NH Live Free & Wine Festival – June 13, 2010

On June 13th, 2010 fifteen of New Hampshire’s commercial wine and cider makers and over two dozen related vendors set up their tables at Flag Hill Winery in Lee, NH. The NH Live Free & Wine Festival was sponsored by the New Hampshire Winery Association a group of local wine, cider and mead makers of which we have been members in the past. With 700+ tickets having sold out in advance I’m sure each proprietor was well aware of how long of a day they were in for.

We arrived at right about noon for the beginning of the event, hoping to avoid a line and potentially not being able to taste popular wines that hadn’t lasted as long as others. The logistics for an event like this can sometimes be an issue, but we found the parking and organization of the event to be flawless. There was live music, a food court and beautiful views of the vines on the Flag Hill property. For your $15 admission you received a souvenir glass and 10 tickets for tastings. Additional tickets could be purchased or $1 each. Margot and I took a quick scan of the room to prioritize how we would sample wines from the new faces and of course from our friends at some of the NH wineries. We took tasting notes on each of the wines we tasted and ended up finding a wonderful wine and cheese pairing that we passed along to the cheesemaker.

(look at Margot's wine fueled grin!)

Sweet Baby Vineyard – Kensington, NH
Marechal Foch – fruit with a little residual sugar and the signature grape leaf aromas.
Blueberry – strong blueberry aroma, semi-sweet and lacked the “weird” flavor I have always tried to figure out in blueberry wines I have had before.

Walpole Mountain View Vineyards – Walpole, NH
LaCrescent - wonderful floral perfume aromas, dry with some light spice on the finish.

The Sandwich Creamery – Sandwich, NH
Incredible smoked cheddar smoked over maple wood. The Caerphilly was slightly tart and went fantastically with the Jewel Towne Rhapsody in Blue Vidal Blanc dessert wine.

(lots of thirsty attendees!)

Flag Hill Winery – Lee, NH
Cayuga – Margot said the aroma was like cutting into a peach, off-dry with some pear flavor
Flag Hill White – a white blend with light oak. The oak was apparent on the nose and the wine was dry with some citrus and Granny Smith apple flavors.

LaBelle Winery – Amherst, NH
Riesling – off-dry, steely & minerally on the nose, excellent flavors of peach and citrus. A truly excellent representation of a Riesling.
Jalapeno – dry and spicy, and very drinkable as a cordial or as part of mixed drink.

(Cesar & Amy entertaining guests)

The action over at LaBelle was catching lots of attention. Everyone who tasted the Jalapeno had to hold a fiesta sign and got their picture taken and Cesar would ring the cowbell. Surviving the Jalapeno wine was the daily sporting event!

Stone Gate Vineyard – Gilford, NH
Stueben – wonderful floral aromas, off-dry with white grape flavors.
Marechal Foch – aromas of grape leaves and cherry, medium-dry with a finish of cherry flavored cigar. It tasted “purple” if you can taste a color.

Haunting Whisper Vineyards – Danbury, NH
Cranberry – smelled of Sweet Tarts, dry with very pronounced cranberry flavors.
Leon Millot – medium dry with, red raspberry flavors and a nice smooth finish.
Blackberry – blackberry & citrus, like eating the ripe fruit and NOT something made with it!

Candia Vineyards – Candia, NH
Classic Cab – leaves/grass and black pepper on the nose and light tannins.
Sauvignon Blanc – fruity nose with citrus flavors and light acidity.

Fulchino Vineyard – Hollis, NH
Barbera – spicy nose and flavors, the empty glass smelled of raisins.
Zinfandel – some residual sugar, fruity nose with lots of berry. Not a typical Zin. Al Fulchino explained that the 2008 Zin had such high sugar numbers and alcohol that he had to let it age longer than expected to let everything integrate.

Jewell Towne Vineyards – South Hampton, NH
Rhapsody in Blue Vidal Blanc Ice Wine – mild nose with flavors of candied pineapple, dried fruits. Plently of sweet with a good balance of acid. We found a good pairing for it in the Sandwich Creamery Caerphilly cheese, some of which came home with us for closer study.

Silver Mountain Ciders – Lempster, NH
Honey Apple Cider – smells of apples of honey, small bubbles, medium dry with rich honey/mead flavors. Margot decided that she doesn’t like sparkling ciders because it makes it hard to taste the flavors. I had decided this years ago when I first started making cider. I only make a style with no carbonation to allow the delicate flavors to come through.

Olde Nutfield Vineyards – Chester, NH
Landot Noir – light in color and body with aromas of berry jam. The burnt rubber aroma and flavor was present and whether this was a flaw or not I am not sure.

Our tastings were fun and listening to other attendees talk about what they had tried and who had what was entertaining for sure. We visited the table where Chris and Nancy Obert, wine friends of ours going back a few years, were signing and selling the book “The Next Harvest” about their adventures touring some of the wineries in New England. Chris and Nancy have invited us to their house on a number of occasions and asked us if we would bring our homemade wines to share with their friends and family. This is something I happily do and the feedback has always been a great honor. At the same time we also met Paulette Eschrich the new wine writer for the Hippo Press. As weekly readers of the Hippo for their local food and wine columns this was exciting. We’ll be sure to send her a link to our review of the NH Live Free & Wine event!

(me, Bob from Candia, Chris & Nancy)

Wandering out of the wine & cheese tent we took a walk up to the area where the band was playing and additional food & craft vendors were setup. We tried some hot sauce with sausage, and stopped in at the table of Grab Your Bag Travel where I met Lynn from the Manchester Area Wine Lovers Club from Meetup.com.
 
Tom Zack from Zorvino Vineryards was playing away on the guitar as part of the Spaceheaters band who were entertaining a considerable line of attendees waiting to be admitted. After a quick conversation with Frank Reinholdof Flag Hill we understood why. He explained that the fire marshal limited them to 250 people in the tent at any one time and running it by the book was smart business. He further mentioned that all the wineries were also under a lot of pressure to run things by the book since there were at least 4-6 liquor commissioners and enforcement officers in attendance at the event. This was the first, and hopefully not the last annual event, and getting a chance to do this again would only be possible if things were done correctly.

(it was worth a wait)

Margot and I struggled to pick wines in different categories to highlight, but if you don’t get the opportunity to try all these wines in a setting like this you might want to know what NOT to miss.

