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Great Ways to Guarantee Grilling Party Success - Tips and Advice sure that your grill party food is the best in the neighborhood by following this simple common sense advice The day of the party has arrived, the food is bought, and the gas grill stands on the deck, cleaned, checked and ready to rock and roll! The guests are starting to arrive so you fire [...]
Kim Kardashian Fashion Pictorial Kardashian is an American model and television personality. Here is Kim not only with her fat ass but now with a huge hair due. As that wasn?t enough now there are three of them. One was too much. Now enjoy Kim and her fat ass sisters!!!
(HOGS) Zhongpin Inc - Revenue Surged 116% in the Third Quarter Zhongpin Inc. (HOGS) saw revenues soar 116% to a new record in the third quarter as the company continues to expand pork production. HOGS has surprised on estimates 3 out of the last 4 quarters on average of 7.25%. The company is cheap. HOGS is trading at only 5.7x forward earnings. Company Description Zhongpin is a Chinese-based meat and food processing company that handles pork and pork products as well as fruits and vegetables. The company operates in 24 provinces in China through over 2,9
Little Cheddar Meat Loaves egg 3/4 cup milk 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats 1/2 cup onion, chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1 pound lean ground beef 1/3 cup ketchup 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard In bowl, beat the egg and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onion, and salt. Add beef. Mix well. Shape into small loaves, place in greased baking dish. Combine ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard; spoon over loaves. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or unitl the meat is n
Creole Style Crockpot Jambalaya been using the crockpot more and more for cooking at work. It lets me budget my time more effectively. I can prepare the meal the night before, when I usually have free time, instead of trying to rush to get it done in time. This realization has led to many the experimental meals, most of which have turned out fairly good. But this one has to be one of my favorites. It isn't exactly a traditional jambalaya (since the rice is cooked separate and added at the end), but is still very tasty. C
Sara Lee to exit kosher meat business, cut 185 jobs Lee to exit kosher meat business, cut 185 jobs The bankruptcy of Agriprocessors in Postville, the worlds largest Kosher abattoir, has left a massive void in the supply of Kosher meat in the United States.SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) ? Sara Lee Corp. said late Wednesday it has decided to exit ... Health 0
Ground Meat with Boiled Eggs - Lebanese Delight Serves 6: 1 lb. meat 5 hard boiled eggs 1/2 cup crushed toasted bread crumbs 1 cup butter 1 onion, small 1 egg, beaten add salt and pepper to taste Put the meat through a meat grinder twice, then follow with the onion grinding them once only. Knead the meat with the onion and seasoning. Divide the meat into equal amounts. Wet the hands with water or a little oil and flatten each amount of the meat between the hands. Place the bolied egg in the middle of the flattened meat
Rusholme Ruffians Ruffians came about because my parents used to play 'Marie's The Name' by Elvis Presley and I liked the chord change." "That was blatantly done. Morrissey said to me, 'Let's do a song about the fair,' and for some reason my association with the fair was to pull out that Elvis riff. We tried, but we couldn't get away from it." - Johnny Marr Here are the scans from the Meat Is Murder piano songbook with guitar chords, for completists. Thanks to Ted Maul for these scans:
What She Said have uploaded a Guitar Pro file here(right click to save as). Here are the scans from the Meat Is Murder piano songbook with guitar chords. Thanks to Ted Maul for these scans:
Barbarism Begins At Home came up with the riff the day that Troy Tate came up to Manchester to meet with us. It was almost because our first proper producer was about to arrive that I thought we needed a new song, maybe, and it was a sunny afternoon. We played it in the daytime, which was unusual because there were these machinists working downstairs on the floor below, and we wouldn't want to be working stuff out at high volume. There was no drums there, it was just me and Andy jamming like we used to when we were 1
Is Your Social Life Making You Gain Weight? When your best friend is ordering a burger with fries is harder for you to eat healthy. However, don?t let yourself influenced by other?s unhealthy eating habits. Here are a few tips that help when you`re next to a person that doesn?t follow a diet: If you noticed that you eat the same as your partner, and you gain weight while he or she doesn?t is due to the fact that people have different metabolisms. However, if you want to eat the same, try to reduce portion sizes. You partner will never
