Friday, July 29, 2011
A picture and nothing to say
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Latest Food-Related Scientific Discovery Will Blow Your Mind!
Apparently, in the "They Actually Did A Study On This?" pantheon of scientific studies, which includes other such studies that concluded "People Yawn When They're Tired," and "Broccoli is Good For You," science has made perhaps the least startling discovery in history: consuming fatty foods helps people deal with negative emotions. Apparently, there is truth to the idiom "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry." What a breakthrough! Yay science!
From the Huffington Post:
"A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that consuming food with saturated fat may help fend off negative emotions. In the study, the participants were fed through an unmarked stomach tube of either a solution of saturated fatty acids or a simple saline solution. They then listened to sad music and looked at photos of sad faces. Those that had a stomach full of saturated fat were more upbeat than those who were "fed" the saline solution. MRI scans noticed a similar pattern; the fatty solution seemed to dampen activity in parts of the brain that are involved in sadness.
From the Huffington Post:
"A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that consuming food with saturated fat may help fend off negative emotions. In the study, the participants were fed through an unmarked stomach tube of either a solution of saturated fatty acids or a simple saline solution. They then listened to sad music and looked at photos of sad faces. Those that had a stomach full of saturated fat were more upbeat than those who were "fed" the saline solution. MRI scans noticed a similar pattern; the fatty solution seemed to dampen activity in parts of the brain that are involved in sadness.
The study does have some limitations, however. There were only 12 participants and all were of normal weight. Further research is needed to see both if other diet components besides saturated fat could have an effect on the brain, and if brain reactions vary among weight levels.
But for the time being, the study does show evidence that eating healthy is quite challenging since that pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream you're craving isn't just psychological but also biological. Had a bad day? Go ahead, have another scoop of Chunky Monkey—it'll make you feel happier."
Graffiato!
This past Sunday, Sarah, Amelia, and I went out to dinner with our friends Diena, Wes, and their son Colin. It had been a while since we all hung out, so we thought it would be a nice treat to head downtown to Graffiato, the new restaurant by Mike Isabella. For the uninitiated, Mike Isabella worked most recently as the Executive Chef of Jose Andres’s Mediterranean-inspired tapas restaurant, Zaytinya. Mike also is a two-time contestant on Top Chef. He was originally on during Season 6 of Top Chef—arguably the show’s pinnacle in terms of quality of contestants and dishes—in which he came in 7th. Mike Isabella then came back into the Top Chef fold on Top Chef All-Stars (basically, a competition of the best contestants from prior seasons who didn’t win), in which he made it all the way to the finals against the contestant I was pulling for, Richard Blais. Though, initially, Mike Isabella came off as crass and chauvinistic in Top Chef 6, he returned to All-Stars with a more mature attitude—both personally and in terms of food. His near upset victory over Blais is proof of that. As was his daring creations in the final, including a dish of chicken thighs in a pepperoni sauce that left judge Gayle Simmons so impressed that she was nearly speechless, except for repeating the words “Pep-per-on-i SAUCE” (just like that) 1,000 times. But that was TV. That was then. The question still remained: Could Mike Isabella’s television food creations translate onto the plate in the real world? We decided to put our forks and stomachs on the line to find the answer.
As the name might suggest Graffiato serves Italian/Mediterranean-inspired dishes and pizzas. Keeping with the tradition of his tenure at Zaytinya, Isabella’s menu offers smaller, tapas-like dishes, which contrast wonderfully with the healthy-sized, wood oven roasted pizzas. Any of these dishes can be ordered a la carte (they recommend about three plates per person). Or, diners can order a tasting menu, in which Isabella picks dishes from the menu and serves them in a pleasing order. Either way you order, all the dishes are meant to be shared family-style. As we were starving (and had two starving kids who love bread), we ordered the bread basket a la carte, and then opted for the tasting menu.
Before I get to the food, a brief rant. We had two kids in our party of 6. We were eating at 5:30pm, out of respect for other diners. We show up and say we will need two high chairs, only to be informed that they only had two high chairs for the entire restaurant, and that one was being used by another party. The hostess actually said “honestly, we’ve never even thought that we’d have more than two kids come to our restaurant, so we never even ordered more than two high chairs.” Really? You’re right across from the Verizon Center, home of many athletic events that are attended by children every day. Plus, you’re near tons of hotels in downtown DC—which is a hub for tourists who bring their kids to visit! Two high chairs? That’s it? I get that some higher end restaurants might not have any (I doubt French Laundry has any), but this ain’t the Laundry here. The inside décor is industrial, it has a nice loud din, and the restaurant plays rock music over the speakers. Kids attending this place might not be such a crazy thought. Not a lot of foresight here by the folks at Graffiato. I’m sure you parents out there get my drift. OK. Rant over. On to the food. Here goes.
To start, we were brought the bread basket. I know what you’re thinking: “You’re going to discuss the bread basket?” Well, yes. The bread basket was interesting not for its bread (he served three types of bread: polenta, focaccia, and raisin nut breads), but for what accompanied the bread. As a condiments guy, I’m sensitive to these things. Instead of coming with butter, the breads came with a side of fresh ricotta cheese and another side of olive oil jam. I was excited about the ricotta cheese and dubious about the olive oil jam. I should have felt the other way around. The cheese was clearly fresh, with a creamy texture that you’d hope from ricotta. There was, however, something amok with the cheese. It tasted like cheese and something else. Finally, I pinpointed it—lime zest. The zest gave the cheese a brightness it didn’t need, while shattering the creaminess of the flavor in the process. I think everyone agreed with my assessment of the ricotta, as it stayed largely untouched. Even Amelia—a rising star in the cheese lover world—didn’t want to touch the stuff. The olive oil jam, on the other hand, was gastronomic cooking at its finest. It had the greenish hue of a Spanish olive picked off the tree, but the texture of a compound butter. In fact, calling it a butter is probably more accurate as the jam was not jam-like at all. Nevertheless, the flavor was pure, power-packed olive oil, with a hint of salt and savory tied in. I couldn’t get enough.
When I was done stuffing my face with focaccia and olive oil butter—er, jam—the servers brought the first set of dishes for the tasting menu. First out, came his twist on the Caprese salad: a plate of hand-stretched, fresh buffala mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes. Along with this dish came a red beet salad with citrus, and a plate of spiced pistachios. The winner of this grouping was the Caprese salad. The mozzarella, apparently hand-stretched that day, was unbelievably creamy. It had such a wonderful consistency, with a long velvety finish. The heirloom tomatoes also provided a nice brightness and acidity to the dish. The beet salad was nice, but I feel like I’ve had this salad before because, well, I have had it at other restaurants. It was tasty for sure, but it wasn’t anything super new. The pistachios were, in a word, interesting. They were spiced with something none of us could figure out. And our waiter was not the best at describing things to us—side note: he may have been stoned, or at least it seemed that way. The best approximation Wes and I could come up with for the spice on the pistachios was a homemade Old Bay seasoning. Meh.
