From Riverview fan, Elaine M. of Texas. Vidal Icewine is a sweet, thick wine in the spirit of other international dessert wines like Sauternes, Trockenbeerenauslese, or Tokaji Aszu. Yet while classic matches for these wines are often rich, fatty foods like foie gras, those international wines often have slightly moreacidity than Vidal Icewine and are occasionally oak-aged. All that means is that Icewine is fruitier, cleaner, and much less creamy: not exactly syrupy, but closer to syrup.
You'll succeed in pairing when the wine is sweeter than the dish. While baked apple crisp is a knockout match, we'll humbly suggest another top-notch partner. Flans have a supple texture which suits Icewine (find a chocolate flan for red Icewine), are relatively mild in sweetness, and in this case, have a hint of bitterness with the pistachio-topping. You may consider topping with crushed walnuts if pistachios aren't available.
Any way you slice it, this will be a fabulous pairing!
Ingredients:
1 can condensed milk 1 can evaporated milk 3 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 three oz. piece of Philadelphia cream cheese 7 Tbs. sugar 1 pinch of salt Few drops of lime juice Handful of pistachios
Instructions:
1. Place the sugar and lime juice in a small pan and cook slowly until it caramelizes. Be careful to not let it burn.
2. Pour caramelized sugar into a flan mould, or similar, making sure to cover up to 1/2 inch of sides of mould.
3. Put the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend until combined. Pour mixture over caramel in mould.
4. Place the mould in a Bain Marie and bake at 350F for one hour. Let the mould cool enough to handle, then refrigerate until cool.
5. To serve, place mould upside down on serving platter and flip to remove flan. Scatter pistachios over flan.