Making Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies with Dalia Ceja
Dalia whips up one of her favorite desserts: Mexican wedding cookies! Suggested wine pairing - 2008 Dulce Beso Late Harvest White Wine.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are very popular throughout Mexico and are savored throughout the year, not only at weddings.
Ingredients:
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of water
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of chopped almonds
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
Directions:
In a medium bowl cream the butter and sugar. Stir in vanilla and water. Add the flour and almonds then mix until blended. Cover and chill for 3 hours. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Shape dough into balls or crescents. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from pan to cool on wire racks. When cookies are cool, roll in powdered sugar. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Apr 27, 2011 at 2:24 PM
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A Virtual Wine Dinner Announcement
Join Chef Robin White and Amelia Ceja on June 18th, 2011 @ 5PM EST for a Virtual Wine Dinner.
A virtual wine dinner is an online social event where millions of people around the world cook the same recipes, taste the same wine, and tweet up (you need a twitter account) about it all in real time on a specially scheduled date a time. To make sure that you tweet with all the participants, each of your tweets should contain a "hashtag" — for the Ceja Virtual Dinner our hashtag is "#cejawines". You have to include the "#" sign. Please visit www.chefrobinwhite.com for complete details.
Breakfast Potato and Longaniza Tacos by Dalia Ceja
Breakfast tacos anyone? Dalia prepares these delectable tapas infused with longaniza and potatoes. Ceja Vineyards' Sparkling Blanc de Noir in onhand as the perfect wine pairing. This yummy combination is sure to satisfy any morning craving or hamper any hangover!
Sautéed Potato and Longaniza Breakfast Tacos
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
10 ounces Mexican Longaniza, casings removed*
1 small onion, diced
5 garlic cloves
1 serrano chile diced
4 roma tomatoes
1 pound red skinned new potatoes, cut into small (1/4-inch) dice, and boiled
Sliced avocado
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the longaniza and cook, breaking up the clumps, until dry and crisp, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo to a paper lined plate to absorb any additional oil. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, tomatos and sauté for 5 minutes (once there done cooking remove and set aside).
Next add the potatoes and sauté until brown, about 12 minutes. Stir in the cooked longaniza with the onion, garlic, tomato combo and season with just a little salt and pepper, to taste. Warm up some corn tortillas and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with a glass of Ceja sparkling wine and enjoy! Ole!
*Dalia's Note: Mexican Longaniza is an uncooked sausage, made with fresh ground pork and well seasoned with smoked red chilies. Since it's fresh, you will need to remove the casing before cooking it. They can be found at most supermarkets. This is also a great filling for a variety of tacos, burritos and quesadillas. Just add shredded cheese, beans or your favorite taco filling!
Roasted Beet Salad by Amelia Ceja
Amelia prepares a roasted beet salad served with spicy pumpkin seeds and Cotija cheese from Mexico. Suggested Wine Pairing: Ceja Vineyards Vino de Casa Red Blend
Spicy Chipotle Potato Salad by Dalia Ceja
Dalia Ceja spices up a traditional potato salad with chipotle chiles and longaniza. Suggested Wine Pairing: Ceja Vineyards Carneros Chardonnay
Spicy Chipotle Potato Salad
Serves 6-8 people
Ingredients
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (no mayonnaise)
• 15 small red potatoes (cut into 1-inch cubes after boiled)
• ½ cup of cooked longaniza
• 2 tablespoons spicy mustard
• 2 canned chipotle chiles and extra juice
• 1 red onions chopped
• 2 tablespoons of white vinegar
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 3 long sticks of celery
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 hard-boiled eggs, cut into cubes
• Chives as a garnish
Directions
1. Fill a pot with water, add salt and potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until tender for about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.
2. Boil eggs for 5-7 minutes. Drain and let cool. Once cool, cube eggs and remove half of the yolk then set aside.
3. In a sauté pan, cut the longaniza link until it's nice and crumbled. Cook until tender yet crispy on the edges. Once it's done cooking, place longaniza on top of paper napkins and set aside.
4. Finely chop onion, chipotle chiles, jalapenos, celery, and place into separate bowls.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, red onions, chorizo, jalapeños and ground pepper & salt. Mix ingredients until they are fully incorporated.
6. Add the potatoes and the eggs into the mixture. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
7. Enjoy with a glass of Ceja Chardonnay!
Spicy Ahi Tuna Tartare Tostadas by Amelia Ceja
Amelia Ceja creates a delectable appetizer with this spicy ahi tartare dish. Serve it with chips and/or tostadas. Suggested Wine Pairing: Carneros Pinot Noir.
Spicy Ahi Tuna Tartare
Serves 8
From Amelia Morán Ceja's Kitchen
I love this sophisticated, fresh, and spicy topping for tostadas or chips to use as an appetizer.
Wine: Ceja Pinot Noir
Ingredients:
• 1 8-ounce ahi tuna steak
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, diced
• 2 minced Serrano chiles
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• Salt & pepper
Preparation:
Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a heavy small skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Brush tuna with ½ tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in skillet and sear until slightly brown outside and almost opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Cool tuna; dice finely. Combine tuna, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, and all remaining ingredients in medium bowl. Using fork, mix just to blend. Season tartare to taste with salt and pepper and chill. Serve with chips or over a small corn tostada.
Mexican Cake with Mango Salsa by Dalia Ceja
Dalia Ceja whips up a tantalizingly delicious Mexican cake with a mango salsa. Ceja Vineyards' new dessert wine, Dulce Beso, is the perfect accompaniment to this yummy postre.
A Look Back at the 2010 Chardonnay Harvest
Footage of the Ceja vineyard crew hard at work picking Chardonnay in the Carneros district of Napa for Ceja Vineyards' 2010 vintage.
Beautiful Nighttime Harvest Pictures from Lianne Milton
Bay Area photographer Lianne Milton was gracious enough to allow us to post some photos she had taken from a nighttime harvest shot in October of 2009. Please enjoy!
Night Harvest - Images by Lianne Milton
Learn How to Make Arroz con Leche with Amelia Ceja
Amelia Ceja revisits her youth in Mexico by preparing one of her favorite breakfast dishes taught to her by her maternal grandmother, Mama Chepa. Arriba arroz con leche!
Arroz con Leche -- Rice with Milk
From Amelia Ceja's Kitchen
(serves 6 to 8)
I love arroz con leche for breakfast or as dessert after a meal. This is the easiest recipe prepared by my maternal grandmother Mamá Chepa while I was growing up in a small village in Mexico.
1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups water
3 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Place the water, rice and the cinnamon stick in a medium size pot and bring to a boil -- reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Add the milk and sugar and bring gently to a boil again -- reduce heat, simmer uncovered and stir continually until creamy about 15 minutes. Can be served hot or cold for breakfast or dessert -- it's yummy!