Want to try something different this holiday season? Try these delicious recipes from the kitchen of Red Bicyclette wineries. Along with each recipe is a complementary Red Bicyclette wine pairing, making at least one part of your holiday preparations a little easier.
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Starters:
Butter Lettuce, Figs and Roquefort Salad
Cold Tomato Soup
French Onion Soup
Potato au Gratin
Main Course:
Easy Cassoulet???????????????????????????????
Chicken Provencal????????????????
Dessert:
French Country Cr?pes with Butter and Sugar??
Chocolate Mocha Mouse
Recipes:
Butter Lettuce, Figs, and Roquefort Salad
Pairs with Red Bicyclette Chardonnay
Serves 4
To Gather:
For the vinaigrette:
6T Balsamic vinegar
1/3 c Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t Ground black pepper
1/4 t Sugar
Pinch of salt
For the salad:
1 Head butter lettuce, washed, drained, and torn into bite-size pieces
12 Fresh figs, quartered
1/2 c Crumbled Roquefort or French Fourme D’Ambert Blue cheese, at room temperature
To do:
In a medium bowl, whisk vinegar with pepper, sugar, and salt.
Gradually add oil, whisking continuously until vinaigrette has emulsified.
Divide lettuce and figs evenly among four plates.
Top with crumbled cheese.
Drizzle with vinaigrette.
Cold Tomato Soup with Herbs de Provence
Pairs with Red Bicyclette Merlot
Serves 4
To Gather:
1T Olive oil
1/2 Medium yellow onion, diced
1T Fresh basil, finely chopped
1t Fresh thyme, finely chopped
1T Fresh parsley, finely chopped
1t Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1T Sugar
4 lbs. Ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped, with juices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 Dollops, cr?me fraiche
To do:
In a soup pot, saut? onions for five minutes on medium-high heat, or until translucent.
Add herbs to soup pot, saut? for an additional minute.
Add sugar, and tomatoes with juice, and then simmer on low heat for 35 minutes.
Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Pour into blender, pur?e until smooth.
Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.
Pour into four soup bowls, garnish with cr?me fraiche , and serve.
French Onion Soup
Pairs with Red Bicyclette Merlot
Serves 4
To Gather:
2T Butter
3 Medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
2T Sherry
3 1/2 c Beef stock
1/2 t Fresh thyme
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1c Shredded Gruyere
4 Slices, baguette
To do:
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
When butter begins to sizzle, add onions, saut?ing about 10 minutes or until onions become a deep golden brown.
Add sherry, cook for 30 seconds.
Transfer onions to a soup pot.
Add beef stock, thyme, salt and pepper and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Butter each baguette slice, then toast until golden brown.
Preheat broiler.
Ladle soup into 4 oven-proof bowls, leaving an inch of space at the top of each bowl.
Top each bowl of soup with a toasted baguette slice and 1/4 cup of shredded Gruyere.
Broil until the cheese bubbles, then serve.
Potato au Gratin
Recipe by Bruce Riezenman
Pairs with Red Bicyclette Syrah
Serves 4
To Gather:
2 c Heavy cream
1 T Butter
4 lbs. Russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 lb. Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 t Salt
1/4 t White pepper
To do:
Heat the cream in heavy bottom saucepan just to a simmer.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a two-quart casserole dish. Layer half the potatoes in the bottom of the casserole. Cover with half the Gruyere cheese and then season with a pinch each of the salt and pepper. Cover with remaining potatoes and cheese and season again with the salt and pepper. Slowly pour warm cream over potatoes, allowing time for cream to settle between the layers. Cream should reach just over the top of the potatoes. Bake for 1 hour or until a small knife can pass through potatoes with little resistance. Remove from oven and let stand for 20 minutes before serving.
Easy Cassoulet
Recipe by Bruce Riezenman
Pairs with Red Bicyclette Merlot
Serves 4
To Gather:
4 Chicken legs
1 T Cooking oil
Salt and pepper
4 Slices bacon, cut into small dice
1/2 Onion, cut into small dice
1 Small carrot, peeled and cut into small dice
1 Celery stalk, cut into small dice
1 T Minced garlic
2 Large pinches Herbes de Provence
1 c Chicken stock or broth
2 15 oz. cans white beans, drained
1/2 lb. Smoked sausage (like kielbasa) cut into 1/2? rounds
1 c Diced canned tomatoes
2 c Stale bread crumbs
To do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken legs on both sides with salt and pepper.? Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.? Sear chicken on both sides until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Set aside.
