EAT WITH ME

Pairing wine

2008-07-23T19:33:00.005-04:00

All this talk of wine, I thought I would give some notes on pairing wine & food:

White with White, Red with Red is antiquated. If you need a singular rule, instead think of White with Light, Red with Rich.
Oil & Vinegar. The acid of the vinegar cuts the oil and vice versa. Apply the same rule to wine. Pair acidic wines with oily foods: Pinot Noir w/ Salmon.
Pairing food & wine is a balancing act. And with wine & food, the best balance can be opposites attract. Think lightly sweet white with spicy food. Gewurztraminer or Riesling with Thai or Mexican.
Or...match flavors. The grapefruit/citrus taste of Sauvignon Blanch goes with fish for the same reason lemon does.
In pairing, avoid wines that are predominated by non-food flavors. Oak isn't a taste you expect in food. Save oaky wines for fireside chats or curling up with a book, movie or...
Try not to pair wine with food that is sweeter than the wine. Save sweet, dessert wines for After dessert.
Number one rule. Drink wine to enjoy it and the company you share with it. Food and wine pairings are elusive and mythical. Drink wine you like with food you like, but never stop experimenting.

Notes totally cribbed from a brochure I picked up from San Diego grocer, Ralphs. For more on food & wine pairing, look up Andrea Immer (some books here & here).

More delicious wine

2008-07-23T17:57:00.005-04:00

Here are two more Sauvignon Blancs I've enjoyed. I had one glass of each of these. Both very enjoyable and worthy of a full bottle purchase. Look for them.

I think this was my first Chilean S.B. I'm usually enjoy New Zealand or South African S.B.

I can only imagine how wonderful the Marlborough region of New Zealand must be. Anyone been?

Wino is my name, Wine Tasting is my game

2008-07-20T11:51:00.005-04:00

Hola from sunny San Diego.

Yesterday we participated in a wine tasting. There were over 50 different wines up for tastings. This was the first wine tasting I have really gone into. And I have to say, the people running the booths really weren't in the mood to be there. With a few exceptions, most of them could have cared less about talking about the wines they had available. This was very sad for me. I wanted to really do this. And on top of all this; we had the special passes which allowed unlimited tastings, others were based on tickets. So the staff would do double pours. No matter how often I said just a taste please they would do these double pours. This is great if you want to just drink...but after a few you start to loose you taste and nose. So as the tasting went on I was more and more likely to dump the wines I didn't like. I felt bad. Felt like I was wasting, but whatever, not my problem...if you can't listen to me, I'm going to have to dump your wine out!

All that said, I did have a great time with a handful of the wineries. My favorites are below.

(Sadly I don't remember too much of most of them, so the photos of the labels are the only thing I have to remind me.)

Big Tattoo
Riesling

Straight Jacket
Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon
This was my favorite sauvignon blanc. Nice and dry, crisp.

Hazard Hill
Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc

Donati
Claret
A nice red, but it was just too warm to drink red wine.

Menage a Trois
Blend of 3 whites
(moscato, chardonnay, chenin blanc)
Oddly, this was favorite wine of the day. There was a great nose (chenin), nice body (chard) and a little sweet (moscato). Per my comment on the claret above, the opposite is true, this was a great wine to drink on a very warm day. Bring this one home for a warm day of lounging on you patio or porch. If you don't like sweet, you probably won't like this. It's not cloying sweet, but it's pronounced.

Innocent Bystander
Moscato
A light, sweet, bubbly pink. Fun. A little silly, happy and enjoyable. This is more sweet than the Menage a Trois.

800 From San Diego

2008-07-19T11:32:00.005-04:00

Funny...turns out this is my 800th post! Who knew. And I'm in San Diego. Right now we're hovering around what feels like 70 and a little overcast. We're getting ready to clean up and head out for an adventure filled day. But I'd like to share with you some of what San Diego has offered us so far...

A lovely church in the distance. I love this mission-style architecture that is so common around Southern California.

We stopped in a little French gift shop. I love these French provincial fabrics so much. I didn't buy any as I'd have no idea what to do with them.

