Wine down

Some of the wines I have sampled over the past few weeks. Have you tried any of these and, if so, what are your thoughts?

The Fruits of My Labor

Occasionally I pick up a Sunday shift out at Jonathan Edwards Winery (my second job).  This past Sunday was a bit brutal, being the morning after the annual Winemaker's Dinner (think libraried wines paired with five courses...plus cocktail hour and post-dinner drinks) which kept us at work until well after midnight. However, there's a bright side to everything. The winery isn't open on Monday and Tuesday, so on Sundays we will take home the open wine. There isn't usually very much (we're pretty careful about how much we open) but being the night after an event and a horrendously slow day, we found ourselves with quite a selection. Obviously, there was no way I was going to work through this much wine (even though some of these bottles were pretty empty) while it was all still good, so I took it over to Dr. Scott's apartment for a little impromptu wine tasting...which evolved into a Scotch tasting, but that's another story.

 

What I brought home

 

Preparing the glasses

 

Chatty and Caitlin

 

Lagavulin with a Sauv Blanc chaser

Champagne wishes and oyster dreams

I've always liked shellfish. Even when I was younger and a fairly picky eater, I still ate shrimp (they were fried, but hey, it counts). Since moving to New England, I have become completely enamored with almost anything in a shell. You can get shellfish of amazing quality out here. Local lobsters and scallops pepper the menus at fine-dining restaurants and roadside shacks alike.

Yet as I devoured any shrimp, scallop, lobster, or clam put in my path, I neglected one shellfish completely for two whole years: the oyster.

I get why some people think eating oysters is a little weird, or even gross. If you have problems with texture, oysters may not be for you - at least, not in their raw form. Oysters are versatile enough to show up in a variety of cooked dishes, adding a little briny shellfish-sweetness to almost anything they touch.

I was lucky enough to attend (another) local dinner at the River Tavern in Chester last Tuesday night, this one focusing heavily on local oysters farmed in Noank, a small village near Mystic. Steve Plant from the Noank Oyster Co-op not only provided the oysters, but also provided lively commentary about oyster farming, sustainable aquaculture, and a slew of other topics.

As usual, I attended with my fabulous Foodie Friend Loree, who once again took pictures for this post.

You might think that a four-course dinner designed around oysters would be a one-note affair - but not with James Wayman (left, standing) in the kitchen. Using other locally farmed meats and produce, James crafted a meal that highlighted the subtle flavor characteristics of the oysters to their best advantages.

Cooked oysters were served in a warm salad of sorts comprised of onions, celery, and that glorious thick-cut bacon I've had in other River tavern dishes. The second course consisted of (very) lightly smoked oysters, still in the shell, lightly sauced with something lemony (I always wish I had a printed menu from these dinners) and served with a brown butter crouton. The little bit of smoke gave a little "oomph" to the oyster's natural saltiness. It didn't taste smoky - it just seemed like the natural flavors had more depth.

These appetizers of sorts were follwed up with two meat-centric blockbusters: smoked duck from Soeltl Farm, served with carrots and brussels sprouts with a mustard-y sauce; and James' version of Korean barbecued pork and cucumber kimchee. (Cucumber kimchee is a genuis idea. The cool, crisp cucumbers are the perfect foil for the heat.) Two gigantic fresh oysters were served in shells alongside the pork, providing a refreshing finish to the dish (well, they provided me with a refreshing finish - I am sure other people may have started with them).

Duck from Soeltl Farm

Pork, kimchee, oysters

The conclusion to this meal was a savory dessert: a poached pear served over a bed of creamy ricotta cheese and topped with a crunchy chocolate biscotti. The poached pear brought to mind mulled or spiced wine - perfect flavors for a cold night.

Poached pear with ricotta

I would have been happy to simply drink water alongside this meal. After all, what beverage can compete with oysters, smoked duck, barbecued pork, and kimchee?

As it turns out, there's only one: Champagne. I'm not talking about the $4.99 stuff you buy to serve to 27 people on New Year's Eve (yes, I buy it, too) - I'm talking about real Champagne, grower Champagne from smaller French vineyards that shows amazing character (not just bubbles) in a glass.

