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Week 52: See the Results and the Recipe!

27 Aug

It’s been another crazy week around here, and, although I have, indeed, tasted all three of this week’s wines, I haven’t had a chance to post about each of them individually. Moreover, I’m headed up to Seattle this weekend to attend the International Food Bloggers’ Conference, which condensed the week even further. As such, this post is a 4-in-1 – reviews of the week’s three wines along with the recipe for this week’s CorkPopper Dinner. So, here we go!!

This week’s first California Cabernet Sauvignon was a 2006 Chateau Souverain from Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, which offers warm days and cool nights tempered by the Russian River winding its way along the valley floor. This particular wine is huge, with a rich aroma of dark fruit and cedar and an enormous palate full of juicy black cherries, anise, and bitter chocolate. There’s a slightly odd aftertaste that threw me off a bit, though it mellowed out a bit with some time in the glass. You can find this wine at wine.com for $19.99/bottle.

3 corks popped!

Next, I tasted a 2006 Benziger Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County, which lies between Napa County and the Pacific Ocean. Like the Chateau Souverain, this wine has a hefty aroma of dark berries, along with a nice earthy component, which I actually really enjoy. The palate is typical of a California Cabernet Sauvignon, with lots of dark cherry, blackberry, and tobacco, topped off with a touch of oakiness. The finish is smooth and long, making this a pretty decent sipper, especially at just $17.99/bottle from wine.com.

3.5 corks popped!

Finally, we have a 2006 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, which hails from the Napa Valley. Napa, being further from the Pacific Ocean or the San Francisco Bay, tends to be warmer than Sonoma County, and, as such, produces riper fruit with (in general) lower acid levels. True to form, the fruit is pretty huge in this wine. The aroma is, once again, dominated by ripe black cherries, though there are nice undertones of anise and dried tobacco to bring the fruit back down to earth. On the palate, there’s lots of intense cherry and plum, along with some baking spice and a bit of smoke. If you’d like to check this one out for yourself you can find it at wine.com for $19.99/bottle.

3.5 corks popped!

I was actually worried that none of this week’s wines would inspire a CorkPopper Dinner. You see, the CorkPopper Project is never just about the wine. Indeed, my favorite thing about wine is its intimate relationship with food – how pairing a particular wine with a particular food can elevate both far beyond their individual qualities. And while most people start with a food and try to figure out what kind of wine with which to pair it, I prefer to start from the opposite end, taking a wine and designing a meal around it. Some wines, of course, are easy to design recipes for. They have one or two really distinctive characteristics that instantly call a particular food or flavor to mind. Other wines require a bit more creativity but are still fundamentally food-friendly. Yet others are not really suitable for drinking with food at all, as they are either too big (or tannic) to really pair well with anything or are too light and simple and are really better suited for simply sipping on their own.

The Chateau Souverain, for me, fell in this final category. It was just so big and interesting on its own that I couldn’t really picture a food that it wouldn’t overpower. The Benziger was more mellow, yes, but didn’t really inspire me to rush into the kitchen. Luckily, the smoky notes in the Louis Martini finally lit a little spark of something for me, and I suddenly found myself craving…. wait for it…. Barbecue Beef Ribs! Strange? Maybe. Delicious? Absolutely!

Barbecue Beef Ribs with Spicy Red Wine Barbecue Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 full rack of beef back ribs (8 individual ribs)
  • 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 1 large brown onion, peeled and quartered
  • 2 bay leaves
  • About 12 whole black peppercorns
  • About 1.5 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 medium shallot, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper powder*
  • 2/3 cup dry red wine (hello, California Cabernet Sauvignon!)
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

Preparation

Cut the rib rack in half. Place the rib rack and the next seven ingredients in a large pot. Fill with enough water to cover the ribs entirely. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and allow it to simmer until the meat is tender. (I cooked it for an hour and it still wasn’t quite tender enough, so be sure to give yourself PLENTY of time for this step. You can always do it the day before, if necessary. Just cool, cover, and refrigerate.)

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and saute until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the cumin and chile powder and stir for another minute or so. Add the red wine and stir another 2 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off. Add the ketchup, vinegar, and soy sauce. Turn the heat down to low and continue to simmer another 5 minutes or so. (Note: The sauce can also be made a day ahead. Just cool, cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat the grill to medium heat.

