Anniversary Spread




White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Gorgonzola & Honey Crostini

Filet with Red Wine Sauce & White Asparagus

2002 Tannat & Filet

Piece de resistance!



This past Tuesday marked two wonderful years with my amazing husband. We had a swelteringly hot but perfect wedding at Autumn Creek Vineyards near my home town of Eden, NC. McDorman photography chronicled our perfect day with a fabulous video.  We decided to travel to Texas wine country this coming weekend to celebrate our anniversary and take part in our favorite libation; however, I still wanted to make the actual date special so I decided to prepare a special dinner to thank my husband for everything he continually does for me! I went with an easy four course meal with wine pairings for each course.

First course was an easy appetizer that I beg ALL of you to try. Seriously, if you can't even make toast you can make these crostini. I paired these fantastically easy bites of heaven with a 2009 Bogle Chardonnay. The rich oaky flavor and butter undertones paired nicely with the rich Gorgonzola and honey. We moved on to a spinach salad (not pictured) with candied walnuts, cranberries, and bacon vinaigrette. We were still working on the chardonnay at this point and it actually paired nicely with the crisp spinach and rich bacon vinaigrette. The third course was a filet mignon with red wine sauce and braised white asparagus that I paired with a really special purchase. When Brett came home from Afghanistan we visited the heart of Virginia wine country and purchased a 2002 Tannat from Horton Vineyards.With rich berry flavors and hints of smoke and tobacco, this red stood up to the hearty sauce and flavorful meat. To finish the evening we had a light moscato di asti and a raspberry white chocolate cheesecake.

Besides needing to be rolled out of my chair the dinner was a success. I do have a few criticisms of the recipes I used. First, Giada - I know your beloved Italian culture cherishes tomatoes but tomato paste has no place in a red wine sauce. I couldn't shake the flavor and wanted more red wine, butter and shallot flavor and less tomato. Secondly, while I appreciate many aspects of German culture, the blandness of their "traditional white asparagus" is not one of them. I need more salt, fat, oil, acid, something. I would recommend a roast or saute for sure. Not withstanding, the night was still a success and I'm excited to restock our wine stores with some selections from the heart of Texas.

Gorgonzola & Honey Crostini
1 french baguette, slice diagonally into 1 inch slices
4-6 oz crumbled gorganzola
2 tblsp butter
2 tblsp honey

1. Spread a thin layer of butter on each baguette slice
2. Add the Gorgonzola to the baguette slices and drizzle honey on top of each.
3. Broil on high for ~5 minutes until edges are slightly dark and cheese is melting.

Filet with Red Wine Sauce
recipe courtesy of Food Network: Giada de Laurentis

6 (4 to 6-ounce) filet mignons

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 1/2 cups dry red wine

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.Generously season the steaks with salt and pepper and drizzle with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Grill to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let stand 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Add the garlic and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the wine. Simmer until the sauce reduces by half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Strain the sauce into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer and return the sauce to the saucepan and bring back to a slow simmer. Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into small 1/2-inch chunks and whisk in the sauce a little at a time. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Place filets on each of 6 dinner plates. Drizzle the sauce over the filets and serve.

German White Asparagus
recipe courtesy of Saveur

16 cups water
2 tblsp salt
4 tblsp fresh lemon juice
3 tblsp butter
1-2 lbs fresh white asparagus

1. Bring water, salt, lemon juice, and butter to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat.

2. Meanwhile, trim about 1/2'' from the ends of white asparagus. Lay spears on a work surface, then peel thin skin from each with a sharp swivel-blade vegetable peeler, starting 1 1/2'' from the top and running the length of the spear. (Spears are brittle and can snap when peeled in midair.)

3. Gather spears into 2-4 bundles, tie loosely with kitchen string, and lower into simmering water. Cook, increasing heat to medium-high to maintain a simmer if necessary, until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 8-30 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus. Lift bundles from simmering water with kitchen tongs and drain on paper towels.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs

3 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 cup water

2 cups white chocolate chips

1/2 cup half-and-half cream

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extra

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.