After those dishes were taken away, the next series of dishes to arrive contained a plate of three separate cuts of shaved ham, a green salad with apply, radish and mint, and a Caesar salad with cream cheese croutons. OK. Let’s start with the cream cheese croutons because I know that’s what you want me to start with. This was one of the super winning things Chef Isabella did all night. I don’t know how to describe it, except to say that the crouton was not made of bread. Rather, it was a small quenelle of cream cheese that somehow had a crunchy exterior, but when bitten into, melted into a warm ooze of cream cheese. It was sheer genius. I would never have thought to mix the flavors of cream cheese into a Caesar salad (which also was fantastic in its own right, by the way), but I stand and applaud Chef Isabella’s vision. The green salad, by contrast, was nothing really to write home about. A salad. On a plate. With apples. And the vinaigrette tasted an awful lot like red onions to me, which I wasn’t a huge fan of. Finally, the ham plate. The chef has a number of options of ham on his menu. He picked for us a trio of Benton’s smoked country ham (from America, dammit!); traditional prosciutto di parma; culatello (the secret muscle inside the prosciutto muscle that is aged longer than prosciutto), which all came with a light drizzle of a sweet flavored olive oil. Each cut was very good, but I’d rank the culatello my favorite, followed by the prosciutto, then the Benton’s. It had the right amount of smokiness combined with sweetness and creaminess of the fat that almost made it melt in my mouth.
Next, the servers brought a duo of wood oven fired pizzas. First, came the countryman pizza, which is a pizza with black truffle paste and fontina cheese. For this pizza, the server took it piping hot out of the oven and brought it to the table. While the pizza was still scalding, our server took a duck egg and cracked it over the top of the pizza and spread it around the top, letting it cook on the hot pizza. The result was a truly decadent pizza. The woodsy flavor of the black truffle, combined with the tang of the fontina cheese and the delicate and soothing duck egg yolk was like a heart attach waiting to happen. As a fan of runny eggs, I was in heaven! Almost too much so, in fact—we all quickly realized that the countryman pizza was so rich in flavor that we felt like we couldn’t eat more than one piece in a sitting! Add to this fact that the server brought us another pizza while we were eating this, and we had to save the rest of the countryman pizza for later so we could focus on our next conquest: the Jersey shore pizza. This pizza was, quite simply, one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. And, unlike the countryman, I could have eaten about 30 of these pizzas without any problem. The Jersey shore comes with fried calamari, tomato, provolone, and cherry pepper aioli. The calamari, by itself, was some of the best fried calamari I’ve ever had. The breading was light, but very well seasoned with oregano. Drizzled over top of the entire pizza was the cherry pepper aioli, which was brilliant. It had the bright orange-pink color of the spicy tuna sauce you might have in a sushi restaurant—a color that says “beware, this is going to bite back.” And it did. The flavors in the sauce were as bright as its color. The spice of the cherry pepper popped and danced on the tip of the tongue, while a lingering sweetness of the mayo cooled you mid-bite, only to be hit again with another wonderful wave of the pepper at the end. I didn’t think a mayonnaise-based spicy sauce would work with the acidity of the tomato and the piquant provolone, but it did. The sauce—and the chef—blew me away with this one.
With the pizzas out of the way, the final set of savory dishes made their way to the table. It was a quintet of dishes: chicken thighs in pepperoni sauce and roasted peeled baby roma tomatoes; octopus with grilled chickpeas and flash fried artichokes; roasted potato gnocchi with braised pork and burrata cheese; sweet corn agnolotti with chanterelle mushrooms and pine nuts; and pork ribs with Sicilian oregano and coriander yogurt. These dishes were hit and miss, which was sad, particularly after hitting such highs with the pizzas. I was excited to see he picked the chicken thigh/pepperoni sauce dish because we had watched him make the same dish on Top Chef All-Stars and watched Gayle Simmons gush about it (in fact, this dish apparently nearly won him the entire thing). Maybe it was the hype of the show (damn you, Gayle Simmons), but the dish sadly didn’t live up to its billing. To be sure, the chicken thighs were cooked to perfection. The meat fell off the bone, there was a nice crust on the skin of the chicken, and the thighs were well seasoned. And, the pepperoni sauce was very interesting. It tasted exactly like what you would think—pepperoni—which was a cool, outside-the-box sauce to serve with braised chicken. Nevertheless, there was something muted about the dish. I wanted to be blown away by the pepperoni sauce. I wanted it to ooze pepperoni. The flavors just didn’t pop as much as I had hoped they would. All I got was snap and crackle. Similarly, the gnocchi dish and oregano pork rib dish, both of which sound great on the menu, were too one-note for me. The gnocchi was almost too soft which, when mixed with the braised pork and burrata cheese, created a dish that had a soft consistency. There was no crunch, nothing to break it up. Add to this the fact that the flavor of the braised pork was clearly watered down, and this was not a dish to write home about. As for the oregano pork ribs, they were cooked to perfection—the meat slid off the bone with ease. But the Sicilian oregano was muted as well. And the coriander yogurt was overpowered by the addition of too much lemon zest. On the upside, the remaining two dishes were fantastic. The sweet corn agnolotti dish was bursting with corn flavor. The roasted pine nuts provided a sweet crunch to round out the dish. The grilled octopus dish was equally winning. Normally, when I’ve had octopus, it has been cooked too long—making it chewy—or under-seasoned, or both. Here, Chef Isabella somehow managed to get a wonderful salty crust on the octopus, giving the octopus a wonderful sea-like flavor, while simultaneously making sure the octopus didn’t become a chewy mess on a plate. The flash-fried artichokes (a side dish that has been cropping up more and more lately) were a smoky, citrusy, and delicious accompaniment.
Finally, after all of that food, we were served dessert. Three courses: pistachio gelato; nutella cookies—homemade hazelnut cookies with nutella filling, topped with a like sprinkle of sea salt; and a chocolate tart with olive oil and sea salt gelato (Amelia’s favorite!). Usually, I am disappointed at the desserts I’ve had while dining out. After a lovely meal, I am rarely overwhelmed when it comes to dessert. Thankfully, Graffiato didn’t fall into that trend. The pistachio gelato was regarded by all of us as the best gelato we had ever eaten. It was light but decadent, and bursting with pistachio flavor. The nutella cookies, made by Chef Isabella’s wife, also were a masterstroke. The sea salt on top of the sweet hazelnut, with the creamy goodness of everyone’s favorite hazelnut spread in between, was to die for. Finally, the chocolate tart was, as Wes put it, “the best possible, upscale version of a Jell-o pudding pie ever.” He was right. The dark chocolate was rich and sweet, but thankfully not overly so. The olive oil added a wonderful sultry nuttiness to the dish, which was unexpected, but welcome. And the sea salt gelato was an unexpected crowd pleaser. Somehow, Chef Isabella managed to combine the refreshing and piquant notes of sea salt with a creamy gelato to create a simultaneously sweet and slightly savory dessert side dish. Married with the chocolate, it was perfect. Even alone, it was lovely. In fact, Amelia liked it so much she ate nearly all of the gelato herself! Definitely a fantastic way to end a night of dining with friends.
Some of you may be wondering what we had to drink while eating all that food. Apparently, Graffiato is one of only a handful of restaurants in the United States to offer prosecco on tap, so we each had two glasses of that. (Apparently, prosecco on tap is all the rage in Europe, but over here it’s still in its infancy). The prosecco was a nice selection for all of the food we had. Unlike other bottles of prosecco we have had, this prosecco was not too sweet. It was the prosecco equivalent of a blanc-de-blancs. It had good notes of citrus (meyer lemon, hints of grapefruit toward the finish), and a nice clean finish.
All in all, this was a meal with some significant highs, and some obvious misses (including the high chair episode). Nevertheless, I was very impressed with a vast majority of the dishes. And I would definitely go back to order those pizzas, the high note dishes, and try some of the other dishes I didn’t get to try.