Best Red Wine – Marechal Foch from Stone Gate Vineyard
Best White Wine – Riesling from LaBelle Winery
Best Dessert Wine – we only had one, but the Rhapsody in Blue from Jewell Towne is out of sight!
Most Interesting Wine – Blackberry Wine from Haunting Whisper Vineyards
Surprise of the Day – Blueberry wine from Sweet Baby Vineyard
New Wine from a Familiar Face – Sauvignon Blanc from Candia Vineyards (we actually bought one of these to take home)

Cheers!

--Jason

World Cup Kick-off

In honor of the World Cup we selected two wines from countries participating in the cup to take with us on our first visit to Margot’s sister Celeste’s new home.

From the host country, South Africa, we selected the Indaba Sauvignon Blanc 2009 and from Spain, the Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva 2002. My brother-in-law Bob is not as much of a wine drinker as the rest of us so I also put some of the homemade Belgian White and Belgian Trappist on ice for the trip. We didn’t know what was on the menu so I hoped my wine choices would have broad enough food worthiness to work.

Upon arriving Celeste indicated she had used a new recipe and was openly nervous about how it had come out. Unfortunately being so food obsessed makes people think I never have a so-so or bad experiences. I do, and often. With the amount of stuff I try not all of it can possibly succeed the first or ever!

We all sampled the Sauvignon Blanc and the beers with some snacks and tours of the new house. The Sauvignon Blanc was universally liked and clearly demonstrated some citrus and cut grass flavors. It was crisp and acidic, but not overwhelmingly so. I had also brought along some of the 2010 Thomas Hooker Watermelon beer to try. I had been told it was better than the previous year, their first, and that information was correct. Both the flavors and aromas were more pronounced with a bit more of the citrus aftertaste I had expected when I had first had it. It wasn’t a fan favorite, but it was being sampled alongside my Belgian White which has proven to be a strong competitor.

With the secrecy of the menu finally removed we sat down to a wonderful dinner, good wine and hilarious conversation.

Baked Chicken with an Apricot Preserves, Onion Soup Mix & Oregano Glaze

Creamy Red Mashed Potatoes

Sautéed Spinach with Garlic

So the apricot preserves on the skin of the chicken had worked its magic and become crispy and well cooked. Celeste was so hung up on this. The skin peeled off easily and underneath was a flavorful and delicious piece of chicken. We finally had to tell her stop going on about it, and I told the story about Cuban-style pork I made a few weeks back that took tools to find the meat inside the charred exterior!

I spent a few minutes with the Rioja before I ate just to get a feel for the wine. It had nice red fruit flavors, some wood and had a long smooth finish. Later Celeste remarked how much she loved the wine as she killed the bottle. She and I love to hang out and drink wine. It had been too long!

Both the Rioja and the Sauvignon Blanc went well with the chicken and it was a toss up on which one could be deemed a better match for it. The spinach and the Sauvignon Blanc went very well together, although the potatoes made it taste a bit sour, not a surprise at all. The Rioja worked better with the potatoes, but seriously, they were so good on their own I wasn’t struggling for a good pairing.

Dinner with family was spectacular. We never did get the name of the person who made the chocolate and peanut butter cake we ate for dessert. We do know they work at one of the local Shaws Supermarkets though…

We did watch some of the USA vs. England World Cup match earlier in the day and I am hoping to have some more fun pairing wines to the games as the tournament plays out. What a great excuse to try some new wines and yell at the TV for a while.

Cheers!

--Jason

Discovering New Cocktails

Last year when we were in Runaway Bay, Jamaica I overheard someone ask for a Yellow Bird with a liqueur named Galliano in it. I didn’t pursue the origin or flavors of it then nor did I actually have one of the drinks. Since then I have come across drink recipes and cocktail articles that included Galliano and other new to me ingredients like St. Germain, Fernet-Branca and all sorts of different kinds of bitters. On the sommelier trail now I decided I would seek out some of these items and see what I could do with them.

I found bottles of Galliano and St. Germain at my local state-run liquor stores. We already have a pretty well stocked bar to work from, some fruit juices, club soda and simple syrup around so I stopped there and went home to get to work.

Margot and I have happy hour at home a few Friday’s a month. It is a nice way to wind down from a busy week, spend some quality time together and of course have some drinks. I usually try to have something new planned in advance, which she always loves. Last night was our most recent installment and I think I hit a new high mark with one of the creations.

We started with the Galliano (Wikipedia link). Being so focused on tastes and pairings these days I had to taste the liqueur before I made anything with it to ensure I could recognize its influence in the future. With a strong anise/licorice flavor it certainly isn’t for everyone. The makers of Galliano describe the cordial as being flavored with herbs, roots and spices. A differentiating flavor (from other anise flavored liqueurs like Sambuca) is some vanilla, which I can’t say easily picked up, but it isn’t Sambuca for sure. At 84.6 proof it will give you a kick so be careful!

I recreated the Yellow Bird from Jamaica, which I easily found in my copy of “The Bartenders Bible” in Tropical Drinks section on page 218. We have had Yellow Bird’s on past trips to Jamaica, but those versions did not contain Galliano. If memory serves, I believe apricot liqueur was the interesting ingredient beyond the rum, pineapple and orange juices. We tweaked the recipe slightly, adding some orange juice and simple syrup, both for what ingredients we had and to personal taste.

Yellow Bird

1 ½ ounces Mount Gay gold rum

½ ounce Galliano
½ ounce triple sec
½ ounce orange juice
½ ounce lime juice
2 tsp simple syrup

Combine in shaker with ice, shake and strain into glasses with one ice cube. This drink has a kick and might be a bit strong for casual entertaining. The flavor of the Galliano is there, but much milder than straight up. I can see why this gets requested on hot, humid vacations in Jamaica. I enjoyed the drink, but would mix it up amongst other rum-infused/tropical drinks to experience a range of flavors and levels of strength. Margot enjoyed it, but wouldn’t request it often mainly due to its alcoholic strength and sharp flavors. Fun times!

We moved on to the St. Germain, an elderflower liqueur. I have used elderberries in wine before but I don’t know of ever having an elderflower infused drink. Since I first saw discussions of this and its uses it has been in the back of my mind as a MUST DO!

