Food

Pumpkin Scones

Yield: 6 scones

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

SCONES:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup canned pure (unsweetened) pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons half and half cream
• 1 large egg
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes

PLAIN GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
• 1 tablespoon milk (any kind)

SPICED ICING:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk (any kind)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• pinch of ground ginger
• pinch of ground cloves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Give it a light dusting of flour on top of that.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (through ginger).

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half and egg.

4. Use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut butter into the dry ingredients. Continue cutting until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. (You may also use a food processor for this step. Pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs).

5. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. The dough will be wet, but if it seems super sticky… just go ahead and sprinkle a little more flour into the dough until it’s easier to handle. Remember, you want it to be somewhat sticky, and that’s okay- but you also don’t want it to stick to the baking sheet. Pat out dough onto the lightly floured baking sheet and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle that is about 9-inches long and 3-inches wide. Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal squares. Cut through the three squares diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Gently pull the triangles apart, leaving about 1/2-inch space between each one.

6. Bake 14 to 16 minutes on prepared baking sheet. Scones should begin to turn light brown.

7. While scones are cooling, prepare plain glaze by whisking ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth.

8. When scones are cool, use a knife to cut them apart and then pull them apart so that they are ready for glazing. Use a brush to paint a coating of the glaze over the top of each scone.

9. As the white glaze firms up, prepare spiced icing by whisking the ingredients in another medium bowl until smooth. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone (or brush it on) and allow the icing to dry before serving.

 

Zombie-Cranberry Bread Pudding

• 8 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk or half-n-half
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 large loaf stale bread, cut into cubes
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup Night of the Living Red
• 2 cups fresh cranberries

Warm the wine and dried cranberries in a saucepan over low heat; simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain liquid from cranberries and reserve.

Spray a 13 x 9” baking pan with nonstick spray. Whisk eggs in a large bowl to blend. Add milk (or half-n-half), sugar, cream, and vanilla; whisk to blend well. Stir in bread, fresh cranberries and dried cranberries. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake pudding uncovered until puffed and golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Meanwhile reduce reserved wine by at least 1/2 until it forms a light syrup. Cool pudding slightly and serve with the wine reduction sauce.

 

Salmon & Corn Chowder

This pairs beautifully with Legacy.

• 1/2 pound red potatoes
• 1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
• 2 cups chopped scallions (from 2 bunches)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 3 cups whole milk
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 (1 1/2-pound) piece salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes, then cook in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Cook bacon in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot, then cook scallions, corn, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and red-pepper flakes in fat in pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until scallions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add milk and cream and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to moderately low, then add potatoes, salmon, bacon, salt, and pepper and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until salmon is just cooked through and begins to break up as you stir, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaf before serving.

Yield: 6 servings

 

Apples & Cinnamon Ice Cream Pie

Granola crust:

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp. cup pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. Dolce wine

Apple filling:

• 3 apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Dolce wine

• 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (we use Calder Dairy)

Make the granola crust: Stir together all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Spread mixture evenly in large shallow baking pans and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, stirring and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 30 minutes total. Cool granola completely in pans on racks. Press cooled granola into the bottom of a pie pan.

Make the apple filling: Saute the apples in butter until softened. Add Dolce and mix well. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and cook just until the sugar dissolves. Cool.

Assemble the pie: Remove ice cream from the freezer to soften. Spread the granola on the bottom of a pie pan. Cover with a layer of ice cream, a layer of the apples, and another layer of ice cream. Freeze well. Slice and serve with more Dolce!

 

Michigan Vineyard Salad

• Mixed greens
• Dried cherries
• Sliced pears
• Blue cheese, crumbled
• Walnuts, toasted

Blushing Crane vinaigrette:

• ½ cup Blushing Crane wine
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup fruity olive oil

Reduce wine over heat to one-half volume. Whisk together mustard, reduced wine, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Dribble oil into the bowl in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly, until dressing is creamy and thickened and all the oil has been incorporated. Yield: about 1 ¼ cups.

Assemble salads:

Mixed greens topped with fruit and nuts. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve.

 

Brie with Maple-Glazed Walnuts

•  2 cups walnuts
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• brie cheese
• additional maple syrup
• fresh strawberries or grapes (optional)

Note: These Maple-Glazed Walnuts make a great snack (full of omega 3 vitamins!). When making them for a snack, you might want to sprinkle them with some additional coarse salt while they’re still hot.

Preheat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts, maple syrup, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until syrup is caramelized and nuts are toasted, about 5-8 minutes. Pour on a piece of baking parchment and let cool.

To serve: Place a small slice of brie on an individual plate. Top with 7-10 walnuts. Drizzle with a small amount of maple syrup. Garnish with fresh fruit (optional). Serve with Sandhill Crane Vineyards’ Sugar Snow dessert wine.

 

Braised Meatballs in Red Wine Gravy

• 1 6-ounce piece day-old French bread (generous 1/3 of 16-ounce loaf), crust left on, bread cut into 8 pieces
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 3/4 pounds ground beef (7% to 15% fat)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried summer savory
• All purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cups Sandhill Crane Vineyards’ Moulin Rouge
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 3 cups canned beef broth

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine bread pieces and whole milk in medium bowl, pressing on bread to submerge; let stand until milk is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Squeeze out most of milk from bread; discard milk. Place bread in large bowl. Add ground beef, eggs, finely chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, salt, pepper, and dried summer savory and mix well. Transfer meat mixture to processor. Process until well blended and mixture looks pasty. Form mixture into 1 3/4-inch-diameter meatballs (about 30). Divide meatballs between two 13x9x2-inch glass baking dishes. Bake meatballs 30 minutes. Set meatballs aside.

Dust meatballs with flour; shake off excess. Melt butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add meatballs to skillet and sauté until brown on all sides, about 3 minutes. Return all meatballs to skillet. Whisk wine and tomato paste in small bowl to blend. Add wine mixture to meatballs and bring to boil. Continue boiling until wine thickens slightly, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add broth, reduce heat to medium and simmer until flavors blend and gravy thickens, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer meatballs and gravy to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.

Note: You may also use premade/frozen meatballs.

Makes 6 servings.

 

Asparagus, Goat Cheese & Roasted Red Pepper Lasagne

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 pound asparagus, lightly steamed
• 1 red pepper, roasted & julienned
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 8 ounces goat cheese
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 package lasagne noodles

Make the bechamel sauce: Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté onion until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until mixture thickens, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Mix together the ricotta and goat cheese. Precook the lasagne noodles.

Assemble the lasagne: Spray a 8-inch square pan with nonstick coating. Place a layer of noodles on the bottom of the pan, followed by bechamel sauce and 1/2 of the asparagus & red peppers. Place another layer of noodles, followed by a layer of the ricotta/goat cheese mixture. Follow with the remaining noodles, bechamel sauce, the rest of the veggies, and sprinkle mozzarella and goat cheese on the top.

Bake at 375 F for approximately 45 minutes (until top is golden brown and lasagne is bubbly).