Appetizer

Baby Kale Salad with Clementines and Orange Vinaigrette

Pairing

Seyval Blanc

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
10 Minutes

Inspired by recipes by Rebecca Hays, Cooks Illustrated. Pair with Johnson Estate’s Seyval Blanc.
Ingredients
  • 5 tbsps orange marmalade
  • 3 tbsps extra-light olive oil
  • 3 tbsps lemon juice
  • 2 tbsps orange or clementine juice (can do more)
  • 1 small shallot, finely chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • Baby kale leaves, now available in salad mix boxes
  • 2 large Clementines or oranges, peeled and cut into slices
  • 3 ozs feta cheese (optional)
  • 1/2 cup pistachios or toasted almonds
Directions

Ingredients 1-6 are for the dressing. Ingredients 7-10 are for the salad.

Mix dressing ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously.

Lightly dress the kale leaves with the dressing. Then sprinkle on top Clementine or orange slices, nuts, and cheese. Serve immediately. 

Appetizer

Baby Green Salad with Roasted Beets, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
10 Minutes

This is, I have to admit, Jennifer’s favorite salad. This salad pairs perfectly with our Traminette and Sparkling Traminette. 
Ingredients
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1-2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • baby greens
  • cooked or roasted beets, sliced
  • sugared walnuts or plain toasted walnuts
  • slivers of tart, crisp apples (optional)
  • goat cheese
Directions

Ingredients 1-6 are for the dressing. Ingredients 7-12 are for the salad.

Pour vinegar, mustard, and garlic into a food processor. Blend to mince garlic, then slowly add the olive oil while processing. The mixture will be, when it has sufficient olive oil, the color of milk chocolate and slightly thickened, like cream.

Lightly dress the greens with the vinaigrette and add beets, apples, walnuts, and dollops of goat cheese. Toss gently and serve immediately.

Appetizer

Arugula Salad with Pears, Pecans, & Parmesan

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
10 Minutes

Another simple but delicious arugula salad inspired by Rebecca Hays of Cook’s Illustrated. Her strategy is to highlight spicy arugula with the complementary elements – a fruit, a nut, and a cheese – along with a slightly sweet dressing as a counterpart to the greens. This salad pairs perfectly with our Traminette and Sparkling Traminette. 
Ingredients
  • 5 tsps pear or apple sauce
  • 2 tbsps lemon juice
  • 3 tbsps extra light olive oil
  • 1 small shallot, very finely chopped
  • 8 cups fresh arugula
  • 1 whole pear, quartered and cored
  • 1/4 cup toasted pecans
  • 1/8 cup Paremsan cheese curls (may substitute goat cheese)
Directions

Mix dressing ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. 

Lightly dress arugula and then sprinkle with nuts, fruit, and cheese.

Appetizer

Double Cranberry and Orange Biscotti

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
1 Hour

During the winter months, Johnson Estate’s Tasting Room features dessert pairings such as biscotti and fortified wine pairings. We make these biscotti intentionally on the small side to pair with Cream Sherry
 
Ingredients
  • 1 egg
  • 2 egg whites
  • 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar
  • zest AND juice from a whole orange (or two clementines)
  • 2 tbsps Cointreau
  • 4 tbsps vegetable oil (Canola, olive, or grape-seed)
  • 1 cup whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 cup white flour
  • 1/4 cup coarsely ground flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup oat bran
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Directions

Beat eggs whites until frothy. Then gradually add the remaining egg and sugar and continue to beat. Add orange juice, orange zest, Cointreau, and oil and beat until well mixed.

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients, including walnuts, fresh and dried cranberries, and then gradually add this to the wet ingredients. The dough will be on the wet side.

Divide the dough into two or three long logs, attempting to make them of equal size and place on a cookie sheet lined with a piece of parchement paper. Remember that the logs will expand; provide about three inches between them. Sprinkle the sugar, if desired, on top of the dough.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 325ºF. Let logs cool on a wire rack.