I went to the cocktail section of the St. Germain web site for some guidance. They have several dozen different drinks listed which is a huge help orienting me to this new ingredient. The spirit by itself is floral and sweet and could easily be drunk without any other influences on the rocks. The fact that this was calling to me makes a lot of sense now. I decided on a modified version of the St-Tropez.

St-Tropez
1 part vodka
1 part St. Germain
½ part lemon juice
1 tsp simple syrup
Club soda

Shake the first three ingredients with ice and strain into glass. Top with club soda and add some ice if desired. This drink is amazing. With a nice blend of citrus and flowers you can’t really tell that there is any alcohol in it, which Margot found out quite easily. With just enough sweetness to prevent any pucker from the lemon it goes down smooth and should be on everyone’s list of a go to cocktail to set a nice mood for warm weather entertaining. We enjoyed our first one with a grilled chicken salad and found that it played nicely with the salad, something needing more consideration.

So once again our Friday happy hours proved to be successful and helped expand our cocktail repertoire, something we enjoying sharing with friend and family when they come calling. I hope this inspires you to try some new things. Post comments with questions about how to craft cocktails or pick drinks for different occasions and people. I am actively looking to enhance my skills and would love to use your challenges to do that.

Cheers!

Jason

Food on Television

I met a new foodie friend last night who was talking about the food product his family makes and how the nostalgia around the product should be part of future branding changes. An excellent idea for sure.

Nostalgia is not generally a sentiment I personally project. I typically live for today and tomorrow. This has always been true to some degree, I was always looking and thinking around the next turn and often forgetting the last step I had taken. This has certainly been magnified since my cancer diagnosis and treatment in 2003 but only for the better. That doesn’t mean the past doesn’t influence me, it just means I don’t carry the past close or very consciously.

Back to the story about food on television which does require a trip down memory lane. I’m starting in the mid 90’s, which is arbitrary AND not the beginning, instead it was the tipping point for Margot and I and our food obsessed lifestyle.

From the moment we got the Food Network on cable we were glued to it. We watched Door Knock Dinners (Gordon Elliot), Food 911, East Meets West (Ming Tsai), Grillin’ & Chillin’ (Bobby Flay), Essence of Emeril and many others. This was only a few years after the network launch so these were the NEW shows and ultimately some of the rising stars of the network. Along the way we have been avid watchers of Good Eats (Alton Brown), Iron Chef (original for laughs, new one for content), 30 Minute Meals & $40 a Day with Rachael Ray, Emeril Live!, Boy Meets Grill & Throwdown (Flay), Ace of Cakes (Duff), Alton Brown’s Feasting on Asphalt & Waves, Diners, Drive–ins & Dives (Guy Fieri), Unwrapped, biographies, holiday specials, and the list goes on.

Ming Tsai inspired us to take a course on cooking Dim Sum at the Cambridge Culinary Institute, something we have used several times since. Emeril’s restaurant NOLA was on our itinerary on a trip to New Orleans in 1999. Margot and I have always eaten well with the inspiration we have gotten from these shows, sometimes too well.


Farther back I remember watching re-runs of The French Chef with Julia Child and catching Yan Can Cook with Martin Yan, both on the local PBS channel in Connecticut where I grew up. Reality Food TV was in the kitchen at my home where Mom did a great job getting me interested in food and cooking. If only I had filmed it!!

I believe I can safely say that food related TV is the number one type of TV that has penetrated my eyeballs up to this point in my life. That isn’t likely to change.

Tripping over the Travel Channel (majority owned by the same company that owns Food TV) we also discovered No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. This show was a real eye-opener for us showcasing foods from exotic locations we had never dreamed of. We like him too, because like us he says what he thinks and lives in the moment. We have watched Man vs. Food a bit and some other the Travel Channel’s food related specials. It can get to be too much some weeks!

About two years ago we got the Fine Living Network and discovered the show Three Sheets, a study of beverages and drinking cultures around the world. Thank you Zane for taking one for the whole team, I learned a lot!

The Fine Living Network (owned by the same company that owns the Food Network) recently re-branded itself as the Cooking Channel. Margot and I are once again hooked. Sitting down and flipping on the new network feels like the old days with new shows and new ideas. We still have some core shows we watch on Food TV, but we aren’t much for the reality competition shows. The Cooking Channel with that exact change in format rescues us from that depression. Already I have filled up the DVR with tapings of Drink Up, The Thirsty Traveler, Indian Food Made Easy and Foodography. I even caught the tail end of an episode of The Galloping Gourmet yesterday. I vaguely recall seeing that show before, and what a personality Graham Kerr is! The word is that this channel will have new programs from some of the Food Network elite, like Emeril and Rachael Ray. While that will most likely be a good thing, I am hoping for a healthy mix of new faces and their influences to show up in my living room.

Yesterday afternoon while taking a quick walk on the treadmill I caught the last half of the "Summer Cocktail Party" episode of Boy Meets Grill. In this episode Bobby Flay hosted Ted Allen for some grilling and good times. After the last two days of stuffed steak in collaboration with The Manly Housewife I couldn’t help but think that that was two of us on the screen sharing our love of food and good company with the world. It is truly great to be able to do something you love and share it with other people who are passionate about the same things.

One of the newest Food Network shows we have enjoyed is titled Spice & Easy. In one segment the host, Janet Johnston, made a spiced soda from star anise, pink peppercorns, allspice berries, citrus peel, thyme, sugar and club soda. Pretty cool! We tried it and it is excellent. Check it out at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/savory-spiced-soda-recipe/index.html

Are you addicted to food on television? Leave a comment with your favorite show, recipe, chef or memories you have of food on TV. Is there something you don’t like or thought was a terrible idea, share it! Let’s all walk down this exciting path through the food and television memories most of us have!

Cheers!

--Jason

Cooking with Ancient Fire Wine

Every adventure has some twists and turns. The Manly Housewife is guest posting today with the conclusion of the Stuffed NY Strip story.

