Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

If I had to choose a few of my favorite foods they are, in no particular order, chocolate, pizza, and ice cream. I can eat ice cream even while I'm sitting near a window watching a blizzard in the middle of winter.

I wanted to make a cold dessert for the upcoming holiday weekend. So I'm looking for an easy, lo-cal recipe.

Now I'm not that naive -- I know how rich and calorically expensive ice cream can be but I thought if I was going to make ice cream I would make it without the richness.

What am I thinking????? Well it's not as easy as it was some odd years ago to loose extra pounds in a few days. Those pounds seem to hang on to my apron strings so I decided it was not a big deal to make some recipe changes and food sacrifices to fit into my age group.

I couldn't find an ice cream recipe that would actually work if I cut out the cream and eggs. Well then, meet my new best friend, Frozen Yogurt -- and the bonus is the frozen yogurt recipes were easier than some of the ice cream recipes.

I had a lot of strawberries in the fridge and needed to use them soon before they expired so frozen yogurt was the dessert du jour.

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients:

• 2 pints fresh strawberries
• 1/2-2/3 cup superfine sugar (use less and taste for desired sweetness)
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 TBL. vanilla
• 8 oz. Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Slice strawberries and add to bowl with sugar, lemon zest and vanilla. Stir well and let the strawberries macerate for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Make extra and set aside to use as a topping.
2. Using a blender add the strawberries and pulse a few times to chop the strawberries to desired consistency.
3. Add the yogurt to the blender with the strawberries and pulse until the mixture is smooth.
4. Transfer to a clean bowl and chill in fridge for about an hour. Then add to your ice cream machine and freeze according to the directions.
5. Serve the frozen yogurt with the extra macerated strawberries as a topping.

Like many of my recipes, this is very flexible -- use any fresh berries, or use frozen berries just let them defrost for 20 minutes or so and continue with the recipe.  Taste the mixture for your desired level of sweetness. 

It's easy, give it a try.

I've shared this with:

Hearth and Soul
Turning the Table Thursday
Simply Delish
Joy of Desserts






Mangia!
Winelady Cooks

BBQ Weekend Summer Wines

Now that summer is officially here let's BBQ! Fill the cooler with ice and stock it with your favorite soft drinks.

Make a batch of fresh lemonade and iced tea and garnish with fresh orange and lemon slices.

Now for the wine. Put your whites and rose wines in a bucket with half ice and half water. The wines will be perfectly chilled.

Here are a few suggestions for red wines to enjoy with your grilled burgers, steaks, chicken and fish.

Syrah or Shiraz is a red wine that pairs well with most red meats. Syrah/Shiraz has strong fruit flavors and softer tannins. Go Meat!

Zinfandel is a rich wine with good acidity and tannins that can stand up to the burger. Keep the burgers simple so the wine doesn't have to compete with too many strong flavors in the bbq sauce or other spicy sauces and salsas.

Merlot is a medium-bodied, fruit-forward wine with very balanced acidity and tannins. Merlot will be able to handle some of the spicy sauces you might want to add to your burger. Merlot is also a good pairing for chicken and cold salads.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the King of red wine which makes it perfect for the king of red meat - steak. The rich red wine has strong tannins that are softened by the fattiness in the meat. If you decide on cheeseburgers then cabernet sauvignon is a perfect choice with the cheddar, blue cheese and camembert.

Pinot Noir is very food-friendly. If you are still not sure which wine red wine you would like then try a Pinot Noir . It has all you need to make your food and wine pairing a success whether you are having fish, burgers, pork, chicken and a variety of vegetarian salads. (One tip is to keep the heat of the spices on the low end of the heat scale as the heat kicks up the alcohol on your palate and it also tends to repress the more delicate flavors in some pinots).

Our palates are very different so my philosophy is always - drink what you like and it will be perfect. However, if you are having guests and want a wine to pair with your specific menu selections than the suggestions above should help.

When you are shopping for wine don't hesitate to ask the salesperson for recommendations. Let them know what you will be serving and they will be happy to help.

If you like shopping on line wine.com is offering great deals. If you want to send your host a gift wine.com will ship direct. No Hassle!



Have a safe and happy 4th of July!


Salute!
Winelady Cooks

Beets and Goat Cheese Salad

While we were out and about recently we stopped at a little restaurant that had just recently opened.

I don't usually order appetizers but one of the appetizer specials was beet carpaccio -- had to try it.

It was a light dish and was very simply prepared -- paper-thin sliced fresh beets topped with crumbled gorgonzola and a drizzle of olive oil -- simple, light and very delicious.

Since the family likes beets I decided to make a salad using the appetizer as my inspiration. Something a little different to dress up the bbq foods we usually have on a regular weekend.

I do not have a slicer or mandolin to thinly slice the beets, so I had to manually slice the beets with a knife. I couldn't get them very thin since the beets I had were on the small side and they were a little difficult to grip.

I chose to use goat cheese since the family enjoys it more than gorgonzola, and it really didn't matter since the goat cheese is also a great compliment to the beets.

The salad was very easy to prepare and to my surprise everyone liked it. This is a great salad to make in advance and keep chilled until ready to serve.