Once the meat is tender, remove them from the pot using a pair of tongs. Cut the rack into individual ribs and slather generously with sauce. (Be sure to save some sauce for the table!) Grill over medium heat, turning and basting occasionally until the ribs are nicely glazed. This shouldn’t take more than about 10 minutes or so.

Serve with grilled corn on the cob, some grilled red onion, and plenty of paper towels!

I’m giving this one 4 forks

And 4 corked forks!

Cheers!!

* You should be able to find this in the “ethnic” aisle of the grocery store.

NOTE: The recipe above was adapted from several recipes I found on Epicurious.

 
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Posted in 3 corks popped, 3.5 corks popped, 4 Corked Forks, 4 Forks, Benziger, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Chateau Souverain, Louis Martini, recipes, red wine

 

Week 51: What to Eat with the 2008 Newsome-Harlow Calaveras County Zinfandel

22 Aug

It has been yet another fantastic week for the CorkPopper Project.  All three of this week’s wines (see them here, here and here) were delicious and, I believe, proved that there are indeed California winemakers making high quality Zinfandel with neither excessively high alcohol content nor overwhelmingly overripe fruit.  On the contrary, these wines are complex, balanced and perfectly drinkable, proving themselves excellent ambassadors for the varietal to the wine-drinking public.

This week’s winning wine – the 2008 Newsome-Harlow Calaveras County Zinfandel – shows a lot of the grape’s typical berry flavors, but it also has an intriguing savory undertone that I really wanted to highlight with this week’s recipe.  The solution?  Roasted Beef Tenderloin with a Raspberry-Red Wine Reduction and Sage and Fig Balsamic Mushrooms.  Hopefully Scott and Melanie Klann will approve….

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with a Raspberry-Red Wine Reduction

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef tenderloin
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt
  • 1 package fresh raspberries
  • 2-3 cups dry red wine (Zinfandel!!)
  • 1 branch fresh rosemary
  • A few sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
  • 1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation

Trim the tenderloin, and pat it dry with a paper towel.  Rub with a bit of olive oil and then season generously with salt and pepper and sprinkle with rosemary, pressing the seasoning into the meat so that it stays.  Allow to rest at room temperature 1-2 hours before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the tenderloin in a rack in your roasting pan (to keep it out of the drippings) and roast until the internal temperature of the beef reaches 130-140 degrees for medium-rare (about 25-30 minutes). Start checking the temperature at about 30 minutes so that you don’t overcook it.  When the beef is done, remove it to a cutting board and tent it with foil for at least 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, bring the wine to a boil then add the raspberries, rosemary and thyme, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries have broken down and the liquid has reduced by about half.  Season with salt and pepper.  Strain out the solids, squeezingout all possible liquid.  In the same sauce pan, heat another tablespoon of olive oil and saute the garlic and shallot until translucent.  Add the butter and allow it to melt but not brown, stirring constantly.  Add the sauce back to the sauce pan and continue to reduce until it has reached the desired thickness.  Using a food processor or blender, puree the sauce until smooth.

Slice the beef into 1/2 inch slices.  Place a few slices atop some Sage and Fig Balsamic Mushrooms (recipe below) and drizzle with sauce.

Sage and Fig Balsamic Mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 1 pound wild mushrooms (go crazy with whatever varieties you like)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • A splash of Brandy
  • 2/3 cup fig balsamic vinegar
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt

Preparation

Clean the mushrooms by rubbing them gently with a wet paper towel.  Do not rinse them under water, as it makes them soggy.  Remove the stems and slice the mushrooms into thick (but relatively uniform) slices – about 1/4 inch.  In a large nonstick

saute pan, heat about 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and shallot and saute until aromatic and translucent.  Add the mushrooms and saute until nearly soft.  Add a splash of Brandy and (very carefully) light it on fire.  Take the handle of the pan and slide the pan back and forth on the burner rapidly to mix and allow the flames to sear more of the mushrooms.

Once the flame has died out, add enough vinegar to nearly cover the mushrooms.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the vinegar to thicken, stirring occasionally.