There is a lot to be said about the old adage that things happen for a reason. At the very least, a good argument could be made for this saying from my particular situation. I truly believe it happened for a reason. See, I just started blogging not that long ago, less than a month, actually, and it has been a great experience. Any blogger, as I am sure can tell you, gets very excited when he or she discovers site hits. Having recently re-watched the movie “Julie & Julia,” I now see it through different eyes. I had to laugh at the part when she gets all excited over her first blog comment. While just beginning my blogging adventure, I stumbled upon a site called Foodbuzz (if you’re a food blogger, visiting Foodbuzz is a must). Now that I have successfully launched my blog, it has sent me on an exhilarating rollercoaster ride of interesting visits and intriguing comments. I mention all of this as a preamble to an exciting story that happened all because of Foodbuzz. Three days after launching my new blog on Foodbuzz, I received a comment that one of my dishes had been paired with a wine. To let you know just how excited I was, I called everyone who knew I was doing this blog (and a few that didn’t) to tell them all about it, which really was a lot of people. Not only did this recipe (Smothered Pork Chops) receive great honors by being featured on Foodbuzz’s Top 9, it now had been paired with a great wine. We all have visions of grandeur in the things that matter most to us, and I love to cook. It’s not only fun, but it’s a passion to me. Only a few will understand the elation of having well-respected people pay respect to one of your dishes. After this great honor of pairing my dish with Pinot Noir and, specifically, the Francis Coppola Diamond Collection, I felt my desire of cooking elevate to a whole new level. I immediately contacted Jason at Ancient Fire Wines to thank him for granting me such a great honor, and I told him that I would love to do some additional pairings with him in the future. You see, The Manly Housewife has been an idea of mine for quite awhile, albeit an live-in-motion, ever-evolving idea, but an idea none the less. Each achievement only helps to confirm that this is exactly where I need to be. Jason and I had several conversations back and forth about ideas we could incorporate into our respective blogs to increase traffic, of course, but also to emphasize and complement one other’s talents. We finally decided on choosing a dish and both making our renditions of this dish. Now, before I go into my interpretation of the dish, let me quickly state that I did not fully keep up my end of the bargain, but that’s all explained as you read on below. . . .

Jason and I agreed to do a replica of a dish I had at Chef Pointe Café (an amazing, contradiction of a place, not far from my house). This is the craziest place you might ever eat. It’s been featured on Food Network because of its 5-star quality food, inspired, prepared, and served in, of all places, a gas station. Recently when I was there, I had the stuffed New York Strip Steak and was so intrigued that I was inspired enough to try to re-create it at home. We thought this would be a great dish to try and see what combinations we could each come up with. To fully explain how I didn’t keep up my end of the bargain is this: I did not use a New York Strip; instead I chose a ribeye. I like the ribeye better (and they were on sale). Also, because of a mishap on my part, which you can read about here Mandolin Safety, I omitted the potatoes and did not take as many pictures (it’s hard to snap photographs when your thumb is wrapped in a pressure bandage). And, lastly, after the mishap, I decided on stiffer drinks than what I had initially intended, knowing that Jason would totally rock that part with his recipe, and he did! But the show must go on. So my wife and I invited my parents over to enjoy a quiet evening of good food, good drinks, and good company.

Now that I am done rambling let’s get it on with the recipe. . .

Stuffed Ribeye Steaks
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 20-oz Ribeye Steaks (we’re talking about ¾” to 1” thick Fred-Flinstone-Style Steaks)
• Smoked Gouda Cheese (I used approximately ¼ -pound block of cheese and divided it between the four steaks)
• 8 Slices Canadian bacon
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 2 Yellow Squash, cut into ¼ inch rounds (again, careful with the Mandolin slicer)
• 2 Zucchini, cut into ¼ inch pieces
• ½ Small Red Onion, cut into wedges and then separated
• 1 ½ Cups Your Favorite Prepared Italian Dressing
• ¼ Cup Red Cherry Tomatoes
• ¼ Cup Yellow Cherry Tomatoes

 Directions (Steak Prep)

1. Sprinkle both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper.
2. Cut a slit along the fatty edge of the steak, ¾ length of the steaks.
3. Into each steak, add a generous slice of cheese and 2 slices of bacon (I would suggest quickly pan searing the bacon 1 minute both sides to help it crisp up).
4. Secure the stuffing inside the steaks with 3 to 4 toothpicks.
5. Let steaks sit for covered in the fridge for about and hour (this will allow the steaks to soak up the salt and pepper).

Directions (Vegetable Prep)

1. Slice Squash and Zucchini into ¼ inch pieces, discarding the stemmed end pieces.
2. Cut onion into wedges and separate into individual pieces.
3. Keep tomatoes separate from the rest of the veggies.
4. In a large bowl combine Squash, Zucchini, onion, and Italian dressing and mix well.

Directions (Cooking the Meal)

1. Spray grill grate with grilling spray prior to lighting.
2. Fire up the grill to medium high heat. You want it warm enough that you can only hold your hand for 2 seconds 3 inches from the grate.
3. Places steaks on the grill and don’t touch (moving them will cause the juices to leak out and make the steaks cook unevenly). Now here is a trick of mine: if the grill is to the correct temperature, you should cook ¾” to 1” steaks 7 minutes on each side for medium-rare steaks. For this recipe, I suggest closer to 8 minute each side to allow the cheese to fully melt and the center to warm up.
4. In a grill pan, add vegetables, excluding the tomatoes, and sauté’ over the grill.
5. Cook the vegetables until you begin to see that nice charred look around the edges.
6. Add tomatoes to the pan and continue to roast.
7. If done right, you should finish the veggies and the steak right about the same time.

To serve, add a couple of spoonfuls of vegetables to a plate. Remove toothpicks from steaks and serve over the top of the vegetables.

I hope you enjoy this meal. I still have my war wound from the mandolin accident, but the food was fantastic and well worth the pain. My original plan was to pair these steaks with a Grenache wine and a Hefeweizen beer. But, instead, due to my painful injury, my wife and mom enjoy a simple glass of White Zinfandel, while Dad and I jumped straight into the whisky stash. This was truly a fun and exciting co-blog that Jason and I did. He an I would both entertain offers to do this kind of combo blog with any other food bloggers. If you would like to pair up and do a joint blog like this one, please contact Jason at his Ancient Fire Wine Blog, or leave a message here.

Good Food, Good Drinks, Good Friends. . .