My rating: 8.3 out of 10.
(Here are some photos of the pepperoni chicken thighs, the gnocchi, the on-tap prosecco, and Sarah, Diena, Colin, and Amelia with Chef Isabella. Enjoy!)
Monday, July 25, 2011
New Recipes for CSA Vegetables
Salsa Cruda:
1/2 pound heirloom tomates (assorted colors preferred), stemmed, seeded & cut into 1/4in. dice
1/4 small red onion, cut into 1/4in. dice
1/2 small zucchini, green part only, cut into 1/4in. dice
5 pitted Gaeta or kalamata olives, slivered
1 clove garlic, smashed & finely chopped
1 spring fresh oregano, picked & leaves chopped
3 basil leaves, chiffonade
1 1/2 tbs red wine vinegar
Pinch crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
Combine everything in a large bowl & reserve while making fish & swiss chard.
As I mentioned before, we doubled the recipe, although I think the 10 kalamata olives we used were slightly overpowering. I will probably stay with the 5 olives for the doubled portion when we make this again.
For the Fish & Swiss Chard:
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
Pinch crushed red pepper
1 slice bacon, cut into 1/2 in lengths (lardons)
4 large swiss chard leaves, stems removed & cut into 1/2 in lengths, leaves cut into 1 in. lengths
1/4 cup chicken stock, divided
Salt
1 6oz. halibut filet
1/2 cup Salsa Crudo
Directions:
Coat a saute pan with olive oil. Toss in the garlic clove, crushed red pepper, bacon, & a couple drops of olive oil. Bring the pan to a medium heat. When the garlic is golden & very aromatic, remove it and discard. When the bacon has become crispy, toss in the Swiss Chard stems, half of the chicken stock, & season with salt. When the chicken stock has reduced, toss in the rest of the chicken stock, Swiss Chard leaves & season with salt. Cook the leaves until they are just wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Coat another saute pan with olive oil & bring to high heat. Pat the halibut fillet very dry with a paper towel & season with salt. When the oil in the pan is very hot but not yet smoking, place the fish flesh side down & cook for 3 to 4 minutes. As the fish cooks it will turn from translucent to opaque. Turn the fish over & cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. When the fish is done it should be golden & firm but still moist.
Place the Swiss Chard in the center of the serving plate. Lay the fish directly on top. Top the fish with the Salsa Cruda.
All in all, I think this was a successful dish & I would definitely make again. We were able to use Swiss Chard, Zucchini, Tomatoes, & Red Onion from our CSA and we tried a new recipe. My one gripe is that, at $25 a pound for halibut, I'm thinking we could use Tilapia or Cod at a much lower expense and still appreciate the flavors. I guess we'll just have to try!
A picture of our masterpiece:
If You Had $100...
...and you could buy one red wine from a wine store (not from a mailing list), what would it be? A co-worker of mine asked my opinion about a nice bottle of red wine to say thank you to a partner who is leaving. I thought I would throw it out to you all to see if anyone had any ideas. If specific wines are too difficult to select, I'd even settle for a year and varietal. Any thoughts? Please post them in the comments.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Arctic Char with Orange & Rosemarie Beurre Blanc
With Molly, Brian, Scilla & Adam coming over for the weekend and the following two dietary constraints...no pork and no gluten, Alan and I brainstormed our menu options. For dinner we decided to go with a London Broil, marinated in teriyaki and a fish. Trying to come up with something different, I suggested we see if our fish market could get us Arctic Char. It's a fish that Alan and I both like very much thanks for a great first impression at Nobu (with Susan Morris). I'll always remember that Arctic Char with crunchy baby spinach fondly.
With fresh Char that was literally filleted while he waited, we were excited to try out a new recipe. As usual, I took to Google to see who was doing what with Char. A lot of the recipes paired this semi-firm, flakey fish with mushrooms and other woodsy flavors that weren't appealing for a meal being served on a day with temperatures soaring into the triple digits. Then I found this one on FoodNetwork.com. It was easy to make and turned out wonderfully. The acid-brightness of the orange and the sweetness of the rosemary gave a nice compliment to the fish without detracting from its natural quiet brine taste. And it all paired together nicely with wild grain rice out of the box from Near East. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/the-best-of/pan-roasted-arctic-char-with-orange-and-rosemary-beurre-blanc-recipe/index.html
Fish:
In a skillet over medium heat add the olive oil. Season the fillets with salt and pepper, then add to the hot pan. Allow fish to cook until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove fish from pan and place on top of warmed wild rice. Add sauce around and over fish. Garnish with chopped rosemary and orange segments
With fresh Char that was literally filleted while he waited, we were excited to try out a new recipe. As usual, I took to Google to see who was doing what with Char. A lot of the recipes paired this semi-firm, flakey fish with mushrooms and other woodsy flavors that weren't appealing for a meal being served on a day with temperatures soaring into the triple digits. Then I found this one on FoodNetwork.com. It was easy to make and turned out wonderfully. The acid-brightness of the orange and the sweetness of the rosemary gave a nice compliment to the fish without detracting from its natural quiet brine taste. And it all paired together nicely with wild grain rice out of the box from Near East. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/the-best-of/pan-roasted-arctic-char-with-orange-and-rosemary-beurre-blanc-recipe/index.html
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary plus 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, for garnishing
- 2 ounces heavy cream
- 2 ounces butter, cold and cubed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 orange segments
Fish:
- 4 (6-ounce) pieces arctic char, skin removed
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2-ounce olive oil
- 2 cups cooked wild rice
Directions
In a saucepot over medium heat add orange juice, white wine, orange zest and rosemary. Reduce to 1/2 cup of liquid. Strain and return to saucepot. Over medium heat whisk in the cream and bring to a low boil. Turn heat to low and whisk in cold cubes of butter. Remove rosemary sprig and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Reserve warm.
Fish:
In a skillet over medium heat add the olive oil. Season the fillets with salt and pepper, then add to the hot pan. Allow fish to cook until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove fish from pan and place on top of warmed wild rice. Add sauce around and over fish. Garnish with chopped rosemary and orange segments
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wines of July 2011
I haven’t posted any wine notes in a while, despite having consumed quite a few wines. The primary reason for this was I didn’t really like my wine notes. Wine is so subjective, and recent conversations about some of the wines I’ve had with the people I’ve had them with prove that everyone gets something different out each taste, bottle, and experience. So, as I am no expert, I was unsure what relevance my tastes provide to others. Thus, how could I change my notes to be more relevant? My current line of thinking is to focus on what the wine was, what the overall impression from the group drinking it seemed to be (from my perspective and interpretation, of course), where it was bought, how much it cost, and whether I would buy it again given the opportunity. So, here goes…
The following wines were drank at my house with Jenn, Steve & Mary Bellai, and Jeff & Dana McIntire.
NV Marc Hebrart Brut Rose Champagne – I really like the Hebrart wines and this wine was well received. I bought this from Premier Cru for around $30. Well worth the value and I would definitely buy this again.
2004 August West Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir – This was the controversial wine of the day, but not because it wasn’t uniformly liked. It was because we couldn’t decide what the flavors were as everyone had their own opinion. Still a good wine and for around $40 originally from Wine Library, worth purchasing. Not likely to find this wine around now, however, and if you do, be careful of the storage conditions. Alternate retail purchases of this wine showed significant heat damage, and a shadow of the wine it should be.