I love the honesty. None of this "curb your dog" business. Pick up the crap, thank you!

I do not condone graffiti, but I approve this message.

~~~~~

And then there was lunch. This was a great lunch, for San Diego, for us and perhaps the best meal out we've had in ages. Bravo!

Olivetto. The menu was covered in cork. I couldn't stop touching it. If I could...I would have kept it as a special reminder.

Olivetto: cafe & wine bar. They specialize in Italian dishes and great wine. I didn't notice a theme in the wine. There were about four of each main type of wine. 4 chards, 4 cabs, etc. Then a category of special whites and special reds. Very nice, not overwhelming.

Here's the deal. The restaurant was on it's second day of business. We stumbled in. A happy accident. Making this all the more perfect. I originally ordered gnocchi...but they didn't have it yet. Oh well. I had a pasta with a creamy pesto sauce. Very lovely.

J-lo ordered penne with a light tomato sauce with cheese , pancetta, onions and red pepper. Bright, slightly acidic.

You can't go to a wine bar without having wine! Have a glass or more!!!

This Drylands Sauvignon Blanc is my new mistress. We will be having a torrid affair over the next several months. She's so beautiful. She's bright with an acidic citric wit. But once you get to know her she's barefoot in the park with fresh grass and green apples.

Having finishing a few glasses of wine and our lunch, we had to try the dessert. The tiramisu was the way it should be. Just a touch of sweet. Light and airy, yet creamy. Paired perfectly with a lovely demitasse glass of espresso.

Olivetto
On Washington Avenue between Falcon & Goldfinch in Mission Hills, San Diego

(no cards or website yet...again it was their second day of business.)

And PS we might be going back for dinner on Monday!

We're Off.

2008-07-17T03:54:00.004-04:00

It's nearly 4 am. We're leaving in about an hour.
See you in Southern California. Have a good week.

Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, California

Braised Ribs

2008-07-15T07:01:00.004-04:00

Something went right last night! I did braised spareribs. They were tender, moist and had great flavor. Why did something go right? All the times I've tried to braise ribs before, they were dry, tough and had good flavor. Something went right. I'm guessing two things. 1) Low heat. I braised at 300 degrees for 90 minutes. In the past I braised for longer at a higher temp...maybe too long or maybe too hot? 2) I think I had the right amount of braising liquid! The ribs were just about 2/3rds covered. In the past I might have covered too much? As for the great flavor, I marinaded the ribs in a dry rub over night. Vann's Mesquite Rub. Perfect for pork, which I recently used here.

After your ribs marinate over night. Sear them in a medium hot pan with a little olive oil. You want to develop a crust and leave some flavor in the bottom of the pan, a.k.a. "fond." Don't pack the ribs in the pan or they will steam instead of searing, that's not good eats.

Once the ribs are seared you need to create your braising liquid. Add 1/2 an onion that has been diced. Add a little garli and a few pinches of hot pepper powder (I used Ancho Chile Powder), coriander, cumin, cinnamon, thyme, oregano and another spoon of the Mesquite spice rub. Add 1 TB of tomato paste. Pour in 1/2 cup of a pilsner beer. Simmer until the fond (good stuff stuck on the bottom of the pan) has scraped up and dissolved. Add the ribs back into the pan and add water until they are 2/3rds covered. Use a broth if you like for more flavor. Bring to a simmer, cover and put in a 300 degree oven for 90 minutes.

The liquid will reduce further and the ribs will be very tender. Serve and spoon a little of the liquid on top.

Ribs with cornbread. Serve with slaw or mashed potatoes or polenta or....you name it. Very tasty.

Living My Life Like It's Golden, Golden!

2008-07-14T20:44:00.003-04:00

Oh sweet heaven. Cornbread is a beautiful thing.

Especially when warm out of the oven with a little butter, maybe some honey. Mmmmm.

Delicious, easy and I've been lazy

2008-07-14T06:10:00.006-04:00

Hi all,

