Great Mojito Mint-off

*** Reminder: The Boboli Grilled Pizza Recipe Challenge still running. Check out the challenge and entry information.

Kate & Connie from Kate's Kitchen are guest posting today for a next round of herb-infused cocktails. You'll find Jason over at their blog today with a spin on a refreshing summer drink. Kate & Connie's post for a Limoncello Gin Cocktail with Thyme started it all. They then challenged us to come up with another grilled herb drink, and we posted Grilled Herb Cocktails.

Take it away Kate & Connie!

You remember the kids visit? Where we tried a different cocktail every night? Usually, Sunday nights are our cocktail nights. Connie gets out his drink cookbooks and hunts for something new and different. Or, sometimes one of us will be hungry for an old faithful. A lemon drop. Or, Clegg's margaritas. No experimenting. Just relax and enjoy something we know we love. So it was to be the evening we had mojitos. An old faithful. Well, Matt wasn't having any of that! There were three kinds of mint in the herb garden and we needed to try each and have a mint-off. Ok, fine. Sounds like fun to me. So, we made three kinds of mojitos. One with peppermint. One with spearmint. And, one with chocolate mint. When all was said and done, the chocolate mint won hands down. It was softer. Played better with the other ingredients. All five of us agreed. Therefore, in the future, chocolate mint it is. Whether it's proper or not :-)

Chocolate Mint Mojitos

2 parts rum
juice of 1/2 lime
1 part simple syrup
8 chcocolate mint leaves
club soda to taste
1 spring chocolate mint sprig for garnish

Muddle the mint leaves with the lime and simple syrup.

Really, it doesn't always take a committee to make the drinks. But, it's a lot more fun!

Pour in the rum. Shake in a cocktail mixer with ice until thoroughly chilled. Pour into glasses and top with club soda to taste. Garnish with a mint sprig.

And, serve with a smile!

The Simple Life - Pan Roasted Potatoes

Sometimes the over-complication of our lives can seep into our cooking and eating. Recipes that have a mile long ingredients list and require every cooking utensil you own. Life is hectic enough in this multi-tasking world why do we let it invade the sanctuary of our kitchen?

It took some small red potatoes from our CSA vegetable share and some fresh garden basil to snap me out of it and give that reminder to slow down a bit. Indeed less can be more. Jay and I are really enjoying the CSA and we have enjoyed many different fresh vegetables, cooking them in various ways. Two weeks in a row now we were received the most lovely small red potatoes. Ideas abound and in the past I have loved the standard “smashed” potatoes throwing everything available into them to add some flavor.

The difference this time is that the CSA has made me realize the joy of tasting my vegetables, not the sauce, not the seasoning, the actual vegetable. I decided to de-clutter my food and knowing that we had fresh basil from the garden I made the following.

Pan Roasted Basil Potatoes

1 lb small organic red potatoes
One large handful of fresh basil leaves
3 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Cut the red potatoes down to the size of the smallest potato so that they cook evenly. Place the ½ of the olive oil in the bottom of a roasting pan then add the potatoes. Add the remaining olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place the basil leaves evenly over the top of the potatoes. Roast in the oven for about 35 minutes, turning once, until golden and cooked through.

Easy, simple, delicious, zen…..

Mangia,

Margot

Exploring Indian Cooking

Since meeting many fine people from India during my gig at Fidelity I have grown to love the many flavors of Indian food. I have eaten Indian dishes from different regions in restaurants and have had recipes from several regions of India shared with me. The amazing adventure this has sent us on is really getting good.

Much like how we decide which wines to make, we have reproduced restaurant dishes several times. Different dishes require different ingredients, but sometimes technique makes the difference. The Malai Kofta I made early on was only alright, but not restaurant quality. More recently I have had a success with Tarka Dals (cooked lentils or beans with onions, spices and butter), Palak Paneer and an assortment of pre-made appetizers and breads purchased at the Indian market.

Looking to branch out I paid attention from the first episode I saw of Indian Food Made Easy on Cooking Channel. The practical applications of the dishes gets high marks. Much more like what you and I do.

This past week I cooked Besan Pudas for a second time. These are an Indian crepe style bread that are often season with spices and vegetables. The first time they contained zucchini and cumin seeds. They were good, but not that good. This time I used cracked cumin seeds and caramelized onions. Much better. I didn’t end up getting any good pictures of the finished dish, but the bubbling butter has to count for something.

Caramelized Onion Besan Pudas

1 cup gram flour

¼ rice flour (I made my own)
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp coarsely cracked cumin seeds
1 cup water
1 medium onion, sliced and caramelized

Mix all but the onions until smooth. Let sit 10 minutes.
Heat a griddle or fry pan over medium heat.
Use vegetable oil to grease pan.
Fold in the caramelized onions to the batter.
Spoon about ¼ cup of the batter per Puda on to the pan and spread thin using a circular motion.
Grill until golden on both sides.

One other repeat adventure was making the fresh cheese paneer. I used a recipe and neatly documented process from Show Me The Curry. What a rewarding experience. The taste is clean and the texture is firm when cold and nice and soft when warm.

I took the wrapped curd and hung it over the cut open milk jug. DIY paneer!

This process is very easy but takes time and must be watched closely during the early steps. We have eaten the finished cheese a couple different ways. On skewers with vegetables and a spicy yogurt sauce, in Palak Paneeer, and fried up with some butter. Any way you cook it this cheese is a nice way to eat fresh.

One of the things I needed to get a better feel for early on was spices. I still have a nice long list of Indian spices I have yet to try, mainly because the ones I am trying are so much fun.

Below is a tray of spices I laid out to use in an Indian meal I made for some new friends.

