With our southern European roots, it's not surprise we love wine, we love food and we love wine in our food.
We are always looking for ways to add the Gods' Nectar to our meals and below is a sampling of our favorite recipes.
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Salute and kali orexi!
Sergio Neri’s Risotto with Asparagus
Recipe for 4 people
Ingredients
1.5 cups of Arborio rice
1 quart of chicken broth (homemade chicken broth is best)
1 cup of Hopewell Valley Vineyards Chardonnay or Spumante Secco
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 cups of asparagus tips
1 medium size onion, chopped
2 cups of grated Parmesan
1/3 stick of butter
2 tablespoons of light cream
Keep chicken broth boiling in a separate pot on low heat while cooking rice. Sauté onions and asparagus in olive oil until onions turn clear. Add rice and sauté for 3 minutes until rice is sizzling hot. Add wine or spumante and cook until wine is fully absorbed. Add broth periodically as need to keep rice moist boiling on medium heat, stirring often to prevent sticking. Rice should be always soupy. When rice is fully cooked (al dente, not mushy!), add butter, cream and Parmesan. Turn stove off and stir rice vigorously for 1 minute. Pour rice in a serving bowl and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with parmesan and chopped parsley, if desired.
White Wine Sangria
For each bottle of Vidal Blanc add:
1 orange, sliced thin and quartered
1 lemon, sliced and quartered
1/2 lime, sliced thin and quartered
1 large ripe peach, sliced thin (do not peel)
About 20 raspberries
1 tablespoon super fine sugar
1/2 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec
Put orange, lemon, lime slices and 1/2 peach slices in a pitcher
Press slightly with wooden spoon. Add rest of peaches, Cointreau (or Triple Sec), sugar, raspberries and Vidal Blanc. Stir. Put some fruit in each wine glass. Add ice. Pour Sangria over ice. Note: Proportions of Cointreau and sugar to wine should be adjusted to your taste.
Traditional Sangria
For each bottle of dry red wine add:
1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds
1 lime, sliced into thin rounds
1 orange, sliced into thin rounds
1 1/2 cups rum
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup orange juice
Have the fruit, rum, wine and orange juice well chilled. Place sliced fruit in a large glass pitcher. Pour in the rum and sugar. Chill in refrigerator for two hours to develop the flavors. When ready to serve, crush the fruit lightly with a wooden spoon and stir in the wine and orange juice. Adjust sweetness to taste.
Pere Gilipà
Ingredients:
1 bottle of Barbera
8 pears (usually Martin Sec pear from Cuneo, Italy: small, hard and crisp, sweet and aromatic in taste)
8 cloves
3/4 of cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange
Preparation:
Wash the pears and put them in a pan small enough that they stay upright. Add cloves, cinnamon, grounded orange peel and sugar (optionally, you can stick some of the cloves in the pears).
Add wine on the pears and cook covered for 30-35 minutes (a fork should penetrate the pear easily).
Take out the pears (pulling them out by the petiole) and place them in a bowl to cool. Optionally, you can fish out the cinnamon stick, too.
Simmer the liquid until is thick and jelly, then topple it on the pears and let it cool.
The Pere Gilipà can be served either lukewarm or cold.
Vin Brûlé
The Vin Brûlé is a delicious and aromatic beverage that is served warm; it’s made with Rosso Della Valle, spices, citrus and sugar. It’s strengthening, warming and cleansing, which is why it’s used as a cure to the cold, especially on the Alps.
Ingredients:
1.5 liters Rosso Della Valle
3 cinnamon sticks
1 1/4 cups of sugar
12 cloves
1 lemon
1 orange
1 whole nutmeg
1 star anise
Preparation:
Cut thin slices of lemon and orange peel, leaving behind the white part, which is too bitter; grind the nutmeg.
Put sugar, peel, spices and wine last in a steel pan.
Put the pan on the fire and bring slowly the mixture to simmer while stirring until the sugar dissolves, keep the wine stirring for five minutes.
At this point, slowly bring a flame near the surface of the wine, being careful not to burn yourself; the alcohol in the wine will burst into flames. Let it burn itself out.
When the fire has subsided, filter with a thin colander and serve it steaming hot.
Conservation:
The Vin Brûlé can be stored in fridge for 2-3 days max. Reheat to serve.