Recipes and Food Pairing Suggestions
Tassel Ridge Winery Wine and Food Pairing Guide
Dry Red Wines
In the Dark—Full-flavored meats, grilled meats
Pizzeria & Pasta Too!—Pizza, pasta with tomato-based sauces
Twilight—Beef, grilled pork, bold cheeses, grilled vegetables
Zinfull Red—Beef, BBQ, highly seasoned pork and poultry
Dry White Wines
American Chardonnay—Appetizers, seafood, salads, cheeses, pasta with cream sauces, poultry
American Dry Riesling—Seafood, salads, poultry, appetizers, soft cheeses, cream sauces, poultry
Candleglow® White—Grilled pork or seafood, rich seafood or poultry dishes, soft cheeses
Iowa White Blossom—Spicy Asian foods, jerk seasoned pork, fruit salsas
Semi-Sweet Wines
2008 Iowa Edelweiss—Spicy Asian foods, jerk seasoned meats, fruit salsas
2008 Iowa Steuben—Chicken salad, appetizers, turkey, and ham
American Pink Catawba—Teriyaki chicken, Cajun foods, picnic fare, sushi
Candlelight—Light pork dishes, seafood, salads, poultry, spicy foods
2008 Iowa LaCrescent—Shellfish, fish, chicken, green salads
Oskyfizzante® White—Appetizers, antipasto, pasta with cream sauces, fresh fruit, sushi
Overture—Asian food, salads, light appetizers
2008 Iowa Frontanec Rosé —Serve as an aperitif or with Asian foods
Prelude—Salads appetizers, cheeses, spicy foods
Tickled Pink—Salads, Asian foods, Mexican foods, curry flavored dishes, cheeses
Sweet Wines
Oskyfizzante® Red—Appetizers, cheeses, spicy foods
Oskyfizzante® Pink—Spicy foods
Iowa Prairie Snow—Fruit cobblers and crisps, fresh fruits
Red, White, & Blue®—desserts that are not as sweet as the wine
Sweet Roxie Red—desserts that are not as sweet as the wine
Dessert Wines
Chocolate Granfinalé—Cheesecake, fruit desserts, nut tortes
Finalé Blackberry—Chocolate desserts, cheesecake
Finalé Iowa Red—Dark chocolate, chocolate desserts, blue cheese
Finalé Premier Red—Dark chocolate, blue cheese, cashews, cheesecake
Finalé Raspberry—Chocolate desserts, cheesecake
Fruit Wines
Tassel Ridge Blackberry—Chocolate desserts, dark chocolate, cheesecake
Venison Stew
From Public Relations Manager Roxy Braband’s husband, Larry Gondert
Tassel Ridge Winery’s American Syrah makes this Venison Stew very tasty. We have been tempted to substitute the fennel bulbs with fennel seed, but Larry goes the extra mile to find the bulbs, and it is awesome!
Ingredients:
8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 bunch fresh parsley sprigs
Peel (cut into strips) and juice from 1 orange
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. black peppercorns
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 bottle American Syrah wine (750 ml)
3 lb. Venison roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks
4 strips bacon, diced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
2 cups pearl or boiler onions, peeled
2 fennel bulbs, cored and quartered
1 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
1 cup Beef Stock or beef broth – Add cold, as it melts it will enrich the sauce
3 Roma tomatoes, quartered
Combine sprigs of Thyme, parsley, half of the orange peel (reserve the remaining peel), orange juice, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, 2 tsp. salt, and wine in a large nonreactive bowl. Add venison, submerging pieces in the liquid. Cover the bowl; marinate venison in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours.
Remove beef from marinade. Using paper towels blot excess liquid from meat. Season meat with salt and pepper. Strain marinade, reserving liquid and discarding aromatics.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sauté bacon in 7- to 8-qt. heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 8–10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate; reserve drippings. Dredge venison pieces in flour, shaking off any excess.
Brown venison on all sides in bacon drippings in pot over high heat. Work in batches if necessary, adding olive oil if needed. Set venison aside.
Sauté carrots, onions, fennel, reserved orange peel, and thyme in pot, adding olive oil if needed, until vegetables are browned, 5 minutes.
Deglaze pot with 2 cups of the reserved marinade, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot. Return venison and bacon to pot; add Beef Stock and tomatoes.
Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid; transfer to the oven. Simmer stew in the oven until venison is fork-tender, 2 1/2–3 hours; skim to degrease. Serve stew with egg noodles or boiled potatoes, American Syrah, andgarlic breadsticks.
