Lunetta, “Little Moon” in Italian, celebrates life’s small pleasures. Lunetta Prosecco is produced by Cavit, located in the northern Italian region of Trentino. It is the largest facility in Italy dedicated exclusively to producing world-class sparkling wines. Prosecco is fermented by a process known as the Charmat method. Unlike Champagne, there is no aging time. The Charmat process is particularly suited to producing sparkling wine whose most important characteristic is freshness.
I was selected to develop a post for Lunetta in conjunction with Honest Cooking Magazine that would feature a sparkling wine cocktail and an appetizer for the winter season. In planning for this post, Lunetta was very generous and sent me several bottles of Rose and White Prosecco.
White Prosecco is pale straw in color with greenish reflections and an apple and peach aroma.
Rose Prosecco is pale salmon in color with a berry aroma.
As a result of sampling the two excellent Proseccos, I decided to make two cocktails – not just one: one featuring the white Prosecco and one featuring the rose Prosecco. And, of course, each needed a great appetizer to enhance their flavors. I also wanted to make cocktails and appetizers that my readers and friends would want to make for their own parties. I invited several friends and family members for Thanksgiving Day and served the cocktails and appetizers featured in this post. They were all a big success. So, I know, you will want to make these cocktails and appetizers at your next party!
Lunetta Rose Prosecco and Crème de Cassis Cocktail
For 6 cocktails
Ingredients
6 teaspoons crème de cassis brandy, divided
3 teaspoons lemon juice, divided
1 bottle chilled Rose Prosecco sparkling wine
Directions
Pour 1 teaspoon of crème de cassis and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice into each champagne glass. Stir.
Slowly fill each glass to the top with chilled Rose Prosecco.
Skewer three raspberries on each of 6 bamboo sticks and drop them into the glasses to serve.
Smoked Salmon Appetizer Rolls
Ingredients
6 slices sandwich bread, crusts removed
6 tablespoons cream cheese with chives and onions
6 slices smoked salmon
Directions
Roll out the bread slices using a rolling-pin.
Spread cream cheese on each slice.
Add smoked salmon slices and roll up each slice
Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
Cut into one-inch slices and arrange on a serving platter. Keep the rolls covered with plastic wrap until your guests arrive.
Lunetta Prosecco and Ginger Brandy Cocktail
For 6 cocktails
Ingredients
Coarse sugar crystals
6 teaspoons ginger brandy, divided
3 teaspoons agave syrup, divided
6 crystallized ginger cubes, divided
1 bottle chilled white Prosecco sparkling wine
Directions
Decorate the rims of 6 tall flute glasses by dipping them in a saucer of water then into a dish of the coarse sugar crystals.
Add one teaspoon of ginger brandy and ½ teaspoon of agave into each glass. Stir.
Fill each glass with Prosecco and add a cube of crystallized ginger to each glass.
Gorgonzola Thumbprint Appetizers Filled With Tomato Jam
Makes about 15
Ingredients
1 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons softened, salted butter
4 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Tomato Jam, homemade recipe below or use store-bought
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl until a cohesive dough forms.
Scoop up 1″ balls of dough (a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here) and roll into a smooth ball.
Arrange the balls of dough about 1 1/2″ to 2″ apart on the prepared baking pans.
Use your thumb to press an indentation into the center of each ball of dough.
Bake the thumbprints for 8 to 10 minutes, until they start to turn light golden brown on top.
Remove the thumbprints from the oven and cool them on the pan for 10 minutes.
Transfer them to a rack to cool completely before serving. Fill with jam just before serving.
Homemade Tomato Jam
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
3 pounds Roma tomatoes, (plum), cored and quartered
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 ¼ and ¼ teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons good quality red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 medium shallots, minced (about ½ cup)
2½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3/4 cup dry red wine
Directions
In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes with the sugar, the 1¼ teaspoons salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and red wine vinegar until the tomatoes are finely chopped but not completely pureed and the sugar is dissolved, about 6 – two second pulses.
In a 12 inch skillet over medium, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the shallots, thyme and the ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the red wine, adjust the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to a loose glaze, about 4-5 minutes. Add the processed tomato mixture.
Adjust the heat and simmer vigorously, stirring more often as the mixture reduces, is glossy and has a jam-like consistency, somewhere between a sauce and a paste, about 60-90 minutes (depending on how watery your tomatoes are).