NV Lallement Brut Rose Champagne – I originally bought a case of this wine from the Pluckemin Inn after having it at a trade tasting. Retail price is around $50 and I believe it’s worth it. Really good wine that has been well liked, except for one corked bottle that wasn’t brought to my attention until half was gone. Would definitely buy this wine again.
NV Larmandier-Bernier Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne – This is another wine that I bought after a trade tasting at the Pluckemin Inn. Retail price is around $45 and this wine has never been anything less than very good. Well liked, it would deserve a repurchase.
2004 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon – I have been on the Rivers-Marie mailing list since the beginning, although I dropped off at one point for no good reason. This cabernet is always terrific, and I always wish I had more of it. Price was $55, but I’ve never seen it at Retail. Beautiful wine that I wish there was more of, both available, and in my cellar.
2005 Schramsberg Querencia Brut Rose champagne – I bought this wine directly from the winery after having it at the harvest party in 2008. I had tried the Querencia bottlings before, and was never that impressed. This vintage was difference. A “spicy” rose, as opposed to overly fruity, I’ll look to re-buy this in the vintage I worked the harvest (2008). Price from the winery was around $41 prior to shipping.
The following couple of wines were shared with Susan and Rich Lahey at our house…
2005 Nicholas Rossignol Volnay – When the 2005 Burgundy vintage came out, it had such fan-fare that I thought I should try some out. I purchased this wine from Woodland Hills Wine Company for around $50. I don’t know if this was a great value purchase, but the wine was excellent, and well like by all of us. I like these elegant burgundies, so I’ll keep my eye out for more of this type.
2005 Roblet-Monnot Volnay Cuvee St. Francois – This was also purchased from Woodland Hills for around $60. Another good wine that we all liked and again, another wine, or type of wine, that I would look to buy more of. I do need to understand that value relationship better, but I got enough pleasure out of the wine to be happy for now.
1999 Pol Roger Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne – I really like Pol Roger’s wines. Over the last couple of years, it seems like they have gotten more expensive. This wine was bought at Premier Cru for $75, which was a good price at the time. The wine was a bit of a disappointment the first time around as it was already a bit oxidized. I’ll wait to try my other purchased bottles prior to buying more.
2008 Kutch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – Kutch is another wine producer that I have been on the mailing list since the start. Always a small allocation, and a once a year order, so there aren’t many of these bottles to go around. I’ve seen Jamie’s wines in restaurants, especially the better NYC ones along with the Pluckemin Inn, but never at retail. This wine was $42 and worth every penny. I’ll be taking my full allocation again this year.
Sarah (Jenn’s Mom), Hank (Sarah’s husband), Caitlyn, and Keira (Jenn’s nieces) came to the house for a quick stop. With dinner we had a couple of wines…
1996 Bollinger Grande Annee Brut Champagne – Bollinger is one of my favorite producers, so I like to keep a look at for places that sell it. Imagine my surprise when our local Sam’s Club started selling this…exciting. It originally started at around $85 per bottle, and I bought a few. It must not have sold, however, as it went down to around $65, then to around $45, and then finished at a whopping $36. I bought around three cases overall. Unfortunately, not all the bottles have been up to snuff…the chance you take. This bottle was good, but not great. Still worth $36, and I’m sure some of the other bottles will be both bad, and terrific.
2008 Aldin Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – This is the second label from Karl Lawrence, and this is a great value wine. You can only get this direct from the winery, and it’s seemingly harder to get than the regular label. For $32, it’s an awesome wine and never disappoints.
The next couple of wines were just consumed with Jenn at home after long days of work…
2000 Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf-du-Pape – I bought a six pack of this wine from a friend for $55 a bottle. The cork was totally shot, and just crumpled when I tried to pull it out. I expected the wine to be awful, but it was actually pretty good. Not as good as the last bottle that I had, which was awesome and drinking really well. Four more to go and I’m optimistic about the possibilities despite the lower performance of this bottle.
1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs – Taittinger’s top of the line Champagne can be sheer awesomeness in a bottle when you hit it right. I bought a 6 pack of this wine for $110 at Hi-Time wines. The first bottle I had could have been 4 years old instead of 12. This is drinking so young right now, but has a lot of potential. My guess is that I’ll be happy with this purchase later on, but the price right now is a bit high relative to the current pleasure.
2008 Rivers-Marie Theiriot Vineyard Chardonnay – I got on the Rivers-Marie mailing list to buy reds…Pinot and Cabs. However, when Thomas Rivers Brown started making chardonnay, I decided to give it a try. I don’t really like many still whites, as I guess I’m the stereotypical cab drinker. However, this wine was awesome. I basically drank the whole bottle myself, and enjoyed every drop. For $50 off the mailing list, I think I could serve this wine to anyone and everyone and it would impress them.
Brian & Molly Kennedy, along with Scilla and Adam Albanese, came over to the house for the weekend to hang by the pool and fight off some of the heat. The next couple of wines were shared with them including the sparkling wines being sabered by Scilla and Molly.
2000 Schramsberg Brut Reserve champagne – this wine showed extremely well and was well liked. For $60 direct from the winery, it’s a bargain. I think it’s a bit more expensive now from the winery and at retail, however, the Reserve is well worth a try. If you like Pinot Noir based sparkling wines, you have to give it a try.
NV Diebolt Vallois Brut Rose Champagne – This wine was good, but as about a third of the bottle was not finished, not a crowd pleaser. Jenn and I had this together on a previous occasion and really liked it. For around $40 from Premier Cru, I think it’s a reasonable value. Overall I like this producer, and plan on buying this and other bottlings from them in the future.
1998 Duval Leroy Brut Blanc de Chardonnay Champagne – We started the day with this wine, and I have yet to have a Duval Leroy Champagne that I don’t like. It seemed to provide pleasure to all, so I’ll continue to seek out these wines, especially for around $43. Other things of note, the 1996 version of this wine was absolutely terrific, and the 1998 vintage (same as this bottle) that Jenn and I shared at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas a couple of years ago was memorable (along with the food!).
NV Jose Dhondt Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne – Jose Dhondt wines tend to be a bit pricey as this wine was around $55 from High Time Wines, with the vintage wines starting at around $75. The wines seem to benefit, in my opinion, with some bottle age. This was well liked, and I’ll continue to buy these wines, but I’ll keep a look out for retail discount sales.
2009 Kutch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – this wine was $42 from the mailing list, and boy was it good. Afterwards Brian asked if I ever don’t take my full allocation, to please let him know as he would like to buy some. Sure thing…but don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. Sorry!
NV L. Aubry Brut Rose Champagne – the first time I had the Aubry wines was at Bar Boulud with Paul and Sarah Alvarez. It was good then, and while not a producer you see at a lot of retailers, the wines are good and worth buying. This wine was around $46 from Hi-Time wines, so not cheap. However, worth a try to see how it matches with your palate, as it was well liked by the group.
2004 Pax Kobler Family Vineyard Syrah – I bought a bunch of Pax syrahs direct from the winery over a couple of vintages (2002/3/4). Generally they are big wines, and they range from $45 to $75. This specific wine was about $60. Overall, I was disappointed with this wine. The bouquet was nice and flavorful, but the taste seemed thin and green. Not near as big or full as I expected. It was an end of the night wine, consumed with cigars. Others liked it more than me, but I dropped off the list years ago as I just don’t match with these wines.