Tickled Pink Sangria
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 oranges
4 bottles Tickled Pink
1 quart orange juice
Ice
Lemon-lime soda
Pour sugar in bottom of large pitcher. Peel oranges and place peels in sugar. Use a mortar to bruise orange peels, mashing with sugar to release oils. Remove peels and discard. Pour in wine and add orange juice. Add soda to taste. Stir well. Add desired ice to chill. Section oranges and float at top of mixture. Enjoy!
2009 Iowa Nouveau is a Natural with a
Hearty Vegetable Soup
By Bob Wersen
The fruity flavors in the Tassel Ridge Winery 2009 Iowa Nouveau pair nicely with a hearty vegetable soup. There are lots of ways to make a good vegetable soup. I’ve developed my recipe below after experimenting for several years. What I wanted was a meatless soup that I could make quickly and then eat for several days. I use the fresh vegetables that are available and supplement them with frozen or canned as necessary. And, I wanted to end up with a soup that was as low in Sodium as possible while still being tasty.
The last batch of soup took about 45 minutes of chopping and two hours to fully cook.
I normally chop a half of a small head of cabbage and put that in the soup but I had forgotten to buy that. And, I normally use fresh tomatoes but didn’t have any. The point is that there is nothing sacred about the exact ingredients. Use what you have in the fridge. Generally, I will avoid using cauliflower, zucchini, and broccoli because they cook to pieces quickly.
Ingredients:
1 medium white onion with paper skin removed and then chopped into ½ inch cubes
1 ½ pounds carrots peeled, washed, and chopped into ½ inch segments
½ pound of celery washed and chopped into ½ inch segments
4 medium red potatoes diced into ½ inch cubes
½ pound of frozen okra diced into ½ inch segments
1 can (14.5 ounces) of diced tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) of garbanzo beans
¼ pound of frozen corn
¼ pound of frozen peas
46 ounces of low Sodium V-8 Juice
2 ½ quarts of water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup Quaker quick Barley
2 Tbl. of Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. of Tabasco Sauce or to taste
I use a 10 quart pot. Put a 1 quart of water in the pot and then chop the onion. Bring the onion and chicken bouillon cubes to a rolling boil and put the chopped onions in the pot. Cook the onions for about 10 minutes while you are peeling and chopping the carrots and celery. Put the carrots, celery, and V-8 Juice in the pot. Keep the heat on while you chop the potatoes, okra, and cabbage. Then add these vegetables. Fill the V-8 Juice bottle with water and add that to the pot. Season with the Worcestershire and Tabasco Sauces. About 30 minutes before serving, add the barley.
I found that the soup needed salt. I sourced mine from some additional Tabasco that I added to the bowl. Tabasco does contain salt but with the spice, I think that I add less salt than I would if I just reached for the salt shaker.
The soup is great with home-made bread and the 2009 Iowa Nouveau.
We usually eat what we want on the first evening and then divide the balance up into what we will consume each following night. In that way, the entire batch of soup does not have to be re-heated each time we serve it.
Mulled Wine
If your holiday plans call for mulled wine, we offer three mulled wine recipes for your consideration. The Tassel Ridge Winery team has tried the first two and they’ve given their “thumbs-up” on them. The third is my idea of a mulled wine and I’ve prepared it many times.
- Sweet Mulled Wine:
- 1 bottle Red, White, & Blue
- 1 tsp. whole cloves
- 1 tsp. whole allspice
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1-2 cinnamon sticks
- 1-2 orange slices
- Stir sugar into wine until dissolved, add all ingredients into a crock pot on low, float the orange slices on top. Serve warm.
- Traditional Mulled Wine:
- 4 cups cranberry juice
- 1 ½ cups apple cider
- 1 ½ cups Twilight or 2008 Iowa Frontenac Rosé
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2-4 ounces Bisschopswijn mulling spices* (add to taste)
- Combine liquids in a pot and stir in brown sugar to dissolve. Add mulling spices in muslin bag (provided in Bisschopswijn package) and heat over medium heat until hot. Reduce temperature and simmer 30-60 minutes. Serve warm with cinnamon stick for stirring.
- *Bisschopswijn is available at Tassel Ridge Winery. It contains a mix of cinnamon pieces, whole cloves, whole allspice, orange oil and cinnamon oil.
- California Mulled Wine:
- 1 bottle of 2009 Iowa Nouveau
- 1 tsp. whole cloves
- 1 tsp. whole allspice
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2-3 orange slices
- 1 cup of water
- Put water and spices in a pot and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add wine and sugar. When the wine is completely hot, it is ready to serve. Just add orange slices and pour into cups with handles (it will be too hot to use glasses).
