Santa Margherita Wine

There is such a wonderful attraction to pairing foods and wines now. Everywhere you look on cable television 24/7 and throughout the internet blogging world, and splashed into the food magazines is now this push for more and more people to treat food and wine matching as a very personal endeavor.

So here’s a delightful Indian Chick Peas with Mushrooms dish that you will fall in love with.

Listen as we discover why the recipe pairs so well with the Santa Margherita.

Remember, all of the semi finalists in the 2010 Great Taste Challenge want you to watch their entries and to vote! So open a new bottle and prepare yourself to watch some rather amazing new recipes!

Pasta Fresca. Just the mention of it will make the mouth water.

It’s no wonder why this gorgeous dish made it to the finals of The 2010 Great Taste Challenge..

No wonder at all…

The 2010 semi finalists in The Great Taste Challenge are competing for your votes. You can vote for up to three videos per day…every day! And we’re seeing an amazing race right now. So watch them all and vote for your favorites…because…why should American Idol get all that fun???

LOL

Cheers from your all friends at Santa Margherita!

If you have come looking for food and wine recipes that literally take your breath away, this TIRAMISU paired with a delightful Santa Margherita Prosecco, simply will put the wind in your apron.

Lady Fingers
5 eggs
⅝ cup sugar
⅝ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
½ pinch salt

Espresso syrup
6 Tbsp. espresso
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. rum

Mousse
6 egg yolks
9 Tbsp. sugar
9 Tbsp. marsala wine
1 ½ cup mascarpone
1 ½ cup cream – whipped

Lady Fingers:
Separate the eggs. Whip yolks with ½ of the sugar until pale. Whip whites and the other ½ sugar until firm. Fold them together. Add sifted flour and salt and fold gently. Spread into sheet pans (12×16) lined with parchment paper and bake at 350° F. for 10 min.

Espresso syrup:
Mix hot espresso with the sugar, water, and rum.

Mousse:
Mix yolks, sugar and marsala wine in a bowl over double boiler. Whip until pale and thick. Take the mixture off the stove and fold in the mascarpone cheese. Finally, fold in the whipped cream.

To Build:
Using a cake pan, place the first lady finger layer on the bottom. Soak with espresso syrup (see Espresso syrup recipe above) and add ½ of the mousse (see Mousse recipe above). Add another layer of lady fingers, soak with syrup and mousse. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with cocoa powder before serving.

Wine Notes: The delicate bubbles in Santa Margherita Prosecco are well-matched with the feather-light texture of Tiramisu.

Look for more food and wine recipes from Santa Margherita…and never, ever, ever, stop trying to find the most amazing pairings of your favorite recipes with our best wines!

That is, we think, one of life’s greatest recipes!

Manga!

PS… Do not forget to check out The Great Taste Challenge to see how your skills at pairing wine and foods could soon make you unforgettable in the kitchen.

Looking for an amazing new food and wine event this weekend, April 24-26th? Why not dig deep into your favorite recipe book, head out to your absolute favorite shoppe for the best ingredients, and then head to the best wine store for the best Santa Margherita to go with whatever it is you can “see” being paired up in the kitchen!

That’s really what The Great Taste Challenge is…the celebration of how we match the best foods with our favorite wines.

And by showing off just how adept we are at it, and through use of a simple video, we’ve made it possible to have a food and wine event in which YOU star!!! And this weekend, if you do submit multiple food and wine recipes into The Great Taste Challenge, and you are one of the first 5 to do so, you will be the proud new owner of a Flip Camera!

Here’s a great video that explains.

How ironic that the food and wine event you may be looking for could be going on in YOUR OWN KITCHEN.

Cheers!

Naturally there are many food and wine recipes out there. As real lovers of pairing, we at Santa Margherita just happen to love the ones that stick! We simply adore food and wine pairings that create an artful balance between the perfect foods and just the right Santa Margherita Wines.

So as you prepare your kitchen and your corkscrew for your entry into The Great Taste Challenge with your best food and wine recipes, here’s one to get the mouth watering!!!

Now, when you are ready with your best food and wine pairing and you are convinced that it is your time to shine, head over to The Great Taste Challenge.

All the best!

This coming weekend, April 16-18, 2010, the Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge is heating up even more by having a “potluck with a purpose.”

Wait till you see how delicious this beautiful April weekend is going to be…

Santa Margherita will give a free Flip Mino Camcorder to  people who submit two or more videos for the Great Taste Challenge!  Have your friends over.

