Top 4: Best Value Wine Finds (2012)

After the countless occasions I've perused wine shops this year and last, it's still a challenge to find some really good, everyday wine that doesn't break the bank. Now that I think of it, I had spent a small, graduate student fortune on wine last year. I bought bottles in a wide range of prices from $6 to $100+. But for "everyday wine", I usually spent about $20. For a "nice treat wine"- $35. Special occasion wine- $60. Then there are the $100+ bottles I'm hanging onto. But when it comes down to it, price does not guarantee a good or bad wine.

In 2012, I had a lot of good wine, but I also had a lot of wine that wasn't worth the price point. Looking back at all the good bottles of wine I had in 2012, I have compiled a list of my four favorites that are a great value. Everyone wants more bang for their buck and here are the wines that I feel deliver:




(1) Allegrini 'Palazzo della Torre' Veronese, 2008, $19
This full-bodied, Italian wine is sourced from an estate north of Verona (Romeo and Juliet!). In short, the taste hints of blackberries, tobacco, and minerals. 90 points and listed in 'Top 100 Wines of 2011' from Wine Spectator.

(2) Louis Latour Beaune, $18
This is a true French style white wine. Light, crisp, mineralic, not fruity like Californian white wines. While it lacks in complexity, this is an easy drinking wine which is also very versatile when it comes to food pairing. I have bought 3 or 4 bottles so far and enjoy it with seafood, pasta alfredo, roast chicken, mushrooms.

(3) G. Chevalier Sauternes, 2009, 350ml, $12.99
I love the dessert wine Sauternes. It's so sweet and even people who do not like wine usually admit that Sauternes is pretty good. Sauternes prices can get pretty expensive. My favorite Sauternes this year is the 2001 Chateau Giraud. Unfortunately, that bottle is $60. When I saw this G. Chevalier bottle in Trader Joe's for $12.99, my curiosity wouldn't let me pass it up. Come to find out, this wine is actually produced by Chateau Giraud exclusively for Trader Joe's. Wow, was I lucky. If a sweet wine which tastes of honey, citrus, and apricots sounds good to you, pick up this bottle!

       (4) Vinterra Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010, $25

I came across this wine at a Columbia, SC wine shop called Green's Beverages.  I cannot find much information on this wine online. All I know is that this wine was sold as excess from a premium winery (wish I knew which one!) on Howell Mountain in Napa Valley. Of course this premium winery's name is a secret because they don't sell bottles of wine for $25. It may be $25, but it drinks like a $50 bottle. It's very smooth for being so young. The wine is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot.  Decanting recommended.  

Pasta di Mandorla | Italian Almond Cookies

I decided to make these cookies because my boyfriend- who isn't a dessert person- will occasionally rave about the "pasta di mandorle" he had in Sicily. During his rave, he continues to tell me how he brought some of these magical almond cookies to his sister near Milan and she ate them all up within moments. He finishes with, "I'm afraid if you tried the cookies you would be on the next flight to Sicily and would never leave."
Anyway... I got tired of hearing about these amazingly delicious cookies that I have never tried and decided to make some on my own.

If you've had marzipan, this is basically the same thing in the form of a cookie. They are made of almonds, so this is great for people trying to eat gluten-free. The end result is a delicious almond cookie with a slightly crispy outside and soft centers. They are so good, you'll have to restrain yourself from eating them all. (I think I accidentally ate almost a whole batch of cookies today for lunch and dinner.)

I found a pasta di mandorle recipe on an Italian blog (Thanks, Google Translate!). I modified the recipe only slightly to make the cookies less sweet. They are really easy to make and they turned out pretty yummy. I had my boyfriend try them (that's the real test since he's Italian) and he said they were good. He's always very critical, so I guess I did a good job.

Pasta di Mandorla | Almond Cookies
Ingredients:
275 grams Almond Flour
225 grams Super Fine Sugar (also called Caster Sugar)
75 grams egg white (about 2 large egg whites)
1 tsp vanilla extract
candied cherries, whole almonds, or pistachios

[Note: If you don't have almond flour or superfine sugar, you can process the same amount of blanched almonds and regular sugar in a food processor.] 

Directions:
Line cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Combine almond flour and sugar in medium bowl.
In small bowl, whisk egg whites and vanilla extract.
Pour egg white mixture into flour mixture and combine.
Scoop dough with a small spoon and make 1 inch balls. Place on cookie sheet and press dough balls with your thumb to flatten slightly. Place a candied cherry, whole almond, or chopped pistachios on top of cookie.
Cover with plastic wrap and let cookies dry for at least 10 hours or overnight. This will help the cookies keep their shape and prevent flattening. (No need to refrigerate, but you can if you want.)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. Be careful not to over-bake or they will become hard.
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Other variations I've tried:
 -Adding 1 tsp of lemon zest to almond flour mixture
 -Rolling cookie dough balls in powdered sugar before flattening them. This gives the cracked effect.
The variations are endless as long as you don't change the wet to dry ingredients ratio. Next time I might try adding cinnamon or cardamom. 