Last week seemed virtually non-existent. I was out of town for work for a bit. We went to the beach for our annual planning session. Good times. We got a lot of great work done. But that kept me away from the blog for a few days. Then I'm back and was super lazy, so we had dinner out at The Alamo. A delightful Tex-Mex joint on Kenilworth Avenue. Check it out if you haven't. They recently changed the format of their menu. But the food is the same! And the margaritas...three will knock you out.

Ahhh, the beach.

Last night, Sunday, was the first night I cooked in a week. I made my favorite Rosemary Cream Sauce for some pre-fab fresh pasta I bought at the store. Easy. Super RICH and very delicious.

You need to start with the best butter. IMHO, this is the best. Way back when, I was able to participate in a butter tasting. It's hard to tell what's what, but the Kerrygold ranked right up there at the top.

Then you need some fresh rosemary. This is from my garden. On a side note, my basil, which was looking beautiful, has been devoured by some type of buggies. I'm sad. I love the gardening stuff, but I don't know how to deal with pests. We did buy some stuff to keep squirrels away. You spray where you want to keep them away...it is nasty! Putrified egg whites, vinegar and I think some pepper oil. Ugh!

Melt some onions and butter....yes melt...low and slow...you want to sweat out those onions, until they are very tender and translucent! You don't want color, or your cream sauce will be brownish. When the onions are done. Add some roasted garlic for more richness!

And you need some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Only the best.

There is also cream in this recipe. But I was having some technical difficulties* at that time, so no photo!

I dressed some tortellinis with the sauce this time. It's great with any fresh pasta. Ravioli, fettucine! All good.

*So, my technical difficulties. It was boiling the pasta. I filled my pot with water and dumped the pasta in. Too much pasta for the amount of water I had. The tortellinis immediately poofed up and were nearly floating out of the pot as water kept pouring out. It was a huge mess and very frustrating. I should have only cooked half the amount of pasta at a time. But again, laziness is the key for the past week, so I didn't want to take the extra time. Lesson learned!

*~*~*~*

Well folks. I'm not sure how productive I will be over the next three days. Hopefully I'll have another one or two posts. Then on Thursday I head out for Sunny San Diego for several days. We were out there for a week about three years ago. I'm sure I'll have a post or two from So.Cal., but no promises.

Corn Saute

2008-07-08T06:50:00.006-04:00

Last night was a fast dinner. I took some chicken, chopped it up and seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, oregano and a pinch of a grilling spice. I sauted in some olive oil. When done I set the chicken aside on a plate and moved on to the corn.

Start with three fresh ears of corn. Remove the kernels.

Chop 1/2 an onion. Add the onion to the pan the chicken was cooked in. When soft and starting to brown add 2 heaping spoons of roasted garlic. Stir to incorporate. Then add the corn. Stir.

Season with salt, pepper, cumin, pinch of hot pepper. Add a pat of butter. Saute for 3-5 minutes. Add a bit of chopped parsley. Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream. Heat until warm. Serve immediately.

This was very delicious and totally satisfying. The chicken was a little lackluster. I might have overcooked it. But once you add the creamy corn, you don't notice the chicken. We had this with a fresh flour tortilla from the market. I'd say, if you want a burrito without rice, you could use the corn saute as the bulk of this burrito! It was very nice. This recipe was a slight variation of this recipe.

Corn on the Pancakes

2008-07-08T06:50:00.000-04:00

On Saturday night we were sitting around playing a game and I had an AH-HA! moment. I would make pancakes in the morning with fresh corn added in. It wasn't that bad. A flavor/texture I wasn't really expecting, but I cleaned my plate and really enjoyed them. I know what I'll change next time. First. Start with this recipe!

Cut the kernels off the corn cob. Scrape the corn juice off the cob as well.

Add the kernels to the final batter.

Great with just butter.

Very nice with some fresh fruit jam.

Very nice with maple syrup!

*My note for next time. I think I used extra cornmeal in this batch, which created a very fragile pancake. They almost broke when I flipped them. The flour hadn't had a chance to develop enough glutton to hold the pancakes together and the cornmeal didn't help.

