Enjoying Sherry Wine Pairings and Recipes Pedro Ximénez

Pear ice cream sandwich with gruyere rosemary shortbread

Pair with Pedro Ximénez

A finalist in the 2014 U.S. Copa Jerez Competition, this pairing is sugar, spice, and everything nice! The sweet raisin, caramel, and smooth taste of this Pedro Ximénez is a perfect combination for a dish that involves cheese, fruit, and ice cream. Sweet begets sweet, but these two combined, especially with the herbal note, bring out the best in each item.

Ingredients

1 cup

butter (2 sticks)

3/4 cup

sugar

Zest

from one lemon

1 tsp

vanilla extract

egg

1.5 cup

all-purpose flour

1 cup

whole wheat flour

1 Tbs

minced rosemary

1/2 cup

grated gruyere cheese

Directions

Make cookies:

Cream butter with sugar. Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, and egg and mix well. In a bowl, whisk both flours together with the minced rosemary. Slowly mix flour mixture into butter until a stiff batter forms. Make two logs and chill to form dough. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees (F). Cut dough and bake cookies until golden at the edges, about 16-18 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the tops of the cookies with gruyere cheese. Allow to cool completely before sandwiching the ice cream between two cookies.

Make ice cream:

Poach pears in bourbon, maple syrup, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sage. Remove pairs, strain liquid and reduce to syrup. Puree pears. Make a vanilla ice cream base with eggs milk, vanilla, cream. Add puree. Spin in ice cream maker, add syrup last 5 minutes or churning.

Gregory Lauro & Aaron Butler , Brooklyn, NY United States

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serving and consuming

Pairing Pedro Ximénez with food

Pedro Ximénez should be served slightly chilled, at between 12 and 14ºC, though the younger wines may be served at lower temperatures.

It is a dessert in itself, though combining exceptionally well with desserts based on slightly bitter chocolate, with ice-creams and blue cheeses of great intensity, such as Cabrales or Roquefort.