10 November, 2012

Discoveries from Wine an Food Affair

I've heard that people buy cookbooks and never try the recipes. A benefit of the Wine and Food Affair is that you can see, taste, try the wine pair and then go home and try for yourself. Dutcher Crossing had a wonderful Tomato Bisque paired with their Cab. It was too hot too appreciate that day ---lucky for us. But the recipe called to me. so, with the waning delish tomatoes at the Farmer's Market, I whipped up an easy but sophisticated treat on this nippy evening.  The tomato bisque is  a warm, rich souvenir of Summer, especially with my addition of dill cream. I paired it with a 1221 Cab Cuvée from Chateau Diana. The winery has been there for 30 years but they just built a super cool tasting room last year. Of course the best surprise was seeing @Mykhael and as always his reco's were spot on. The wine has dark berries and menthol in the aromas.  Young cabs can be tempting when young...#jailbait  These Cab flavors will be better later, but drink great now.  Today, they complemented my soup and warmed my tummy. 
 I am looking forward to trying my other discoveries!

Tomato Bisque:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1-1/2 tsp dill weed
5 cups tomatoes, chopped
4 teaspoons honey
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper

In a  large pot saute the onions and the dill weed in the olive oil about 5 minutes or until the onions are transparent.  Add the tomatoes.  Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add the honey and cream,  and remove the pot from the heat.  Using an immersion blender, carefully puree the bisque to a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot. 

This comes out super creamy.  When I make this again, I will use 6 cups tomatoes and reduce the cream to 3/4 cup.  We tried pairing it with a Tablas Creek Viognier and it was overpowered by the soup, so we recommend a white with a touch of RS like a Riesling or less delicate viognier for our white wine drinking occasions.

No comments: