It's all about food & wine

Pinkie-boo… I found my sweetheart

nobody@vox.com(MEK) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:50:15 -0700

Up on the terrace of Orrery; I found my sweetheart. It was always going to be French. It’s a Bandol. Domaine La Suffrene, 2007. And it’s a Rosé.

IMG_0626_1

Everyone is talking about Rosé. I am amazed at the polarity of opinion. There’s a real love/hate thing going on here. The jury among the chattering classes still seems to be out as to whether rosé can ever be taken seriously as a fine wine.

And was neatly captured by John Stimpfig recently in “how to spend it”. It’s basically “a bit of fun for when the sun comes out. Not a wine for contemplation. For some, the words pink, wine and fine can never be in the same sentence. It would simply be beyond the pale.

That said it’s now perfectly possible to find several heavy weight wine critics who are willing to come out in public about their predilection for pink wine. (Jancis Robinson did so this past week-end, FT Life & Arts). It’s quite a schizophrenic style, with a lot of happy-go-lucky stuff at the bargain basement end … and there are some dry, distinctive classy rosés made from some serious red grapes.”

Back to the Bandol. It’s complex. Great balance with a flowery nose and hints of gooseberry. I am told it is highly complementary with fish and charcuterie. The sommelier says “it displays the kind of character which could be summed up as Mediterranean in a glass…” bring on the serious sunshine.

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rosemary seabrass with Eduard Schuster Spätburgunder 2005

nobody@vox.com(liffey) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:50:52 -0700

Seabrass

This is an Italian recipe from the cookbook: The Silver spoon. This book is great, it are 2000+ of the best Italian recipes, name a vegetable, meat or fish and you'll get 10 recipes with each of them.

This is a recipe of sea-brass, not the filet's but the whole fish.

Place them in a baking dish on baking paper, make your baking paper big enough to cover the dish as well.

Place a whole branch of Rosemary in the fisg and some sliced garlic.
Sprinkle union, parsley and seasoning on the skin and lemon.
finish the dish by sprinkling a glass of dry white wine over the fish and cover with your baking paper, close your package well and place in the oven for 15 minutes on 200 degrees.

Appelmunt 001

I served it with carrot appelmint mousse, appelmint is a kind of mint with a little taste of apple, really nice, see the picture for the looks :-)

I served this brass with a RED wine. A German wine from Eduard Schuster from 2005, which was a beautiful summer in europe which gave some really nice wines.
This wine is from the Spätburgunder, elsewhere known as pinot noir. Is is a nice summer wine with not to much alcohol (11,5%).
It starts fresh but goed really quick to a nice sweetness with light red fruits like raspberry and strawberry. Is is like a heavy rosé, or a very light red wine, really nice with this dish with all the garlic and herbs.

Spätburgunder 016

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Rucola pesto

nobody@vox.com(liffey) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:21:59 -0700

Rucolapesto (3)

Rucolapesto (2)

Rucolapesto

Weekend!
Time to spend some minutes in the kitchen.
To start this cooking weekend i made a rucola pesto. A simple recipe and good taste with fish, chicken and cheese, so several possibility's to pimp your dinnerdish or lunch this weekend!

Shopping-list:
20 gr pine-tree pits (What the h*ll is english for that?) roasted!
40 gr of Rucola
Some sundried tomatoes (2 or 3)
50 gr of pecorino
extra virgin olive oil
Some salt.

Mix them all together with your kitchenhelp, cover with some extra oil and save in the fridge. This is usable for at least 2 weeks, and believe me, you have finished it way before :-)

I found this recipe somewhere else on the internet. in the original recipe was a piece of garlic added, but i am not so keen on garlic because it doesn't leave much space for other ingredients, much to dominant. In stead of the garlic i added the salt.

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Cucumbersoup with mint and a Argiolas Costamolino 2007

nobody@vox.com(liffey) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:19:15 -0700

Komkommersoep

Argiolas

Cucumbersoup is light and fresh, espaccially when you pimp it with mint!

Slice 2 cucumbers in the lenght and remove the seeds.
Cut into small pieces.

Chop an union and stew in butter for two minutes. Add 2/3 of the cucumer and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add 1 liter of chicken boullion and let simmer for another 30 minutes.
Add 200 ml of greece yoghurt.

Serve in deep plates and finish with some fresh chopped mint and small bits of Cucumber.
I served it with smokes salmon on french bread.

I opende a bottle of Argiolas Costamolino 2007.