Grilled Corn

2008-07-08T06:35:00.004-04:00

Fresh grilled corn from the Market.

Perhaps one of the best ways to have fresh corn. Grilled Corn on the Cob! So beautiful. Touch of a smoke. Touch of char on the kernels. Perfect. I've always soaked my fresh corn in a sink full of water for one hour. This always extra water to get into the corn husks creating extra steam when on a hot grill. Cook over hot coals for about 14 minutes, 7 minutes, then flip. Enjoy.

If you are without a grill, you can roast your corn in the oven. Preheat your oven to 450. Soak the corn in water first, then place right on the oven rack. Give the corn about twenty minutes. The husks should be drying out. Hard for me describe when the corn is done. Open the husk a little an give a kernel a prick. If it's still really tough, close it back up and go another ten minutes. If the kernel is just tender, it's done.

Fresh Garlic

2008-07-07T06:39:00.000-04:00

This was an interesting weekend at the Market. Not for any particular reason. I had plans to buy only one item, as I'm going to be out of town part of this week for work and we leave next week for our trip to San Diego. So if you buy too much you can end up wasting if you don't use. So I had plans to buy buns...Parker House rolls...which are the best I've ever had and love to eat them as a snack, especially with a little homemade jam. So, good intentions and all that. I ended up buying fresh corn, more jam and garlic.

My table was set up next to a very nice lady (name escapes me!) who was selling garlic from her farm in Virginia. She bought the farm last year and this is the first crop she's been able to harvest. Next year she hopes to have much more produce. She already has a farm that supports 170 (?) families, similiar to a CSA (community sustained agriculture). Well, she certainly was a popular vendor this weekend. Despite the rain, she did very well, selling nearly 25 bundles (8 heads each)! I bought one bundle myself!

The garlic with the stems!

Beautiful heads of garlic with just a slight fragrant scent of garlic.

I decided I was going to prep the garlic for roasting!

I inherited my little garlic roaster from my friend Pam. If you don't have one, don't rush out to get one. You can use aluminum foil. So to make roasted garlic. Heat your oven to 350. Slice the tops of the garlic heads off, exposing the tops of the cloves.

Drizzle with olive oil and a light sprinkle of salt (optional). Cover the garlic roaster, or wrap the heads up in the foil. Place in the oven for an hour. At the end of the hour, I turn the oven off and let the garlic sit in the oven until cool. Your house is going to smell so nice! Rich, warm, enticing.

When the garlic is cool to touch, it is time for the final bit of prep. The sticky, smelling, OMG so delicious step. Take the heads and squeeze out the buttery cloves. Hold the heads over a bowl and squeeze from the root end; think tube of toothpaste.

The cloves are sticky and completely tender; they do spread like butter! Discard the remaining portion of the garlic head. Store the garlic in an airtight container, in the fridge. And I'll be making this recipe this week!

BBQ Holiday

2008-07-04T11:06:00.003-04:00

Happy Independence Day ya'll. BBQ Safely.

Today's Garfield

2008-07-03T08:37:00.003-04:00

Mmmm, whipped cream trees!

Tiny Frozen Blue Orbs*

2008-07-01T20:51:00.004-04:00

Frozen fresh picked blueberries. We had so many, I needed to freeze some so we have some berries for later. Rinse your berries and then layout on a rimmed baking sheet. I lined mine with papertowel to whisk away any small bits of water. Place in the freezer until frozen solid, give them one day. Then transfer to a freezer bag or container. Save for later!

*I could have said Tiny Frozen Blue Balls, but then you'd think I was talking about something else...? Get your mind out of the gutter people!

Pork Chops and Apple Sauce--no more!

2008-07-01T06:15:00.003-04:00

*First--hate Blogger for messing me up sometimes. I hit the enter key to try to space something and whoops...post published! Not what I wanted. Grrrr.

Anyway!!!

Last night was a busy night with the homemade jelly. So at the very end I took some pork chops and reserved blueberries and made a delicious, very fast dinner.

