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By Michael Hastings
Winston-Salem JOURNAL FOOD EDITOR
The organizers of the food contests in Yesterday Village at the Dixie Classic Fair tried something different this year, and something different is just what they got.
The Cooking with Wine contest, sponsored by Childress Vineyards of Lexington, is a natural extension of the nightly tastings of North Carolina wine that take place next to the food contests.
The contest drew 23 entries, below average for the increasingly popular cooking contests, but not bad for a new contest.
What made the contest noteworthy, though, was how competitors approached the contest in so many different ways, creating a wide variety of dishes.
The dishes included braised rabbit, quail, pork and beef, grilled meats, shrimp dishes, dips, jellies and more. And cooks also took advantage of the wide variety of wine made by Childress, choosing chardonnay, viognier, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, various red and white blends, and even some scuppernong wine.
That variety showed in the three winning dishes, all of which are very different. Lara Joyce of Pfafftown won first place with Wine-Poached Peaches with Homemade Ice Cream. Kay Owen of Pfafftown won second with Childress Wine Hot Pepper Jelly. Mike Pearce of Lexington won third with Emeril's Barbecued Shrimp with Petite Rosemary Biscuits.
Both Pearce and Joyce turned to Food Network stars when looking for ideas for the contest.
Pearce said he just started to cook a few years ago after he got hooked on the Food Network. "Lara and I were talking, and we watch the Food Network every night," Pearce said. "Emeril (Lagasse of Emeril Live) is my favorite. I've actually eaten at all his restaurants."
The shrimp dish that Pearce made uses viognier in the intensely flavored sauce, and the biscuits are there to soak up every bit of it.
"I love cooking," Pearce said. "It's that 'food of love' thing, as Emeril says."
Kay Owen makes hot-pepper jelly every fall with her homegrown peppers and saves it to serve at Christmas parties. She said that her daughter, Annette Owen-Saylor, suggested that she add wine to her recipe to meet the requirements of the contest.
Owen's dish had one of the most creative and attractive presentations of the contest. She used the idea of a jelly-coated cheeseball shaped into a cross section of a bottle, complete with cork and label. The cheeseball was displayed on a rectangular mirror, with crackers on the side and a wine glass and grapes for decoration.
"I was trying to think how to present this," Owen said. "One night I couldn't sleep and it came to me. I thought, 'Hey, I could make my cheese ball in the shape of a bottle.'"
Joyce entered 24 of the 25 contests in Yesterday Village this year (missing only the ice-cream contest), so when it came time for the wine contest, she wanted something quick and easy.
She first considered a classic dish of pears poached in red wine. "I thought about that, but I just don't like pears," she said.
Then she found a recipe from Rachael Ray, the host of 30-Minute Meals, on the Food Network's Web site. The recipe didn't call for making ice cream from scratch, but going that extra step wasn't any trouble, even though Joyce was pressed for time.
"That was easy, because we make ice cream every week at my house," Joyce said.
Though a Food Network fan, Joyce's initial interest in cooking has a more traditional explanation. She's the daughter of Judy Carroll, who has been entering countless contests and taking home loads of ribbons from the fair for years.
"She got me into this, and now I'm hooked," Joyce said.
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Wine-Poached Peaches With Homemade Ice Cream
First place, submitted by Lara Joyce of Pfafftown. The peaches recipe is based on a recipe by Rachael Ray, the host of 30 Minute Meals on the Food Network. The ice cream recipe is Joyce's.
1 (750 ml) bottle red wine
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
2 to 3 whole black peppercorns
2 or 3 strips lemon rind
2 large peaches, halved and pitted
1 pint homemade vanilla ice cream (recipe below)
1. Combine wine, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, and lemon rind in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve the sugar, and reduce heat to a simmer. Return to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, on high heat until syrupy, about 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low, add peaches and cook, basting with syrup occasionally, until peaches soften, about 5 minutes. Serve peaches warm, two halves in each serving, with ice cream, drizzled with the poaching syrup.
Makes 2 servings.
Homemade Vanilla ice Cream
This recipe makes one gallon, much more than is needed to accompany the poached peaches. It also requires a large ice-cream maker. Joyce said that people can cut the recipe in half to make just a half-gallon.
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
2 cups sugar
1 quart whipping cream
1 pint half-and-half
4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Combine sweetened condensed milk, sugar, whipping cream, half-and-half, whole milk and vanilla in ice-cream maker, and churn until ice cream forms, following manufacturer's instructions.
Makes 1 gallon.
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Childress Wine Hot-Pepper Jelly
Second place, submitted by Kay Owen of Pfafftown. This recipe makes about 3 cups jelly, more than is needed to cover the cream-cheese mixture.
15 jalapenos
10 sweet red peppers
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons blush wine, divided use
6 cups sugar
6 ounces liquid pectin
Red food coloring
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
Crackers
1. Wash peppers; drain. Remove stems and seeds. Finely chop the peppers in a food processor with 2 cups of the wine.
2. Combine pepper mixture and sugar in a large pot and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in liquid pectin. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim foam from surface. Add enough red food coloring to achieve desired color.
3. Pour into hot sterilized jars (leaving 1/4 -inch headspace). Seal and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
4. Mix softened cream cheese with remaining 2 tablespoons wine and 2 tablespoons of the jelly. Shape cream-cheese mixture into any desired shape. (Owen formed it into the shape of a wine bottle.) Cover and chill until firm. Spread 1 1/2 to 2 cups wine jelly over the surface to cover. Serve with crackers of your choice.
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Emeril's Barbecued Shrimp With Petite Rosemary Biscuits
Third place, submitted by Mike Pearce of Lexington. This recipe appears in Emeril Lagasse's From Emeril's Kitchens (William Morrow, 2003). For the wine, Pearce used viognier for the wine in the sauce.
2 pounds medium shrimp in their shells
1 tablespoon Emeril's Essence (or other Creole seasoning )
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce Base (recipe below)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 recipe Rosemary Biscuits, (recipe below)
1. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving their tails attached. Reserve the shells, if desired, to make the shrimp stock for the Barbecue Sauce Base. Season the shrimp with the Essence and black pepper, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate while you make the sauce base and biscuits.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the seasoned shrimp and cook, stirring until they begin to turn pink, about 2 minutes. Add the cream and Barbecue Sauce Base, reduce the heat to medium high, and simmer, stirring until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a platter. Over medium low heat, gradually whisk the butter into the sauce. Remove from the heat.
3. Place 2 or 3 biscuits on each plate. Divide the shrimp among the biscuits, and top each serving with the sauce. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Barbecue Sauce Base
To make the shrimp stock, place the shrimp shells from 2 pound shrimp along with about 3 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 to 30 minutes until the broth develops a good shrimp flavor, then strain and discard the shells.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 lemons, peeled, white pith removed, and quartered
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups shrimp stock
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, and bay leaves and cook, stirring until the onions are soft, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, lemons, and white wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp stock and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
2. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container, pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon. Set aside until needed. The sauce base can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.
Makes about 1/2 cup.
Rosemary Biscuits
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 to 3/4 cup buttermilk
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a large bowl. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the rosemary. Add 1/2 cup of the buttermilk a little at a time, using your hands to work it in just until incorporated and a smooth ball of dough forms. Add up to an additional 1/4 cup buttermilk if necessary, being very careful not to overwork the dough or the biscuits will be tough.
3. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a circle about 7 inches in diameter and 1/2 -inch thick. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 12 biscuits.
4. Place the biscuits on a medium baking sheet. Bake until golden on top and lightly browned on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve warm.
Makes 12 mini biscuits.
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