04/14/2012
04/13/2012
Coulibiac (Page 308)
RECIPE #1283
The Book describes this recipe as perfect for "weekend hobbyists." The description scared me off a bit. Indeed, the recipe is a bit time consuming (the 3 and a half hour active time is no joke) but worth it! That golden brown pastry shell that you see above was filled with salmon and a delicious mixture of rice and mushrooms. It was a beautiful, delicious dish! But I am getting ahead of myself. I started preparing this dish by poaching salmon steaks in a mixture of water, white wine, and salt. I refrigerated the poached salmon and reserved the poaching liquid. I then made the dough. I proofed the yeast then added melted butter, warm milk, eggs, sour cream, flour, and salt. I kneaded the dough then let it rise until it doubled in size. I then cooked rice in the reserved fish poaching liquid. I cooked onions in vegetable oil and butter, then cooked finely chopped mushrooms in a similar manner. I mixed the mushrooms, onions, and rice along with dill, parsley, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I then divided the dough into two pieces and rolled out one of them. I sprinkled it with bread crumbs, then spread it with rice mixture and topped the rice with the salmon. I topped the salmon with chopped hard-boiled eggs, and topped the eggs with more of the rice mixture. I then rolled out the second piece of dough and draped it over the filling. I pressed the edges to seal, cut some steam vents, and decorated with some cut-outs. I brushed the whole thing with egg wash, and baked it until it was golden brown. I then served slices of the dish drizzled with melted butter.
This dish was fantastic! The bread exterior was flavorful and texturally perfect. The salmon was also nice. What made the dish for me though was the rice mixture, which simply tasted great. It was perfectly seasoned, and the ingredients came together in a wonderful way. The dill was pronounced without being too strong. The rice itself was flavorful from being cooked in the poaching liquid. It was a wonderful complement to the fish and hard-boiled eggs. This dish claimed to serve 6, but it would easily serve 8. We froze the leftovers, and when we ate the last slice I was terribly sad to see it go. This wasn't a quick and simple dish but the effort was worth it. Yum!
This recipe isn't online.
Only 10 recipes left to go!
And suddenly, it is the middle of November. The semester is winding down (Only three and a half weeks of classes left!), the winter weather is slowly settling in, and I am left wondering, as always, where the time went! The last couple weeks, in particular, have flown by. Two weeks ago our friend John was visiting. He's a mathematician in my special gentleman's field, and he came here to give a couple talks. He stayed with us for most of a week and it was great fun. I like having mathematical visitors stay with us, but occasionally people come who are bad guests: high-maintenance, or unpleasant. John, on the other hand, is the best kind of guest: fun, easy-going, appreciative, self-sufficient, and willing to go with the flow. The three of us had a fun week: scary movies, hard work-outs, a basketball game, a dinner from The Book, etc...
This past week my special gentleman and I headed down to Virginia. We were each invited to give talks at the University of Virginia (in two different seminars) so we opted to go the same week and travel together. Our friends Mike and Tim live there, so we stayed with them, gave our talks, and worked with people in the department. I also had the opportunity to do a little cooking! Mike has participated in this project since the very beginning. The first recipe from The Book that I cooked with Mike was back in February 2006. We made Tomato Sauce. It wasn't very good, but we had a fun time making it. It was only the 39th recipe I made. Since then, the Project Index tells me that Mike has cooked and/or eaten 113 recipes from The Book with me! He has been a great supporter of this project all along, so it was wonderful to have the opportunity to cook and eat one of the last ten recipes from the project with him. As it turned out, the recipe wasn't so good. But that seemed only fitting. Mike is the only one of my friends who often says things like, "Let's cook something from The Book! Pick something that sounds gross!" It's true, he likes the culinary adventure of trying the questionable recipes. Some of them have turned out wonderfully and some of them have not (Fig Pudding comes to mind). We always have fun though! In this case, it was especially wonderful to be able to make the last seafood recipe while in a town where a variety of seafood is abundantly available (unlike here in East Lansing!). One trip to the Whole Foods a few miles from Mike's house and I found everything I needed! So my trip to Virginia was not only research productive but also productive for my project. Multi-tasking!
Now my special gentleman and I are back at home. No visitors this week. My special gentleman and I are each making short (separate) trips to Canada in the next week or so to give talks, but other than that we are in town until Thanksgiving! I'm not sure I am quite ready for the craziness of the holiday season yet, but I am starting to feel more prepared. One of my absolute favorite times of the year is the few days between when finals end and when we head to Wisconsin/Ohio for the holidays. I love going to see our families, of course, but in those few days we spend at home before we leave I work by the fireplace, bake cookies, write Christmas cards, drink hot chocolate. It is an absolutely lovely way to start the winter break. I look forward to that time every year. It's hard to believe it is only about a month away!
- Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011 -- 6pm
- Location: East Lansing, MI
- Kitchen: Our House
- Dining Companions: Matty, Helen, Charles, and Clara
- Recipe Rating: A
The Book describes this recipe as perfect for "weekend hobbyists." The description scared me off a bit. Indeed, the recipe is a bit time consuming (the 3 and a half hour active time is no joke) but worth it! That golden brown pastry shell that you see above was filled with salmon and a delicious mixture of rice and mushrooms. It was a beautiful, delicious dish! But I am getting ahead of myself. I started preparing this dish by poaching salmon steaks in a mixture of water, white wine, and salt. I refrigerated the poached salmon and reserved the poaching liquid. I then made the dough. I proofed the yeast then added melted butter, warm milk, eggs, sour cream, flour, and salt. I kneaded the dough then let it rise until it doubled in size. I then cooked rice in the reserved fish poaching liquid. I cooked onions in vegetable oil and butter, then cooked finely chopped mushrooms in a similar manner. I mixed the mushrooms, onions, and rice along with dill, parsley, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I then divided the dough into two pieces and rolled out one of them. I sprinkled it with bread crumbs, then spread it with rice mixture and topped the rice with the salmon. I topped the salmon with chopped hard-boiled eggs, and topped the eggs with more of the rice mixture. I then rolled out the second piece of dough and draped it over the filling. I pressed the edges to seal, cut some steam vents, and decorated with some cut-outs. I brushed the whole thing with egg wash, and baked it until it was golden brown. I then served slices of the dish drizzled with melted butter.
This dish was fantastic! The bread exterior was flavorful and texturally perfect. The salmon was also nice. What made the dish for me though was the rice mixture, which simply tasted great. It was perfectly seasoned, and the ingredients came together in a wonderful way. The dill was pronounced without being too strong. The rice itself was flavorful from being cooked in the poaching liquid. It was a wonderful complement to the fish and hard-boiled eggs. This dish claimed to serve 6, but it would easily serve 8. We froze the leftovers, and when we ate the last slice I was terribly sad to see it go. This wasn't a quick and simple dish but the effort was worth it. Yum!
This recipe isn't online.
Only 10 recipes left to go!
And suddenly, it is the middle of November. The semester is winding down (Only three and a half weeks of classes left!), the winter weather is slowly settling in, and I am left wondering, as always, where the time went! The last couple weeks, in particular, have flown by. Two weeks ago our friend John was visiting. He's a mathematician in my special gentleman's field, and he came here to give a couple talks. He stayed with us for most of a week and it was great fun. I like having mathematical visitors stay with us, but occasionally people come who are bad guests: high-maintenance, or unpleasant. John, on the other hand, is the best kind of guest: fun, easy-going, appreciative, self-sufficient, and willing to go with the flow. The three of us had a fun week: scary movies, hard work-outs, a basketball game, a dinner from The Book, etc...
This past week my special gentleman and I headed down to Virginia. We were each invited to give talks at the University of Virginia (in two different seminars) so we opted to go the same week and travel together. Our friends Mike and Tim live there, so we stayed with them, gave our talks, and worked with people in the department. I also had the opportunity to do a little cooking! Mike has participated in this project since the very beginning. The first recipe from The Book that I cooked with Mike was back in February 2006. We made Tomato Sauce. It wasn't very good, but we had a fun time making it. It was only the 39th recipe I made. Since then, the Project Index tells me that Mike has cooked and/or eaten 113 recipes from The Book with me! He has been a great supporter of this project all along, so it was wonderful to have the opportunity to cook and eat one of the last ten recipes from the project with him. As it turned out, the recipe wasn't so good. But that seemed only fitting. Mike is the only one of my friends who often says things like, "Let's cook something from The Book! Pick something that sounds gross!" It's true, he likes the culinary adventure of trying the questionable recipes. Some of them have turned out wonderfully and some of them have not (Fig Pudding comes to mind). We always have fun though! In this case, it was especially wonderful to be able to make the last seafood recipe while in a town where a variety of seafood is abundantly available (unlike here in East Lansing!). One trip to the Whole Foods a few miles from Mike's house and I found everything I needed! So my trip to Virginia was not only research productive but also productive for my project. Multi-tasking!
Now my special gentleman and I are back at home. No visitors this week. My special gentleman and I are each making short (separate) trips to Canada in the next week or so to give talks, but other than that we are in town until Thanksgiving! I'm not sure I am quite ready for the craziness of the holiday season yet, but I am starting to feel more prepared. One of my absolute favorite times of the year is the few days between when finals end and when we head to Wisconsin/Ohio for the holidays. I love going to see our families, of course, but in those few days we spend at home before we leave I work by the fireplace, bake cookies, write Christmas cards, drink hot chocolate. It is an absolutely lovely way to start the winter break. I look forward to that time every year. It's hard to believe it is only about a month away!