Season pork chops with salt & pepper and saute in olive oil until browned and just cooked through, depending on the size of the chops, about 5 minutes. These chops were seasoned with a Whiskey Rub by Vanns Spices. Very tasty, but with this sauce, the rub took over the lead flavor profile.

Toss in some onions and saute until they start to brown. Add 1 TB chopped fresh thyme. Pour in 1 cup of chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add 1 cup fresh blueberries. Simmer for 5 minutes.

The berries will burst and flavor the sauce; which will reduce down. Add 1 TB of butter to enrich the sauce.

Spoon sauce over the chops. Enjoy!

Fruit to Beautiful Delicious Yummy

2008-06-30T20:38:00.003-04:00

Oh boy...Ho-made Mixed Berry Jelly!

Maryland Wines

2008-06-30T06:00:00.005-04:00

We had a beautiful weekend. Berry picking. Amazing BBQ. And wine. Perfect really. The weather was predicted to be oppressive and unruly. Turns out it was just a twitch over hot with a dab of humidity and the occasional breeze helped that out. There were a few moments of sprinkles, but overall, a very nice day.

J-lo, Caroline (aka The Sommeliatrix) and I truly enjoyed the day. Here are some photos from our time at Elk Run Vineyards and Loew Vineyards. The Sommeliatrix sent some great words about the wines & wineries...enjoy:

We visited the admirable Elk Run Vineyards in Mt. Airy, MD - admirable because its wines come from varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Riesling, which are hard to grow in humid Maryland where they can rot. The young Syrah, the spicy Cabernet Franc, and the dry but fragrant minty pineapple Gewurztraminer all got high marks. A suprise was the raisiny chocolately port, made from Cabernet Sauvignon - delish.

Two miles down the road was Loew Vineyards, a charming winery with an extensive selection, made all the more charming by owner/wine pour'er Lois. Her husband's family made wine in Lvov Poland/Ukraine until WWII - they even have a wine label from 1860! There, we discovered and tasted a red wine blended from Marechal Foch and Millot hybrids. Interesting - it was made like a Beaujolais, where fermentation occurs, not by crushing grapes and adding yeasts, but inside of the whole uncrushed grape. Just tell your friends the process is called Carbonic Maceration, and they'll nod their heads like they know what you're talking about. It had some of the fresh fruity notes you find in a Beaujolais but very high acidity - its hallmark. S&J will have to tell more about Loew's blueberry dessert wine when they open their bottle.

Go forth and support your local winery!

Barrels waiting for some love.

Chardonnay!

Checks, Circles, Underlines, All sorts of notes. The Elk Run tasting room offers two price points for the tasting. $2 for 5 wines, $5 for 5 wines, plus the glass. The Loew's tasting is gratis and we had 6-8 tastings.

The beautiful vines and blue sky!

The Seyval Blanc grape.

It is what it is. A small, independent winery. No frills. After our tasting, we were taken into the back to see the barrels, fermantation tanks and all the other fun stuff for wine making! We do have a bottle of the blueberry wine. We'll let you know how it is. I generally don't go for the fruit/berry wines, but this sounded interesting.

Jealous?

2008-06-29T10:38:00.003-04:00

Vanilla yogurt, fresh picked blueberries and granola.

I couldn't be happier at this moment.

2008-06-28T17:23:00.004-04:00

So after the great berry pickin'...we needed to eat. We worked up an appetite.

Well, I'm ready to drive an hour away for this meal AGAIN! And AGAIN! And AGAIN!!!

CarterQue
Barbeque & Grilling Company
235 South Main Street
Mt. Airy, MD

This has been one of the best BBQ meals I've had. Period. Done. Over.

I had the pulled pork slider plate (above). I three little sandwiches and had a different sauce with each. One a little tangy, one a little smoky and one that was just down right brilliant! And beer battered french fries. I KID YOU NOT.

Pulled pork sandwich with black raspberry sauce and mac & cheese.

Seriously. I can't describe the tastiness of this meal. The pork was tender and succulent. The sauces were each unique and satisfying. The best one, the most unique was the award winning Black Raspberry Grilling Sauce. 1st place; Nation's Best at the DC BBQ Cook-off. I bought a bottle for home use! The sauce was lightly sweet and full of many complex flavors. Beautiful complement to the smoky pork.