Pour yourself a glass of the 2008 Newsome-Harlow Calaveras County Zinfandel and propose a toast to a beautiful day, a beautiful meal, and a beautiful wine.

One word…. Yum!!

Cheers and buon appetito!!

 
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Posted in 4 Forks, 4.5 Corked Forks, California, Newsome-Harlow, Zinfandel, recipes, red wine

 

Week 50: What to Eat with the 2007 Syncline Subduction Red

16 Aug

It has been a delicious week for the CorkPopper Project. All three of this week’s Washington red blends (see the reviews here, here, and here) were truly solid, though the 2007 Syncline Subduction was the clear winner with its perfectly balanced yet complex flavor profile, especially at the bargain price of just $17.99/bottle from wine.com. When deciding what to cook for the Subduction, I knew I wanted to highlight some of Washington State’s other delicious agricultural products (aside from grapes, I mean). Washington is, after all, one of the nation’s leading producers of everything from apples to onions to potatoes. So, why not a perfect meal for the Syncline Subduction with Washington apples, onions and potatoes?!?! Genius!

Better yet, that Summer has FINALLY decided to grace Southern California with its presence, J and I hosted my neighbors, JC and GR, as well as LoSo and JSo and their brand new puppies, Guido and Penne, for a lovely garden dinner party in my front yard!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Washington Apples and Onions

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds pork tenderloin
  • 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons fresh thyme, minced
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt
  • 4 Washington apples, sliced (use whatever variety you like)
  • 3 medium Walla Walla sweet onions, sliced
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup apple cider

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spread the apples and onions in a large roasting pan. Toss with olive oil, 1 tablespoon thyme, and some salt and pepper. Roast the apple and onion mixture for about 20 minutes until almost soft, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the mustard, garlic and the remaining thyme and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Set aside.

Pat the pork dry with a paper towel and then season generously with salt and pepper. Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a nonstick frying pan. Add the pork and sear on all sides. Remove the pork to a cutting board and allow it to cool slightly, about 5 minutes, before covering it with the mustard mixture. Place the pork atop the apple-onion mixture and roast for an additional 15 minutes or so, until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the pork reads 150 degrees. Transfer the pork to a platter and tent with foil, allowing it to rest at least five minutes.

While the pork is resting, add the apple cider to the apple-onion mixture and stir over high heat until slightly reduced. This shouldn’t take more than 2-3 minutes.

Slice the pork on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices. Spoon the apple-onion mixture onto 6 plates and top with 2-3 slices of pork. Serve with Mashed Cheddar and Chive Potatoes (recipe below) and a simple salad of mixed greens with an apple cider vinaigrette.

Mashed Cheddar and Chive Potatoes

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream (you can substitute milk (even lowfat, if necessary, but you will sacrifice flavor)
  • 1 cup good aged white Cheddar (Tilamook, for example)
  • 1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt

Preparation

Boil a large pot of salted water. While the water is heating up, peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters or smaller. Once the water boils, add the potatoes to the boiling water. Once the potatoes are tender, strain them and then return them to the pot. Add the butter and cream and, using a hand mixer, blend until smooth. Add a little more cream/butter if you want creamier potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the cheddar and stir in a figure eight pattern until the cheese is melted. Add the chives and stir further. Season further if desired.

4.5 forks!

And 4 corked forks!!

Cheers!

NOTE: This recipe was adapted from one I found over at Epicurious. Great site….

 
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Posted in Syncline, Washington, recipes, red wine

 

Week 46: View the Results and the Recipe! (UPDATED V 2.0!)

16 Aug

What a fun CorkPopper week this was! Because I received the wine so late in the week, I decided that J and I would do our own little tasting of all three of this week’s Oregon Pinot Gris and pair them with one of my favorite summertime pasta dishes, Penne with Spicy Sausage, Asparagus and Pesto. Not only did this give us the opportunity to compare the wines side by side, it was also an excellent example of just how the taste of wine can literally change when you pair it with food. So fun.

Now, to recap, this week’s wines were three 2008 Pinot Gris from Oregon’s Willamette Valley (a region that will also make an appearance in a couple of weeks when I do Oregon Pinot Noir). The Willamette Valley is an ideal climate for Pinot Gris, as it is on the cooler side of temperate bit still has a nice long growing season, allowing temperamental grapes like Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir to ripen slowly and maintain their acidity and minerality.