Restaurant purchases…
2008 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Aloxe-Corton – this was bought at Elements with Steve and Mary Bellai. Sometimes I really dislike picking out wines at a restaurant. It can be hard to match food, along with other’s tastes and expectations. This wine was only about $85, which is a good restaurant price. I first encountered Chandon Briailles wines with Brian Hider at the Pluckemin. He told me that they are generally good values, and correct. This bottle, however, was a miss. Probably heat damaged, in retrospect, I should have brought over the Sommelier for a second opinion. I didn’t, so we all suffered through the bottle and then moved on to other wines by the glass.
2008 Maysara Winery Jamsheed Pinot Noir Oregon – This wine was bought at ABC Kitchen in NYC with Jenn, Patty Troung, and Gianne Doherty. I picked it because I wanted a pinot to go with the diverse set of entrees, it was below $100, and it was a good year for Oregon wines. This wine delivered. I would consider picking this up at retail, if I saw it. All in all, picking this blind (I had never heard of it prior), I was happy with the purchase.
NV Domaine Carneros Damask Brut Rose – This was also bought at ABC Kitchen with Jenn, Patty, and Gianne. For just under $70, it was well like by all of us and provided a nice match for the starters. Not sure of the retail price, or availability at retail, but if you found it at a sub-$30 price, give it a try.
The following wines were drank at my house with Jenn, Steve & Mary Bellai, and Jeff & Dana McIntire.
NV Marc Hebrart Brut Rose Champagne – I really like the Hebrart wines and this wine was well received. I bought this from Premier Cru for around $30. Well worth the value and I would definitely buy this again.
2004 August West Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir – This was the controversial wine of the day, but not because it wasn’t uniformly liked. It was because we couldn’t decide what the flavors were as everyone had their own opinion. Still a good wine and for around $40 originally from Wine Library, worth purchasing. Not likely to find this wine around now, however, and if you do, be careful of the storage conditions. Alternate retail purchases of this wine showed significant heat damage, and a shadow of the wine it should be.
NV Lallement Brut Rose Champagne – I originally bought a case of this wine from the Pluckemin Inn after having it at a trade tasting. Retail price is around $50 and I believe it’s worth it. Really good wine that has been well liked, except for one corked bottle that wasn’t brought to my attention until half was gone. Would definitely buy this wine again.
NV Larmandier-Bernier Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne – This is another wine that I bought after a trade tasting at the Pluckemin Inn. Retail price is around $45 and this wine has never been anything less than very good. Well liked, it would deserve a repurchase.
2004 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon – I have been on the Rivers-Marie mailing list since the beginning, although I dropped off at one point for no good reason. This cabernet is always terrific, and I always wish I had more of it. Price was $55, but I’ve never seen it at Retail. Beautiful wine that I wish there was more of, both available, and in my cellar.
2005 Schramsberg Querencia Brut Rose champagne – I bought this wine directly from the winery after having it at the harvest party in 2008. I had tried the Querencia bottlings before, and was never that impressed. This vintage was difference. A “spicy” rose, as opposed to overly fruity, I’ll look to re-buy this in the vintage I worked the harvest (2008). Price from the winery was around $41 prior to shipping.
The following couple of wines were shared with Susan and Rich Lahey at our house…
2005 Nicholas Rossignol Volnay – When the 2005 Burgundy vintage came out, it had such fan-fare that I thought I should try some out. I purchased this wine from Woodland Hills Wine Company for around $50. I don’t know if this was a great value purchase, but the wine was excellent, and well like by all of us. I like these elegant burgundies, so I’ll keep my eye out for more of this type.
2005 Roblet-Monnot Volnay Cuvee St. Francois – This was also purchased from Woodland Hills for around $60. Another good wine that we all liked and again, another wine, or type of wine, that I would look to buy more of. I do need to understand that value relationship better, but I got enough pleasure out of the wine to be happy for now.
1999 Pol Roger Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne – I really like Pol Roger’s wines. Over the last couple of years, it seems like they have gotten more expensive. This wine was bought at Premier Cru for $75, which was a good price at the time. The wine was a bit of a disappointment the first time around as it was already a bit oxidized. I’ll wait to try my other purchased bottles prior to buying more.
2008 Kutch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – Kutch is another wine producer that I have been on the mailing list since the start. Always a small allocation, and a once a year order, so there aren’t many of these bottles to go around. I’ve seen Jamie’s wines in restaurants, especially the better NYC ones along with the Pluckemin Inn, but never at retail. This wine was $42 and worth every penny. I’ll be taking my full allocation again this year.
Sarah (Jenn’s Mom), Hank (Sarah’s husband), Caitlyn, and Keira (Jenn’s nieces) came to the house for a quick stop. With dinner we had a couple of wines…
1996 Bollinger Grande Annee Brut Champagne – Bollinger is one of my favorite producers, so I like to keep a look at for places that sell it. Imagine my surprise when our local Sam’s Club started selling this…exciting. It originally started at around $85 per bottle, and I bought a few. It must not have sold, however, as it went down to around $65, then to around $45, and then finished at a whopping $36. I bought around three cases overall. Unfortunately, not all the bottles have been up to snuff…the chance you take. This bottle was good, but not great. Still worth $36, and I’m sure some of the other bottles will be both bad, and terrific.
2008 Aldin Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – This is the second label from Karl Lawrence, and this is a great value wine. You can only get this direct from the winery, and it’s seemingly harder to get than the regular label. For $32, it’s an awesome wine and never disappoints.
The next couple of wines were just consumed with Jenn at home after long days of work…
2000 Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf-du-Pape – I bought a six pack of this wine from a friend for $55 a bottle. The cork was totally shot, and just crumpled when I tried to pull it out. I expected the wine to be awful, but it was actually pretty good. Not as good as the last bottle that I had, which was awesome and drinking really well. Four more to go and I’m optimistic about the possibilities despite the lower performance of this bottle.
1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs – Taittinger’s top of the line Champagne can be sheer awesomeness in a bottle when you hit it right. I bought a 6 pack of this wine for $110 at Hi-Time wines. The first bottle I had could have been 4 years old instead of 12. This is drinking so young right now, but has a lot of potential. My guess is that I’ll be happy with this purchase later on, but the price right now is a bit high relative to the current pleasure.
2008 Rivers-Marie Theiriot Vineyard Chardonnay – I got on the Rivers-Marie mailing list to buy reds…Pinot and Cabs. However, when Thomas Rivers Brown started making chardonnay, I decided to give it a try. I don’t really like many still whites, as I guess I’m the stereotypical cab drinker. However, this wine was awesome. I basically drank the whole bottle myself, and enjoyed every drop. For $50 off the mailing list, I think I could serve this wine to anyone and everyone and it would impress them.
Brian & Molly Kennedy, along with Scilla and Adam Albanese, came over to the house for the weekend to hang by the pool and fight off some of the heat. The next couple of wines were shared with them including the sparkling wines being sabered by Scilla and Molly.
2000 Schramsberg Brut Reserve champagne – this wine showed extremely well and was well liked. For $60 direct from the winery, it’s a bargain. I think it’s a bit more expensive now from the winery and at retail, however, the Reserve is well worth a try. If you like Pinot Noir based sparkling wines, you have to give it a try.
NV Diebolt Vallois Brut Rose Champagne – This wine was good, but as about a third of the bottle was not finished, not a crowd pleaser. Jenn and I had this together on a previous occasion and really liked it. For around $40 from Premier Cru, I think it’s a reasonable value. Overall I like this producer, and plan on buying this and other bottlings from them in the future.
