Time for Your Just Desserts

Signature dishes are not to be taken lightly. This one comes from a good friend of mine whose handle is nearly impossible to pronounce unless you're Welsh, ddeuddeg. He brought this cheesecake when he came to visit, and it was an instant success. Weighing in at a hefty 6 pounds (though it felt more like 63), this dessert delighted us and tantalized us with its richness and sweetness. It was agreed at the time that a moscato d'asti that we'd had that evening made a fantastic pairing, and I had saved a bottle just for an occasion like this on which to have it again.

Unfortunately, that bottle decided it wanted to spew forth sugary syrupy stuff on my cellar floor and I can no longer trust it. After some discussion with others and with ddeuddeg, we decided a good alternative would be a dry bubbly. After some further discussion with ddeuddeg, I decided I was ill qualified to attempt to actually create this confection, as it does require some skill in baking which I lack horrifically. So there's no pictures of the cheesecake.

However, wine.woot recently put out its first sparkling wine in time for the New Year festivities, and I was fortunate enough to receive this to sample. Upon reviewing it, we decided it would work well with the now-famous White Chocolate Ginger Cheesecake. And so that is the pairing I present to you today.

Wine: 2001 Woot Cellars Reboot
Meal: White Chocolate Ginger Cheesecake

Color: (5/5)
Good clarity, pale yellow in color, like wheat. A good number of smallish bubbles floated eagerly upwards from the bottom of the glass to the top. Pretty.

Nose: (11/15)
Pleasant but on the plain side. Granny smith apples were the first thing to come to mind. Friend agreed and said like very new granny smiths. Other friend waxed poetic about honeysuckle and pears. I eventually could see the honeysuckle, but not sure I would've gotten there without the suggestion. I also pulled out some wheat toast.

Taste: (6/10)
Again, pleasant but plain. Predominantly pears and sour apples. Friend added really early season white grapes. It was tart, for sure.

Finish: (6/10)
Meh. Salty. Like rock salt. Very minerally finish, and it lasted forever. Not unpleasant, but not really the kind of finish I like to have.

Aging: (2/5)
It's probably peaking now, so I would definitely have these soon.

Overall: (3/5)
I didn't dislike it. It didn't rock my socks, either. But we did finish the bottle in one night. It drinks very easily, and will be just perfect for a party when you have food floating around and everyone's in good spirits. We broke out some Brandini Toffee to have with it, and they complemented really well. Could also see having this with a rich cheesecake, soft sweet creamy cheeses, desserts, strawberries.

Total: 83pts

Want to make this meal?

White Chocolate Ginger Cheesecake

CRUST
13 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 50 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
6 1/2 T. unsalted butter, melted, cooled

FILLING
1 pound good-quality white chocolate, such as Lindt or
Baker's (I use Callebaut), finely chopped
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 c. sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 T. vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2/3 c. minced crystallized ginger
1 tsp. ground ginger
White chocolate curls

FOR CRUST: Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Wrap outside of pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Finely grind cookies, sugar and ginger in processor. Add
butter; blend until moist clumps form. Press onto bottom and up sides of pan. Chill while preparing filling.

FOR FILLING: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 300°F. Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler set over hot water until chocolate melts. Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Beat in vanilla and
ground ginger. Gradually beat in melted white chocolate. Stir in crystallized ginger.

Transfer filling to prepared crust. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot
water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake until cheesecake puffs
and edges crack slightly, about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.

Transfer cake to rack. Run small knife around sides of cake to loosen. Cool completely. Remove
foil from pan sides. Chill cake overnight. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)
Release pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Top with chocolate curls.

Serves 12 to 14.

Tips for Cheesecake Success
MIXING:
1. Have all the ingredients at room temperature before beginning.
2. Blend cream cheese and sugars at medium speed until smooth and creamy before adding eggs.
Then use the lowest speed of your electric mixer for the rest of the mixing, and mix only as
long as necessary to get everything well mixed.
3. Avoid using the balloon whip on a KitchenAid mixer. It introduces an excessive amount of
air, which tends to cause cracks in the surface.

BAKING:
1. Use a pan of water on the bottom of the oven to add moisture to the oven. (I use an old rusty
13x9 roasting pan. It's ugly, but eventually, every springform pan will leak, and this way I
don't need to clean up the oven.)
2. NEVER open the oven during the first 75% of the baking time. And even after that, don't
open it any more or any longer than necessary.
3. Make sure the oven temperature is correct (Use an oven thermometer), and don't overbake. If the edges are set, even if the center still jiggles a bit, it's probably done. It will firm up as it
cools.

COOLING:
1. As soon as the cheesecake is out of the oven, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.
This allows the cake to contract properly as it cools.
2. Leave it on a wire rack at least until you can handle the pan with bare hands before refrig-
erating it. Do not cover it until it has thoroughly chilled, at least a few hours. Then cover it
tightly to keep it from drying out.
3. Any garnishes should be added shortly before serving.