From left to right, top to bottom: Corriander (fresh gound), Cumin (fresh ground), black pepper, Garam Masala, Chili Paste, Salt, Black Cardomom pods and a western-style Curry Powder. One item that I realized should have replaced the salt was Turmeric. I use it all the time.

This past week my menu consisted of

Tarka Dal
Potato Lentil Samosa
Spinach and Onion Pakora
Besan Puda
Naan
Roti
Cucumber Tomato Raita (made at home)
Tamarind Chutney
Mango Lassi

I wrote about one version of Tarka Dal in May. The spin this week was to use a small red chili (whole), lots of cumin and sliced onions for the tarka.

The Raita was made in a simple fashion after looking at a whole bunch of recipes. I have had this a few times and I was hopeful that the cooling properties of the dish might be a nice contrast for guests.

Cucumber Tomato Raita

4 oz Greek yogurt
1 large tomato
½ large cucumber
½ tsp Lemon juice
Coarse ground coriander
Salt
Black pepper
Mint

Chop the tomato and cucumber into bit size pieces. Combine the yogurt and lemon juice. Chop 4-6 mint leaves and incorporate. Add the coriander, salt, pepper to taste. Chill before serving. This made a wonderful garnish for the breads and after I got a bite of the hot peppers used in the Dal.

This week’s meal was paired with the Ancient Fire Gewurztraminer/Riesling blend from 2008. The dishes had a little heat and the wine has a little sweet, with nice fruit flavors. The wine didn't overwhelm the food and was flavorful enough to have a nice finish. We also enjoyed one of the last bottles of the 2008 Ancient Fire Plum Dessert wine with Kheer brought by our guests. That wine is one of my absolute best!

Cheers!

Jason

Central New England Amateur Winemakers Wine Tasting - July 10, 2010

In May when Margot and I were at the WineMaker Magazine Conference we met so many wonderful people. Talking to them about similar interests made the days overwhelming. I even offered my award winning strawberry wine recipe to anyone who was interested in it. Hopefully folks are having good luck with their own batches.

We also met some local amateur winemakers that were there learning, networking and enjoying some wine for a few days.

As I alluded to in my conference recap Noel Powell (photo to the right) and I had exchanged a few e-mails before leaving for the conference and hoped to meet each other during it. We actually did, while standing in line. We hadn’t seen each other yet and both of us happened to turn in the right direction at the right time and were staring at each other. We enjoyed some meals and wine together, talked shop and had some good laughs. Noel, Margot and I sat together at dinner where we met Kelly & Robbie Rogers from NC. What a blast that night. As a table we took home 13 medals. Not bad for some folks from the East Coast!

Immediately after the awards dinner Joanne and Barry Crawford (in the picture below) found us and introduced themselves indicating they were from Georgetown, MA and were excited to meet some other local winemakers. Lucky for her Noel was there, and from Westford, MA, so she was even more excited that we WERE finding each other and lived close enough that we would be able to meet again. Joanne was also award winning from the same night, something we all thought the folks from CA should keep in mind. Joanne proposed a group tasting of our wines and we all agreed it should happen.

We all got home and e-mailed a bit with Margot and I offering up the first location and plans to kick it off. Each winemaker was encouraged to invite family and friends, we all have our fans who we love to serve our wine too! Margot and I invited a bunch of our wine tasting friends and a whole group of new faces from the Manchester Area Wine Lovers Meetup.com group. This was my second event with the group and was meeting all but one of them for the first time. I knew this was going to be good.

Noel brought a wonderful selection of wines including Revenge of the Zin, Malbec, two styles of Chardonnay, Syrah, Cranberry, Cranberry Banana and Seyval Blanc.

Joanne brought her Marilyn Merlot, Lambrusco and Pinot Noir.

Margot and I selected Amarone #1 from 2008, a Pinot Noir 2009 and the Plum/Riesling also from 2009.

The wines were received with considerable comment, some surprise and plenty of refills! All of the wines were worthy of drinking, personal tastes aside. The reds were the big winners on the day and were only matched by Noel's Chardonnays that split the group between a dry Chablis style and fuller bodied lightly oaked version.

We also collaborated with guests on snacks and ended up with a fantastic spread of cheese, crackers, spreads, cured meats, olives, filo cups, bread & oil and desserts. So many things that went well with the selection of wines. No wonder there was a period of time I was bringing the wine to the dining room where the food was. That was before I spilled some of my own wine onto me whilst pouring a fresh glass. Too funny, and I did have a buzz.

I asked my friend Josh Mazgelis if he would like to come and take pictures for the afternoon. Josh has a 365 Photoblog going and loves the opportunity to shoot so this worked great. The pictures throughout this blog are works of his and I think they go a long way to elevate the story surrounding the event. Hopefully Josh will help me learn more about working the camera with food so I can do more at home with my smaller projects.

As guests arrived we had lots of mutual introductions and joyous conversations were going on everywhere. The wine was flowing and each winemaker was serving their own, others and guests were comfortable enough to grab more as needed. It was a very relaxed and conversation filled afternoon.

(Gabriel, Geno & Noel talking wine)

(Geno telling a good story)

(I love serving wine to the ladies...)

(Joanne, Barry, Wayne, Meredith & Margot)

 

(nice arial shot of the busy tasting)

(drink up everyone!)

Chris & Nancy Obert, authors of the book The Next Harvest about New England Wineries, were able to attend something that was fully expected to be a lot of fun. We have spent time with them at NH winery events in the past, and I have attended several of their New England winery wine tastings at their home. We were excited to finally be able to invite them to our place. They hit it off with guests right away with copies of their book making the rounds and we got ours signed finally. In the picture (below and left) I have no idea what I was saying to them, but I sure look serious about it.