I'm only just beginning to explore Champagne, and this dinner was a delightful introduction. You can really pick up the flavors of the grapes used in these smaller-produced varities. A Chardonnay-based Champagne has a heady, almost yeasty smell and taste. A rose Champagne made with Pinot Nior grapes tasted heavily of strawberries - but was not the least bit sweet. In fact, it was bone-dry - a perfect example that "fruity" and "sweet" are not synonyms.

Going to this dinner was sort of a Christmas gift to myself - and if that weren't enough, I recevied an actual Christmas gift when Donna Lesczczynski of Soeltl Farm presented all of us that attended with golden goose egg ornaments. Mine is hanging on my tree, and every time I look at it, I will think of this wonderful night of great food and amazing company.

Sword play

The broiler is my new favorite thing. I hadn't really done much broiling up to this point - just the occasional browning of something or the other. Yet ever since buying Mastering the Art of French Cooking (which has a number of broiled dishes) and discovering that Noe had a broiler pan (where did this come from?!) I have been on a broiling kick.

My latest broiled dinner - this is super easy:

I got my hands on a couple big, fresh swordfish steaks from a local fish market. I threw them in a marinade of olive oil, herbs, a little white vinegar, and a little fresh lemon juice. I marinated them for about 30 minutes (they were big, thick steaks - about an inch thick).

 

Swordfish steaks after marinating

Then...I stuck them under the broiler for about six minutes, turned them over, and stuck them back in for another five or six. They were done when they were an opaque white all the way through and flaked fairly easily with a fork.

After broiling...they don't look that different than the raw ones in the photo

We ate these with simple sides of rice and steamed veggies. As for wine, I tried an inexpensive ($10) Riesling from my local wine store, Thames River Wine and Spirits:

The Clean Slate was just a tad sweeter than I normally enjoy, but still had a nice, minerally quality and a bit of crsipness. It actuallt paired pretty well with the herby, slightly acidic marinade.

This is a very simple dinner - but it is dependent on a quality piece of fish. If you can get your hands on a nice piece of swordfish, I highly recommend the marinating/broiling method if it is too cold or rainy to grill. These turned out great.

Hey, Macaroni

I love macaroni and cheese. I love it in almost any form. For a long time, my favorite m&c was - embarrassingly enough - Velveeta Shells and Cheese. Seriously - I would eat that fake cheese right off a spoon, I thought it was so delicious.

At some point, I finally got wise to the fact that REAL cheese has better flavor. I've been playing with homemade mac & cheese recipes for a couple years now - some have been quite bland, some have been very onion-y, some haven't been quite creamy enough while others have been a bit too soupy for my taste. None have really been bad - in fact some have been quite good, just not exactly what I was looking for at the time.

I happened to see a mac & cheese recipe last week when I was flipping through Wine Spectator. I also happened to be craving comfort food in a major way (it's FALL, people!) so I decided to give it a whirl.

The recipe was basic, but it was delicious. Noe and I agreed this has been the best recipe I have used for mac & cheese so far.

First, I got my dry ingredients ready (using my new Le Creuset pinch bowls from Gray Goose Cookery - aren't they cute?) The dry (and ok, one wet) ingredients were salt and pepper; flour, red pepper flakes, and mustard.

Then, I chopped up an onion and grated a TON of cheese. Seriously - my arm got tired. If I hadn't cooked enough to know that freshly grated, quality cheddar tastes much better than the Kraft cheese-in-a-bag, I would have taken the easy way out. I cooked the onion up with some butter, being careful NOT to brown it.

Then I sprinkled the flour in with the onion, poured in some milk, and stirred until it thickened. Once it was the proper consistency, I took it off the heat, dumped in all my grated cheddar, the mustard, pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, and stirred until smooth.

 

While all this was happening, I had been bringing a pot of salted water to a boil and cooking up half a box of cavatappi (hey, it was what I had in the cupboard). When the pasta was cooked to just a little less done than I'd want to eat it, I drained it and stirred it in to the cheese mixture.

 

I finished up by grating a whole mess of parmesan over the top and throwing it in the oven for about half an hour at 400 degrees.