Tip: To make the cookies look fancier. Use your pastry bag with an extra large star pastry tip and pipe out the dough. Unfortunately, I haven't found a pastry tip in the local stores that is large enough to work with the hard dough.  

Blueberry Scones

My dad and I went to a local blueberry farm in Western Massachusetts. The farm had huge fields of blueberry trees and vast amounts of ripe blueberries waiting to be picked. They were really cheap at only $3.25 a pound. Needless to say, we went a little overboard picking and brought home five pounds of blueberries!

What to do with all of these blueberries!? We cannot eat five pounds of blueberries, so I started thinking about what to make with them. Blueberry pie was the first thing that came to mind, since that would take care of at least 6 cups of blueberries. But I decided I was in the mood for a breakfast/mid-afternoon treat. I've made muffins a lot, so it was time for scones!

These are coffeehouse-style scones- sweet and moist with a flaky crumb. This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated. It's a little fastidious and requires freezing and grating a stick of butter, plus rolling out the dough and folding it a few times. I was able to streamline the butter grating by using my food processor's grater attachment. Keep the dough really cold and it will be easier to work.
After all the work it took to prep the scones, I baked them for 18 minutes according to the instructions.  Either my dad's oven is too hot or I let the dough get too warm (the scones were a little melty on the bottom before I stuck them in the oven). The scones got a little burned at the bottom while the inside was not cooked enough.  I will have to make this recipe again to get it right. Still they turned out pretty tasty!

INGREDIENTS

• 16tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), frozen whole (see note above)
• 1 1/2cups fresh blueberries (about 7 1/2 ounces), picked over (see note)
• 1/2cup whole milk
• 1/2cup sour cream
• 2cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), plus additional for work surface
• 1/2cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces), plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
• 2teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2teaspoon table salt
• 1teaspoon grated lemon zest

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Score and remove half of wrapper from each stick of frozen butter. Following photo at left, grate unwrapped ends on large holes of box grater (you should grate total of 8 tablespoons). Place grated butter in freezer until needed. Melt 2 tablespoons of remaining ungrated butter and set aside. Save remaining 6 tablespoons butter for another use. Place blueberries in freezer until needed.
2. 2. Whisk together milk and sour cream in medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.
3. 3. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.
4. 4. Roll dough into approximate 12-inch square. Following illustrations, fold dough into thirds like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to countertop. Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes.
5. 5. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12-inch square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough. Using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. 6. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Hummingbird Cake

   
This cake was a special one! Not only was this cake made for my colleague Jessica's birthday, but it was my last baking creation at USC! I came across this Southern recipe in my "America's Best Lost Recipes" cookbook. I had never heard of Hummingbird cake before, but apparently it's the most requested recipe of Southern Living magazine.
   
Hummingbird Cake is a rich, very sweet cake made of... hummingbirds. Okay, okay, it does not actually contain hummingbirds. It is made of bananas, pineapple, and pecans. It has the characteristics of carrot cake and a similar taste of banana bread. The Hummingbird Cake has the nickname "Never-ending cake" because it is so dense and filling; it should be served in small slices making it perfect for large groups.
   
The origination of the Hummingbird Cake recipe is a mystery. Some say the cake originated in Jamaica. After all, Jamaica's national bird is a type of hummingbird. Makes sense.  Some believe the cake originated in the South due to ingredients such as pecans (a southern staple). Who knows? Maybe the cake got it's name because it's sweet enough for a hummingbird? There are many hypotheses, but what we do know is that the recipe was first published in Southern Living in 1978- submitted by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina.

I followed the recipe from a great cake blog named Sweetapolita. The recipe is actually modified from another great blog called Joy of Baking. Beside using three bananas instead of four, I followed the recipe exactly. Making the cake was easy and everything went smoothly except for one thing... I ran out of cream cheese frosting! I put too much frosting between the cake layers. Out of desperation, I was forced to use a can of vanilla frosting to finish the cake. I mixed the canned frosting with cream cheese and it worked well.

Despite uneven layers and the frosting disaster, this cake turned out really delicious. I plan to make this cake again- next time a little less sloppily to improve aesthetics. Other than that, this cake is pretty much perfect.

Howell Mountain Wine Journey

I've been to Napa several times and I've found that I generally prefer the mountain wines to those of the valley. Meanwhile, I have never made it up to Howell Mountain for a tasting! Since I am moving from Los Angeles to Houston soon, the trip to Howell Mountain looks like it will be in the very distant future. My solution: I'll just bring Howell Mountain to me! I am going to start with this 2006 Ladera Howell Mountain Cabernet I purchased at K&L wine shop for $59.99. Here are the winemaker's notes: The 2006 Ladera Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is as deep and dark in color as it is in aroma and flavors. The nose on this wine is floral and smoky with rich blackberry aromas. The entry is elegant and soft with flavors of dark cherries, blueberry, cocoa, and spiced plum. The palate is layered with well structured tannins which lead to a long and complex finish of dark currant. I am going to open this bottle tomorrow at a pre-Independence Day party. Wine tasting notes soon to follow!