Blue Cheese Biscuits

By / Food / January 24th, 2012 / 1

Mountain Road Wine Company in Beamsville, Ontario has been planting acres of Chardonnay, Gamay Noir and Vidal grapes since owner, Steve Kocsis, and his parents (original owners), Andy and Klara, began farming in this area of the Niagara region. The grapes, long sought after by neighbouring winemakers, inspired the Kocsis family to finally embark on that difficult journey of becoming winemakers, themselves. Their first icewine vintage, a 1999 Vidal Icewine, won a gold medal at the Cellars of the World International Competition in Ottawa in 2000. That may have been the first award for this fledgling winery, but it certainly wasn’t the last. Every year has seen some accumulation of accolades bestowed upon Steve, who studied under the tutelage of Deborah Paskus.

One of the classic food-icewine pairings is blue cheese. The intensity and saltiness of the cheese is somewhat mellowed by the sweetness of the wine. Mountain Road has provided this recipe for Blue Cheese Biscuits to demonstrate how perfectly suited icewine is to a savoury dish.

Blue Cheese Biscuits
Makes about 48

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups crumbled blue cheese
4 egg yolks
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
Pinch each nutmeg and cayenne pepper

1. In a bowl, beat butter with cheese until fairly smooth; beat in egg yolks. In another bowl, whisk together flour, walnuts, salt and pepper, nutmeg and cayenne; add to cheese mixture 1/3 cup at a time, mixing to form ragged dough. Form into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. On lightly floured surface, roll out chilled dough to 1/8 inch thickness. With 1-1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles, re-rolling scraps. Place circles on parchment paper-lined or greased, rimless baking sheets. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

3. Bake in top and bottom thirds of 400°F oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through until biscuits are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Freeze for up to 1 month, reheat frozen at 375°F for 5 minutes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rosemary Mantini has always loved words. When she isn't working as the Associate Editor at Tidings Magazine, she's helping others achieve their writing dreams, and sometimes she even relaxes with a good book and a glass of wine.

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