Arbequina Gingerbread Mini Bundt Cake #Sponsored

 This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive.

Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.

However, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Colder weather and upcoming holidays always puts me in a baking frame of mind. And I had just picked up a mini bundt pan at The Quail & Olive*, so I wanted to think of something to bake in that. My first thought for holiday cakes is always gingerbread!

 

Seriously, I love gingerbread in every form. You might say I'm slightly obsessed with that flavor profile.

My Gingerbread Obsession

I am not joking when I say that I have gingerbread obsession. Really. Gingerbread is a family favorite and we love exploring different kinds of gingerbread cookies. We've made Danish Honningkagehjerter and Mexican Puerquitos (Gingerbread Pigs); I have created a Speculaas recipe that's similar to what I remember from the Netherlands...it's not perfect, but it'll do! I posted some Sherlock-inspired Gingernuts and Pierniczki (Polish Gingerbread Cookies). And those are just the cookies.

On the savory side of things, I have shared a Gingerbread Stuffing and for a French Winophiles Fête: Foie Gras on Pain d'Épices. But it's been awhile since I've made a gingerbread cake...and I was inspired by the Arbequina olive oil from The Quail & Olive. The arbequina olive is small, but highly aromatic fruit. In Europe, it is mostly grown in Catalonia; here, in California, it has recently become the dominant cultivar. I have been using the Arbequina in a lot of my baking because it leans to the delicate side with just a whiff of cinnamon. So, it's perfect for baking.

Ingredients 

makes one mini bundt cake plus nine regular-sized muffins 

or a dozen regular-sized muffins

• 1/2 cup olive oil (I used the Arbequina)
• 3/4 cup dark molasses
• 3 cups flour 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1" knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup organic dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• optional: organic powdered sugar for dusting, melted chocolate for drizzling

Procedure

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease a mini bundt pan and muffin hollows and set aside. You can also use paper liners for the muffins if you wish.

Place all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until everything is moistened and just combined.

Divide the batter into the mini bundt and muffin pan. Place the pans in the oven.

Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake until the tops are cracked and the centers set, approximately 16 to 18 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

Allow to cook in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting the bundt pan and the muffins. You can serve these warm - that's how we like it - or room temperature.

If you are dusting the gingerbread with powdered sugar and/or drizzling with melted chocolate, do that just before serving. But this moist, spiced cake is just as delicious naked!

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*Disclosure: I receive compensation in the form of complimentary products for recipe development 

and generating social media traction. All opinions are my own.

Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

 

I don't think I realized just how polarizing raisins in cookies were until I made a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies recently and shared photos on social media. Responses ran the gamut from...

• It's okay to have these for breakfast since it's just oatmeal and raisin in a different format, right?
• These are my favorite!
• I highly recommend replacing raisins with chocolate chips. Makes them about 1 million times better.
• My boys hate raisins so I make oatmeal chocolate chip.
• And, in response to the comment above, Thank you for being the voice of reason in all of this raisin nonsense!

I fall somewhere in between there. I wouldn't say they are my favorite - gingerbread holds that honor! - but I don't despise raisins. I did share another recipe that included oatmeal, tea, and chocolate: Warrior Herb Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. But of the three cookie eaters in my house, these were adored.

Ingredients makes approximately three dozen 2" cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup organic dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1-1/2 cups raisins
• 3 cups rolled oats
• Also needed: baking sheets, parchment paper, cookie scoop (optional) 

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Once that mixture if lightened and fluffy, beat in the eggs one at a time until fully combined. Beat in the vanilla.

In a medium mixing bowl, blend together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture. Stir in the oats. Fold in the raisins.

 

Scoop out the dough by large tablespoonfuls - I use a cookie scoop - onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie. These flatten out and spread as they bake. 

Place trays in the oven and bake until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown, approximately 16 to 18  minutes. 

Let the cookies cool for 3 to 4 minutes on the sheets. Then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Chorizo Simmered in Red Wine #FoodieReads

I picked up The Man with No Borders: A Novel by Richard C. Morais* because I really loved his books The Hundred-Foot Journey and Buddhaland Brooklyn. 