Source: http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/2011/11/coulibiac-page-308.html
Fleming Jenkins Vineyards and Winery Jeff Gordon Wines No. 99 Estates Winery
2011 Montes Cherub Rosé of Syrah
It was a Saturday morning and I was gearing up for my lunch date with Julia. Nothing too complex--sandwiches with Black Forest ham and smoked Gouda and chips with homemade aïoli. I have a lot of Chilean white wine on hand for an upcoming tasting, but was really craving a rosé. Two hours before lunch, a driver showed up with a Chilean rosé sample. Mirabile visu.The wine worked well, and after lunch I stepped out to check the mail. No letters, but I did see my neighbors a few houses down, who happen to be from Chile. We've never been particularly close, but there's no bad blood, and I was in a cheerful mood. So I popped back out with a fresh bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the Casablanca Valley and a couple of wine glasses and enjoyed a driveway tasting along with my bad attempts at speaking Spanish. Then I broke out the Chilean olive oil and some wrinkly salt cured olives and... two hours and three empty bottles later, we parted ways and I've been told that I'm getting some homemade empanadas in the future.
Folks, nothing eliminates the stuffy, serious stereotype of wine and the bunker-like isolation of suburbia like enjoying wine barefoot in the driveway.
2011 Montes Cherub Rosé of SyrahColchagua Valley, Chile
100% Syrah, Stainless Steel Fermentation
$15, 13.5% abv.
Darker than expected with a magenta hue. There's a fascinating herbal/vegetal aroma that was surprising and immediately tells you that this isn't a sweet pink wine. There's a strong fruit presence of red cherry and plum, with tart acidity and a clean finish. More tannic than most rosés. This is a substantial pink bordering on a red that is still fun and interesting, and is perfect for this kind of mild spring weather.
By the way, the label is drawn by the great Ralph Steadman, an illustrator whose frenetic ink splatters are most often associated with Hunter S. Thompson but who has also done great labels for beer and wine bottles over the years. In this one, he painted a caricature of winemaker Aurelio Montes as a diaper-clad cherub.
Note: This wine was received as a sample.
Source: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/04/2011-montes-cherub-rose-of-syrah.html
Birthday Cake Oreos
I am not, by any means, a person who lives life on the edge. I have never, as Billy Joel once sang, walked through Bedford Stuy alone or driven my motorcycle in the rain. Instead, if I feel the need to do something crazy, I'll probably just eat some over-processed, packaged baked goods. An Oreo cookie is my equivalent of an all-night bender. Okay, not quite, but as a person who runs screaming in the opposite direction from any food that contains the words High Fructose Corn Syrup or Partially Hydrogenated Oil on its ingredient list, eating an Oreo is a pretty dangerous proposition. But let's face it, sometimes, even for a goody goody like me, exceptions have to be made and the Birthday Cake Oreo had my name written all over it. Created for Oreo's 100th Anniversary, this limited edition cookie tastes and smells exactly like Funfetti/Confetti cake, that delicious sprinkle-filled cake that was my childhood favorite. And it did not disappoint. The strong vanilla scent that spilled out from the opened package immediately brought back the memories of all those birthday cakes of yore and I ate two cookies (!!) in rapid succession. Totally brilliant! If you're a Funfetti/Confetti cake fan, I would definitely recommend them, but act fast, these cookies are only available for a limited time.
Source: http://dessertgirl.blogspot.com/2012/03/birthday-cake-oreos.html
Garlic and Rosemary Jelly (Page 915)
RECIPE #1269
The Book suggests this jelly as an accompaniment for lamb, so when I made lamb as part of our Easter dinner, I figured I would take the opportunity to make this jelly as well. The ingredients for this jelly: 2 cups total of liquid (white wine plus white wine vinegar), 15 garlic cloves, 4 rosemary sprigs, a pouch of pectin, and 3 and a half cups of sugar. That's a lot of sugar. I started by sterilizing some jars. Then I chopped the garlic and combined all the ingredients except the pectin. I boiled the mixture, then stirred in the pectin and boiled some more. I strained the jelly to separate the rosemary and garlic from the rest. I divided the rosemary and garlic between jars, then poured in the jelly. I sealed and processed the jars in a boiling water canner. This jelly was not delicious. Generally speaking I am a huge fan of sweet and savory combinations, but in this case it just did not work for me. The jelly was extremely sweet, jet garlicky. It also had a very non-uniform consistency, with the chopped garlic sinking to the bottom. I tried the jelly on its own. I also tried it with lamb. And I concluded that I couldn't think of one possible use for it. We still have several jars of it sitting in the cupboard, but I think they are going to find their way into the trash soon. This recipe was not good.
The recipe is here.
Only 24 recipes left to go!
I don't think I have ever in my life been quite so enamored with summer as I am this year. It is 9pm on a Wednesday evening. I worked hard today, and now I am sitting at the dining room table eating a raspberry truffle chocolate bar that Georgina gave me for my birthday in April. I am drinking white wine left over from Monday evening when some of my girlfriends came over. I have squab stock simmering on the stove and Lori McKenna playing loudly in the kitchen. The little kitty is curled up on the chair next to me and the big kitty is looking out the screen door. And I feel completely relaxed. I. Love. Summer.
This past weekend I had what may have been the perfect summer weekend. On Friday evening, after I got home from work, I took a two hour bath. I lounged in the bath tub, reading magazines and luxuriating. After my bath my special gentleman and I watched a terrible movie. It was great. Saturday I spent the day cooking from The Book. I made four recipes (which at this point is a pretty decent percentage of what I have left to make!). I cooked all day in a leisurely, no-stress fashion. In the evening we had a bunch of friends over to eat the results. We sat on the porch, eating turkey and not-eating tripe. The weather was perfect. After dinner we ate the best strawberry shortcake I have ever had (made by Helen!) and played board games. It was a lovely summer day. On Sunday we spent most of the day in the yard, weeding, pruning, talking to the neighbors. In the evening we walked over to the stadium on campus to see U2 in concert. The concert was great and the atmosphere was great. I ate concession stand food and danced through the whole concert. It was awesome. I didn't work at all this weekend. And more importantly, I didn't feel guilty about it. I worked very hard all through the academic year. I worked seven days a week nearly every week. So this summer if I take some weekends off I am choosing to do so without guilt!
The fantastic thing about summer is that without teaching there is a little more time in the day. Time to cook. Time to exercise. Time to take care of administrative things. Yesterday we had someone come out to the house to give us an estimate on the cost of putting on a roof deck. This morning before work we went to the bank to start the paperwork for refinancing from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage. I am checking things off my To-Do list that have been there for months and it feels good! We are spending nearly all of July at home in Michigan and I have high hopes for the month. I am going to plow through both my work To-Do list and my non-work To-Do list. I am going to cook from The Book like a crazy person. I am going to exercise every day. And most importantly, in the evening if I feel like sitting around, sipping white wine and eating chocolate, that is what I am going to do. I love summer!
- Date: Sunday, April 24, 2011 -- 1pm
- Location: East Lansing, MI
- Kitchen: Our House
- Dining Companions: Matty, Helen, Charles, Clara, Emilee, Brian, Sam, Georgina, Bob M, Teri, Terry, Corbett, Mary, Allison, Kendra, Jubin, Watson, and Mark W
- Recipe Rating: C-
The Book suggests this jelly as an accompaniment for lamb, so when I made lamb as part of our Easter dinner, I figured I would take the opportunity to make this jelly as well. The ingredients for this jelly: 2 cups total of liquid (white wine plus white wine vinegar), 15 garlic cloves, 4 rosemary sprigs, a pouch of pectin, and 3 and a half cups of sugar. That's a lot of sugar. I started by sterilizing some jars. Then I chopped the garlic and combined all the ingredients except the pectin. I boiled the mixture, then stirred in the pectin and boiled some more. I strained the jelly to separate the rosemary and garlic from the rest. I divided the rosemary and garlic between jars, then poured in the jelly. I sealed and processed the jars in a boiling water canner. This jelly was not delicious. Generally speaking I am a huge fan of sweet and savory combinations, but in this case it just did not work for me. The jelly was extremely sweet, jet garlicky. It also had a very non-uniform consistency, with the chopped garlic sinking to the bottom. I tried the jelly on its own. I also tried it with lamb. And I concluded that I couldn't think of one possible use for it. We still have several jars of it sitting in the cupboard, but I think they are going to find their way into the trash soon. This recipe was not good. The recipe is here.
Only 24 recipes left to go!
I don't think I have ever in my life been quite so enamored with summer as I am this year. It is 9pm on a Wednesday evening. I worked hard today, and now I am sitting at the dining room table eating a raspberry truffle chocolate bar that Georgina gave me for my birthday in April. I am drinking white wine left over from Monday evening when some of my girlfriends came over. I have squab stock simmering on the stove and Lori McKenna playing loudly in the kitchen. The little kitty is curled up on the chair next to me and the big kitty is looking out the screen door. And I feel completely relaxed. I. Love. Summer.