I had conversations about food and wine pairing, swapped winemaking tips, talked a little bit about travel and of course had fun smelling, tasting and discussing all of the wines. There were conversations about who liked what better and the various attributes of the wines and the styles they represented. One of the topics I have thrown out a couple times to test the idea is that of having a sensory evaluation party that uses foods from the market to help associate aromas and flavors with wines. Huge roars of support for something like this. Expect that to be coming later this year hopefully.

As the day wound down we grabbed some group pictures and bid farewell to new friends who we hope to see again soon.

(that is a pretty happy group of winos!)

(Me, Joanne, Noel and Geno)

The core winemaker group and some long time fans sat down to talk through the day’s fun and enjoy some more of the wines. The topic switched to that of starting a winemaking club. We all knew this was going to come up from earlier conversations, but no substance had yet been put to it. We don’t have an official name yet, but the Central New England Amateur Winemakers is descriptive enough in the short term. We do have a president. Thank you Noel! We also have a growing list of ideas of what kind of group we want to build. I am so proud to be in this place at this time to be able to get involved in this. I am hopeful that my hosting, cooking, food & wine pairing, mixology and technical skills can be applied to help our new club to great heights. You’ll hear more about us for sure!

The party cleanup was going on throughout the later part of the event and ended up being pretty manageable. But I have to thank my Mom for that; something I would have normally done but was justifiably engrossed in other things. Much thanks.

We have had a number of wine tastings and wine dinners at our house over the last few years, a trend that will continue for sure. On this day we heard returning guests talking about how much fun this event was and our new friends sure made us feel like they enjoyed themselves as well. This event was a wonderful example of how hosting can be done and why you set out to do it in the first place.

Thank you to Barry, Bob, Donna, Joanne, Josh, Margot, Noel, family, friends and the gang from meetup.com. We had a lot of fun. We’ll see you soon at the next event!

There are more photos below from the aftenoon.
Please enjoy.

Cheers!

--Jason

(Bill on the left and Chris & Nancy on the right)

(Noel carefully serving Karen some wine. Chardonnay perhaps?)

(Wayne & I)

(Amy & Brian)

(Margot and I sure had fun!)

(My Dad trying to be funny!)

(Brian, Vincent, George and Lynn)

Ancient Fire featured in the JMaz 365 Photoblog

Just wanted to pass along this great feature for Ancient Fire on my friend Josh's 365 Photoblog. Awesome photo as well! He asked what to photograph and I said to shoot whatever looked good, candid's, posed, food and wine. Excellent and work and a nice way to have a great day remembered. Thank you Josh.

http://jmazphoto.com/2010/07/corked-and-tagged-191365/

I am actually looking at the pictures later and getting my blog from the wine maker tasting earlier in the month together. The pictures came out great so expect a lot of them!

Cheers!

Jason

Grilled Pizza Recipe Contest Reminder

Jay and I are so excited to have been selected by HouseParty.com for their "Boboli Beat BBQ Boredom Grilled Pizza Party" group party. We are always looking for new ways to celebrate the summer season other than the usual burgers and dogs. Since we know that our wonderful followers appreciate a good challenge we are sharing this with all of you!


We need to come up with a variety of grilled pizzas and snacks to serve at our party. The guidelines are: the recipe must use Boboli pizza crust and be prepared using the grill. Consider savory, think sweet and ponder over appetizers. Other than that let your creativity take over and go crazy!

See the original post from July 15th at http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/grilled-pizza-recipe-challenge.html

Tour de France Foodie Blog Roundup

My love of the Tour de France started in a similar way as it did for Barbara at the Winos & Foodies blog, just one year earlier. If you haven’t read any of Lance Armstrong’s books, you should. Attitude is altitude, and we all could use an attitude boost now and again! Check out Barbara's LIVESTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow story

I wasn’t blogging at the time, and even when I started I didn’t connect the Tour, food and my blog until this year. I had some early plans of doing meal and wine pairings with key stages, but some other projects came up and I had to make a choice about the reach of competing ideas. The Tour lost. With some time I figured I could at least see what else is going on in the food blogosphere related to the tour.

The Gastronomic Duo, a blog I read often, have been profiling stages with recreated dishes and regional wines. From the first read I knew what kind of research and time goes into such an undertaking. Keep that in mind as you take a look at what others I found have been up to this year. Please read and comment on these works, they represent many individuals collaborating to celebrate many different countries coming together to compete. The best of humanity.

Winos & Foodies organized a Taste of Yellow 2010 group project for the Tour this year with different bloggers profiling the food and drink for each of the stages. I wandered through a sampling of the posts and found lots of history, geography, regional foods and of course wine. The tour is travelling through Reims (center of the Champagne region) and will be holding the time trial in Bordeaux and Pauillac so there is plenty of good wine within reach of the spectators! I'm in for next year.

David McDuff also has a stage by stage food blog going, an obvious pairing of his everyday wine blogging activities and interest in cycling. In his profile he mentions offering private sommelier services to local clients, something I will be asking some curiosity questions about for sure!

And “abc” over at the Wine Book Girl blog has her beverage focused stage by stage profiles going as well. I haven’t gotten through all of the posts yet, but the wine list from all of them will be useful region by region wine tour of France.

At this point in the Tour the riders are deep in the Pyrenees and climbing away. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Pyrenees having been ridden in the Tour, which doesn’t really matter much to me. Climbing these mountains looks hard and is not something you’ll catch me doing anytime soon!

I did a little searching of my own to better understand the food and drink you might find in the Pyrenees, a crossroads of cultures, political divisions, languages and food.

Cheese was the first thing mentioned, which always works for me. Shepards in this part of the world typically (until recently) make their own unique style of cheeses, with variations having partly to do with what animal the milk comes from and what the animal was grazing on. Charcuteries (pate, tourine), confits and other types of duck preparations came up was well.

