Time for Festive Fall Flavors

Explore Tasty New Ways to Enjoy the Comforts of Fall Flavors

For many of us, fall is our favorite season. The days are still warm enough to enjoy an afternoon of tailgating. And the evenings cool off so we can finally enjoy our outdoor fire pits. Along with the weather, our food choices change from summery light to comfort cuisine. We’ve included a few new ways to enjoy some of your fall flavors.

Blue Cheese Dressing- Lose the Fat

Most blue cheese dressings have a mayonnaise and/or sour cream base. Ours uses our traditional aged balsamic vinegar and an ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil. Use on hot wings, salad or as a dip for raw veggies.

1/3 C of Leaning Ladder Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

¾ C of Leaning Ladder Ultra-Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4-6 oz of quality blue cheese such as Maytag (reserve some if you like your dressing chunky)

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix blue cheese and balsamic vinegar in a blender or food processor until smooth. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until blended. If you reserved any blue cheese, stir in. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Oyster Mignonette

If you’re a raw oyster aficionado, you probably have heard the best time to enjoy them is any month ending in an “r.” Perfect, since it’s SeptembeR! One of the traditional accompaniments for raw oysters is a simple, vinegar-based mignonette sauce. The original recipe calls for red wine vinegar. If you’re a purist, make this with our Organic Red Wine Vinegar. If you want to buck tradition, try the Serrano Honey Vinegar, Sherry Vinegar or Pinot Noir Wine Vinegar.

Stir ¼ C vinegar of your choice, 1 T minced shallot and ¼ tsp off freshly cracked black pepper. Spoon over raw or grilled oysters.

Pear Custard Pie

Pears + Custard + Pie Crust = Heaven!

Chef Melissa shared this delicious recipe that uses fall flavors of  fresh pears and Leaning Ladder vinegars.

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust – homemade or store-bought
• 5 medium pears, thinly sliced
• 1 C sugar
• 1 T brown sugar
• ¼ C flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 C whipping cream
• 2 T Leaning Ladder Tahitian Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 T Leaning Ladder Cinnamon Pear Balsamic
• 1 tsp. cinnamon, plus more for serving
• Whipped topping – homemade or store-bought

Directions:

Place pie crust in greased pie plate. Add sliced pears to crust. In a small bowl, combine sugars and flour. Sir in the eggs, cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour mixture over pears. Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Cinnamon Pear Martini

This is one of our favorite fall cocktail recipes!  Perfect for an evening by the fire!

Ingredients:

1 shot of vodka per 1 shot of pear puree/simple syrup mixture

Approximately 2 T Leaning Ladder Cinnamon Pear Balsamic Vinegar

2 – 3 fresh pears peeled and pureed

Juice from 2 lemons

½ C sugar

½ C of water

2 cinnamon sticks

 

Pear Puree:

Blend 2-3 pears peeled and pitted with lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

 

Cinnamon Pear Simple Syrup:

Combine sugar, water, cinnamon sticks and Cinnamon Pear balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes. You can adjust the flavor by adding more sugar for sweet and/or more vinegar for tart.

Mix pear puree with simple syrup and add vodka to taste.

 

We hope you enjoy one of our favorite seasons!

Your friends,

Susan and Bridget