Spring has finally sprung in wine country! After a very cool and rainy start to the growing season, we’re finally getting a little springtime heat. Our grapevines have leafed out nicely, and the garden is teeming with herbs, strawberries, favas and fresh peas! The trick for us is having the peas actually make it into the kitchen. We tend to pick, shell and eat them right in the garden, their sweet taste and crunch addictive. If the fresh peas manage to come inside the kitchen, I love to make this chilled spring soup. Its bright, beautiful green color is the essence of springtime. Don’t worry if you don’t have fresh peas. Frozen petite peas work fine, too. Serve the soup in white teacups for an elegant dinner party starter. It pairs wonderfully with our Hanna 2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, with its flavors of citrus and cream. Enjoy!
 

Chilled Spring Pea Soup with Crème Fraiche, Chives and Mint
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 medium shallots, chopped fine
1 small Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 pound fresh or frozen baby peas
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup crème fraiche, thinned with a little water
Chopped chives and fresh mint for garnish
Heat oil in a medium sized heavy saucepan over medium heat, until shimmering. Add shallots and sauté until translucent. Add chopped potato and stir for several minutes. Add stock and simmer, covered, until potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove lid and add peas. Simmer for several minutes, until fresh peas are cooked through. Frozen peas will cook in less time.

Purée soup in batches in a blender or food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place soup in the refrigerator until chilled through. Serve soup in chilled teacups, with a drizzle of crème fraiche and a garnish of chives and mint.

Serves 6

It’s cold and rainy this week, and I wanted something warm, delicious and different for a quick weeknight dinner. Mussels to the rescue! They cook  very quickly in an aromatic broth of fennel, saffron and white wine, and they’re fun to eat. Set out a bowl for shells, plenty of napkins, and go to town. Serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices, toss a salad and pour yourself a glass of Hanna Russian River Valley Chardonnay. Dinner is done!

Mussels in Fennel and Saffron Broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped fennel

1/2 cup white wine

2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 cup fish stock

generous pinch of saffron threads

2 pounds mussels, cleaned

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven big enough to hold all the mussels. Add shallots, garlic and fennel and saute for a few minutes, until shallots are translucent. Add wine, tomato, and fish stock and stir. Let simmer for five minutes, then add saffron and stir. Add mussels and cover pot to cook over low heat for five minutes, or until mussels are open. To serve, ladle mussels and broth into shallow bowls and serve with crusty bread.

Serves 4.

I hosted a bridal shower for the daughter of a dear friend this weekend. It was a beautiful warm summer day in wine country, so I took advantage of the ripe tomatoes in my garden and made this lovely savory tart. The crust is a basic pate brisee, and the filling is goat cheese mixed with lemon thyme, and then topped with pretty slices of heirloom tomatoes. The tart can be made ahead and served at room temperature, so you can enjoy your guests and a glass of wine instead of hassling with any last minute kitchen drama. You can make the tart in a rectangular tart pan and cut small squares as an appetizer, or make it in a traditional round tart pan and serve slices as a main course. The buttery crust and tangy filling of the tart worked beautifully with our citrusy, lush Chardonnay. Enjoy!

Summer Tomato and Chevre Tart

For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into chunks
2-3 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:
12 ounces chevre (goat cheese)
1 tablespoon chopped lemon thyme
3 or 4 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced thinly crosswise
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour and salt until combined. Add butter chunks and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add ice water and pulse until the mixture just begins to come together. It will not form into a ball, so do not overmix. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and form pastry into a flat disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for half an hour or up to 2 days.

When you’re ready to bake the tart, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll the tart dough out into a 12 inch circle. Fit crust into a 10 inch tart pan and push the dough up the sides, trimming the top flush with the rim.

With a fork, mix goat cheese and thyme together with salt and pepper to taste. Spread over the tart dough. (If your chevre mixture is very dry, you can moisten it a bit with cream or milk. Don’t worry if small areas of the dough are uncovered.) Top chevre mixture with overlapping tomato slices, starting at the outside edge and working in. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and more thyme, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes or until crust becomes golden. Let cool and cut. Serves 16 as an appetizer or 8 as a main course.

Despite the relatively cool weather here in Sonoma County, summer means salad to me, and my favorites are salads that work as a meal. No one wants to spend hours at the stove on a beautiful August day, so salads are a great way to entertain. Just prep the ingredients ahead of time, and then add the dressing and toss right before you’re ready to serve guests. Add a cold glass of summertime wine, and you’ve got an instant party!

My sister came to visit the other day with her two sweet daughters, and we sat down for lunch poolside to a Shrimp and Soba Noodle Salad, with a ginger and sesame dressing. Even the two year old asked for seconds! For the grownups, the tanginess of the salad’s dressing,  works perfectly with our crisp, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc. And the earthiness of the soba noodles and plump prawsns make the salad feel hearty enough for a main course.

The only trick to this salad is to not overcook the shrimp. If you can’t find soba noodles, then any kind of Asian noodle will do.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy the last weeks of summer!

Shrimp and Soba Noodle Salad

1 pound Tiger prawns, peeled, deveined and tails removed

6 ounces Soba noodles

1 yellow pepper, seeded and sliced lengthwise into matchsticks

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 green onions, chopped fine

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Juice of one lime

1 two inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated very fine

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

Bring an inch of water to simmer in a large saute pan. Place prawns in water and let simmer for a minute, then flip and let simmer for another minute. Drain water. Prawns will continue to cook as they cool.

Cook soba noodles in plenty of salted water until just al dente. Drain cooking water and run noodles under cold water. Drain and place noodles in a large bowl. Add the prawns, pepper, cilantro, and green onion.

Whisk vinegar, lime juice, ginger and garlic together. Add oils in a slow stream and whisk to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper.

Just before you’re ready to serve, toss salad with dressing and adjust seasoning as needed.

Serves four.

Yesterday, my children and I ambled down our rural road to pick the wild, ripe blackberries that mark mid summer here in wine country. We returned home with stained fingers, burrs in our shirts, and thorn scratches on our legs and arms, but with plenty of dark, juicy berries. It was too hot to turn on the oven, so we decided to make homemade blackberry ice cream! I love the combination of fresh fruit and herbs, so I steeped a little fresh thyme in the custard to add complexity.

Once you get the hang of making the ice cream custard base, then it’s easy to add whatever flavoring you like, depending on what’s in season. You’ll need to chill the custard overnight, then freeze it the next day for ice cream nirvana.

Serve our Blackberry Thyme Ice Cream with shortbread cookies and a chilled glass of Hanna Bismark Mountain Zinfandel, and you’ve got a dinner party dessert. Our Bismark Zin is brambly, fruit forward and spicy, and even though it’s dry, makes a surprisingly delicious dessert wine because of its bold berry flavors. Enjoy your summer!

Blackberry Thyme Ice Cream

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh blackberries, with 1/2 cup reserved

2 tablespoons sugar

Place milk and cream in a medium saucepan over low heat until bubbles form around the edges. Do not let simmer. Remove from heat and add thyme sprigs. Let steep for 30 minutes and remove thyme.

Beat egg yolks, sugar and salt in an electric mixer until doubled in volume. Add one cup of milk mixture to temper, then add another cup, then the remainder. Mix to combine, then return the liquid to the saucepan. Cook over low heat until the custard is  thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about five minutes.

Puree blackberries in a food processor or blender, then strain to remove seeds. Add sugar to taste.

Add blackberry puree to the custard and refrigerate overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker, and add reserved blackberries five minutes or so before the ice cream is completely frozen.

Makes 1 1/2 pints