On the Page

image from amazon.com

Although this book is well written, and it's an interesting idea to read about a powerful man facing his own mortality, I found the contradictions of his privileged life to be painful to read. Or maybe it was because he came off as so self-involved. I really thought the book would have been better titled The Man with No Boundaries.

Just a brief synopsis. José María Álvarez faces an unexpected diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. The Spanish-born, Swiss-based private banker races to tie up unresolved business in both his business and personal lives. As Álvarez worsens, he experiences vivid hallucinations and the reader gets a first-person narrative of events from his teenage years. We also see learn secrets that he's hidden from his wife Lisa, who is American, and their three grown sons who fly in from the United States to see their father before he dies.

One benefit of his incredibly privileged, cosmopolitan lifestyle: all the food. I loved reading about his food and drinks, if only to get inspiration for future culinary indulgences.

"She sits catlike before a monstrous Coupe Dänemark, the house-made vanilla ice cream topped with freshly whipped cream and served in a fluted glass goblet with a silver urn of melted chocolate by its side. The stiff and formal woman pours the chocolate over the dessert, and begins eating it, slowly, her eyes suddenly glistening like a drunk’s. It is so obvious this afternoon boul de glace is the highlight of her lonely existence, a widow’s dairy highball in midafternoon."

"Then, toward the end of the meal, I cut myself a wedge of Asturian sheep’s cheese, which I smear over walnut bread and generously dribble with the honey we make on the farm. The salty-sweet flavors dissolve on my tongue, and I close my eyes, travel back to my long-ago childhood, where the Picos de Europa mountain range meets the Bay of Biscay in Northern Spain. I hear the Sella River gurgling at my feet and my uncle’s deep-throated roar as a salmon takes his fly and the reel screams. I can smell the rising sap of the scrubby spruce behind me, and the crackling skin of the suckling pig our cook, Conchata, is spit roasting over an open fire down on the riverbank. The memories, they are heaven."

"When we stopped for lunch we had thirteen salmon on the banks, the smallest of which was four kilos. Drained by the morning’s events, we sat down on the swayback of the riverbank, near the grazing horses, and raided our canvas rucksacks for food. While we were chewing greasy slices of jamón de pata negra, Felipe looked out across the valley, blinked, and said to me, “You fish better than your father and uncle. You feel the fish."

  

"The smell of Spain is in the air. They haul the stretcher down the jet’s steps. I feel featherlight. Spain fills my lungs and makes me whole again—the smell of rosemary and diesel fuel and hot tar and fried olive oil and of sage baking in the sun. The sky is so blue, bluer than anywhere else in the world. It is a Spanish-tile blue, dotted by rolling clouds that look like meringue. I am in morphine heaven. 'La patria.' “'í, Papá,' says John. 'La patria.' I am my father. Back in my homeland."

               

On My Table...

I had chorizo on my mind after reading this, "Ignacio would cut thin pieces of chorizo, place them on a dip in a slab of riverside granite, and then douse the chorizo and stone in aguardiente. He’d set it all alight with his battered brass lighter, until the alcohol was burned off and the oily sausage slices were crispy and sizzling in the dips of the rock."

But, in the end, I was inspired by this passage. "I pour myself a glass of white wine, hum a Basque song about independence, and make my kind of dinner: chorizo simmered in hard cider, and a blood pudding and cabbage dish as sharp and regal as the Spain from where I come. I feel like celebrating life—the life I lived, my way, regrets and all—and I open a fantastic Romeo 'Contador' Rioja 2005, a gift from John, our restaurateur son living in New York." And I decided to make a simple dish of braised chorizo. 

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1/2 cup leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup diced apple, peeled
• 1/2 pound spicy chorizo, sliced into thick coins
• 1/4 pound sweet chorizo, sliced into thick coins
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups red wine (you can use whatever combination of liquid that you like - wine, water, stock)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley
• sliced baguette for serving

Procedure

In a large, flat-bottom pan, heat olive oil. Add shallots and leeks. Cook until the leeks are softened and beginning to turn translucent. Add the garlic and the apples. Cook for another 2 minutes. 

