Making Hamburgers "Ceja Style" with Amelia Ceja

It's summertime at Ceja Vineyards and the gang likes to grill hearty burgers Latino style. Amelia showcases her tasty burger recipe and perfectly pairs this summer dish with Ceja Vineyards' Vino de Casa Red Blend.

Aug 8, 2011 at 12:35 PM

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Stuffed Dolmas

Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions such as Russia, Iran and the Caucasus and Central and South Asia. Perhaps the best-known is the grape-leaf dolma. Common vegetables to stuff include zucchini, eggplant, tomato and pepper. The stuffing may or may not include meat. Meat dolma are generally served warm, often with sauce; meatless ones are generally served cold, though meatless dolma are eaten both ways in Iran. Both are often eaten with yogurt. Amelia exquisitely pairs her stuffed Dolmas with a Carneros Chardonnay.

Jun 6, 2011 at 10:07 AM

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Making Mousse de Guayaba (Guava Mousse) with Amelia Ceja

Using one of her favorite fruits from her native Mexico, Amelia Ceja is thrilled to showcase her delicious guayaba mousse, a light dessert perfect for warm sunny days. Amelia pairs this creamy and tantalizing dessert with Ceja Vineyards' Sauvignon Blanc.

Mousse de Guayaba - Guava Mousse
From Amelia Ceja's Kitchen
Serves 8

Suggested wine: Ceja Sonoma Coast Sauvignon Blanc

Ingredients:
• 1 28oz can of whole guavas in syrup
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup of condensed milk
• 3 tspn unflavored gelatin
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• Whipped cream optional

Instructions:
In a glass bowl, place the milk and gelatin -- mix well and microwave until milk begins to boil and gelatin is dissolved. Let cool.

In a blender, place the guavas and syrup and blend until smooth. Strain the pureed guavas to remove the seeds and return to blender. Add the dissolved gelatin with milk, condensed milk and vanilla. Blend at high speed for one minute.

Distribute guava mixture in eight martini glasses and chill in refrigerator until set. Can be served with fresh whipped cream and garnished with a fresh mint leaf. 

May 9, 2011 at 2:14 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.

Apr 26, 2011 at 2:02 PM

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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

Apr 4, 2011 at 3:12 PM

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Restaurant Spotlight - Bistro Sabor

We're proud to feature Bistro Sabor as our first eatery in our restaurant spotlight series. Located in downtown Napa, Bistro Sabor serves contemporary expressions of Latin America's favorite street food and snacks. This casual and hip joint also pours a number of Ceja wines by the glass. Please stop in on your next trip to Napa!

Apr 4, 2011 at 3:01 PM

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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. 

Feb 28, 2011 at 10:45 AM

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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!

Feb 9, 2011 at 4:09 PM

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Learn How to Make Steamed Dungeness Crab in a Spicy Indonesian Sauce with Amelia Ceja

With origins from South East Asia, this tasty recipe pairs beautifully with our just released Ceja Vineyards Brut Sparkling Wine. The wine's crisp balanced acidity cuts through the spice component of the sauce accentuating the sweetness of the crab. ¡Salud!

Dungeness Crab in a Spicy Indonesian Style Sauce
From Amelia Morán Ceja's Kitchen
Serves 4

Suggested wine: Ceja Vineyards Brut Sparkling Wine

Our family favors this delicious main course for our Thanksgiving dinner when fresh Dungeness crabs are available. Some flavors seem made for each other, and tamarind salsa is one of those perfect culinary marriages. Here it is served over crab; perhaps the world's sweetest of all seafoods.

Ingredients:

• 4 crabs separated, cleaned, and cracked
• 2 tamarind pods*
• 1 coarsely chopped wine onion
• 2 tablespoons minced Serrano peppers*
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Crab reduction broth (please see instructions below)
*Tamarind pods and Serrano peppers are found at most grocery stores.

Directions:

For the crab reduction sauce:
• In a saucepan, place the smallest crab legs (8 to 12) with 8 whole cloves of garlic, ½ an anion, 2 stalks of celery cut in half, 5 cups of water and 2 bay leafs. Gently simmer until the liquid is reduced to 2 cups.

For the Tamarind Salsa:
• Peel the tamarind's shell and soak in water. Discard seeds, and just keep the pulp. 
• Sauté chopped onion, minced Serrano peppers, minced garlic and minced ginger in two tablespoons olive oil 5 to 6 minutes. Add the crab sauce and soy sauce and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
• In a blender or food processor, combine the sautéed ingredients with the crab sauce and tamarind pulp -- then process until smooth.
• Return the processed Indonesian sauce back to the pan and bring gently to a boil. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with water and slowly add to sauce while stirring it. Simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.

Steam the cracked crab pieces for five minutes then place in a large bowl. Next, add the tamarind sauce and coat well. Serve immediately. Make sure you have a bib and lots of napkins.

Jan 31, 2011 at 1:12 PM

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Poached Pears in a Sauvignon Blanc Reduction Sauce by Amelia Ceja

Just in time for the release of Ceja Vineyards' 2008 Dulce Beso (sweet kiss) late harvest white wine, Amelia prepares a decadent dessert of poached pears in a Sauvignon Blanc reduction sauce. Salud!

Ceja Poached Pears with Mascarpone Cheese and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

(Serves 6)

Suggested wine: Ceja Dulce Beso (Sweet Kiss)

Ingredients:

• 3 medium firm ripe pears
• 1 bottle Ceja Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla bean
• ½ cup mascarpone cheese
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Splash of olive oil

Directions:

Pears:
Cut the pears in half and core. Place the pears, sugar, cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean and wine into a small pot. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove pears and let cool. Keep cooking the remaining liquid and reduce to one cup.

Mascarpone Cheese:
Mix mascarpone cheese with 2 tablespoons of the chilled poaching syrup until smooth.

Pumpkin Seeds:
Place the olive oil, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar and cayenne pepper in a small pan at medium heat, and toast for 2 minutes.

To serve, place a half of pear on a plate, add a tablespoon of mascarpone cheese over pear. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds over pear and drizzle 1 tablespoon of syrup.

Jan 27, 2011 at 6:02 PM

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