My family prefers holiday meals which are different than the traditional turkey, ham or chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetable fare. There are so many wonderful meal options for a family holiday dinner. One of my family’s favorite holiday meals is Bouillabaisse.

I suspect some form of a fish and shellfish stew has been around since mankind discovered fish and shellfish could be captured from the sea and put in a pot to cook together for a fast, fresh fantastic tasting meal. One pot and one bowl! Who needs anything more?

The classic seasonings of saffron, orange peel and anise-flavored spirits surely came later and the French in Marseilles have claimed ownership of these additions to the traditional fish stew. With that in mind, who can really argue that French wine would be the perfect accompaniment?

Cool weather and a warm seafood stew with a glass of French wine make for warm hearts and lots of fun. The warm stew fills the stomach but is not heavy and the joy of soaking a scrumptious French baguette (Lionel Vatinet at La Farm Bakery makes a great authentic baguette!) in the seafood broth is enough to make any family joyous and grateful.

Personally I love Julia Child’s Bouillabaisse recipe. I have tried many others but simpler is better in my book and simple to me means fresh seafood (check out the selection at Locals Seafood . Lin Peterson has wonderful fresh NC seafood!) and great cooking technique. Sounds like Julia to me! Fresh and basic great cooking!

To complement the Bouillabaisse I tried a refreshing Viognier offered by The Wine Feed – Domaine de Couron Cotes du Rhone Viognier 2010 produced by Marie-Lise and Jean-Luc Dorthe from southern France. The fruit with a touch of honey and undertones of anise make for a lovely pairing with Bouillabaisse during the holiday.

Wishing you a Happy Holiday filled with peace, love, joy, family and friends and Bouillabaisse, French Bread and Viognier from The Wine Feed.

Can you imagine Thanksgiving dinner without cranberries? I cannot! The sweet and tart taste of traditional cranberry sauce brightens the Thanksgiving meal. In a recent conversation with The Wine Feed owners, the discussion turned to whether one should match the wine served at Thanksgiving to the turkey or the cranberry sauce. Frankly, I had never thought about that before and had assumed the wine pairing would be done with the meat. Funny how quickly we can get stuck in a rut!

I realized if I had to choose between not having turkey or cranberry sauce at a Thanksgiving meal I would most likely forgo the turkey before the cranberry sauce! Given this scenario I decided I should pair my Thanksgiving meal based on a wine complementary to cranberry sauce.

After a taste test, I chose the Château de Parenchère – Bordeaux Clairet – 2009 offered by The Wine Feed. Not only was this wine superb with turkey and cranberry sauce it was delightful with one of my favorite Thanksgiving desserts, Cranberry Walnut Torte! This cake is not overly sweet and uses fresh or frozen cranberries to add the tartness we all love from the red fruit of the bogs of North America. The protected style of Bordeaux Clairet is very similar to the wine the English so loved in the 18^th century. A light, voluptuous, fresh and very aromatic wine made for consumption within a few years. Not quite a red wine, but far darker than a typical rosé, the Château de Parenchère Bordeaux Clairet has a rich and stimulating bouquet of strawberry, red currant, and roses.

Enjoy this Cranberry Walnut Torte recipe from The Gardener’s Kitchen accompanied with Clairet for your Thanksgiving table from The Wine Feed and be confident that you and your family and guests will be more than grateful for the bounty of this Thanksgiving meal.

Cranberry Walnut Torte

2 cups walnuts, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup sugar

¾ cup flour

½ cup melted butter

2 eggs

1 ½ teaspoon almond extract

8 ounce fresh cranberries

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine chopped walnuts, melted butter and sugar.
3. Press nut mixture over bottom and halfway up the sides of 10 inch springform pan.
4. Prepare the filling as follows:
5. Combine flour and sugar in a bowl and reserve.
6. Using whisk or whisk attachment in mixer or food processor, combine butter, eggs and almond extract.
7. Mix in flour and sugar till well blended and mixture is light and fluffy.
8. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.
9. Pour cake mixture into crust.
10. Bake about 1 hour until toothpick or small metal skewer comes out clean when poked into center of cake.
11. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
12. When cool sprinkle with 10 x powdered sugar.
13. Serve with fresh whipped cream!

