Valentine’s Day Baking with Judy Mattera 

Come learn how to make a very special dessert and pair it with a unique sweet and fortified wine. Join us, as Judy Mattera, pastry chef and owner of MY SWEET SOLUTIONS, demonstrates fine pastry- making, and couples each dessert with the world’s great dessert wines.

As the former executive pastry chef at some of Boston's most important restaurants (Olives, Grill 23, and The Fed @ XV Beacon), Judy has created spectacular desserts and pastries that have been recognized in such magazines as McCall's, Chocolatier, and Pastry & Baking North America, Quarterly Review of Wines, and a Taste of Seacoast, as well as garnering countless awards and accolades from Zagat, Citysearch, and The Boston Globe. Judy was recently presented with the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs' 2011 Golden Bowl Award for "excellence in baking and pastry arts".

This event is $55 for members and $70 for non-members. Price includes demonstration, recipes and tasting notes, and samples paired with wines.

Menu for the Evening

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Lemon Sponge Pudding Cakes, paired with Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d'Asti (Italy)

This delicate sweet frizzante wine from the Piedmont region is refreshing with clean flavors. It has a fruity nose of peach and apricot, light and soft on the palate with a lively finish. With this dessert you have texture between the cake and custard layers which balances the Moscatod’Asti. It will not overpower as this is a light dessert matching the lightness of the wine.  

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Passion Fruit Cheesecake, paired with Inniskillin Vidal Icewine (Canada)

A tropical cheesecake pairs well with this terrific icewine from the Niagara Peninsula. Golden in color with flavors of mango and peach, it has a delicate nectar. The creaminess of the dessert along with the tartness of the passion fruit will balance with the natural sweetness of this top Canadian wine.  

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Cornmeal Currant Wafers with Orange Muscat Gelee and Berries, paired with Quady Essensia (Madera, CA)

Essensia is a fruity wine made from 100% Orange Muscat grapes. It has orange blossom aromas with vibrant flavors and pairs well with fresh fruit. The wine is made into “jelly” cubes and layered with assorted berries. Cornmeal currant wafers are cookies with currants plumped and steeped in Essensia, then incorporated into the batter. Rolled thinly and cut into desired size, this is a perfect match for spring. 

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Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Chilled Cherry Sabayon, paired with Les Clos de Paulilles Banyuls Rimage 2006 (France)

Les Clos de PaulillesBanyuls “Rimage” is a red wine from 100% black Grenache grapes. Grown in the Langeudoc-Roussillon region of southern France, it is full bodied with a noseof dried cherries, mocha, and caramel. Served with a bittersweet chocolate tart in a vanilla bean shortcrust, it is an excellent balance of dessert and sweet wine.