Two meat plate; pulled pork and brisket with the slightly tangy sauce.

After lunch we went out for two wine tastings. Elk Run Winery and Loew Vineyard in Mt. Airy. A beautiful day. When I have some more time to ruminate on the wines I'll share some notes.

Pickin' My Own

2008-06-28T17:13:00.004-04:00

Click photos to embiggen!

We took a trip to our favorite pick your own farm today and got some berries! Blueberries. Sweet Cherries and a handful of black raspberries (not fully in season.) What fun. Great for family fun day in the country.

LARRILAND FARM
2415 Woodbine Road
Woodbine, Maryland 21797

The cherry pickin' game

Slightly tart sweet cherries.

1/2 pound of black raspberries.

About three pounds of sweet cherries.

We got five pounds of blueberries!

Hot Tamale Pie

2008-06-27T07:14:00.005-04:00

Last night's dinner was the Tamale Pie I made awhile back. Two plus years back! You can find the recipe here.

This really is an easy dish, cheap to make and fairly quick. There are plenty of options for changing things up. The way I made this last night improved the flavor and made for a very delicious casserole dinner.

Start with some ground beef, onions, jalapeno. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, and some chili powder of your choice. I have some smokey chipotle chili powder with brought a lovely mild heat and slight smoked flavor. If you prefer, you can use ground pork, chicken, turkey. Your choice.

Add some corn and let simmer and bubble for a little bit while you move to creating the base of the dish.

Mix some cornmeal and some water in a dish. Season liberally with salt & pepper. You do this step to prevent lumps in the cornmeal. You don't have to take this step, but it's helpful. Then you bring some water to a boil and pour this mixture in. Simmer and stir for a few brief minutes to make a creamy base. Add a pat of butter for extra richness. You can use some chicken broth/stock if you like, instead of water for more flavor.

Pour your cornmeal porridge in the bottom of a baking dish and spread evenly. Allow to set for a minute.

Sprinkle the cornmeal base with shredded cheese. This is an optional step, but a tasty step.

Spoon the meat/tomato mixture over the cornmeal base, spread out.

Add some more cheese and place in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 until...

melty, gooey and all sorts of cheesey.

Serve hot and enjoy.

Breakin' News

2008-06-26T12:03:00.003-04:00

This just in...I will not, repeat: will not, be hosting Thanksgiving Dinner ON Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27, 2008.

This year we will be traveling north to The Garden State/Big Apple for that weekend.

The good news...I will host a Turkey Dinner, but the date has yet to be selected and invitations will be sent later.

Those of you who normally join us, please accept my apologies in advance and know we'll include you for the turkey dinner with all the tastings and fixin's when that is planned.

devils

2008-06-24T20:52:00.004-04:00

MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE

Sure. They are a little cute. But this little devils...I'm thru with them.

They thwarted us time and time again with the bird feeder...until we finally got them. Vaseline on the pole...they can't get to it!

Then there were the roses. They ate our roses and broke two major stems of the rose bush.

And now.

NOW they have done it.

I mentioned earlier in the week we were on track to eat our first tomato. Well. Guess what. We weren't the only ones excited. Not only did they eat the ripe, red tomato, they pulled off a green tomato and ate half of it. Not even the whole thing. They picked it off the plant. Moved it at least ten feet away and ate only half it.

AND THEN...they went over and busted off two major stems of the blackberry bush and ate the berries...and they got the blueberries...

I'm done. They better watch out. This is war.

I'm a Jerk

2008-06-23T20:47:00.004-04:00

This sandwich was so totally satisfying. Jerk Pork Sandwich.

Yes, I know...pork two nights in a row. But worth it.

I had a thin pork chop, maybe a half an inch thick. So I sliced it in half, so it was about a quarter of an inch thick. Seasoned with some jerk pork seasoning. Cook for about one minute per side. Put on a toasted, buttered bun.

Super fast. And really satisfying with those not locally grown tater tots!