Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Grilled Onions

BY: JACQUI PAILING

1/2 lb. mixed baby greens
3 red beets
3 golden beets
1 red onion
Crumbled goat cheese
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut tops and bottoms off beets and place in a glass pan. Drizzle each beet with olive oil and season with sea salt. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Let cool completely then peel and slice.

Peel and slice red onion and saute with 1 tblp. over medium-high heat. Set aside.

Mix baby greens with 1/8 cup olive oil and 2 tblp. balsamic vinegar. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients together or create each salad separately layering baby greens, beets, onions and goat cheese.

Calcareous Wine Pairing: 2009 Calcareous Grenahce/Mourvedre
 

Curried Pumpkin Soup

BY: JOHN TEELING

1 medium pumpkin

1 large onion chopped

6 cloves garlic minced

2 medium potatoes diced

2 stalks celery chopped

2 large carrots chopped

1 quart chicken stock

2 tsp. curry powder

½ tsp. coriander

½ tsp. cumin

4 tblp. Butter

Crème fraiche for garnish
Italian flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional)

 

Quarter pumpkin and scoop out seeds.  Wrap pumpkin quarters in tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. When cooked scoop out flesh.

 

Meanwhile melt butter over medium heat and add vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes until starting to soften.  Add spices and cook for 2 more minutes.  Add pumpkin and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Puree mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Serve with a dallop crème fraiche and garnish with the parsley.

 

Calcareous Wine Pairing Recommendation:

 

2011 Calcareous Chardonnay or 2009 Grenache/Mourvedre

 

 

From The Kitchen At The Lookout

 

Individual Savory Tarts

 

Pate Brisee (Simple Pastry Dough)

2 ¼ cup flour

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 cup cold butter cut into small pieces.

¼ to ½ ice water

 

    In a food processor combine flour and salt and pulse to mix for 10 seconds.  Add butter and mix until mixture becomes like rough sand.   Then add the water slowly while running the processor until  mixture becomes formed as dough.  Remove and separate into to balls, wrapped and refrigerate for  an hour.

 

Roll out dough and cut into 4” squares.  Grease a muffin tin and put dough into circles.

 

3lbs. tomato

1-Large onion

2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 cup feta crumbles

½ cup chopped kalamata olives

1-egg, lightly beaten

 

In meantime:  350 degrees oven

Roast 3lbs. tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper in oven for an hour

Roast 1 large onion, sliced in ¼ strips with oil, salt and pepper until golden

 

Put onion tomato mixture into pastry, top with feta and thyme, then olives.

 

Bring points of dough together and brush with egg.

 

Bake 30 minutes , or until brown.

Pair with the 2009 Grenache or 2010 Marsanne.