. I had originally planned to make little cheese wafers to hold the mousse, but then saw a recipe in the latest Food and Wine Magazine for Green Pea Pancakes (page 52) and got an idea. The recipe in the magazine is a thinner batter, meant to be made as small pancakes in a pan. I wanted the pancakes to be a little thicker, easier to pick up, and more uniform. 

Green Pea Pancakes

I racked my brain overnight and came up with the idea to make them in the bottom of muffin tins! I added to the batter such things as capers and fresh dill and more flour than called for and spooned the batter into buttered muffin cups. They came out so pretty. Perfectly round and a bright, beautiful green. The lovely soft pink of the Smoked Salmon Mousse makes a great combination of colors that are very eye-catching. They are very easy to make too, which is always a plus. The pancakes can be made in advance and frozen, which is what I am doing. I made a first batch and we ate over half of them in taste testing! I made a second batch yesterday and those are all neatly frozen. They will remain frozen until the day of the event, and then brought to room temperature.

The Smoked Salmon Mousse is a simple enough recipe. It should not be made more than a couple of days in advance as the fishiness factor rises with time. Here are my recipes:

Green Pea Pancakes

Makes 24 to 34, depending on the measure

Showing the size

1½ cups frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons capers
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ cup loosely packed fresh dill
½ cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 on Convection). Butter the lower half of the muffin tin cups, or use a cooking spray. Set aside. 

Set the frozen peas in a colander and run hot water over for a few seconds to soften. Place the drained peas in a food processor. Add the salt, capers, egg and yolk, lemon zest, dill and cream and process until fine. Add the flour and pulse to combine. I find it easier to pour the batter out into a measuring cup before dropping by tablespoon into the muffin cups. Use a tablespoon measure or a small cookie scoop measuring approximately 1 tablespoon. Depending on your measuring, you may get up to 35 pancakes, or as little as 24. 

Bake the pancakes for about 8 minutes, or until set and dry, but not browned. Allow the pancakes to cool for about a minute before gently running a small spatula or table knife around the edges to loosen. Turn out onto waxed paper, top sides down, to allow them to cool and dry enough not to stick to each other. 

Make Ahead: Set them in a single layer on a tray or baking sheet and freeze solid before stacking them in a well sealed container or freezer zip-top baggies for up to a month. 

Green Pea Pancakes with Smoked Salmon Mousse

Smoked Salmon Mousse

Ateco extra-large open star tip #829

Makes enough to top about 24 Green Pea Pancakes

1 (4.5 ounce) chunk smoked salmon
8 ounces cream cheese
4 scallions
2 - 3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Remove any skin from the salmon, break the fish into chunks and place in a food processor with the cream cheese, scallion (white and light green parts, roughly chopped; reserve the dark green tops to garnish), lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of the juice. Process until very fine. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed. Use a small spoon to place portions of the mouse onto the little green pea pancakes, or if you are adept with an icing bag and tip, use those for a lovely presentation. Garnish the appetizers with thinly sliced dark green scallion tops.

I find that using a piping bag with a large open star tip makes for a beautiful presentation. I love Ateco extra-large open star tip # 829 for this purpose, as well as many other beautiful applications like one giant shell shape of icing atop a cake slice. If you do not have a large icing tip, or know how to use an icing bag, just use a spoon to place a small amount of the mousse on the little green pea pancakes.  


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.