It has a fresh start with a nose of mint and aniseed.
It starts a bit spicy with a long bitter end.

Another pretty good combination :-)

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Easy Breezy Garam Masala Chicken

nobody@vox.com(Cornflake Girl) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:49:31 -0700

I've always loved Indian food, and this recipe is one of my favorites: it's easy, delicious, and a hit with everyone at parties. During my pregnancy I've also noticed the spices help kick up my appetite. For those with morning sickness, the ginger in this recipe may also help alleviate some of the discomfort.

As some of you may already know, Garam Masala, or "hot (warm) spice," is a classic seasoning mix used in Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi cuisine. It is usually a mix of cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, clove, nutmeg, and caraway. I sometimes think of it as the Indian version of the Chinese "Five Spice Powder." It is versatile in quite a few different dishes but I like it best to marinade chicken with. I can throw the spices, yogurt, and other fresh seasonings together and let the drumsticks / thighs / whatever-parts-you-like marinade anywhere from 8+ hours (minimum) to several days (best), and come home to a quick dinner. For entertaining, this recipe can easily be multiplied and the prep is pretty easy.

I know there are folks who swear by the traditional method of using only whole spices they grind/mortar/pestle themselves. That's great if you have time to make the mix and marinade over the weekends....To save time on grinding fresh spices, I usually use a good store bought mix, and add my own freshly minced ginger, garlic, dried or fresh chili (depending on what I have), and lime juice. If you're short on the fresh ingredients, you can use garlic and ginger powder, but it'll taste rather flat and won't be the same. You can get pre-made Garam Masala mix at either a local supermarket like Ralph's or your Indian/Asian ethnic grocer's like 99 Ranch.

Here is my simple recipe. The portions are approximate - season to your individual liking :)

Easy Garam Masala Chicken
(For Two)

Chicken
5 or 6 - Drumsticks and / or thighs (fat trimmed), lightly slashed, with skin left on for moisture during grilling

Marinade
1 Cup - Plain yogurt (non-fat, low fat, full fat...whatever you like)
1 Tbspn - Garam Masala mix
2 Cloves - Garlic
1/2 Thumb length - Ginger
2 or 3 - small dried chilies (use less / more to taste. If using fresh, you may want to use just 1 chili)
1 Lime (if not juicy, use 2)
1 tspn - salt
Optional: twists of freshly ground black pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients together. Mix well. Spread marinade all over chicken pieces, making sure there is marinade both above and under the skin. Marinade using a non-reactive (glass) dish or ziploc bag and store in fridge overnight or for a few days (keep in meat locker or coldest part of the fridge).

Light the grill on Med/High heat. Grill chicken pieces for about 10 minutes each side and ~20 minutes total. All grills are a little different so keep an eye on the chicken - drumsticks may take a the full 20 minutes whereas thighs may take a little less time depending on the size / thickness.

I like serving garam masala chicken with healthy and simple sides - like brown basmati rice (cooked with a little bit of oil / butter and cumin seeds) and sauteed fresh green beans with garlic and almonds - to let the flavors of the chicken shine through. If you're serving wine with this dish, try: a good kabinett german Riesling; a more substantial sauvignon blanc (like a Cakebread); or a white blend with some body to it (like a Conundrum) that can stand up to and enhance the spices. Since I've temporarily stopped drinking wine and my hubby won't drink it without me, he finds that a good Belgium white brew (like Chimay White) also goes well with this chicken.

Enjoy!
CG

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Roasted Yellow Carrot Soup with Avocado, Corn & Beet Salsa

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:21:59 -0700

Roasted Yellow Carrot Soup

Making vegetable stock has become somewhat of a weekly ritual for me. The increased frequency is in part due to a tip from Bourgeois Bee. He told me that he uses his carrot tops for stock. And though I enjoy eating the carrot tops, it's more of a once in a while, not a weekly sort of thing for me. Hooray for more stock ammo!

With stock production at its peak in Julie's Kitchen and the Lakers-Celtics series going on, there couldn't have been a more perfect time to entertain. I always like starting with something light to awaken the taste buds. Sometimes it's a salad. This night is was a soup. I roasted a bunch of yellow carrots to concentrate their sweetness and add a nice brown caramelization. That equals more flavor. When you are making a vegetable puree sort of soup, the more sophisticated and complex your flavors are the better. Simple ingredients are great. Simple flavor is not. Under season your stock and your guests will wonder why you are serving them mushy baby food! Ick!