Enjoy!

Pinwheels and Bubbles

The next in line for Holiday favorites comes from cjsiege, who has a sparkling personality and a penchant for sparklies to match. CJ has provided a recipe for Chevre Pinwheel appetizers, which can serve as a base to be jazzed up, or can be served as-is. I had a thought pop in mind immediately upon reading the recipe that I knew would work perfectly. And indeed, this comes pretty close to being a perfect pairing!

Wine: N.V. Mumm Napa Brut Rosé
Meal: Chevre Pinwheel Appetizers

Before I get into the scoring, let me just preface by saying that this reminded me very much of being a fizzy version of the grenache rose just recently reviewed, so some of the comments may seem quite alike. Also, because this is a non-vintage, I am not scoring on aging. Aging means nothing to a non-vintage, so the overall rating will be out of 10 points.

Color: (5/5)
Rich pink, almost salmon colored with good clarity. Nicely sized bubbles that trail from the bottom of the glass to the top that make really pretty patterns when you twirl the glass.

Nose: (11/15)
Strawberries and raspberries up front. Summery, pleasant, but simple.

Taste: (8/10)
More fizzy in the mouth than the bubbles would lead you to believe. Tastes very much like a raspberry spritzer, very similar to the grenache rose in the previous post. Nice and dry, clean. Really tasty.

Finish: (6/10)
Short but pleasant. Nothing memorable about it though.

Overall: (7/10)
Really good stuff, very easy drinking. Fun to drink, too, with the fizziness!

Total: 87pts

What led me to choosing this was the chevre cheese that is featured in the pinwheels. I knew it would need something with good acidity to counterbalance the creaminess of the cheese. Since it is an appetizer, it was also a great chance to be able to go with a sparkling wine. And how appropriate that this was for CJ, mistress of sparklies! The wonderful thing about this pairing is that the wine really brings out the herbs in the pinwheels. It cleanses the palate of the cheese, and it just works really well.

I made two versions since the recipe makes two rolls - the basic recipe, and one with salami rolled in. Both were just amazing!

Want to make this meal?

Chevre Pinwheel Appetizers

Makes 32 little appetizer things.

2 cans crescent roll dough (the new Pillsbury one that doesn’t have perforations is ideal)
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 oz chevre (goat cheese), room temperature. (Flavored is good, too.)
Herbs/spices of choice (Italian seasoning, or thyme & sage, or dill, or garlic & chive, etc.)
2 T mayonnaise, divided

Thoroughly mix together cream cheese and chevre until they are well blended. Add 2 tsp (dried) or 2 T (fresh) herbs & spices to taste, flavoring the cream cheese.

Lay a long sheet of wax paper on the workspace – at least 24 inches. Open and unroll the crescent roll dough onto the wax paper. If the dough is perforated, squish the perfs back together again. Make sure the long edge of the rectangle faces you and the short edges are to the left & right sides. Using a silicone or rubber spatula, spread 1 T mayo across the surface of the dough, leaving about 1 inch clear on the long edge closest to you. The aim is a micro-thin layer of mayo across the dough – except for the last 1 inch. (You need that edge clean so you can seal the roll.)

Using an offset spatula, pat & smear ½ of the cheese mixture all across the dough – everywhere the mayo is. You’ll need to pat it into place instead of spread, because the mayo will make the dough base slippery. Starting at the long edge away from you, roll the dough toward you in a relatively tight spiral. You should end at the un-mayo’ed edge closes to you. Re-roll the entire dough log in the sheet of wax paper, twisting the ends closed. Place the roll in the fridge for at least 1 hour before you even THINK about slicing it.

Now, make the second roll exactly the same way you made the first roll. Chill it, too.

After thoroughly chilling the rolls, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 jelly-roll pans with parchment paper. Slice each roll into 16 discs. (Be careful doing this. I’ve sliced my fingers too many times while doing this part. Try keeping the roll wrapped in the wax paper. Sometimes this helps. ) Lay each disc flat to bake. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes, rotating the pans as needed about halfway through. Remove to a cooling rack. Serve warm. These can be reheated if wrapped in Release foil and baked for 5-8 minutes from the fridge.

The mayo is actually a critical part of the recipe. If you don’t put the mayo layer on, the cheese is completely absorbed by the dough, and you don’t get the pretty pinwheel effect.

CJ says: The basic recipe (dough, cream cheese, and mayo layer) is a great springboard. I’ve mixed in parmesan cheese, then put a layer of prosciutto on top of the cheese, rolled and baked. That is yummy. I’ve also used veggie cream cheese, then topped with strips of roasted red pepper and shaved slices of provolone for a vegetarian version. I’ve also used feta cheese and minced kalamata olives mixed in to the cream cheese for a greek version.