When I think of sparkling wines I think summer evenings and BBQs not sweet potato pie and turkey so when I received a request about reviewing the wine I accepted but was skeptical.
I received a complimentary bottle of pinot grigio and a bottle of rosé from Sequin Wines for this review (opinions are all my own, I was not otherwise compensated) and even though I am not a fan of whites they were both really quite good – lightly bubbly, airy even and sparkly.
The husband and I tried the bottle of the Sequin rosé first and we had it with our Thanksgiving dinner. It seems a little odd picking it but it complimented our turkey dinner very nicely. The rosé was sweeter than what I usually like but it paired well with the savory turkey and even complimented the homemade mac and cheese. I was also happy that this rosé did not smell overly sweet but had a nice exotic, fruity smell.The bottle describes the bubbles as delicate and it is true adding to the flavor of the wine without being distracting. The Sequin Rosé was fun to drink and it was great to add a little bubbly to our holiday meal. I will certainly be serving a bottle of this with our Christmas dinner as well this year.
We opened the Sequin pinot grigio later in the evening. The Husband likes to experiment more with making new cocktails and he added ginger ale with a lime twist. I enjoyed the crisp, clean flavor of this pinot grigio on its own but adding the ginger ale made for a really tasty cocktail.
Since we were munching on leftovers by this time I can say that the pinot grigio went surprisingly well with the turkey leftovers and even with sweet potato pie. This pinot grigio was crisp but smooth with a subtle dryness.
I think what I like best about both of these wines is that they can make an ordinary day seem special and since this wine has a lower alcohol content than your average wine it can make a Tuesday special and not feel guilty afterwards. That is if I felt guilty drinking wine on a Tuesday, which, I don’t.
Now, this is the first Thanksgiving I tried my hand at sweet potato pie. To be perfectly honest, this is the first time I ever made a pie period but my son came home talking about some book they read, a competition and how he wanted to try it. My son never wants to try new food and I have never wanted to make a pie so I thought what the hell. Besides, it is number 26 on my 39 things to do before 40 list.
I found a recipe from Savory Sweet Life but made a few changes to fit our tastes and what I had on hand. It was fantastic. Sweet and a little rich – so tasty, I really liked this recipe because it calls for less than a cup of brown sugar.
I finally get the popularity of this holiday pie and now that I have fun new holiday wine I thought I would share the recipe. I am pretty dumbfounded that it turned out as good as it did and I’m celebrating this mini victory! I also named it Shut the Door Sweet Potato pie because I was that impressed with myself.
Cheers!
Graham Cracker Crust
(from the Nabisco website)Ingredients
- 8 whole graham crackers, finely crushed (about 1-1/4 cups crumbs)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix all ingredients until well blended.Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.
Shut the Door Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet potatoes, mashed – canned or fresh. (I used four small sweet potatoes)
- 4 tablespoons butter at room temperature
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 3 tablespoons creamer or half and half (I had Baileys on hand and used that)
- Premade graham cracker crust or homemade
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Blend sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl until smooth.
Add eggs, evaporated milk, and creamer.
Pour pie mixture into graham cracker crust
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until done. You can test your pie by jiggling it and if it moves it’s not ready. Also – bake your pie on a cookie sheet in case of run over.