The first contender, the 2008 Adelsheim Pinot Gris, had almost non-existent aroma, with just faint notes of white pineapple, fuji apples and slate. On the palate, J and I both agreed that although it wasn’t the most interesting or complex wine of the three, it was nicely balanced and an easy sipper for a warm summer evening, with it’s tropical fruit and crisp mineral finish. Not surprisingly, perhaps, this wine was the least impressive when paired with the pasta, as it simply didn’t have a strong enough personality to stand up to the spicy sausage, asparagus and pesto. 3.5 corks popped and 2.5 corked forks! You can find the Adelsheim Pinot Gris at wine.com for $17.99/bottle.

The second wine, a 2008 Benton Lane Pinot Gris, was initially our least favorite wine of the three, as it had an odd musty aroma. With some time in the glass, however, the must dissipated, leaving a much better aroma of honeydew melon, limestone and herbs. On the palate, the melon persisted with a nice amount of lemon zest, and the finish was wonderfully acidic. Interestingly, this was the hands-down winner when it came to the food pairing, as the acidity was an excellent counterpoint to all the spice and richness of the dish. 3.5 corks popped and 4 corked forks! The Benton Lane Pinot Gris is available at wine.com for $16.99/bottle.

Finally, the third wine was a 2008 King Estate Signature Collection Pinot Gris. J wasn’t a fan of this wine, as it had a fairly strong floral aroma and slight sweetness that, as we’ve learned through our experiences with Torrontes and Riesling, is just not J’s preferred style of wine. I quite enjoyed the honeysuckle and ruby red grapefruit flavors, however, and found it to be an almost perfect pairing with our salad, which was dressed with a white wine and grapefruit vinaigrette. 3.5 corks popped and 3.5 corked forks! You can find the King Estate Signature Collection Pinot Gris at wine.com for $15.79/bottle.

Now for the recipe: Penne with Spicy Sausage, Asparagus and Pesto

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 package fresh penne (or a box of dried penne if you can’t find any fresh at the store)
  • 4 spicy Italian sausages, casings removed
  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • Crushed red pepper
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Pesto sauce
  • Goat cheese (optional but delicious)

Preparation

Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain and set aside, reserving about 1/4 cup pasta water for the sauce.

In a large skillet, brown the sausage, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Add the garlic and onion and a little olive oil. Stir, season with some salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cover and allow the onions to soften, stirring occasionally. When the onions are about soft, add the asparagus. Season with a bit more salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir and cover and allow it to cook until the asparagus is just cooked but still crisp, about 6-7 minutes.

Add the pasta to the skillet. Stir to combine then add the pasta water and enough pesto to coat everything. Stir well.

Serve the pasta in large bowls. Sprinkle with some goat cheese before serving. Tell your guests to stir the goat cheese into the warm pasta so that it melts and makes the whole concoction perfectly smooth and creamy. Uh, yum.

4 forks!

Cheers!

FURTHER UPDATE!  Check out the appetizer J designed around the Benton Lane Pinot Gris!

Seared Scallops with Grilled Nectarine Sauce and Pancetta

Yummm!!!

 
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Posted in 2.5 Corked Forks, 3.5 Corked Forks, 3.5 corks popped, 4 Corked Forks, 4 Corks Popped, Adelsheim, Benton Lane, King Estate, pinot gris, recipes, white wine

 

An Ode to the Heirloom Tomato

11 Aug

Last night, I turned these….

The most beautiful heirloom tomatoes ever

Into this…..

Fresh Summer Ravioli with Roasted Heirloom Tomato Marinara

For anyone even remotely fond of tomatoes, there is simply nothing like Summer, when the season’s long, hot days provide the perfect conditions for the kind of ripe, juicy, kissed-by-the-sun flavors you simply can’t find in tomatoes the other 9 months of the year.  And with the increasing popularity of exotic types of heirloom tomatoes, the options are virtually endless, even in many a local grocery store (though the best are still home-grown or from the farmers’ market).  I tried to grow my own tomatoes this year (and managed to produce a few), but most of the best tomatoes I’ve had this summer have either been from my local farmers’ markets or from the garden of my good friend, LM, whose vegetable-growing prowess is newly discovered and will only improve over the years (lucky me!!).

