Pair Mexican wines with seasonal food

Cover Story Entertaining at Home

The menu

US native Cathy Quinn has lived many years in Mérida, where she has become known for her party platters. Her skills came across at a recent wine tasting where she matched the perfect appetizer for each variety that Cellar Master Fernando Almazan served. We asked her for some menu ideas to share.

Five-Spice Pork Meatballs

Yields about 25 small meatballs. People tend to eat two or three as an appetizer.

Ingredients: » 1½ pounds ground pork » 1 cup panko breadcrumbs » 1 cup caramelized white or yellow onions cooled and chopped very finely. At the bottom is a do-ahead tip.* » 2 eggs, lightly beaten » 3 scallions, sliced, plus more for garnish » 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger root » 1 teaspoon onion powder » 1½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder » 2 tablespoons soy sauce » 2 tablespoons rice vinegar » Optional: Sprinkle with soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil at serving time.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine ground meat, panko, finely diced caramelized onions, eggs, scallions, ginger, onion powder, fivespice powder, soy sauce, and vinegar. Use a 1/8 measuring cup to measure the meat mix to help you form uniform-sized meatballs.

Tap the measuring cup on your palm to release the meat and roll into a ball. Set the meatballs 1/2 inch apart on baking paper on a lipped, oven-proof tray. Repeat until all the meat is used.

Bake the meatballs for 15 to 20 minutes, then check for doneness and browning. If the meatballs aren’t looking browned enough, cook another five minutes and keep checking until the meatballs are done and browned. The inside of the meatball must be cooked through with no pink showing. If you have access to a meat thermometer, cook until 165F is reached.

*Do-ahead tip: Coat the onions with oil and some butter and let bake at 180C/350F for an hour. Of course, you can also caramelize them in a frying pan. I tend to cook them in the oven to free my time for other things. If you use the oven method, stir once halfway through. You can do this a day ahead. Cool and chop them finely. Don’t skip this caramelization step. This one ingredient is the superpower in this recipe.

TERI VIRBICKIS / GETTY JOFF LEE

Pumpkin-Spiced Almond Cookies

Yields 12 - 24 cookies based on cookie size. Prep time less than 20 minutes.

Ingredients: » 2 cups blanched almond flour (no flour substitutions — use only almond flour in this recipe) » ½ teaspoon baking powder » ¼ cup soft butter (use salted butter, or add a pinch of salt to unsalted butter) » 1 teaspoon vanilla extract