Don't Forget to Winterize

You take care of your car. Now take care of yourself. Fortify yourself this winter! Have some fun while you're enduring the cruel throes and chilling woes of winter. Fortified wines are wines that have the addition of brandy or other spirit. These wines are generally higher in alcohol than your standard table wine. Many of these may be enjoyed with or as dessert. If you're a little too cold for comfort this season stay in and warm yourself with a glass or two of your favorite fortified wine. It'll help you start up the next morning and you'll be wholly satisfied. Here are a few of our picks to help you get through this time of year.

Alvear's Amontillado Sherry (750ml)
$12.99

This lovely fortified wine comes from the south of Spain and has quite a unique character. This Sherry is rich and nutty, but remains off-dry. It is very smooth and subtly warming with notes of toffee and almond. This isn't quite a dessert wine but would pair wonderfully with some roasted Marcona almonds and some Gjetost cheese.

Montevina Amador County Zinfandel Port (750ml)
$19.99

This hearty port made from zinfandel grapes comes from the Sierra Foothills region of California not far from Sacramento. It is rich and bold with notes of raisin, cocoa, and vanilla on the nose. It is ripe with berry and raisin on the palate. Try it with a dark chocolate mousse accented with fresh raspberries. Delicious!

www.montevina.com

Hardys Whiskers Blake Classic Tawny (750ml)
$15.99

This outstanding value tawny port hails from Down Under. It is aged for an average of 8 years and is as smooth as can be. It is very rich with notes of caramel, coffee, toasted nuts, and toffee. This is delicious on its own, but would pair wonderfully with almost any caramel or toffee dessert, tiramisu, cheesecake, or your favorite blue cheese. Decadent!

http://www.hardys.com.au/

Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Rutherglen Muscadelle (Tokay) (375ml)
$17.99

This completely decadent dessert wine also comes from Australia. This Victorian stunner is very sweet with notes of caramel, toffee, tea, marmalade, coffee, and spice. Wonderful with pecan or pumpkin pie, crème brulee, sticky toffee pudding, or caramel cheesecake.

www.oldbridgecellars.com

Lustau Solera Reserva Pedro Ximenez San Emilio Sherry (750ml)
$25.99

Do you like sweet stuff? Really sweet? This Spanish Sherry made from the Pedro Ximenez grape is about as sweet as it gets. It tastes like concentrated raisin syrup with notes of toffee vanilla. If you really wanted to you could pour this on waffles or pancakes for a decadent breakfast. It would also be great with fruitcake, ice cream, or a toffee trifle with raisins. Sweet!

www.emilio-lustau.com/

2003 Warre's Vintage Porto (750ml)
$89.99

Has winter really got you down? Bring out the big guns! Quash the doldrums with a big, intense, flavorful vintage Porto from Portugal. The 2003 Warre's is decadently rich with notes of raisin, blackberry, and spice. It's delicious now, but if you have the patience wait 30 years or so and be rewarded beyond expectation. Fantastic with your favorite blue cheese or a dark, decadent chocolate dessert. Wow!

www.warre.com

Recipes

Sticky Toffee Pudding

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup pitted dates
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

TOFFEE SAUCE:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch round or square baking dish. Sift the flour and baking powder onto a sheet of waxed paper. Chop the dates fine. Place in a small bowl and add the boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a bowl of electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until blended. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the date mixture to the batter and fold until blended with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake until pudding is set and firm on top, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack. Toffee Sauce: Combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small heavy saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil gently over medium low heat until mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes. Preheat broiler. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the sauce over the pudding. Spread evenly on top. Place pudding under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute. Serve immediately spooned into dessert bowls. Drizzle with toffee sauce and top with a spoonful of whipped cream.

Caramel Cheesecake

Caramel:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cheesecake Base:

1 pound 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 tablespoon orange zest
6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream

Caramel:

In a heavy metal sauce pot combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice. Over high heat cook the sugar to a deep caramel color and pour out into a round 9-inch cake pan, turning around the perimeter so as to cover the sides and bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool completely while you make the cake.

Cheesecake Base:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on low speed work the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and orange zest. Continue to mix for 2 minutes until smooth. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and scrape down after each addition.

On low speed slowly stream in the heavy cream. Scrape down every 30 seconds. Remove from bowl and pour out into prepared cool caramel pan.

Bake in a hot water bath for 1 hour. When finished the cake will be slightly firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and place in the refrigerator. Make sure to cool down for at least 4 hours before flipping over. The cake can be made up to 2 days in advance.

Flip over by placing a 12-inch flat plate over the top of the cake pan. Hold with a firm grip and flip cake upside down. Let the pan sit on top for a second. Lift pan off the cake and serve on its own or with berries.

Poached Pears with Port and Ginger

4 1/2-inch piece fresh gingerroot
9 cups water
6 firm-ripe Bartlett, Anjou, or Comice pears, with stems intact
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Tawny Port
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

Peel gingerroot and slice thin; cut the slices into thin strips. Cook the gingerroot in a saucepan of simmering water for 10 minutes. Drain gingerroot and discard water.
In a saucepan large enough to hold pears lying on their sides, bring 9 cups water to boil with gingerroot, sugar, Port, and lemon juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Peel pears, leaving stems intact, and cut a thin slice from bottom of each if necessary to enable pears to stand upright when served. Arrange pears on their sides in poaching liquid, adding water as necessary to just cover. Simmer pears, turning them occasionally, until tender, 20 to 40 minutes depending on ripeness. Carefully transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a bowl and boil poaching liquid until reduced and slightly syrupy.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and orange zest.
Pour sauce over pears. Pears may be made 1 day ahead and cooled in sauce before being chilled, covered. Serve pears warm or chilled, with dollops of the mascarpone.

Praline Bread Pudding

1 tablespoon butter
4 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
6 cups 1/2-inch day-old bread cubes
2 cups crumbled pralines, recipe follows
2 cups Anglaise Sauce, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tins with the butter.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla together. Whisk in the cream and milk. Fold in the bread and pralines. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Spoon the filling into each muffin tin. Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the center is firm. Serve the pudding with the Anglaise sauce.

Pralines:

1/2 pound light brown sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
Pinch salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix sugar, salt, evaporated milk, and butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Stir in pecans and cook over medium heat until mixture reaches the soft ball stage. (234 to 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer; if you spoon a drop of boiling syrup into a cup of ice water, it will form a soft ball that flattens easily between your fingers.)
Remove pan from heat and stir rapidly until mixture thickens. Drop pralines by teaspoonfuls, 1-inch apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets; let cool completely until firmed up. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: about 1 dozen

Anglaise Sauce:

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
5 egg yolks

In a saucepan, over high heat, whisk the cream together with the sugar and vanilla bean. Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat. In a bowl beat the egg yolks until thick and frothy. Temper the egg yolks by stirring just 1/4 cup of the sauce into the yolks, until incorporated. Turn the egg yolk mixture into the sauce and stir until thoroughly blended. Return the saucepan to low heat and cook 2 to 4 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching. Remove from the heat. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups