The Snow Snob and the Ice Wine Queen

Dinner is always better with good friends. When a friend was bringing over his girlfriend from Quebec I knew I needed to be on my game.  Dinner was good and as luck would have it, she brought Ice Wine for dessert. If you have never had Ice Wine you need to try it. Grapes are harvested after the first freeze. This late in the season the sugar content is very high. This results in an extremely sweet wine.  But don't think pink wine sweet, it is more like honey sweet. Very earthy and real.  Don't pour a wine glass full, find aperitif glasses and sip the wine.  Why was it lucky she brought Ice Wine? I had made a Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie for dessert.  The bitter chocolate and bourbon balanced the sweet ice wine perfectly. 

Bourbon, Chocolate and Pecan Pie

Scott's Buttery Crust (recipe below)

1 C Sugar

3 T Cornstarch

3 Eggs

1 C Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/3 C Bourbon

4 T Butter (melted)

6 Oz semi sweet chocolate

2 C Pecans from Maynard's Farm, Ridge Springs, South Carolina (these are priceless!)
Heavy Whipping Cream (and don't even consider Cool Whip or Laughing Gas crap!)

Scott's Buttery Crust

2 C Flour

1 pinch Salt

1 T Sugar

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 sticks butter, cubed

5 T Ice Water

Place Flour, Salt, Sugar, Vanilla, and butter in food processor with dough blade. Whir until butter is cut into small balls the size of BB's. Add ice water and mix until it just rolls into a ball.  Most will tell you to place dough in the refrigerator for 30 min.  I always have better luck just rolling it out.

Place in a 9" Pie pan. I prefer a large quiche pan. Divide dough in 2/3 and 1/3 sections. Roll out 2/3 section and place in pan.

Mix Sugar and cornstarch in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and Bourbon.  Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler (or very low flame) and add this to the mixture. Finally add pecans. Roll out remaining crust and do something fancy on top (or at least better than I did).

Bake for 45 min at 350 degrees.

Serve with a dollop of Whipped Cream.

Man that's good stuff!