efoodie

Screwcap wine, any good?

My mother always kept a gallon jug of Gallo Chablis under the kitchen sink, and that is the first image that comes to mind when screwcap and wine are used in the same sentence.  So, when I heard Rob Russell of Westport Rivers Winery speak recently about his wine, and screwcaps, I was a bit skeptical.

Rob's family runs the small winery in Southern Massachusetts, and his passion for the winemaking process and enthusiasm about wine in general is contagious. He is a big proponent of the screwcaps, and wants to start using them. He said that they are the new wave of the future, because cork is so expensive, and difficult to source, and unreliable, that a certain percentage of wine is ruined, or 'corked', due to faulty corks.  I left that afternoon, quite impressed with Rob and the Westport River Wines, but completely dismissed the idea of screwcaps, didn't give them another thought, until last night.

I'd stopped at my favorite little wine shop on the Cape, The Wine List, which has a great selection of wines under $30, and many under $15.  I picked one, which turned out not to be memorable enough to share the name here. 

I brought it over to my friend Jen and Pete's and our other friend Steve joined us, and also brought a bottle of wine, a merlot that had a screwcap (yes, I can imagine your horror). We started with my wine, which was a blend of Sangiovese and Tempranillo. Once we finished that, we started on Steve's Cypress, which he had opened earlier. I was skeptical, very in fact, because of the screwcap, and the $8.99 pricetag.

But then I took a sip, and became a screwcap fan.  This is one of the best little inexpensive Merlots that I have ever had. It is a fun, lively, really fruity wine. Tons of berry on the nose and explosions of it in your mouth. It's good stuff.

So, curious, I looked up both Cypress wines and the screwcaps. That is when I discovered, or rather remembered from the earlier talk on them, that they are called Stelvin closures.  Cypress is also under the J. Lohr family of wines.

I  loved their description of the wine, especially the bit about 'blueberry pie'.

The 2003 Cypress Merlot is a deeply colored, youthful dark purple red with enticing fruit aromas of blueberry pie, black cherry, and violet. The flavors are plush, forward and full with considerable weightiness of fruit and structure. A very complex wine with bright fruit, the Cypress Merlot makes an ideal accompaniment to roasted or grilled lamb, beef and grilled portobella mushrooms.

And then, on the making of the wine,

At blending time, a good deal of “mucking around” with each wine brings the trio’s vision of each varietal to fruition - intense fruit aromas and flavors with bright and deep colors. Finally, the wines are sealed with the modern new Stelvin® closure to ensure that the bright fruit flavors and aromas of each varietal are preserved “untainted” in each and every bottle.

So, then I looked up the Stelvin Closures, that fancy name for a screwcap, and found this;

Stelvin Closures have been protecting premium beverages for over 30 years, but anxiety over ‘marketing issues’ have until now, resulted in very few premium quality wines appearing under this very effective closure.

The inert, food-grade polymer inside the capsule is guaranteed to have no effect on the taste or quality of the wine for the period it is sealed in…forever!

Many premium wineries around the world store there own precious ‘Library stock’ wines under these seals, in order to ensure that there is never any risk of oxidation or taint.

So, I am no longer a screwcap snob.

:) Pam

My First Published Link--on Braising

I'm a little bit excited today.  I'm a beginning food writer, and though I've recently sold a few food articles to The Cape Cod Times, today's story is finally long enough to make it onto their web site.  Check it out, if you want a few new braising recipes. One is for Lamb Shanks, from the chef at  The Roo Bar, in Chatham. There's also a great braised salmon recipe from the Molly Stevens All about Braising cookbook. It's a delicious mix of flavors, Pinot Noir, bacon, and leeks.

Next time I make this, which will be soon, I think I'm going to use the Wolf Blass Shiraz instead of Pinot Noir.  I recently tried Wolf Blass and Greg Norman, both Australian wines, and the Wolf Blass won, hands down.  It is a light, fruity, smooth wine, that I think would go beautifully with the salmon. It is also inexpensive, about $8.99 or so. 