Makes 8 servings

Serve with Château de Parenchère – Bordeaux Clairet – 2009 available at The Wine Feed.

I love fresh peppers from the garden! Mild, sweet, spicy, or hot peppers they are all wonderful and make every dish they are in a special event. In my garden, poblanos mature from August thru early October. From merely two plants I am blessed with plenty of poblanos for stuffing, roasting and freezing for winter use.

Toward the end of October and right before the frost arrives, I gather all the remaining poblanos and freeze the majority of them but save some for roasting. I include the roasted poblanos in a chowder. This Corn, Roasted Poblano Pepper, Potato and Crab Chowder reminds me of summer although I usually cook it in late autumn.

I take a couple of pints of fresh frozen creamed (grated) corn from my freezer, which I put up from the garden during the summer and thaw. I roast some poblano peppers and purchase fresh crabmeat and I am within an hour of experiencing a wonderful end to summer and a warming start to autumn.

The table is set and the wine is uncorked. Guests are sitting down to eat at the table. As I stir the Corn, Roasted Poblano Pepper, Potato and Crab Chowder one last time before it is served into the bowl, I express gratitude to Summer and her bounty passing on and ushering in the arrival of late Fall.

The wine I like to serve with this excellent chowder can be found at The Wine Feed. Try the Gramona or Tondonia

Here is the recipe for your culinary enjoyment:

Corn, Roasted Poblano Pepper, Potato and Crab Soup

2 to 4 medium fresh or frozen poblano peppers, roasted

2 medium onions, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 pints of frozen or fresh grated corn

2 to 3 Yukon potatoes, peeled and cut in ½ cubes

1 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

5 to 6 cups fat-free, reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 small handful of cilantro, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 15-ounce can of fresh pasteurized crabmeat

Rub the poblano peppers with olive oil. Grill or broil the poblano peppers till blackened. Place grilled poblano peppers in bowl and cover to cool. When peppers are cooled, remove the stems, seeds and ribs along the inside of the pepper. Chop the peppers into ¼ inch pieces and place in a bowl to use later.

In a large stockpot, heat the butter over medium heat and add the minced onions and garlic. Stir frequently and cook till onions are transparent.

Add grated (creamed) corn, cilantro, broth, salt, pepper, poblano peppers and potatoes to stockpot. Cook vegetables until potatoes are tender about 15 minutes over medium low heat. Stir frequently to prevent corn from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

When potatoes are fork tender, add crabmeat and stir.

Bring soup to a boil and remove from the heat.

Serve immediately in warmed soup bowls.

Sprinkle with smoked Spanish paprika and/or minced cilantro if desired. I like to serve the chowder with Corn Muffins and butter.

Serves 8-12 people.

The Wine Feed suggests serving this dish with either the Gramona or the Tondonia.

November is upon us! This is the time of year when you have the opportunity to sit down at a harvest table with family and friends and express your gratitude with a bountiful celebration of food and wine.

Few meals can surpass the traditional Thanksgiving feast of a perfectly roasted turkey, buttery mashed potatoes, savory cornbread dressing or bread stuffing, rich gravy, fresh sautéed garlicky green beans, and cranberry orange sauce made from fresh New England cranberries. For most people, just the thought of Thanksgiving means roasted turkey and equates to warm feelings of family celebration and joy.

Although this is not a complex meal to prepare, the critical factors between a great Thanksgiving meal and a good one in my experience are:

• How fresh are your ingredients?
• What techniques do you use to cook your turkey and vegetables?
• What wine will you serve to complement your meal of gratitude?

Acquiring fresh and local ingredients should be high on your list of preparations for this meal. When you purchase fresh and local ingredients talk to the farmer about how he grew and produced your turkey, beans, potatoes, and other vegetables. You might find an opportunity to express your gratitude for such wonderful, healthy food to bring to your family and friends. Searching to find these types of products for your Thanksgiving dinner is not quite like hunting for wild turkey but close enough to eventually bring gratitude to you from friends and family, as they taste the huge difference in fresh food versus food that has been frozen and shipped over thousands of miles.