 

We ate it immediately when it came out:  

 

 

This was so basic, but so good: it was not too onion-y, and the pepper flakes added just enough flavor without really giving any noticeable heat. We ate it with a green salad and some dry, mineral-y white wine, but the recipe offered several variations to go with different white wines (like leaving out the pepper flakes and swapping some of the cheddar for mozz to pair with a round, more buttery chardonnay). If you're looking for a good, basic comfort food recipe - nothing fancy, but tasty - I suggest tracking this one down and trying it out.

French Finish

Even though Noe and I had been on the Vineyard all weekend, then sat on a very cold ferry, then rode in a car for two hours, then looked at some piglets at Fred and Julia's house, I still felt ambitious enough to tackle a Julia Child recipe for dinner on Sunday night. Granted, it was not a super-complicated or very lengthy recipe - it was simply "pan broiled steak" (although the term "pan broiled" makes no sense to me; I thought broiling was done under, well, a BROILER) with a red wine and butter sauce. I decided to make this not because it looked easy, but more because I was sort of craving red meat after a weekend of delicious sushi and fried seafood.

Bifteck Saute Marchand de Vins -

Fancy French for "beef cooked in a pan and sauced with red wine."

(Sorry about the shadow on the page.)

I bought a couple sirloin steaks at the grocery store (I know, I know - I am not supposed to shop at the supermarche - but convenience sometimes wins) and uncorked a bottle of Little Penguin Shiraz that had been sitting on my kitchen wine rack for awhile (cheap and Australian, yes, but also rated as a great bargain by Wine Spectator), poured a glass, and set to work.

The first thing I did was chop up the shallot and parsley I would need later in the recipe. I swear, onions and shallots get worse for me with every chop. This was one shallot and I was literally  IN TEARS.

Chopped shallot and parsley for use in the pan sauce

I threw some  butter and oil in a pan and heated it to what I assumed was hot enough (Julia had said that when the foam from the butter subsides, the pan is hot enough. I had to use my judgment as to when the foam had sufficiently subsided). At that point, the meat went into the pan and was cooked for about four minutes on each side, giving it a nice sear.

Steaks in a pan, seared on one side

Once the steaks were seared to medium-rare perfection (the little droplets of blood appeared on the surface, just like Julia said they would!) I set them aside, poured the fat from the pan into the fat jar (you know, the jar you keep under the sink for bacon drippings), then put the pan back on the heat and cooked up the shallot for a minute or two. Then came the wine.

Shallots, wine, and meat drippings - what's NOT to like?

I boiled the wine down to an "almost syrup-like" consistency. Then - this is the good part - I took the pan off heat, and - one spoonful at a time - stirred in four tablespoons of butter (I TOLD you it was good). Once the butter was stirred in and the sauce thickened, I threw in the parsley and we were ready to go.

Sauce - YUM.

All that  was left was to spoon the sauce over the steaks, add our sides (Noe made rice - surprise, surprise), pour a glass of wine, and enjoy.

The steaks were cooked perfectly - a nice sear on the outside and a great pink-to-red gradient on the inside. As for the sauce, it was good - buttery and rich - but Noe and I both actually thought it lacked depth. Noe thought I should have added a handful of garlic (but my personal rule is not to modify Julia until I try it the way she wrote it); I felt like I should have used a really meaty wine (like a big California cab) rather than a $7 Shiraz. There was nothing WRONG with it; we were both just looking for a little more.

Overall, I think this was a success - I liked the cooking method and Julia has several sauce and flavored butter options that I am definitely anxious to try. And I hope I haven't discouraged anyone from trying this one - Noe and I are just a little too accustomed to my normal heavy hand with garlic - for someone with all their taste buds still in tact, this has ample flavor to please.

Mastering My Domain (My Kitchen)

A couple months ago, I was lucky enough to snag a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking at the Book Barn before all the Julie & Julia hype hit full force. Last night, with all my good CT friends tied up with other plans and not really feeling great enough to go out (getting over a nasty summer cold), I decided to cook myself and Noe a restaurant-quality meal at home.


This was my first Julia entree. I've dabbled with some of the soups and side dishes, but this was my inaugural main course. I selected Coquilles St. Jacques a la Provencale for several reasons, not the least of which was it did NOT have a note anywhere commenting that it would take approximately three hours to prepare (it was actually a fairly short forty-ish minutes). I also picked it because the only thing I had to go purchase was the scallops - everything else (butter, herbs, cheese, etc) were more or less staples that I had on hand.