Cassoulet is the dish the region is most known for, a flavorful casserole made from white beans and several types of meat. The dish is slow cooked and recipes are varied throughout the region.

Today’s stage 15 finish is in Bagneres de Luchon often known just as Luchon. It turns out that Luchon has two dishes that are uniquely its own, Pétéram and Pistache. Pétéram is made from sheep tripe and served with potatoes soaked in white wine. Interesting. Pistache is a stew of mutton, tarbais beans and ham. That seems a bit more my style.

The region also had a number of sweet treats that hail from it, including Croustade; an apple tart made with flambéed apples lightly wrapped in pastry. I think a tasty glass of Armangac and some Croustade sounds good to me. Especially after a tough day of watching the tour!

And finally, the beverages. There are several regional wines that like many from other winemaking regions of the world are the best fit for the local food.

Madiran is an age-worthy local red wine that is suggested to pairwell with the local cheeses, meats and cassoluet. Madiran is made from the Tannat grape which is known for its high level of tannins. This wine was described as powerful in several places I researched it.

Jurançon, a local white wine was recommended for pairing with the local foie gras. Jurançon is made from the grapes Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng and Courbu. It is made in both dry and sweet styles.

Armangac is and eau-de-vie (brandy) made in Gascon, a region in Midi-Pyrenees. It is typically served as a digestif after meals or an ingredient in the best dishes. It does not have the profile of Cognac, to which it is similar, although Armangac is the oldest brandy to be distilled in France.

Although I haven’t watched the coverage of today’s stage yet I do know the outcome and what a Tour this is turning out to be! I am still a fan of Lance and since Team Radio Shack is leading the team competition I still have a lot of cheer for. I am a fan of Cavendish for the sprinting competition, but I can’t say whether he will get there this year. I don’t have a favorite for the king of the mountains, but a Frenchman wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. For the overall winner I am a Schleck supporter and am hoping that Levi Leiphiemer can pull himself up to the third spot, but that seems like a far way off.

Cheers!

Jason

Grilled Herb Cocktails

Kate & Connie over at Kate's Kitchen challenged me to come up with a grilled herb cocktail to match the Limoncello Gin Cocktail with Grilled Thyme drink they bring to us today on their blog.

I have been making drinks using fresh herbs recently, but never grilled. What a cool challenge! I chose rosemary from my own garden and came up with two different drinks using it in its grilled form.

Here is how I grilled the rosemary. I heated up all my grill burners and then turned the one below where I placed the rosemary off to prevent burning. Grilled the sprigs of rosemary until quite fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Removed them from the grill.

I also prepared a simple syrup of 1/2 cup hot water and 1 cup sugar. I added several sprigs of grilled rosemary to to it and let it sit for a couple of hours. I strained the rosemary out and chilled the syrup before using.

Strawberry Rosemary Cooler

Rub inside of glasses with grilled rosemary.

Muddle several slices of strawberry and a few grilled rosemary leaves in the bottom of a shaker.

For each drink use: 

2 parts vodka

¼ to ½ part plain simple syrup (tune sweetness to audience)

½ part dry vermouth (e.g. Noilly & Pratt)

Shake and strain into ice filled glasses. Garnish with a rosemary sprig speared strawberry.

Grilled Rosemary Old Fashioned / Rosemary Sazerac
(this isn’t original, except for grilling the rosemary)

2 parts bourbon
1 part grilled rosemary syrup
2-4 drips of bitters (Angostura or Orange)
Wedge of orange
2 maraschino cherries

Squeeze the orange wedge into an ice filled glass. Drop wedge on top of ice. Add the bourbon, rosemary syrup and bitters. Stir to combine. Garnish with maraschinos skewered on a rosemary sprig.

The first drink tastes of spicy red pepper jam or sweet tomato tarts; it was a wonderful combination of flavors. The second one is herbed spin on a favorite classic of mine and was actually the first thing my wife said after thinking about smoky rosemary. It to, tasted great!

I ended up using some of the leftover rosemary syrup over some sliced peaches. Lots of rosemary, but sweet for breakfast.

Cheers!
 
Jason

Rum History and Boston

This is my second post focused on Boston and Rum. Earlier in the year I wrote Rum Redux & RumBa about some new rum drinks inspired by our Jamaica trip and my visit to RumBa at the Intercontinental Downtown. I've been there again but we covered that in the Valentine's Day post.

In that post I wrote that I had ordered the book "Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World" by Charles Coulombe which profiles the history of rum within which Boston and some of the adjacent cities figure prominently. At one time the majority of rum available worldwide was distilled here in the Boston area. The slave trade that backed it up is not a positive thing, but this is our history and we should try and understand how it shaped our culture and lives. The book was fascinating, providing an incredible amount of detail on how rum came to be, its ebbs and flows and it also includes recipes for drinks and dishes.

This week the Boston Globe completed voting for their Citywide Read project and the book "Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919" by Stephen Puleo was the winner. While this book isn't specifically about rum, because it set before prohibition which killed the rum business in Boston and it talks about a molasses flood it is well related and requires a look. The project will culminate in a moderated online discussion of the book and its story about this same time next month. My copy is on the way and I am looking forward to reading it and joining the conversation!

Here is a recipe for a truly funky Jamaican rum drink, something that you need some time to get used to and that packs a punch!

Jamaican Yellow Bird

1.5 oz Appleton Gold rum
0.5 oz Galliano herbal liqueur
0.5 oz Creme de Banana
0.5 oz Apricot brandy
2 oz Pineapple juice
0.5 oz Lime juice
0.25 oz Simple syrup

Combine, shake and serve over ice.

Cheers!