As for preparation and cooking techniques to use that will make your meal memorable, keep these experts’ advice in mind:

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/herb-roasted-roast-turkey.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/274827/thanksgiving-turkey-recipes/@center/276949/everything-thanksgiving#/262000

Last but not least! Which wine will complement your meal? Recently I cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal to test a group of wines selected by The Wine Feed. My favorite was a lovely white wine in a Riesling style bottle called Gramona “Gessami” 2010 from the Penedes region of northeast Spain. The Penedes region is located near Barcelona not far from the Mediterranean coast. This wine region is best known for Cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, but also produces excellent still white and red wines. Gessami is a blend of 50% Muscat d’Alexandria, 20% Muscat Frontignan, 25% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Gewurztraminer.

Gramona Gessami is a mellow straw-yellow in color with a wonderfully aromatic nose of apricots, pears, citrus, jasmine and mineral notes. Light medium in body with bright acidity, the wine offers clean fruit flavors of pears, peaches, and spice, with no oak. The wine is well balanced, long and smooth on the finish, with some lingering floral notes. This is a wine to drink young.

- The Gardener’s Kitchen

In late August I went home to the mountains of North Carolina where I grew up. Since many of my relatives are apple farmers it was only natural that I grew up loving apples! However, in the mountains apples are not available till September and peaches do not grow very well. Fortunately you can find some of the best peaches in the region not far down the windy mountain road into the foothills near Chesnee, South Carolina. I would venture many people in the surrounding area might claim these are the best peaches in the USA, if not the world!

There are varieties of peaches which ripen successively beginning in late May and finishing up the first couple weeks of September. The clingstone peaches are the early peaches and are quickly followed by semi-freestones for a couple of weeks in mid to late June and then the freestone mother lode begins in July. Check out the Variety Ripening Dates from Strawberry Hills USA near Chesnee, SC.

In August as I was driving back to Raleigh, I took I-26 and darted off on the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway toward Chesnee and Gaffney. I love this two-lane highway because it shows rural SC at its best! Small towns with well-kept homes and farms and best of all a huge water tower painted like a perfectly huge rendition of a yellow peach! Ronald Dahl would have loved this water tower.

Coming over the hill and stretching in front of me is a little valley all covered with strawberry fields and peach orchards as far as my eye can see. Clean row upon row of architecturally pruned peach trees define this landscape. As I pull into Strawberry Hill’s gravel parking lot I quickly roll down my car windows so I can smell the peaches. I declare, this has to be Heaven! I get out of my car and slowly walk to the various sized baskets of fruit and close my eyes taking in the peachy smell. I realize I need to open my eyes or I will bump into someone or something but I am so delirious with peachy pleasure I could hardly be held accountable for anything short of fainting from delight.

The more years that pass the more I have come to realize a tree-ripened yellow or white peach comes close to being my favorite fruit. That is saying a lot because I love almost all fruits except durians!

During this trip I found the varieties O Henry’s and White Rose available. I have had the O Henry’s before but had not tried the White Rose. I am partial to Georgia Belle’s, but sadly I missed the Georgia Belle season this year so I was happy that another white peach was still available.

The O Henry’s are a beautiful deep yellow color with a red center. If the appearance was not enchanting enough, it was followed by a gorgeous full-on peach fragrance and a deep lush late summery peach taste. The White Rose was a lovely white-fleshed peach with a raspberry red center and sweet light-tasting flesh, but not a bit starchy like some white peaches can be.

The White Rose peaches were so wonderful I froze some and decided I would love to use the rest to make a delicate white peach jam to go with scones in the winter. I created this Peach Prosecco Jam which is not only lovely to look at but gorgeous to eat! First, I ordered a bottle of crisp, clean bubbly Zardetto Prosecco from The Wine Feed and enjoyed some Prosecco-drenched peaches. Fortunately, I stopped myself at a point where there was enough remaining to make the Peach Prosecco Jam!

Here is the recipe for you to indulge your senses and fulfill your need for a beautiful and delicate tasting white peach jam. You can use yellow peaches in this recipe, but do try it with white peaches…you won’t be disappointed!

Finally, be sure to save a glass or two of Prosecco to toast to the peaches of summer while you are processing your jam in a hot water bath canner!

