Eats Archives - Page 5 of 11 - Hamptons Mouthpiece

Hamptons Eats: Wine and cheese: what milk is to cookies

Hamptons Eats: Wine and cheese: what milk is-‐to cookies, with slightly more sophistication. Two glorious (food groups?) that when joined together create double the tasting pleasure. For those of you who are familiar with the many varieties of wines and cheeses, you may also be aware of the many possibilities for pairing them. For those in which wine and cheese are a foreign territory, a land in which you do not speak the language, there’s good news! You can learn. Here is a brief (and very general guide) for pairing wine and cheese that will leave you more knowledgeable and possibly with your mouth watering!
To understand a pairing is to recognize the flavors from the wine you are sipping, the cheese you are nibbling, and how it will taste when they collaborate. The goal is for each to complement the other. It is also, as many things are, about balance. Finding the right balance between the characteristics of what you seek to pair will ensure a satisfying flavor experience.

Let’s say you are celebrating a big accomplishment (go you!) You are sipping on some sparkling wine and are in need of a snack (all those bubbles!). Lucky for you the carbonation from those bubbles will cut through a thick and creamy cheese, making the two a perfect pair. I would suggest a triple cream Brie for between those sips of bubbly. The combination of the two is really something to celebrate!
White wines. There are so many options! Picture a relaxing afternoon at one of the vineyards on the North Fork. New world chardonnays, mostly made in the USA, (and those from our very own north fork vineyards), can evoke a buttery, oaky flavor as well as notes of tropical fruits. A chardonnay with these flavors invites a medium-‐sharp cheddar to make a match. The softness of the wine compliments the sharpness of the
cheddar. Feeling like a kid again? Try it with a cheddar grilled cheese!
One could easily compare red wine to a lover. It can make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So it’s a really good thing it couples so well with many delicious cheeses. It’s a dynamic duo and the 3 of you will be very happy together. Pinot Noir is arguably the most commonly drank red wine. It is a great starting red, for those whom are not typically red-‐wine drinkers but are looking to branch out and expand their palates. Light, fresh, and fruity; pinot noir pairs nicely with a pungent, fierce, and flavorful goat cheese. A little bit goes a very long way when it comes to goat cheese thanks to its fantastic tang. When the pinot noir softens the pungency of the goat cheese, the flavors harmonize.
A successful pairing is the result of the wine and cheese complementing each other and creating an enjoyable tasting experience. By following the examples above, or just experimenting with your own palate (there really is no right or wrong!), get ready to get tasting! And if all else fails, you can never go wrong with cookies and milk.

Hello June! And Hello Strawberry season!

Hello June! And Hello Strawberry season! Although the month of May is considered the “official” month of strawberries, I have always known June to host the freshest and ripest that our Long Island farms have to offer. Now that we have welcomed June, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of this berry in the peak of its season.

The great thing about strawberries, deliciousness, aside, is how versatile they can be. Strawberries can be integrated in such a variety of ways. From drinks to desserts, the possibilities are almost endless!

A refreshing strawberry cocktail can makes for a fabulous summer drink. I’m not usually one to follow recipes, so I whipped up my own drink from home. Here is one to try. Muddle sliced strawberries with mint and a squeeze of both a lemon and lime. Pour mixture into a champagne flute and top it off the some Prosecco or sparkling white wine. Feeling more adventurous? Add a dash of St.Germain Elderflower liquor for a fantastic floral finish. Replace the alcohol with tonic water for an equally as delicious virgin alternative.

Strawberries can be the star of the show in an entrée as well. A strawberry/spinach salad conveys the flavors and textures of summer. I recently tried a recipe made by a friend of mine and thought it a light and tasty dish; perfect for BBQ’s. It was sweet, crunchy, and very satisfying! See her recipe below.

And in the summer celebration we can also celebrate strawberries and what better way to do so than at 60^th Annual Mattituck Lions Annual Strawberry Festival,. This year the festival will be held from June 12-15. It is time for dessert!

If in attendance, expect to find a variety of yummy treats including chocolate dipped strawberries, daiquiris, and of course; strawberry shortcake. And incase you begin to feel that you’ve eaten so many strawberries you may just turn in to one; gyros, roasted corn, and funnel cake can be found for a little something different.

So here’s to the summer season, and the season of strawberries!

Strawberry Salad

1 bag baby spinach

5 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp white vinegar

2 tsp chopped red onion

1/2 cup oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp poppy seeds

1 pint fresh strawberries

Mix spinach and sliced strawberries. Mix rest of ingredients to make the dressing. Pour over spinach and strawberries when ready to serve

HM Eats: Perfect Guacamole

HM Eats: Perfect Guacamole….Hey there friends…One day I walked into a store to buy Guacamole and it was so expensive, so I decided I would make my own…How hard could it be, turns out it’s not hard at all, but it is time consuming. Thought I would share my recipe with you, so when I come to your house and you serve me guacamole I know I am going to like it because its my recipe. LOL, Yes it’s all about me…I admit it!!!

Perfect Guacamole

Recipe Type: Appetizer/Snack

Cuisine: Mexican

Author: Vanessa Leggard

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 4-6 people

Perfect Guacamole….All fresh ingredients…serve with any Mexican meal or as a dip with some chips.