Cold Beet Salad

Ingredients:

• 6 Large beets
• Favorite salad greens (field greens, arugula, romaine)
• 1-2 slices of goat cheese
• 1-2 TBLS. olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Roast the beets in a 400 degree oven for about 1 hour or until done. Peel the beets when cool enough to handle and slice as thin as possible. Place in a bowl and season with a little salt and pepper if desired.
2. Place the salad greens on a plate and lay out the sliced beets on top.
3. Crumble the goat cheese on the beets and drizzle with the olive oil.
4. Chill for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

This is another very flexible recipe.  If fresh beets are not available you can use frozen beets, or canned, though I'm not a fan of canned anything.  You can also use feta cheese if you prefer.


This post is shared with:

Hearth and Soul
It's A Keeper Thursday
Turning the Table Thursday
Simply Delish





Mangia!
Winelady Cooks

Refreshing Summer Wine

It's Vinho Verde Week in New York City which runs through June 27.

If you live in NYC or happen to be in the city for business or vacation this week you will have the opportunity to taste Vinho Verde at many of the wine shops located throughout the many neighborhoods in Manhattan.

There will be several restaurants in the city offering special pairing menus or by-the-glass selections to showcase the wine's food friendly character.

"So what is Vinho Verde?" you ask.

Vinho Verde is a region in northern Portugal that is between the Douro River and the Spanish border and has a climate of hot summer days balanced by lots of rainfall in the winter.

The white wine labeled Vinho Verde from this region is a blend of regional white grapes which produce a light, young wine with a lower alcohol content of about 10% and has light fruit flavors of either apple, peach, or sometimes pineapple and citrus flavors of lime, grapefruit or lemon.

The low alcohol wine has a very small amount of carbon dioxide which gives the wine a hint of spritz or fiz (aka "petillance"). This makes the wine more food friendly and will pair well with appetizers or while you are waiting for the grill to heat up serve it as an apéritif.

Despite the 'literal' translation of vinho verde meaning green wine it actually translates to young wine because the wine is ready to drink 3-6 months after harvest. Also, Vinho Verde wines are made in rosé and red wine styles.

If you are looking for a summer wine that's refreshing and goes well with food then Vinho Verde is calling you. Enjoy it well-chilled with your summer appetizers, salads, seafood and fish, and chicken and lamb.

And it's very affordable in discount wine shops starting at $7 in most major cities.


Salute!
Winelady Cooks

99 Degrees In The Shade and Cookin'

What is going on with the weather? The winter was snowy and cold for more than 3 months and while we were fighting cabin fever we cooked, baked and ate our way through the elements.

Now we are having a heat wave and, technically, it's not yet summer but we are once again fighting cabin fever -- that is if you are staying in and lucky enough to have air conditioning.

I'm cooking and baking again to fight this cabin fever. I know, you're saying who wants to have the stove and oven on in this crazy heat. With air conditioning it's not so bad. I was so pre-occupied I forgot that it was 99 degrees.

I decided to make orange marmalade. This is a recipe you can make and multi-task. So not only did I cook and bake, but I was able to clean and do laundry. It was one very productive day.

What I realized as I was finishing up the marmalade was that making marmalade this time of the year was a good idea. You can use the marmalade for sauces, marinating, salad dressings and still use it on pancakes, waffles, toast and, my favorite, topping on vanilla ice cream.

My next post has the marmalade recipe.


Mangia!
Winelady Cooks

Orange Marmalade

It's 99 degrees today and I made orange marmalade. It's easy to make, however you'll need to have a two day time-slot for this recipe.

You don't have to baby-sit this process but it takes time for the pectin to set up. It's not difficult you just need to make it fit into your schedule. The first half of the recipe only takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. Then it needs to sit overnight. The next day it needs only about 2-3 hours to cook. You can do a lot of chores around the house while it's cooking. And then it's done. Easy!

I saw a Barefoot Contessa episode in which Ina made marmalade and it definitely looked like a no-brainer. I decided this was the time to try it.

After researching recipes a few days ago I found that they were all basically the same except some recipes called for putting the pith, seeds and skins in cheese cloth and adding it to the oranges while it cooks. I didn't have cheese cloth so I chose to use Ina's "Anna's Orange Marmalade" recipe.

She added everything to one pot. I read all the reviews and made some notes and changes to the recipe based on the reviewers comments.

I like sweets, but I have a limit on the level of sweetness so I reduced the amount of sugar. Since I was reducing the sugar I figured I would need to use less water. Some reviewers said their results were bitter from the pith, so I peeled the skins and julienned them and then removed about 1/2 of the pith from the oranges. This worked for me as the result was a perfect tasting (for my palate) marmalade.

Orange Marmalade

Ingredients:

• 3 large naval oranges
• 2 cups sugar - (use a little more or less based on the sweetness of the oranges)
• lemon zest
• 3 cups water
• 1 TBLS. Grand Marnier or Cointreau (optional)

Directions:

1. Use a vegetable peeler and peel the skin from the oranges and julienne - to about 1/3 to 1/4 inch slices. Zest the lemon and set aside with the orange slices.
2. Cut away about 1/2 of the white pith.
3. Cut the oranges in half and then slice them in 1/4 inch slices.
4. Place the cut oranges, julienne slices and lemon zest in a stainless steel pot and then add the 3 cups of water.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. When the mixture comes to a full boil remove it from the heat and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Cover and set aside. Let it sit overnight at room temperature.