Guest post: Joyce?s meatballs I?ll get back to my semi-regular posting soon, I promise. For now, here?s an authentic meatball recipe from Joyce, who can normally be found tipping over small children here. Bon appetit! ?? They say the way to a man?s heart is through his stomach. I don?t know about that, but I do know that all the men in my life go absolutely ga-ga over meatballs. Incidentally I?m hosting a special ?make your own old-fashioned meatballs? clinic for my cousin and his friends tonight (my cousin has a lunc
Why Burgers Grow on Stalks last night's meeting did not feature fisticuffs. I did get home early enough to make a dent in my Netflix queue, and feel compelled to recommend King Corn, a smart, funny, engaging documentary about how our food is produced. While driving across the country, two friends realize that all the corn grown in Iowa is not edible sweet corn but instead the beginnings of processed food. They decide to rent an acre, move to Iowa to farm it, and follow their corn into the food chain. You wo
A poor story? I know they?re cold, but there?s nothing I can do, the power?s been off for 4 days now. Maybe another blanket on them and one on the windows will help. It?s still November, it doesn?t get cold enough to freeze to death this early. Image via Wikipedia Oh, if only I could have made something other than cold potted meat sandwiches for dinner, maybe they could sleep easier. Atleast there were 2 cookies left, one for each of them. Milk would have made the cookies better, but that?s too much of a
Good Old Spaghetti And Meatballs It was a weeknight. I was tired after working all day, as usual. But dinner had to be made, and the plan was meatballs. If you know me, I'm a planner, and I don't go against the plan very often. So I rallied myself and met up with my boyfriend so we could take the necessary trip to Whole Foods to shop for ingredients. He produced a sheet of paper upon my arrival. I looked it over and saw that he had printed our "shopping list," a chart of all the ingredients, shown for the whole recipe, a half
SPAM Plant Works Overtime: The Financial Crisis Menu SPAM: On the Comeback Trail SPAM Plant Workers Feast on Overtime The NY Times discovers that SPAM is on the menu at the Financial Crisis Cafe: Spam Turns Serious and Hormel Turns Out More Austin, MN-The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want. The workers make Spam, perha
STP 08 Stone Temple Pilots - Meat Plow Stone Temple Pilots
My 9 hour, £1.64 pork roast OK, ok. I give in. I'm now a card-carrying member of the AGA fan club. Yesterday I had an amazing late afternoon shopping raid on our local Somerfield which turns out to be frugal nirvana (being a noted student haunt). When we arrived at about quarter to five they were marking meat down and I picked up 350g of lambs liver for 41p and a 1.75kg pork joint for just £1.64 - both reduced by 75%. Problem was both needed to be used by the end of yesterday. I was going to marinate the pork but reckon
How to Improve Digestion and Improve Your Colon Health Too Many people are searching for ways of improving digestion. Our digestive tract contains everything between the mouth and the rectum. Each section of the tract has different functions which it performs to aide digestion. Some of the steps to improving digestion are fairly simple, while others are more complex.Regardless of which steps you take, you will be on the road to improving digestion. Improving digestion helps your body to successfully utilize the food you eat. By improving digestion you
It's time to talk turkey again--and what wine goes with it. (image from Carolina Morning)
Every year, new visitors come to this site in search of a delicious, affordable, and available bottle of wine to pair with their holiday meal. Old friends visit, too, sometimes to suggest their own picks for the year and sometimes to take issue with something I've picked. It doesn't matter why you're here--I'm glad to see you, and hope that what follows will be helpful to you as you plan for the big dinner.
If you are looking for general advice on Thanksgiving wine and hospitality, I'd encourage you to check out this article I wrote a few years ago on issues facing the host/hostess and the guests. If you are wondering what to drink with your meal, and with leftovers, you're in the right place. Here are my picks for 2008--all of which offer great taste and great value in an easy-to-find package. Clicking on the wine's name will take you to the winery's site where you can find more information about the wine and its makers. Many of the wines I picked this year are made with organic grapes, are farmed with sustainability in mind, and/or are made by families with great stories of how they got in the business of grape-growing and wine-making. Clicking on the range of prices will take you to a list of retailers who stock the wine. Maybe one will be near you.
