iYellow Wine School

It's no secret that I am a big supporter of the iYellow Wine Club, so when I heard that they were starting their very own iYellow Wine School, I couldn't wait to sit in on a class.  This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to represent iYellow as one of the hosts for their iYellow Wine School Cabernet: King of Reds class.  I have to admit, I was at first quite puzzled at why I had been asked to volunteer for the day.  Why would they want someone like me, with so little knowledge of wine?  Despite my confusion, I happily agreed, figuring that, nonetheless, it would be a great learning experience for me.  

By the end of the class, it became apparent why having me volunteer for the day was a good fit.  Just like everyone in the class, I still have a lot to learn.  Although there was much diversity amongst the class in terms of wine knowledge and experience,  I was able to provide the class with the perspective of someone who is just like many of them.  It was not only evident that the students in the class were expanding their wine knowledge and gaining confidence, but myself as well!  I started off the day not even holding a wine glass properly (be sure to hold the stem, not the bulb!), and left with a handful of notes, and a mind buzzing with excitement at having learned so much about wine, and in particular Cabernet! 

Taking on the perspective of someone who is an expert in the field of wine, was the iYellow Wine School teacher and award-winning sommelier Taylor Thompson.  Taylor is currently the sommelier for Toronto's premier wine destination, Reds Wine Bar, as well as overseeing the wine lists at Signature Restaurants Far Niente and Four.  Taylor paired his expansive wine knowledge with a healthy dose of charm and humor to win over the class and keep them coming back for more!  It is as clear as a crystal wine glass that Taylor is extremely passionate about wine, and is eager to share everything he has learned to get people just as enthusiastic as he is.  

During the class, students are presented with five different wines under the grape varietal theme of the day.  The five different wines allow the students to understand all there is to know about that particular varietal, covering everything from the growing conditions, temperature, flavours, and aging process.  The class is structured using iYellow's 5 Easy Steps to Tasting Wine:

1. Sight
2. Swirl
3. Smell
4. Sip
5. Savour

Through the iYellow steps and the comparisons between the five wines, students are able to become mini-experts on the varietal of the day, giving them the confidence to take their wine experience even further.  

Not only was the class beneficial in terms of acquiring wine knowledge, it was also a fabulous social environment!  What better way to meet new friends than attending a light and fun class amongst like-minded and interesting people!  

Although I walked into the class self-conscious about my lack of wine expertise, I left feeling like a bit of an expert myself, eager to  sign up for more classes!  The iYellow Wine School is the place to be for any wine lover who is looking to build their wine confidence!  Enroll with the iYellow Wine School today!

Click here for more iYellow Wine School photos!

Photo by Wendy Marchioni.

Sauteed Pear Crepes

I'm the official crepe lady in the house, (although my sister made them for the first time this week and did an great job!) so when I still had lots of pears from my Oma to use up, I decided to prepare Sauteed Pear Crepes.  In the past when I have made crepes, I usually just lay out a bunch of different fruits and spreads for people to prepare their crepes on their own.  This time, I wanted to take my crepe making skills one step further and make the filling myself as well as the actual crepes.  Sauteed pears are incredibly simple to make, and when they are wrapped in a light and elegant crepe, they can be incredibly beautiful as well!  The pears have become tender, but still have a bit of a bite, making them a substantial filling.  The butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon sauce adds just the right amount of sweetness and moisture to have you begging for more!

Tip:  Don't have time to make crepes?  Serve the sauteed pears over vanilla ice cream for a tasty treat!

Ingredients:

Sauteed Pears

4 pears, peeled, cored, and sliced

about 2 1/2 tbsp butter

about 2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

about 1 tsp cinnamon

dusting of icing sugar (optional)

Crepe Batter

3/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

3 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar 

Directions:

Crepes

1.  Whisk or process (using a food processor) all ingredients until blended.  

2.  Refrigerate for 1 hour if using all-purpose flour. 

3.  In a lightly greased crepe pan or frying pan, fry crepes approximately 60 seconds on one side or until edges are brown, and approximately 30 seconds on the other side.

4.  Keep cooked crepes in a warm oven or toaster oven while frying other crepes to keep them warm.  

Sauteed Pears

1.  On medium to medium-high heat, melt the butter.

2.  Once butter has melted, add the pear slices and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender.

3.  Add the Brown sugar and cook, stirring, for another minute.  

4.  Remove from heat, and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Serve inside of crepes, sprinkled with icing sugar and more cinnamon.

French Potato Salad with Green Beans

I think I find a new potato salad recipe everyday, but two that stood out for me this summer were potato salad recipes with green beans, and classic french potato salad recipes. I decided to combine the two recipes to make a French Potato Salad with Green Beans. This salad is bursting with flavours and textures! The vinaigrette is tangy, and because there is no dairy or mayonnaise, it is great for a picnic or packed lunch. The tender potatoes go great with the sweet and zesty shallots and crispy green beans, with hints of saltiness from the capers that are scattered throughout the dish.

Tip: If you don't have shallots on hand, you may use fresh chives or very finely minced red onion.

