Whether you're entertaining a big gang of friends, or just spoiling a few loved ones with a special dinner and some gorgeous wines (suggested by John Wilson), here are some seasonal treats
FEASTS ARE ABOUT fun; large gatherings of family, friends, or both with plenty of robust food, writes John Wilson. Our in-house record is 19 guests sitting down to dinner. Paper plates were the order of the day, but the food (thanks to my sister, a professional chef) was pretty good. The wine need not be fancy, but it is worth spending a few minutes to match it to the food you are serving. Smaller feasts are a different matter - when you need to spoil yourself and your loved ones. This is the time to crack open a decent bottle. It will make the food taste even better.
PRE-DINNER DRINKS
Get things going with a glass of fizz - whether there's a crowd, or just a few close friends, it is guaranteed to put a smile on everyone's face. Kir Royale seems to have slipped out of fashion a little, but a drop of Crème de Cassis can do wonders for less expensive sparklers.
Budget special: Philippe Michel Crémant du Jura Chardonnay 2006, 12.5%, €9.99. One of the very few enjoyable bottles of fizz at under €10. Fresh crisp green apple fruits, a light yeastiness, and a dryish finish. Great on its own or as a base for cocktails. Stockist:Aldi.
Edge the boat out: MS Sparkling Burgundy NV, 12%, €17.49. This 100 per cent Chardonnay has a lovely biscuity nose. Crisp green apple fruits, a subtle toastiness, and some lovely leesy notes too. Better than a number of Blanc de Blancs Champagne at more than twice the price. Stockist:Marks Spencer.
THESE ARE GOOD comforting winter recipes which are just what you need when you've got to feed a pack of hungry friends and family, or you just want to treat yourself to something tasty. This is no time for stressing about calories and fat content. This is a time to relax and eat some nice food, writes Domini Kemp.
Cauliflower, leek and garlic soup (serves four)
2 leeks, cut into chunks
½ head of cauliflower
4 cloves garlic
2tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Nutmeg
600ml stock or water
1 bay leaf
200ml cream
Preheat oven to 200 degrees/gas six. Toss the leeks, cauliflower and garlic in the olive oil. Season well and grate some nutmeg on top. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes until starting to go golden brown. Chuck into a saucepan and add the stock and the bay leaf. Bring up the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, puree with a hand blender or a liquidiser, and then put back in the saucepan and add the cream. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. This can be served straight away or made a few days in advance and reheated.
TO DRINK
Soup is not the easiest thing to match with wine. If you do feel the need to have wine with this, go for a bottle of something light and crisp and white. Either of these two whites would be perfect.
White wines
Thomas Mitchell Marsanne, South East Australia 2007, 12.5%, €9.29.Delicious tangy grapefruit, emphasised by a strong mineral note. Don't limit yourself to soup either; this is a special wine at a really good price, that makes a great aperitif or accompaniment to fish. Stockist:Dunnes Stores.
Laurentz V Friendly Grüner Veltliner, Austria 2007, 12%, €15.95.Lovely crisp white with rounded melon fruits and a sprinkle of ginger, too. Very tasty on its own, or with fish dishes. Stockists:Quintessential Wines, 9 Dublin Road, Drogheda; Power and Smullen, Lucan; Fallon Byrne, Dublin 2; The Corkscrew, Dublin 2; 64 Wine, Glasthule.
Spiced, crispy, pork belly (serves 8)
Pork belly is one of those things that often appears on restaurant menus, and it is often way too fatty. We looked at a few different recipes, and despite following them, the pork belly was still too fatty. Some people like fat, but I do not, unless it is crispy and tasty. I despise flabby fat on lamb or pork and wanted to make pork belly so that the fat was fully rendered. We tried doing this a few different ways and came up with the following hybrid of methodology that produced crispy, meaty, tasty pork.
3tbsp coarse sea salt
1tbsp coriander seeds
1tsp black peppercorns
5 star anise
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
½tsp chilli flakes
Good splash olive oil
1½kg pork belly, skin on and scored
Heat up an oven to 220 degrees/gas six. Whizz all the dry ingredients (except the pork) together in a food processor until ground down to a rough powder. Put the pork in a large saucepan and top up with water so that it covers the meat. Add the spice mix and bring up to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes, which will allow some of the fat to dissolve. Take it off the heat and remove the pork from the water and place on a wire rack over a roasting tin, skin side up. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve, so that you can retrieve the spice mixture. Mix this with a splash of olive oil, and pack it on to the scored skin of the pork belly and then season really well with more salt. Roast at 220 degrees/gas seven for 30 minutes. Pour a kettle full of boiling water into the tray, turn down the oven to 180 degrees/gas four, and roast for two hours. If it starts getting too brown on the surface, cover with tin foil. After two hours, remove it from the oven, cut a piece off the pork and see how it tastes. If it's still too fatty, remove the foil, whack the oven back up to 220 degrees/gas seven and cook for another 30 minutes. It's really up to you how much fat you want to get rid of. Remove the pork from the oven, chop into chunks or slices and serve with the relish below.
Spicy relish
Delicious with the pork, but also lovely with poached chicken.
3tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 red chilli, seeded and chopped
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2tsp caster sugar
2tbsp salted peanuts
½tsp coriander seeds
1tbsp sesame oil
2tbsp soy sauce
Juice of 2 limes
Bunch of coriander
Heat half the olive oil and gently cook the garlic and chilli for a minute until they are soft.
Add the onion, turn up the heat and add the sugar. Let the onions just start to caramelise, then take off the heat, add the peanuts and coriander seeds and cook again for another minute, but don't let it go too brown. If it looks like it's starting to brown, add a few splashes of water.