Sparkling Wines What's a holiday dinner without some bubbles? These two picks are great for toasts, appetizers, brunch the morning after, or drinking with the main meal. Sparkling wine has great acidity, which means it pairs with most foods and there's no doubt that sparklers are festive. NV Roederer Estate Brut ($15-$20). For my money, this is the best value around in domestic sparkling wine. Expect tiny bubbles, aromas of brioche and Meyer lemon, and flavors of apples, toast, and nuts. Just as good with food as without.
NV Domaine Allimant-Laugner Cremant d'Alsace Rose ($16-$19). If you're looking for a pink sparkler, try this one. It' made with 100% Pinot Noir and has knockout fresh strawberry aromas with light berry, mineral, and citrus flavors. Like the Roederer Brut, this wine is as good with food as it is without.
Rosé Wines Rosé wines are perfect for turkey and all the side-dishes that make us groan afterwards. If you feel that rosé wines are too "casual" for a fancy dinner, don't forget the leftovers. Wouldn't a cool rosé be perfect on Saturday with your turkey sandwich? These rosé winesare dry, not sweet, and very refreshing. 2007 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Rosé($12-$16). Fort Ross makes some of the best Pinot Noir out there, and this is the rosé version of their wine. It's a beautiful color, with raspberry and strawberry aromas and flavors and a delicious stony note that keeps it complex and interesting. 2006 Jeriko Estate Rosé ($9-$13). This is a round and full rosé, with aromas and flavors of strawberries and minerals. If you don't like watermelon notes in your wine, you'll like this. Made with organic grapes.
White Wines I'm a fan of white wines for Thanksgiving. I like their freshness, and the way that they pair so beautifully with stuffing, gravy, turkey, cranberries, Waldorf salad--you name it, these whites will go with it. They're versatile and flavorful, but won't overwhelm the food. 2006 Brooks Riesling ($14-$19). This is not a sweet wine. It's dry in style, with aromas of lime, apple, Meyer lemon, petrol, and stone. You will taste lime, slate, currants, and a touch of honey which makes it ideal if you are serving smoked turkey or a turkey made with lots of spices. Exceptionally complex for the price. 2006 Adelsheim Pinot Gris ($14-$20). Delicious aromas of peach, honey, and a kiss of caramelized sugar, but there's lots of bright acidity to keep the peach and apple flavors in balance. This aromatic wine would be perfect if you are serving sausage stuffing, and while it may give a sweet impression it finishes dry. 2006 Mauritson Sauvignon Blanc ($13-$17). One of the best domestic Sauvignon Blancs I've had in a long time, made with no oak and no assertive aromas or flavors. Warm melon, Meyer lemon, and clementine aromas and flavors accompany fresh, grassy notes. 2007 Clif Bar Family Winery The Climber White ($13-$15). This white blend has a core of Sauvignon Blanc with the addition of Pinot Blanc (12%), Chenin Blanc (4%) and Muscat (3%). The result is a wine with good acidity but an impression of softness. Aromas of pink grapefruit and nectarine, and flavors of Meyer lemon, nectarine, and peach. 2007 Cupcake Vineyards Chardonnay ($11-$13; also available in CostPlus World Markets). A new label to me, this wine had clean and fresh apple and citrus aromas and flavors. There is a lovely creaminess to this wine, and a touch of mild oakiness. Very much like a white wine from Burgundy at a fraction of the price.
Red Wines There are a lot of people out there recommending Zinfandel for Thanksgiving. Unless you are very, very careful you may overwhelm your food with a jammy, high-alcohol wine. That's true for many other red wines, too. If you are serving turkey and lots of different sweet and savory dishes, red wines may not be your best bet. However, the ones below will not overwhelm your food--and the flavors may be just right for you if you like dark meat, or are serving something smoked or (gasp!) not serving turkey at all.
