Started by food blogger Chez Pim in 2004 as a response to the devastating Tsunamis in Southeast Asia, Menu for Hope is now in its 6th year. The campaign brings together food bloggers from all over the world to put together amazing food and wine related raffle items. The proceeds from the fundraising campaign go to support the UN World Food Programme.
You can participate by donating $10 to earn a virtual ticket that allows you to bid on an item of your choice. There are so many great items to choose from that you will probably find yourself donating $10 several times over for a chance to win some amazing raffle items. But don't worry, it's all going to an amazing cause.Wondering how to get started?
Visit Chez Pim's blog for a full list of raffle items. You can also visit Alder Yarrow's Vinography for a list of great wine-related items.
To Donate and Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle
1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.
2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.
3. Please specify which bid item you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code.
Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 - 2xEU01, 3xEU02.
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
One of the “must” stops this summer at the St. Helena Farmer’s Market was for Annie Baker’s cookies. And although every week my intentions were to save the cookies for dessert, they usually never made it past the Farmer’s Market. These moist, gooey cookies remind you of eating cookie dough and are in fact tagged by Annie herself as the cookie “for those who love cookie dough more than the cookie”.
Anne Baker married into the name. But it obviously fits her perfectly. Joking that she changed her middle name to “the”, she now has quite a following as “Annie the Baker”. But she hasn’t always been a baker. Working in downtown Chicago as an accountant in the banking industry, she began baking in her free time and realized it was her true passion. Deciding to follow this passion, she left Chicago to study at the Culinary Institute in St. Helena. After graduating from the Baking and Pastry Certificate program, Anne became the pastry chef at Mustards Grill where she worked for five years.
Lucky for us, Annie was also hard at work perfecting her cookie. The recipe is her own and it took her many trials to achieve the taste she wanted. She looked at every ingredient and researched how each ingredient affected the way the cookie spread when baked. One of her secrets – cutting the butter in half. This past spring, she finally perfected her cookie and headed to the Napa Farmer’s Market and St. Helena Farmer’s Market to launch “Annie the Baker” cookies.
Now you can find “Annie The Baker” cookies at Sunshine Foods, Yountville Deli, NapaStyle and the Oxbow Public Market. You can also ship them anywhere in the US from a great site called Foodzie: http://anniethebaker.foodzie.com/
There are five delicious flavors available – Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunk, Toffee Milk Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter with Mini Peanut Butter Cups, Oatmeal Double Chocolate Chip and Doodle Snicker. I’m partial to the Toffee Milk Chocolate Chip but you really can’t go wrong with any of the flavors.
Thanksgiving is here, and it’s time to go shopping for fresh, local ingredients to make this your best Thanksgiving ever!This year we bring together some of our favorite traditional dishes like herb-roasted turkey, combined with sweet potato gratin, sautéed Brussel sprouts, and horseradish mashed potatoes. Finish with ginger pumpkin pie and old-time apple pie. Savor this Thanksgiving, and enjoy with your friends and family.
Herb-Roasted Turkey
Brine:
1 ½ cups salt
4 cups brown sugar
4 sprigs of rosemary
6 sprigs of sage
2 lemons, halved
2 gallons boiling water
Turkey:
1 fresh or thawed turkey (about 18-20 lb.)
2 pounds of butter, melted
2 sprigs rosemary, thyme and sage, chopped
Salt and pepper
Place turkey in brine for 10-12 hours in a container large enough to cover the turkey with brine, and keep it cool in the refrigerator.Preheat oven to 325 degrees.Remove turkey from brine, pat dry with paper towel and place in a roasting pan. Combine melted butter, honey, and herbs and rub butter over turkey skin.Insert several sprigs of sage and 1 rosemary sprig inside of turkey (along with stuffing, if using). Place turkey, uncovered in oven. Every 30-40 minutes, baste with herbed honey-butter. When the thickest part of the thigh is 160 degrees then the turkey is done. Remove the turkey from the oven and let it cool from about 20 minutes.Garnish with Rosemary and sage, dressing, or roasted vegetables.
