St. Patties Day with Spicy Vines
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!
Now, let’s be honest, no one thinks, “Hmmmm, it’s St. Patrick’s Day. I think I will have my favorite St. Patrick’s Day wine.”
Yeah, um, no. Not even close. And, as much as we would like to think so, green wine just doesn’t sound quite right. Ever.
But, we all also know that thoughts like that are only Double Dog Dares for the creative minds at Spicy Vines. So, we have some ideas and recipes for how you can Spicy up your St. Patrick’s Day and still have your green beers and Irish Coffees (which, by the way, you could add a little Spicy Vines Spiced Red to for a little decadence). Just sayin’.
Sunny Daze Sauvignon Blanc and Corned Beef, Cabbage and Boiled Root Veg:
Wait, what did you say?
Yes, just read and play along. It’ll be fun.
St. Paddy’s is on a Saturday this year, and there’s a good chance your festivities are going to be an all-day thing.
And then, dinner… and cooking it… and that full feeling from a day of green beer.
NOW is the time to bring on the Sunnydaze Sauvignon Blanc.
It’s light, crisp, refreshing and just the right kind of acidic. A nice, well chilled bottle while standing around the steamy kitchen as your corned beef cooks… Doesn’t that sound great?
Then there’s the pairing, and while a little challenging at first, more-so because of perception than actual flavors, it really does kind of work. Most corned beef brines have a good dose of coriander in them, whose citrus notes work quite well with Sauvignon Blanc. There’s also the brininess of the meat itself that gets nicely broken up by crisp fruit flavors of the wine.
Root veg, especially turnips, if you add those to your boil, are a weird veg to match wine to, but Sauvignon Blanc brings out the sweetness and perfuminess of the turnips in a kind fun, even if a little weird, way.
And, the acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc helps cut through the brisket’s buttery fat, leaving a soft finish on the palate.
Never thought you’d ever hear turnips be described as “perfumey,” did you?
Admittedly, the pairing is a little weird, but if you’re not afraid to challenge your palate a little, and allow for a little weird, grab a bottle of Sunnydaze Sauvignon Blanc and try it out. If it doesn’t work for you, by the time you and your guests have a glass while cooking and another for the pairing experiment, you’ll have finished the bottle, and you can crack open a bottle of 2013 Zin Master Zinfandel, because, really, zin kind of goes with just about anything.
But, what about dessert?
Spicy Vines Twist on Guiness Cake
How about a Spicy Twist on traditional Guinness cake? In the interest of supporting local, we subbed out Guinness for some Bear Republic Brewing Company’s Peter Brown Porter. The porter has a little molasses in it, and when used for cooking, reduces down to add a nutty flavor to the recipe. Ryan at The Bear swears by the Peter Brown for cooking, backing, and sauces. The Guinness Cake we adapted came from simplyrecipes.com. So here we go:
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Bear Republic Peter Brown Porter
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1/2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cream cheese frosting recipe
METHOD:
Preheat oven, prepare pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 8 or 9-inch springform pan with butter and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
Heat Peter Brown, butter, add cocoa and sugar: In a large saucepan place the stout and butter. Cook over medium-high heat until the butter has melted. Add the cocoa powder and sugars and whisk together. Take off heat and allow to come to room temperature.
Beat sour cream, eggs, vanilla, then add to stout butter mixture: In another bowl beat together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract until very, very well combined. Add to the butter-stout mixture and whisk together.
Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, add to stout-butter mixture: In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the stout-butter mixture and whisk together until it just comes together.
Bake: Pour into the prepared pan and give the pan a few short drops onto the countertop to shake the air pockets in the batter to the surface and out of the cake. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes.
Cool: Allow to cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edge to separate the cake from the pan and pop the ring off the springform. 7 Frost: Spread frosting on the cooled cake and serve.
Modified from Simply Recipes ~ https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chocolate_guinness_cake/
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick, 4 ounces), room temperature
8 oz of Philadelphia cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
2 to 3 cups of powdered sugar (also known as confectioner's sugar), sifted
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
METHOD:
Beat the cream cheese and butter together: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure that the mixture is mixed evenly.
Beat in vanilla extract and powdered sugar: Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer running, slowly add in the powdered sugar. Powdered sugar has cornstarch in it that will thicken the frosting as well as making it sweet. Keeping adding more powdered sugar to the frosting until you get your desired level of sweetness and thickness.
Spread or pipe the frosting to decorate: Use a blunt knife or spatula to spread the frosting, or spoon the frosting into a piping bag to decorate your cupcake or cake.
Serve the cake with Spiced Red, of course.
Spiced Drunken Leprechaun
We found this recipe at sugarandcharm.com and fell in love. But of course we had to Spice it up, so we subbed in our new Spicy Vines whiskey. Yes, you read that correctly, whiskey. Inquiries welcome.
INGREDIENTS:
1 ounce Peter Brown Porter Reduction simple syrup (recipe below)
1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1½ ounces honey simple syrup (recipe below)
3 ounces SPICY VINES Whiskey
4 mint leaves
Peter Brown Porter Reduction Simple Syrup
2 bottles Bear Republic Brewing Company’s Peter Brown Porter
1 cup sugar
Honey Syrup:
2 cups water
½ cup honey
METHOD:
Cocktail Prepare the reduction sauce and honey simple syrup below and let them cool.
Shake all of the above ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.
Strain into a coupe cocktail glass and garnish with a mint leaf!
Peter Brown Simple Syrup: Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat until mixture becomes a thicker consistency and dissolved to about half the amount. This could take 30 minutes.
Let it cool and pour into a glass bottle to store.
Honey Syrup Bring to a boil until honey has dissolved.
St. Patrick’s Day Festivities at Spicy Vines
On the morning of St. Patrick’s Day, the Spicy Vines team will be up and at it before sunrise opening the tasting room for the City of Healdsburg Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Weather permitting, we will set up our patio with tall tables and stools for prime parade viewing and serving a green St. Patrick’s Day version of our Fleur de Spice sangria for $5.00 a glass. I know, we said no green wine. This isn’t just wine….it’s sangria, and it’s fantastic no matter what the color. It also comes with a lollipop, so…
Fleur de Spice sangria will be flowing all day and we have live music in the tasting room from 7-10pm for our weekly Saturday Night Jive!
For those not ready to brave the early morning with lollipops and sangria, we will also be serving free hot green tea to cut the morning chill while you get your parade on.
St. Patrick’s Day weekend is also Healdsburg’s Sidewalk Sale weekend, and we will have our 2013 Zin Master offered at 50% off a case, as well as some other deals that you’ll just have to come by and take a look see for. (But, the inside scoop is that the sidewalk sale just may be the time to pick up you wines for that wedding you’re having soon or that graduation party you’re going to be throwing.)
Well, that’s the Spicy Report for all things St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re local and can come by, we’d love to see you. If you can only celebrate with us in spirit, we love that too, and will be celebrating with you in kind. But, no matter where you’re celebrating, we wish everyone a fun and safe St. Patrick’s Day.
Slainte and Erin Go Bragh!