Tag Archives: dessert wine

Don’t Let Your After-Dinner Drinks Be An Afterthought

An easy and impressive way to elevate any meal – especially Thanksgiving Dinner – is to offer your guests an after-dinner drink, served alongside – or in lieu of – dessert. And all that’s required for this elegant and delicious end-to-a-meal is a thoughtful bottle choice (we can help with that), and clean glassware. Baking not required.

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Though there are many mixed drinks that are popular after dinner (ie. Irish Coffee), we’re focusing on one-bottle postprandial sippers: those that you merely need open and pour to enjoy. Here are the 4 styles we like to serve during Thanksgiving season.

1. Sweet Dessert Wine ranging from fruit-sweet (Sauternes, Moscato D’Asti) to sugar and nut-sweet (Madeira, Port). One small glass does a body good either by itself or paired with pungent cheese.

2. Amari bitter (and sometimes sweet) liqueurs originally produced to calm upset bellies. despite — or perhaps in light of — their at-times super-bracing bitterness, an increasing number of folks are enjoying Amari after dinner – stomachache or not.

3. Liqueurs / Cordials traditional european liqueurs made with flavors of almonds, coffee and mint (just to name a few) are now being produced in small batches by American artisans. these new bottles are an outstanding treat.

4. Bubbles popping a bottle of sweet (sec) or semi-sweet (demi-sec) sparkling wine is an elegant and festive way to put a celebratory cap on a merry holiday meal.

Call or visit the store for help in finding the perfect bottle to end your feast.

Cheers!

 

 

Pecan Pie Recipe & Wine Pairing

Pecan Pie recipe and dessert wine pairing idea
Photo: David Dadekian
‘Tis the season for pie: apple, pumpkin, pecan, & custard galore! Pecan pie is a traditionally Southern recipe that Edible Rhody Magazine has added a Rhode Island twist to, with the addition of Sons of Liberty Pumpkin Spiced Whiskey. We’ve paired this Thanksgiving recipe with one of our favorite dessert wines, Viu Manent Noble Semillon, a naturally sweet wine from Chile.

The word pie has been used in terms of food since the 1300’s and over those centuries, the plethora of pies has increased with all different types. Pecan Pie is one of those and is said that to be created by the French shortly after settling in New Orleans and being introduced to the Pecan, but no one knows for sure. Typically associated with the South, Pecan pie is usually eaten at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Viu Manent Noble Semillon Thanksgiving Dessert Wine Pairing
With its home in Bordeaux since 1960, the Semillon grape is naturally sweet and vulnerable to Botrytis or Noble Rot. This concentrates the sugars of late harvest wines, making it a perfect candidate for sweet white wine such as the Sauternes from Bordeaux, and the Viu Manent Noble Semillon from Santiago de Chile. When vinified, it takes on flavors of stone-fruits such as apricots, peach, & mangos with back flavor of citrus, nuts & honey with a silken texture. Perfect for Pecan Pie, this wine will bring out that roasted, nutty sweetness of the pecans, the creamy caramelized custard, and the buttery flaky crust.
Pecan Pie
Pastry Team, Easy Entertaining Inc., Providence
4 tablespoons (½ stick) Rhody Fresh butter, melted and cooled
1½ cups corn syrup
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Sons of Liberty Pumpkin Spice whiskey*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
3 large fresh farm eggs, slightly beaten
1 pie shell, unbaked*
1¾ cups pecan pieces
Cream cheese frosting* (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter with corn syrup, sugar, whiskey, vanilla and salt. Add eggs and mix well. Spread pecans evenly in 10-inch unbaked pie shell (in pie dish or tart pan) and pour egg mixture over pecans. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake an additional 20–30 minutes or until set but still loose in center. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Serve slices with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. Makes 1 pie or tart. * This seasonal release can be substituted with Uprising, another whiskey made by local distiller Sons of Liberty, or your favorite bourbon.
* Pie Dough
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
½ cup ice water with ½ teaspoon salt added
3 tablespoons sugar
In a large bowl, mix together flour and sugar. With a large fork or pastry cutter (or by pulsing with a food processor) cut the butter into the flour until the butter resembles small peas. Slowly add water until a dough forms, kneading and working dough as little as possible but enough to form a workable dough.
Pressing dough, form a 6-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight. Using a rolling pin on a floured surface, roll dough to form a 12-inch circle. Place in pie dish (or tart pan); crimp edges and proceed with recipe.
* Cream Cheese Frosting
8 tablespoons Rhody Fresh butter, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) Narragansett Creamery Angelito cream cheese
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese, scraping sides of bowl. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. (If too thick, add a scant teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached.)
 
 
edible rhody, ediblerhody, brussels sprouts, seasonal ri

Visit Bottles Fine Wine to get this wine.

Apple Turnover Recipe with Dessert Wine Pairings

Apple Turnovers Recipe and Dessert Wine Pairing

Do you know what pairs with food? Wine. And that goes for dessert, too. We’ve been featuring a few French wines with delicious Edible Rhody magazine fall recipes, including Striped Bass and a Wild Mushroom Ravioli. For dessert, we highly recommend this Apple, Brie & Pecan Turnovers recipe paired with a red and white dessert wine. Happy Fall!

Gerard Bertrand Banyuls Food Pairing

2008 Gerard Bertrand Banyuls, Languedoc
Medium bodied and not-too-sweet red dessert wine with gobs of dark cherry, raisin and cocoa flavors and some acidity to balance the sweetness.  A great way to end a meal either by itself or with a dessert like the Apple Turnover.

Chateau Loupiac-Gaudiet Loupiac wine and food pairing

2010 Chateau Loupiac-Gaudiet Loupiac, Bordeaux
An incredibly priced alternative to Sauterens!  Gorgous deep golden color with flavors of passion fruit, dried apricots and honey.  The combination of lush sweetness and crisp acidity creates a sensory explosion in your mouth and mind.  A perfect match to the buttery flaky turnover.

Apple, Brie and Pecan Turnovers
Jen Jolie, executive chef, Blackstone Caterers, Newport
These sweet and savory turnovers will taste great by themselves, or with a dollop of whipped cream on top. If you can’t find Cortland or Granny Smith apples, any firm apple will do.
4 apples (Cortland and/or Granny Smith)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup maple syrup
⅔ cup pecans, chopped
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch table salt
1 sheet puff pastry
1 pound brie cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Preheat oven to 350º and grease baking sheet. Peel, core and dice apples into ½-inch pieces. Melt butter in a sauté pan. Add diced apples to the melted butter and sauté over medium heat until apples begin to caramelize. Add maple syrup and cook the mixture until it thickens slightly, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Stir pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt into the apple mixture and set aside to cool.

Set puff pastry sheet on counter to warm slightly. Whisk together egg and water to prepare the egg wash. Cut brie into 1-inch pieces. Working quickly to keep the dough cold, cut puff pastry sheet into 6 squares (or 8, if you prefer smaller turnovers) by cutting in half the long way, and then dividing each half into equal squares. Place between 2 pieces of parchment. Roll the squares out slightly with a rolling pin. Brush egg wash on the edges of the squares. 

In the center of each square put 2–3 tablespoons of apple filling and 2 pieces of brie. Fold the square in half to form a triangle. Seal edges by pressing with a fork, brush top with egg wash. Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before enjoying. Best served warm. 

Makes 6 to 8 turnovers. 


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Cheers!
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