--Jason

Grilled Pizza Recipe Challenge

Jay and I are so excited to have been selected by HouseParty.com for their "Boboli Beat BBQ Boredom Grilled Pizza Party" group party. We are always looking for new ways to celebrate the summer season other than the usual burgers and dogs. Since we know that our wonderful followers appreciate a good challenge we are sharing this with all of you!

We need to come up with a variety of grilled pizzas and snacks to serve at our party. The guidelines are: the recipe must use Boboli pizza crust and be prepared using the grill. Consider savory, think sweet and ponder over appetizers. Other than that let your creativity take over and go crazy!

Please post your recipe and preparation instructions as a comment on this post and Jay and I will review the entries to pick a winner that will be featured at our party on August 14th. The recipe, credit to the author and pictures will show up the blog showcasing the party. The winning recipe will be prepared by and for our guests and be published alongside our own recipes made that day. Boboli and HouseParty.com will be promoting the parties meaning the winning entry will get some additional eyeballs beyond our own site.

Check out our party at http://www.houseparty.com/party/339119.

So, get crackin’ on those grilled pizza recipes and let us know what you would make if you were in our backyard on August 14th! The deadline for submission is August 7th allowing time for clarifications and planning.

Mangia!

Margot

Cellar Update - July 14, 2010

Last night I realized I hadn't done a cellar update in a while, and with all the activity there is plenty to report.

The Chilean reds are coming along nicely, the malo-lactic fermentation is nearing completion for most. The stabilization and oak aging is the next step. We have a Cab, Syrah, Cab/Syrah blend and Malbec going for a total of 32 gallons.

The newest whites are all in the stabilization and clearing phase. We blended the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Vigonier into our 2010 White Blend on the weekend. It tasted pretty good and with some time to integrate I expect it will be quite nice. The leftovers of each will be bottled once clear. The oaked and MLF'd Chardonnay is also clearing and tastes fantastic.

Margot has a batch of Blackberry Cabernet made from the berries from the VT house and 3 gallons of Cabernet juice going which we plan to bottle on the weekend. We also have to bottle the Petit Verdot which has been aging since earlier in the year.

Our fruit wine efforts are in full swing this year with 12 gallons of Strawberry nearing the completion of fermentation. We also have a full batch of Dandelion wine going, both of which should be ready for late summer / early fall drinking.

We only have a few additional batches planned for the rest of the year including peach, two kits (Spanish Rioja & South African Chenin Blanc) received from wins in recent competitions and the hotly sought after Raspberry Chocolate Port from WinExpert!

Cheers!

--Jason

Review of Bottles in Boston, 150 Posts and a New Blog Project

This is our 150th post in less than 2 years, and number 90 this year. Two years ago I would have laughed it you had told I would be writing this. Things change, just not always they way we would predict!

I didn't have my good camera today. I apologize for the camera phone shots. Whatever did we do with less technology?

I dropped in at the Bottles Wine & Beer shop today in the North End of Boston. I had been looking through some Boston wine websites and saw info on the Second Glass 2nd Annual Wine Guide, and that they might have it available at Bottles a short walk from my office. What a cool place! Purveyors of both wines and beers, this place can fulfill many food and beverage pairing dreams. Peter emerged from the back and asked how I was and if there was anything he could help with. I explained what had drawn me there and he said he didn't think they had any of the wine guides left, but I was in luck because I had could have his copy complete with a "Hello My Name Is" sticker on the front. I explained I could pick up a copy online, but Peter insisted. Awesome service for sure.

I asked what the model was for the store and he explained that they try to sell less commercialized and less processed/handled products. Music to my ears! I explained my background and focus on food pairing using both wines and beers. We talked a bit about some of the esoteric questions I have seen that will show up on the sommelier exams, an example "name one sub-region of larger wine region X", and what the knowledge was that was really being expected. It is true that learning the culture and winemaking history of the regions is the point, but the question is not asked that way; and trust me I have seen study group notes that specifically say that the Level 1 exam has questions like that on it.

I looked around a bit and Peter pointed out an interesting selection that I ended up going home with. The story with the Falernia Pedro Ximenez 2009 is that it is made from a red grape typically used for sherry in Spain, vinified white, in Chile by an Italian guy who used his home area in the name of the wine. Did you get all that? I'll let you know how the wine is, but more on that later. The beer selection is equally interesting with large format (22 oz/750 ml) offerings from DogFish Head, Brew God, Unibroue, Brooklyn Brewery, Rogue and many others. I'll be back for my pairing needs.

So as I walked back to the office I got to thinking more about the conversation I had with Peter at Bottles. I know what the background knowledge is that I want to learn about the winemaking regions of the world, but what is the best way to fit that into my current blogging activities. An answer came quickly. The Ancient Fire World Winemaking Region Tour will be kicking off shortly, and the first region we will visit (virtually of course!) will be Ribera del Duero in Spain. Margot and I will be researching each selected region to learn the history, culture, winemaking origins and cuisine. We will then re-create a meal and select a wine from that region to pair with the meal. To finish it off we will share our research and pairing experience with you. Expect the report on the Falernia wine when we get to Chile and its winemaking regions.

I have already ordered wines to get us well underway (thank you wine.com for having excellent deals on good wines and 1 cent shipping if I bought 12 bottles or more) and we expect to profile two regions per month. Research and planning will take some time for each, and we will inevitably run into the need to source ingredients to cook with that might not be easy to find where we normally shop. This project will help me better understand the wine regions around the world leaving the geographic memorization for a cramming exercise right before the exam. Having substance behind the regional information will prove to be a huge asset for sure.

The decision to train to be a sommelier was based on a new life strategy to be more open to opportunities as they come along and grab on when they do. This new mindset is working out incredibly well and I am very excited about the experiences I am having as a part of it.

