Fig + Prosciutto Salad with Almond Milk Ricotta

September 21, 2017

Currently in Napa, the mornings are crisp, the vines are changing color, and harvest is in full force. It’s clear that fall is just around the corner (tomorrow in fact) and that summer days are coming to a close. I always get a burst of energy when the seasons start to change and I feel it in the fall more than any other time of the year. A new wave of productivity usually takes over for me and I’m inspired to cozy up and try new recipes with a different influx of produce at the market and in the garden. Just as sweet summer stone fruit is winding down for the year, figs reach their ideal ripeness between the end of August and early September in Northern California. Using nectarines and brown turkey figs as our jumping-off point for a late summer salad, I completed the dish with almond milk ricotta, arugula, a simple vinaigrette and Viognier to pair.

I asked our Director of Wine at ONEHOPE, Mari Coyle what wine she would pair with this and she said, without a doubt, Viognier. I was delighted, as Viognier has become one of my favorite varietals since Jake introduced it to me six or seven years ago. I asked Mari for some background on why she selected this wine and she said, “the nectarine brings out the stone fruit flavors in the Viognier, while the figs compliment the spicy ginger and honey notes in the wine. Rhone whites are often mineral-like in flavor with viscosity like honey. This minerality seeks salt, found in the Prosciutto. Arugula plays off the spicy notes again and a little Ricotta sets the stage for the honey dressing which oozes to complete the perfect Viognier pairing.”

Wham bam. Sounded fabulous. And it was. Enjoy!

FIG & RICOTTA SALAD
Yield: 1 serving
Wine Pairing: Viognier

INGREDIENTS

4 tbs. Kite Hill Almond Milk Ricotta
1-2 brown turkey figs, sliced
1 nectarine, sliced
3 oz. prosciutto, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup arugula

Dressing
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. red wine vinegar
1 tbs. honey
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Using the back of a spoon, spread ricotta irregularly on a plate or platter.
Form prosciutto into small bunches (one slice of prosciutto per bunch) and stagger the bunches along the outside of your plate.
Fill in negative space with sliced figs and nectarine.
Top with arugula and drizzle dressing over top.
Serve with ONEHOPE Viognier.

PS: Nervous about almond milk cheese? I was too. Here’s a little (actually kind of long) back story on my relationship with nut milk cheeses…

I haven’t talked about it much over here, but I made a complete 180 in terms of my diet and lifestyle this year. With major cleanups to my diet and a new found love for pilates, I’ve tried to reverse years of careless eating and have seen incredible changes to both my health, both physically and mentally. My goal in January was to lose 30 lbs before I turned 30 (April! A bit of an aggressive goal), but when I found pilates and dropped inches while building more muscle mass than I’ve had since college, it became less about the number and more about how amazing I was feeling. I made it down to 22 lbs lost by my 30th and I’m hovering at 25-27 lbs lost now, knowing that one day I’ll drop those last 5 or so. For now I’m happier and feeling better than ever.

A big part of my diet change was cutting out dairy almost entirely. I’ve mentioned this before, but having grown up in the midwest, dairy, particularly cheese, was a huge part of my diet growing up. It was unfathomable to eat eggs, a salad, a sandwich, chili, literally almost anything without cheese. I LOVE cheese. After moving to California and getting into the wine industry where cheese is one of the most prominent pairings for wine, my love for cheese only grew with the discovery of burrata, Humboldt Fog, Truffle Tremor, triple cream brie… it was endless.The thought of a nut milk based cheese irked me and I refused to give them a try until I scrolled past a picture on Instagram. The shot was of a fully loaded sandwich with a delicious combination of sprouted bread, turkey, avocado, jalapeno sauerkraut, and Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese. WHAT?! I hopped on to Kite Hill’s site to see where they were sold and were conveniently at my local Whole Foods. I picked up a package on my next visit and gave it a try. It was love.

When I started seeing figs in the market, I picked some up and started scouring the internet for some new fig recipes to try. A frequent combination that intrigued me was ricotta with sliced figs and honey. I knew that Kite Hill had an almond milk ricotta that would be perfect for this dish and it truly was. I can’t wait to explore some more recipes with almond milk cheese this fall. Cheers!