Set the pan aside, off heat, to cool to room temperature.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and store. The jam can be refrigerated for 1-2 weeks or frozen for six months.
Here is the Prosecco Spiced Cocktail recipe featured in the video:
Prosecco Spiced Cocktail
Serves: 1
Ingredients
Syrup
½ cup honey
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Drink
½ oz spiced honey syrup
1 oz whisky
1 oz cider
Sprig of thyme
Lunetta Prosecco to top off
Instructions
Combine all of the syrup ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and cool down.
With ice, shake together honey syrup, cider, and whiskey. Strain into a glass, top with Prosecco and garnish with a sprig of thyme.
Tomatoes were yellow and orange-colored at the beginning of the tomato’s cultivation, with the color red becoming more prevalent through many years of breeding. Today, there are hundreds of different types of tomatoes in colored varieties that include red, orange, yellow, white, green, purple and black. Some tomatoes, like Heirloom and cherry, come in many varieties, as well.
Most people consider the red tomato varieties the most popular, especially the Beefsteak and Roma varieties. Pink tomatoes have similar flavors to the red ones, that include the Pink Girl and Brandywine varieties. Orange tomato varieties include Persimmon and Mountain Gold and they are usually sweeter than red tomatoes, due to a higher sugar content. Yellow varieties, such as Golden Boy and Garden Peach, are similar to the orange type, but are usually less tangy than red tomatoes. There are green tomato varieties (not just unripened tomatoes) that ripen green and usually have a lower acidic taste than red tomatoes.
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds of fresh Roma tomatoes, quartered and seeded retaining as much pulp as possible
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 2 large cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (chili)
- 1-2 teaspoons honey, if needed
Herbs
Place the following herbs in a piece of cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth closed.
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 sprig of fresh oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs of parsley
Directions
Pour the olive oil into a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add the onions, celery, garlic and carrots.
Saute for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Add the tomatoes and sea salt.
Simmer on low heat, covered, for about an hour until the tomatoes cook down.
Remove the pot from the heat and using an immersion blender, process the mixture until smooth.
Return the pot to the heat and add the herb cheesecloth package.
Taste the sauce to see if the tomatoes were too bitter. Add the honey, if needed.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until reduced and thick, an hour to an hour and a half more. Remove the cheesecloth package and discard.
Pour the sauce into a refrigerator container and store the sauce up to 1 week, or freeze in batches.
This sauce is especially good served over gnocchi.
Pepper Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 lb of your favorite pizza dough, at room temperature
- 1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
- 2 cups fresh tomato sauce, see recipe above
- 1 ½ cups leftover sautéed peppers and onions, see recipe here
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 slices of prosciutto, cut into strips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Move an oven rack to lowest position in the oven.
Press the dough out on a greased pizza pan. Top the dough with the sliced mozzarella.
Spread the sauce over the cheese. Place the peppers and onions evenly over the sauce. Sprinkle with the hot pepper.
Place the pizza in the oven and bake until crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and place the prosciutto slices evenly on top.
Return the pizza to the oven for about a minute or two to warm the prosciutto. Set the pizza on the counter on top of a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes before cutting.
Red Wine Tomato Jam
Tomato Jam is great on burgers in place of ketchup or served alongside grilled meat or fish. It also pairs exceptionally well with cheeses and cured meats. I like to serve it as an appetizer, as part of a cheese board selection.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
- 3 pounds Roma tomatoes), cored and quartered
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ and ¼ teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons good quality red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium shallots, minced (about ½ cup)
- 2½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 3/4 cup dry red wine
Directions
In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, sugar, 1¼ teaspoons salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and red wine vinegar until the tomatoes are finely chopped but not completely pureed and the sugar is dissolved, about 6 2-second pulses.
In a 12 inch skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the shallots, thyme and the ¼ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the red wine, adjust the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to a loose glaze, about 4-5 minutes. Add the processed tomato mixture.
Adjust heat to medium-high and simmer vigorously, stirring more often as the mixture reduces, until it is glossy and has a jam like consistency, somewhere between a sauce and a paste, about 60-90 minutes (depending on how watery your tomatoes are).
Set the pan aside, off heat, to cool to room temperature.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and store. The jam can be refrigerated for 1-2 weeks or frozen for six months.