Add the chorizo to the pan and cook until the slices have started to brown. Pour in the tomato sauce and the wine. Stir in the paprika and tuck the bay leaves under the chorizo. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

Simmer until you have a thick, rich sauce around the chorizo, approximately 90 minutes. Fold in the fresh parsley. Spoon into a bowl and serve with sliced baguette.

*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.

 

Click to see what everyone else read in November 2020: here.

Dukkah-Spiced Quick Pickled Carrots #Sponsored

 This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive.

Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.

However, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Quick pickles are almost always on my holiday table because they are easy to make, they are delicious, and they add a lot of color to a plate. Because I know that I'll be eating these this week, I skip processing them in a water bath and just put them in the fridge. But you can process them and keep them in your pantry...if you can wait that long!

I tend to pick a variety of colors and do a batch of three of four at a time. These will all be used during the first course of my Thanksgiving dinner this year. I used different seasonings and slightly different preparations for each jar. I picked up fresh, organic carrots, including these Cosmic Purple Carrots from local-to-me Serendipity Farms.

And I was inspired by the Villa Jerada Dukkah spice that I picked up the last time I was in The Quail & Olive.* If you're unfamiliar with dukkah, here's a quick background. I have seen this spelled a couple of different ways - dukkah, dakka, duqqa. However you spell it, you must try this versatile spice blend. 

Dukkah is an Egyptian spice blend, consisting of herbs, nuts - usually hazelnut -, and spices. The word is derived from the Arabic word for "to pound"; the mixture of spices and nuts are pounded together after being dry roasted. The actual ingredients of the spice mix vary from cook to cook, but I was intrigued to see this version used hazelnuts (grown in Oregon), coriander, cumin, cayenne, salt, and sesame seeds. On to these carrot pickles!

Ingredients makes one quart jar

• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons dukkah (I used Villa Jerada's version, but I have made Pistachio Dukkah before)
• 1 pound carrots, scrubbed and sliced into quarters lengthwise
• 1 cup vinegar (use whatever white vinegar you want, I used the Pacific Spice Vinegar from Quail & Olive)
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• Also needed - lidded jar; nice to have: Pickle Pebble (glass weight to keep the veggies submerged)

Procedure

Place peppercorns, coriander seeds, and Dukkah in the bottom of your jar. Place the carrots in the jar - I tend to wedge them in upright. Set aside.

In a saucepan, bring vinegar, water, salt, and honey to a boil. Pour hot liquid over the carrots, pressing down on the vegetables so that brine covers them completely. I use a Pickle Pebble to keep everything weighted down. 

Let cool on the counter to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I try to pickle them for at least 2 days. This will keep, refrigerated for a month. But it's never lasted more than a week in my household! 

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*Disclosure: I receive compensation in the form of complimentary products for recipe development 

and generating social media traction. All opinions are my own.

Crackled Ginger Cookies + Bonus! Ice Cream Sandwiches #SundayFunday

Today we're in our third week of a new blogging group; a fun group will be sharing recipes on Sundays. Low stress, just a great group of gals that I am happy to blog alongside. Thanks to Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Sue of Palatable Pastime, Rebekah of Making Miracles, and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for coordinating.  Today Sue is hosting and she's just given us the prompt of 'that holiday feeling'. Here's the line-up...

• Caesar ColeSlaw by A Day in the Life on the Farm/
• Crackled Ginger Cookies by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Gingered Shrimp Cups by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Holiday Salad by Making Miracles
• Kohlrabi, Carrot and Spinach Salad by Cook with Renu
• Marmalade Glazed Sweet Potatoes by Food Lust People Love
• Parker House Rolls by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Savory Aloo Masala French Toast Rollups by Sneha's Recipe
• Turkey and Cranberry Reuben Sandwich by Palatable Pastime

Crackled Ginger Cookies

So, have you been baking like mad during this current shelter-in-place order? I have! And now that we're heading into the holiday, cooking baking has been kicked up a notch or two! I've recently shared my Olive Oil Gingerbread and Mocha Crinkles. But Jake requested ginger cookies. My ginger snaps are always a favorite, but he wanted to try them rolled in sugar. Done. He declared these 'red book' worthy, so I'm reviving that designation. That's a story for another day though.