1998 Duval Leroy Brut Blanc de Chardonnay Champagne – We started the day with this wine, and I have yet to have a Duval Leroy Champagne that I don’t like. It seemed to provide pleasure to all, so I’ll continue to seek out these wines, especially for around $43. Other things of note, the 1996 version of this wine was absolutely terrific, and the 1998 vintage (same as this bottle) that Jenn and I shared at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas a couple of years ago was memorable (along with the food!).
NV Jose Dhondt Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne – Jose Dhondt wines tend to be a bit pricey as this wine was around $55 from High Time Wines, with the vintage wines starting at around $75. The wines seem to benefit, in my opinion, with some bottle age. This was well liked, and I’ll continue to buy these wines, but I’ll keep a look out for retail discount sales.
2009 Kutch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – this wine was $42 from the mailing list, and boy was it good. Afterwards Brian asked if I ever don’t take my full allocation, to please let him know as he would like to buy some. Sure thing…but don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. Sorry!
NV L. Aubry Brut Rose Champagne – the first time I had the Aubry wines was at Bar Boulud with Paul and Sarah Alvarez. It was good then, and while not a producer you see at a lot of retailers, the wines are good and worth buying. This wine was around $46 from Hi-Time wines, so not cheap. However, worth a try to see how it matches with your palate, as it was well liked by the group.
2004 Pax Kobler Family Vineyard Syrah – I bought a bunch of Pax syrahs direct from the winery over a couple of vintages (2002/3/4). Generally they are big wines, and they range from $45 to $75. This specific wine was about $60. Overall, I was disappointed with this wine. The bouquet was nice and flavorful, but the taste seemed thin and green. Not near as big or full as I expected. It was an end of the night wine, consumed with cigars. Others liked it more than me, but I dropped off the list years ago as I just don’t match with these wines.
Restaurant purchases…
2008 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Aloxe-Corton – this was bought at Elements with Steve and Mary Bellai. Sometimes I really dislike picking out wines at a restaurant. It can be hard to match food, along with other’s tastes and expectations. This wine was only about $85, which is a good restaurant price. I first encountered Chandon Briailles wines with Brian Hider at the Pluckemin. He told me that they are generally good values, and correct. This bottle, however, was a miss. Probably heat damaged, in retrospect, I should have brought over the Sommelier for a second opinion. I didn’t, so we all suffered through the bottle and then moved on to other wines by the glass.
2008 Maysara Winery Jamsheed Pinot Noir Oregon – This wine was bought at ABC Kitchen in NYC with Jenn, Patty Troung, and Gianne Doherty. I picked it because I wanted a pinot to go with the diverse set of entrees, it was below $100, and it was a good year for Oregon wines. This wine delivered. I would consider picking this up at retail, if I saw it. All in all, picking this blind (I had never heard of it prior), I was happy with the purchase.
NV Domaine Carneros Damask Brut Rose – This was also bought at ABC Kitchen with Jenn, Patty, and Gianne. For just under $70, it was well like by all of us and provided a nice match for the starters. Not sure of the retail price, or availability at retail, but if you found it at a sub-$30 price, give it a try.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Rotini al Borracho
Back in 2002, when Sarah and I were still dating, we had come back to my New York City apartment after a night of drinking perhaps a bit too much. And, for some reason, we were wired. More importantly, we were hungry. Being the un-domesticated man I was at the time, I didn’t have much going on in terms of food in the apartment. We quickly decided that, out of my limited sundries, pasta was the best choice. There was a problem, though: I didn’t have any red sauce.Though a fact like missing red sauce normally would have prevented us from making the dish, in my drunken confidence, I proclaimed that I’d try to make something even better than red sauce by making a sauce out of butter and spices. Whether it was prescience or hubris, or a bit of both, my bold prediction actually proved true. The butter-based sauce we had that night was transcendent. It was creamy, spicy, piquant, and (best of all) not too heavy. And it was super easy to make! We raved about it that night and swore that we’d use this recipe all the time instead of red sauces. It was a brilliant plan, except for the tiny detail that I was so drunk when I made it that I didn’t remember what ingredients I used, or how much of each ingredient went into the sauce. And, as with all great recipes, I didn’t write down a single thing.
In the weeks, months, and years following that night, I took many stabs at recreating that lovely dish, but like the unicorn, it proved elusive. Something always was missing. I began to think I would never taste such accidental goodness again. Until today.
Due to the extreme heat, I decided it was easier for me to work from home than schlep all the way to the office. Sarah and Amelia were out during lunch time, and I was left to fend for myself for lunch. Seeing as how I was “on the clock,” I decided to look for a quick and easy lunch option. My two major options were: (1) a bowl of cereal; or (2) figure out something to do with a Tupperware of cooked, but unsauced rotini sitting in the fridge. I chose option (2), and I am glad I did. I quickly heated up a sauté pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of butter and about 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper chili dipping olive oil. Into the quickly heating pan, I added the following dry ingredients: approximately 2 teaspoons each of garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and black pepper; 1 teaspoon of salt and crushed red pepper; a few strands of lemon zest; and a half teaspoon (or maybe less) of nutmeg. I stirred around the butter, oil, and spice mixture until it had reached a nice, buttery potpourri appearance. Then, I dropped in the cold pasta from the Tupperware straight into the pan, stirring it in to ensure the pasta was coated with the sauce. As the pasta began to cook, I took about 1/3 cup of grana padano and stirred it into the pasta, which was now beginning to glisten with the buttery spice of the sauce. Then I covered the pasta up, turned down the heat to medium/medium-low, and let it sit for one-to-two minutes. When I couldn’t wait anymore, I plated the dish, finishing it off with a little bit more of the grana.
Now, I’m not the best at artistic plating skills, so I realize that the dish may not have been a lot to look at, but the smells in the room as I watched the pasta fall onto the plate evoked a blurry image in my mind’s eye that I couldn’t quite grasp. When I took my first bite, everything became clear. The creaminess of the butter mixed with the grana, the tang of the garlic powder, the gentle warmth of the red chili flakes and chili oil on the back of my throat, the zip of the lemon zest and oregano on the tip of my tongue, and the subtle sweetness of the nutmeg in my nostrils took me back to my Manhattan apartment on East 77th Street on that fateful night. Add to these flavors the unexpected, occasional gooey, chewy crust of fried grana that coated many of my rotini, and I was almost drunk with the memory, even though I sat there cold stone sober nearly ten years later. For me, the dish certainly was worthy of the name: “Rotini al Borracho” (Drunk Man’s Pasta).
To be fair, I have no idea if the sauce I made today was exactly the same—or even close—to the one I made nearly 10 years ago in a drunken stupor. But, given the fact that my mind was so vividly transported back to that night after one bite, I’d say this recipe certainly was close enough. Close or not, though this recipe sure made an easy, flavorful, and extraordinary dish out of ordinary leftover pasta! If you’re ever in a pinch, I highly recommend it. It’s fast, easy, and only involves one pan and three utensils (knife to cut the butter, spoon to stir the pasta, and a zester). What could be easier or better?