This past weekend I had what may have been the perfect summer weekend. On Friday evening, after I got home from work, I took a two hour bath. I lounged in the bath tub, reading magazines and luxuriating. After my bath my special gentleman and I watched a terrible movie. It was great. Saturday I spent the day cooking from The Book. I made four recipes (which at this point is a pretty decent percentage of what I have left to make!). I cooked all day in a leisurely, no-stress fashion. In the evening we had a bunch of friends over to eat the results. We sat on the porch, eating turkey and not-eating tripe. The weather was perfect. After dinner we ate the best strawberry shortcake I have ever had (made by Helen!) and played board games. It was a lovely summer day. On Sunday we spent most of the day in the yard, weeding, pruning, talking to the neighbors. In the evening we walked over to the stadium on campus to see U2 in concert. The concert was great and the atmosphere was great. I ate concession stand food and danced through the whole concert. It was awesome. I didn't work at all this weekend. And more importantly, I didn't feel guilty about it. I worked very hard all through the academic year. I worked seven days a week nearly every week. So this summer if I take some weekends off I am choosing to do so without guilt!
The fantastic thing about summer is that without teaching there is a little more time in the day. Time to cook. Time to exercise. Time to take care of administrative things. Yesterday we had someone come out to the house to give us an estimate on the cost of putting on a roof deck. This morning before work we went to the bank to start the paperwork for refinancing from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage. I am checking things off my To-Do list that have been there for months and it feels good! We are spending nearly all of July at home in Michigan and I have high hopes for the month. I am going to plow through both my work To-Do list and my non-work To-Do list. I am going to cook from The Book like a crazy person. I am going to exercise every day. And most importantly, in the evening if I feel like sitting around, sipping white wine and eating chocolate, that is what I am going to do. I love summer!
Source: http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/2011/06/garlic-and-rosemary-jelly-page-915.html
Fleming Jenkins Vineyards and Winery Jeff Gordon Wines No. 99 Estates Winery
2010 Domaine de la Tourmaline Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie
Muscadet is a light white wine from France traditionally paired with oysters. And I love oysters, but I really don't like shucking them myself. I know a few places around town where I can have dozens of Ameripure oysters for next to nothing, and while I like the restaurant standard oyster, I really miss traveling to other cities where I could try a dozen different east coast or west coast bivalves depending on what was in season. Tiny salty ones paired with a grapefruit granita or big buttery ones served with mignonette sauce... Anyway, I chose to buck tradition and regions and serve the wine with pasta and rapini.
2010 Domaine de la Tourmaline Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lieMade by Gadais Père & Fils
Melon de Bourgogne
$14, 12% abv.
This is distributed in the US by Cognac One, known to me as the provider of the various interesting wines of Xavier Flouret that I've reviewed over the years. Light floral nose with a touch of lemony acidity and a great mineral tone. Overall mild body and a slight finish. I haven't had many restrained French whites recently and this was a pure delight to try. While it would work great with oysters or other fresh shellfish, I defend my choice to pair it with the following dish.
Speaking of minerals, geology fans will enjoy the fact that the name includes the semi-precious stone tourmaline and that the grapes grew in soil full of mica gneiss, a type of metamorphic rock.
Yes, when taking a walk, I pick up odd rocks and have a bit of training in the subject.
For the pasta dish, I started with olive oil and diced shallots and garlic, followed by red bell pepper and a big dollop of tomato paste. I added chicken stock and white wine, and after reduction, I introduced chopped rapini to let the leaves wilt and the stalks and blossoms to soften. At the last minute I introduced sliced salsiccia, sweet Italian sausage that I'd previously simmered then browned. A dash of dried pepper flakes, a little red wine vinegar, a few other touches of magic and a final toss of shredded Asiago cheese with the tongs, and we've got a good meal. This was a very fun wine pairing, and although the Loire is not near the Mediterranean, I like mixing French/Italian/Spanish foods with French/Italian/Spanish wines. I do so in the tradition of Phoenician traders 3000 years ago. I'm guessing they didn't get too picky about matching the right grape to the right culinary tradition, and their Egyptian customers were probably even less discerning.
Folks, as you pop a cork and let fermented grape juice fall out of a bottle, never forget that you're experiencing history in a glass.
Note: This wine was received as a sample.
Source: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/03/2010-domaine-de-la-tourmaline-muscadet.html
04/12/2012
Cauliflower Soup
Another soup recipe! Well, we tend to eat more soups at the moment, since Titus really likes them. This one is from a great cookbook called River Cottage Baby & Toddler cookbook, and it's a very basic and simple soup. Definitely one for beginners in the kitchen - but you can spice it up any number of ways, so don't mistake basic for boring!
Good toppings include crispy bacon, croutons, or blue cheese. Feel free to pile on as many toppings as you'd like. Also, add more water or stock if you feel that your soup is too thick, or if you want it even creamier, add a spoon or two of cream.
As usual, I didn't completely follow the original recipe - that one had celery in it, too.
Cauliflower Soup
Serves 4-6
25 g butter
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
200 g potatoes, diced
1 kilo cauliflower, coarsely chopped
750 ml stock (chicken or vegetable), or water
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper
Melt the butter in a large pot, and gently fry the onion, garlic and potatoes on medium heat, covered, until softened.(7-8 minutes or so.)
Add cauliflower and stock or water, which should just about cover the vegetables. Add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes. The cauliflower and the potato should be completely soft and cooked through.
Remove the bay leaf, and use a stick blender to purée the soup. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with your chosen toppings.
Recipe in Swedish:
Blomkålssoppa
© Anne's Food, all rights reserved.
Source: http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/04/cauliflower-soup.html
Garlic and Rosemary Jelly (Page 915)
RECIPE #1269
The Book suggests this jelly as an accompaniment for lamb, so when I made lamb as part of our Easter dinner, I figured I would take the opportunity to make this jelly as well. The ingredients for this jelly: 2 cups total of liquid (white wine plus white wine vinegar), 15 garlic cloves, 4 rosemary sprigs, a pouch of pectin, and 3 and a half cups of sugar. That's a lot of sugar. I started by sterilizing some jars. Then I chopped the garlic and combined all the ingredients except the pectin. I boiled the mixture, then stirred in the pectin and boiled some more. I strained the jelly to separate the rosemary and garlic from the rest. I divided the rosemary and garlic between jars, then poured in the jelly. I sealed and processed the jars in a boiling water canner. This jelly was not delicious. Generally speaking I am a huge fan of sweet and savory combinations, but in this case it just did not work for me. The jelly was extremely sweet, jet garlicky. It also had a very non-uniform consistency, with the chopped garlic sinking to the bottom. I tried the jelly on its own. I also tried it with lamb. And I concluded that I couldn't think of one possible use for it. We still have several jars of it sitting in the cupboard, but I think they are going to find their way into the trash soon. This recipe was not good.
The recipe is here.
Only 24 recipes left to go!
I don't think I have ever in my life been quite so enamored with summer as I am this year. It is 9pm on a Wednesday evening. I worked hard today, and now I am sitting at the dining room table eating a raspberry truffle chocolate bar that Georgina gave me for my birthday in April. I am drinking white wine left over from Monday evening when some of my girlfriends came over. I have squab stock simmering on the stove and Lori McKenna playing loudly in the kitchen. The little kitty is curled up on the chair next to me and the big kitty is looking out the screen door. And I feel completely relaxed. I. Love. Summer.
This past weekend I had what may have been the perfect summer weekend. On Friday evening, after I got home from work, I took a two hour bath. I lounged in the bath tub, reading magazines and luxuriating. After my bath my special gentleman and I watched a terrible movie. It was great. Saturday I spent the day cooking from The Book. I made four recipes (which at this point is a pretty decent percentage of what I have left to make!). I cooked all day in a leisurely, no-stress fashion. In the evening we had a bunch of friends over to eat the results. We sat on the porch, eating turkey and not-eating tripe. The weather was perfect. After dinner we ate the best strawberry shortcake I have ever had (made by Helen!) and played board games. It was a lovely summer day. On Sunday we spent most of the day in the yard, weeding, pruning, talking to the neighbors. In the evening we walked over to the stadium on campus to see U2 in concert. The concert was great and the atmosphere was great. I ate concession stand food and danced through the whole concert. It was awesome. I didn't work at all this weekend. And more importantly, I didn't feel guilty about it. I worked very hard all through the academic year. I worked seven days a week nearly every week. So this summer if I take some weekends off I am choosing to do so without guilt!
The fantastic thing about summer is that without teaching there is a little more time in the day. Time to cook. Time to exercise. Time to take care of administrative things. Yesterday we had someone come out to the house to give us an estimate on the cost of putting on a roof deck. This morning before work we went to the bank to start the paperwork for refinancing from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage. I am checking things off my To-Do list that have been there for months and it feels good! We are spending nearly all of July at home in Michigan and I have high hopes for the month. I am going to plow through both my work To-Do list and my non-work To-Do list. I am going to cook from The Book like a crazy person. I am going to exercise every day. And most importantly, in the evening if I feel like sitting around, sipping white wine and eating chocolate, that is what I am going to do. I love summer!
