Sinfully sensational red wine ideas

Raspberry Red Wine Slushy with Chocolate Whipped Cream

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SLUSHY:

• 1 cup Sweet Red Wine
• 1 cup Frozen Raspberries
• 1 teaspoon Sugar (optional)
• 1 cup Ice 

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:

• ½ cups Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder

METHOD

To make the slushy blend the wine, frozen raspberries, and sugar (optional) for 30 seconds in a blender. Strain the slushy mixture into a bowl through a mesh strainer to remove any raspberry seeds. Place the strained slushy mixture back in the blender with the ice. Blend 30 more seconds. Place mixture in the freezer while you make the whipped cream.

For the chocolate whipped cream: Beat the heavy cream, sugar and cocoa powder in a medium sized bowl with an electric mixer for approximately 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form.

To assemble, pour slushy into glasses and top with whipped cream.

Raspberry and Red Wine Granita

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Rest time: 1 hour
Time to table: 12 - 24 hours
Makes about 10 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bottle fruity red wine
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• 350 – 450g frozen or fresh raspberries (a berry blend works great too)
• Fresh raspberries, for serving, optional

METHOD

In a saucepan, mix the wine, water and sugar and bring to a boil. Let boil hard for a minute, stirring to help the sugar dissolve.

Take off the heat, stir in the raspberries and let steep for an hour or more in the refrigerator.

Place a mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the wine mixture through it. Press the raspberries through the mesh with the back of a spoon. (Use the smashed berry flesh in a smoothie or the morning oatmeal!)

FOR GRANITA

Transfer the berry-wine mixture to a freezer container. To avoid spilling, place the container inside another dish. (Use a 9x13 pan, a spill makes a huge mess in the freezer.) Freeze until hard, about 12 hours. 

With the tines of a fork, scrape the frozen mixture to fluff into icy crystals and serve immediately.

FOR SORBET

If you prefer a smooth, fruity sorbet and have an ice cream maker, by all means, use it. Chill the berry-wine mixture first then process until firm.

MAKE-AHEAD

This can be made several days, even a week in advance. After it freezes, just apply cling wrap to the surface to avoid freezer burn. Lasts several weeks.

  

Cheesecake ice cream with blueberry & red wine Swirl

INGREDIENTS

• 230g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• 1½ cups full cream milk
• ¾ cups, plus ½ cups sugar, divided
• zest of half a lemon
• 3 large egg yolks
• juice from half a lemon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries
• ⅓ cup red wine
• ½ cup crushed cream crackers (optional) 

METHOD

Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl, set aside.

In a large saucepan, add the cream, milk, ¾ cups sugar, and lemon zest together. Heat on medium until the cream mixture is steaming and simmering at the edges.

In a medium bowl, briskly whisk the egg yolks, and slowly pour 1 cup of the cream mixture into the egg yolks, ensuring you are whisking the eggs constantly as you pour in the cream. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, while whisking the saucepan constantly as you poured the egg mixture in.

Continue to heat and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon the mixture until it thickens. You can test this by running your finger down your spoon to see if a line remains.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl with the cream cheese. Whisk the mixture until there are no lumps (you can use an immersion blender to speed things up) and chill until the mixture reaches 40 degrees F - at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

While the ice cream mixture is chilling, heat the remaining ½ cup sugar and blueberries together in a small saucepan until the juices escape the blueberries and begins to resemble syrup. Whisk in the red wine and allow the mixture to chill.

Take out the chilled ice cream mixture and pour in the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer instructions.

Begin to pour the ice cream in an air tight container, Drizzling the blueberry sauce (and graham cracker crumbs if using) between layers of the ice cream. Allow the ice cream to freeze for about 3 - 4 hours until firm.

Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin – by Julia Child

This weekend presents the perfect opportunity to indulge in one of my favourite dishes, after watching Ratatouille, for the 100^th time last night. Besides it’s fabulous colour and ridiculously low cost, aubergine, a.k.a. eggplant dishes are usually heartier than other vegetable based recipes. It’s a common substitute for meat dishes and adds some bulk to this gratin especially, but also makes a fantastic side dish for those who are Banting. Just replace the breadcrumbs with crumbed cauliflower. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup or so olive oil
• 1 large or 2 medium eggplants
• 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium zucchini (baby marrows)
• 3 or 4 ripe large tomatoes
• 1 ½ cups onions
• 2 green peppers
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 tbsp minced parsley

For bread-crumb topping:

• 1/2 cup or so fresh bread crumbs, not too finely ground
• 1/3 cup or so freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For herbs de Provence, substitute the following mixture:

• 2 tsp each dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary and
• 1/4 tsp mint
• 1/8 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/8 tsp dried sage

METHOD

Peel and cut the eggplant. Make sure you cut eggplant into lengthwise slices that are about 1-inch wide, 3-inch long, and 3/8-inch thick. Scrub the baby marrows and cut into pieces the same size as the eggplant. Take a bowl and put the vegetables into it. Toss the vegetables with one teaspoon salt. Set them aside for 30 minutes. Drain every slice and dry with a towel.

Take a pan and put four tablespoons of olive oil into it. Sauté the baby marrows and eggplant, one layer at a time, for about one minute until they vegetables are slightly browned. Take them out and place into a dish.

Cook pepper and onions in the same pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil if needed. Cook the vegetables for 10 minutes until they are tender. Add the garlic and season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Take the tomatoes and slice them into 3/8-inch strips. Layer the tomatoes over the pepper and onions, and season them with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook for about 5 minutes on a low heat until the tomatoes start to render their juice. Check the seasoning and raise the heat. 

Boil the vegetables in the tomato juice until the juice evaporates entirely.

Take a casserole, about 2½-inch deep, and put 1/3 of the tomato mixture into it. Sprinkle the freshly minced parsley over the tomatoes. Next, arrange half of the baby marrows and eggplant on top. Layer the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put the remaining bay marrows and eggplant on top, and finish off with the rest of the tomatoes and parsley.

Cover the casserole and put it on a low heat. Let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. Check it after 10 minutes, and season it if necessary. Raise the heat a little and cook everything for 15 minutes uncovered. Cook until all the juices evaporate. Be very careful about the heat. Avoid the vegetables getting scorch at the bottom of the casserole.

Take it out, and serve!

The majority of this recipe above is written directly from her site (http://juliachildsrecipes.com/dinner/julia-childs-ratatouille/), which I find grammatically refreshing. I have changed it here and there.