Ingredients 

makes approximately three dozen 2" cookies

Cookies

• 2-1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1" knob fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• ¾ cup organic granulated sugar + more for rolling
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup crystallized ginger pieces, diced

Ice Cream Sandwiches

• favorite (or just available!) ice cream - we tried it with egg nog this time

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; I used baking stones for these.

  

Beat together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until lightened and creamy. Beat in the molasses and egg. 

Sift the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the crystallized ginger and gently knead the dough into a ball. You can chill the dough for easier handling; I didn't for this batch.

Pinch off dough pieces and roll them into walnut-sized balls, approximately 1-1/4 to 1-1/2-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar. 

And place them on your baking sheet about two inches apart. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes for a chewy cookie or 12 to 14 minutes for a crispy cookie. 

Remove from oven and let cool completely on baking sheet or wire rack. If you know me at all, you know that I don't have much of a sweet tooth, despite all my baking.

But these smelled so good. I actually ate two!

Bonus! Jake wanted to turn them into ice cream sandwiches and I had a pint of honey ice cream. So, we did.

Smash one scoop of ice cream between two cooled cookies. Press cookies together to flatten the ice cream scoop slightly. Serve immediately.

That's a wrap for this week's #SundayFunday. Next week the group will be back to share recipes that revamp those Thanksgiving leftovers. Stay tuned...

Autumn Soup with Freshly Dug Potatoes and Prawns #SoupSwappers

Here we are at the November Soup Saturday Swappers event. Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm started this event and, every month, I get a new array of soup recipes to put in my to-try pile.

This month, I am hosting and posted to the group: "Let's showcase a soup made with roots! For this event, use roots, taproots, bulb, tubers...be as creative as you want."

Here's the line-up of root vegetable soup and stew recipes from the #SoupSwappers...

• Autumn Soup with Freshly Dug Potatoes and Prawns by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Carrot and Ginger Soup by Magical Ingredients
• Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup (Ajiaco) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Creamy French Red Lentil Soup with Ham Stock by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Danish Potato Soup by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Potato & Radish Dahi Kadhi by Sneha's Recipe
• Puree of Celery Root Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Russian Ragu Iz Ovoshej by Pandemonium Noshery
• Sausage, Potato and Sauerkraut Soup by Palatable Pastime
• Savory Root Vegetable Soup by Making Miracles

Autumn Soup with Freshly Dug Potatoes and Prawns 

When I first set up this event, I had planned to make Canh Tôm Khoai Môn (Vietnamese Taro Soup with Shrimp). The day I scheduled to make my soup I had even peeled and deveined the prawns. Then my husband excitedly shared that he was going to dig up the potatoes in the planter boxes; another friend said that they are the sweetest the day you harvest. So, I switched direction and decided to make an autumn soup with our freshly dug potatoes and the prawns.

Aren't these the prettiest?!? Well, I am duly impressed because I can't grow anything. I just cook it all. So, this soup has potatoes from our garden, squash, celery, and other veggies from our CSA (community supported agriculture) share at Robina's Organics. It really was a pot of autumnal goodness.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup diced or ground bacon (if you're local to me, I highly recommend PigWizard)
• butter or olive oil, if needed
• 1/2 cup diced organic onions
• 1 cup diced organic celery
• 1 cup cubed squash (I used a butternut squash)
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups baby potatoes
• 1 cup diced organic zucchini
• 4 cups broth (I used vegetable stock, use whatever you have)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 pound prawns, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups baby spinach
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Procedure

In a large pot, add diced bacon and cook until the fat is rendered. If it looks too dry, add a splash of olive oil or a pat of butter to the pot.