Though the best summer tomatoes need little more than a sprinkle of salt, there is no shortage of other ways to prepare them in ways that highlight their fantastic flavors.  Here, in fact, is one of my new favorites……

Fresh Summer Ravioli with Roasted Heirloom Tomato Marinara

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

  • Several medium and large heirloom tomatoes of various colors and varieties (about 1.5-2 pounds)
  • A few fresh thyme sprigs
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2/3 large brown onion, chopped
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup dry red wine

For the Pasta:

  • 1.5 cups flour
  • Ice cold water
  • 16 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium shallot, minced
  • 1/3 large brown onion, chopped
  • 2 large handfuls of fresh spinach
  • 3-4 ounces prosciutto, chopped
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt


Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut each of the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds, leaving the meat.  Place the tomato halves cut-side up in a baking dish and drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil.  Rub the tomatoes to ensure they’re entirely covered with oil.  Season generously with salt and pepper and then sprinkle with the garlic and thyme.  Roast the tomatoes for about 30 minutes.

While the tomatoes are in the oven, place the flour in a large bowl.  Add the ice water slowly, combining fully before adding more.  Stop adding water when the dough is soft but not mushy.  Cover with a towel and allow to cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  (Note: If you don’t want to make your own dough from scratch, you can use wonton wrappers instead.)

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and, using a potato masher (or something similar), mash them up so that there aren’t any large chunks but the mixture isn’t quite smooth.  Remove the skins if they bother you.

In a medium pot, heat another tablespoon olive oil.  Saute the onion until translucent.  Add the wine and allow the alcohol to cook off.  Add the tomato mixture and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Allow the sauce to simmer uncovered until it has reduced to the desired thickness.

In a medium frying pan, heat another tablespoon olive oil.  Saute the garlic, shallot and onion until translucent.  Add the spinach and cook it down a bit.

In another large bowl, mix together the ricotta, prosciutto, spinach/garlic/onion/shallot mixture, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Boil a large pot of salted water.

While the sauce is cooking down and the water is boiling, remove the pasta dough from the fridge.  Using a pasta roller, roll out small pieces of the dough as thin as possible.  (Note:  If you don’t have a pasta roller, you’re probably better off using wonton wrappers, as the key to really great ravioli is super thin dough.) To make the ravioli, place a small dollop of filling on the dough (or wonton wrapper) and fold the dough over it, sealing the edges tightly and making sure there are no air bubbles inside.  Cut around the sealed edge with a ravioli cutter, a cookie cutter, or knife.  Continue this process until you’ve used all the dough/filling.

At this point, set the table.  The ravioli cooks quickly and should be eaten immediately (or frozen).  Turn the water down so that it is no longer at a rolling boil.  Gently place the ravioli in the pot, being sure not to overcrowd them.  They are done when they float (less than 2 minutes in most circumstances).  Using a slotted spoon, gently remove the ravioli one by one to your pasta bowls.  Top with a generous scoop of sauce and sprinkle with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

Thenn?  Savor.  Every.  Bite.

4.5 forks!

J and I ate this dish last night with the 2007 Syncline Subduction Red (full review to follow).  I expected this wine to be a bit too heavy for such a light dish, but, perhaps because it was the wine I used in the sauce, it was quite a nice pairing.  4 corked forks, in fact!

Cheers!

 
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Posted in 4 Corked Forks, 4.5 Forks, Syncline, recipes, red wine

 

Week 49: What to Eat with the 2008 Babcock Rita’s Earth Pinot Noir

09 Aug

California Pinot Noir was, as I expected, a fantastic week.  All three wines were delicious (see the reviews here, here, and here), with the Babcock and Sean Minor wines making particularly great showings.  I had to pick one, however, and (perhaps not surprisingly) Babcock won out.

When deciding what to cook for the 2008 Babcock Rita’s Earth Pinot Noir, I knew I wanted to play upon the savory “bacon” flavor in the wine without, as one might say, completely porking out.  So, instead of a straight pork dish, I decided to instead make a beef roulade* filled with speck (smoked prosciutto), burrata cheese and basil.  The thinly sliced pork gives just enough salty kick to bring home the bacon in the wine, while the cheese and basil provide a summer fresh twist and the tender beef gives the entire dish the depth and balance it needed to fully compliment the wine.