Grilled scallops and saffron rice paired with Tassel Ridge Candleglow White
Jene Cain
Ingredients for two servings of scallops:
1 pound of scallops
Pam vegetable spray or bottled vegetable oil to coat scallops and grill
Spice Islands Beau Monde seasoning
Lemon wedges
4 small strips of bacon fried and diced fine
Tartar sauce – optional
This recipe uses frozen scallops. Substitute fresh scallops if you can get them. Note: scallops that are frozen without any additives are called “dry packed” while scallops that are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) are called “wet packed.” STP causes the scallops to absorb moisture prior to the freezing process. STP also makes scallops appear more appealing when they are thawed so it results in high prices per pound. But, this moisture makes them very difficult to brown when grilling or pan frying. Our suggestion is to avoid STP treated scallops whenever possible.
Thaw the scallops overnight in the refrigerator, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a tray or disposable aluminum foil pan, spray lightly with Pam vegetable oil or coat lightly with bottled vegetable oil. Season lightly on both sides with Spice Islands Beau Monde seasoning. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator if they are going to be held for more than 30 minutes before grilling. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before grilling.
Prepare the grill. Use a generous amount of charcoal. These scallops were grilled on a Weber Smoke Joe. Standard size or other charcoal grills will work as well. When the coals are hot and you are ready to cook, spread out the coals and place the grill on top. Clean the grill with a grill brush or crumpled aluminum foil using tongs. Make a crumpled piece of aluminum foil and lightly coat with vegetable oil or Pam spray and rub this over the grill to lightly coat it with oil.
Place the scallops on the grill with a timer handy. Cook from 4 to 10 minutes depending on the degree of doneness you like. Turn after the first two minutes and turn again every two minutes. Check on the cooking progress by feeling how firm the scallops feel with the tongs. If you are using a gas grill, you may have to adjust the cooking times depending on how hot the grill is.
Remove to a warm dish and either serve immediately or hold covered with foil in a 150ºF oven for a short time.
Serve on warm plates with the diced bacon either sprinkled over the scallops or served in a side dish with lemon wedges and tarter sauce.
Ingredients for two servings of classic saffron rice:
1 cup of long-grain white rice
2 cups of water or chicken stock
1 T butter
1 T finely minced onion (optional)
½ tsp salt
1 small pinch Saffron, crumbled
Place butter and minced onion in a heavy quart saucepan. Sauté over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add rice, Saffron, water or stock, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (about 18 minutes). Note: this is based on a recipe from Penzeys Spices at www.penzeys.com. Preparation time is 10 minutes. Total cooking time is 25 minutes.
Grilled scallops and Saffron rice paired with Tassel Ridge Candleglow White
Pan Fried Jerk Seasoned Pork Loin Medallions
By Jene Cain
(May also be prepared on a gas or charcoal grill)
Serve this meal with Tassel Ridge Edelweiss wines. For those who prefer a dry wine, Iowa White Blossom is a perfect choice. Our 2008 Iowa Edelweiss is semi-sweet and also pairs well with spicy foods. Both wines are made from Iowa-grown Edelweiss grapes.
Jerk seasoning, thought to originate in Jamaica, is spicy and like curry can contain different spices depending on the maker. The following is the list of spices in Penzeys* Jerk pork version: paprika, allspice, ginger, red pepper, sugar, ground Grenadian nutmeg, black pepper, garlic, thyme, lemon grass, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and mace.
Ingredients:
1 Whole pork tenderloin, not seasoned or packaged in a marinade
Jerk pork seasoning
Vegetable, peanut or olive oil
Rinse the meat and trim off any excess fat on the tenderloin. Cut crosswise into ¾-inch medallions (rounds). Place the meat on a dish or in an aluminum pan and sprinkle with the jerk seasoning covering both sides. Season lightly if you want mild spicy heat or heavier for a hotter pepper flavor.
Bring a medium skillet, non-stick, plain or cast iron up to temperature using medium heat on a stovetop. Pour in a small amount of oil; just barely coat the bottom of the skillet. Arrange the medallions in the pan in a single layer. Brown on both sides, turning occasionally, until done. Pork is best served cooked medium-well, leaving just a tinge of pink in the center. If you are cooking to temperature, the thermometer should read 150°+ to 165°F. The USDA recommends 170°F. Allow the meat to rest for several minutes before serving. Serving suggestion: place the meat on a warm platter or serve on warm dinner plates.
Garnish with fresh lime wedges, and a tropical fruit salsa. Make the salsa with course chopped fresh or canned pineapple, mangos or papaya along with finely chopped jalapeño and red onion. Squeeze a small amount of fresh lime juice on the salsa mixture and add a few drops of rice wine vinegar to taste.
Rice or couscous makes a perfect side dish.
*Jerk pork seasoning can be purchased from Penzeys at www.penzeys.com