Culinary Fool

Amarone and Miscellaneous Food

15-Mar-2006

Just to tie up a few loose ends, I wanted to mention the other food I prepared for the Amarone Wine Tasting. I was really happy with the fact that everything went really well with the wines. I had thought it would be more of a challenge and that was actually why I made so many different things – I was just hoping that one or two would work well. Instead, everything worked well!

I’ve already mentioned the Cottechino and Lentils a couple of times but I was really pleased with how the wine really cut the richness of this dish. I basically used the same recipe I recently posted but I did include carrots and celery in the mix and they really add a nice element.

Although I originally wasn’t intending to really make this a dinner, I started realizing how much meat I had on the first draft of the menu and decided I should round it out a bit. I added the Red Wine Risotto that R made for our last dinner club meeting. You just can’t go wrong with risotto and the red wine flavor was especially good.

I also added some simply prepared Haricots Verte. I blanched them for 3 minutes, cooled them and then did a quick sauté in olive oil and butter and added a few toasted, slivered almonds. The nutty tones also complemented these earthy wines.

Finally, as a "dessert" of sorts, I had a couple of cheeses and sweet soprasotta. The cheeses were Pierre Robert, a super smooth and dreamy triple creme and Bonde de Satine, a (nearly) raw goat’s milk cheese that has been aged just long enough to pass the import laws. It also had an earthy, nutty flavor that complemented the wine. (Thanks to the guys at DeLaurenti’s for both those suggestions!)

I was really pleased at how it all turned out! I already have some more ideas in mind for another little wine tasting party…

Seattle Cheese Festival: Seminars

14-Mar-2006

The Seattle Cheese Festival will be here before you know it! They’ve made a lot of improvements over last year’s festival and I’m anxiously awaiting all the sampling I plan to do. In the meantime, they’ve announced the full list of seminars and are taking registrations. Class sizes are limited, so if you are interested sign up early.

Amarone Tasting: The Wines

13-Mar-2006

Sunday night’s Amarone Tasting/Oscar party started off with a wine of a different color… We started with champagne to toast two friends, K and N, who recently became engaged! Congrats, guys! Of course we always like champagne so we won’t go into that right now. Instead, on to the main event.

We started with 2000 Giuseppe Lonardi Ripasso de Valpolicella Classico Superiore. I accidentally learned of this wine while searching for wines from Lombardy for last year’s Lombardy Dinner Club meeting. I was having trouble finding wines from Lombardy, apparently not that many are imported here, when a helpful store clerk recommended this wine as a great accompaniment for Osso Buco and because Veneto is right next to Lombardy. I bought the wine but continued to search. When I found a few Lombardian wines, I put this one away with the idea of comparing it to the Amarones at some point. As I mentioned in that opening post, Ripasso is the "poor-man’s Amarone". I think the poor men drink rather well!

The color was beautiful and deep. The taste was a bit lighter than I expected but still had the essence of leather, a bit of chocolate and raisin or prune. I could see sipping this wine totally on its own as well as with food. I thought it went especially well with the soprasotta and the cheeses.

Next up was the 1988 Tommasi della Valpolicella Classico. I had actually been worried about this wine because it was past the recommended drinking window by a few years. I was also a bit worried that I’d remove the foil and find evidence of some sort of problem. That didn’t happen though, so I decanted this wine a little over an hour prior to our tasting. By the time I poured it into the glasses it had probably been open just over 90 minutes.

Another beautiful, deep garnet wine, this one had a much more assertive character than the Ripasso. It was a chewy wine. Leathery, spicy, deep and rich. Where its age showed, though, was that it tended to dissipate faster than it should have, I think. It paired very well with all of the meat dishes and even the risotto. I like this wine although I think it would have been better five years ago.

We followed the 1988 with the 1993 version. Now this was more what I expected! This was a wine that made you stand up and take notice. A wine that wasn’t going to be pushed into the background or into a subservient role to the food. Respect me! it seemed to say. It was very similar to the 1988 but was much more intense, had deeper more complex flavors and a beautiful lingering finish. Although it wanted its own place on your palate it played well with the food, too. I especially liked it with the Cottechino and lentils. The acidity of the wine cut through the fattiness of the sausage, which allowed you to consume more of both! (Uh, I think that’s good…) Although, I especially liked this wine with food I would have no hesitation about taking it on its own, either. If I could find another bottle(s) of this wine for a decent price I would certainly purchase a few.

The last up was the 1991 Brigaldara della Valpolicella Classico. This wine was a bit tannic and not quite as smooth as the Tommasis. Full of cherries, chocolate and spice – maybe cloves? I think if we had tasted these in a different order I would have liked this wine better but coming after the 1993 Tommasi it was not as pleasing, at least not on its own. It was a great food wine and I especially like it with the ribs.

It was also a deep, beautiful color and the nose was redolent of earth and the smell of mushrooms in the forest. It was just the first sip that was a bit shocking to the mouth. Perhaps this wine could have done with a bit more air but by the time we got to this wine we were well past two hours of breathing, so I don’t think that was an issue. Again, I think it did not quite fair as well in our estimation due to the order more than anything else.

All of these wines really paired superbly with the food I am very happy to say. The richness of the antelope burgers balanced all the flavors of these wines. The ribs just seemed to blend with them, and the wines cleaned the palate for the Cottechino. I was actually surprised that the pairings were so sound across the board.

We followed our formal tasting with a few other choice gems: a couple bottles of 2003 Pendulum, a Columbia Valley blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec; a Robert Karl 2003 Claret another Columbia Valley blend, this time of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, but also Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec; and finally, Deerfield Ranch 2001 Sangiovese from Napa/Sonoma, California. All in all it was a lovely line up of wines. And we also got to laugh our heads off watching Jon Stewart host The Academy Awards.

Hedges Spring Bottle Your Own

13-Mar-2006

Hedges is doing a Spring Bottling Event this year. Similar to the November event, you get to bottle your own magnum of wine. This spring release features their Three Vineyards, a great blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Entry into the event is $60, which gets you one magnum, a tasting of current releases and light appetizers. Additional magnums are available for $55.

The event will be held Friday, April 28th, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the Benton City location. Pre-registration is required.

Last Week on The Spirit World

12-Mar-2006

I started off the week with a quick review of one of my favorite mixology books, Highballs High Heels. It’s a fun look at some seriously good cocktails! I included their recipe for Pomegranate Martini.

On Monday, Robert gives you the background and recipe for the Japanese Cocktail.

On Tuesday, Donavan deviates just a bit and provides a recipe for cooking with beer. The recipe is for Beer Steamed Mussels and sounds very good!

On Wednesday, Rosanne gives you the 411 on Slivovitz, and no I did not make that up!

On Thursday, I suggest you make your Happy Hour at Home a private affair and spend some serious time by the fire, sipping a Beautiful and munching on a yummy Goat Cheese Galette.

We finish off the week with an announcement about new Well Fed Blogs and free music from Absolut.

Taste of the Nation

11-Mar-2006

As you may remember from last year, I am a big supporter of Share our Strength and especially their premier fundraiser, Taste of the Nation. I love this organization and event because nearly all of the funds collected are used for their programs, not for administration, and most funds stay local so when you contribute you are really contributing to your own community.

Although Seattle’s event occurs a bit later this year (end of July) many areas across the rest of the country are already in full swing! Duluth’s event is March 31; Greenville, SC is on April 2; and Boston’s event is on April 6 with many others following closely on their heels.

The best part of these events is that not only are you really helping your community but it’s a ton of fun to do so. The events feature little bites from the local area’s top restaurants; wines, beers and, often, spirits; as well as coffee, tea and specialty water.

So check out the site, find an event in your area, gather a group of friends and go help your community!

WBW #19 Roundup

11-Mar-2006

Jathan has posted the roundup of all the WBW #19: When in Rhone, entries. There were 38 entries from all over the world. This is actually one of my favorite events just because we always end up with such a global view. Anyway, there’s lots of great info so check out the summary and the individual posts!

Antelope Burgers with Shiitake Port Sauce

10-Mar-2006

When planning my menu for the recent Amarone Tasting I wanted to include game, in some form, since in the Veneto game and Amarone are often paired. I was lucky enough to have some ground wild antelope, courtesy of my brother-in-law and one of his fall hunting excursions. Because wild antelope is so lean he requests that his butcher add about 5% beef fat to the mix when it is found. This results in a meat that has the best of both worlds – enough fat that the meat won’t dry out too quickly but yet the definite characteristics of antelope.

Antelope is an amazingly dark meat. It just looks rich when you look at it. And the taste proves that true. For this tasting I just made mini-burgers, since it would be a new taste for most, and that turned out to be a good thing since with the richness of the meat just a little goes a long way. I paired this meat with sautéed Shiitake mushrooms that I normally use with venison. It was a good match. And the flavors went beautifully with the Amarone. It’s a little hard to see the burgers in the photo but if you look closely (especially if you look at it in full size) you can catch glimpses of them around the edges of the mushrooms.

Antelope Burgers with Shiitake Port Sauce

1 pound ground antelope

1/2 onion diced then sautéed in olive oil until golden

2 – 3 Tbsp fresh chopped sage

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blend all ingredients until thoroughly mixed being careful not to mush up the meat. Form into about 15 walnut sized balls. Preheat pan over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil into the pan. When the oil is hot, flatten each ball into a patty and place in the pan. Take care not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for just about 3 minutes per side. You want the meat to be cooked just until medium-rare.

Remove the burgers from the pan, place on warm plate and cover with foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.

Shiitake Port Sauce

16 fresh large Shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced thin

2 small garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup Tawny Port

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

In fat remaining in skillet sauté mushrooms with garlic, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Add broth, Port, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer sauce until thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over the burgers and serve.

WBW #19: When in Rhone…

08-Mar-2006

Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday. Before I get into my story I need to tell you that I originally was thinking this event was last Wednesday. This will effect a couple of things with this tasting.

