Red Wine Appetizers, Part One

Ben and I hosted a housewarming party last Saturday night in our new home. Knowing that people tend to drink red wine more on these crummy fall/winter evenings, I wanted to have appetizers on hand that are more red wine friendly, versus the white wine apps that are often so popular. I decided that, while I was at it, I might as well tailor the recipes to the newest wine club releases, coming out this next weekend. I'll get into the specifics of the recipes soon, but wanted to share the final menu:

spiced nut mix

prosciutto wrapped dates, stuffed with parmigiano-reggiano

red wine friendly cheese plate: english stilton, petit basque, vermont cheddar

eggplant and bell pepper crostini

paired with 2007 Red Mountain Cabernet Franc

asian bbq chicken skewers

paired with 2007 Columbia Valley Malbec

beef sliders with gruyere, arugula and carmelized red onions

paired with 2007 eight Red Wine

cherry, walnut, chocolate bark

Everything turned out great! I broke a few of my rules. I few of my dishes included cheese, which I hoped to not to and compete with the cheese plate itself (but who really minds a little extra cheese?). A few things were not able to be done entirely in advance. For example, we were able to make and form the sliders ahead of time, but my dear friend Erin got stuck actually cooking the mini-burgers as guests were arriving. Beyond that, I'm very happy with the way everything turned out. I'll share recipes soon.

My pre-party helpers: Dara, myself and Erin