Wine Party

Well the first endeavor to be covered here in Diva's Test Kitchen is a wine party for six that took place last night. My husband, J, & I chose a pinot noir theme, with each person bringing a bottle of pinot noir from a place they have travelled to or want to travel to. Several were California related, J & I having been to parts of California but also wishing for a more specific trip to Napa. One couple also has Napa on their wish list, while our other friends plan on a trip to Italy someday, as their families are from the same town. 

We wanted to keep the food all appetizer or finger foods. Enough for people to fill up, but nothing that required more than a toothpick to serve or eat with. Of course wine requires cheese, and I made sure there was plenty of cheese involved in the menu. The first great choice was to order a Pinot Noir cheese package from http://www.igourmet.com/ , which provided three delicious cheeses specifically set to pair well with Pinot Noir. We chose a variety of crackers from igourmet and Trader Joe's, our favorite being the fig cracker from igourmet.

Next came planning the homemade appetizers. This was easy. I had already been experimenting during football playoffs, Superbowl Sunday and the Academy Awards, so we had some top picks we wanted to share with our friends.

We did opt for one non-homemade addition to the menu, which was kosher mini-quiche from Costco. We served these in our B.Smith triple ceramic food warmer from Bed, Bath & Beyond, which amazingly kept the food items very warm. Next to the quiche we opted for pesto tortellini from Trader Joe's, simply tossed in olive oil with some dried basil and rosemary. The third item in the buffet server was an always crowd-pleasing, go-to recipe, Parmesan Spinach Balls.

We also utilized another B. Smith favorite, our three tier server, for other items.The top plate featured mini phyllo cups (found in the grocery freezer section, with pie crusts, puff pastry and phyllo items) with a homemade whipped goat cheese filling (whipped cream cheese and goat cheese) topped with a sauteed mushroom mix. (Chop fresh mushrooms, and heat a dry skillet. Toss in mushrooms, and as they begin to cook, they will produce their own juice. I added fresh ground white pepper, chopped fresh rosemary, and dried basil and thyme.) These bake at 350 F for 8 minutes.

The second tier feaured English cucumbers sliced into about 1-inch pieces. This time, I scooped out a hollow spot in the cucumber, filled it with fat free greek yogurt, and finished it off by sprinkling dried dill weed on top.  The bottom tier held a new favorite--asparagus and crumbled blue cheese wrapped in Pillsbury crescent dough. Very easy and delicious!

I took a favorite salad and turned it into an hors d'oeuvre: Fresh mozzarella & grape tomatoes skewered on a fancy toothpick, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with fresh chopped basil.

We added two bowls of wine crackers to the table so we could clear our palate at any time, and also made two types of roasted nuts. My husband made a long-time favorite, rosemary roasted almonds, and I made roasted honey pepper pecans. Once those were added to the table, we had the full spread complete.

J made a wonderful olive oil sea salt chocolate mousse that was a perfect finale and went wonderfully with our wine.

As guests arrived, they placed their wine selections behind the glasses, preset with Scrabble wine charms (Pottery Barn) with each guests' initial.

We all had a wonderful time--the key to a good wine party is keeping the group small and the conversation flowing. We added another twist to the party by asking each couple to bring two copies of their favorite appetizer recipe. Not only do we get to socialize for several hours, but we also get to discover new foods to try out in the future.

Well it's about time for me to step back into DTK (Diva's Test Kitchen) where today's experiement is a variation on a recipe for a low-fat potato goat cheese soup with rosemary.

Ciao!

Ah! I will share with you my Parmesan Spinach Balls recipe:

2 10oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, lightly beaten (I have also used Egg Beaters)
salt & pepper to taste, if desired (due to high blood pressure, I usually just add pepper, the salt in the parmesan cheese adds enough flavor)

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, mix spinach, bread crumbs, parmesan, butter, eggs, and salt & pepper. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Arrange balls in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

*These can be frozen unbaked and popped in the oven at a later time.*

Enjoy!