2006 Domaine du Vissoux/Pierre-Marie Chermette Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Traditionelle ($12-$16). Gamay is a low-alcohol, high-acid grape that produces fresh, zesty reds. You will smell cherries, berries and some chalk in this wine, and the flavors are pure, juicy Bing cherry with an earthy undertow and some mineral notes. 2006 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast ($12-$27) A great bargain in Pinot Noirs, this wine has high-toned cherry and raspberry fruit aromas, with a touch of allspice. There are flavors of cherry, raspberry, allspice, and fresh-baked cobbler with a terrific, silky texture.
2004 Quivira Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley ($18-$20). If you must, this is the Zinfandel to get. With aromas of black cherry, allspice, and cedar, and flavors of cherry, baker's chocolate, and pepper it has beautiful acidity and is very food friendly. This Zin feels and tastes more old fashioned and restrained--just the way I like them. The 2005 is also in the market, and while I haven't tasted it, ordinary drinkers on CellarTracker! seem to give it thumbs up, too. 2004 Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Crianza ($7-$12). If you think I'm nuts to suggest Tempranillo with turkey--trust me. I'm not. This is one of the great bargain reds, from Osborne's Bodegas Montecillo. There are aromas of roasted herbs and spicy berries, and nice, high-toned red fruit. Beautiful acidity and some dusty tannins make for a long, juicy aftertaste.
Whatever you serve on Thanksgiving, remember to relax and enjoy your friends and family. That's what the holiday is really all about!
Disclosure: The Adelsheim, MacMurray Ranch, and Clif Bar Family Winery bottlings were samples; I tasted both the Cupcake and Osborne wines at tastings. All other bottles were purchased by me over the last eleven months in a variety of brick-and-mortar and online stores.
Having shed Maremma, his restaurant in Greenwich Village, Cesare Casella, above left, has opened Salumeria Rosi, a chic little store and cafe with display cases of American and Italian cured pork products, bowls of antipasti, baskets of needle-thin grissini and bottles of wine against a backdrop parade of whole prosciutto hams.
I started with the idea of Ratatouille, but not enough tomatoes and some left over meat ragú lead to this improvised meal. . .
How?
First the ragú. Fry a handful of chopped pancetta in oil with a pinch of cinnamon, then when the pancetta is golden add one finely chopped onion, two finely diced carrots and two cloves of crushed garlic. Stir and fry for a few minutes, before adding a large handful of mixed fresh herbs (I like sage, marjoram and parsley). Stir and then add your meat (500g of minced beef and 300g of minced pork belly) along with two tins of diced tomatoes and a few bay leaves. Stir and once the meat is starting to colour add two generous glasses of leftover red wine. Cover and cook with gentle heat for 90 minutes, before uncovering and turning up the heat, to reduce the liquid if needed.
Now the eggplant. Dice (into 1 inch cubes) two medium eggplants and salt generously (to remove the bitter brown liquid). After an hour rinse and dry before frying the eggplant (in olive oil) in batches. When just golden, remove and place in a large baking dish. Then fry three cloves of garlic and 4 large diced tomatoes in the same pan (removing the stuck on bits of eggplant at the same time) and when soft, remove and add to the eggplant. To this add four generous ladles of the ragú (approx 1 litre of sauce) and stud the mixture with fragments of bocconcini or goats cheese (optional) and then coat with fresh breadcrumbs and a handful of grated Parmesan. Bake in a preheated oven (200 degrees Celsius) for 30-40 minutes.
Wine? This is very robust and calls for something red, firm and affordable. I had several glasses of shiraz.
I came back from the first Wine Bloggers Conference in Sonoma this weekend and there was one thing I knew for sure: I didn't want to drink any California wine. I needed a change. I caught up on my mail and read the backed up blog posts in my RSS reader and inspiration hit: I was going to drink an Argentinian Malbec.
This inspiration stemmed from two of the people I met at the conference (though I've known them via the blogosphere and Twitter for some time now): David from the blog Vinomadic, and Philip James from the wine finder and keeper site Snooth. David lived in Argentina for a time (and always gives me good suggestions on what to drink), and Snooth just had a tasting dedicated to value Malbecs. I enjoyed talking to both of them this weekend, and that was enough to send me scurrying to the cellar in pursuit of an Argentinian Malbec.