In a large pot cook the bacon over medium high heat until browned.? Pour off half of the bacon fat, and then add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic to the bacon, plus a few pinches of salt and pepper.? When the onion becomes translucent, stir the herbes de provence into the pot.? Mix in chicken stock and beans and bring to a simmer.? Then stir in the sausage and tomatoes.? Add salt and pepper if necessary.
Pour beans into a baking dish just large enough to hold the chicken legs in a single layer.? Push the chicken
into the bean mixture, skin side up.? Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.? Remove foil, sprinkle bread crumbs on top, and return to the oven until the bread crumbs turn golden, about 15-20 minutes.
Chicken Provencal
Pairs with Red Bicyclette Chardonnay
Serves 4
To Gather:
2T Olive oil
2 Chicken legs – drumstick and thigh separated – with skin and bone
2 Chicken breasts, with skin and bone
2 Large tomatoes, roughly chopped
10 Cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1t Fresh thyme
1t Fresh oregano
2 Sprigs, fresh rosemary, leaves pulled off stem
3/4 c Beef stock
4 Servings, cous cous, prepared according to directions on package
To do:
Heat olive oil in a deep skillet, over medium-high heat.
Lay chicken pieces, skin-side down, in the skillet.
Saut? chicken for 5 minutes on each side over medium-high heat, until meat becomes light brown on all sides.
Remove the chicken from the pan, and then set aside.
Add roughly chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic, mixed herbs and beef stock.
Simmer for five minutes.
Return chicken to the pan and baste it with the sauce, then cover the pan and allow to simmer for 20 minutes on low heat, turning over the chicken parts once.
Serve with desired amount of sauce, poured over chicken on a bed of cous cous.
French Country Cr?pes with Butter and Sugar
Recipe by Bruce Riezenman
Pairs with Red Bicyclette Chardonnay
Serves 6
To Gather:
Egg
1 Egg yolk
1 T Sugar
Big pinch of salt
1/2 c Milk
1/2 c Water
1 c Flour
3 T Butter, melted
Butter for spreading and cooking
Turbinado sugar or raw sugar for sprinkling
To do:
Beat together egg, egg yolk, sugar, and salt in large bowl.? Whisk in milk and water. While whisking, sprinkle on a little bit of flour at a time until all the flour has been incorporated, and then slowly whisk in melted butter.? Strain mixture to remove any lumps, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Heat a 7-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add a small pat of butter.? When butter starts to foam, mix the batter and pour 1/3 cup batter into the pan.? Spread the batter over the bottom by quickly tilting the pan, pouring any excess batter out.
When the bottom of the cr?pe has become golden brown, flip using your fingers and a spatula. When the other side is golden, slide cr?pe out onto a plate.? Spread the cr?pe with butter and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.? Roll or fold the cr?pe and serve.
Chocolate Mocha Mousse
Pairs with Red Bicyclette Syrah
Serves 4
To Gather:
1/4 C Almonds, toasted
4 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate
3 T Strong brewed coffee
2 Large eggs, separated
3 T Fine sugar
1/2 C Heavy whipping cream
To do:
Using a mortar and pestle, lightly crush the toasted almonds.
Combine chocolate and brewed coffee in a double boiler over medium heat.
Stir only until the moment the chocolate melts, then remove from heat at once.
In a separate bowl — bowl should be heat-proof — mix two egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water on the stove.
Whisk constantly until the egg-yolk mixture thickens and becomes slightly puffy.
Remove from heat and mix thoroughly into the melted chocolate.
In a separate bowl, place egg whites and 1 tablespoon of sugar, then mix with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Using a spatula, stir a quarter of the egg white mixture into the melted chocolate to loosen the chocolate.
Then, gently fold in remaining egg whites.
Whip cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Fold into the chocolate mixture, allowing some white streaks of cream to remain.
Divide amongst four tumblers.
Refrigerate for 3 hours.
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