Once the logs are cool, slice them on a diagonal – approximately 1⁄2″ thick and place them on the cookie sheet. Crisp, as desired, in oven at 350ºF for about 10-15 minutes, turning biscotti over after about seven minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Store.

Optional frosting:  If you like, drizzle with a light frosting of confectioner’s sugar, orange juice, and orange zest.

Appetizer

Mushroom Crostini

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
1 Hour

Wonderful hors d’oeuvre for pairing with dry red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon. This recipe is from Maria Helm Sinskey published in Food & Wine Magazine. She recommends using young Gouda cheese or Fontina – our version uses aged Gouda instead.
Ingredients
  • 1 sliced baguette
  • 2 tbsps olive oil
  • 2 tbsps unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 lbs white or Portobella mushrooms
  • 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp chopped thyme (dry or fresh)
  • 3 tbsps water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 lb aged Gouda cheese
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
Directions

Preheat oven to 400ºF.  Slice the baguette into pieces about 1/4″ thick.  Brush the slices lightly with olive olil and toast lightly.  

Clean and thinly slice the mushrooms. In a large skillet, melt and cook butter over high heat until lightly browned for approximately 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the sliced mushrooms and cook undisturbed until the mushrooms are browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned all over.  Add the shallots, garlic, and thyme, lower the heat to moderate, and cook until the shallots are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the water and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan; set aside until cool.  At this point, you may add some chopped parsley if you like.

Grate the gouda cheese.  Mix the cheese with the cooled mushroom and shallot mixture. Spoon the mixture onto the toasts, pressing firmly with your fingers so that it stays on the bread. Toast under the broiler until cheese melts. Sprinkle with additional chopped fresh parsley and serve with your favorite dry red wine.

Note: I’ve prepared these crostini and frozen them on trays, then pulled them out later for toasting – seems to work fine!

Appetizer

Savory Thyme Biscotti

Pairing

Dry Riesling

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
1 Hour

Serve with Johnson Estate’s Dry Riesling.
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup white flour
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup cornmeal
  • 1/8 cup ground flax seed
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • 1 tsp dried or fresh thyme (can go up to 3 tsp, to taste)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix all dry ingredients. Mix all wet ingredients into a separate bowl and stir well. Mix together the dry and wet ingredients and stir well until a dough forms. If the dough is dry or crumbly, add water, apple cider, or yogurt to provide additional moisture (about like a cookie dough). Let dough rest for five minutes, then form into two or three flat “logs” about 10-12” long and two inches wide – don’t worry too much if the dough is a little sticky.

Arrange at least 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until pale golden. Let them cool on baking sheet or cooling rack.

Reduce oven to 300°F. When cool enough to handle, cut logs on the diagonal into 1⁄2 inch slices and bake on the same cooking sheet for additional 10 minutes until golden brown. For a crunchier biscotti, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Appetizer

Smoked White Fish and Caviar Baguettes

Serves
10

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
1 Hour

Smoked white fish is a local specialty in Western New York and Pennsylvania. Pair with Johnson Estate Traminette or Sparkling Traminette.
 
Ingredients
  • 1 fresh baguette, slightly hollowed
  • 2 tsps red caviar (completely optional!)
  • 8 ozs cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 scallion, chopped
  • 2 tbsps chopped parsley (optional)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 dash of Tabasco
  • 4 ozs smoked Lake Erie white fish or smoked salmon (deboned and broken into pieces)
Directions

Mix cream and cream cheese in a blender or food processor until mixed thoroughly. Stir in the chopped scallion, lemon juice, and Tabasco Sauce. Stir in the white fish, mixing to distribute the fish, but not making it completely puréed. Small chunks of the fish are nice. 

Slice the baguette horizontally and hollow out each side slightly, to make room for the cream cheese/fish mixture. Spread the cream cheese/fish mixture on each side, until each half-log is “full”.  Stack the baguette fully and wipe excess filling off the sides. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill thoroughly – about two hours – to permit easier slicing of the filled baguette.  When ready to serve, slice the baguette into 3/8″ slices and serve with your favorite Traminette.