Braised Veal Shank Ragu over pasta

Yes, I found a way to deal with the Mad Cow scare. One of my readers, Jody from Alaska, pointed out that organic beef is a good option. That way, the cows are raised humanely, eating grass, instead of potentially contaminated feed.  So, problem solved, I headed to whole foods, and bought some gorgeous veal shanks.

My goal was to mimic a dish I made a few years ago, and you can actually find the recipe at Food and Wine, if you have the current issue or are a subscriber. I decided to improvise and the experiment came out amazingly well.

Veal Ragu for 2

2 veal shanks

a handful of baby carrots

1 onion sliced thin

red wine (I used a cab/shiraz blend)

3/4 cup beef broth

2 cloves garlic

vegetable oil

flour, salt & pepper

1 tabspoon tomato paste

Salt and pepper shanks, then lightly coat in flour.  In large skillet, add just enough oil to coat bottom of pan, and over medium high heat, brown shanks on both sides, then set meat aside. Add sliced onion and garlic to pan, and cook until lightly brown and soft. Add a splash of wine, say two tablespoons, to the pan and cook for a few more minutes. 

In a small dutch oven, add onions and garlic, then carrots, then place shanks on top. Add 3/4 cup beef broth, 3/4 cup red wine, one bay leaf, and sprig of rosemary. Cover tightly, and cook at 350 degrees for about 2 and a half hours, turning the shanks every 45 minutes or so.

Remove from oven, and take shanks out and set aside.  Add a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste to sauce in pan, and another two tablespoons of wine. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook pasta, then serve with shanks and sauce spooned over.

Enjoy!

:) Pam

Mad about the whole Mad Cow thing

There's really nothing like braised beef or lamb shanks, cooked until they are meltingly tender and falling off the bone, and smothered in a rich, velvety sauce tasting of wine and spices.  I just finished an article on braising for the Cape Cod Times, and have been checking out the egullet class on braising.  Also, my cute as a button new Le Crueset mini dutch oven, a back ordered Christmas gift, finally arrived a few days ago. It's tiny, just over 2 quarts, a gorgeous cobalt blue, and the perfect size for a braise for two.

Just this week, I enjoyed three days worth of leftover meatballs and sauce that were in the freezer. Strangely enough, they actually tasted better after being frozen. I always think of braising and making big pots of meatballs and sauce, as Winter comfort food cooking. Like today, it flurried all day here, was bitter cold, and another storm is on the way come Sunday.

The problem is that I read too much. It always gets me in trouble. Ignorance is bliss, especially when it comes to guilt-free meat consumption.  But, I've been stumbling across articles about this disease lately. And then the episode of Boston Legal the other night inspired me to do more research. I was afraid of what I'd find.

Mad Cow disease.  The biggest difficulty with it is the long incubation period. I could happily chow down all the braised beef and meatballs I want, and not show any symptoms for a decade or two. So, how do you know what to do? And how serious the risk is?

That is where the 'too much research, and information' got me into trouble. I didn't like what I discovered.

The Boston Legal show raised a very good point, which is a frightening one.  The USDA has a vested interest in NOT discovering Mad Cow in our beef.  If they don't test, they won't discover it.

And there's the issue.  Not enough testing is being done, because noone wants to be the one who is known for having a sick cow.  Not too long ago in Texas, I believe, there was a cow that exhibited all the signs of Mad Cow disease. What did they do? Well, they didn't test, they just slaughtered the animal and disposed of it. If he had the disease, they didn't want it made public, so they avoided discovering the truth.

But the scariest new finding is the tests that have been done on mice that now show, contrary to earlier thought, that the prions that spread the disease are not limited to the nervous system, the brain and spinal cord. They were found in the muscles of the mice.

The muscles of the cow, well that's the part we eat. So, that is a bit disturbing.

More disturbing still, is this fact. Cows, who are herbivores and eat grass primarily, are being fed feed that contains dead, rendered animals, including cows. Yes, cows are being fed cows.  And there is no guarantee that the feed is free of contaminated animals. No guarantee at all.  So theoretically, the disease could be ingested and spread.