The Manly Housewife

Cooking Stuffed NY Strip Steak with The Manly Housewife

A few weeks ago I saw a post on a blog named “The Manly Housewife”. I can’t recall what the post was about, but the name of the blog certainly attracted my attention. I inquired about the mission behind the blog and found someone promoting more men in the kitchen. Preaching to the converted for sure. Without hesitation, and being a newly minted Foodbuzz Featured Publisher, I suggested we collaborate to help give something more to our respective readers.

We selected a Stuffed NY Strip to recreate based on his recent experience at the Chef Point Café in Watauga, Texas. I hadn’t heard of this place before and the description of five star dining at a gas station was certainly intriguing. The steak is stuffed with Canadian bacon and smoked cheese, served with roasted potatoes and mixed vegetables.

We decided we would each make the dish, with a couple of modifications, and pair it with both a wine and a beer and then blog about our experiences. During the initial planning we talked about anything that might need to be done differently. Additional seasoning for the steak was highlighted. We went with the addition of caramelized onions and a maple bourbon reduction to add some texture and flavor.

Margot and I cooked our meal on Sunday June 6th. I picked up two 20oz NY Strip Steaks at McKinnon’s in Salem, NH where I also found the Canadian bacon and a smoked blue cheese that I felt would go nicely in the steak.

Here are the recipes and preparation steps for everything but the vegetables, which were simply cut, steamed and served with some spray butter and a little fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Oven Roasted Potatoes

5 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes
2 Tbsp butter
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
Dash of ground mustard
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
¼ tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp crushed dried oregano

Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Heat the roasting pan in a 375 oven with 2 Tbsp butter. Add spices, ½ of salt and pepper to melted butter and set pan back in oven for 2 min. Add potatoes, olive oil and return to the oven. After 10 minutes add and stir oregano. Stir every 10 minutes for a total of 45 minutes. Turn down heat to 325, add remaining salt and stir with 15-20 min. to go.

Caramelized Leeks

2 large leeks

2 Tbsp butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and clean the leeks. Slice the white/light green part of the leeks ½ inch or less thick. Melt the butter in sauté pan over high heat. Add leeks. Once they are starting to brown, turn heat down to medium low. Saute, stirring occasionally for 25 minutes.

Bourbon Maple Reduction


1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup real maple syrup
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine ingredients and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened

Stuffed NY Strip Steak


2, 1 LB NY strip steaks
Smoked blue cheese
6 slices Canadian bacon
Salt
Pepper

Pat steaks dry, season with salt & pepper. Grill to a good sear on both sides. Slice open back as close to fat end as possible to create a nice pocket. Stuff with bacon & cheese. Use tooth picks to secure the gaps. Wrap in foil, with the slit in meat facing up, and bake at 450 until meat temperature is 150 for a medium cooked steak. The meat will continue to cook as you unwrap and plate it.

I had never cooked a steak (intended as a single serving) as large as this, nor had I ever ordered or eaten one of this size. To truly honor this dish and make for some good pictures size mattered!

The aromas in the kitchen from the caramelized leeks and potatoes were very enticing and adding the permeations from the maple bourbon reduction got us hungry well before it was time to eat. To make sure we could separate the influence of the wine/beer from that of the food we opened both early and tried a few sips of each. When the food was served we tried the steak and potatoes without the beverages first.

For wine I chose a Burgess 2004 Napa Cabernet and for the beer I chose a recently homemade Belgian Trappist Ale. The Cab was a sure bet with the richness of the steak and is fantastic on its own. This selection came to me as a present from a former co-worker who does indeed have good taste in wine. With a deep red color the wine had some mocha and wood flavors and had the familiar green pepper aroma. The beer was malty and hoppy with about 8% alcohol and moderate carbonation. I was hoping the malty flavors would help surround the steak in a similar way the red wine would, and that the hops would add a bit of spice to each bite.

The meat was just slightly more cooked than medium-rare, juicy and extremely flavorful. Margot said it had a wonderful crunch on the outside without being burnt, obviously from a good sear to start. The smoked meat and cheese provided a nice foundation for each bite, and the maple bourbon reduction provided a good deal of zip without being overbearing. The caramelized leeks provided additional crunch and had soaked up some butter which added a creamy texture. The potatoes included a mix of spices that intermingled well and came out wonderfully. They were crunchy on the outside and soft inside, with a hint of mustard in each bite. A very good match with the steak. These will be made again by themselves or maybe for breakfast.

The Cabernet paired exquisitely with the steak and didn’t overpower or become overwhelmed by the strong flavors in the dish. It was not a good match for the potatoes which Margot was the first to notice.

The beer on the other hand paired with both the steak and potatoes. As I had hoped the flavors in the beer surrounded the meat and cheese and played off those flavors to create a warming, exciting bite, umami I would imagine. The earthiness of the beer, an influence I believe from the Belgian Trappist yeast, paired nicely with the potatoes, much better than the wine.

The finished masterpiece!!!

This was one of the most exciting food and wine experiences I have ever had. I haven’t focused on cooking beef too much as we don’t it as often. The method I used this time definitely helped retain the moisture, something I will do well to remember since I generally like my steak medium-well which means overcooked to many people. Researching what Canadian bacon actually was prompted me to think about making it at home. And of course collaborating with the Manly Housewife gave me opportunity to think creatively about yet another food and wine adventure.

Today I am guest posting on The Manly Housewife's blog. Be sure and check out this post over there today and check back tomorrow when the he will be our special guest cooking a similar meal here at Ancient Fire Wines.

Cheers!

--Jason

Our Wine Friends are the Best!

One of the blogs I follow is The MA Winemaker at Aaronap Cellars which is written by Noel Powell, who I just recently met in person at the WineMaker Magazine conference. He posted his re-cap about the conference with a huge shout out to us and a link to our blog as well. This type of recognition is a true honor and is cherished. Please visit Noel's blog for another take on making wine at home. He's a chemist so his perspective is definitely different from mine, something I hope to learn from.

Cheers!

--Jason

Photos from the Malbec Pressing June 5th, 2010

I asked Vincent to come and help me run the press. I had six buckets, about 110 pounds, of Malbec grapes that had been fermenting since the Monday prior. With only about 12 gallons or so of volume expected I was sure setup and cleanup would take longer than the pressing. Everything went smoothly and we ended up with 12 gallons on free run and light pressing and 3 gallons from a heavier press. We actually did a press over of my second run experiment which yielded some more from the Malbec for the whole mix. The gravity after pressing was 1.004. Almost dry and definitely ready for MLF.