Sweet Potato Gratin
6 Sweet Potatoes
1 pint of cream
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 shallots finely chopped
Combine shallots, garlic and rosemary sprigs with cream. Peel potatoes and slice on a mandolin, then place directly into the cream. Layer a casserole dish with sweet potatoes, salt, cracked pepper and cheese mixture.Repeat layers until you reach ¾ up the casserole dish.Pull out rosemary sprigs and pour cream over top. Finish with cheese mixture.Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until firm. Gratin should be golden brown on top.
Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan and Pancetta
2 lb Brussels sprouts
2-3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
4 tbsp. shallots, chopped (about 2 large shallots)
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped
3-4 slices of Pancetta, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil Brussels sprouts in 8 cups salted water until tender, then place into ice water bath.Sauté pancetta and garlic in butter for several minutes over medium heat. Remove Brussels sprouts from ice water and cut (vertically) in half. Next, add Brussels sprouts and shallots to pancetta and garlic and cook over high heat until brown on sides, adding more butter if needed.Add chopped thyme, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serves 6-8.
Rustic Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
6 red or new potatoes
3 tbsp. Sour cream (optional)
1 cup (low-fat optional) milk, buttermilk or whole whipping cream
½ stick butter
3-4 tbsp. prepared (creamed) horseradish
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot of salted water, boil potatoes until very tender, leaving skins on for a more rustic texture.Smash potatoes in pot and add (warmed) milk or cream, and butter.Blend until creamy, and add sour cream, horseradish, and salt and pepper. Serves 6.
Ginger-Pumpkin Pie
1 unbaked and chilled 9-inch pie shell (use basic pie crust recipe below)
1 medium pumpkin, cooked and pureed, about 1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs
3/4 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 teaspoon vanilla
Turn oven down to 350 degrees and position an oven rack in the center of the oven. In a mixer, combine the pumpkin and the brown sugar. Then add eggs, evaporated milk, spices salt, flour, butter, and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Next, pour the filling into the chilled pie and place on the center oven rack. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until set. Check after about 35 minutes. When the filling is set, place the pie on to cool.
Old-Time Apple Pie
Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
¼ cup ice water
Sift flour and salt together. Cut the chilled butter and margarine into small bits and add to the flour.Work flour and butter together. Add ice water slowly to the pastry, and press pastry together into a ball.
Pie Filling
About 9 apples, peeled and sliced
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 lemon, juiced
3 tbsp. butter, cubed
Make pie crust pastry according to directions.Roll out on to floured surface and place into a 9 inch pie plate and crimp edges.Place sliced apples inside pie crust, sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and dot with cubed butter.Roll out remaining pie crust and cut into leaf shapes with a cookie cutter or traced leaf shapes and cut with a knife. Brush with oil or melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.Cover pie with pastry leaves and place pie in refrigerator to chill for at least one hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Bake in oven for around 45 minutes, or until crust is brown.Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Choosing the wines for Thanksgiving dinner can seem like a monumental task. How do you find the perfect pairing for the multitude of dishes that make their way to the Thanksgiving table? Don’t worry, there are many wines that will pair with everything from Brussels sprouts to turkey. The key is to find wines that are versatile enough to pair with such a wide range of flavors. Our favorite Thanksgiving wines are great food wines like Riesling and Pinot Noir. And don’t forget the bubbly. It’s always a great addition to the Thanksgiving festivities!
Here are a few of our Thanksgiving wine recommendations...mostly local but a couple from farther away that we just can't resist.
Domaine Carneros Brut Rose – loaded with great fruity and floral characteristics, this sparkler pairs perfectly with almost any appetizer and its vibrant pink color helps set a festive mood. $36
Dr. Loosen Riesling – this is always a favorite of ours, especially for Thanksgiving. You can’t beat the quality for the price (about $13 a bottle) and it pairs well with almost any dish. $13
Trefethen Riesling - Riesling is relatively hard to come by in the Napa Valley. Trefethen is one of only a handful of Napa Valley wineries making a riesling from about 20 acres planted in the Oak Knoll district. This is a dry riesling with great mineral flavors and some nice hints of citrus and tropical fruit. $22
Ponzi Pinot Gris – we’d recommend staying away from heavier California or Italian Pinot Grigio for Thanksgiving but the lightness and slightly tart characteristics of Oregon Pinot Gris, make a good pairing. Recently we enjoyed the Ponzi Pinot Gris. $18
La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir - this is a classic Sonoma Pinot Noir and a great value at around $24 a bottle. This should be a relatively easy wine to find and will make a great Thanksgiving pairing.