Wine, James Bond, and Allen Iverson: A Tragedy
“My dear girl, there are some things that are just not done, such as drinking Dom Perignon ‘53 above the temperature of 38° Fahrenheit.” --- James Bond in “Goldfinger”
“But we're talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice? We’re talking about practice, man. . . . We ain’t talking about the game. We’re talking about practice, man.” --- Allen Iverson
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Sometimes, I wish I could be more like James Bond. Not in the killing people and getting the girls way (I’m not a gun guy, and I’ve already got the girl). I wish I could be more like 007 when it comes to his knowledge of wines and wine vintages. It seems like he always knew what wine to drink, when to drink it, and, as the quote above shows, how a drink is best served (see also “Vodka martini—shaken, not stirred.”). Apparently, like revenge, champagne is best served very cold.
But when it comes to guns and wine, especially picking out which vintage and varietal to drink, I am most certainly not James Bond 007. Instead, I’m much more like #3: Allen Iverson.
Why Iverson, you ask? Simple. In our respective games (basketball and wine), he and I both play bigger than we actually are. If a wine is put in front of me, more times than not, from time to time I’ll be able to pick out a number of different flavors (an occasional 25 point game, if you will). But, in the end, like Iverson, I just haven’t put in enough effort when it isn’t game time. I don’t practice.
Don’t get me wrong. I practice drinking wine all the time, as I’m sure everyone reading this does too! Where I get into trouble is that I don’t practice the wine details—differences in varietals, vintages, etc. I couldn’t tell you whether it’s better to drink a $50 bottle of 2006 Ribera del Duero, a $100 bottle of 2000 California Cabernet or a $45 bottle of 2009 Zinfandel. Though the answer to my three bottle hypothetical is undoubtedly “well, it depends,” I think we can all agree that there are certain rules of vintage, age, and location that exist. For example, it wouldn’t shock anyone’s senses to say that a 1998 Chateauneuf from one winery is undoubtedly better than a 1999 from the same winery, and so on. Similarly, we can all accept as truth that certain wines and grape varietals age more slowly (gracefully?) than others. Sadly, these are the facets of the wine game that elude me. In basketball parlance, I just don’t know the plays very well. And, without a wise sommelier (coach?) around to give me advice on what is drinking well these days, I’m basically a player with a good jumpshot who is not on the same page as his teammates—in this case, my teammates are the wines in my wine cellar.
Never was my lack of practices reps with wine selection on display more than a few weeks ago. Sarah asked me to pick out an everyday bottle of wine from our cellar. Being lazy, I went to our upstairs wine fridge and perused through our “everyday bottles.” I stumbled upon a 2008 Petite Syrah from Carlisle. Sarah and I love Carlisle wines. And we love Petite Syrah. I figured, given that combination, the 2008 would be a nice choice. And, I guess, it was . . . except it wasn’t. The wine didn’t taste like anything except, well, wine. There was no depth. No discernable fruits. Nothing we could hang our palates on except for “wine.” The wine wasn’t corked. When I relayed my story to someone with more knowledge about these hard and fast wine rules, I was told that this was to be expected because most Petite Syrahs take a bit more time to open and develop. My lack of knowledge of this rule turned what could have been a wonderful evening of wine into a disappointment.
Now, I apologize if some of you cringed at reading that last paragraph. You’re clearly better at selecting wines than I am. And you clearly know the rules of the game in a way that I just don’t.
But I assure you, my lack of knowledge of these hard and fast rules is not based out of a lack of desire to know more. I love wine. For me, wine is more than simply an alcoholic beverage or a means to relax after a long day—although it is those things, certainly. Wine is about what it represents on a larger scale. Wine is the drink, but it also is the company and gregarious conversation that accompanies it. It is the discussion about the flavors held inside. And wine is knowing that, whether you taste raspberry and someone else tastes black currant, you’re both right. I love delving into the thought of discovering and characterizing the flavors and scents located deep within its murky red—or, in the case of champagne, golden—hues. I love the discovering that the term “garrigue” means containing the aroma of lavender, sage, rosemary, wild thyme, and juniper—and not smelling of barnyard, as I was initially led to believe. And, I love trying to find the hidden undercurrent of candied lemon peel in a blanc-de-blanc, and the burnt honey toastiness of a rich blanc-de-noirs. These items—these gems of flavor, smell, and knowledge—are what keep me coming back to wine, despite my failings. They are the sweet feel of a jumpshot as it swishes through the net to win the game.
But I guess, as in basketball, success in wine is about more than having the oenophilistic equivalent to a decent jumpshot. I need to spend more time learning the Xs and Os and rules of the wine game, so I can actually put my tastebuds to better use. Otherwise, my win-loss record in selecting wines will continue to be abysmal. I won’t stop trying to play. I’ll just have to practice a bit more. Then maybe—just maybe—I’ll be a bit more Bond, and a bit less AI.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Marinated Crab Salad on Field Greens
I've made this Alton Brown recipe probably a dozen times in the last six years. I love it; it has become a standby. If you need an alternative to mayonnaise or cream cheese based recipe or if you're looking for a chilled or room temperature salad this is a great choice And, it's gluten free, so enjoy!
Food Network: Marinated Crab Salad: Marinated Crab Salad Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes / Inactive Prep Time: 4 hours
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
1 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley, leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 pound cooked lump or back fin crab meat
1/2 pound cooked special crab meat
6 cups mixed greens
4 to 6 lemon wedges
In a non-reactive bowl combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and tarragon. Add the crab and place in the refrigerator. Toss every hour for 4 hours. Serve on a bed of mixed greens and squeeze a lemon wedge over right before eating.
Food Network: Marinated Crab Salad: Marinated Crab Salad Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes / Inactive Prep Time: 4 hours
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
1 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley, leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 pound cooked lump or back fin crab meat
1/2 pound cooked special crab meat
6 cups mixed greens
4 to 6 lemon wedges
In a non-reactive bowl combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and tarragon. Add the crab and place in the refrigerator. Toss every hour for 4 hours. Serve on a bed of mixed greens and squeeze a lemon wedge over right before eating.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Elements, Princeton NJ
Last night Alan, Mary, Steve and I went to Elements in Princeton for a Farm to Fork dining experience. Steve made the reservation and booked us a chef's table back in the kitchen. There are three tables back there - two that accommodate four diners and one table for two. Very nice ambiance - a little more casual, a little more fun than the romantic vibe you get from the main dining room.
We all arrived at the same time and started with a drink at the tiny little bar under the staircase. By the way, I love this bar - it's cute and it reminds me of Harry Potter and the Cupboard Under the Stairs. The bartender was pleasant and attentive. We started off with a glass - Steve & I with an Italian Rose; Alan & Mary with a Spanish cava rose. Not bad. Not great, but not bad.
We retire to our table and peruse the menu - both the main dinner menu and the Farm to Fork Menu. Within minutes it becomes clear that the Farm to Fork menu isn't going to be the direction we take the evening. It was a pleasant three course offering but struck everyone as too light and too few choices so we pushed that to the side and went with a three+ course dinner. Everyone ordered a cold appetizer, a hot one and an entree. The plus, we also shared a fifth entree that was a close recreation of the dish the chef Scott Anderson recently won the Jersey Seafood Challenge held on July 1st at the Governor's Mansion. That dish consisted of fluke with garlic scapes, panko, arrowhead cabbage and a herbaceous vinaigrette.
To start, they brought us a delightful looking amuse bouche consisting of (from right to left) a cold grapefruit and citrus gelee with herbs; a radish with goat cheese; a warm broccoli soup. The grapefruit was overpowering for me even though the coolness of the bite was welcoming and bright. The radish was crunchy and again, overpowering...I could barely taste the goat cheese. The broccoli soup however was beautiful, warm and creamy. I swiped up remaining droplets with bread so as to not lose a morsel.