My chosen recipe

After swinging by Thames River for wine tasting (even though my senses were definitely still compromised from the cold) I picked up the fresh sea scallops and a baguette (this recipe looked pretty butter-rific and I figured the baguette could soak up some sauce) and headed home to work.

Of course, I started by pouring myself a glass of wine. I chose my current favorite white wine, the 2008 Chateau La Rame Bordeaux Blanc. Not only is this sauvignon blanc extremely tasty to sip; I was planning on using some of it in the recipe. I had seen further down that the scallops would be simmered in "dry white wine", and I thought the minerality of the La Rame would add some nice flavor and the citrusy acidity might cut through some of that butter.

A great thing about Mastering the Art of French Cooking is that it breaks down recipes into sections and lists the ingredients you need for that section by the instructions - so you know what you need, when you need it. I began chopping a yellow onion, shallot, and garlic clove in preparation to heat them with some butter (I think every step of this recipe called for butter) in a small saucepan.

Onion, shallot, and garlic

After setting aside my fragrant stove top mixture, I dried my scallops (just patted them with a paper towel), seasoned them with some salt and pepper, and dredged them lightly in flour, shaking off the excess (cheater's note: I did NOT sift the flour as the recipe instructed. It was the only step I skipped).

Seasoned scallops

Lightly dredged scallops

While I was dredging, I was letting a skillet with some butter and olive oil get hot on the stove. After the final dredge, I threw the scallops in the screaming hot skillet and let them get a light sear on each side (this took maybe two or three minutes, tops), at which point I dumped in the aforementioned wine, some thyme, a bay leaf, and my onion mixture, threw a cover on the skillet, and let the whole mess simmer down for about five minutes.

Simmering on the stove top

When the five minutes were up, I took the cover off the skillet, brought the whole mixture to a quick boil to thicken up the liquid, then divided the scallops and liquid between a couple oven-safe Pyrex dishes. I covered each dish with some grated Gruyere and dotted them with pieces of cut up butter, then through them under the broiler until the cheese began to brown.

About to be broiled

WOW. Noe and I were knocked out first by the smell - this dish is heavily aromatic. But the flavor was out of this world. First of all, that much butter can never be bad. The wine's flavor had cooked down and concentrated, and it complemented the butter and seafood exactly as I had hoped. We had thought the dish might have a strong onion flavor with all the onion and shallot I had included, but it was a subtle, delicious flavor. The herbs added a delicate finishing touch.

The scallops themselves? Slightly sweet and not at all tough - in a word, perfect.

I didn't even make a side dish for this meal -we ate it with a simple salad and some cut-up baguette to soak up the excess butter mixture (which was almost as delicious as the scallops). I served it with more Chateau La Rame Bordeaux Blanc.

Tumbler of wine; sliced baguette; finished scallops

This was quite possibly the best meal Noe and I have eaten in the past six months. He even gave me a high five when he was finished eating it. If you are intimidated by Julia's recipes, or by cooking seafood, or by the thought of eating six tablespoons of butter, I highly recommend getting over it. You won't be sorry.

Working for the Weekend(s)

Because I am not quite busy enough (sarcasm), I decided to get a second job, at least for the summer but hopefully something I can keep a few occasional hours year-round. Luckily for me, Jonathan Edwards Winery happened to be looking for a couple people to work in their tasting room at the same time I was looking for a part-time job.

The winery - which produces both Napa Valley and estate Connecticut wines - is located on what is probably the most beautiful piece of property I have seen in southeastern CT. 20 acres planted with Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Gris - what's not to like? Plus, it's fun. Even when it gets busy - which it defnitely does during the summer - you still get to socialize, talk to people about wine, answer questions about wine, and drink wine. What's not to like? It's hard work, but I really enjoy it.

These are some pictures from a recent event, the Spring Festival, held on June 6. Noe actually worked this event with me - with over 1600 visitors, the winery needed a lot of volunteers (and nothing warmed my heart more than seeing him pour himself a glass of Sauvgnon Blanc on his own free will - usually when Noe drinks wine, it is one sip and it's because I have stuck a glass in his face and said "try this.")

These photos were taken by Susan Denice, who works in the tasting room and does outside sales - she's an awesome photographer.