Even if the cows are not eating cows that have the disease, just the fact that they are eating other cows, can't be a good thing.

Oh, and I just recently discovered that commercial pet food, has as it's main ingredient in many cases, 'meat' by products. Well, guess what that is? Yep, rendered animals, euthanized cats and dogs as well as other animals, including cows, are treated with toxic chemicals, ground up, and fed back to cats and dogs.  No wonder my cat is so itchy all the time, I just switched her over to a much more expensive all natural, no by-product food, called Wellness.

Using rendered animals, for pet food and cow feed keeps the costs way down. So, it really is all about money.

But it is disturbing to say the least, and is making me seriously think about not eating meat, as sad as the thought is. I just don't trust the USDA to do what is better for us, than for big business.

This is another interesting link, it is the infamous Oprah transcript of 1996, where she got in big trouble with the beef industry by saying that she thought feeding cows to cows was a bit shocking.

Next bit of research is to determine if this is just a Cow thing. Maybe I could give up beef, but still enjoy lamb shanks?

:)  Tomorrow, I'll post a great recipe for Lamb Shank ragu on pappardelle. It's from Barbara Lynch, chef at Boston's No. 9 Park, and her pastas melt in your mouth. I've made this one a few times,a nd it's amazing. Just need to track down the recipe.

Found, a GOOD merlot

I went to a wine dinner at Upstairs on the Square in Cambridge last night. That's their logo to the left, gotta love a wine drinking zebra. Every Wednesday night throughout the Winter, they are doing different wine dinners here, and last night the theme was merlot.

Lately, I've been drinking a lot of inexpensive wines, under $20, and even more so, under $10, and I've enjoyed many of them. But, one sip of the Frog's Leap 2002 Merlot, and I noticed such a HUGE difference in quality.  As our host explained, with merlot you often do get what you pay for. Unlike many inexpensive Spanish and Australian wines that as he put it are 'insanely good' for the price, merlot is simply not good at mass produced low price points. The quality suffers, and gives the wine a bad name.

But, if you want a nice, special occasion red wine, check out this Frog's Leap merlot.  It should retail in the low $30's. It is just silky smooth, and rich, full bodied and flavorful. They served it with the salad, which was frisee in a light olive oil vinaigraitte with a coddled egg on top.

The main course was a perfectly medium rare sliced steak with pureed potatoes and a red wine reduction sauce.  Though we were served a bordeaux with this course, I wasn't crazy about it, and stuck with my merlot.

Dessert was outrageously delicious. A warm individual chocolate cake, with a drizzle of chocolate syrup on the side and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. The cake was tender and slightly fudgy inside, but still light. Or so I told myself, as I ate every last crumb.

I'd go back to this restaurant in a heart beat.  The atmosphere was beautiful as well, it feels like a cozy city townhouse, with high ceilings, gorgeous moldings, several roaring fireplaces, and soft tapestries and thick linens. The kind of place you want to settle in for the evening, and enjoy a leisurely meal.

:) Pam

Decadent Valentine's Day Dinner

 

Blue Cheese crusted Filet Mignon in a Red Wine and Shallot Reduction Sauce

Well, today is the day to indulge. This is a sinfully rich dish with a luxurious, and surprisingly simple reduction sauce that comes together quickly. This is one of those recipes from Epicurious that made my mouth literally water because I could 'taste' exactly how it would be. And it was better.

The steaks are simply coated with a Maytag Blue Cheese and Panko bread crumb mix, broiled and then finished with the sauce.  Whipped potatoes and roasted asparagus work well as side dishes.  A simple salad of butter lettuces, walnuts, bits of goat cheese, ripe strawberries, and balsamic vinaigrette is a great way to start, and of course, what else but chocolate will do for dessert?   

Ideal wines would be champagne to start, and then a nice Cabernet or Cabernet-Shiraz blend.  I have two new ones I'll be trying this week, and will report back. One is Greg Norman's and the other Wolf Blass, both Cab-Shiraz blends.  The Wolf was recommended highly, and I like Greg Norman's Chardonnay, so am curious to try one of his reds.