For our first course - the cold appetizer - Mary & I ordered the tuna tartar with scallion, ginger and white soy. Delightful! I loved the freshness and flavor of the raw tuna complimented with a hint of ginger and the snap of soy. The greens on top offered the tiniest amount of bitter that went well with the sweetness of the fish. The only thing that struck me as odd was the texture...usually tuna tartar is served with small chunks of fish intact giving that sushi type quality of the mouth. This tuna seemed to be almost creamy and lacking the defined shape of individual cubes. It was as though it had been overly blended and then formed. Not a big deal, the taste was great.
Alan & Steve both opted for the interesting sounding Composed Salad served on a piece of slate. It consisted of goat cheese, hazelnut, Mangalista ham, peaches and barley. There were also field greens and I think I spotted a zucchini blossom. This was a colorful dish with an array of textures and flavors going on. Trying each thing individually was just as exciting as a full forkful that allowed the ingredients to blend together in the mouth. I liked this dish a lot, even though it wasn't mine! Both Alan & Steve wiped their plates clean.
For our next course we all chose a hot appetizer. Mary & I borrowed a course from that evening's tasting menu - the poached egg with mushrooms and squash spaghetti. A small portion (thankfully) that was rich and wonderfully executed. This is something I haven't seen before on a menu so unique and exciting. The egg was perfectly cooked so when broken into, the runny yolk coated the pasta. Just lovely.
Alan ordered the salt crusted duck breast with peanuts and greens. My first impression was that the duck was cooked exactly the way you want it to be cooked - deep red in the middle with the fat layer rendered but intact. My bite at first took me by surprise - it was salty!! Duh. The salt crust, in my opinion didn't mask the duck - it just took a moment for it to come into focus. But it was Alan's dish - so he'll have to add any commentary to the contrary.
Steve ordered the other dish I had been contemplating...the gnocchi with miatake, celery, Parmesan and oxtail. Luckily Steve is willing to share!!! This might have been the dish of the evening, in my opinion. The mushrooms and oxtail brought that earthy warmth to the dish and since it wasn't overflowing with gnocchi, it still managed to have depth of flavor without being heavy and burdensome. Nice!
Then onto the entrees... when we ordered the special fluke dish we were hoping, and perhaps didn't clearly communicate it as such, that it would be it's own course. That didn't happen - it came out as a fifth entree along with our other dishes. It was placed in the center of the table (of course, where else would you put a fifth entree?) and my first bite was of the fluke alone. Nice and flaky but not overly flavorful. But then - I added a piece of the tempura vegetable (a zucchini blossom?) and the cauliflower puree and HEAVEN. What a combination! The crunch of the tempura along with the creamy, distinct flavor of the puree just enhanced the fluke to the point of joyful. Great dish!! I can see why it won.
Unfortunately, the happiness I was experiencing after the fluke did not translate into continued euphoria when I tried my own dish. I ordered the handmade tagliatelle with roasted fennel, squash, zucchini and Parmesan. I need to start learning from these experiences - these pasta dishes with the lighter flavors (not soaked in a heavy red sauce) and made moments before serving just aren't having enough time to really meld together and show themselves off. My dish felt like many different players on stage with no show being put on. The flavors didn't blend and I was left disappointed. I only ate a little and brought the leftovers home - I'm hoping that like the DBGB pasta, this one is much better the day after.
Mary did something completely unexpected - she ordered a vegetarian dish off the Farm to Fork menu for her main entree. Who knew?!? A combination of squash, zucchini, corn polenta, kale and trumpet mushrooms rounded this out. I didn't try it...at all. Now I feel a little bad since it's not my nature to pass up on a bite of anything (and it looks so pretty)...but with my whole pasta debacle going on, I wasn't in the mood. Mary, what did you think?
Alan ordered the Griggstown chicken with tarragon, pioppini (?), broccoli and rye bread. I had a small bite of this and it was good...not fabulous, but good. I noticed he didn't finish all of it which usually means he's full or it just wasn't good enough to power through.
And finally, Steve ordered the 48 Hour Short Rib with fennel, red onion, fingerling potato and chorizo. I tried a bite of this as well and here's where I come out...it was okay. But let me say that I may not be a good judge of short ribs. I'm finding that the vast majority of the time I'm completely underwhelmed except for (1) Daniel's Duo of Beef (which I do think is God's way of giving people a piece of heaven on earth) and (2) the short ribs at Cook in St. Helena, California. Cook's short ribs are, I truly believe, the greatest short ribs on the planet. Or at least in Jenn's world. But beyond those two, I keep expecting to try others in all manners of restaurants and they all come up sadly inadequate. I'd like to hear Steve's opinion on this one since he did order it and seem to enjoy this dish.
This evening was what is starting to be a theme - a blend of hit and miss dishes. But like the others, the company, service, ambiance and conversation more than make up for a lackluster dish. It's a wonderful restaurant that I still highly recommend!
Jenn's rating: 85
Zagat's rating: 26-25-25
We all arrived at the same time and started with a drink at the tiny little bar under the staircase. By the way, I love this bar - it's cute and it reminds me of Harry Potter and the Cupboard Under the Stairs. The bartender was pleasant and attentive. We started off with a glass - Steve & I with an Italian Rose; Alan & Mary with a Spanish cava rose. Not bad. Not great, but not bad.
We retire to our table and peruse the menu - both the main dinner menu and the Farm to Fork Menu. Within minutes it becomes clear that the Farm to Fork menu isn't going to be the direction we take the evening. It was a pleasant three course offering but struck everyone as too light and too few choices so we pushed that to the side and went with a three+ course dinner. Everyone ordered a cold appetizer, a hot one and an entree. The plus, we also shared a fifth entree that was a close recreation of the dish the chef Scott Anderson recently won the Jersey Seafood Challenge held on July 1st at the Governor's Mansion. That dish consisted of fluke with garlic scapes, panko, arrowhead cabbage and a herbaceous vinaigrette.
To start, they brought us a delightful looking amuse bouche consisting of (from right to left) a cold grapefruit and citrus gelee with herbs; a radish with goat cheese; a warm broccoli soup. The grapefruit was overpowering for me even though the coolness of the bite was welcoming and bright. The radish was crunchy and again, overpowering...I could barely taste the goat cheese. The broccoli soup however was beautiful, warm and creamy. I swiped up remaining droplets with bread so as to not lose a morsel.
Jenn's rating: 85
Zagat's rating: 26-25-25
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Top 25 Restaurants (New Jersey) 2011
This is a question that plagues us here on Witherspoon Way...mostly because we have no ability to remember the names of the restaurants we read about or pass and casually say, we should eat there. So to help all of us...especially those of us in New Jersey, here's the Top 25 New Jersey Restaurants, according to New Jersey Monthly. And I'm excited to say, a bunch of them are in Monmouth County! For those of you out by Bound Brook & Bedminster, you're going to be happy with the choices as well.
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/05/in-n-out-vs-five-guys-vs-shake-shack-the-first-bi-coastal-side-by-side-taste-test.html?ref=obnetwork
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/05/in-n-out-vs-five-guys-vs-shake-shack-the-first-bi-coastal-side-by-side-taste-test.html?ref=obnetwork
Top 25 Restaurants 2011
Long gone are the days when New Jersey, sandwiched between two imposing cities, could only look outward for its best food. Now the top restaurants in the state stand shoulder to shoulder with the finest in the region.
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