Grilled Peach + Corn Salad

October 4, 2016

While we’ve had a few chilly days so far this fall in wine country, the vast majority of our weather is still 75+ and even up into the 90’s. With temps that high, heavier fall flavors and hot dishes simply haven’t sounded all that enticing thus far so I’ve been trying to embrace easy summer recipes for as long as possible. After a long hiatus from corn (definitely had way too much of it growing up in the midwest), Jake reintroduced it to me earlier this year when we got our new grill in May. On a recent trip to Whole Foods, I picked up the last of the corn I could find for the season, as well as some juicy peaches that I could practically smell from an aisle away. I did some poking around online for inspiration and found this late summer salad which sounded perfectly simple and yet packed with flavor. Since I didn’t have everything on hand, I made some tweaks along the way and it was absolutely delicious. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 ears corn, shucked
4 peaches, cut into wedges
Salt and pepper, freshly ground
2 tablespoons red wine vengar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup crumbled feta
4 cups baby arugula
1/2 jalapeno pepper, halved, seeded thinly sliced *optional

Suggested Wine Pairing: ONEHOPE Riesling leads with aromas of honeysuckle flower and peach blossom on the nose. With a fruity flavor profile of white peach, mango and pear, it’s the perfect compliment to the grilled peach, corn and feta in this delicious salad.

DIRECTIONS

Heat grill to medium/high heat.
Lightly drizzle some olive oil on the corn and peaches and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place corn on bottom rack of grill and turn periodically until grill and char marks develop (10-15 minutes).
After corn has been grilling for 5 minutes, place peaches on the top rack of grill and turn periodically until grill and char marks develop (5-8 minutes).
Remove corn and peaches from grill, allowing them cool slightly.
Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and jalapeno (optional).
When the corn is cool enough to handle, cut remove kernels from cob. Add corn, sliced peaches, almonds and feta to to your bowl with the dressing and toss to coat.
Add arugula to salad bowls and top with peach and corn salad.
Serve with a chilled glass of ONEHOPE Riesling. Cheers!

Recipe adapted from here.

Wine Wednesday / Tasting in the Vines

August 10, 2016

Happy Wine Wednesday! This summer has flown by crazy fast and while the official start of fall isn’t until September 22nd, Labor Day (in just three short weeks!) really marks the end-of-summer for most. With this being the first summer in our house, I had such grandiose plans for our yard and get-togethers that were probably unrealistic for the number of work priorities, weddings and travel planned, so I’m definitely feeling like there’s still so much to squeeze in before September rolls around. It’s no secret that I LOVE fall, but I’m trying to keep that nostalgia at bay by doing at least one summery thing a day, whether that’s sipping on a glass of Rosé or picking berries at the property.

One thing that we’ve had no shortage of this year are wine tastings at the vineyard! With so many partners excited about the progress of construction, we’ve blocked out days and weekends for property tours and tastings for people to attend if they’re in town. Last weekend was a bit of a treat when some friends joined us for a casual wine tasting in the vines with their family. Our site is definitely a construction zone so it’s rough, dusty and hot, but we’ve made do with a makeshift barrel bar and a few umbrellas for shade. While I would have loved to have spruced this little section of the vineyard up a bit more, it’s made for an authentic, rustic Napa experience for our guests and it’s always a treat to see peoples’ excitement when they see our property for the first time and taste barrel samples of our estate cabernet. Here are a few shots from this past weekend.

Life Lately / Summer in Napa

July 25, 2016

Life has been seriously chaotic this year so I’m trying to make a concentrated effort to spend every moment outside of work to soaking up my first summer in Napa. I trekked around the vineyard last week to check out our construction status and I wound up covered in scratches, pickers, and blackberry juice when I discovered heaps of ripe berry bushes along our creek bed. Nature is surprising me around almost every corner here and continually makes me fall harder for this new place we call home. Here are a few snaps of my favorite summer surprises.

Hope you’re having a great week!

Fig Season! / 5 Minute Cheese Board

July 7, 2016

It’s fig season in California (woohoo!) and I’ve got a slight obsession with them (see last year’s flatbread pizza and fig cocktail recipes here) so I scooped up a basket of brown turkey figs while prepping for our 4th of July celebrations last weekend. We were keeping things easy for the holiday this year so instead of creating some full-blown concoction, I decided to use them for the base of a casual cheese board since I was still in need of a quick appetizer.

I’m kind of in love with cheese and charcuterie boards and create them all of the time for work and almost anytime we host or need to bring a dish to pass. There is nothing more “wine country” to me than a well curated board so they’re one of my favorite low-stress options for guests or just a casual night at home in Napa with the two of us. That being said, there are a few rules of thumb when it comes to crafting a cheese board that I always follow no matter how many people I’m prepping for. Here is what you’ll need:

Something sweet // honey for drizzling or a great jam meant to be paired with cheese
Something salty // nuts – I like Whole Foods’ truffled Marcona almonds with sea salt
Something briny // Castelvetrano olives or pickles
Something seasonal // Figs! Artichokes are also a favorite
At least one type of cracker or bread // use whatever you have on hand, but try to go for something plain that won’t interfere with other flavors on your board
A hard cheese and a soft cheese // Vermont aged white cheddar and a goat cheese or fresh burrata are always great options

