Wine Wednesday

Monte Tondo Soave Classico

“This wine rains kisses in your mouth.” –Insatiable By Gael Greene

The first Wednesday of every month is Wine Wednesday! Spectacular wines under $10.00. Yep. Under $10.00. Sometimes wine is less expensive where I am, but most of the time it’s more expensive. Hopefully that means that I will pick wines that are well below the $10.00 limit for most of you.

I will post wines that I particularly like. I am no specialist by any means, but I do love wine. I know the basics of the different varietals, what regions generally produce, how wines are made, but this space is all about preference. We all like what we like, and you might like what I like too. I will post food pairings and why those pairings are suitable for the specific wine.

Monte Tondo Soave Classico 2014

Price: $8.99

Variety: Garganega

Alright time for a dry white to celebrate this crisp fall weather. We’ll have plenty of time for deep reds once it turns frigid. For now, let’s walk that thin line where you can still open your window for some pleasant fresh air.

This white is one of my favorites thus far. It’s nice and dry with notes of pear and lemon. There’s also some ginger in there without any acidity that makes it different from other white wines. Honestly, it’s just a nice bright wine!

I paired it with a gorgonzola caramelized onion tart. The onion is sweet while the cheese adds, for lack of a better term, some funk to the mouthful. Green onions lend some “snap” and freshness. It matches this wine perfectly because on the first sip, you get the dryness and citrus, and after a bite of tart, the wine tastes more green and sweet from the onions. Conversely, the wine will brighten up the tart and mellow out the cheese. You’ll love it!

Bonus! This recipe uses a dry white wine, so use this wine to ramp up the pairing!

Fun fact: bleu cheese is a large umbrella term for mold-ripened cheese that appears blue or green. Gorgonzola cheese is specifically describing a more pungent Italian cheese. It is also commonly aged, so it is often more expensive. But I would splurge 😉

Gorgonzola Caramelized Onion Tart

Makes 1 10-inch tart

Tart Shell

Adapted from David Lebovitz

3 ½ ounces (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons water

1 tablespoon sugar

⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

1 ¼ cups flour

1. Preheat oven to 410⁰F.

2. In a medium, ovenproof bowl, combine the butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt. Place the bowl into the oven for about 15 minutes or until the butter is melted and browning at the edges.

3. When done, remove the bowl from the oven. Add the flour all at once (carefully), and stir quickly until it all comes together into a ball and pulls away from the bowl.

4. Tip the dough out into a 10-inch tart pan and spread out with a spatula. Once cooled, use the heel of your hand and fingers to press the dough out. Gently work the dough until it covers the bottom of the pan and the sides. Use a fork to prick the dough all around the bottom and sides.

5. Put a large square of aluminum foil in the bottom of the tart shell and press down so that it touches the bottom of the dough yet overlaps over the sides of the tart. Fill with pie weights, beans, or rice to weigh down the dough.

6. Bake for 8 minutes in the heated oven. Take the aluminum foil out in a gathered parcel so that you take all of the rice/beans/pie weights out with it. Bake the tart until browned all over, about 8 more minutes. You may have to reach in every couple of minutes and prick the bottom with a fork to keep the bottom of the tart from bubbling up.

7. Let the tart cool before filling.

Filling

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion + 2 small sweet Vidalia onions (or 2 large yellow onions)

6 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

2 eggs

¼ teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons skim milk

3 tablespoons heavy cream

3 tablespoons dry white wine

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

A pinch marjoram

A pinch cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1. Reduce heat from tart shell (or preheat oven) to 350⁰F.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cut the onions in half tip to root and slice half circle rounds thinly. When the oil is hot, add all of the onions to the skillet. Stir occasionally until soft and browned—about 30 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, black pepper, milk, cream, white wine, marjoram, cayenne pepper, and salt. Add the cheese and chopped green onions and mix to combine.

4. Add the onions to the cream mix and pour into the prepared tart shell. Bake until set in the center, about 20-25 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and let cool. Slice and serve while warm.