Cheers!

--Jason

p.s. Right before I headed into the office I noticed Clover was busy again. Love that place!

Summer Vacation Meetup Request & Offer

If any foodies are going to be visiting New Hampshire (or southern New England) for vacation this summer and would like to hook up for a meal please let me know. We can cook in, eat out, drink some homemade wine, visit the local farm stands, you name it!

The only week I am away is the last week in August, otherwise we are around and might even have a BBQ or two that you could come along with us to. We also have some room for folks to stay if you would take a stranger up on that.

I can also offer tips for places to go, but meeitng up would be even more fun.

Drop me a line at jasonphelps@yahoo.com if you are interested.

Cheers!

Jason

Twists on Lemonade

I love lemonade in the summer. I’ve made it many times and the variations have never strayed from mint and berry or a half and half with iced tea. That was, until this summer.

It started last weekend.

For simplicity in what follows my lemonade recipe is 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of bottled lemon juice and water to 2 quarts.

I had pieces of leftover pineapple from the grilled fruit adventures. I added it, some basil leaves and made two quarts of lemonade. I shook it quite a bit and placed it in the fridge for the flavors to infuse for a while. The aroma was of savory tropical food and the taste was a wonderful blend of lemon and pineapple with a nice foundation of basil. I didn’t actually get a taste of this creation until the next day, but I had more basil lemonade a bit later in the day.

Sitting poolside with family I was alternating some homemade wine with plain old lemonade on the count of the heat. I ran out and queried my sister-in-law as to whether she had lemon juice and sugar for a refill. On the way in the house I saw her beautiful basil plant carrying some sizable leaves that needed to be picked. I asked if I could work some magic with them and received a strange face. A few minutes later I was shaking a way at a container of basil lemonade to some slanted and nervous eyes.

Those faces changed to smiles after trying some. Without a lot steeping time the basil flavor was subtle, but present. Very refreshing on a hot day.

Yesterday I made a gallon of sage lemonade to serve alongside other non-alcoholic offerings at a wine tasting we hosted at home. We made up the lemonade in the morning using two kinds of sage (purple and a traditional green style, a handful of each) and let it steep until early afternoon. The pitcher we used has built in mixing wand, which was used several times before serving to help the flavor infusion. The reception to this twist on lemonade was overwhelming, everyone who had it made a point to let me know that they found it to be extremely flavorful and interesting. I think a sage infusion happens more quickly and with that in mind I would take care not to leave the sage leaves in too long to ensure the flavor didn’t become overpowering.

You could use this as a base for cocktails as well and a Collins or a whiskey sour are the first things that comes to mind. In the most recent issue of Imbibe magazine there is a recipe for a Tequila Sage Smash that is really a sage lemonade with tequila and sweetened with honey syrup.

Cheers!

--Jason

My Grilled Fruit Experiments

With summer in full swing, I’ve been seeing mentions of grilled fruit everywhere. I have to admit that if I have grilled fruit before I must not have paid much attention to it, because I don’t recall the experience. With all the buzz I ventured to give it a whirl.

I found a few blogs recently (new to me) that have good information on grilling, both fruit and the normal fare.

The Grillin’ Fools
The Girl’s Guide to Grilling – a Foodbuzz 24x24x24
The Grill Maestro

The freshness of your ingredients is just as important when you are going to grill fruit, it should be free from bruises, mold and not be overripe to the point of falling apart. I had access to some wonderful peaches for my first experiment and the mere thought of tasty grill marks on peaches made my mouth water.

To top the grilled peaches I used 6 oz of goat cheese and 10 mint leaves, which I chopped , mixed in with the cheese. I halved the peaches, removed the pits and grilled them until warm with healthy grill marks on them. Topped with the mint goat cheese they were warm, creamy and had a wonderful combination sweet and savory flavors.

I brought these to my sister-in-law Celeste’s, another big fan of my food and wine exploits, to a pretty good reception. My brother-in-law asked why I was using his grill to cook fruit on Independence Day. As a former marine and veteran, I thanked him for his service in protecting my freedom to do something crazy on the grill. He smiled and took a peach down to see just how crazy I am.

The second dish I grilled was pineapple topped with a honeyed mascarpone cheese and chopped hazelnuts. The pineapple was cut in ½ inch slices, cored using a donut cutter (yes that was a pretty cool idea) and grilled until warm with pretty grill marks. The mascarpone cheese (16oz container) was prepared with 2 Tbsp of honey and 1/3 cup of chopped hazelnuts, mixed well. After the pineapple was grilled we cut each round into 8 pieces and skewered each with a toothpick. Finished with a dollop of the cheese these snacks did not last long. My wife heard people asking, we took them to a backyard BBQ, who made these pineapple snacks. I had a few myself…

If you want to mix it up a bit this summer try grilling some fruit. Similarly, consider grilling vegetables. I have done that quite a bit, but I do want to try the grilled guacamole recipe you can find at the Grillin’ Fools blog for something a little different.

I didn’t end up taking any pictures of these exploits because I was in a rush to get ready to head out to backyard parties both of the days. In retrospect that is a loss because both snacks would have made for great pictures. Both were excellent eats and I had fun making them, so that is something at least!

Cheers!

--Jason

Independence Day Mixology

I am really getting into making cocktails as a means to experience and play with flavors. It seems to be consuming more of my waking thoughts and the ideas are coming fast and furious. I am also finding I am drinking less. I guess exploring and enjoying flavors is making me slow down for extended appreciation.

Just last night I read about Erik Ellestad who is working through all 888 of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book. Check out his blog, the Underhill Lounge to see all the madness! I’m not that ambitious, but I can also live through his experiences to find ones of my own. He has become a focal point for mixology, cocktail history and is well known personality in a revival of craft cocktails that are more interesting than the same old tricks almost every bartender seems to know. The article and lots of other interesting stuff was in the most recent issue of Imbibe magazine.

