Wine & Dine

Episode #14 - Spring Luncheon

Chicken Salad Puffs
Crunchy Vegetable Sandwiches
Grilled Spring Salad with Creamy Lemon Dill Dressing
Strawberry Rhubarb Wine Sauce

Chicken Salad Puffs

3 cups cooked, diced chicken (canned or rotisserie)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 T. fresh dill
1 cup celery, diced
½ cup red onion or scallions, diced
1 t. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and chill. Spoon on top of cooled Puff Pastry.

Puff Pastry:

1 – 12 oz can of beer
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter, melted
1 t. salt
3 eggs

In a sauce pan combine beer, butter, flour, and salt. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Beat 3 eggs together and add to cooled mixture. Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. Bake in pre-heated 375° oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Top with chicken salad and sprinkle with paprika to garnish.

Crunchy Vegetable Sandwiches

1 loaf bread (wheat, rye, or white)
1 small bag of radishes, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced

Puff Pastry:

1 – 12 oz can of beer
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter, melted
1 t. salt
3 eggs

Using a cookie cutter or other decorative shape, make cut-outs in bread slices. Spread herb butter on one side of each bread cut-out. Layer vegetables between two slices. Place on pretty plate for serving.

Grilled Spring Salad with Creamy Lemon Dill Dressing

½ pound bacon
1 head Iceberg lettuce
1 red onion, medium sliced
1 pound asparagus, cut into pieces
1 container cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Garlic salt and pepper to taste

In large heavy skillet, cook bacon. Remove bacon from skillet when done. Using the bacon drippings, continue grilling onion and asparagus until tender. Cut Iceberg lettuce into 1/8 sections and nestle into center of the hot skillet .ONLY GRILL FOR GRILL MARKS – NOT TO WILT. Add cherry tomatoes. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Turn off heat. Drizzle with Creamy Lemon Dill Dressing. Serve right out of the skillet.

Creamy Lemon Dill Dressing:

2 cups Honey Greek Yogurt
1 lemon, freshly juiced
Zest from lemon peels (from juiced lemon)
2 T. fresh dill
Note: use Meyer lemons if available

Blend all ingredients and drizzle over Grilled Spring Salad.

Strawberry Rhubarb Wine Sauce

6 cups raw, diced rhubarb
1 cup Stoney Ridge Country Rhubarb Wine
½ small package strawberry jello
½ - 1 cup sugar to taste
1 quart vanilla ice cream

Cook rhubarb with wine in sauce pan until very tender. Add jello (for color and flavor), and sugar only to taste. Serve warm or cold over good-quality vanilla ice cream. Garnish with mint leaves.