Check out the pics on Flickr.

http://bit.ly/9hIPCn

Cheers!

--Jason

Making Over Mom's Grilled Ham, Tomato & Cheese

My mother, Helene was an amazing woman. Her and my Dad had six kids, and eventually took in three more. Even though money was tight there was plenty of love to go around. The house was crazy growing up and as the youngest I had more than my share of sibling, well, let’s call them “issues”. With a small budget and many mouths Mom always found a way to make food stretch.

The culinary background I came from was made up of words and phrases like: instant, ramen, boil in bag, cream of, canned, roni (ex: pasta-roni, rice-a-roni, noodle- roni) seasoning packet and Kraft. Mom did her best and to be truthful she shined on the holidays which were filled with delicious turkey, Canadian pork stuffing, homemade peanut brittle, sucre a la crème (a Canadian fudge) and oh her delicious, fought over doughnuts. During the holidays there seemed to be a bit of extra money and more time to make the food just right (most likely due to threats of no presents if we made her too angry).

One of my favorite treats she made when she could was a grilled ham, tomato and cheese sandwhich.

Mom’s “recipe” was simple:

Take two pieces of white bread and spread cream cheese on the inside of each slice. Then place a piece of ham on top of the cream cheese on one slice. Top the ham with fresh tomato slices, another piece of ham and them the second piece of cream cheese bread. Coat the outside of the bread with butter (Mom used margarine) and grill on each side. Simple and delicious this sandwich was one of my favorites and a treat as deli meat was not always in the house due to expense.

My Experimental Make Over

The replacement for the cream cheese was easy, I used Chavrie Brand Goat Cheese. I have come to really love goat cheese over the last year, its tanginess has always reminds me of cream cheese. I kept the tomato because to me that was such an essential ingredient, but replaced the white bread with whole grain to add some earthiness to go with the goat cheese. Where I was stuck was the meat. Mom used plain old deli ham, no smoking, or strange curing, honey this or maple that. I really wanted to try something different, but was not sure of what. I came back from the deli counter with the following:

Canadian Bacon., Eh? I’m Canadian American after all.

Prosciutto, cause it was a good excuse to buy some.

And Mortadella , which was purchased because I had heard about it but never had it.

I made Mom’s version just as she would have (though I have to admit I replaced the store brand white bread with English toasting bread). Then I assembled half sandwiches using the Goat Cheese, Whole Grain Bread, Tomato and one of the three meats. Rather than spread the butter on the outside of the bread I melted it first and then brushed it on. I have found when grilling sandwiches this creates a much more even grill.

Jay and I had a taste test and this is what we found:

Prosciutto : I did cook the prosciutto in a pan over medium heat prior to using it on the sandwich and that worked well. Once on the sandwich the meat really overpowered the rest of the ingredients. Jay thought that when he had a bite of the sandwich without the meat it was great because the salty essence of the meat was there without being too strong. I would probably do this again in the future but finely chop the prosciutto and sauté it then mix it in with the goat cheese before I spread it.

Canadian Bacon: This worked quite well but ended up with the opposite problem of the prosciutto, the meat was overpowered by the other ingredients and left no real mark on the flavor.

Mortadella: Ah, this one was surprising, Jay and I both agreed it worked really well and balanced perfectly with the other ingredients. The Mortadella held its own flavor without being overpowering. The texture of this pressed meat worked extremely well with the crunchy grilled whole grain bread.

Mom’s classic version: Nothing bad to say about this. It is the original and still brings me back to childhood. As I have made it for Jay throughout our marriage he called it familiar.

The overall winner was the Mortadella, goat cheese, tomato on whole grain bread. It was a fun twist on familiar flavors and really brought more complexity to the party. We will most definitely be making this one again.

Until next time I encourage you all to try a new twist on a child hood favorite. For my first in a series I think this went well, good food, good memories…..great Mom.

Mangia,

Margot

Seattle Drinking & Dining

Pike Brewing
http://www.pikebrewing.com/

Pike Brewing is located adjacent to the historic and very lively Pike’s Place market at the western edge of downtown Seattle. Having been here before I knew that the beers would be great and suspected the bar food would also live up to the need. We arrived in Seattle on Sunday night and wanted to venture out to get some refreshment before crashing after the trip from Stevenson. After checking out Fonte, see below, we needed something to eat and of course a more to drink. Pike Brewing is right up the block and open late on Sunday nights.

We pulled up to the bar and ordered a couple of pints to start us off. I tried the Belgian Tripel and Margot started with the Weiss. I was interested in the Tripel since I had just bottled a Trappist Dubbel with a kick and suspected it would be similar. The beer was full and smooth with some noticeable yeasty aromas. The malt flavor was present, but not in a sweet way. Definitely a good choice, and with 9% alcohol definitely one to put a smile on your face. I tried the Weiss and was not disappointed although light wheat beers can often be too light and lack personality so it didn’t resonate with me. Knowing Margot is typically interested in a mellower beer this choice worked out.

We ordered the Dungeness Crab & Artichoke Dip and the BBQ Pork Nachos to work with our beers. Real bar food Seattle style, for real beers! Both were very good and overall the dip worked better with the lighter beers while the nachos handled the darker and more alcoholic beers quite well.

I ordered a six beer sampler wanting to try a few others before we bailed. I knew we wouldn’t be back with so many other plans on deck, and I wanted to be able to say some more for anyone heading out there. The sampler included the Pike Pale, Naughty Nellie, Kiltlifter Scotch Ale, Tandem and the Stout.

The Tandem is a Belgian Double Ale and something I took away from it was confirmed in the tasting notes on web, fresh baked bread. What a neat aroma to be able to capture. The Kiltlifter was more malty and smoky so I definitely was enjoying it. Margot wonders how people can drink such things, including big IPA’s. I showed her how we do it, step by step. Lift glass to lips, drink, swallow and repeat! The Pike Ale and Naughty Nellie were nice, but not distinctive enough for me to recall much. The XXXXX Stout was a nice treat to finish with, like an unsweetened mocha. It was smooth and creamy with a mild aroma and deep, dark color.