Ingredients

3 Ripe Avocados
1/4 cup of Cilantro
2 tablespoons of Lime juice
1/4 cup of diced red onion
2 plum tomatoes (seeded)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 small Jalapeño pepper
black pepper for taste…

Instructions

Cut the avocados in 1/2, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh out of their shells into a large bowl, smash until the avocado is smooth and not lumpy. Add the Lime juice, cilantro, Jalapeño pepper, red onion, tomatoes, salt, and pepper and toss well.

Yum Yum…Everything taste better with Bacon

Yum Yum…Everything taste better with Bacon…I love bacon, I love the smell of it and how it taste. This is really a must try recipe if you like pork tenderloin. Try pairing this meal with a nice Riesling, Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Noir.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Recipe Type: Meat

Cuisine: http://www.howtoinstructions.us

Author: Vanessa Leggard

everything taste better with bacon.

Ingredients

3 pounds Pork Tenderloin (1 Pkg. Of 2 Tenderloins), Cut Into 4 Pieces Total
1 pound Bacon
¾ cups Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Minced Onions
½ teaspoons Garlic Salt
1 Tablespoon Wine Vinegar Or White Vinegar
¼ teaspoons Salt
1 dash Pepper
¾ cups Brown Sugar

Instructions

Wrap the tenderloin pieces in bacon. Place in an 8 1/2″ x 11″ pan. Poke holes in meat with a fork.
Combine rest of ingredients in a small bowl; stir well. Pour marinade over meat. Refrigerate, uncovered, 2 to 3 hours or overnight.
Bake in a 300 degree oven for two to three hours. If the bacon burns, place foil over the top after approximately 1 1/2 hours of baking. Remove from oven, cut meat into small pieces and allow the meat to soak up the excess juices in the pan.

Blueberry Glazed Cheesecake Pie that will make you melt….

Hamptons Eats…Blueberry Glazed Cheesecake Pie that will make you melt……..Greetings Hamptons Mouthpiece Readers, it is Holiday time and that means it is Cheesecake time. I am a huge cheesecake fan, it is my favorite dessert, so of course I was going to try to make my own. I loved Juniors Cheesecake because they do not add sour cream to their ingredients and as much as I love sour cream, combined with the cream cheese gives it an after taste in your mouth and that I do not like. I decided to search the internet for a cheesecake recipe and thought just maybe Juniors would share theirs, to my surprise they did. What you see listed below is Juniors Cheesecake recipe with some alterations. I do not particularly like the sponge cake with the cheesecake filling so instead of using the sponge cake I substituted with a pie crust. Choosing a pie crust is your personal preference but I can tell you , if you follow my instructions below you will not be disappointed. I only make this dessert once-to-twice a year, it is very rich and has every ingredient that I try to avoid in one dish, but SO WHAT, it’s the holiday. This pie is so delicious it will make you cry because it is light, smooth and literally melts in your mouth. This recipe makes 2 pies, instead of glazing my pie I choose to make the blueberries into a topping, but if you want you can make a glaze. The Glaze recipe came from Allrecipes.com however I altered the recipe to suit my taste buds and to change it from raspberries to blueberries.. (see recipe below)

I make small changes to my recipe each year and this year BOURBON was my secret ingredient, it was added to the pie filling and to the Blueberry sauce, this is completely optional but I found that it gave my pie that “je ne sais quoi” that I was searching for….The pie by itself with no topping is delicious, so I usually only add topping to one pie, You can also substitute blueberries for another fruit of your choice.

BON APPETIT!

Blueberry Glazed Cheesecake

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Vanessa Leggard

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 2 hours

Serves: 10

This cheesecake pie is so delicious it literally will make you cry because it just melts in your mouth.

Ingredients

Cheesecake Filling
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 Bourbon (optional)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Honey Graham Pie Crust
Topping or Glaze
frozen or fresh blueberries (1 cup)
fresh orange juice (2 tablespoons) I use an orange instead of orange juice, and I squeezed in a 1/4 of the orange in the sauce
bourbon 1/4 cup (optional)
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of corn starch

Instructions

Pie Crust
Honey Graham pie crust…is my suggestion…to make the pie crust crispy (whip an egg white until it is frothy, then spread on the pie crust and bake for 3-5 min.
Cream Cheese Filling—————.
• Place one 8-ounce package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch in a large bowl.
• Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, then beat in the remaining 3 packages of the cream cheese.
• Increase the mixer speed to high and beat in the remaining 1 1/3 cups of the sugar, then beat in the vanilla.
• Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating the batter well after each one.
• Blend in heavy cream.
• At this point mix the filling only until completely. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
• Gently spoon the cheese filling on top of the pie crust.
• Bake the cheesecake until the center barely jiggles when you shake the pan, about 1 hour.
• Cool the cake on a wire rack for 1 hour.
• Then cover the pie and refrigerate until it’s completely cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.
TOPPING or GLAZE:
Combine blueberries, sugar, and orange juice in a saucepan. Whisk the cornstarch into the cold water until smooth. Add the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the desired consistency is reached. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
note* you can puree the sauce or you can keep the blueberries whole…your choice
You can add the room temperature blueberry sauce to the top of the pie and chill for 1 hour or you can just chill the sauce and add to the cheesecake on the side.
To make a glaze: Puree the sauce, blend with a handheld immersion blender and strain it through a fine sieve. Serve warm or cold. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

ok time for another piece….I will start that much needed diet tomorrow….