Etude Pinot Noir – Pinot Noir is a great turkey pairing and Carneros Pinot is no exception. We love Etude Pinot Noir and this wine will definitely be making its way to our table. $40
I keep hearing references to Sonoma’s Petaluma Gap and the wines that are coming from this Sonoma winemaking region. It’s not a defined AVA but the Sonoma wine industry adopted the name to help define this geographically distinct area located near the town of Petaluma in Sonoma County. The gap is known for its wind and fog (it’s literally a wind tunnel) and there are some excellent Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays coming from the area.
Recently I had the pleasure of tasting the 2007 Pinot Noir and 2007 Chardonnay from Pfendler Vineyards. Pfendler Vineyards is owned by Kimberly Pfendler and the fruit for the wine comes from vineyards planted by Kimberly’s late husband in the Petaluma Gap area in 1992. Winemaker Greg Bjornstad takes a very minimalist approach in the winery, hand sorting the grapes for each wine and allowing native yeasts to begin the fermentation process.
The result is extraordinary wines that seem to reflect well the unique characteristics of the Petaluma Gap. The 2007 Pinot Noir has lush flavors of cherry pie and plum and the 2007 Chardonnay has lots of bright green apple flavor and nice well-balanced acidity. Both of these wines would make great pairings for Thanksgiving dinner.
Nothing says fall like apple pie eaten warm from the oven a la mode.There are plenty of apples to choose from right now.We recommend selecting a crisp, tart apple for your pie making.Granny Smith are easy to find in your grocery store but Braeburn, Fuji and Pink Lady are all excellent choices.
We’ve topped our pie with festive pastry leaves – a great way to put some extra special attention in your pie…especially if it’s making its way to your Thanksgiving table.Try pairing apple pie with a late-harvest Riesling or Muscat wine.
Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
¼ cup ice water
Sift flour and salt together. Cut the chilled butter and margarine into small bits and add to the flour.Work flour and butter together. Add ice water slowly to the pastry, and press pastry together into a ball.
Pie Filling
About 9 apples, peeled and sliced
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 lemon, juiced
3 tbsp. butter, cubed
Make pie crust pastry according to directions.Roll out on to floured surface and place into a 9 inch pie plate and crimp edges.Place sliced apples inside pie crust, sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and dot with cubed butter.Roll out remaining pie crust and cut into leaf shapes with a cookie cutter or traced leaf shapes and cut with a knife. Brush with oil or melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.Cover pie with pastry leaves and place pie in refrigerator to chill for at least one hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake in oven for around 45 minutes, or until crust is brown.Serve with vanilla ice cream.
The French, it seems, know what they are doing when it comes to macarons.These delicate airy cookies are not to be confused with the macaroon.The macaron is a traditional French pastry that looks like a little sandwich filled with cream or ganache while macaroons are dense cookies made, traditionally made with almond or coconut.It’s the delicate, airy meringue-type macaron that come in a variety of flavors and brilliant colors that the French do best.And I for one definitely appreciate the effort!
On a recent trip to Paris, my parents brought back several tiny black boxes filled with macarons from the famed Ladurée bakery.I immediately ate them in one sitting because anyone who knows macarons knows that you have to eat them fresh.And they made the trip from Paris to Napa well.Delicate, airy macarons in flavors like blackberry, lemon and of course chocolate.I was ready to jump on the plane and move to Paris just so I could indulge in macarons every day.
But luckily for me, I live right down the street from Bouchon Bakery in Yountville and they can definitely hold their own with this little cookie.The macarons at Bouchon Bakery are indeed inspired by the famed Paris macarons and come in traditional flavors like chocolate, caramel and vanilla with a wonderful seasonal flavor always thrown into the mix.My favorite is the pistachio macaron.If you visit now, you’ll find pumpkin macarons on the menu…delicious!
