Grapes + Creativity in the Kitchen =?

December 30, 2010 1:52 PM

What should I do with 2.20 lbs of grapes?

I ordered grapes to go with some cheeses at my birthday party. As always, I ordered WAY more food than I needed and so now I have a bushel of grapes. I'll be attending a knitting meetup on Jan 2, and I love to cook and bake. So be generous with your grape recipes, please.

posted by miss-lapin to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

Best answer: Grapes are pretty great roasted. I've only had roasted ones paired with cheese (amazing with blue cheese!) but if you're cheesed out, here's a recipe that suggests pairing the grapes with yogurt or creme fraiche for dipping.

I think they'd be great in a salad of bitter greens with a bit of salty cheese, too--maybe some parmesan shavings?
posted by padraigin at 1:55 PM on December 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

Best answer: remove from vines, wash, and then freeze. Frozen grapes make a great snack, and can also be thrown in smoothies.
posted by cosmicbandito at 1:58 PM on December 30, 2010 [8 favorites]

Sole Veronique. This is easy to make and has a simple sophistication.

Grape Scones.

Orange buttered carrots with chilli chicken and peppered grapes.
posted by essexjan at 2:06 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Smooth White Grape Gazpacho
posted by Hop123 at 2:10 PM on December 30, 2010

This is supposed to be a stuffing, but I've just made it as a side dish without doing the last baking inside a bird step. It is always a hit at potlucks. You can up the amount of grapes -- as said above, cooked grapes are tasty! (I've made it with both green and red grapes. Green is better because I like green grapes better, but other people like the red better. Depends on taste).
posted by bluefly at 2:17 PM on December 30, 2010

For a refreshing change of pace, especially when you need a light desert, mix sour cream with brown sugar and brandy or bourbon. Add grapes and chill. Simple, fabulous and sophisticated.
posted by carmicha at 2:23 PM on December 30, 2010

2.2 pounds? I would just eat them. I love grapes. Eat them with bread, eat them with cheese, eat them by themselves.
posted by Justinian at 2:32 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

My aunt made this grape salad for a picnic last summer, and it was the surprise hit of the party. The crunchy topping just makes the dish. You'd have to cut the recipe in half (or buy more grapes) but I'm sure the taste of the recipe won't be affected much by using just one color of grape. It's just a little prettier with two colors.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:45 PM on December 30, 2010

Best answer: Pickled grapes. Surprisingly good.
posted by judith at 3:41 PM on December 30, 2010

Frozen grapes are delicioius (with or without the grappa!)
posted by ceri richard at 3:49 PM on December 30, 2010

I've also made a grape tart similar to this (but with ready made pastry). Very easy and very impressive for dinner parties.
posted by ceri richard at 3:51 PM on December 30, 2010

2nding frozen grapes. Just stick them in the freezer and ignore until you want one. Eat straight, no thawing. Repeat as needed until desire for scrunching down lovely, yummy grapes goes away. They keep a really long time that way, and you can use them instead of ice cubes when you want to feel cutting edge. Just don't thaw them: They turn yucky & brown. They don't get hard like icecubes. More like an extra-firm sorbet in it's own convenient little bite-sized package.
posted by Ys at 5:44 PM on December 30, 2010

My grandmother once mentioned that she made grape pies 60 some years ago when she lived in Sacramento and could buy a flat of grapes for a quarter.
posted by Bruce H. at 6:47 PM on December 30, 2010

Best answer: OK, this is MY question. I just had a dinner party and this dish was the #1 hit: I grilled Italian sausage until nicely but not too nicely browned, set it aside on a platter. Then I sauteed seedless grapes in the pan juices for 5 minutes, returned the sausage to the pan, cooked them together for another 2 minutes, scooped the grapes onto the platter, set the sausages on top and then poured the grapey-sausagey juices over it. The ratio of sausage to grapes was ... well, I eyeballed it until it looked right. It was YUM.
posted by thinkpiece at 8:49 AM on December 31, 2010

Best answer: Chocolate-covered grapes. Melt a large bar of preferably dark or semi-sweet chocolate, mix washed and dry grapes into it, stir, put on waxed paper to firm up. You get this lovely crisp chocolate coating followed by grape juice. Really good.
posted by eleanna at 10:32 AM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

I did a variation last night on what thinkpiece suggested using Field Roast vegetarian sausage, plus some diced onions sauteed for a bit before adding the grapes and a sploosh of balsamic vinegar toward the end.

It was excellent. Highly recommended.
posted by Lexica at 7:02 PM on January 3, 2011