Enjoy!

Pam

'2 vines' too good to pass up

It's terribly unfashionable these days to admit to enjoying merlot, but I've never been a fashionista.  I like red wine, and I like merlot. I especially appreciate a good cheap red wine, and this $6.99 on sale bottle of Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot was a very pleasant surprise. It was sitting right next to another Columbia Crest Merlot that was awarded 90 points by someone, and was just over $10.  I tried both, and this one won, hands down. It is a big fruity merlot, with hints of raspberries and a smooth finish. It is a wine that I'm just as happy sitting around sipping as I am having with a big bowl of pasta.  I did both.  Try it. If you like merlot at all, you will probably enjoy this one, and your wallet will thank you.

:)

Brownie Update, how MUCH applesauce?

That would be nice to know, wouldn't it? A reader pointed out that it would be helpful to have a clue how much applesauce to use.  She's completely right of course. I believe it was a half cup.  My sister used Duncan Hines, and they actually suggest the substitution on the box. It should work for any recipe though.  :) Pam

A guy learns to cook--for 3 women

This article made me smile. It's so well written, and funny. About a guy who learns to respect, and love cooking, as he 'whips up' gourmet meals for 3 different women. The beginning is below. To finish reading, click continue, and it will bring you to the New York Times site. If you haven't registered before, you might have to do so first, but it only takes a minute and is free, and you won't have to do it again.   :)

I KNEW I was in trouble when it took 40 minutes to chop a garlic clove.

"Dude, you've got to peel it first," suggested Jack, my close friend, kitchen aide-de-camp and fellow bachelor.

"If I'm supposed to peel it, then why doesn't the book tell me to peel it?" I asked. Reasonably, I might add.

"Trust me," Jack said. "Peel it."

Trust him? Jack spends nights playing snowboard video games. He broke up with his last girlfriend, a beautiful, witty and loving woman, because "she did bad impressions." His favorite dinner is Sara Lee lemon cream layer cake. Then again, Jack worked as a waiter a few years back. So I peeled. Then I chopped. This cooking business wasn't so hard. I shoveled the garlic chunks into a bowl.

"Chop," Jack said. "Not cut in quarters, chop."

That was when I realized this was going to be tougher than I thought.

Continue reading

Shocking but true, the applesauce trick works!

This is so not me. I would NEVER do this on my own, ever. Just the thought of it used to make me cringe. Brownies are one of life's greatest pleasures, especially the chewy, rich, fudgy ones. For me, they are the ultimate afternoon treat. At 3pm, a diet coke just doesn't always do it.

So, on Superbowl Sunday, I was looking forward to having one of my sister's brownies. She and the girls, my 7 year old nieces, Taylor and Nicole, had made them, and decorated them with little blue and red frosting footballs. I was just about to take my first bite when my sister told me that they were low-fat.

"I used applesauce instead of oil."

I put the brownie down. A girl in my office, a tiny little thing, size 0, 90 some odd pounds, who existed on chicken broth and chopped tomatoes, used to bake this way. She used prunes I think or something odd like that, and would proudly bring her creations into the office, where everyone oohed and aahed and threw them out when she wasn't looking. They were nasty.

"I'm all set. I think I'll have more kielbasa." The kielbasa was really good, it was bubbling away in a crockpot, swimming in barbeque sauce, pineapple and cherries.

"Don't be ridiculous. Just try one."

The girls seemed to be enjoying their brownies, if the frosting smudged all over their faces and hands was any indication.

I tentatively took one bite, and then another.

"Wow. No oil, or butter? Just applesauce? Are you sure?"

"Told you so."

Have I mentioned that I'm a brownie snob? That I am not interested in low-fat? I prefer flavor? Well, I was just floored by how good these were.

"You know, I actually like these better than the last time you made them. They had a funny taste."

"Oh, that might have been because I used olive oil."

You think?  Regardless, these brownies were just as chewy and rich as any made with oil, and maybe even better, as shocking as that may seem.

I'm already thinking ahead to my next batch, when I might slip in a bit of raspberry preserves along with the applesauce.

:)