Desserts for Wine Tasting?

[KimKelly]

A group of friends and my husband and I are going to take a limo wine tasting tour of the Temecula Valley next Sunday. We have decided to bring a picnic lunch and eat at one of th wineries. I've been given the delightful task of bringing dessert! While I have a few things in mind, I'm interested in what anyone would suggest for a wonderful, not messy, portable dessert? So far I have a lush brownie recipe (one I haven't made in years due to the extremely high butter content!) and some cookies. Any other knock your socks off suggestions???

Thanks,
Kim

[wallycat]

Fruit goes very well with wine and depending on how much you eat or drink, may be light enough too.
The brownies sound incredible...drrrooooollll ;)

[Beth]

Someone here posted a recipe for cabernet truffles back near the holidays. You could do champagne truffles too. Those should be portable -- as long as you can keep them cool.

Fruit is good too -- chocolate dipped or not.

Part of the decision making may depend on what kind of wine you think you'll be drinking -- if you tend towards white or reds. If you like to taste them all, then whatever.

[gaja]

I love to finish a good bottle of wine (especially Pomerol or Barolo... hmmmm) while nibbling on simple dark chocolate truffles and fresh strawberries.

[TerriS]

Love Temecula! Don't skip the Almond Champagne at Wilson Creek. I have my mom buy it for me and bring it back here to the east coast with me, it's so good!

I love nibbling on straight up chocolate...either something like Hershey Kisses or just some fine quality chocolate in chunks. Yummm. Especially if you find some good dessert wines.

[SusanMac]

I actually love cheese for dessert with wine. It sounds strange to us Americans, but is really common in other parts of the world. They balance each other nicely, and don't leave that sugary rush / crash at the end of a meal.

[amcleod]

I was going to suggest cheese too. I LOOOOOVE the cheese course! Get a few varieties - like one each cow, goat, sheep milk...or one hard, one blue, one soft. You could have some nuts and fruit with it.

[KimKelly]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I love chocolate and cheese with wine too. We are lucky to have 4 couples going... one is bringing appetizer, one sandwich makings, one salad and me the dessert! I know my appetizer friend will have cheese. So I'm looking for something purely dessert!:D :D and after reading these thoughts I'm definitely going chocolate.

Terri, thanks for the tip on the champagne. I don't know Temecula at all - I grew up in No. California and only know Napa and Sonoma so this is really fun for me to go someplace new. We are all really looking forward to a fun day without kids and with wine!

Kim

[claire797]

My Andrea Immer book talked about how well Almond Roca went with wine. I can't remember what she paired it with, but apparently the toasty almond flavor and chocolate goes great with wine.

[mobear]

I used to go wine tasting in Temecula with my brother. You should have a wonderful time!

[miami]

I see that chocolate is the huge favorite, but I find it overpowers the tast of wine. How about an assortment of biscotti too? They were made to dip in wine anyway. Almond biscotti would be particulary good if you're going to serve a chocolate dessert too.

[KimKelly]

Miami... I was actually just looking on Epicurious for biscotti before I checked on this thread! I think you have a good idea... I"ll have to check my biscotti recipes!

K

[Veronica]

At a winery not too long ago, the owners served mini cheesecakes to accompany the dessert wine tasting. It was a phenomenal pairing! Yum. If you're set on chocolate, though, how about chocolate-covered strawberries? They're a semi-light dessert and should go well with your wine. Another dessert I love to take to picnics is CL's pecan tassies. They don't contain any chocolate, but it's so fun to eat your own little pecan pie. Here's the recipe in case you're interested:

Pecan Tassies in Cream Cheese Pastry

Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Dash of salt
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese -- softened
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine -- softened
2 tablespoons skim milk
Cooking spray

Filling:
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup light-colored corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare pastry, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and dash of salt in a small bowl. Combine cream cheese, butter, and milk in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until blended (mixture will be crumbly). Press flour mixture into a ball.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 3 to 4 times. Divide dough into 24 portions. Place 1 dough portion into each of 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Press dough into bottom and up sides of cups, using lightly floured fingers.

To prepare filling, divide pecans evenly among muffin cups. Combine brown sugar and remaining ingredients; spoon about 2 teaspoons filling over pecans in each muffin cup.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until pastry is lightly browned and filling is puffy. Cool in cups for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife around outside edge of each tassie; remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 2 dozen tassies.

Source: Cooking Light, November 2000

[KimKelly]

Veronica, that was another thought of mine. I just copied a Mini Raspberry Cheesecake recipe that someone posted a day or two ago! I wasn't sure about how it would fit with wine, but your comment has me thinking it might be just right. Thanks for the Pecan recipe too. It looks wonderful!
Kim

[Veronica]

Originally posted by KimKelly
Mini Raspberry CheesecakeOooh, that cheesecake sounds good! I'll have to go search for the recipe. The cheesecake they served at the winery was plain (no topping), so the flavors of the cheesecake and dessert wine didn't compete. If you take the cheesecake, you might want to make some with and some without the topping in case the raspberry doesn't go with the wine. Either way, I think I would love it! Have fun on your wine tasting tour!

Veronica

[KimKelly]

Veronica, Kima posted these a few days back. They look good to me!



Raspberry-Topped Mini Cheesecakes

Time: About 40 minutes, plus 2 hours' refrigeration

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (8 ounces graham crackers, finely crushed)
1 stick butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 teaspoons lime juice, or to taste
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jelly
24 small mint leaves, optional
24 (about 3/8 cup) fresh raspberries.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor or mixer, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Process until mixture clumps like wet sand.

2. Place a tablespoon of crumb mixture in each well of a pan for 24 mini-muffins. Using a spoon or fingers, press mixture on bottom and up sides of each well to make a tartlike shell for filling. Refrigerate pan while making filling.

3. In a clean processor bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, egg, sour cream, vanilla and lime juice. Process until very smooth. Adjust lime juice to taste, and mix again to blend. Spoon enough filling into each muffin well for just the top edge of the crumb shell to show. Bake until cakes are set, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool in pan on a wire rack. Transfer pan to refrigerator, and chill 2 to 3 hours.

4. To remove cheesecakes, turn pan upside down, and rap firmly on back with a spoon. Place cheesecakes on a serving tray.

5. Place jelly in a small pan over low heat until melted. Put a dab (about 1/8 teaspoon) in center of each cake. Place a mint leaf on jelly and a raspberry on top. Refrigerate.

Yield: 24 cheesecakes.

[Veronica]

Originally posted by KimKelly
Raspberry-Topped Mini Cheesecakes Kim - These look really good to me! I love the fresh rasperry on top of each mini-cheesecake. I think they'll be a hit at your picnic. Thanks for posting the recipe. I can't wait to make them myself.