Stir in the onions, celery, butternut squash, and garlic. Cook until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent. Stir in the oregano, paprika, cumin, potatoes, and zucchini. Turn to coat everything with the bacon grease or olive oil.

Pour in the broth and white wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let cook until the potatoes are fork tender, approximately 20 minutes. Uncover and stir in the prawns. Cook until the prawns are opaque and pink, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the baby spinach. Let stand for five minutes so the spinach can wilt before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper, as needed.

To serve, ladle into individual serving bowls. Serve immediately.

That's a wrap for our root vegetable soup event. The bloggers will return next month with soup recipes that feature cabbage. Sue of Palatable Pastime will head that event. Stay tuned.

Surprise! Pairing Spicy and Savory Dishes with Sweet Bordeaux #Winophiles #Sponsored

 This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the event sponsors.
Complimentary wine was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.
However, all opinions expressed here are my own. 

Hosted by Linda of My Full Wine Glass. You can read her invitation here. Also, thanks to Jeff of Food Wine Click! for arranging samples for the group.

If you are reading this early enough, feel to join the live Twitter chat on Saturday, November 21st at 8am Pacific time. Follow the hashtag #Winophiles and be sure to add that to anything you post so we can see it. In the meantime, these French Winophiles posts will go live between Friday, November 20th and early on Saturday, November 21st.

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Surprise! Pairing Spicy and Savory Dishes with Sweet Bordeaux
• Terri at Our Good Life: Spicy Hot Tacos and Sweet Bordeaux
• Martin at ENOFYLZ: Pairing Golden Bordeaux with Southern Fare
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish: Golden Bordeaux Meets Savory Pumpkin and Smoked Bacon Tart: a Delicious Thanksgiving Twist!
• David at Cooking Chat: Pairings for Sweet Bordeaux Wine
• Katrina at The Corkscrew Concierge: Golden Bordeaux Delights in Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole Cuisine
• Payal at Keep the Peas: Four Sweet Bordeaux Wines with Four Courses
• Jane at Always Ravenous: Golden Sweet Bordeaux Wines: Tasting and Pairings
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm: Hot Chocolate and Halva Pudding paired with Lion De Tanesse L'Amour
• Jeff at Food Wine Click!: Sweet Bordeaux Meets the Smoke
• Jill at L'OCCASION: Sweet Bordeaux Wines Aren’t Just for Dessert
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest: Sweet Bordeaux Wines Get Savory Pairings
• Rupal at Syrah Queen: Sweet Bordeaux Is A Sweet Delight - Savor These Perfect Food Pairings
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles: Sweet Bordeaux Wines and Pairings From Opposite Sides of the Globe
• Pinny at Chinese Food & Wine Pairings: Sweet Bordeaux Paired with Asian Carbs - Chinese Sticky Rice and Korean Japchae
• Susannah at avvinare: Delightful Sweet Wines from Bordeaux
• Nicole at Somm’s Table: Château Loupiac Gaudiet with Cinnamon Apple Crème Brûlée
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator: Successful Pairings of Salty and Savory with Sweet Semi-Dry Bordeaux
• Jennifer at Vino Travels: A Look Into the Sweeter Side of Bordeaux Wines
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass: Appetizers, Entrées and Yes, Dessert Please, with Sweet Bordeaux

Sweet Bordeaux - Surprise!

For this event, the sponsoring wineries sent examples of different appellations all of which undergo botrytis - or noble rot - which is a beneficial mold that grows on ripe grapes under specific conditions. Wines made from these grapes have a rich, honeyed character.

About a year ago, I took part in a tasting of Sweet Bordeux wines. You can read my post Golden Bordeaux as 'Natural Cocktails' + Spiced Citrus Almonds. That experience completely debunked my assumption that sweet wines needed sweet pairings. So, for this event, I was determined to pair the samples I received with some spicy, savory dishes.

On the day that my wines arrived, we were leaving for a weekend trip to the redwoods. And we were picking up take-out Chinese food on the ways so we could set up camp and not worry about having to cook after set-up. So, I decided to pair the Château La Rame Sainte-Croix-du-Mont 2016 with take-out Chinese.