Another way to keep the flavor of simple soup from falling flat, is garnish. A nice pop of flavor. Contrast is key. You've heard of people eating watermelon with salt, right? My parents have been doing this forever. As a child this idea seemed a bit alien to me. Now I love mine with a sprinkle of fleur de sel. There is no sweetness without saltiness. Since these carrots were amazingly sweet, I wanted to accentuate their earthiness with a salsa made with roasted beets, yellow corn, Fuerte avocados and red peppers spritzed with lime juice. This lent a nice touch of acid and sweetness. This soup was well received by both Lakers and Celtics fans alike.

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Restaurant: Guido's Favorite Foods

nobody@vox.com(Paxton) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:55:49 -0700

We went to a Mensa lunch at Guido's Favorite Foods in Durango, yesterday. People in the Four Corners area of New Mexico frequently cross into Colorado to eat. It's an hour drive each way, but hey, they have a much better selection of restaurants. My County doesn't even have an Italian restaurant, except for one that I wouldn't insult the Italians with by calling it Italian.

Anyway, we both had paninis. Strix had the portobello mushroom panini, and I had the "Guido's Favorite" panini, which was pastrami, onions, roasted red peppers, provalone... God, I'm hungry again.

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coquille with salicornia and sage/almond pesto, Sauvignon 2006 touraine, les hauts Lieux.

nobody@vox.com(liffey) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:37 -0700

Coquille zeekraal

Here a nice starter, easy to prepare and impressively tasty!

First of all you'll make the sage almond pesto.
Take two hands full af sage and about 70 gr of almond. Cut it in the foodproccessor, add a good pecorino and olive oil to make smooth. This pesto will be useable for weeks.

The salicornia is shortly baked in butter (about 1 min).

Wrap some smoked ham around the coquille and cut in thin slices. Place upon the warm salicornia and serve the pesto beside.
Sprinkle some oile oil over the coquilles.

This starter needs a fresh wine, I choose for a wine frome the loire, known for the freshness in the white wines.

This wine starts really fresh but with this silty dish it gets sweetness with it, a good combination.
Sauvingon blanc 2006 Touraine, les hauts lieux.

Sauvignon 2006 005

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Tofu Parmesan Sandwich

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:17:55 -0700

Tofu Parmesan Sandwich

Running egg yolks and melting cheese are two of my favorite images of food porn. To kick those salivary glands into high gear, here's a prime example of the latter. Tofu coated in a crunchy crust of panko and Parmesan cheese. Tomato sauce spiked with fresh hand-torn leaves of basil... just beginning to soak into the bakery-fresh/still warm bread. And now for the pièce de résistance... Spicy, mouthwatering Firehouse cheddar all melty and gooey. That's what does it for me.

What about you? What turns on your drool faucet? What image simply sets off your Pavlovian response?

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Santa Monica Farmers' Market Haul

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:12:09 -0700

A little official business first...

Julie's kitchen gives two thumbs up to Food Rockz' first stab at molecular gastronomy. Here he blogs about his strawberry "raviolis". How delicious does that sound? He's a natural kitchen wizard, or should I say scientist? Prepare to be impressed.

Second on the Julie's Kitchen agenda is the screening of "Eat at Bill's", a documentary on the local food movement through the study of Monterey Market in Berkeley and its owner, Bill Fujimoto. This is going on tomorrow in Venice and best of all, it's by donation. I'm thinking that this looks like a great way to spend my afternoon.

Santa Monica Farmers' Market Haul

Here's what I'll be noshing on this week thanks to the Santa Monica Farmers' Market:
1 block of Organic Spring Hill Raw Sage Cheddar
1 block of Organic Spring Hill Mike's Firehouse Cheddar - Y'all know how I love a little heat.
1 head of radicchio - I'm thinking grilled in a salad.
3 ears of corn
1 lb of mixed baby squash
2 avocados - I got one Fuerte and one Pinkerton. Sometimes it's nice to have something other than a Hass.
1 bunch Italian Parsley
1 bunch Cilantro
1 bunch of basil
3 Cucumbers - I mean 3 GIANT cucumbers!
4 lbs of Navel Oranges
1 bunch of Russian Kale - Isn't it a beautiful shade of purple? Here's a close up shot.

Santa Monica Farmers' Market Haul

I'm starting to see the heirloom tomatoes trickle into the market, but can't wait for tomato season to be in full swing. Caprese salad here I come! Until then, I'm still very, very excited about my Russian Kale - oh and the sage cheese is so delicious too. Stay tuned...

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