Share your favorite dishes. Shoot each other and each person’s dish according to the contest guidelines.  The first five hosts that submit two or more videos from their potluck parties will win a free video camera.

Yes, free.

Here’s a great way for you not only to enter for a chance to win an amazing trip for two to Los Angeles, but this weekend ONLY you could win a FREE Flip Mino Camcorder by being one of the first five hosts to submit two or more videos from your “potluck with a purpose.”

There’s no time to lose (literally). Learn more about the  www.santamargherita.us/Contest Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge and your new chance to win a great new video Flip and a trip to Los Angeles!

While the world speeds out of control with technology at light speed, there has been a real resurgence in what is real in our lives. That goes further and further until we find those very honest things that we love no matter what the time or the place…and great food and wine recipes are that and so much more.

Doesn’t matter a lick if you’re reading this on your new iPad in your hybrid while Tweeting to your masses. What matters day in and day out to so many of us is that very rare combination of great food and the perfect wine, enjoyed with family and friends, that create a meal that is deserving of a memory.

The food and wine recipes that are inside of your head, maybe even the ones that have been passed down to you, the recipes for food and wine that you KNOW set a meal apart, now want to see the light of publicity.

In fact, that’s exactly why we created The Great Taste Challenge…so that you could submit your best food and wine recipe on video for the chance to win some rather delicious prizes.

In its second year, the Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge really is a celebration of
how foods and wines are paired in the kitchens of America…and trust us, we want to see what you’ve got.

Judging this year is famed chef Fabio Viviani,  the co-owner and Executive Chef of Café Firenze Italian Restaurant and Martini Bar in Ventura County, California. Needless to point out his careful attention to wine and food detail, chef Fabio cannot wait to sink his teeth into your entries…as he knows (like we do) that more and more people have become far more savvy with how they pair foods and wine to get the perfect tastes and meals.

A word about the contest.  Keep it simple. You don?t have to prepare your dish during the video. Just show the finished entrée, which wine you paired it with and tell us a little about why you brought them together.  Tell us anything.  We want to hear your inspiration.

Ok, The Great Taste Challenge is on.

The call for amazing food and wine recipes is on.

You only need a simple video camera and the will to win.

Santa Margherita wants to know what food and wine recipes YOU think will win!

As the spectators flooded into the Signature Room on the 95^th floor of the Hancock building in Chicago, a spectacular lightning show clapped outside the floor to ceiling windows.

Three Chicago Great Taste Challenge contestants sipped on Santa Margherita Prosecco waiting for the chance to demonstrate their entry dish before an energetic crowd of 200 and three judges including Top Chef Fan Favorite Fabio Viviani.

The room buzzed as the judges took their places, television news crews got into place, photographers snapped photos and the competitors prepared for their demonstration. The evening’s master of ceremonies, John Terlato from Terlato Wines International, asked for everyone’s attention and the competition began.

Colleen McConnell stepped up to the cooking station and introduced her inspiration behind the seared scallops with pappardelle and saffron sauce paired with Santa Margherita Prosecco.

Next up was Andrew Ettenhofer showing off his chicken roulade dish paired with Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.  He deftly demonstrated the art of creating a “roulade” and guests watched intently as he rolled the chicken layered with goat cheese and roasted red peppers.

Finally, an energetic Deb Kurtzke, stepped up to the cooking station to demonstrate her signature eggplant rosettes with veal meatballs.  With a long history of cooking for large groups of family and friends, she seemed natural with such a big audience.

After each demonstration, audience members sampled the dish, discussed the recipes and made their ‘unofficial’ pick. But it would all come down to the judging team of Michigan Avenue magazine editor in chief Susanna Negovan, Terlato Wines International Executive Chef Colin Crowley and Chef Fabio. 

Terlato and Fabio brought the competing chefs together one last time to thank them for such great recipes and the courage to present them to friends and family, a packed room of spectators and the media. 

Then, the big moment came. Colleen was declared the Chicago champion! The crowd let out supporting cheers as a tearful Colleen accepted her award.

The Great Taste Challenge New York Finale is on September 24^th at the Bon Appétit Supper Club. Colleen will be joined by two more finalists selected from an online competition. The good news is that there is still time to enter. Go to www.SantaMargherita.com/Contest to learn how. It’s not hard! Maybe we’ll see you in New York.

 For recipes, photos and videos from the contest, visit www.facebook.com/SantaMargherita