Dessert

Apple Spice Cake

Pairing

Red Ipocras

Serves
16

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
1 Hour

Pair with warm Red Ipocras.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 3/8 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup neutral olive oil or canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 large apple, peeled, cored, and finely grated
  • 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or 1 cup white flour & 1⁄4 cup whole wheat flour)
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • 1/4 cup oat bran (optional)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp all spice
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 to 1 cup or raisins
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Directions

Beat eggs with molasses, sugar, oil and grated apple.

Mix together flour and dry ingredients including, baking powder, spices, walnuts, and raisins.

Bake in a 9” x 5”greased loaf pan at 325ºF for 1 hour. I used two smaller loaf pans and cooked until brown on top and a toothpick came out clean, approximately 45 minutes. Cool slightly, remove from loaf pans.

Dessert

Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Pairing

Ruby Port

Serves
10

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
30min

Pair with Johnson Estate Ruby Port.
Ingredients
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp almond extract (and/or vanilla extract)
  • 4 tbsps olive oil
  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup toasted almonds, very coarsely chopped
  • 6 ozs white chocolate, finely chopped
Directions

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Whisk together eggs and extract. Set aside.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar, espresso grounds, chocolate chips, and white chocolate. Add dry ingredients to eggs until dough just comes together. Dough should be slightly wet, but manageable with floured hands.

On a lightly floured board, roll the dough into two logs, approximately 12 inches long, gently patting so that they are just under an inch in height. Place them on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes, until tops are cracked. Cool to room temperature.

Reduce oven to 300ºF. Slice biscotti at an angle, each cookie about 1⁄2 inch thick. Bake 5-8 minutes, flip over, and bake an additional 5-8 minutes. The thickness of cookies and length of baking will determine how hard the biscotti become.

For Double Chocolate Espresso Biscotti, add 2 1/4 tsp espresso grounds. Proceed as for above recipe.

Dessert

Blueberry-Concord Grape Tart

Serves
10

Difficulty 
Easy

Cook Time
30min

Everyone loves lemon bars. Here is the Concord grape equivalent, topped with fresh Chautauqua County blueberries. Use Growers’ Grape Cooperative’s Concord grape filling in this easy recipe.
Ingredients - Corn Meal Crust
  • 1 cup white flour
  • 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • ½ cup cornmeal
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • ½ cup butter, cold from the refrigerator; cut into 8-10 slices
  • 3-4 tablespoons cold water
Ingredients - Concord Grape Filling
Directions

CORNMEAL CRUST:

Mix all dry ingredients in a food processor and then add the butter and mix until pebbly. Then add water and process until the dough sticks together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about an hour. Roll out the dough between two sheets of wax or parchment paper and lay it in a tart pan, ideally lined with parchment paper. Trim edges, doubling over and tidying as necessary. Pre-bake tart shell for about ten minutes at 375ºF. Do not permit to over-brown as the crust will be baked additionally with the topping.

TOPPING:

Beat eggs until light-colored. Gradually beat in sugar until the mixture is slightly thickened. Add the half jar of filling and water, beating until thoroughly mixed. Pour into pre-baked shell. Add blueberries if you like at this point or bake approximately 30 minutes at 350ºF. Filling will rise as it cooks, so do not overfill. Once tart has cooled, arrange fresh or frozen blueberries on top, pressing lightly into the cooked filling. For a “Red, White, & Blue” Dessert: Serve tart on a plate and drizzle Raspberry Coulis on the plate for the “red” decoration. Add a generous squirt of whipped cream –

Connect

8419 West Main Rd. (Route 20)
Westfield, NY 14787
Map & Directions

Hours

March – October
10am-6pm Daily

November – February
10am-5pm Sunday-Thursday
10am-6pm Friday & Saturday

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Easter