- Date: Sunday, April 24, 2011 -- 1pm
- Location: East Lansing, MI
- Kitchen: Our House
- Dining Companions: Matty, Helen, Charles, Clara, Emilee, Brian, Sam, Georgina, Bob M, Teri, Terry, Corbett, Mary, Allison, Kendra, Jubin, Watson, and Mark W
- Recipe Rating: C-
The Book suggests this jelly as an accompaniment for lamb, so when I made lamb as part of our Easter dinner, I figured I would take the opportunity to make this jelly as well. The ingredients for this jelly: 2 cups total of liquid (white wine plus white wine vinegar), 15 garlic cloves, 4 rosemary sprigs, a pouch of pectin, and 3 and a half cups of sugar. That's a lot of sugar. I started by sterilizing some jars. Then I chopped the garlic and combined all the ingredients except the pectin. I boiled the mixture, then stirred in the pectin and boiled some more. I strained the jelly to separate the rosemary and garlic from the rest. I divided the rosemary and garlic between jars, then poured in the jelly. I sealed and processed the jars in a boiling water canner. This jelly was not delicious. Generally speaking I am a huge fan of sweet and savory combinations, but in this case it just did not work for me. The jelly was extremely sweet, jet garlicky. It also had a very non-uniform consistency, with the chopped garlic sinking to the bottom. I tried the jelly on its own. I also tried it with lamb. And I concluded that I couldn't think of one possible use for it. We still have several jars of it sitting in the cupboard, but I think they are going to find their way into the trash soon. This recipe was not good. The recipe is here.
Only 24 recipes left to go!
I don't think I have ever in my life been quite so enamored with summer as I am this year. It is 9pm on a Wednesday evening. I worked hard today, and now I am sitting at the dining room table eating a raspberry truffle chocolate bar that Georgina gave me for my birthday in April. I am drinking white wine left over from Monday evening when some of my girlfriends came over. I have squab stock simmering on the stove and Lori McKenna playing loudly in the kitchen. The little kitty is curled up on the chair next to me and the big kitty is looking out the screen door. And I feel completely relaxed. I. Love. Summer.
This past weekend I had what may have been the perfect summer weekend. On Friday evening, after I got home from work, I took a two hour bath. I lounged in the bath tub, reading magazines and luxuriating. After my bath my special gentleman and I watched a terrible movie. It was great. Saturday I spent the day cooking from The Book. I made four recipes (which at this point is a pretty decent percentage of what I have left to make!). I cooked all day in a leisurely, no-stress fashion. In the evening we had a bunch of friends over to eat the results. We sat on the porch, eating turkey and not-eating tripe. The weather was perfect. After dinner we ate the best strawberry shortcake I have ever had (made by Helen!) and played board games. It was a lovely summer day. On Sunday we spent most of the day in the yard, weeding, pruning, talking to the neighbors. In the evening we walked over to the stadium on campus to see U2 in concert. The concert was great and the atmosphere was great. I ate concession stand food and danced through the whole concert. It was awesome. I didn't work at all this weekend. And more importantly, I didn't feel guilty about it. I worked very hard all through the academic year. I worked seven days a week nearly every week. So this summer if I take some weekends off I am choosing to do so without guilt!
The fantastic thing about summer is that without teaching there is a little more time in the day. Time to cook. Time to exercise. Time to take care of administrative things. Yesterday we had someone come out to the house to give us an estimate on the cost of putting on a roof deck. This morning before work we went to the bank to start the paperwork for refinancing from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage. I am checking things off my To-Do list that have been there for months and it feels good! We are spending nearly all of July at home in Michigan and I have high hopes for the month. I am going to plow through both my work To-Do list and my non-work To-Do list. I am going to cook from The Book like a crazy person. I am going to exercise every day. And most importantly, in the evening if I feel like sitting around, sipping white wine and eating chocolate, that is what I am going to do. I love summer!
Source: http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/2011/06/garlic-and-rosemary-jelly-page-915.html
T
For Christmas, Julia got me an assortment of gitfts including some looseleaf tea and a strainer from Teavana. Here you're looking at the Celestial Temple blend, a Chinese high-elevation mix of black tea leaves. I am not a tea expert or a snob. While I appreciate using a tea ball or other device like this strainer for using looseleaf, 99% of my tea consumption in my lifetime has been via bags. At work I mostly use bags of green tea, herbal tea, or Earl Grey depending on my mood and the season. I often head to the coffee maker and hear a yelp of "It's not ready yet" when I'm just siphoning off some hot water from the release valve on top of the machine. That's what the spigot is for, people.
In fact, for the past week I've had a little seasonal sinus trouble, and a gentle green tea with the perfect amount of dried orange peel made the start to each day so much happier.
At right you see a double dose of the Celestial Temple in the Teavana strainer, resting in a Pyrex measuring cup. Normally you just use a mug for a single serving, but I wanted to capture the color of the tea while it was steeping. The tea is rich and aromatic, with notes of flowers and honey. It's nice because you get a full-bodied brew and the requisite caffeine kick but with great complexity and interesting aromas that will be fun for the wine enthusiast. I do have to mention that growing up in Memphis, tea was one of my earliest beverages and one of the first things I learned how to make. Though always in the iced form. Brew four bags in a half gallon of water for five minutes, remove bags, add a quarter cup of sugar, let cool, pour into pitcher and cover. The alternative was reserved for holidays: essentially an Arnold Palmer called "Payne Tea" after my Mom's maiden name. We would squeeze lemons and make pulpy gallons of this beverage and, to this day, none of us have ever suffered from scurvy.
High school got me into hot tea, partially as an extension of Anglophilia but also as a desire to try as many different culinary traditions as possible. Celestial Seasonings was widespread at the time and I had a blast working my way through their boxes of teabags. A night with the South American "Morning Thunder"/yerba mate was a transcendental experience of listening to trance radio and not sleeping for 36 hours. But these days, I approach tea in a much different way. I don't add milk or sweeteners or anything else. Just the leaves, in water slightly lower than boiling, and sip at the temperature that makes me the happiest. Sure, I get some weird stares occasionally and people wonder why I'm looking at my watch for a few minutes before I drink something, but the ritual and the swirling of the colors in the water always make me happy, whether at work, or sitting in an airport, or crouched on top of a mountain where it's taken forever to get the water up to temperature. As you sip the tannic liquid you can reflect upon centuries of British tradition and more centuries of Chinese/Indian agriculture, or you can simply accept the caffeine hit, let your belly get happy from the warmth, and be glad about the whole process... until the mug goes cold and it's time to start over.
04/11/2012
Our 10 Most Popular Stories This Week
Loads of gin for the win (great with brisket tacos)
Read the full post on Food Republic »
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodRepublic/~3/DAzJonM4QXo/our-10-most-popular-stories-week
What We're Reading: Wednesday, April 11
A survey of food and drink stories from the Web
- Mad Men and Bugles, A Free Advertising Conundrum - Vulture
- Sushi-Bots Are The Anti-Jiro, Create 3,600 Per Hour - LA Weekly
- How to Eat A Full English Breakfast - The Guardian
- Skip The Egg Yolk, Skimp On Nutrition - Chicago Tribune
- Kitchit: Dinner Is Served - Gear Patrol
- Can You Eat The Rind On Brie? - CHOW
- Two Old Ladies Now Running Social Media For Kraft Mac and Cheese - AdWeek
Got a great link that's piqued your interest today? Either tip us off or tell the world in the comments.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodRepublic/~3/Um8t-Y_2Y8w/what-were-reading-wednesday-april-11
Wine For Normal People Radio: Episode 43 -France
This week we do a 10,000 foot overview of the motherland of winemaking: France. Here are the notes: 
First we cover a little about the French wine industry and why it's so important (big $$ here!)
After covering major grapes grown in France, we talk about the history of the country and how it got its start as a wine juggernaut.
We re-address the concept of terroir and then get into the major regions and what you'll find in each. The regions we covered are:
- Alsace on the German border, which mainly makes whites of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat, and Silvaner.
- Then we hop to Champagne -- we all know what's there!
- We take a jog over to the Loire, covering the Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, the Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc in Touraine and Anjou-Saumur, and then talk about Muscadet, the strange name that's neither a region nor a grape (more on that in this post).
- Next, we head to Burgundy and talk about three grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Gamay. Yup, that's it...you'll have to listen to figure out why the region is so complex!
- Then we're down to the Rhône Valley for Syrah, and the whites Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne in the northern part and red blends made of mostly Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre in the south and Grenache blanc/Marasanne, and Roussanne for whites.
- We briefly talk about the MASS production of the Languedoc and Roussillon regions and then cap off the podcast with the big daddy of them all: Bordeaux, where we talk about red, white, and sweet blends.
It's a long one, but it will give you a good grounding in what you can find where. That way when we talk about each region on future podcasts, you'll have a reference point!
Here's a link: http://winefornormalpeople.podbean.com/2012/03/15/ep-043-france/
If you like the podcast, please review it on iTunes, drop a comment below, or join the awesome conversation on Facebook (Wine For Normal People page) and Twitter @normalwine!
If you've got a question you want us to answer, post it on any of those places and we'll include it on the show!
Thanks for listening! We can't wait to hear from you!
Podcast music: "Café connection" by morgantj / CC BY 3.0, ©2009 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)
Map: Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/wine-for-normal-people-radio-episode-43.html
The Seeker Wines
Over the years I've reviewed multiple wine brands that collect various bottles from different parts of the globe under a centralized marketing scheme. It's a concept that I like, and if you buy the whole set you can pour an exciting "tour of the globe" if your guests are into geography and the romance of the vine. It's also a quick study for those hoping to expand their horizons a bit in a safe and inexpensive manner. Today's example is The Seeker, and once again, I was seduced by labels, dominated by old prints of early airships. A lot of people don't realize that hot air balloons were flying shortly after the American Revolution and that gliders were sailing before the American Civil War. Such designs and prints are now a major part of the steampunk aesthetic and a wistful hope that blimps and zeppelins and other lighter-than-air craft had become major modes of transportation.
But it's not just a dream of an alternate history. The famous LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin flew over a million miles from 1928-1937 and touched down on fields all over the globe. The Seeker website features some fictional aviators and aviatrices with stories of exotic travels, but in the notes below I'll talk about the real life flight pioneers pictured on the labels.