Ingredients:

1.5 Il. mini red potatoes

1/2 pound green beans

about 5 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 shallot, minced

2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

2 tbsp capers, drained

1 tbsp grainy mustard

about 5 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to season

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in water and allow to boil. Once water has boiled, reduce heat to low and cook for about 20-25 minutes, until tender when inserted with a fork. In the last 5-7 minutes of cooking, add the green beans. Remove potatoes and beans, let sit for about 5 minutes, and cut into quarters.

2. In a bowl, whisk together red wine vinegar, shallot, parsley, capers, and grainy mustard.

3. While continuing to whisk, slowly add in the olive oil in a small stream.

4. Pour over the potatoes and green beans and season with salt and pepper.

Pear Muffins with Streusel Topping

Many of my food memories have to do with family, and most of my family food memories have to do with my Oma (grandmother in German).  There is no doubt that the woman takes the title of Queen when it comes to the kitchen.  In the house that my mother grew up in and, quite frankly, I grew up quite a lot in as well, they had a big beautiful pear tree in the backyard.  Ill be honest, I didn't exactly appreciate that pear tree then.  The joy that I got out of the tree wasn't in the realm of food or any culinary adventures.  There was a lot more pear throwing fights, tree climbing, and pear "perfume" making (don't even ask!).  Now that I'm older, my appreciation for homegrown food has grown immensely, and I am now able to find the joy of a pear tree that doesn't include cuts and bruises.  My Oma is now living in a new home that we have all filled with new memories, and even a new pear tree!  So when my Oma brought me a big bag of freshly picked pears on the weekend, I began my hunt for a great pear recipe.  

I have been visiting the Rouxbe Cooking School website daily for the past while, yet I have not tried any of their recipes yet.  So a bag of fresh pears felt like the proper occasion to do so.  Here I have made Rouxbe's Pear Muffins with Streusel Topping.  The muffins are moist and light, with juicy chunks of pear throughout, complemented by sweet cinnamon.  The streusel topping makes these muffins extra tasty and gives them the versatility to be served as both breakfast and dessert items.  Enroll with Rouxbe to gain access to view the amazing video recipe tutorial. 

Ingredients:

Muffins

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cold butter

1 to 1 1/2 fresh pears

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400º. 

2.  In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until blended.  Whisk in the sour cream and oil until smooth and set aside.

3.  Sift all of the dry muffin ingredients into a large bowl.

4.  In a separate small bowl, mix together the streusel topping ingredients and combine with a pastry knife or fork.  Combine until the mixture becomes coarse crumbs.  Set aside.

5.  Peel, core, and cut 1 to 1 1/2 pears into about 1/2 inch dice.  

6.  Pour the wet muffin ingredients into the dry and gently stir just until almost combined.  Gently fold in the cut pears.

7.  Scoop the batter into a lined or greased muffin tin and top each evenly with streusel topping.

8.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

I have been wanting to make a Brown Butter Sage Sauce for quite some time now. Every time I have seen the sauce made, I find myself taken by the simplicity and elegance of it. A Brown Butter Sage sauce has the ability to highlight the ingredients inside of stuffed pasta (what a Brown Butter Sage Sauce is generally paired with), without weighing the dish down, while still adding a silky rich flavour. Presidents Choice has some amazing fresh stuffed pastas, so when I discovered 2 packages of their Veneto Pumpkin Triangoli in my fridge, I set out to make my first Brown Butter Sage sauce to accompany it!

As you can see from the above picture, it didn't go off quite as successfully as I had hoped. One of the biggest mistakes you can make with a Brown Butter Sauce, is burning the butter! It is very evident from the above picture that I did just that. I think I got the idea in my head that it just wasn't brown enough, and kept cooking it longer, which resulted in my sage leaves frying to a crisp, and my sauce full off dark burnt bits. You may be wondering why I still posted a failed recipe. Well, I don't consider this a fail! I was able to rescue my dish in the flavour department! I spooned off as much dark burnt bits from the top of my sauce as possible. Removed the crispy sage leaves, and replaced them with fresh ones. And I certainly did not mention to my family that anything had gone wrong upon serving it to them. They had no idea that this was not the proper way to prepare the sauce and fell in love with it! After I had removed most of the burnt bits, you could no longer taste anything but the silky brown butter! So no, I certainly do not consider this a fail. Just like many of you, I am still learning in the kitchen, and I definitely do mess up every now and then. What's important is to remain calm, attempt to fix any imperfections and issues, and learn for next time!

Tip: Try making this sauce with pan cooked fish. Simply cook your fish as you normally would in the pan. Remove the fish, and continue preparing the sauce. Serve the sauce on top of the fish.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp butter

8 fresh sage leaves

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to season

Directions:

1. In a skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter and drop in 4 sage leaves. Shake or stir as butter begins to cook and foam.

2. As soon as the butter begins to smell nutty and gets some colour, squeeze in the fresh lemon juice. Remove from heat and pour over pasta with remaining fresh sage leaves. If the cooked sage leaves have become too crispy, you may remove them.

3. Season with salt and pepper.