NEXT DAY:

1. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for approximately 2 hours.
2. After the 2 hours turn the heat to medium/high and bring to a gentle boil for another 30 minutes, stirring often and add the cointreau or grand marnier at this point. Cook the marmalade until it reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer.

• I didn't use a candy thermometer, but you can test if it is done by placing a small amount on a plate and refrigerate it until it is cool (approx. 10 min.) It's done if it is firm -- if it is neither runny or too hard. If it is still a little runny (or watery) cook for a few more minutes depending on how runny it is.
• The color will be a golden orange color or maybe a little darker, depending on how much the sugar caramelizes.
• If you want to preserve the marmalade, use Mason jars and follow the directions for making preserves.

This recipe made about 10 oz. of marmalade. You can use this up quickly if you have a family and enjoy marmalade on toast, pancakes, waffles, marinades, and salad dressing and even as a topping on vanilla ice cream.


I've listed this with:


KB and Whitesnake's Simply Delish




Mangia!
Winelady Cooks

Party Season, Fast Food and Wines

Is this time of year very busy for you and the family, planning graduation parties, bridal showers or family reunions?

If this is part of your hectic schedule during the next few weeks you just might be bringing in your favorite fast foods.

Or, if you are just on over-load and it's too hot to cook, then these few tips just might make you happy. Hey, I definitely savor those days I don't have to cook so I know how you feel.

When you are out shopping for wine pick up an off-dry Riesling and a sparkling wine to have ready for your take-out.

The lightly sweet white wine is a must have if you like spicy, Asian style foods, spicy Mexican, or Indian style take-out. And sparkling wine is a must have for any celebration with or without food.
TIP: These spicy, or sweet/sour dishes need a wine with a touch of sweetness. If the wine is too dry it will taste bitter with those flavors.

For pizzas and spaghetti with red sauces choose a Chianti from Italy.
TIP: Chianti has the acidity to match the acidity in the tomato sauce. This is a pairing of matching the food and wine from the same region.

If fried chicken is your passion choose a full-bodied buttery Chardonnay from California. These oaked whites have the richness to match the rich fried chicken.
TIP: For red wine drinkers, try a fruit forward Pinot Noir. Another choice could be a sparkling wine. The bubbles cut through the richness and can be a great pairing for this very special take-out meal.

Many of the old world wine pairings can be a little out-dated in our new millennium. Today we can drink the wines we like with the foods we like, though it's good to remember that some flavor combinations do not always go together.

So bring home your favorite take-out after a hectic day of party planning. Enjoy the party season and toast the guest of honor with a little bubbly.

Salute!
Winelady Cooks

Hot Dogs With Onions

This summer weekend kick-off sets a spark in us as the grills get hot and start smokin' and our grill masters are sweating to the sizzle of the steaks, burgers and ribs hoping they are perfectly cooked.

Then there are us city slickers who are in the summer mood and don't have the grilling tools but do have the convenience of walking up to the local, crème de la crème shiny hot dog cart on the corner.

What a great way to enjoy a hot dog while sitting in the park on the lawn or a bench and bite into a crunchy dog with the juice from the spicy onions dripping down your arm.

This is one of the most memorable ways to enjoy a hot dog during the warm weather months when you are in the big city.

But how about when you get home and want to create the same taste experience? It's not always easy -- except in this one particular instance the onions can be bought in a jar in your local supermarket (but I bet they don't taste like the ones from the corner hot dog cart).

OR you can make the spicy onions at home with a few basic ingredients you probably have in the fridge and pantry. Yes, I'm going to share this very tasty and easy to prepare recipe for "Hot Dog Onions".

I've kept this recipe to myself for many years because it was so simple and I thought no one would be interested. Though I have a suspicion that there are many of you already making a recipe that is very similiar.

HOT DOG ONIONS

• 2-3 large onions sliced (big yellow or sweet)
• 1-2 TBLS. butter (or butter alternative)
• 2-3 TBLS. ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of salt and pepper
• hot pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Add the butter to a medium sauce pan to melt and then add the sliced onions and stir with a wooden spoon until the onions have been coated with the melted butter. Add the salt, pepper and the hot pepper flakes.
2. Cover and cook the onions until softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the ketchup to the onions and stir and then add the water a little at a time. You may not need all the water. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the onions are softened.

This recipe is flexible. Use as many or as few onions as you like and use as much or as little ketchup according to your taste and if you like more spicy flavors you can add your favorite hot sauce as well. The longer you simmer the onions with the ketchup the more the flavors blend together.

You can definitely make these in advance for convenience and I always make extra to freeze for the next time.


Add these onions to burgers, steak or sausage sandwiches on the deck with cold glass of iced tea.

Listed on the following hops:

It's A Blog Party
Full Plate Thursday





Mangia!
Winelady Cooks