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Creative Table with Marzo
Hello food lovers! I am glad to
say I will be joining The
Guanacaste Journal for a
biweekly column, featuring
recipes, tips and a common love
for good food, creative
entertaining and great wine. I
will be sharing things I have
learned over the years as a
student, cook, chef, business
owner and cake designer.
At my café, Dulce Marzo, in
Monteverde, we often have wine
events and special dinners. We
almost always have bottles of
wine left unfinished at the end
of the night. My favorite thing
to do is save the leftover wine
and make a reduced wine syrup to
put on ice cream.
This sauce makes good use of
wine that otherwise may go to
waste (you should only keep an
open bottle of wine for two to
three days). You can make this
syrup after a dinner party and
save it for a special dessert
topping at your next event.
Simply put the following recipe
on the stove when you start to
clean up after dinner, and by
the time all the dishes are
washed it’s ready to go in the
fridge for the next party!
Spiced Red Wine Reduction
Ingredients
- 2 cups red wine (anything from
boxed wine to a fine table wine
will work)
- ˝ cup blackberries or
strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 whole star anise (if you
can’t find star anise you can
just leave it out)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 10 black peppercorns
Method
Put all ingredients in a medium
saucepan and cook on low heat
until reduced by half. To check
if it’s done dip a metal spoon
in the syrup and remove: if it
leaves a film on the spoon, it’s
finished. Cooking time will vary
depending on the size of the pot
and the stove. Keep a good eye
on it and you will be pleasantly
rewarded with a sweet tangy
treat to enjoy with ice cream.
Here in Costa Rica I have to say
my favorite ice creams come from
the Monteverde Cheese Factory.
This syrup is great on vanilla (crema)
or chocolate ice cream. Serve in
a nice white bowl, garnish with
a hibiscus flower and you have a
simple but very elegant dessert.
You can also use the syrup to
make a refreshing spritzer by
adding an ounce of the syrup to
ice and soda water.
Buen provecho,
Marzo
If you have cooking questions
that I can answer or have an
idea for a future column please
write me at [email protected].
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