You can also check out what's happening around the winery at http://www.jedwardswinery.blogspot.com/ - or just come see me if you're bored some weekend.

Petite Sirah, waiting to be opened

The crowd outside

Noe working the tasting bar under the tent

Me working the cash bar inside

Jon giving a tour of the vineyard

A Riesling For Living

I realize I am going to sound like a spokesperson for Brie & Bleu and Thames River Wine and Spirits, but I promise that it is just coincidence that they figure so heavily into two blog posts so close together.

Although I have been on a cheap eating kick this week (trying to use stuff that has accumulated in my refrigerator, cupboards, and freezer) I could not resist when my friend Jim - my main source of wine recommendations - informed me about a wine dinner he was putting together at Brie & Bleu on Wednesday (last) night. Winemaker Konrad Hahn, proprietor of Von Schlenintz Vineyards in Germany(left), would be bringing an array of wines (including a sparkling Riesling, a pinot noir, and some very rare eiswien) and they would paired and served with a meal prepared by James Wayman (below right), one of two executive chefs from the River Tavern in Chester. The menu consisted of the following:

• Foie Gras & black truffle custard
• Thai summer roll with shrimp, sweet chili & peanut
• Lob Gai: Thai chicken salad with toasted rice powder, Thai basil, mint & chili
• Baeckoffe: Alsatian braised pork with potatoes, carrots & Riesling - served with mustard
• Sable cookies, Stilton cheese, marcona almonds

I was essentially powerless to resist this combination. For $65 plus gratuity, I thought it was a phenomenal value. (Five courses and wine! This is a steal, people.)

As much as I was intrigued by the wine, the food was what really persuaded me to open my wallet. I have heard nothing but good things about James, and the menu seemed like such an interesting combination of sort of heavier, decadent dishes (the foie gras; the braised pork) and lighter, Asian-influenced dishes (the chicken salad; the summer roll).

The minute I walked into Brie & Bleu, Jim handed me a glass of Von Schlenintz Sekt, a sparkling Riesling. It tasted so fresh and dry and just so clean (for lack of a better flavor descriptor) on my tongue. I sipped the Sekt as I mingled with the other guests (a small and eclectic group, all very personable) and found my seat.

The set-up for these dinners consists of about 12-14 seats arranged around a group of small tables pushed together to form one large-ish table. The seats are limited in order to allow everyone to listen and participate in the conversation. The conversation was definitely quality as Konrad Hahn, seated directly across from me at the far end of our rectangular arrangement, described the Riesling grape and how his vineyard cultivates it to make such distinctly different wines. He passed around large color photos of the vineyard, showing the grapevines planted on steep slopes overlooking the river. We discussed Riesling's reputation in America as on overly sweet grape as we tried wines that proved it has versatility as a dryer beverage as well.

Drinking such well-crafted wine while discussing how it was made with the person who made it is a mind-blowing experience. And Konrad was extremely warm and inviting and very encouraging of questions. I think a person who had absolutely no wine knowledge whatsoever would have appreciated the dialogue as much as an experienced sommelier. In fact, I found myself regretting that Noe wasn't with me - he is not a wine drinker but I think he really would have enjoyed the conversation about how the grapes are grown and harvested.

James came out to talk about his menu as we were finishing our sparkler. Actually, James came in - he had been frying shoestring potatoes to top the foie gras and truffle custard out on the deck. He told us the custard was an "experiment" but it was one that the entire table was in agreement had worked. I've had foie gras before and think of it as kind of heavy - I have trouble naming a specific flavor, but the word rich is what immediately comes to mind. Somehow James' custard captured the richness of the foie gras along with the subtle truffle flavor and incorporated it into a creamy, lighter confection. All the decadence minus the heavy feeling - in short, magic.

The next two dishes - the summer roll and the Lob Gai - showcased an incredible understanding of how to use herbs. I immediately detected the mint when I bit into the shrimp and veggies of the summer roll - not overpowering mint, but just a hint of freshness that accented the crispness of the vegetables and the clean ocean-y flavor of the shrimp. The chicken salad had a great contrast of peppery spice and cooling cilantro (at least, I thought I tasted cilantro). (I sort of imagined that these two dishes would be what Jeff from this season of Top Chef would have made were he in the kitchen last night).