2009 The Seeker Sauvignon BlancMarlborough, New Zealand
$15, 13.5% abv.
Full of grapefruit, touch of sweetness, firm acidity. On the finish there are some tropical fruit and floral elements, but the grapefruit peel is the dominant factor. I'd say serve this with some aggressively spiced grilled shrimp where the wine won't overpower the food.
This label shows an early hydrogen-filled balloon made by Vincenzo Lunardi, who toured around England in the 1780s. Boat oars were used for steering, though were not terribly effective. Lunardi barnstormed around England in a for a while before returning to his home country.
2008 The Seeker Pinot NoirFrance
$15, 12.5% abv.
This is labeled as Vin de Pays Vignobles de France, a table wine designation covering the entire country that was only in use for a short time between 2007 and 2009. It has been replaced by Vin de France. This is a plump and fruit-forward Pinot Noir with lots of blueberries and blackberries. Medium tannins and a splash of tart raspberry round out the flavor. It's reminiscent of some Languedoc Pinot Noirs I've had in the past, and while it will never be Burgundy, it's a good burgers and BBQ wine. I served it with pulled pork shoulder and it made for a fun Saturday lunch bottle.
The label features the Giffards Steam Airship, built by Henri Giffard in 1852. A gondola hanging from the hydrogen-filled dirigible was propelled by a steam-powered propellor and steering could be accomplished by the use of a rudder. (Like the oars and anchor of Lunardi's balloon, early airships used a lot of naval engineering elements and terms.) It was a very successful proof of concept for navigable airships.
Note: These wines were received as samples.
Source: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/04/seeker-wines.html
04/10/2012
The Seeker Wines
Over the years I've reviewed multiple wine brands that collect various bottles from different parts of the globe under a centralized marketing scheme. It's a concept that I like, and if you buy the whole set you can pour an exciting "tour of the globe" if your guests are into geography and the romance of the vine. It's also a quick study for those hoping to expand their horizons a bit in a safe and inexpensive manner. Today's example is The Seeker, and once again, I was seduced by labels, dominated by old prints of early airships. A lot of people don't realize that hot air balloons were flying shortly after the American Revolution and that gliders were sailing before the American Civil War. Such designs and prints are now a major part of the steampunk aesthetic and a wistful hope that blimps and zeppelins and other lighter-than-air craft had become major modes of transportation.
But it's not just a dream of an alternate history. The famous LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin flew over a million miles from 1928-1937 and touched down on fields all over the globe. The Seeker website features some fictional aviators and aviatrices with stories of exotic travels, but in the notes below I'll talk about the real life flight pioneers pictured on the labels.
2009 The Seeker Sauvignon BlancMarlborough, New Zealand
$15, 13.5% abv.
Full of grapefruit, touch of sweetness, firm acidity. On the finish there are some tropical fruit and floral elements, but the grapefruit peel is the dominant factor. I'd say serve this with some aggressively spiced grilled shrimp where the wine won't overpower the food.
This label shows an early hydrogen-filled balloon made by Vincenzo Lunardi, who toured around England in the 1780s. Boat oars were used for steering, though were not terribly effective. Lunardi barnstormed around England in a for a while before returning to his home country.
2008 The Seeker Pinot NoirFrance
$15, 12.5% abv.
This is labeled as Vin de Pays Vignobles de France, a table wine designation covering the entire country that was only in use for a short time between 2007 and 2009. It has been replaced by Vin de France. This is a plump and fruit-forward Pinot Noir with lots of blueberries and blackberries. Medium tannins and a splash of tart raspberry round out the flavor. It's reminiscent of some Languedoc Pinot Noirs I've had in the past, and while it will never be Burgundy, it's a good burgers and BBQ wine. I served it with pulled pork shoulder and it made for a fun Saturday lunch bottle.
The label features the Giffards Steam Airship, built by Henri Giffard in 1852. A gondola hanging from the hydrogen-filled dirigible was propelled by a steam-powered propellor and steering could be accomplished by the use of a rudder. (Like the oars and anchor of Lunardi's balloon, early airships used a lot of naval engineering elements and terms.) It was a very successful proof of concept for navigable airships.
Note: These wines were received as samples.
Source: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/04/seeker-wines.html
Monticello AVA North Fork of Roanoke AVA Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA
A very cool table
And she's feeding me well. Yesterday, a delicious pasta sauce with broccoli and peanuts, and tonight a pie with more broccoli and sweet potato. And we made tiny macarons!
© Anne's Food, all rights reserved.
Source: http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/02/very-cool-table.html
Arneis: A Born Again Italian White
As I continue my quest for awesomeness and value in Italy, I dipped into the world of whites. I've traditionally shied away from Italian whites since, with the exception of a few from the south, I find most of them to have a bitterness and watery quality that are missing umph, for lack of a better description. I think of Italy as red wine country and with good reason.
But there ar
e some interesting whites to be discovered. And Arneis (are-NAYS) is one of them. A pain in the arse to grow and known in the local dialect of the northwestern Piedmont region from which it hails as "little rascal" because of that, this grape has a solid comeback story. Since we all love the underdog, I think this one deserves a little love.
Arneis is a white grape. It's an oddball in that it grows right in the heart of red wine country. Expensive red wine country, at that. And it's for that reason that the grape almost went the way of the dinosaur. When you have to compete with Nebbiolo in northwest Italy from which the famed and esteemed wines of Barolo and Barbaresco are made, it's a hard roe to hoe to for a white wine to get some cred.
But then again, relative to how long they've been making wine, this area only just had its
debutante ball, so reds didn't have much fame either. For most of its history the Piedmont, north of Tuscany, was completely isolated. People were born and died in the towns around the areas of the Langhe (said Lang-GAH, the heart of wine country here) without ever leaving. Tourism was non-existent and the wines, made of the elusive, difficult to grow red Nebbiolo, sometimes with a little of the Arneis thrown in to soften the tannic, acidic wine that resulted, weren't known the world around. The fog drenched mornings and cooler days made a nice place for the native grapes, but no one outside the region cared all that much.
Then things changed in the Piedmont. The wine producers of the area broke with tradition and started making more drinkable, commercially appealing red wines from the Nebbiolo grape, using modern methods. The results were amazing and brought interest, tourism (there are apparently wonderful restaurants in the area and lots of swanky places to stay, it's high on my list to visit since when I lived in Florence in college there was nothing to visit there!), and money to this once sleepy area...and edged out Arneis. The poor little rascally white wasn't made or needed as a blender since the wines became 100% red Nebbiolo. Since Arneis was hard to grow and had a tendency towards oxidation, which can make a wine taste like nail polish remover or rusty metal, not too many people were sad to see it go.
But a few folks kept tradition
alive in a small area called Roero and in the larger area called the Langhe. The grape went from 2 producers in the 1970s to multiple producers making more than 1 million gallons of the stuff today.
Ceretto is a big producer in the Piedmont, making mostly reds and some white. Their Arneis is pretty huge -- its 600,000 bottles represent 10% of all whites from the region alone. Kind of a big player.
Here's the breakdown of the wine...
The Wine: 2009 Ceretto Blangé, Arneis Langhe
The Grape: 100% Arneis
Alcohol: 11.5%
Where it's from: Alba/Langhe, in the northeast Piedmont region of Italy.
Color: Brassy, almost like a trumpet color the wine had a tiny bit of orange in it too -- that's a sign of oxidation so I was on watch for some weird flavors. The wine had little bubbles because the winemakers keep carbon dioxide in the wine from fermentation to give it a little texture, compensating for the grape's low acid.
Smell: The wine smelled a little sharp -- like a fresh cut lemon. It was like tart apples, unripe pears, and then like rocks baking in the sun or gravel.
Taste: It tasted like a green apple Jolly Rancher. Against the candied thing though, there was a little bitter, unripe pear flavor and a nuttiness too. The wine was a little smokey -- like a campfire -- which I liked. It had some good acid and a slight bubbly thing from that carbon dioxide I mentioned before.
Drink or sink?: A toss up. It's not a bad wine, but it's not great either. It could be nice with a pea/veggie risotto or a light salad but this is a very typically Italian white -- a little bitter, and not super memorable. When there's so many amazing whites from France, Spain, South Africa, New Zealand, the US and more, I'm not going to be grabbing this on a regular basis. That said, for my porch in the summer, this could be a candidate.
But there ar
e some interesting whites to be discovered. And Arneis (are-NAYS) is one of them. A pain in the arse to grow and known in the local dialect of the northwestern Piedmont region from which it hails as "little rascal" because of that, this grape has a solid comeback story. Since we all love the underdog, I think this one deserves a little love.Arneis is a white grape. It's an oddball in that it grows right in the heart of red wine country. Expensive red wine country, at that. And it's for that reason that the grape almost went the way of the dinosaur. When you have to compete with Nebbiolo in northwest Italy from which the famed and esteemed wines of Barolo and Barbaresco are made, it's a hard roe to hoe to for a white wine to get some cred.