A single varietal wine, this is made from 100% Sémillon grapes. The grapes are harvested completely by hand and are then fermented for three to six weeks before being aged for two years before being bottled. Suggested retail is $35.

In the glass it pours a rich straw color and has notes of honey. On the palate there is a nice balance of tropical fruit and moderate acidity that offers both a freshness and a richness.

While the wine was passable with the chow mein, broccoli beef, and moo shu chicken, the only dish that I would say really complemented the wine was the spicy Mandarin chicken wings. I will have to try to replicate that recipe at home soon.

I did pour the wine again with Spiced Cheese Wafers made with Cotwold cheese.

The second Sweet Bordeaux that I poured was the 2018 Château Tanesse Palissades Moelleux. That wine was a blend of 85% Muscadelle and 15% Sauvignon Blanc with a suggested retail $16. I opted to pair it with a vegetable curry because it was fairly fruity on the palate with a decent acidity.

This pairing was not a favorite, unfortunately. Jake thought we should try the Château Tanesse with a seafood dish. So, you might see that soon, but I didn't have time to squeeze in that pairing before the French Winophiles event.

The Château du Cros 2014 Loupiac is one I've enjoyed before. It comes from a tiny region in the heart of the Right Bank and retails for $13 for a 375mL bottle. Though less sweet than what I think of as a Sauternes, this wine has the same honey character. But it's tempered with an earthiness that leans to the woodsy and nutty side. On the finish, I get a tinge of bitterness like orange peel with dried fruit sweetness. Remembering my Spiced Citrus Almonds from last year's Sweet Bordeaux pairing, I opted to make some spiced pecans and mixed in some dried cranberries. This was a nice after-dinner nibble.

In the Glass

But the bottle I am pouring with the recipe I'm sharing is the 2019 Chateau La Hargue Moelleux Bordeaux Semi-Dry with a suggested retail of $15. The name 'moelleux' means 'soft' in French and this is definitely a mild wine that bridges that gap between semi-dry and semi-sweet. I get honey on the nose with a bit of floral. But it's the citrus on the finish that intrigued me the most. I decided to pair it with bouillabaisse. 

In the Bowl

Bouillabaisse is France's classic Mediterranean fisherman's stew. From what I read, to be considered a classic bouillabaise the fish needs to be fresh, local, and at least five different kinds included. I love that the broth has orange peel, saffron, and fennel. 

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium fennel bulb, diced with fronds reserved for garnish, approximately 2 C
• 2 leeks, white parts only, trimmed and diced, approximately 2 C
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white wine (I used the leftover 2018 Château Tanesse Palissades Moelleux)
• 2 small bay leaves
• peel from 1 organic orange (I used a Cara Cara)
• pinch of saffron threads
• pinch of chili flakes or cayenne pepper
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 pound clams (I used Littleneck)
• 1 pound squid, cleaned
• 3/4 pound salmon (I used wild Coho)
• 3/4 pound mussels
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• fresh herbs for garnish (I used parsley and the fronds from the fennel)

Procedure

In a Dutch oven or heavy lidded pot, melt butter in olive oil. Add in the fennel and leeks. Sweat until they are tender, but not browned, approximately 15 to 18 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until they begin to lose their shape, approximately 5 minutes. Pour in the wine. And bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid is reduced by half, then pour in the stock and water. Add in the orange peel, bay leaves, saffron, and chili flakes. Bring to a boil again, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Now, add in the seafood: first, the salmon; then the mussels and clams. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes before adding in the squid and shrimp. Simmer until the shrimp is just cooked through at the shellfish is open. This took about 10 minutes total from adding the salmon till the clams opened. Stir in the lemon juice and adjust seasoning to taste. You may think it needs more salt, pepper, and chili flakes.

Remove from heat and ladle into individual serving bowls. Garnish with parsley and fennel. Serve immediately.

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*Disclosure: I received compensation in the form of wine samples for recipe development and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event.