Lastly, you’ll need a cheese board and some ramekins or small bowls for olives, olive pits, pickles, etc. I used a vintage cheese board I picked up at the flea market this time around, but a few of my favorite store-bought options are below. I also broke my own rule #6 for this one because I knew we’d all be drinking whites or light reds and was really feeling two particular cheeses that I had in my cart at the time (a creamy herbed goat cheese and Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog), but I generally try to stick to the above. Here is what I used:

Something sweet // honey for drizzling // honey packaging is usually a little unsightly so I transferred a bit of honey to a small pinch bowl and served with a honey dipper (both below)
Something salty // Whole Foods’ truffled Marcona almonds with sea salt // you can find these by their artisanal cheese selection where there are a huge variety of fresh olives available.
Something briny // Castelvetranno olives // my favorite olives in the world (see #2 for where to buy)
Something seasonal // Figs!
At least one type of cracker or bread // sea salt flatbread crackers
A hard cheese and a soft cheese // I used an herbed goat cheese and Humboldt Fog

Do you have any favorite must-have additions to your cheese boards? I’d love to hear!

Hello July! // Life Update

July 5, 2016

Hello, July! Summer is in full swing! The days in Napa are incredibly hot, the nights are cold (still getting used to these 40 degree daily temperature swings!) and I’ve been totally under water trying to keep up with preparations for our big holiday 2016 push at ONEHOPE. Since October-December are our biggest months, the bulk of our holiday prep happens in June and July. Being that we’re coming out with so many new products this year, our holiday catalog shoot took a few weeks of preparation, one full day of setting up and three, head-spinning 12-14 hour days of shooting. Last week I was in LA handling that (Monday-Friday) and I feel like I’m still recovering from being on my feet for so long moving backdrops, flower market runs, styling, shooting, adjusting, restyling, etc.

My parents flew into town on Saturday to visit us for a few days before we head back down to LA for a big conference we’re hosting in Manhattan Beach. Things have been so stressful for the past few weeks, that there was honestly nothing better than being able to give them a big hug when they pulled up. Family just makes everything better – am I right? Jake and I were planning on possibly hosting some friends in Napa for the 4th, but being that I was still exhausted from travel and he was wiped out having just returned from being on the road for 10 days, we decided to keep it low key with just our parents for the day. It was truly a different vibe than our typical Sangria Flip Cup championships we’ve hosted for the last three years while living in Hermosa. Yes… SANGRIA flip cup. Maybe next year? Or maybe we just finally grew up…Yikes.

As different as this year was, we still had a blast. Jake’s mom brought over a few delicious dishes and my parents helped us whip up some great barbecue. We did a ton of yard work this weekend, thanks to my dad figuring out a plan using what we had in materials (so much rock in our area!) and we got to work sprucing things up. Our plan is to add on to our garage and house, but that can’t happen for at least a year, so it’ll be nice to have things looking a little more polished for the time being. Here are a few snapshots from the past week!

Quick stop by the vineyard to check out our construction progress. Look at those grapes!

Summer staple: Vine ripe tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella.

Kept one 4th of July tradition: homemade triple berry cake!

Love this festive cake topper from Meri Meri so much!

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

June 7, 2016

Last year in March, a friend decided to do Whole30 and it sounded completely nuts to me. The more research I did, however, the more I realized that it actually made total sense to rid your body of processed junk – duh. So I figured, “what’s the worst that could happen?” and took the plunge, joining her on her journey. At the time, the thought of cutting dairy out of my diet sounded impossible. True to my midwest roots, I LOVE milk and I ate cheese on everything – my eggs in the morning, every salad I’d ever made, pasta, even “healthy” veggie dips were dairy based and shelf stable. I was completely against almond milk as a substitute; there was something about the texture I just was not into and having tried it once, I couldn’t imagine it ever replacing milk in my diet.

To try to convince me otherwise, on one of our Whole Foods runs at lunch, she introduced me to her favorite smoothie at the juice bar that was made of blueberries, banana and almond milk. I was reluctant, but ordered one anyway and was instantly hooked. After cutting out sugar (except fruit) and milk entirely, I was longing for something creamy and sweet. This was it and it tasted like pure heaven. For the most part, I much prefer savory foods over sweet, but lately, I’ve been craving a little something sugary when it’s sunny and scorching in Napa around 3pm – this is the perfect treat. Since the fruit is all frozen, make sure you use a high power blender (we LOVE this one!) and add a little more almond milk if needed.