The wine that I pulled out was the 2006 Finca Las Moras Malbec Reserva (sample; suggested retail for this new release is $12; you may find it or other recent vintages near you for between $7 and $12) This wine was a simple pleasure from start to finish, because it was made in an apologetically New World fruit-forward style, but with some sensitivity and restraint. Malbec is often described as fitting somewhere between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in the flavor spectrum, but what I always think of is plums--lots and lots of plums. The 2006 Finca Las Moras Malbec Reserva did indeed have prominent aromas of plum, leather, and vanilla. These aromas were echoed in the flavors of plum and spice, and there was also a nice meaty note that gave the wine some depth of complexity. Very good QPR for this wine brought into the US by Joshua Tree Imports, who are known for their good value brands such as Razor's Edge and Fetish.
I love lamb with Malbec, and so we had this with Lamb Chops and a tomato-and-potato gratin. If you are vegetarian, I highly recommend making the gratin, and having it with some meaty grilled portabello mushrooms instead of the lamb. Whether you go with meat or a meatless option, you'll find that the meaty, leathery aromas and flavors will get drawn out by the grilled food and the beautiful plum fruit will be a nice complement to the earthy potatoes and sweet tomatoes.
Thanks to David and Philip for helping me get inspired about wine all over again. See you next year at the Wine Bloggers Conference!
I purchased the book and wine on the same day. I think the wine will appeal to most, while the book is likely to have a far narrower audience. Charcuterie (by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn) is 300 plus pages of meat, salt and smoke. I plan to start with the bacon before moving on to the pancetta. . .
Friendly is the middle of three Grüners (Singing and Charming being the other two) made by Laurenz Five. It's very good. Light, textured and mineral, it smells of flint (sulphur) and river stones coated in honey and lemon juice. Clear and persistent with pear skin and sherbet flavours rimmed by gripping texture and flesh.
Prior to my arrival on the Peninsula, my experience with wild mushrooms were both infrequent and rather tame. Having lived in Illinois, New Mexico, Colorado and Minnesota, my knowledge of mushrooms solely consisted of cute little button white mushrooms bought in the grocery store that had a slightly sweet flavor eaten raw, and when cooked, seemed to absorb any of the stronger flavors surrounding it. However, truth be told, both Illinois and Minnesota are renowned for their wild mushrooms. Every November, festivals are celebrated across the Midwest, with avid mushroom lovers coming in droves to hunt Sheepheads, Stumpers (or Honey Mushrooms), Goldentops, and Morel mushrooms, among many others. And although I have very fond memories of picking forest berries, my family was never keen on scavenging for fungi. Granted, my four year stint in Japanese restaurants exposed me to a wider range of exotic mushrooms including: Shitake, Maitake, Bunashimeji, Nametaki, Hiratake, and a long stringy snow white mushroom with a wee little head, Enoki, but nothing as compared to the variety you can scrounge up here in Catalunya, Spain.
Come fall, as humidity sits upon our valley like a thick wet blanket, fruit stands come alive with various plastic containers filled with exotic mushrooms. Many of these mushrooms are so incredible ugly that your wondering if your local vender isn’t trying to pull over your eyes, selling you something more fitting for your compost heap than your evening meal. Tófona Negra, or the Black Trumpet, is one of the most frightening looking buggers you’ve ever laid your eyes on. Black as charcoal, with polygonal warts, grooved longitudinally, the Black Trumpet’s inside, or gleba (word of the day), is born snow white in color, and through its maturation turns a dark reddish hue and eventually, jet black. However, this is rich and aromatic mushroom needs only a small piece to infuse any dish with its flavor.
Another common mushroom used in Catalan cuisines at this time of the year is the Rovelló. This funky dusty reddish-orange mushroom can be identified by its small forest green stains in concentric rings that alternate from light to dark in hue. The cap is also rather unusual, as its wide and concave, as if it never fully finished its development. These are meaty and delicious mushrooms that pair well, according to my Catalan fruit vender, with the Llenega mushrooms, a fat white stemmed mushroom with a small stocky black cap. ?Having put both of them into a cherry tomato, spinach and red pepper risotto sprinkled with cured manchego cheese, I’d have to agree with him. It was absolutely mouth watering, but I warn you, the Llenega mushrooms were covered 4 cm thick in white mold the following day. Why? I have zero idea, but my neighbors felt I overreacted when I threw them away saying, “Gabriella, just wash it off with a little water and put them in the refrigerator to stay fresh.” With the exception of placing mushrooms in the refrigerator, Ryan agreed with their consensus, but after seeing such a dramatic change in one evening, I feared for my for my poor stomach, which is anything but ironclad.