Pike Brewing was definitely worth another visit and for any beer enthusiast should be on your list when you are in Seattle. I didn’t make it to Pacific Maritime or their pub the Jolly Roger, but some local friends agreed that it would also be worth a visit.

Fonte
http://www.fontecoffee.com/

Margot found Fonte online before we left and from a look at their menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and wine we were pretty sure we wanted to make a visit when in town. Fonte is presented as an upscale, luxury coffee and wine bar which is to say that their advertising certainly wants to plant that impression. While I can’t say the modern décor, low lighting, comfy leather chairs or high stools and tables didn’t extend the impression, I don’t think a place like this should only attract upscale clientele. The bar area was neat and clean and the staff were attentive and helpful. With several people working laptops and some obvious first dates going on, we felt cool enough!

We went on Sunday night looking to try a flight of wines we hadn’t ever had. Margot went with the WTF (What the Fonte?) which is pitched as a flight of unusual wines. With selections like a Gruet Sparkling from New Mexico and the Graf Hardegg Gruner Veltliner that is often described as having white pepper flavors and then of course a Berger Zweigelt that has been described using the word blood, I’d have to agree. She’s brave for sure. I didn’t try the sparkling, but I did try the other two and found them to be interesting, but totally drinkable and worth a first experience. The Zweigelt definitely has some iron minerality to it that I could see the blood connection with. It was a bit spicy as well and thus I got to finish it!

I ordered the Lewis & Clark flight which features a Pinot Gris and two Pinot Noir’s, all from Oregon.
The flight included the Westrey Pinot Gris, Matello Pinot Noir Rose and the Domain Drouhan Pinot Noir.
I have been fascinated with Pinot Gris since I had one earlier this year; made by Lange in Oregon. I haven’t found another one quite like it yet, but all of them I have tried were very worth it. Typically dry, light and fruity I have found good pairings at every try. This particular example is dry and focused with some fresh fruit and slate like character to it. The two Pinot Noir’s were quite different in their appearance, with the Matello Rose much lighter in color and with less earthiness to both the aromas and flavors. It was pleasing, but very subtle and not something I would seek out to pair with. The Drouhan was an example of what I had come to the Pacific Northwest to find, a rich and bold Pinot with strong fruit and a healthy dose of earth to let you know what you were drinking. While not the best Oregon Pinot I had on the trip, I definitely enjoyed this one to round out my flight.

Lola, Downtown Seattle
http://tomdouglas.com/index.php/restaurants/lola

If you surf fine dining materials before you visit any city you will find out the names of a few hotspots. If you call early and reserve a table you might get to have a meal and some wine and think about the chef and staff’s influence on your night. And then you start thinking of how much you aren’t sure how to approach it and how much will it cost. This night didn’t have either of those problems

Great food. The spread sampler, pita bread and house rose kicked us off. This is a project for the diner, so keep this in mind. Fully engaged though, we had fun talking about what we were eating. Fresh tomato, dill, olives, beans, figs and sour cream. Those were the base ingredients in six different spreads. Check the menu. While you are checking it out, check out Tom Douglas, the Seattle chef who brings us LOLA and other spots. There is a book out there we saw about him, interesting read for sure.

I had the Red Wine and Garlic Lamb kabobs with the Smashed Garlic Fried Potatoes. Margot went with Lamb Burger with Chickpea Fries. Everything was exceptional. We talked about our first day in the city, vacation phase 2 we called it, and what we would do tomorrow. We visited the zoo that day in the bright sun, we were happy and the crew at LOLA was great to us.

When we moved on to dessert I ordered the donuts with honey nut drizzle. A solid choice with the warm sweet bread and nutty sauce to make it taste like candy. Then to the wine. I ordered two, because they were there, a Vin Santo and an orange muscat. The donuts were exquisite with both wines representing two different mixes of flavor.

Ray’s Boathouse
http://www.rays.com/boathouse/


Last night in Seattle. We visited with Amy and Chris who we met in 1999 when they lived, as we did, in MA and working in the craziness that is the Boston area. They moved a year later, first to Austin, then to Seattle. Amy helped us find several nice views and good times in the city on our visit and we asked them to pick a place for us to have dinner before heading home. Ray’s Boathouse in the Ballard section of Seattle is a beautiful restaurant right on the sound with a view of the Cascades out the window. One glance of the menu and I was sure this was going to be wild.

I had a new and potentially strange dish for my palette, something to think about I guess. Prawns, clams with a squid ink risotto. Slightly briny and salty, the squid ink wasn’t at all weird. I tried a whole bunch of wines, from a local Pinot Noir, a local Pinot Gris and a German beernauslese Riesling for dessert. Their wine menu online doesn’t list any of them, so having been distracted with memories of the past I didn’t capture the details. Dinner was great and the company made the week. Thanks Amy & Chris!

Pike’s Place Market

When we came to Seattle for the cruise to Alaska we had several visits to the market. This was the one place I knew Margot would want to see when she was in town. Obviously we had to go back, this time knowing what we could buy to enjoy while we were there, and it ended up being very sweet. Margot bought jewelry and we bought wine, cheese, bread, olives, spices and chocolate to enjoy at the hotel.

Cruising the market at different times allows you to take a pulse of that part of the city. Coming in the morning allows you to see the vendors setup and maybe get something new or rare to use or eat. Take a look at the pictures for a story of your own.

Flowers smell great in the morning.

Smiles, anyone?

Hey, sup dude?

Throw me some fish, eh?

Pike's Place Market

3 years aged, very cool

1 year aged?

\

Oink!

Cheers!
 
Jason

Fantastic Fermentations

The week since we got back from Washington & Oregon has been busy tending to my "children". In all I have ten batches of wines fermenting, all at various stages on their journey to blends and varietal bottlings that with some age should proved to be quite good.

I picked up grapes from Chile and frozen white grape juice from Lanza Vineyards and Sutter Ridge, all through M&M Wine Grape in Hartford, CT.

http://www.juicegrape.com/

I also made a few changes this year with the addition of a yeast re-hydration agent and a gentler yeast nutrient to use along the way. Go-Ferm and Fermaid are products from Lallemand, a well known and trustworthy source of yeasts, enzymes and cultures. The equipment shop at M&M had these on hand.