If you want to make macarons at home, Epicurious has a recipe for Laduree’s Chocolate Macarons.I have not attempted to make them myself as I found myself walking down the street to Bouchon Bakery for a Pistachio macaron before I even managed to purchase the ingredients.But if you try it out, let me know how it goes.
Butternut Squash is now in season.As I write this, I have some baking in my oven that I picked fresh from the garden.I love the way it makes my whole house smell like the warm sweetness of the fall season.
Butternut squash is a winter squash that is native to the western hemisphere, and has been eaten by the natives of Mexico since 5500 B.C.One cup of butternut squash has only 80 calories, vitamins like A and C and lots of Iron. So dig in!
This recipe combines the warm sweetness of butternut squash with the earthy flavors of sage and pine nuts.The dish pairs well with a Pinot Grigio, Riesling or Chenin Blanc.
Ingredients
5 tbsp. butter
About 8-10 medium sized sage leaves
¼ cup lemon juice
½ butternut squash, peeled and cubed
Choice of pasta
Salt and pepper
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts- lightly toasted in oven for about 2 minutes
Parmesan or goat cheese to garnish
Cut squash into ½-1 inch cubes and place onto baking sheet.Drizzle with olive oil, and salt and pepper and cook uncovered at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until tender. Cook pasta according to directions. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a sauce pan and cook on low until it turns a golden brown.Add the sage leaves and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Drain pasta and pour butter sauce, cubed butternut squash and toasted pine nuts on top. Finish with cheese to garnish.
This week, we caught up with Ron Haber of Haber Family Vineyards. Ron and his wife Sue-Marie recently released their first vintage of Haber Family Vineyards wines – a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Diamond Mountain. In the future, they will release wine from their Howell Mountain estate. We tried the first release of the 2006 Diamond Mountain Cabernet and were very impressed.
Why did you and Sue-Marie decide to get into the wine business?
Sue-Marie and I wanted to keep active in our future retirement life. One of our passions was the enjoyment of food and wine. After many vacation trips to the Napa Valley, talking with vintners and friends we knew there, we felt that starting a vineyard project could fulfill our passion and also allow us to live in the Napa Valley.
Did you know that Howell Mountain was where you wanted to plant your vineyard from the beginning or did the property find you?
We both loved Napa Valley Mountain wines. We also wanted land that had not been previously planted. We had tasted through the various Cabernet AVA’s and found Howell Mountain wines to be our favorite. The property actually came to us while we were on an airplane. The property was just going to go on the market that day! We made an offer, site unseen, contingent on thoroughly checking the ability of the land to meet our needs. Therefore, we feel that the site found us 100%!
Why did you start with a cabernet from Diamond Mountain?
We planted our site in 2004. We decided that we wanted the Haber Family Vineyards brand on the market sooner that the minimum of six years it takes from planting to having a wine to sell. We found wonderful fruit to buy on Diamond Mountain. The Diamond Mountain fruit allowed us to keep to our love of mountain fruit, add some diversity, and give us the superior quality we were looking for. Diamond Mountain has a pedigree of producing renowned Napa Cabernets. We were thrilled to include this wine as part of our Haber Family Vineyards.
When will your first release of Howell Mountain Cabernet be?
Our first release is our 2006 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. We have only 50 cases of 2007 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon in the bottle for release in 2010.
What characteristics do you think are unique about your Howell Mountain Vineyard?
The site is unique due to the combination of red volcanic soil and steep, sloped west facing (for great sunlight) land with excellent drainage and is at a high altitude. The combination is perfect together for growing great Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.
Do you plan on releasing other varietals in the future or are you strictly focusing on Cabernet?
Our first goal is to successfully bring to market our two Haber Family Vineyards Cabernets. If we are successful, we have definitely talked about adding a white wine that would have to live up to the same standards that we are setting for our reds.
Where are your wines available?
Since our production of both Diamond and Howell Mountain Cabernets will be under 400 cases each, we worked very hard to establish a very personal website to market our wines directly to the consumer through our mailing list and the web. We are also working on distribution in NY and NJ and are looking at only one or two more select states to work with distribution. We have successfully placed the wine in a number of very highly rated restaurants in NY and NJ and are working to have our wines with a limited number of key retailers on both coasts.
