Jennifer Podis
“Earthy”

I now know why this dish is called “Beggar’s Pouches.”

Even if I weren’t serving it with the beautifully matched 2008 Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc, I know my friends would be whining — “Is that all there is?” – once the plate emptied.

And so it was on a recent Sunday evening when I invited Beth, Dave and Duane to join me for a tasting of this exquisite wine with the goat cheese-stuffed crepes. They were more than happy to help me with my homework.

We tasted the wine first, before we could prejudice our palate with any of the other food we had prepared for our casual get-together. Both Beth and Dave agreed it had a distinct aroma that included citrus. It was crisp and dry on the palate, and we detected grapefruit and lime in those citrus overtones, with a slight minerality and medium body. Beth and Dave thought it finished short, but I thought it lingered a bit longer. Duane enjoyed what he described as “light and airy.”

The crepes themselves are made with chives blended into the batter, which give them an appealing, light green color. A dollop of the goat cheese filling, which is mixed with fresh tarragon, flat leaf parsley and lemon zest, is placed in the center of the crepe. The edges of the crepe are then gathered together to close in the filling, and cinched and tied with a chive.

After five minutes in the oven, the pouches were ready for their match-up, and it produced varied reactions from around the table. Beth thought the tartness of the cheese overwhelmed the wine a little too much. Dave was quick to detect the lemon in the cheese (which he hadn’t known about in advance) and thought the wine enhanced that citrus flavor. For me, the dish brought out the wine’s crispness and citrus notes, and the wine tamed the tart cheese.

All agreed the crepes were to die for and the wine an outstanding addition to the dish.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Beggar’s Purses
Recipe from www.cakebread.com
(Serves 4 to 6)
Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter, plus extra for cooking the crepes
3 tablespoons chives
pinch of salt
6-12 chives
12 oz goat cheese
1 tsp tarragon, chopped
1/2 tsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp lemon zest
black pepper

To make the crepes:
Combine the flour, milk, eggs, butter, chives and salt in a work bowl or blender. Puree until smooth, scraping down the slides of the container and process until thoroughly blended. Pour the batter into a pitcher with a spout or a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for an hour.

Place a small non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 1/2 tsp of butter. Lift the pan off the heat and pour or ladle about an ounce of the batter into the pan. Quickly tilt and rotate the pan so that batter covers the entire bottom of the pan with a very thin coating. Return to heat and cook until the crepe bubbles and the bottom is lightly browned, about 1 minute. Turn the crepe over with a spatula. Return the pan to heat and cook the second side until lightly browned. Slide the crepe onto a plate. Repeat with the remaining crepe batter. Don’t be discouraged if the first couple of crepes don’t turn out right. It usually takes a couple of tries to learn the technique.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Blanch the whole chives in a small saucepan of boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Pat dry with a towel and set aside. In a bowl, combine the goat cheese, tarragon, parsley, lemon zest and a little cracked pepper. Stir to combine.

Lay the crepes out on a work surface. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the goat cheese filling in the center of each crepe. Gather crepe around filling and tie 1 or 2 blanched chives in a knot to close purse. Place finished purses on a sheet pan rubbed with soft butter. Place in the oven to warm slightly for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

My note: I made 10 purses from the recipe, and there was still a little batter and filling left over. This may vary depending upon the size of the pan you use to make the crepes.

Gwen Berry
“Dry”

There are not many things that will excite me more than a box arriving at my desk with the label “Cakebread” on it. Usually I reserve this level of excitement for things that are old, red, and French. But even a bottle of 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from this Napa winery will set my heart a-flutter — it is Cakebread, after all. I don’t think this winemaker is capable of making a wine that isn’t delicious.

I’ve tried other vintages of the Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc, so I had an idea of what to expect. I thought a light, seafood-based appetizer would be a nice fit. I decided to check out Cakebread’s website and found a whole list of suggested pairings. (As if I needed another reason to love this winery.)

There were great sounding recipes listed, but the coriander-dusted Ahi tuna and cucumber-mango salad with a lemon vinaigrette really caught my eye. The website even had a photo of the finished dish, which looked light, colorful and delicious.

It was fairly easy to find all of the ingredients the recipe called for at my local Publix Greenwise. The only thing I couldn’t find was preserved lemon, a North African seasoning in the vinaigrette. I substituted in some fresh lemon zest, which may have changed the flavor slightly, but it tasted just fine. I also decided to put the vinaigrette through a blender in order to better incorporate the coriander seeds.

The wine itself was a pale yellow color, with lovely aromas of lemon, grapefruit and grass. On the palate it was fresh and acidic with lovely citrus and herbal flavors, a medium body and crisp, dry finish. The salad was a great complement because both were light and fresh. The sweetness of the mango was especially good with the wine, softening the zesty acidity and creating a lovely balance.

I shared my culinary experiment with a few friends and we all enjoyed the pairing immensely. I think we recognized that it was something a bit special. This wasn’t your everyday salad, and this wasn’t your everyday wine. The two paired not only in flavor and body, but also in quality.

Even though we thoroughly enjoyed the meal on a cool autumn evening, I felt this pairing would be perfect summertime fare.

Coriander-dusted Ahi tuna and cucumber-mango salad with preserved lemon vinaigrette
Recipe from www.cakebread.com
(Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients:

24 oz. ahi tuna
2 Tablespoons ground coriander
salt & pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil
For the vinaigrette:
1 preserved lemon, minced***
1 Tablespoon ginger, minced
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 English cucumber
1 mango, diced
1/4 cup red onion, julienne
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
salt & pepper to taste

To make:
Cut the tuna into 2-inch by 2-inch loin strips. Dust the tuna generously in coriander and season with salt and pepper. In a large sauté pan over high heat, add grapeseed oil and sear the tuna on all sides quickly so the fish stays rare to medium-rare in the middle. Place the tuna on a plate lined with paper towel and cool in the refrigerator.

To make the vinaigrette, combine preserved lemon, ginger, lemon juice, coriander, and olive oil and mix well.
Cut the cucumber into 4-inch long pieces. Stand the cucumber upright and cut the sides off, discarding the seeded core. Cut the sides of the cucumber into long, thin strips like spaghetti. Place the cucumber in a bowl and add the mango, red onions and cilantro. Dress the salad with the vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To plate, slice the tuna into thin pieces and form a ring on the plate, leaving space in the center for the salad. Place the salad in the middle. Dress the sliced tuna with the remaining vinaigrette.

*** Preserved lemon is a northern African seasoning that can be found in some gourmet food stores. I could not find it and substituted fresh zest from one lemon.