I’ve been working on a very long post about our latest wine barrel planter project, but it’s not quite ready for prime time yet, so you get a fun new recipe instead…

Brandon and I first tried this appetizer at a wine release party at Nota Bene Cellars last summer so after a few test runs, we found this recipe from What’s Cooking America. With a few tweaks, we made it our own and it turned out great!

Presenting: Honey mascarpone filled apricots with pistachios

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1 tablespoon crushed cardamom pods
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 8 ounces dried whole apricots 
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup chopped unsalted pistachios

The nice thing about this recipe is that its pretty easy and quick and all of the ingredients can be found at Trader Joe’s. First, the bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, add the crushed cardamom seeds and lemon juice. Add the apricots and let them simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until they puff up. Remove pan from heat. Let the apricots cool. Once they’re cooled, open up the apricots a little more, but not too much, since you want it to be a pocket of sorts. 

This is where I deviated from the original recipe a bit. We did a few sample runs of this recipe and it wasn’t quite sweet enough. Apparently Brandon’s sweet tooth has rubbed off on me! To sweeten up the recipe I added some honey to the mascarpone and mixed them up (by hand) real good. I then put the mixture in a ziploc sandwich bag and snipped off the corner of the bag – creating my very own piping bag! This made getting the mascarpone in the apricots very easy. Add a drizzle of crush pistachios and voila! Serve and enjoy! We enjoyed ours with the 2011 Efeste Sauvage Sauvignon Blanc and some boursin, crackers and cured meats. A delicious combination.

How were they? Really good. We’ll definitely make these again soon. Next time I may drizzle them with a balsamic reduction. Have a great {Wine Wednesday} and tell me what deliciousness you’re pairing with your glass of wine today!