What better way to say I love you than cooking dinner for the ones you love! The Valentine’s Salad recipe below is from B.R. Cohn Winery & Olive Oil Company, a wonderful winery to visit in Sonoma County, California. Visitors to B.R. Cohn can experience wine tastings and olive oil tastings. Enjoy this creative salad and plan a trip to B.R. Cohn.

Cheers!
Kathy

“My Heart Beets For You” Valentine’s Salad

Serves: 2
Ingredients

2 beets 1½ – 2” in diameter, trimmed and scrubbed
3 c mixed spring greens
3 T chopped and toasted walnuts
2 T B.R. Cohn Raspberry Champagne Vinegar
1 T B.R. Cohn Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 t honey
½ T finely minced shallots
Freshly ground pepper
Pinch sea salt
Goat cheese, if desired

Directions

1. Rub beets with 1 T B.R. Cohn Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sprinkle with salt.
2. Place in double layer aluminum foil and wrap to make tight package.
3. Roast beets in 375-degree oven until tender, about 1 hour. When cool, rub skin off beets and slice into 1/4” rounds. By hand or using a small cookie cutter, cut beets into heart shapes.
4. Combine B.R. Cohn Raspberry Champagne Vinegar, olive oil, honey, shallots and ground pepper in small jar. Shake well.
5. Just before serving, toss mixed greens with 2 tbsp of the walnuts and half of the dressing.
6. Arrange on 2 plates and top with heart shaped beets. Drizzle with remaining dressing and sprinkle with walnuts.

Note: Chioggia or golden beets can be used as well. Roast each variety separately. Try adding goat cheese in the shape of hearts or crumbled.

Suggested Wine Pairing: B.R. Cohn Sonoma County Chardonnay

Recipe provided by B.R. Cohn Winery & Olive Oil Company

I will be adding this recipe to the http://food.winetrailtraveler.com/soon. If you enjoy balsamic vinegar, you will want to give this recipe a try. It is an unusual idea and may encourage you to use balsamic vinegar in other kitchen creations.

Cheers! Kathy

Ice Cream with Balsamic Vinegar

Serves:  4

Ingredients

500 gr milk or creame ice cream
4 – 8 teaspoons of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena D.O.P.

Directions

1. In 4 large cups fill with the ice cream.
2. Pour on each cup 1 or 2 teaspoons of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Extraold or Extraold Giorgio primo Riserva Cherry.
3. Allow some minutes and serve.

Note: Extraold Traditional Balsamic Vinegar with ice cream is a strange but wonderful partnership that brings surprising sensations to the palate.

Recipe provided by Acetaia di Giorgio in Modena, Italy

Wine is a topic that isn’t thought of in a vacuum. When discussing wine, one often ventures into a discussion of food. It made sense that as we journeyed into the world of wine, food accompanied our travels. After five years of visiting and writing about 750 wineries, WineTrailTraveler introduces a companion website about food: Food.WineTrailTraveler.com. The initial food site will focus on cheese, vinegar and olive and grape seed oils.

Wine and cheese simply go together. Wine vinegars are made from wine. The process of producing olive oil and grape seed oils have similarities to making wine. These topic areas were selected for the new companion website that will feature articles about these topics as well as visits to places that make them. Articles are featured in the Epicurean section of the site. The Recipe section of the site features recipes that use cheese, wine vinegar or olive oil or grape seed oil as one of the ingredients. New recipes are added monthly. The Calendar section offers glimpses of events that feature cheese, vinegar or oils. The Forum section is a community of visitors to chat about cheese, oils and vinegar.

This new companion website has been six months in the making. During the time visits were made to two Maryland creameries, three California olive oil producers and a Washington grape seed oil producer. Articles will continue to be added. In January, WineTrailTraveler staff will visit an olive oil museum in Umbria, Italy.

Life-long learning is a practice by former educators Terry & Kathy as we continue to learn about cheese, vinegar and oils. In 2008 we decided that if we were going to write about wine, we should make it. The companion website, Winemaking.WineTrailTraveler.com debuted in 2009. Since then we have made eight wines including six at home, one at a Maryland teaching winery and one at a Virginia winery. It made sense that if we were going to write about cheese, we should make cheese. The same applies to vinegar. The new website will chronicle successes and failures faced with cheese making and vinegar making. Take time to explore the newest site.

Cheers,
Terry