This month WBW is hosted by Jathan of Wine Expressions. Jathan chose the Rhone region of France as our focus but he didn’t stop there. He gave us a bit more of a challenge:

"You’re not limited to white or red, but let’s focus on getting a blend, unless you find a rare varietal on it’s own, that would also make for an interesting review."

He then went on to helpfully link out to a places that explained all the Rhone varietals.

Just after reading his post, I received my March issue of Food and Wine which featured an article on Rhone Reds under $16. Wow! Perfect timing.

With my list of varietals and the article from Food and Wine I made my way to Esquin to see what I might be able to find. I had selected a couple wines from the article that I thought looked particularly good but, alas, they were not to be found. They offered to order them for me but since I thought I had just four days until my write-up was due I declined. Had I known I actually had 11 days I may have put my order in. Oh well, I had selected a couple alternates from the article and they had the Perrin Reserve and it was on sale! Now there’s a good deal. In talking with the folks at the shop another wine was recommended which I also purchased and will sample at a later date. It was not a blend, simply a Syrah – Saint Cosme 2004 Cotes Du Rhone – so it fell outside my guidelines for this tasting.

The 2003 Perrin Reserve is a combination of 60% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and 20% Syrah.

Now this is where my story is going to start falling apart. :-( I brought the wine home and a day or so later I had a little tasting. The next day I started to write-up my post from my notes. Then I realized that I was ahead of the game, so I stopped and wrote a different post instead. Yesterday when I started pulling together my materials for this post I realized that I’ve lost my notes! I cleaned my office up and I have no idea where they are! On top of that, it just happens there has been a lot of wine tasting going on in the last week or so. Without my notes I can’t give you any specifics. I hate that! Especially because I liked this wine.

It had a beautiful color – as you can see in the photo – and I remember that I liked it on its own and with whatever food I happened to choose to eat with it. I know that it was full of berry flavor and that it didn’t linger long but it left a subtle impression of those berries on your tongue. It was just a bit spicy. I liked it because it brought back to mind all the best things about travel in France – good, inexpensive wines; food from the street markets; creating picnics on the fly. Good taste but not heavy: a wine you could drink in the middle of the day and still have energy to go about the rest of your day.

So, although I can’t provide too many specifics, I would still recommend this wine. Especially since it is under $15 and, when on sale, actually about $10! How great is that?

Braised Short Ribs

07-Mar-2006

The photo is way out of focus – since I suddenly realized I’d forgotten to take one just as my guests were starting to dig in – but the ribs were really good! I really like braising, especially as a method of cooking while entertaining, because once you get everything browned you basically forget about the dish for several hours. And during that several hours your house will smell like heaven!

The deep rich taste of these ribs paired well with the Amarone. Both the meat and the wine exhibit complexities of taste and that works well together. Even the veggies have that rich, beefy flavor, so all-in-all this was a winner on many levels!

Braised Short Ribs

Short ribs

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Olive Oil

Onions

Carrots

Celery

Hot pepper

Red wine

Tomato paste

Beef stock

Garlic

Bay leaves

Thyme

Rosemary

Prepare short ribs by heavily salting and peppering them on two sides. (Much of the seasoning will come off during the browning and braising process.)

When preparing the vegetables you want large pieces that will hold up during the long cooking time and you want flat surfaces so you can brown them more easily.

Peel onions. Cut stem ends flat. Trim root but do not remove it. Slice the onion in quarters or sixths cutting through the root so each section stays intact. Peel the carrots. Cut in 4’ lengths and then cut each length in half lengthwise. Cut celery into 4” lengths and then cut each length in half or thirds lengthwise. For mushrooms, if small leave whole, if large cut in half.

Roughly chop 2 or 3 dried hot peppers such as a Thai Dragon or Cayenne. Break one garlic head into individual cloves. Remove loose paper but it’s not necessary to peel each clove.

Preheat oven to 325°. Heat oil in large ovenproof pan over medium to medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering place ribs in pan taking care not to crowd them. Brown on all sides. Remove from pan and repeat with remaining ribs if necessary.

If needed add a bit more oil to the pan. Add vegetables (except mushrooms) flat sides down, taking care not to crowd the pan. Add salt and pepper. Continue cooking until bottoms are caramelized. Carefully turn over and allow to brown slightly on opposite side. If necessary, remove vegetables as they are done and repeat with remaining vegetables.

Once all vegetables are caramelized, return them to the pan. Add garlic, hot pepper, red wine and 2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato paste. Place ribs on top of vegetables. Add beef stock until liquid covers about 2/3 of the vegetables and meat. Add bay leaves to the stock. Place 2 or 3 large sprigs of rosemary and thyme on top of the beef.

Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Place in oven and bake for 3 hours. Remove from the oven; add the mushrooms, pushing them into the liquid. Return to the oven and cook an additional 30 minutes.

Remove thyme and rosemary stems from meat. Place meat in center of platter and surround with the vegetables taking care not to include the bay leaves and garlic.