Last night we had many guests brave the weather to come out for our 3rd Candlelight Night event. We enjoyed the company and conversation and were happy to hear positive feedback from the guests about the food and wine pairings. As promised, here are the recipes from the featured dishes last night:

Cherry Cheesecake Dip
8 oz package cream cheese softened
1 container of whipped topping
1 large container of vanilla greek yogurt
1 package of instant vanilla pudding mix
Can of cherry pie filling

With an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese, greek yogurt and pudding mix until smooth. Fold in whipped topping until fully incorporated. Spread into a dish and top with the cherry pie filling. Serve with vanilla wafer cookies or graham crackers. Wine pairing: Deer Run 2014 Corot Noir.

Swedish Meatballs
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Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ cup onion, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ⅛ teaspoon Pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 5 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup Deer Run's Runway Red wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

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1. In a medium sized bowl combine ground beef, panko, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, onion, garlic powder, pepper, salt and egg. Mix until combined.
2. Roll into 12 large meatballs or 20 small meatballs. In a large skillet heat olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter. Add the meatballs and cook turning continuously until brown on each side and cooked throughout. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
3. Add 4 Tablespoons butter and flour to skillet and whisk until it turns brown. Slowly stir in beef broth, red wine and heavy cream. Add worchestershire sauce and dijon mustard and bring to a simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the meatballs back to the skillet and simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Serve over egg noodles or rice and alongside a glass of Alpinismo or Runway Red.

Jalapeno Corn Dip

1 bad of frozen corn
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 tbsp. chopped jalapenos (canned or fresh)
dash of hot sauce
smidgeon of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 8 oz. brick of pepper jack cheese shredded
3 chopped scallions
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add cayenne and hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Fold in corn, jalapenos, scallions, and pepper jack cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve warm with tortilla chips. Serve with Alpinismo or Ciclismo.

Naan Cheese & Tomato Flatbread

Garlic Naan
1/2 cup cheese per flatbread (we used a blend of mozzerella, parmesean and iberico cheeses)
Grape tomatoes halved
olive oil
pepper

Drizzle olive oil on the flatbread and top with cheese, tomatoes and pepper. Bake at 400 for 12 minutes. Serve with Ciclismo or Riesling.

These are each simple, doable recipes that hopefully might find their way at one of your next gatherings. Cheers!
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Thank you to all the folks who have signed up for the Candlelight Nights this year.  We have had a great turnout for these events and, as promised, here are the recipes for the first and second Candlelight Nights:

Candlelight Night 12.01.16 Menu

Chicken Pesto Pinwheels 
This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found on Pinterest.

1 pound of deli chicken breast 
1 8oz. package of softened cream cheese
1 jar of pesto 
8 oz shredded parmesean
10 tortillas (we used spinach) 

Mix the cream cheese, pesto and parmesean cheese together and spread onto your tortillas and top the mixture with the chicken slices.  Roll up your tortillas, slice and serve.  

Poutine
Love this recipe and it is super simple to do at home! 

Bag of french fries cooked according to the package instructions
Hot Gravy
Yancey's Fancy cheese curds

Serve fries topped with gravy and cheese curds.  Enjoy!

Cannellini Bean Dip 
2 cans of Cannellini Beans, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic slivered
2 tbsp Tahini
2 tbsp pesto 
1 container of grape tomatoes halved
1/2 tspn red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste

Lay out the halved tomatoes and garlic on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I added salt and pepper to the top of the tomatoes as well.  Roast the tomatoes and garlic in the oven for 15 minutes at 375 degrees until tomatoes are blistered. Puree the beans, olive oil, tahini, pesto & garlic together until smooth.  Mix in the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with crusty bread or pita chips.  

Cranberry Corot Noir & Brie Bites
1 package of crescent roll dough
Jam of your choice, we used Deer Run Winery's Cranberry Corot Noir Jam
1 package of brie cut into small squares

Unwrap the dough and cut the dough sheet into 16 triangles.  add a small dollop of jam and top with brie.  Fold the edges of the triangle up and seal as best as you can with your fingers.  Bake in the oven at 375 for about 12-13 minutes.  

Candlelight Night #2 12.08.2016

Scott's Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
1lb of pork sausage 
1/2 cup scallions chopped
1/2 cup Via Ferrata
1/2 cup of gruyere cheese grated
3 cloves of garlic diced
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
Bulk pack of Crimini mushrooms
2 eggs

Remove the stems from the musrooms.  Dice the stems  and set aside.
Brown the sausage in a pan, add chopped scallions, diced stems and garlic.  Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of Via Ferrata. Remove pan from heat.  Add panko bread crumbs & 2 eggs to the pork.  Fill the mushroom caps with the pork mixture and arrange on a baking sheet.  Cook at 350 for 25 minutes, add shredded gruyere to the tops of the mushrooms and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve with Via Ferrata.

Shrimp & Guacamole Bite

For the Guacamole
Bag of round tortilla chips
4 avacados
1 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro 
Juice of 3 limes
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt 
1/2 tsp black pepper

For the Shrimp
30 - 50 large shrimp cleaned and thawed with no tail
1/4 cup of cilantro
1/4 cup chopped scallions
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup Ciclismo 
Juice of a lime 
6 oz of queso fresco crumbled
salt & pepper to taste 

Peel the avacado and remove from the pit.  Puree the avacado with sour cream, lime juice, 1/4 cup of cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper together in a bowl.  Add to a plastic bag with a small cut in a corner to allow for piping of the guacamole.  
In a bowl mix 1/4 cup of cilantro, with scallions, Cilcismo, lime juice, olive oil, queso fresco, salt and pepper to taste with the shrimp. 
Pipe the guacamole onto the trotilla chips and top with a shrimp.  Serve immediately alongside a glass of Ciclismo!

Broccoli Cheddar Bites
2 heads of broccoli 
1 cup of vegetable broth 
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 eggs
salt & pepper to taste 

Add broccoli and broth to saucepan & cover over low heat for 20 minutes.  Brocolli should be tender.  Mash the broccoli and add cheeses, bread crumbs, 2 eggs, and salt & pepper. Add to a mini muffin pan and bake for 25 minutes at 375 until brown and crispy.  Serve warm along with Traminette.  

Carmamelized Onion, Bacon & Gruyere Dip
2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 Spanish onions (about 1 pound), halved and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
3 applewood-smoked bacon strips
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sugar, and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until onions soften and just begin to turn golden. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, 20 minutes or until onions turn deep golden brown. Stir in vinegar, scraping bottom of skillet to deglaze pan. Cook, stirring often, until vinegar is reduced by half. Stir in thyme.2. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp. Drain on paper towels; finely crumble.
3. Combine cheese and next 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in onions and bacon. Transfer to a 2-cup baking dish.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until mixture bubbles and top is lightly golden.  Serve with crostini & pair with Deer Run Winery's 2015 Riesling.

This recipe taken from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/hot-caramelized-onion-dip

Cheers!