But then again, relative to how long they've been making wine, this area only just had its
debutante ball, so reds didn't have much fame either. For most of its history the Piedmont, north of Tuscany, was completely isolated. People were born and died in the towns around the areas of the Langhe (said Lang-GAH, the heart of wine country here) without ever leaving. Tourism was non-existent and the wines, made of the elusive, difficult to grow red Nebbiolo, sometimes with a little of the Arneis thrown in to soften the tannic, acidic wine that resulted, weren't known the world around. The fog drenched mornings and cooler days made a nice place for the native grapes, but no one outside the region cared all that much.Then things changed in the Piedmont. The wine producers of the area broke with tradition and started making more drinkable, commercially appealing red wines from the Nebbiolo grape, using modern methods. The results were amazing and brought interest, tourism (there are apparently wonderful restaurants in the area and lots of swanky places to stay, it's high on my list to visit since when I lived in Florence in college there was nothing to visit there!), and money to this once sleepy area...and edged out Arneis. The poor little rascally white wasn't made or needed as a blender since the wines became 100% red Nebbiolo. Since Arneis was hard to grow and had a tendency towards oxidation, which can make a wine taste like nail polish remover or rusty metal, not too many people were sad to see it go.
But a few folks kept tradition
alive in a small area called Roero and in the larger area called the Langhe. The grape went from 2 producers in the 1970s to multiple producers making more than 1 million gallons of the stuff today.Ceretto is a big producer in the Piedmont, making mostly reds and some white. Their Arneis is pretty huge -- its 600,000 bottles represent 10% of all whites from the region alone. Kind of a big player.
Here's the breakdown of the wine...
The Wine: 2009 Ceretto Blangé, Arneis Langhe
The Grape: 100% ArneisAlcohol: 11.5%
Where it's from: Alba/Langhe, in the northeast Piedmont region of Italy.
Color: Brassy, almost like a trumpet color the wine had a tiny bit of orange in it too -- that's a sign of oxidation so I was on watch for some weird flavors. The wine had little bubbles because the winemakers keep carbon dioxide in the wine from fermentation to give it a little texture, compensating for the grape's low acid.
Smell: The wine smelled a little sharp -- like a fresh cut lemon. It was like tart apples, unripe pears, and then like rocks baking in the sun or gravel.
Taste: It tasted like a green apple Jolly Rancher. Against the candied thing though, there was a little bitter, unripe pear flavor and a nuttiness too. The wine was a little smokey -- like a campfire -- which I liked. It had some good acid and a slight bubbly thing from that carbon dioxide I mentioned before.
Drink or sink?: A toss up. It's not a bad wine, but it's not great either. It could be nice with a pea/veggie risotto or a light salad but this is a very typically Italian white -- a little bitter, and not super memorable. When there's so many amazing whites from France, Spain, South Africa, New Zealand, the US and more, I'm not going to be grabbing this on a regular basis. That said, for my porch in the summer, this could be a candidate.
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/arneis-born-again-italian-white.html
What Is Malt Vinegar?
Malt vinegar: a British condiment worth its salt
If you've ever been to a place with fish and chips on the menu, malt vinegar is a good condiment to know and love. Malt is the term for germinated and dried grains of barley, used in adding a rich, nutty, toasty flavor to some of our very favorite things. Like beer. And milkshakes. And the vinegar we copiously shake onto fish and chips (which is made with beer batter and therefore also contains malt).
What's really great about malt vinegar is that it's made directly from ale, just like red wine vinegar is made from wine. When the booze is ready, it's fermented until it's vinegar. The result is a milder, sweeter and more complex flavor range than plain white vinegar, which is just acid and water.
Besides being a versatile condiment in the British fried food world, malt vinegar makes a great gastrique or simple salad dressing mixed with olive oil and fresh herbs.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodRepublic/~3/MkQcfoi3Q5U/what-malt-vinegar
04/09/2012
Wine For Normal People Radio: Episode 35 -- Wine Traditions for New Year's
Wine Traditions around the world are pretty interesting. In this episode we discuss the coolest ones.
This is a complement to the article I just wrote for Travel Belles so if you want to read and listen...
Here's the link to the article: TRAVEL BELLES
Here's the link to the podcast: Episode 35
And here is what the episode is all about
First we take a listener question from @mjgraves on Twitter about when to drink Cabernet Sauvignon. (Write in or call us and you'll be on the show! Call 800-599-8478 (in the U.S.) or 1-415-226-9105 and dial extension 5 to leave your question for the Wine For Normal People Podcast, and I'll answer it in an upcoming episode!)
- Spanish Traditions and Cava
- Italian Traditions and Prosecco/Franciacorta
- Chilean Traditions and gold rings in the bubbles, Portuguese Traditions and Vinho Verde, Germany and Sekt, French Champagne, English speaking countries = boozing it up and fireworks. Grape of the week: Pinot Meunier
Listen and you'll get why I'll be lugging a suitcase around my block at midnight, while shoving some grapes in my mouth! Happy New Year!
If you like the podcast, please review it on iTunes, drop a comment on the Wine For Normal People blog, or join the awesome conversation on Facebook (Wine For Normal People page) and Twitter @normalwine!
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2011/12/wine-for-normal-people-radio-episode-35.html
04/08/2012
Wine For Normal People Radio Voted "Best New Arts" Podcast for 2011 by Apple/iTunes!!
Wow! I can't believe it. In my daily life I kind of just do my thing, so it was a huge surprise when a friend of mine alerted me to the fact that Wine For Normal People Radio was chosen by Apple as one of the Best New Arts Podcasts of 2011 in their annual Rewind (and yes, no one alerted me or even so much as sent me an Apple to reward me!!!). The honor was bestowed in early December, but I guess better late than never! Check it out!
Thank you so much for listening and for making us a top pick in 2011. Here's to some great stuff in 2012...including video!
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2011/12/wine-f.html
Cookbook Watch - Highly recommended!
Today, I have two really, really, really good cookbooks to tell you about. (Both are in Swedish - I sure hope they'll make it into translation, so more can enjoy them.) I'm really excited about both, and have been ever since I knew they were in the making, and I'm also lucky enough to have met both authors - great guys.
First, "Den Franske Bagaren" ("the French Baker") by Sébastien Boudet. He is indeed a French baker, and a pastry chef. I've taken a course for him before, and wrote about that experience here. You can find his blog here. This is man who firmly believes that anything worth doing is worth doing well. Very well, actually. There's no room for inferior ingredients, substitutes, or haste. You want pancakes? Well, you start the day before, because then they'll be the best they can be. No compromise.
And I love this. I don't live by it - far from - but I do admire the ideas and the steadfastness of it all. And most of all, of course, the food. Or in this case, the bread, the food and the pastries. The book has detailed instructions for lovely bread (not the kind of thing you whip up in an afternoon - some take three days), beautiful pastries and desserts, and also rustic French food like Potato au Gratin (with one litre of heavy cream!). I will definitely cherish this book, and enjoy trying out the recipes. And I really do mean to get back to my sourdough baking... now that I'm about to spend a year at home with the new baby (another month to go), maybe I'll manage!
Next, Daniel Roos beautiful "Desserter med stil" ("Stylish desserts"). Daniel is a very tall pastry chef with huge hands, who still manages to make the daintiest little things. (You can find his blog here.) His desserts are truly works of art, which is definitely reflected through the gorgeous photos in this book. He freely shares his recipes, and while the recipes are short and to the point, they're also un-complicated and confident.
That said, I couldn't help laughing when I came to the last chapter, which is called "advanced desserts". They are. But I think most people would probably call the whole book quite advanced, and even a bit intimidating. Well, I'm not saying these recipes are for everyone - you DO want to be somewhat experienced in the kitchen - but he's really making restaurant-style plated desserts much more approachable for the home cook. Now, I plan to try a lot of these - but realizing my limits, I won't be upset if I don't manage to plate them as beautifully as Daniel does. I'll settle for great flavors! And for confidence, I plan to start with his Tiramisu, which isn't scary at all. This is truly a book for dessert lovers who want to take things to a new level.
© Anne's Food, all rights reserved.
Source: http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/03/cookbook-watch-highly-recommended.html
What We're Reading: Friday, April 6
A survey of food and drink stories from the Web
- How To Feed The World After Climate Change - Slate
- For Two Food Giants, Defining Fresh Fruit Is Not Cut And Dried - The New York Times
- Nicholas Sarkozy Bans Cheese On Presidential Table - International Business Times
- In Season: Stinging Nettles - YumSugar
- Hidden Valley For Everything Ranch Dressing: The Next Ketchup - Huffington Post
- Some Jews Say Bugs Have No Place At The Seder Table - NPR
- Anthony Bourdain Will Be Publishing Marilyn Hagerty - Eater
Got a great link that's piqued your interest today? Either tip us off or tell the world in the comments.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodRepublic/~3/XHouJr5ZbsU/what-were-reading-friday-april-6
Steel
Recently I was staring at my old baking sheet and marveled at its smooth, nonstick surface. It's not due to a Teflon coating or an anodized finish. Rather, food doesn't stick to it because it's been in continuous use for 40 years. It's an Ekco, perhaps from 1972 as best Mom can recall. A sheet of steel that was probably stamped out in a Rust Belt factory just like thousands of others. It has a brother--a round sheet that's pretty battered and beaten but can still cook a pizza. When I was a kid this baking sheet was used to make biscuits and cinnamon rolls and cookies and lots of other baked goods. Since it was handed down to me in the mid-90s, I've used it for those purposes as well as a million other things. Yesterday it was used to heat up frozen crab legs dusted with a little Old Bay seasoning.
It was difficult to get a good shot of the cooking surface, since you're looking at black on black. So I took it outside and first snapped a shot of the bottom. Not quite as seasoned, but there's nothing shiny or gray. A little rust here and there. Despite four decades of use the baking sheet isn't warped or bent, and it doesn't have any holes from rust or damage. It won't last forever, but it's certainly performed far beyond what anyone could have imagined.