The fourth course was Baeckoffe, a departure from the lighter, Asian-themed second and third courses. This was more of a country dish: braised pork with potatoes and carrots. The pork was so tender that it more or less fell apart when I touched it with a fork. The vegetables were perfectly cooked - not underdone, but not at all mushy. This was paired with Konrad's lone red wine, a Pinot Noir. This German Pinot Noir was fairly understated - the color was a light ruby, and it tasted like it looked - not heavy at all. That is not to say it had no flavor - indeed, it had an almost slightly tart, cranberry-esque fruit with a smattering of what I think of as the typical Pinot Noir "spice". It was described by a member of our party as "the perfect red wine for white wine drinkers" and I couldn't agree more.

For dessert, we had the pleasure of drinking true Ice Wine (made from frozen grapes and very rare) alongside Sable cookies, Marcona almonds, and quite possibly the most divine wedge of Stilton on the planet. The cookies were buttery and much softer than they looked. It is a good thing they put a set number of almonds on each plate, because I would be a truly opportunistic feeder if a jar of Marcona almonds were set in front of me. There is something about those little golden nuts tossed in oil and sea salt that I can not resist. The Stilton was the crowning glory of the plate, brought to room temperature and the consistency of butter. I would take cheese over chocolate for dessert any day.

There were so many high points to this evening that it is hard to pick what was truly the best part, but I think it may have been how well these wines paired with the food. Eric (the importer) and Konrad explained why Riesling was such a good food wine, and every carefully selected dish prepared by James backed up their point. There are wine and food combinations that are good together - or at the very least, don't fight each other - but these pairings were truly complimentary.

All in all, the food and wine highlight of my time in Connecticut thus far...at least until the next one. Now that I know what I've been missing, I'll be trying very hard to make sure I don't miss any more.

Cheap Eats, Day Two (or Three)

Back in November of 2007, when I didn't know anyone in town, I signed up to go to an Italian wine and cheese pairing seminar at Brie & Bleu. I was apprehensive because at this point I didn't know how much I would come to love Brie & Bleu and Thames River and had no idea what I was in for. I needn't have worried - not only did I get to drink some really fabulous Italian wine and eat fresh mozzarella and poached pears and gorgonzola, I also met some nice people (and Joanne, one day we will meet up for that drink!)

Flash forward a year and several months, and here I am, trying desperately to make a week's worth of dinners out of stuff already in my cupboards (spurred on by $700 worth of car repairs). You would not think that Brie & Bleu's Italian wine and cheese seminar would immediately come to mind under these circumstances. Yet...that is exactly what happened.

I was staring at a package of organic spaghetti and a jar of Newman's Own vodka sauce in a very uninspired manner when I randomly remembered eating spaghetti at the Italian wine night. Even better, I remembered it being described as a "dish you make when you have nothing else in the house." So I dug through the old wooden Drambuie box I use to hold my cooking magazines and computer print-outs of recipes until I found the notes from the wine seminar.

There it was. Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano cheese and fresh cracked pepper. Three ingredients, all of which could be found in my kitchen at that moment.

The technique was simple: put some water in a pot on the stove, salt generously, bring to a boil. Throw in the spaghetti and cook until al dente. While the spaghetti was cooking, I used a hand grater to grate a mound of cheese. Drain the spaghetti and let sit for a minute - the sitting is important, because you don't want the cheese to melt (which it will do if the pasta is too hot), but rather to cling to the pasta. Toss the pasta and grated cheese together, add a LOT of fresh cracked pepper, toss some more, and put on a plate with some garlic baguette. YUM.

So simple, yet so incredibly delicious. And I was using a hunk of cheese from the supermarket cheese counter - I can only imagine what this would have tasted like if I had a higher-quality piece of cheese to work with. Don't let the fact that there's only three ingredients and no sauce deter you - this dish is not bland. Resist the temptation to add olive oil, butter, or pasta water - it will interfere with the way the cheese and pepper cling to the spaghetti and mess with the overall texture. The dish is not too dry, I promise! (Plus, you can always pour a glass of Inama Soave to help it go down.)

Anyway, I know I have been doing a lot of food blogging lately, but my cheap supper last night was so easy and so good I just had to share. I hope you will give it a try!