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a big meal and pleases the palate more than a glass of
Port for dessert. If you haven’t tried a good one that is
made from a reliable Port Wine producer with years of
experience, don’t formulate an opinion just yet. I have
had too many bad ones where all you could taste was the
alcohol and little else. That would turn any first time
Port drinker off!
The great ones though, should be smooth and easy to
drink, despite the 18 to 20 percent alcohol, with sweet
nutty flavors and a honeyed texture that coats your lips.
You will find cassis, raisins, caramel, nuts and plums
o-plenty in a good quality port along with some oak
nuances in your more expensive examples. So rich are
they that Port makes an excellent dessert all on it’s own.
Because Port Wines are sweet and very rich, I would
not recommend serving them with dinner entrée’s,
however, most desserts are fair game. Desserts made
with chocolate in particular seem to just beckon for a
great Port Wine. Cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies,
baked apple pie, and dark chocolates, the possibilities
are endless. Try serving Port with nuts to bring out the
nutty flavors or strong cheeses like Stilton that normally
would over-power most wines.
My favorite way to serve Port though is on my couch in
front of the fireplace!
Here are some exciting dishes you may try sampling
with a good Port Wine:
Recipes
By Sid Goldstein from “The Wine Lover’s Cookbook”
1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1-½ teaspoons sugar
1-½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/8-teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup cold water
Filling
6 cups peeled, sliced green apples (about 4 to 5 medium apples)
1-cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, or instant tapioca
1/8-teaspoon kosher salt
Streusel Topping
1-cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely diced crystallized ginger
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
Garnish: small wedges of Stilton cheese
Preheat oven to 375*F. To make the crust, in a food processor fitted with a pastry blade, combine flour,
sugar, and cinnamon. Blend in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, about the size of small
peas. Mix the salt and water and add them to the flour mixture. Blend only until the dough comes
together.
On a lightly floured board or pastry cloth, flatten dough into a circle. Roll out dough with a rolling pin to
make an 11-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Gently fold dough into quarters and then transfer to a 9-inch
pie pan, placing point at center. Carefully unfold, easing dough from center out to rim, pressing dough
gently onto sides of pan. Trim any overhanging dough. Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill.
In a large bowl, gently mix together all filling ingredients. In a small bowl, make streusel topping by
combining flour, sugar, and ginger with a fork. With fingers, rub in butter until lumps are no longer
distinguishable.
To assemble pie, transfer filling into pie shell. Sprinkle streusel topping over pie. Decoratively crimp
edge of pie dough. Place on baking sheet and bake on middle rack of oven for 1 hour, or until the crust
and topping are light golden and juices bubble. To prevent excessive browning of rim, wrap edge of crust
with a strip of foil after 35 to 40 minutes of baking. Remove foil after 55 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool. Serve with a small wedge of Stilton cheese.
Serves 6 to 8
cream. The mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated until 30 minutes before baking to allow them to come
back to room temperature. Make sure the muffin tins are well greased for easy removal of the cakes.
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1. Preheat oven to 425. In heavy pot on low heat, melt chocolate and butter together. Cool
slightly.
2. Beat together sugar and egg yolks with an electric mixer until thick and creamy, about 4
minutes.
3. Pour in chocolate mixture and beat together for 5 minutes.
4. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, about three minutes. Fold into
mixture along with flour.
5. Pour into 6 nonstick buttered moulds or non-stick muffin tins. Bake for 7 to 7 minutes or
until edges are just cooked and center is still liquid.
6. Cool for 5 minutes in tins. Carefully remove to serving dishes. Serve with lightly whipped
cream.
Serves 6.