When you're photographing something that is dark, it helps to go with brighter light, and you can't get a lot brighter than the sun on a clear day. In this picture you can see some of the patterns in the patina, but more significantly the nonstick coating that has built up over the years allowed me to see my own reflection. A white t-shirt, a big SLR camera over my face, and the blue sky behind me. This pan and a few bowls and other items are remnants from my parents' wedding in 1972 and early years together before I came along in 1976. Sunday they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. As I gaze into my reflection in this otherwise unremarkable piece of metal, I know that I'm in the pan and the pan is in me. The food cooked on it allowed me to grow up and build bone and muscle, and every meal meant a few iron atoms that strayed from the pan to the food to my bloodstream. Likewise, I've burned myself on the pan many times, adding my own contribution to the patina of the lip and edges.
There's a lot of enthusiasm about that which is new and exciting and sparkly, but there's also a great deal to be said for that which is still going strong after so many years and shows no signs of stopping.
Source: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/02/steel.html
04/07/2012
Birthday brunch!
Happy birthday Dagmar!
© Anne's Food, all rights reserved.
Source: http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/03/birthday-brunch.html
04/06/2012
Roast Turkey with Herbed Bread Stuffing and Giblet Gravy (Page 376)
RECIPE #1272
This recipe called for a kosher turkey, which Helen and Charles kindly bought for me in Ann Arbor a few months back. The bird had been sitting in my basement freezer for a while, so I decided it was about time we thawed it and celebrated Thanksgiving in June! I started by seasoning the bird with salt and pepper. The recipe gives you the option of either stuffing the bird with the Herbed Bread Stuffing, or baking the stuffing separately. I chose the latter, as I am a nut about food safety. I had already made the stuffing part of this recipe once, but I went ahead and made it again so that we could have the full experience of the turkey plus stuffing.
I roasted the bird for half an hour in a hot oven, then reduced the temperature of the oven and poured some butter over the bird. I roasted it until it was done, basting every 20 minutes. While the turkey was resting I baked the stuffing. Then I made the gravy. I deglazed the roasting pan with the Turkey Giblet Stock then added defatted pan juices. I whisked some of the turkey fat with flour to form a roux, then added the stock mixture and whisked until the gravy was slightly thickened. This was a solid turkey recipe, with a tasty stuffing and gravy. Everyone enjoyed it, but I probably won't make it again. There is such potential with turkey to make the bird really flavorful, and/or the gravy really flavorful, and/or the stuffing really flavorful, and this recipe had none of that. It was classic: turkey seasoned only with salt, pepper, and butter. Gravy made from only the pan juices and turkey stock. Stuffing with only a few vegetables and herbs. I prefer turkey recipes which are a little more exciting. My old standby roast turkey involves a flavorful brine and a gingersnap gravy. Yum! Or my recent favorite, the Grilled Turkey with Cranberry Gravy is bursting with flavor. This recipe just couldn't hold a candle to either of those. That said, there was nothing wrong with it. If you are looking for a truly simple and classic turkey dinner, this is the recipe for you.
The recipe is here.
Only 21 recipes left to go!
After a few glorious weeks at home, we are hitting the road again. Tomorrow my special gentleman and I are headed back to Europe. I am speaking at a conference next week in Germany. My special gentleman is speaking the following week at a conference in Denmark. His thing in Denmark is two weeks long, starting Monday, while my conference is only a week (also starting Monday). So we are flying from Detroit to Copenhagen together, then we will get on trains headed two different directions. I will head down to Hamburg, Germany, and he will head off to Aarhus, Denmark. I will meet him in Aarhus once my conference is over, and once his conference is done we will fly back together. It should be a fun trip, although given my love of being at home, and my hatred/fear of flying, it's always hard for me to rally for such a thing.
On the upside, this trip is much less logistically complicated than the last Europe trip. There are many fewer destinations, the destinations are easier to get to, and the trip is just shorter. So in comparison, planning for this one has been a piece of cake. That said, I am still scrambling today to get the house ready for the housesitter, get my talk ready, get the things done I had hoped to finish before I left, etc.
I am also wondering where my summer has gone. We are returning from this trip in mid-August. The weekend following our return our good friends Mike and Tim are getting married, so we are headed to upstate New York for their wedding. The weekend after that my in-laws are coming to visit us in Michigan. And a few days after they leave, the semester starts again. The summer is rapidly winding down, I am sad to say. I started the summer with an ambitious list of fun things I wanted to do in the summer months, in addition to an ambitious list of work things I wanted to do. I am disappointed to say that I haven't finished either list. I have made particularly poor progress on my list of fun activities (e.g. I haven't made it to a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game, or to the zoo, or to the Sleeping Bear Dunes...). There's still some time I suppose. This evening, though, there are no fun activities in store for me (except perhaps a trip to Tasty Twist). Instead I will be packing, cleaning, and desperately attempting to get my life in order. And tomorrow, it's back to Europe!
- Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011 -- 6pm
- Location: East Lansing, MI
- Kitchen: Our House
- Fellow Chef: Matty
- Dining Companions: Helen, Charles, Clara, Whitney, and Chris C.
- Recipe Rating: B
This recipe called for a kosher turkey, which Helen and Charles kindly bought for me in Ann Arbor a few months back. The bird had been sitting in my basement freezer for a while, so I decided it was about time we thawed it and celebrated Thanksgiving in June! I started by seasoning the bird with salt and pepper. The recipe gives you the option of either stuffing the bird with the Herbed Bread Stuffing, or baking the stuffing separately. I chose the latter, as I am a nut about food safety. I had already made the stuffing part of this recipe once, but I went ahead and made it again so that we could have the full experience of the turkey plus stuffing.I roasted the bird for half an hour in a hot oven, then reduced the temperature of the oven and poured some butter over the bird. I roasted it until it was done, basting every 20 minutes. While the turkey was resting I baked the stuffing. Then I made the gravy. I deglazed the roasting pan with the Turkey Giblet Stock then added defatted pan juices. I whisked some of the turkey fat with flour to form a roux, then added the stock mixture and whisked until the gravy was slightly thickened. This was a solid turkey recipe, with a tasty stuffing and gravy. Everyone enjoyed it, but I probably won't make it again. There is such potential with turkey to make the bird really flavorful, and/or the gravy really flavorful, and/or the stuffing really flavorful, and this recipe had none of that. It was classic: turkey seasoned only with salt, pepper, and butter. Gravy made from only the pan juices and turkey stock. Stuffing with only a few vegetables and herbs. I prefer turkey recipes which are a little more exciting. My old standby roast turkey involves a flavorful brine and a gingersnap gravy. Yum! Or my recent favorite, the Grilled Turkey with Cranberry Gravy is bursting with flavor. This recipe just couldn't hold a candle to either of those. That said, there was nothing wrong with it. If you are looking for a truly simple and classic turkey dinner, this is the recipe for you.
The recipe is here.
Only 21 recipes left to go!
After a few glorious weeks at home, we are hitting the road again. Tomorrow my special gentleman and I are headed back to Europe. I am speaking at a conference next week in Germany. My special gentleman is speaking the following week at a conference in Denmark. His thing in Denmark is two weeks long, starting Monday, while my conference is only a week (also starting Monday). So we are flying from Detroit to Copenhagen together, then we will get on trains headed two different directions. I will head down to Hamburg, Germany, and he will head off to Aarhus, Denmark. I will meet him in Aarhus once my conference is over, and once his conference is done we will fly back together. It should be a fun trip, although given my love of being at home, and my hatred/fear of flying, it's always hard for me to rally for such a thing.
On the upside, this trip is much less logistically complicated than the last Europe trip. There are many fewer destinations, the destinations are easier to get to, and the trip is just shorter. So in comparison, planning for this one has been a piece of cake. That said, I am still scrambling today to get the house ready for the housesitter, get my talk ready, get the things done I had hoped to finish before I left, etc.
I am also wondering where my summer has gone. We are returning from this trip in mid-August. The weekend following our return our good friends Mike and Tim are getting married, so we are headed to upstate New York for their wedding. The weekend after that my in-laws are coming to visit us in Michigan. And a few days after they leave, the semester starts again. The summer is rapidly winding down, I am sad to say. I started the summer with an ambitious list of fun things I wanted to do in the summer months, in addition to an ambitious list of work things I wanted to do. I am disappointed to say that I haven't finished either list. I have made particularly poor progress on my list of fun activities (e.g. I haven't made it to a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game, or to the zoo, or to the Sleeping Bear Dunes...). There's still some time I suppose. This evening, though, there are no fun activities in store for me (except perhaps a trip to Tasty Twist). Instead I will be packing, cleaning, and desperately attempting to get my life in order. And tomorrow, it's back to Europe!
Source: http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/2011/07/roast-turkey-with-herbed-bread-stuffing.html
No. 99 Estates Winery Terry Hoage Vineyards Pursued by Bear Wine
Wine For Normal People Radio: Episode 40 -Tasting Wine To Get The Most Out of It
M.C. Ice and I are so grateful for all the wonderful feedback! As usual, we celebrate and thank you for your support by going through shout outs from iTunes, Facebook, a
nd Twitter -- all amazing! We appreciate you all so much.
nd Twitter -- all amazing! We appreciate you all so much.Then, we address a question that I've been hearing a ton lately: What kind of additives are in wine? (As a preview, they're not related to Velveeta or Cheese Whiz, even though the name "additive" evokes those highly-processed foods!).