Once the buckets warmed up from being frozen, on the count of me being out of town for a week the day after the grapes arrived :(, I tested them for pH, TA and Brix and decided not to make any adjustments based on other numbers and notes I had seen from folks using similar products.

Above is a picture of the top of one of the Malbec buckets. I have been punching the caps down on all the red wine buckets several times a day all week!

All the buckets had been sulfited before freezing so once I hit the mid 60's in temperature I had to be ready to pitch the yeast and keep an eye on them.

I also used Opti-Red and Opti-White this year. These are enzymes formulated for to sequester more of desired molecules in a grape must and either make them available to the fermentation or drop out of the process. Everything I had heard and read suggested this step as a big enhancement.  What you see to the left is the new Cab/Syrah blend in the picture on the left and five gallons of a jalapeno cooking wine that will be used to make drinks and sauces on the right. The other reds are a Cab, Syrah and a Malbec.

Rehydrating the yeast with Go-Ferm according to the very easy steps on the package resulted in a start and no problems since for every single bucket I pitched. Including the smaller buckets that makes 15 total!!

Last night the first batches of whites went from bucket to carboy. They are moving along nicely with pleasant aromas and some nice color. Before blending I will have two buckets of Chardonnay, one Sauvignon Blanc and one Viognier. I'm not sure what the configurations and bottle counts from the remaining will be just yet.

Overall I am very happy with the fruit, but not until the wines get a bit farther along will I really be able to say how wine made from it will be this year. With no fermentation troubles I am hopeful that I'll have lots of fun stuff to do.

You can see the orange color of the Viognier to the right, it is the second carboy from bottom. The image with the full carboys staring down their former containers was unintended, but it is pretty entertaining.

We started our first malo-lactic fermentation on a Chardonnay last night. Should be interesting to see how it comes out compared to the other batch that won't see MLF or oak.

Thank you to my wife for being crazy enough to let me do this, M&M Wine Grape for good products and services and WineMaker Mag for the conference and chance to meet some very nice and very helpful people.

Cheers!

--Jason

#WAWINE Real-time Celebration of Washington Wines

Check out #WAWINE on Twitter and http://www.facebook.com/TasteAndTweet?v=wall on Facebook to check out the Virtual Celebration of Washington Wine.

I just learned about it the day it was to be on and this is what we came up with.

Chateau Ste Michelle Eroica Dr Loosen Riesling 2006 with butter crackers, cream cheese and assorted jams/preserves. As a sommelier in training I wanted to find something that I both had on hand AND helped showcase the wine. We had a tomato, raspberry, apple/maple, apricot and strawberry jams. The raspberry made the wine taste sour, but all the others let the crispness of the wine come through without making it taste at sour.

If it wasn't for the WineMaker Magazine conference I might not have gotten out to WA wine country as soon. The trip was fun, check out my other posts for updates from the trip.

Cheers!

Jason

Talking Winemaking

Following up on some connections from the WineMaker Magazine Conference I have been visiting a list of web sites some of which are new to me, some not.

Not long after you start making wine, beer or cooking with sharing in mind you learn that tastes and experience are both broad and deep, and there is no single right answer for any question. From this I have adopted a sense of openness and I attempt to celebrate all the diversity that surrounds wine and food, even if I don't feel it fits for me personally.

I found myself in the middle of a vibrant conversation about kit wines versus grape wines in competition with some the crew from the Westchester Winemakers Club. Check out their blog and activities at http://www.westchesterwinemakers.com/. I have won medals for both and am increasingly focusing on fresh fruit, juice and grapes so I am less of problem for the prevailing sentiment. I did learn some solid fundamentals like sanitation and yeast health from my kit making, good things to have in hand when moving on to other mediums. The Westchester Winemakers Club’s members are very honest, strong in their convictions and passionate about what they do.

With differing opinions in hand there are truly multiple sides to this question and for me I don't really care what side you are on as long as you are happy with your own work. I am, and I have enjoyed the fruits of several other amateur winemakers’ labors so I think we all have a lot to be proud about.

Beyond that discussion I spent some more time looking through the group's postings and comments on winery visits, AVA specific tastings used to get inspiration on areas to look for grapes from, winemaker interviews and articles about any and all practices needed to make wine. My conclusion, these guys know their stuff! Not that they need me to confirm that, but credit is due so there it is. My next goal, try some of their wine.

I found an article on an experience making braised short ribs and pairing it with a member's Zinfandel to be very reminiscent of many of my own posts. http://www.westchesterwinemakers.com/2010/02/26/enough-academics-let%e2%80%99s-get-real-for-awhile/. With the kind of range the articles represent and the obvious depth of knowledge it is a worthy read from any winemakers at any stage.

Cheers!

--Jason

Red Wine Paired With Bacon

Hopefully that title will generate some interest. This pairing was accidental but was so interesting it warranted a quick write-up.

Last year we went in on half a pig with friends and were overjoyed when the bacon turned out to be juicy and lean, light on salt and had a nice smoky flavor. We have enjoyed it many times, but sadly the supply is dwindling.

Last night Margot cooked up a breakfast plate that featured some of the tasty bacon, scrambled eggs and some pan fried potatoes actually made by our friend who we shared the pig with. The potatoes were on the menu on Sunday and we scurried away some leftovers for last night.

I wanted to finish the bottle of Petit Verdot I opened on the weekend lest it oxidize and have to be poured out. This was one of two bottles that I corked when I was transferring the homemade batch from a larger glass tank to a smaller one earlier in the year. The wine was made from an award winning limited edition kit produced by the WinExpert company. The wine is young, and I wanted to see how the early bottle tasted before I consider what to do with the rest of the batch that is aging in the basement.

We'll I sat down and tore into a piece of bacon and immediately went for my wine glass out of habit. The pairing was amazing. The gamey, smoky taste of the bacon melded perfectly with the earthy, dark fruit flavors in the wine. Margot tried it and agreed. I kept trying it to enjoy the surprise. This pairing wasn't revolutionary for me, we tried deli roast beef with Pinot Noir a few years back for a big wow, but it wasn't planned and REALLY tasted good. I'd recommend trying such a pairing with real country smoked bacon and an earthy wine like Bordeaux or a Rhone blend.

Cheers!

--Jason