On the 4th we rolled on over to Ed & Jim’s for their annual Independence Day BBQ. We have partied with them and their friends before, many of whom are “our people” as I often say to Margot when we meet food and beverage obsessed folks. I decided that I would pack a bar into the cooler and do some mixology and live recipe development while we kicked back and had fun. With an audience interested in trying anything I figured I would get some excellent feedback.

I packed the cooler with the following:

• Ice (of course)
• Triple-Sec
• Vodka
• Gin
• Dry Vermouth
• Hand-infused cranberry vodka
• Hand-infused basil vodka
• Hand-infused lavender syrup (2:1, with handful of lavender steeped within for 3 days)
• Lime juice
• Blueberry / Pomegranate juice
• Simple syrup (2:1)

I borrowed a shaker and strainer from Ed & Jim because I forgot the bottom to mine chilling in the freezer. We had turned around once already for a few things I forgot, so the sexy stainless shaker didn’t get to impress the crowd.

My plan was to make three different drinks and potentially some variations of each based on the feedback. The theme with the flavors was assertive fruit flavors and nice crisp acidity to quench thirst on a hot day.

1. Lavender Martini
2. Basil Vodka Gimlet

3. Cranberry Vodka Cosmo

I led off with a Lavender Martini (pic on the right) containing a vodka base with 1 part vodka, 1 part dry vermouth and 1 part lavender syrup. Assembled in shaker with ice, shaken and strained into glasses. Everyone who wanted to try any of the drinks got a small glassful. I filled full glass re-orders a bit later.

The immediate reaction was that it was too sweet. I even thought so. I moved on to the Cosmo knowing I would be back to the lavender recipe shortly.

The Cosmo included 1 part cranberry vodka, 1 part triple-sec, ½ part blueberry/pomegranate juice and a splash of lime juice. Same drill; assemble, mix and strain. This one hit with flying colors. Just the right amount of sweet and plenty of tartness from the cranberry, blueberry and pomegranate. I made several more batches of these before moving on. The last picture below is of this drink.

I got back to the lavender martini and swapped in gin for the vodka, reduced the lavender syrup to ½ part and kept the vermouth as it was. Bingo! I like the botanicals in gin so this one was more complex and exciting for me. I could see sticking with the vodka and keeping the syrup reduction for a less assertive and clean tasting drink. I didn’t make it that way because nobody asked.

The final drink was the Basil Vodka Gimlet, which can be seen in the picture at the top of the blog. I had worked out what I thought was a pretty good recipe for this at home and went with that. One part basil vodka, 1 part lime juice, ½ part simple syrup. Shaken and strained again. This one ended up winning the day. The response to the basil vodka was more than expected. It is unmistakable, but not overpowering in this drink. I had some requests to try it straight up, which I thought would be interesting. If you haven’t had it before you should seek it out or make it home (recipe below). I still have to work out a good recipe for a dry martini using the basil vodka. My initial trials were not pleasing.

The basil vodka was created using ½ of a 1.75 L bottle of Smirnoff 100 and a handful of sweet basil from my garden. I placed the washed basil in a canning jar with the vodka, closed it and shook it twice daily for 4 days. Once I felt I had a good flavorful infusion I strained off the basil and put the vodka in a clean wine bottle with a reusable cork stopper. The cranberry vodka was made using a similar process and the other half of the bottle of vodka, except that it was left to sit for 25 days, shaken twice per day. Infusion times for various ingredients’ vary and using high proof vodka is recommended for the best flavor extraction.

I found an article at bexhuff.com with some good tips on vodka infusions. 
I have some additional infusions in mind including black pepper and vanilla. My jalapeno wine is almost ready as well, and I think that will fit prominently into my ongoing mixology adventures.

Cheers!

--Jason

Carb Addicts Cure

Hi, my name is Margot and I am a carbaholic. I love sugar and I love flour. This is not a bad thing in moderation, but as I get older I find that it can have lasting side effects (going up a jean size). Most recently this has become an issue at around 3pm during the work day. I have been at work for a while and the need to have some type of baked good becomes so strong I start daydreaming about dancing cupcakes. On my weaker days this leads me to the dreaded vending machine and I consume items with the word “Hostess” on the front. Oh, the shame!

During one of these manic episodes I was reminded of an episode of Alton Browns “Good Eats” that featured a recipe for granola bars. In traditional Alton style he discussed the benefits of making them yourself versus purchasing them: less sugar, less fat, all natural ingredients, cheaper and the most important, BETTER TASTE! I hatched a plan to find the recipe and make them this weekend.

Using Alton’s recipe as a guide I made a few changes to suit them to my personal tastes (meaning chocolate). If you want Alton’s original recipe you can easily find here. This is the one I used:

• 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups
• 1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 cup sliced nuts – I used pecans and almonds
• 1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approximately 1/2 cup
• 6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed
• 1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 4 ounces organic semisweet chocolate, such as Dagoba, chopped

Directions

Butter a 9 by 11-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure you watch this carefully as they are toasting as they can go from toasted to burning very quickly.

(after 15 minutes this is what the oat mixture looked like, and it smelled wonderful!)

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the golden raisins and chopped chocolate, stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. When they come out of the oven they will still be soft and will set while cooling. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

(the whole mixture fresh out of the oven)

The granola bars were delicious with just enough chocolate and sweetness to curb the monster within. The sunflower seeds really amp up the nutty flavor while the pre-toasting of the nut and oat mixture add another layer of complexity to the bars. These granola bars are far superior to the ones that you get in the store and not that difficult to make, so they will be made again.