Ideally, you want the meat you use for a roulade to be as thin as possible.  I had planned on pounding down my flank steak with a meat tenderizer, but J and I spent last weekend on my parents’ boat on Catalina Island, and the meat tenderizer I was convinced would be there was, unfortunately, not.  As such, my roulade didn’t quite roll the way I intended, and the too-thick slice of beef slightly overwhelmed the flavors of the pork, cheese and basil.  With that in mind, the following is how you should make a roulade to pair with the 2008 Babcock Rita’s Earth Pinot Noir.

Beef Roulade Stuffed with Speck, Burrata and Basil

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. skirt or flank steak
  • 6-8 slices thinly sliced speck or prosciutto
  • About 4-6 ounces burrata cheese, excess water squeezed out
  • A handful of fresh basil leaves
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt

Preparation

Preheat your grill to high.  Pound out the steak with a meat tenderizer so that it is about 1/2 inch thick.  Pat the steak dry with a paper towel and then season well with salt and pepper.  Quickly sear both sides of the steak and then remove to a cutting board.  Spread the cheese onto one side of the steak, followed by the speck/prosciutto, the garlic and then the basil leaves.  Very carefully roll the steak tightly around the filling, being sure to roll perpendicular to the grain of the steak, as you want to eventually cut the roulade across (rather than with) the grain.  Seal the roulade with toothpicks, skewers or cooking twine.

Turn the heat on the grill down to medium.  Place the roulade back on the grill and close the lid.  Allow the roulade to finish cooking, turning occasionally so that each part gets cooked evenly.  Because the beef has been pounded thin and has already been seared, this whole process shouldn’t take more than about 5-7 minutes. Remove the roulade to a cutting board and allow to rest at least another 7-10 minutes.  With a very sharp knife, cut 1- to 1 1/2-inch slices.  Serve with crusty grilled bread and a simple green salad.

3.5 forks

and 3.5 corked forks!

Cheers!

* A roulade is a slice of meat (often beef) rolled around a filling (often cheese, vegetables, or other meat).

 
3 Comments

Posted in 3.5 Corked Forks, 3.5 Forks, Babcock, California, Pinot Noir, recipes, red wine

 

No CorkPopper Dinner, but….

31 Jul

J and I are out of town (yet again) this weekend, so we’re not doing a CorkPopper Dinner for the 2006 Roco Pinot Noir Willamette Valley. We did, however, make another absolutely fantastic meal earlier this week that I can’t help but share with you. Feast your eyes on this….

The Perfect Summer Salad

What is it, you ask? Well, it is nothing short of the perfect summer salad – a gorgeous flavor combination of mixed greens, grilled chicken breast, grilled yellow peaches, burrata cheese, basil and mint with a white wine and shallot vinaigrette. Y.U.M. Don’t believe me? Give it a try for yourself.

The Perfect Summer Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 large chicken breast, skin on
  • 2 slightly underripe yellow peaches
  • Mixed greens
  • 1 cup package burrata cheese
  • 7-8 large basil leaves, julienned
  • A handful of fresh mint, julienned
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • White balsamic vinegar
  • 1 medium shallot, minced
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt

Preparation

Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place the peaches cut side down on the grill. Flip them over after about 7 minutes or so and continue to grill the other side. You want them to be just tender. Rub the chicken breast with a bit of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill a few minutes on each side until the outside is a crispy brown and the inside is just cooked. Remove both the peaches and chicken to a cutting board. Slice the chicken into thick slices (or cube it if you prefer).

In the meantime, mix together the vinegar, shallot, mustard and honey with a bit of salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil slowly, allowing it to emulsify the mixture. Toss the greens in the vinaigrette and then plate the greens on two plates. Top each plate of greens with half of the burrata cheese. Arrange the chicken slices along one side of the plate and place two peach halves on the other side of the plate. Sprinkle with the basil and mint and drizzle with some additional vinaigrette, if desired.

