Brie En Croute

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

1 Jar Roast Garlic & Onions-in-a-Jam

Beaten egg;  1 wheel of Brie

Defrost frozen pastry; spread Garlic & Onions-in-a-Jam over the top of the brie.

Center the wheel of Brie on top of the pastry sheet. Bring all four corners of the sheet together above Brie and twist slightly; tie gathered pastry with kitchen/cooking string (tie string in the form of a bow),

Brush pastry with beaten egg. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes (until golden brown). Serve with quality crackers & fresh fruit.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     VERY CHERRY CHOCOLATE JAM              

We've been blogged! Please click on above photo

for no-bake cookie recipe!

Chocolate Cherries Jubilee:

a very special dessert

(psst..don't tell anyone how easy it is)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Berry Fine Wine Vinegar

More Than Just A Pretty Face!

 Berry Fine Salad

Dressing: Combine 1/2 c. Berry Fine Wine Vinegar, 1/4 tsp. each salt & pepper; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce; 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard; 3 tsp honey.

Whisk all ingredients and mix well. Serve over baby spinach or mixed greens; top with any (or all): fresh raspberries, mandarin orange pieces, goat cheese, toasted nuts or sunflower seeds.Refrigerate any leftover dressing in container with tight-fitting lid. Will keep for months.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Berry Fine Wine Vinegar Marinade

 Combine: 1 cup Berry Fine Wine Vinegar; 1/2 cup vegetable stock; 2 tablespoons canola oil; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon rind; 2 shallots, finely chopped; 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon; black pepper.

Add to chicken pieces and ribs; stir well; place in food-safe sealable plastic bag or covered non-metallic dish. Refrigerate 4 - 24 hours, stir occasionally.Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade. Bake chicken and ribs, covered, at 350 for 35 minutes. Simmer marinade to reduce (about 15 minutes).Please note food safety guidelines (underlined, to the right) about marinade that has been in contact with raw meat.

Remove cover from chicken;  return to oven for 20 minutes; baste every 5 minutes.

 Gourmet tip: the addition of a couple of tablespoons of Trugs Ravishing Raspberry Jam to the reduced marinade for something very special; add just before serving and heat gently (to avoid burning).

Serve with a tossed salad and fluffy brown rice or tiny new potatoes.

Enjoy all the accolades (you've earned them!)

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poached Pears in Wondrous Wine Syrup

• 1 kg Anjou pears
  
• 500 ml. Wondrous Red Wine Syrup
  
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1 vanilla pod
• 2 oranges

1. Lightly crush the cinnamon and cardamom and add them to the wine syrup in a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod lengthways down the middle and add it too. Bring the saucepan to the boil. 

2. Carefully peel the pears, leaving stalks intact.

3. Pare the zest from the oranges, add to pan. Squeeze juice from oranges and add to pan.

4. Simmer gently for 15 - 20 minutes.

 

Black Forest Muffins

6 chocolate muffins (yours or the bakery's: who's to know?)

2 Jars Very Cherry Chocolate Jam
2 cups Whipped Cream

Combine jam and whipped cream

Slice the tops off muffins
Fill with jam/whipped cream
 
Sprinkle with sifted icing sugar. Serve with fresh cherries

 Chocolate Cherries Jubilee

2 jars Very Cherry Chocolate Jam

2 cups pitted Bing cherries, with juice

1/2 cup Brandy (or Cointreau)

Vanilla ice cream, hard frozen

Combine jam and cherries and heat gently in a chafing dish over low heat, until the combination forms a sauce.If you don't have a chafing dish, a fondue pot can also work.

 Warm brandy (Cointreau) in a heatproof cup (30 seconds in the microwave)

 Enlist a helper to light a match and ignite the warmed brandy as you pour it over the heated chocolate cherry sauce.

 Enjoy the cheers around the table.

 Spoon cherry mixture over ice cream;  top with chocolate shavings.

Important Note: observe all safety rules applicable to open flame

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Berry Fine Wine Vinegar

De-Glazing A Pan

Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing and dissolving caramelized bits of food from a pan in order to make a delicious pan sauce.

Both meat and vegetable dishes can be deglazed. After the cooked food has been removed from the pan/roasting dish, add Berry Fine Wine Vinegar, about half a cup at a time (you don't need much and don't want the sauce to be watery). As the liquid is gently heated, a spatula or wooden spoon can be dragged along the bottom of the pan to bring up chunks which may be stuck to it.

When the entire pan has been deglazed,  pour the resulting liquid over the food, add spices, thicken it with flour, or use as the base of a more complex sauce.

Deglazing can also be used during a stir fry; deglazing halfway through cooking changes the flavour and texture of your recipe and reduces the amount of oil required.

 

 

 

Marinades

Allow  ¼ to  ½ cup of marinade for each 1 to 2 pounds of chicken, fish or meat.

 

 

Always marinate in the refrigerator,  NEVER at room temperature. If a marinade will be used later for basting, or served as a sauce, reserve a portion of it before adding the raw meat.

 

 

Marinade that has been in contact with raw meat  MUST be brought to a full rolling boil for 3 minutes before it can be safely used as a sauce.NEVER save and reuse a marinade.

 

 

 

 

Marinades for every preference:

Vegetarian

Poultry

Meat

Seafood