What a perfect weekend to declare my independence from the vending machine!

Mangia,

Margot

Two S's in Beer - Session and Summer

I have a strong beer orientation, going back 15+ years, having sampled craft beers almost everywhere I have travelled and patronizing the local specialty beer shops looking for new and interesting beers to try. That said, I was surprised a few months ago to see the word "session" associated with beer. I read articles about session beer in Stuff Boston, The Beer Advocate, various blogs and saw the term show up in advertising for the American Craft Beer Week, SlowFest and Boston Beer Week celebrations. I finally looked it up.

The Session Beer Project blog defines 'session beer' as

• 4.5% alcohol by volume or less
• flavorful enough to be interesting
• balanced enough for multiple pints
• conducive to conversation
• reasonably priced

Sourcing session beers could be a bit tricky depending on what types of beer selection your local retailers carry. My local grocery stores don't typically carry a wide enough selection to find unique styles and many beers from the small producers, and the best specialty beer stores a bit of a drive. So looking to try one on short notice would end up being luck. Otter Creek Brewing and Harpoon Brewery, both New England producers, make session styles which I believed would be most easily found in the grocery store. No on the Harpoon, and I almost missed the Otter Creek Solstice in a mixed 12 pack with the Copper Ale and Pale ale styles. Jackpot!

I added the Harpoon Summer Ale to this tasting for opposing aromas and flavors. It is not a session beer at 5.0% ABV, but since it was lower in alcohol than anything else I had at home, homemade or commercial, it seemed like a good choice.

The Otter Creek Solstice is described as containing 7 different malts creating rich malty aromas and flavors. The description also indicates that 3 types of hops, Willamette, Cascade and Amarillo, are added during the initial boil to impart a mild hoppy flavor, and a dry hopping with Amarillo hops creates the fragrant hop aromas. At 4% ABV the beer meets the first criteria above.

The Solstice has a fruity, malty nose with no head. The beer has a pale red color and the flavor is rich and complex. I noted that the acidity felt a bit lower than generally perceive in beer. At first I considered lower carbonation, but that didn't seem to be the case with continued sampling. The beer is definitely flavorful and interesting, the lower acid helped its balance, both my wife and I discussed enjoying it, and the mixed 12 pack was $16 so the price is pretty decent. I'll put a check mark next to this beer as a good example of a session beer.

For an opposing perspective we then cracked open the Harpoon Summer Ale. This beer is gold in color with light grain aromas and very mild flavors. With crisp acidity and a light body I didn't find it very interesting, but drinkable. We actually added some ginger-infused simple syrup to it and found it more drinkable! I don't often drink light, golden ales due to my opinion of their low character. If I am going to drink something I want it to be reasonably assertive.

I'll be looking for some more session beers to try in the coming months. I think they might even better matches for hot weather than the beers typically advertised at the height of summer.

Cheers!

--Jason

Story Pairing – Learning to Cook from my Mom

Today I am going to do a story pairing instead of a beverage pairing. The Manly Housewife posted a story and a recipe today for a dish from his wife’s childhood. He also considers the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next.

There is a picture in a family photo album somewhere of me banging on pots and pans in the kitchen while my mom cooks. I can’t recall how old I was, but I was pretty new. I guess it all started there. I wasn’t just playing, I was trying to mimic what I saw. I loved to eat as a kid, still do, but also developed a passion for cooking. My mother was extremely helpful showing me different techniques, teaching me about baking, and passing on some of her curiosity about food There were a lot of things I still didn’t eat until much later, but that wasn’t for a lack of trying.

The picture to the left is of me cooking pies for a fundraiser we did in 2003. The Lance Armstrong Foundation was the recipient of several thousand dollars raised selling homemade apples pies. I couldn't find a pic of Mom and I working together, but she was there and loves my apple pie.

My mother still recounts the joy she felt when my high home economics teacher told her how exciting it was to have me in class, and a boy no less! For a time I toyed with culinary school, but math and science took over and ultimately helped me develop a career as an IT consultant. I cook so much now that that choice doesn’t haunt me.

We camped a bit when I was kid; something communal with our church family during the nice weather. I was also in the Boy Scouts, an Eagle Scout actually, so I had plenty of opportunity for campfire and camp stove cooking. That style makes you resourceful and my mother always enjoyed trying different things with us around the fire, and that I was often up first to get the cooking fire going.

For years my mother would faithfully develop menus for family meals and stock the fridge so that I could take a turn at cooking dinner. When she went back to work, having a son at home to get dinner ready here and there must have been useful.

There were the cookie swaps around Christmas, countless holiday meals with the extended family and other gatherings that we collaborated on food for. I think we were both going to school to learn how to be better cooks and teach others the same. My mother never worried about what I would eat when I went off to college, I could cook. When paired up with roommates who couldn’t, I took full advantage. We all bought the groceries, I cooked, they cleaned up and I took my free beer (thanks guys) and went out and hand fun. Awesome arrangement!

These days my mother is a proud fan of my Ancient Fire wines and loves talking about how we pair wine with food, find new wines, try new foods and most recently the meeting of fellow food and wine bloggers on the Web. When we head up to the house in Vermont for the weekend there is usually a lot of conversation about what we are going to cook. When you are such a beautiful place having good food and wine is icing on the cake.

Now that I am getting around to eating some of those things I passed on as a kid my mother smiles. She gets really excited when I prepared them when she visits, because she often loves the dishes and doesn’t make them at home because my dad isn’t as fond of them. My dad is an eater, not a cook. That is not to say he doesn’t enjoy the results of our efforts, just not as much and he usually doesn’t have as much to say about it. Pour him a glass of a good scotch other hand and then you might be a while…

Cheers!

Jason