It’s been over a year since my last run with Whole30, and while I definitely don’t abide by the diet daily, I’ve still kept a few favorite recipes in our rotation and I’m so thankful I committed and decided to do it. By the time it was over, I had never felt better in my life. If you’re considering it – do it! You won’t regret.

Ingredients

1 cup frozen banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup almond milk
crushed ice (optional)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on your smoothie setting.
Add more almond milk if necessary and continue blending until mixture is smooth, but not too thick to drink.
Garnish with a few blueberries and serve immediately.

Mango & Avocado Quinoa Salad

June 2, 2016

Jake’s sister Michelle is one of the best cooks I know. Having traveled to more countries than I can ever remember, she’s developed a pretty impressive, worldly palate and isn’t afraid to try anything. She always knows exactly what to order at a restaurant and always knows exactly what a dish needs if it’s off. When she gave Jake a grill for his birthday, we invited the family over for our first barbecue in Napa for Mother’s Day. She offered to make a quinoa salad for a side and I LOVE quinoa so of course I was totally stoked! The end result was even better than I could have imagined – so deliciously light and fresh yet filling enough to make it a main course any day of the week. It was perfectly sweet, yet herbaceous and had just the right amount of acidity. I practically begged her for the recipe and to come back over so we could shoot it together and thankfully she said yes 🙂 The best part? Nothing about this dish is unhealthy or processed in any way. It’s also totally vegan so almost anyone can enjoy. It just goes to show that some of the best dishes are the ones created with the simplest ingredients.

Ingredients

1 cup red quinoa
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 fresh mangos, cubed
1 avocado, cubed
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
½ cup mint, chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro
⅓ cup olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa with 2 cups salted water. Cover and bring to a boil and the reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally and being careful not to burn. While quinoa is cooking, prep your other ingredients.
When your quinoa has fully absorbed the water and is light and fluffy, spread it on a cookie sheet and cool in the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, and garlic.
In a large bowl, combine black beans, mangos, avocado, cucumber, mint and cilantro. Once the quinoa has cooled, add it to the large bowl and top with olive oil, lime and garlic dressing. Gently toss to combine.

Suggested wine pairing: Our new Pinot Grigio has flavors of mango and would really bring out the mango in the salad. It’s a light, summery wine that would compliment the quinoa, avocado and cucumbers well.

Recipe adapted from Vegangela.

Poppies & Pinot (Grigio)

June 1, 2016

Happy #WineWednesday and hooray for a short week! For the past two years, our company has participated in Bottle Rock, a music festival in downtown Napa. This year it happened to fall on Memorial Day Weekend so the past week has been filled to the brim with prep, load-in, working the festival, entertaining guests at home and load-out on Monday. I took the day (mostly) off yesterday to recover and our rentals were just picked up from my house so it finally feels like the festival has come to a close for this year.

Through all the Bottle Rock madness, we launched a new wine, a Pinot Grigio that customers have been requesting for years. Our #PinotForPaws (Pinot Noir) funds one pet adoption for every one case sold (over 13,600 shelter animals saved to date!), and it’s been hugely popular so we were excited to add a Pinot Grigio to the mix that gives back to the same cause. Good California Pinot Grigio can be tough to find and it can sometimes be seen as a negative in the wine-world if it isn’t coming directly from Italy. That being said, there were a lot of factors to weigh and launching a CA Pinot Grigio was a bigger decision for us to make than many of the other varietals of wine we produce. However, when we found a really good source, we had to jump on it and bottled our first vintage earlier this year. I finally got my hands on some yesterday and was able to taste it for the first time since barrel samples in February. I was so impressed with the finished product – deliciously refreshing and acidic with hints of yellow mango and passion fruit – the perfect pairing to some light fish or shrimp tacos, a seafood pasta or grilled veggies.

Since our yard is in poppy heaven right now, I picked a few to take some shots with our wine and wanted to share. Cheers!

Life’s a Beach

August 6, 2015

Hello there 🙂 What have you been up to? It’s been one doozy of a year and I realize it’s been a while since I posted. With a busy work schedule, far too many projects to keep track of and the ease of other platforms like Instagram to satisfy a creative/content craving in a pinch, I’ve found myself moving away from my little home blog base and catch myself missing it often. I think I psych myself into thinking every post needs to be an elaborate tutorial, an over-the-top shoot that took weeks to curate or something crazy, but sometimes simple is better. In the words of Don Draper himself, “make it simple, but significant.” See you next week for a little catch up. Until then, I hope you find a little down time for some summer breeze and a good book at the beach.

Cheers!

Meg

{photo via Gray Malin}

Follow Along!