 

Peach Prosecco Jam

5 cups (approximately 3 ½ pounds) pureed white or yellow peaches

7 ½ cups sugar

¾ cups Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine)

1 envelope dry powdered fruit pectin (2 ounces)

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon butter

1 cinnamon stick (optional)

¼ teaspoon vanilla paste (optional)

1. Put peaches into boiling water. Remove peaches from water after 1 minute and place into ice water to chill. When peaches are cooled, peel peaches and slice. Place peaches in a food processor and puree till smooth.
2. In a large stainless steel or enamel pot, add white peach puree, prosecco, butter, vanilla paste, cinnamon stick, lemon juice and package of dry pectin and stir to combine.
3. Bring peach mixture to a rolling boil and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Stir constantly.
4. Remove peach mixture from heat and skim foam off the top of the hot jam.
5. Ladle the hot jam into sterilized jars and put on sterile jar rings and lids.
6. Place the jam filled jars in a hot water bath and process for 10 minutes for half pint jars; 15 minutes for pint jars.
7. Makes 10 half pint (8 ounce) jars of jam.

Cacao seeds are harvested twice a year in June and December, fermented and then roasted to make chocolate. Although chocolate is not locally grown in North Carolina, in my kitchen organic fair trade chocolate qualifies as a year round essential for my pantry.

When celebrations and special occasions require luxurious food to heighten the event, dark chocolate is an ingredient that has little competition for fulfilling the requirement for celebration. The rich, smooth, smoky, flavor of dark chocolate goes a long way to add excitement and warmth to any celebration.

Recently I had the occasion to celebrate a grand life achievement for one of my sons and I remembered he liked a dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache icing made by Whole Foods. Normally I would make a cake myself, but I honestly do not believe I could make this cake better!

Since I had some extra time to research which celebratory beverage would compliment this gorgeous dark chocolate ganache cake I called up The Wine Feed to ask for a suggestion. The Wine Feed suggested a red wine to serve with this yummy cake. My thoughts reeled just a little, as I had not really thought about serving a red wine with chocolate for dessert. I had considered champagne or a rosé or a dessert wine but not a red wine.

I love pleasant surprises and I really enjoy amazing gifts produced by people with the help of Mother Nature. The Barista 2009 Pinotage from South Africa suggested by The Wine Feed was a gift of pure enjoyment. This red wine with subtle coffee and chocolate aromas and undertones of mulberry, plums and cherries was excellent and took the dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache icing to a whole new level of celebration.

You really have to try this combination for your next celebration. Celebrate Friday night or anything – celebrate being alive! This will be a wine and dessert combination that will make you glad you are alive!

- The Gardener’s Kitchen

I love the simplicity of dishes that spotlight fresh seasonal vegetables. I especially love dishes prepared with vegetables that are overlapping in their growing season. Even more fun is to find a new dish that uses vegetables, which are plentiful enough in the garden to the point of being unwelcome guests in the kitchen! You read or hear people talk about these vegetables every summer. These are the vegetables that people give to neighbors or bring into work places and beg people to take and use. As summer comes to a close squash is one of the contenders for the “unwelcome guests in the kitchen” category.

Yellow squash is fading from my garden and much to my delight it has been plentiful this year. Although yellow squash has never been unwelcome in my kitchen, I have run out of creative new ways to prepare it as the summer has progressed.

Recently I attended a wine tasting at The Wine Feed and tried a traditional Bordeaux white wine called Château Bonnet.

Voila! I thought. I will use this white wine as the impetus to create a simple French-inspired dish, which uses yellow squash.

By late summer little new potatoes have long since become medium-sized potatoes as they will continue to grow to large sizes that will be held over in winter storage. I wondered to myself – as the squash is fading away and larger potatoes are coming into my garden what would the two vegetables who are overlapping in season taste like together in a gratin with leeks and goat cheese? Especially goat cheese from Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy

So I experimented and did a test run of the Yellow Squash and Potato Gratin paired with the Château Bonnet from The Wine Feed.

The taste of this wine paired with the squash and potatoes brought back wonderful memories of France. Eating this gratin paired with this lovely white French wine revived memories of the simple, elegant dishes prepared using fresh and local foods that l enjoyed while visiting Southwestern France.