Though this meal can stand up to a variety of red or white wines, the best pairing would probably be a Grenache. We, of course, had it with some Oregon Pinot Noir, which was not unpleasant but nowhere near the perfect pairing this dish deserves.

Place a small handful of greens on each of two plates. Top each with half of the burrata cheese.

4.5 forks!

Cheers!

NOTE: This recipe was adapted from one I found over at Epicurious.

 
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Posted in 4.5 Forks, recipes

 

Week 47: What to Eat with the 2008 Foxglove Chardonnay

26 Jul

First of all, my apologies to those of you who have been waiting patiently for, this, the CorkPopper Dinner post for Week 47 of the CorkPopper Project.  J and I spent a much-needed weekend relaxing on the back deck of Pop’s and SM’s boat, the Moana, over on Catalina Island.  We soaked up some sun (too much, in fact), did some reading (just finished Anthony Bourdain’s “Medium Raw” – I love that guy), and ate and drank to our hearts’ content.  In other words, your patience, I think, has paid off, as I have not one but two great recipes to share with you now…

First, as I think I’ve mentioned before, J and I are both huge fans of grilled artichokes, which are an easy and fantastic appetizer.  We paired ours with a 2008 Babcock Grand Cuvee Pinot Noir (which will make an appearance in Week 49 of the CorkPopper Project) because we needed to save the 2008 Foxglove Chardonnay for dinner, but this dish could easily pair with a wide variety of wines, including, of course a nice Chardonnay or even a dry rose…

Grilled Artichoke

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 large artichoke
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Freshly ground pepper and sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Lemon wedges

Preparation

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Rinse the artichoke well.  Slice it in half through the stalk.  Using a paring knife (and spoon, if necessary), cut out the choke (the hairy part in the middle).  Be sure to remove any stray hairs.  Drizzle with olive oil on all sides and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the cut side with the minced garlic.  Seal tightly in aluminum foil.

Place the foil pouch on the grill with the cut side of the artichokes down.  Cook for about 10 minutes and then flip over and cook for another 5-7 minutes or so.  Check the artichoke by removing from the grill, opening the aluminum foil (beware the hot steam!), and pulling off a leaf or two.  If the leaves come off easily, the artichoke is about ready.  Place the artichoke halves back on the grill without the foil, cut side down, and allow to caramelize slightly.

Melt the butter.  Squeeze a bit of lemon juice into the melted butter.  When the edges of the artichokes are nicely caramelized, remove them to two plates and drizzle with some lemon juice.  Serve with the melted butter.  Appetizer: Done.

4 forks and 4 corked forks!

While our appetizer was delicious, dinner was, of course, the focus, as this was supposed to be a CorkPopper Dinner designed to pair the 2008 Foxglove Chardonnay with a perfect recipe.  Well, mission accomplished here, also.

California Chardonnay is, of course, an excellent wine to pair with seafood, but its natural tendency to be bigger than, say, a Sauvignon Blanc, means that you can pair it with bolder flavors as well.  I decided, therefore, to stick with seafood – Chilean Sea Bass, in fact – but make a really fresh and bold preparation that would make this bright Chardonnay shine.

Grilled Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon, Mint and Garlic Gremolata

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. Chilean Sea Bass steak, skin on
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine (use the wine you’re going to drink, if possible)
  • 4 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
  • 1 medium shallot, finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt

Preparation

Mix together the lemon zest, the mint, 2 tablespoons of garlic, the lemon juice, and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and allow to rest while you prepare the fish.

Preheat your grill to medium-high.  Pat the fish dry with a paper towel.  Place the fish on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to fold over the fish and seal along the edges to create an airtight pouch.  Season the fish generously with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with the butter and wine.  Sprinkle with the remaining garlic and the shallots.  Fold the aluminum foil over the fish and seal tightly around the edges.  Place the pouch on the grill and cook about 4-5 minutes on each side.  Remove the pouch from the grill and carefully open the foil.  The fish is done when it is just opaque and the meat flakes away easily with a fork.  Err on the side of undercooking, as you can always put it back on the grill if it’s not done.

Cut the sea bass steak down the middle and place each half on a plate.  Top with some of the gremolata.  The buttery flavor and texture of the fish draw out the Chardonnay’s natural creaminess while the bright boldness of the gremolata highlights the wine’s steely acidity, creating a surprising balance between the wine and the dish.

