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Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

A wine blog written by the experts from The International Wine of the Month Club

Seared Mahi-Mahi with Saffron Risotto and Mango Sauce

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This elegant dish is sure to impress at your next dinner party or even for Father’s Day! Try pairing it with our Collector’s Series Fournier Père et Fils Cuvée Silex Sancerre 2014.

Ingredients

  • 1 mango
  • 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, soaked or well-rinsed to remove all traces of sand
  • 1 clove garlic, quartered
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
  • 1-ounce bottled water
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons stone-ground mustard
  • 1 lime microwaved and juiced (allow to cool before squeezing)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
  • 1 cup Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1 pinch saffron threads
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 6 (6-ounce) mahi-mahi fillets
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 or 3 scallions, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

Peel the mango, cut into slices, and drop into the feed tube of a running blender to puree. Add the rice wine vinegar, cilantro, garlic, ginger, water, oil, mustard, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside.

Bring chicken stock to a simmer. In a separate large saucepan on an adjacent burner, heat the olive oil and add the shallots and the rice. Lightly saute: you actually are toasting the rice. Cook until the rice becomes translucent and the shallots become soft, stirring constantly. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Begin slowly adding the warm stock, 1 ladle-full at a time, to the rice pan, stirring as you go. This will bring out the starch in the rice and make the mixture creamy. As the mixture absorbs the broth, ladle more into the pot. When the first ladle of stock has been absorbed into the rice, add the pinch of saffron. When all of the stock has been ladled into the rice pot, slowly simmer until the rice is soft and creamy. Stir the butter into the risotto for more flavor and creaminess. Set aside, keeping warm until needed.

Heat a saute pan for the fish. Rub fish fillets with oil, salt and pepper. Place in pan, skin side facing up. Turn the fish over after 3 to 4 minutes. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes or until done. Do not overcook the fish. It is done when the flesh springs back. Remove the fish to a utility platter. Place a mound of risotto on each plate. Top with mahi-mahi. Drizzle some mango sauce around the plate and top with chopped scallions.

Recipe by Robert Irvine courtesy of www.foodnetwork.com.

Greek Lamb Burgers with Spinach and Red Onion Salad

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This flavorful burger features a unique twist of using fresh mint and ground lamb. Serve it at your next dinner party with this month’s Collector’s Series wine Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz 2014.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 1/3 pounds ground lamb
  • 4 hamburger buns or small ciabatta rolls
  • 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 1 1/3 cups crumbled feta cheese
  • 4 1/4-inch-thick red onion slices
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Mix first 4 ingredients and 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in medium bowl; mix in lamb. Shape into four 3/4-inch-thick patties. Cook patties in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes per side for medium.

Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Broil buns until golden, about 2 minutes. Top each bun bottom with burger. Toss spinach, feta, onion, vinegar, and 11/2 tablespoons oil in bowl. Place salad atop burgers. Cover with bun tops, pressing firmly to compact.

Recipe by Bon Appétit Test Kitchen courtesy of www.epicurious.com.

Egg White Frittata with Lox and Arugula

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Perfect for Mother’s Day Brunch, this simple yet elegant meal comes together in under 20 minutes and is sure to please Mom!

Ingredients

Directions

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add the cream, lox, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

In a 10-inch, ovenproof, nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the arugula and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the arugula has wilted, about 1 minute. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir to combine the ingredients. Cook, without stirring for 4 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until set, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Slide the frittata onto a platter. Using a serrated knife, cut the frittata into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis from www.foodnetwork.com.

Grilled Steak With Tapenade

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Healthy and delicious, this flavorful dish comes together in a snap and pairs perfectly with our Viña Magna Tempranillo Crianza Ribera del Duero 2011 from our April’s Collector’s Series.

Ingredients

Directions

Preheat a grill or grill pan to high. Pulse the olives, shallot, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon in a food processor; season with salt and pepper.

Pierce the steak all over with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Rub 1 heaping tablespoon olive mixture all over the steak, then set aside, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the remaining olive mixture with the tomatoes, parsley, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the juice of the remaining 1/2 lemon in a small bowl.

Grill the steak until browned on one side, about 7 minutes. Flip and cook about 7 more minutes for medium rare. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Cut in half; reserve one half for steak sandwiches (at right). Thinly slice the remaining steak against the grain and top with the olive-tomato tapenade.

Recipe and photo by Food Network Kitchens courtesy of www.foodnetwork.com

Tomato-Cheddar Strata with Broccoli

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Perfect for Easter Brunch, this flavorful and impressive dish works best if made the night before to ensure the bread has time to soak up all the flavors.

Ingredients

  • 4½ c. 1-inch bread cubes
  • butter
  • 6 oz. shredded Cheddar (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 c. halved grape tomatoes
  • 1 c. frozen broccoli florets
  • 1½ tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 8 large eggs
  • 3 c. milk
  • 1¼ tsp. salt
  • .13 tsp. Freshly ground pepper
  • 4 oz. ricotta cheese
  • 1 tsp. herbes de Provence

Directions

Place bread in a buttered 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Top bread with 1 cup Cheddar, tomatoes, broccoli, and 1 tablespoon parsley.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over bread and gently press to soak every cube. Add dollops of ricotta over top. Sprinkle strata with herbes de Provence and remaining Cheddar. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or up to overnight.

Remove strata from refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until strata is puffed and lightly golden brown, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe by Susan Sugarman and photo by Quentin Bacon courtesy of www.countryliving.com. 

Potato Leek Soup

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Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 7 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth (best quality such as Swanson)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme, plus more for garnish if desired
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Chives, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and wilted, about 10 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary so as not to brown.
  2. Add the potatoes, stock, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper to pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft.
  3. Fish out the thyme sprig and bay leaves, then purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. (Alternatively, use a standard blender to purée the soup in batches; see note.) Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If soup is too thin, simmer until thickened. If it’s too thick, add water or stock to thin it out. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.

Note: If using a standard blender to purée the soup: be sure not to fill the jar more than halfway; leave the hole in the lid open and cover loosely with a dishtowel to allow the heat to escape; and pour blended soup into a clean pot.

Recipe and photo by Jennifer Segal courtesy of www.onceuponachef.com

Shepherd’s Pie

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Ingredients:

For the potatoes:
For the meat filling:

Directions:

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.

Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

 Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown from www.foodnetwork.com

The International Wine of the Month Club

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