Do yourself a favor and buy a bottle of Château Bonnet from The Wine Feed. Then prepare this Yellow Squash and Potato Gratin recipe from The Gardener’s Kitchen, and sit down with some friends and family to enjoy the simple pleasure of being alive and able to enjoy these gifts from the garden and Mother Earth!

Here is the recipe for you to enjoy and share!

Potato, Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin

2  medium yellow squash

4 to 6 small to medium Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes

1 small to medium leek thinly sliced into half moons

4 ounces Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy or other mild unflavored chevre

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup half and half or whole milk

1/3 to ½ cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 to 3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil in a casserole dish (9×13) and spread it on the sides and bottom of dish.

Slice squash and potatoes into very thin 1/8 inch slices using a mandolin slicer or sharp knife and put in a large bowl together.

Note: My garden is organically grown and moving toward a bio dynamically grown garden so I know the source of my potatoes!  Thus I do not peel my potatoes in this recipe. If you don’t know the source of your potatoes you might choose to peel the potatoes in this recipe before slicing.

Toss sliced squash, leeks and potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper using your hands.

Place 1/3 of the olive oil coated squash and potatoes slices in the bottom of the casserole dish. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.

Take ½ of the goat cheese and break into chunks and scatter evenly over the vegetables.

Add another layer of potatoes and squash and repeat the salt and pepper with the remaining half of the goat cheese.

Add the final layer of vegetables, salt and pepper. No goat cheese.

Pour ½ and ½ or whole milk around the casserole and sprinkle the top of the casserole with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Cover and bake the casserole for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake for 15 minutes until the top browns.

Serve with fresh basil sprinkled on top.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Excellent if paired with Château Bonnet – Entre-Deux-Mers – Blanc 2010 available from The Wine Feed ( www.TheWineFeed.com )

Peach season has peaked and is slowly fading away to become a distant summer memory.  I love peaches and I crave them year round.  In the hope of satiating this need I am always searching for ways to incorporate fresh or frozen peaches and peach jam into my recipes.

When teaching one of The Gardener’s Kitchen canning workshops, I serve a dish that uses a canned item from my very full pantry!  My intention in serving a dish prepared with a canned item is to show some of the lovely, delicious and healthy ways they can use the food they preserve.

During the most recent Pressure Canning Workshop at The Gardener’s Kitchen, I let my love for peaches shine forth.  After a couple hours of hot weather and pressure canning in the kitchen, enjoying something cold and delightful made with peach jam created a refreshing and fun repast for everyone.

Using a half pint jar of homemade peach jam and fresh (or frozen) mango puree I made a spectacular Peach Jam and Mango Sorbet.  Then I served it with fresh peaches and raspberry sauce made from my frozen local raspberries and bite-sized coconut macaroons from Whole Foods.

To make the peach experience even more wonderful, I asked The Wine Feed to recommend a dessert wine to compliment the Peach Jam and Mango Sorbet.  Phillip recommended the Sant‘Evasio Moscato d’Asti 2010.  It was a perfect accompaniment to the peaches, mango, raspberries and coconut!!!!

Occasionally a dish and the complementary wine will strike a common chord with people and low moans can be heard as people sink into a place of quiet enjoyment where only taste, texture, smell, and color prevail until the last person experiences the last bite!  This dish paired with the Sant‘Evasio Moscato d’Asti 2010 was one of those experiences for everyone!

Here is the recipe for you to enjoy and share!

Peach Jam and Mango Sorbet

1 cup or 8 ounce jar of peach jam
2 cups mango puree or juice
1 to 2 tablespoons Apricot Brandy
½ cup fresh lemon or lime juice
½ tsp lemon or lime zest

• Combine jam, mango pulp or juice, lemon juice, and apricot brandy zest in a bowl.
• Place mixed ingredients in ice cream maker and process.
• When processing is completed, put sorbet in container and place in freezer.
• Thaw sorbet slightly prior to serving.
• Serve with fresh peaches, raspberry lavender syrup and coconut macaroon.

Serves 4 to 6 people

Serve with a well-chilled sparkling white wine such as Sant‘Evasio Moscato d’Asti 2010 from The Wine Feed