Speaking of potentially live altering mushrooms, let’s chat about mushrooms you should not eat no matter how funky and exotic they may appear to you. Although I’ve never noticed these toxic balls of fungi in the wild, I did receive a nice little lecture a few weeks ago at the “Bolets de Catalunya” festival. By chance, while walking down the Rambla Catalunya to the Boqueria Market, I passed twelve 6ft long tables in an enormous rectangle filled with mushrooms. Each mushroom sat infront of a small white sign sharing its various names in Latin, Catalan, etc; history; taxonomy; and I kid you not, level of toxicity. One skull and bones sign is enough for me to stay away for any mushroom, but 3 back to back has be running for the hills.
That said, you know the classic mushroom we all drew as a kid with its big cherry red cap with small white spores on it? Yeah, don’t eat that one, because depending on the quantities, you’ll either be hallucinating for a long while, or you’ll be on your way to the hospital. Called the Amanita muscaria, or “fly agaric”, this is not one you want to bring home and cook up for your sweetie. Nor would I attempt to eat the Ou del Diable, or Devil’s egg. From a 10-20 cm long thick white stem shoots out a medium sized teardrop head of white or gray color. Trust me, you can’t miss this mushroom, as its phallic structure and rather unappealing color doesn’t make you want to uproot it for a spontaneous picnic in the forest.
So what should you take away from this? If you can plan a visit to Spain during the mushroom, I highly suggest it. There are festivals all over Catalunya from the end of September to the beginning of November, where restaurants will even dedicate an entire meal, dessert and all, to wild mushrooms. Additionally, wines from Catalunya are a wonderful pairing with mushrooms. Whether you choose a crisp, lively Cava to a rich buttery Chardonnay, you won’t be disappointed.
If you’re interested in learning more mushrooms, while picking up a few Catalan words, head over our local mushroom site. I’ll go over some of the terms listed in the header, so that you may peruse pictures at your leisure to know what is, and is not, toxic to eat in Catalunya.
Tots els Bolets = All Mushrooms Bolets + Apreciats = Bolets Toxícs = Toxic Mushrooms Fires de Bolets = Mushroom Festivals Rutes Boletaires = Mushroom Routes Receptes = Recipes (I’ll check these out in the near future and report back!) Guias = Mushroom Guides El Bolet = The Mushroom (Great page providing you the vocabulary to describe a mushroom…in Catalan
PS: Ryan here. I had a chance to play with some mushrooms recently when Gabriella and I decided to make a mushroom tart of sorts. Here’s the general recipe off the top of my head:
Take a half an onion and saute it in some olive oil, the more the better! When it starts to get soft, toss in enough mushrooms (assorted wild ones) to make your tart. As they are cooking, roll out a few of squares of filo dough and make two round circles that fit in a pie tin, or cazuela. Pre-bake the bottom filo crust for a few minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200C or until brown. Remove the pan and allow it to cool. As the mushrooms are starting to wilt in the pan, toss in a 1/4 cup of Tawny Port, some black pepper and salt to taste. When the moisture is almost gone, empty the mushroom mix onto the bottom crust and cover it with the second piece of filo. In the oven, after sprinkling grated Parmesan cheese over the top of the tart, cook until nice and brown. That’s it! The results:
My friend Grace is a scholar of pre-Columbian history, and since I'd gotten my hands on a box of Inca Red Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), I thought it would be a fun opportunity to make a meal inspired by the Incas and incorporating as many traditional ingredients as possible.
The research phase was a little discouraging, as I don't have ready access to llama meat or any of the various critters that swim, fly, or crawl through the Andes. Guinea pigs were a delicacy of the Incas that are still enjoyed today, but I had a feeling that stopping by the pet store to pick up a few of them for dinner would get me thrown out of the store or thrown in jail. So as a compromise, I swung by the International Market at Winchester and Kirby to grab a frozen rabbit. After defrosting I cut the lagomorph into quarters and removed the spine, and dunked all of it in a buttermilk marinade for an overnight soak.
