A Fun Night at My House

We have so much fun having friends over for dinner and last Saturday we had friends over with their families and it was so much fun! The weather was great and the perfect day for roasting a pig on the barbecue and then grilling up some venison loins. To that we had friends bring a yummy pasta salad, corn on the cob as well as delicious cheese and meats with veggies and dip for appetizer bites.

I had another goal to achieve this night and that was to do a little taste test with some wines I had experienced only one week earlier. Le Clos Jordanne produces great tasting wines that are Ontario grown and produced. Pinot Noir and Chardonnays are their only options with some varying vineyards within Jordan, Ontario. So I made two dishes Pork Tenderloin with a Cherry Rhubarb Compote and Roasted Tomato Tarte Tatin. It was fun to get everyone's opinions on what they preferred with the wines as my goal was to complement the wine with the food.

I learned quite a bit when we tasted the wines at Jackson Triggs in Niagara. The one thing that was repeated to me and that I found interesting was that the wine had structure-what a great way to describe it all. Not just body but structure. So I wanted to showcase that in the wine and help bring it out with the food.

So I did a write up about the winery in my column in the paper, which I'll get the link to it via my website hopefully this week. It has a great little summary about the winery, etc as well as the Pork recipe. But I thought I would also include the Tarte Tatin recipe I did that matched well with the Chardonnay. I love doing stuff like this and I hope that I can continue to do it for a long time to come. I enjoy sharing food with friends and the fact that they took me seriously enough to help me pick out the choice of foods to match with the wines was awesome! They truly are great friends and I hope to do more with them in the future like this. Not just to benefit me but hopefully everyone who tries out the recipes that are created from and for evenings like these. I truly do love my job and everything about food! Here's the recipe, enjoy!

Roast Tomato Tarte Tatin

Look for yellow, orange and red grape or cherry tomatoes for this tart for a variety of colour and sweet flavour. The tangy sweetness of balsamic vinegar is what balances the tomatoes in this tart. Let your puff pastry thaw in the refrigerator for the best texture
You can serve this dish on a bed of spring greens for a delicious first course.

4 cups (1 L) cherry or grape tomatoes, about 1 ¼ lbs (625 g)
3 tbsp (45 mL) extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp (25 mL) white balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs fresh thyme, pulled
2 cloves garlic, sliced
Pinch each salt and pepper
1 sheet butter puff pastry or Half a 450 g pkg

In 9 inch (23 cm) round flan pan, combine tomatoes, oil, vinegar, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Roast in 425 F (220 C) oven for about 20 minutes or until tender and skins begin to break. Let cool.

Unroll pastry sheet and lay over top of tomatoes, trimming to fit as necessary in pan. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until golden and puffy. Remove from oven and let stand in pan for 10 minutes.

Place flat plate or cake stand over top of pan and invert tarte onto plate to serve.

Makes 8 to 12 servings.