Melted Manchego Cheese, Rosemary and Honey Wedges

We are less than a month away from one of my favorite events here at Eckert’s, our annual Wine and Food Festival!! This year’s festival will be held on March 4 & 5th, 2017 in our Country Store in Belleville from 12-6pm. I am excited to announce our new partnerships that will make our festival bigger and better than ever!!!

First of all, we will be sharing $5 from each wine/beer tasting arm band sale with Belleville’s Art on the Square. We are thrilled to be supporting Art on the Square’s youth outreach programs with proceeds from our event. We are also partnering with Angela Ortmann, St. Louis’ very own “wine girl.” Angela will be at Eckert’s both days of the Festival to interact with wine tasters and share her robust wine knowledge. In addition to our wine tasting tables featuring more than 40 wines, we will also have beer from local breweries. Local vendors including Salsa Rose, Thompson Farms, Ropp Dairy and more! Click HERE to learn more about tickets to our wine festival.

All of this event preparation has me daydreaming about wine friendly food! So, when it was time to select a recipe for my next Show Me St. Louis episode on KSDK, coming up February 16th, this recipe for Melted Manchego Cheese, Rosemary and Honey Wedges instantly came to mind. It is a nice and light bite to pair with a variety of dry whites or light bodied red wines. The honey can be dialed up or down according to taste and wine preference. It also features, a personal favorite of mine, Manchego cheese! Aged Manchego is a spectacular cheese for pairing with dry red wine and it can be sliced with a potato peeler to create small shavings that are packed with flavor.

In addition to all the wine and beer being served during our Wine and Food Festival, Eckert’s culinary educators will be sampling a variety of wine friendly foods and sharing tips on how to create a cheese board for pairing with wine and beer. Come taste this recipe for yourself by stopping by our classroom during our 7th Annual Wine and Food Festival. I look forward to seeing you there!!

Cheers! Angie

Melted Manchego Cheese, Rosemary and Honey Wedges

1 Eckert’s pizza round, defrosted
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 ounces Manchego or another semi hard cheese,* cut into curls with vegetable peeler or cheese plane
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons pure honey

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Place pizza crust on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Brush pizza crust with olive oil.  Bake about 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

Arrange cheese on the top and return baking pan to the oven.  Bake about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Sprinkle melted cheese with rosemary.  Drizzle honey over crust.  Cut into wedges.

Makes appetizers for 4 to 6.

*Marisa, Dry Jack, Gruyere are other cheese examples