Put the mixture in a food processor and whiz with the sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice and coriander.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. This can be made several days in advance.
TO DRINK
The crispy fat, and melting, unctuous pork cries out for something with a bit of "cut" - tannins or acidity to balance those rich flavours. They know all about this in south west France, where grilled duck breast, confit of goose and various bits of pork are staples in the local cuisine.
If you can afford it, head straight for a bottle of the Madiran below. Otherwise go for a cheaper red wine with a bit of bite.
You could serve a white; something with plenty of ripe fruit and good acidity is required.
White wine
Edge the boat out: Elena Walch Pinot Grigio, Alto Adige 2007, 13%, €17.95.One of the best Pinot Grigios I've tasted this year, with a lovely richness, purity of fruit, and excellent acidity. You can drink it solo, with most fish, but I also reckon it would handle the pork without a problem. Stockists:Quintessential Wines, 9 Dublin Road, Drogheda; 64 Wine, Glasthule; The Corkscrew, Dublin 2; Donnybrook Fair, Dublin 4.
Red wines
Budget special: Marks Spencer Piedmont Barbera 2006, 13.5%, €7.99.Piquant, lifted redcurrant and blackberries in a lively, slightly tart wine that would go down a treat with most rich pork dishes. Great value, too. Stockist:Marks Spencer.
Edge the boat out: Château Aydie Madiran 2005, 14.5%, €17.95.Made from the local Tannat grape, by one of the best producers in the region, this is a stunning wine, worth every penny and more of €18. Glorious dense brooding dark fruits, cloaked in smooth tannins, with a lasting finish. A wine of immense depth and power that will delight your feasting friends. Stockists:64 Wine, Glasthule; Sweeney's, Glasnevin; Lilac Wines, Fairview; The Vineyard, Galway, and Thomas's, Foxrock.
Pork fillet with prunes and cream sauce (serves four)
This is a really hearty dish that is quick to prepare, using classic techniques and a little flair. It would also be lovely if you substituted four small chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks, for the pork.
12 soft prunes, chopped into quarters
250ml white wine
600g pork tenderloin (one big one)
2 leeks, finely sliced
1 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
Knob butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
250ml cream
bunch of tarragon
Soak the prunes in the wine while you get everything else sorted. Cut the pork into one centimetre-thick slices. Dust them with the flour and season well.
Heat the olive oil until it is just about smoking and fry the pork until golden brown on both sides. Remove the pork into a bowl. Add a knob of butter to the pan and fry the leeks until they are soft. Add the garlic and then add the wine and prunes to deglaze the pan. Reduce the liquid significantly, then add the cream and the pork. Mix well and cook through for about five minutes, then add the tarragon and check the seasoning.
TO DRINK
Pork fillet with prunes and cream sauce is a classic dish from Tours in the Loire, that Elizabeth David included in her classic cookbook French Regional Cooking. She favours a red wine over white. With the prunes and cream, I would tend towards a rich white. However, this is an occasion when you could offer a choice. The white needs to be fairly full-bodied, but with good acidity, too. A lightly oaked Chardonnay, an Alsace Pinot Gris, or a Chenin Blanc would all do nicely. For a red wine, something fairly light and fruity; go for a Beaujolais or Pinot Noir.
White wines
Budget special: Tesco Finest Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2007, 14%, €8.61.Big, full style of wine with bananas and melons, and a long ginger spice finish. Nice purity of fruit, and plenty of flavour for the price. Stockist:Tesco.
Edge the boat out: Montlouis sur Loire, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups 2006, 13.5%, €24.95.Montlouis is a lesser-known region, over the river from Vouvray in the Loire. There are some great sweet wines, but this is bone dry. Lovely subtle but rich flavours of quince and yellow apples mingle with toasted nuts. Stockist:Berry Brothers Rudd, D2.
Red wines
Budget Special: Caliterra Tributo Pinot Noir, Casablanca, Chile 2007, 14%, €11.24.Yet another fine Pinot Noir from Chile, and at a good price too. Lovely sweet fragrant nose; medium-bodied dark cherry fruits with a little spice. Very stylish wine. Stockist:Tesco
Edge the boat out: SQ Pommard, Seigneur de Bligny 2005, 13%, €17.62.Light in colour but with lovely fragrant ripe summer fruits, and an attractive elegance. Dont serve it too warm; wines like this show best when drunk cool. Stockist:Superquinn.
Cinnamon swirl cake (serves 12)
25g walnuts
1tbsp raisins
1tsp cinnamon
2tsp cocoa powder
50g dark brown sugar
250g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
125g butter
225g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
250ml sour cream
You'll need a 24-centimetre spring-back cake tin, lightly buttered. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees/gas four. Mix the walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, cocoa powder and dark brown sugar together and set aside. Sieve together the flour and baking powder, along with a pinch of salt.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, the eggs and a spoonful of flour. Add the sour cream and mix thoroughly. Fold in the remaining flour and pour half the cake mix into the cake tin. Sprinkle the cocoa mixture on top and then pour the remaining cake mixture on top and bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown. A skewer should come out clean.
TO DRINK
In times past, solicitors would serve clients a glass of Madeira with a slice of cake (hence Madeira cake).
Sweet wine
Berry's Boreas Madeira Medium Rich, 19%, €19.95.Medium-sweet raisins and caramel with a refreshing tangy note of orange peel. Try it with the Cinammon Swirl Cake, but I love opening a bottle of Madeira a few days before Christmas, and having a glass every now and again over the holiday. Stockist:Berry Brothers Rudd, Dublin 2