I can’t believe that we’re in the back half of August, someone please tell me where the summer has gone! That being said, there are still many days ahead to soak up this beautiful weather and enjoy cool beverages, flowy dresses and delicious fresh summer food. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Sandhill wines for this post!
Clearly I love food, but wine has also been a passion of mine for many years. I took a wine course with one of my best friends Alyssa many moons ago (doesn’t seem like that long ago, but it was over 10 years now, I suppose that’s what happens when you get older) and since then have loved finding food and wine that tastes good together. I will admit that one of my favourite things in the world to do is to pour a glass of wine, put on some Frank Sinatra and cook with my talented hubby Charles. It’s our happy place.
Sandhill is a local winery in my hometown Kelowna, and let me tell you they really have it all figured out. The award-winning winemaker Howard Soon is pure genius, creating wines that are truly top notch. I picked out three of my favourites this month to put together an Okanagan-inspired food and wine pairing menu below complete with simple fresh recipes for you to enjoy, including a Peach Chèvre Crostini, and a Creamy Mushroom Ragu!
Peach, Chèvre and Honey Crostini
WINE PAIRING: Sandhill Sauvignon Blanc
These are insanely easy to make and really show off the flavours of these beautiful local ingredients! I’ve left the quantities out, you can make as few or as many as you want to make!
- Sliced baguette, lightly toasted
- Plain local goat cheese
- Sliced fresh peaches
- Local honey
- Thyme sprigs
Spread the goat cheese in a thin layer on one side of each piece of toasted baguette, top with a slice or two of the peaches, and place on your platter. Continue until you have as many crostini as you are going to serve. Drizzle lightly with the honey and place a small sprigs of thyme on each crostini before serving.
Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi
WINE PAIRING: Sandhill Cabernet Merlot
Serves 4
Fall weather is right around the corner, but there’s never a bad time of year for mushroom gnocchi. I used a local goat cheese to add richness to the sauce. You can make your own gnocchi using a recipe such as this one, or you can just buy a store bought version.
Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi
Fall weather is right around the corner, but there's never a bad time of year for mushroom gnocchi. I used a local goat cheese to add richness to the sauce. You can make your own gnocchi using a recipe, or you can just buy a store bought version.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 large cloves crushed garlic
- 1 shallot (minced)
- 500 grams white or brown mushrooms (sliced)
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme (tied with food grade twine)
- ½ cup goat cheese
- ½ cup half and half cream
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
- thyme sprigs for garnish
- 500 grams store-bought gnocchi
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil.
-
In a large heavy-bottomed frying pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, shallot, mushrooms and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and slightly brown. Turn the heat to low and stir in the goat cheese and cream, stirring until the goat cheese is melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, remove the thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper.
-
Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions (approximately 1 minute) and drain. Serve the gnocchi with the mushroom sauce on top and garnish with parmesan cheese and extra fresh thyme sprigs if desired.
Thank you Sandhill for sponsoring this fun post!
Yummm! Tori, what type of Gluten free flour would you recommend in place of Panko for the Salmon cakes?
Oh my, good question! I don’t know if flour would be the answer…maybe something crunchy like chopped almonds? I’ll let you know if I think of anything brilliant, or if you have gluten free bread crumbs that is what I would use.
These recipes look amazing! I’ve been looking for a good salmon cake recipe and am excited to try yours – just wondering if you’re using raw or cooked salmon? Thanks Tori!
Melanie!!!! Oh my gosh we need to connect!!! I miss you! It’s raw salmon I totally missed including that in the ingredients! xo
Is the diced salmon in the cakes COOKED? or RAW?
Great question, it’s raw. I added it to the ingredients, thanks for asking!
Hi Tori,
I saw Jillian insta story your goat cheese and mushroom crustini a little bit ago, yet I cannot seem to find the recipe on your website. Any help with this? I would love to make this tomorrow for thanksgiving! Cheers
Hi Lindsey!
It will actually be in the cookbook so sorry for the late response!
Thank you for following along!
Tori
Sandhill is our favourite!!! These look so yummy!! Any other topping ideas for Gnocchi? My husband refuses to eat mushrooms! Xo
Hi Ashley! Yes! A good quality tomato sauce with fresh basil and parmesan is amazing or you could try a butternut squash and sage sauce similar to what I did in my butternut squash carbonara post here