The quinoa (hidden in the shadows behind the rabbit) was cooked with chicken stock and canned tomatoes until tender, and the blue potatoes were roasted in bacon grease with garlic until nice and crispy. Quinoa, or at least this variety, has a flavor and texture right at the intersection of couscous, wild rice, and Russian buckwheat kasha. The rabbit was simply rinsed, dusted with a chili pepper blend, and grilled outside over fire.
For the wine I decided on the 2007 Paso a Paso Verdejo from the La Mancha region of Spain (the name means "step by step"). $11, 13% abv. Great pear and floral aromas with a flavor reminiscent of canned fruit cocktail. That's not an insult--it reminds me of how much I liked the combination of grapes, pears, and cherries as a child. It's slightly off-dry with a round mouthfeel.
Purely by accident I got a nice little rhyme for the title of this post. With the Spanish for rabbit and the name of this grape, I've got Conejo con Verdejo. It rolls off the tongue so well it should have been an entry in my favorite foreign language phrasebook, Spanish Lingo for the Savvy Gringo.
A few days after meeting the owner while judging a church BBQ contest, I stopped by Forest Hill Wine Merchants out near Collierville at Forest Hill Irene and Poplar. Unlike most wine shops, it's arranged by body and color, not by region. So you start on the left with light Pinot Grigios and work your way around the store to full-strength Zinfandels. Also appreciated is a section set up with recommendations for chicken, pork, beef, etc.
Right between the dry rosés and the Pinot Noirs, I found the 2006 Rémy Pannier Chinon from the Loire Valley of France. $15, 12% abv, 100% Cabernet Franc (though the locals call it Cabernet Breton). Faint berry aromas and light bodied with a tart raspberry profile. I love Loire wines and they're usually a great bargain--you may just have to spend some extra time asking questions or reading labels closely.
I served this with a big veal rib chop and an orzo stuffed bell pepper. A splash of apple cider reduction sauce and a dab of salted butter went on the chop before serving. The lighter body of the Chinon married well with the mild veal and cider sauce. It was easier to cook and more tender than a similar cut of pork but not as full of flavor as a beef ribeye. This cut can be pricey, but it's worth it for the occasional decadent treat. And if you can ever find it, the veal equivalent of a Porterhouse is wonderful. Enjoying this meat properly cooked on the bone is a whole other world than cafeteria-style Weinerschnitzel or scallopini.
It’s been a month and a half since the European Wine Blogger’s Conference, and shamefully, we’re just now getting around to not only retasting many of these wines, but simply entering our notes on the numerous great wines we tasted. Today, I want to point out a wine that I think is starting to mature gracefully and is worth your attention.
In 2006, I visited Herdade Malhadinha, while still in a learning phase regarding Alentejo wines. My palate was exercising itself to include a whole ranging of grapes and flavors I wasn’t used to. It was at Malhadinha that I first realized the great potential of the Alicante Bouschet grape having tasted a wine that was vibrant and alive after spending 16 months in oak.
Not surprisingly, the winery has grown fast, and now boasts a Spa/Country house that we have yet to visit, but I did see the beginnings of the construction last time I was there. From there website (warning heavy use of flash), you can get a feel for the facilities; and it appears to be a nice offering for the growing wine tourism industry of the Alentejo. Only a few hours by car from Lisbon, this is definitely something to check out if you craving a relaxing vacation in the Portuguese countryside.
So how are the wines? A few nights ago, we popped open a bottle of the 2006 Malhadinha Nova and were very impressed. A blend of Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is foot trodded in a lagar and aged in French oak for 14 months. During my first trip, and subsequent tastings of their wines, I found that I liked the wines, but they seemed to be in a phase of sorting out their personality and identity. The 2006 feels as if its coming into its own, and the youthful exploration of the first few years is beginning to move to the refining stage. In short, we both enthusiastically give this wine our thumbs up. Full of fruit, perfumy nose and wonderful layers, this wine was open for hours, as we enjoyed it with grilled pork and artichokes. It is a modern styled wine, where its fruit is pure and up front, but still tastes of Portugal. aAnd from my experience of Portuguese wine, I would even say that it tastes of the Alentejo.