For the main topic, this week we take a practical look at how to taste wine to get more out of your experience.
- We get down & dirty, giving you new ideas on how to evaluate what you're tasting.
- Why it's important to look at the wine, swirl it, smell it, and what to look for while tasting.
- Our goal: have you slow down the process of tasting so you can figure out what you like and don't like, so you can get more of the former and avoid the latter!
If you like the podcast, please re
view it on iTunes, drop a comment below, or join the awesome conversation on Facebook (Wine For Normal People page) and Twitter @normalwine!
Thanks for listening! We can't wait to hear from you!
Podcast music: "Café connection" by morgantj / CC BY 3.0, ©2009 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0).
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2012/02/wine-for-normal-people-radio-episode-40.html
04/05/2012
Silvaner: Another White Grape of Germany
I guess 
you could call Sylvaner, or Silvaner as the Germans spell it, the Dracula wine since it's super old and we think it originated in Transylvania. Also, it's pale and if it gets too much light, it turns to ruin -- a watery, crappy wine results. That said, it survives off normal stuff (not blood) and would probably be a great pairing with garlic, so I'll drop the analogy here.
Silvaner is a white grape that used to be the darling of Germany. Migrating from the Austrian Empire (of which Transylvania was part) to Germany and then to Alsace, France, this old grape was recorded in Deutschland as early as 1659 by the Castell Estate,in Franken (more on the region below). That means Silvaner has been part of the winemaking tradition in Germany for over 350 years. The name means forest in Latin. Some people think it's because the grapes were wild-growing, but to quote the "X-Files," "the truth is out there" -- no one knows.
It's a weird grape. It's super neutral. At it's best it's light with some honeysuckle, honeydew, pear, and sometimes basil or fresh herb flavor and a good dose of salty mineral tang. Unlike the enamel busting acidity in Riesling, it's a pretty chill grape in terms of mouthwatering tartness. It's weak point: if it's allowed to grow out of control, it tastes like alcoholic lemon water...And grow out of control it did.
After World War II, it became the grape du jour of Germany, accounting for almost a third of all plantings there in the 1960s. It went into the worst bulk wine -- Liebfraumilch (Blue Nun) -- and lived up to its alcoholic lemon water reputation. That is, in everywhere except the Anbaugebiete (wine region, ahn-bah-gah-beet-ah) of Franken, in Bavaria in the southeastern part of Germany (in the map, left, it's the tan blob on the right). Here, viticulturists take great care of their Silvaner vines and as a result the wines are refreshing, flavorful, and great summer sippers.
And they better do Silvaner well, because they can't really grow Riesling here -- the cold winters and long dry summers don't work for grapes that ripen late, and that's Riesling (it needs a long, moderate growing season to do its thing).
Kind of an offbeat and not really exported wine, you can also find good Sylvaner from Alsace , France (different spelling, same grape), where it's considered a "noble" grape...at least in one small area called "Zotzenberg." Alsace Sylvaner is flavorful and more honey-like than the German stuff -- not surprising since that's a hallmark of Alsace wines. You may also see some from Northern Italy, where it kind of resembles more floral Pinot Grig
io.
The one I tried was sent to me by Valckenberg (free, yes but I'll still be honest, as I always am). One other thing about wine from Franken -- it usually comes in this weird bottle called a bocksbeutel that's squat and fat and looks like a cheap bottle of crap wine from the 70s or like really cheap men's cologne. This one's in a normal bottle, but I just thought I'd give you a heads up in case you go shop for one of these suckers and see this freaky bottles and get scared. Here's the low down:
The Wine: 2010 Fürstlich Castell Castell Silvaner, Trocken (means dry)
The Grape: 100% Silvaner
Alcohol: 11.5%
Price: $16
Where it's from: Franken, Germany
Color: Like pear juice, this was a little golden and brassy. It looked like the wine was going to have some heft, which I was happy for -- other Silvaners I've had have been watery and gross. This looked promising.
Smell: To me, this wine was all about the earth or terroir. It was like salty, wet rocks (think of a waterfall), and even a little like a just-sharpened pencil. Kind of like lemons and honeysuckle, the wine seemed light but still interesting.
Taste: This tasted like what it smelled like but there was someth
ing a little puzzling about the wine too. Yeah, I got the minerals, salt, and lemon but the wine, which never saw oak, kind of tasted like oak. It had a slight caramel thing going on. Could be from the slight sweetness/the touch of sugar in it. I don't know, but it seemed strangely oaky.
Drink or sink?: Drink, sort of. This isn't a heavy hitter of a wine or anything that's going to rock your world, but with summer coming on in the northern hemisphere, this isn't a bad one to grab with light summer food -- salads or light fish or pasta with herbs and olive oil, that kind of stuff. It's unoffensive, interesting, and different. Would I got out of my way to find it? No, but if you come across it, it's a good entry into trying Silvaner. That said, you may want to spend another $5 when you have it for a better version to really see how this grape sings. That's what I plan to do.
Have you had Silvaner or Sylvaner? What did you think? Please share your experience!
you could call Sylvaner, or Silvaner as the Germans spell it, the Dracula wine since it's super old and we think it originated in Transylvania. Also, it's pale and if it gets too much light, it turns to ruin -- a watery, crappy wine results. That said, it survives off normal stuff (not blood) and would probably be a great pairing with garlic, so I'll drop the analogy here. Silvaner is a white grape that used to be the darling of Germany. Migrating from the Austrian Empire (of which Transylvania was part) to Germany and then to Alsace, France, this old grape was recorded in Deutschland as early as 1659 by the Castell Estate,in Franken (more on the region below). That means Silvaner has been part of the winemaking tradition in Germany for over 350 years. The name means forest in Latin. Some people think it's because the grapes were wild-growing, but to quote the "X-Files," "the truth is out there" -- no one knows.
It's a weird grape. It's super neutral. At it's best it's light with some honeysuckle, honeydew, pear, and sometimes basil or fresh herb flavor and a good dose of salty mineral tang. Unlike the enamel busting acidity in Riesling, it's a pretty chill grape in terms of mouthwatering tartness. It's weak point: if it's allowed to grow out of control, it tastes like alcoholic lemon water...And grow out of control it did.
After World War II, it became the grape du jour of Germany, accounting for almost a third of all plantings there in the 1960s. It went into the worst bulk wine -- Liebfraumilch (Blue Nun) -- and lived up to its alcoholic lemon water reputation. That is, in everywhere except the Anbaugebiete (wine region, ahn-bah-gah-beet-ah) of Franken, in Bavaria in the southeastern part of Germany (in the map, left, it's the tan blob on the right). Here, viticulturists take great care of their Silvaner vines and as a result the wines are refreshing, flavorful, and great summer sippers.
And they better do Silvaner well, because they can't really grow Riesling here -- the cold winters and long dry summers don't work for grapes that ripen late, and that's Riesling (it needs a long, moderate growing season to do its thing).
Kind of an offbeat and not really exported wine, you can also find good Sylvaner from Alsace , France (different spelling, same grape), where it's considered a "noble" grape...at least in one small area called "Zotzenberg." Alsace Sylvaner is flavorful and more honey-like than the German stuff -- not surprising since that's a hallmark of Alsace wines. You may also see some from Northern Italy, where it kind of resembles more floral Pinot Grig
io.The one I tried was sent to me by Valckenberg (free, yes but I'll still be honest, as I always am). One other thing about wine from Franken -- it usually comes in this weird bottle called a bocksbeutel that's squat and fat and looks like a cheap bottle of crap wine from the 70s or like really cheap men's cologne. This one's in a normal bottle, but I just thought I'd give you a heads up in case you go shop for one of these suckers and see this freaky bottles and get scared. Here's the low down:
The Wine: 2010 Fürstlich Castell Castell Silvaner, Trocken (means dry)
The Grape: 100% Silvaner
Alcohol: 11.5%Price: $16
Where it's from: Franken, Germany
Color: Like pear juice, this was a little golden and brassy. It looked like the wine was going to have some heft, which I was happy for -- other Silvaners I've had have been watery and gross. This looked promising.
Smell: To me, this wine was all about the earth or terroir. It was like salty, wet rocks (think of a waterfall), and even a little like a just-sharpened pencil. Kind of like lemons and honeysuckle, the wine seemed light but still interesting.
Taste: This tasted like what it smelled like but there was someth
ing a little puzzling about the wine too. Yeah, I got the minerals, salt, and lemon but the wine, which never saw oak, kind of tasted like oak. It had a slight caramel thing going on. Could be from the slight sweetness/the touch of sugar in it. I don't know, but it seemed strangely oaky.Drink or sink?: Drink, sort of. This isn't a heavy hitter of a wine or anything that's going to rock your world, but with summer coming on in the northern hemisphere, this isn't a bad one to grab with light summer food -- salads or light fish or pasta with herbs and olive oil, that kind of stuff. It's unoffensive, interesting, and different. Would I got out of my way to find it? No, but if you come across it, it's a good entry into trying Silvaner. That said, you may want to spend another $5 when you have it for a better version to really see how this grape sings. That's what I plan to do.
Have you had Silvaner or Sylvaner? What did you think? Please share your experience!
**Photo of Silvaner grape attribution: Däisd at the German language Wikipedia.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/sylvaner-another-white-grape-of-germany.html
Joshuadoaks
Fine dining enthusiast.
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