For me the “flavor” is something I wish I could explain, but personally my sensory memory of Portugal and Alentejo wines stems from our trip through the region back in 2003. Maybe it’s the soil, the air, or the memories, but there are times when I stick my nose into a glass and it brings me back to this place and time, a smell that has been reinforced many times since with subsequent trips.
This Alentejo wine is worth seeking out. Perfect for some backyard grilling, where smokey meats require a strong, yet juicy, wine to deal with their powerful flavors. Congrats to Herdade Malhadinha, and we look forward to tasting more of your wines as you further refine your style.
Ok and now a few housekeeping notes before we head into the weekend!
Delong Iberian Wine Maps! Yes, they have arrived in Spain, and we are selling them! Thanks to Steve DeLong, we are your new European distributors. Hence, if you want to order a comprehensive Iberian wine map, head on over to our Iberian Wine Map page! We’re still working out shipping details throughout Europe, considering that it’s more expensive than we had hoped, but we’ll have the numbers for you shortly. If you are in Spain, however, you can order one today for considerably less than shipping from the US.
If your a wine blogger, please fill out the Wine Blogger survey to let us learn about you. We are trying to get a snapshot as to the demographics of a wine blogger. Hopefully, we’ll have some interesting results to share soon!
New client in the Sidebar - la Casa de las Vides is a familiar winery in Valencia that is just now beginning to export. We’ve built their site, and are now helping to spread their message. What’s interesting about these guys is their history. The name in English means, “house of the vines”, describing the family’s long history of selling vines from their nursey, a business they continue even today. We’ve asked them to share these experiences with us, so hopefully, we all can learn about the intricate details in growing vines! Please give them a visit, and say hello to Emilio, the export director from Tintoralba fame! And if you have any design skills, please leave a comment on this post.
Hope you all have a great weekend! We’ll be meeting with some fellow bloggers on Sunday for tapas and then off to the north of Catalunya to meet with the cork producers. Evidently, they want to start a blog! Should be interesting to see what they have to say!
Editor’s Note: After reading the title of this post, you may be pondering why Catavino has an article on North-East Chinese cuisine, which is a very good question. Edward Ragg, our Chinese correspondent, has been sharing his experiences living in Beijing as a wine consultant, which have included very detailed and descriptive articles on the state of Spanish wine in east Asia, as well as his experience with pairing traditional Chinese foods with Iberian wine. Considering that Edward is magically finding time to share his knowledge with us, between wine fairs and teaching WSET courses, we are clearly very appreciative. And if you have any questions for Edward, please don’t hesistate to put them in the comments.
It?s now almost two years since my wife, Fongyee, and I moved to China to begin work as wine consultants, a profession that barely exists in a country that only really began importing wine some fifteen years ago and whose own wine industry is dominated by massive government corporations.
Much of that time has, of course, been devoted to setting up a company ? no easy thing in the PRC ? getting to know the wine importers and fledgling wine magazines as well as becoming more and more familiar with the different national wine markets ? Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and further a field ? the extent of wine knowledge at consumer and trade levels, people?s expectations of wine in general and what myths v. facts abide in an emergent wine culture.
Trying myriad Chinese wines, judging at Chinese wine competitions and the teething pains of setting up a website and blog ? ever works in progress ? have had their own challenges. But we can hardly complain: this invaluable experience, by turns exciting, frustrating and occasionally downright baffling, has whetted our appetites and got our palates salivating. We?ll definitely be here for the long-haul, if we can.
But just as I was planning a series of posts entitled, ?Confessions of a Chinese Wine Consultant?, going right back to January 2007 when we first landed in Beijing, I had the opportunity to go to Dalian, a popular tourist city about an hour?s flight to the north-east of China?s capital, on the attractive peninsula of Liaoning Province (which borders Hebei and Jilin Provinces, Inner Mongolia and North Korea).
As well as having a quick holiday peep at the wine scene there, Fongyee and I, at the behest of her Chinese relatives, were subjected to a two-day eating spree ? Chinese ente
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