4.5 forks and 4.5 corked forks here!!

Cheers and bon appetito!!

 
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Posted in 4 Corked Forks, 4 Forks, 4.5 Corked Forks, 4.5 Forks, California, Chardonnay, Foxglove, recipes, white wine

 

2008 Clos Pegase Mitsuko’s Vineyard Chardonnay

22 Jul

This week’s second wine, a 2008 Clos Pegase Mitsuko’s Vineyard Chardonnay, hails from the Napa portion of the Carneros region, which actually straddles the Napa and Sonoma County line.  This is a distinctively cooler area of Napa, making it a perfect climate in which to grow the Burgundian varietals of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  Clos Pegase, not surprisingly, produces its fair share of both.

Unlike the Foxglove Chardonnay, the Clos Pegase Mitsuko’s Vineyard Chardonnay was fermented in oak, at least a portion of which was new, lending a distinctive smoky, vanilla aroma and flavor that, to be honest, you either love or hate (my stepmom loves; J hates).  Accompanying those smoky sweet notes is a wonderfully intense flavor of sweet yellow peach, which, of course, makes me crave the grilled peaches I made for dessert the other night (recipe below).  Rounding out the deep flavors is just a touch of lemon zest, which perks up what could otherwise be a somewhat over-rich palate.

In short, although this certainly isn’t a wine for the ABC (“Anything But Chardonnay”) crowd, there are certainly those (my stepmom) who will love the long, buttery finish of this very respectable wine.  If you’re a buttery Chardonnay lover, you can find the 2008 Clos Pegase Mitsuko’s Vineyard Chardonnay at wine.com for $19.99/bottle.

3.5 corks popped!

Cheers!

Grilled Peaches

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 slightly underripe yellow peaches, sliced in half and pitted
  • Brown sugar
  • Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preparation

Pre-heat your grill to medium.  Sprinkle the cut side of your peaches with some brown sugar.  Place the peaches on the grill face down first.  Flip over after about 10 minutes and continue to cook, grill cover on, for another 10 minutes.  Flip over again and sprinkle with additional brown sugar and allow to melt.  Remove the peaches to bowls when they are just tender (but not mushy), topping with vanilla ice cream if desired.

 
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Posted in 3.5 corks popped, California, Chardonnay, Clos Pegase, recipes, white wine

 

Easy Summer Recipe: Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs

13 Jul

As you can probably tell if you follow CorkPopper with any regularity, I am a HUGE fan of both grilling and fresh produce.  So, what else can one do during these lovely summer months when there is such a bounty of delicious summer produce than figure out all manner of ways to throw it on the grill and make it tasty? 

Although J absolutely hated this recipe (figs are apparently one of the few foods he really doesn’t like), I adored it and devoured the entire plate full of these little handfuls of joy.  If you like figs, and you like goat cheese, you will LOVE this recipe, so hit up your local farmers’ market this weekend and get yourself some fresh figs before they’re gone!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs

Makes 8 small appetizers

Ingredients

  • 8 fresh figs, wiped clean with a damp cloth
  • About 1/4 cup goat cheese
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely minced
  • High quality balsamic vinegar

 

Preparation

Preheat and clean the grill.  You want the heat to be as low as possible.

Using a small paring knife, cut a slit along one side of each fig.  You don’t want to slice them in half.  You just want to create a little opening into which you can stuff some goat cheese.

In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, honey, and one tablespoon rosemary.  Using your (clean) fingers or a small spoon, gently fill each fig with as much of the cheese mixture as you can without simply tearing the fig in half. 

Place the figs, cheese-stuffed side up, on the grill and cover.  Allow to cook for about 4-5 minutes, until the figs and cheese are both soft and warm.

Remove the figs to a plate or serving platter and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Though these little flavor bombs will likely take two bites each, they are best enjoyed with one’s fingers.

Interestinly enough, this recipe would probably pair best with a juicy red wine, perhaps a Pinotage or Meritage.  I have to admit that I got so excited about eating them that I failed to actually pour myself a glass of wine!!

4.5 forks!!

Cheers!

 
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Posted in 4.5 Forks, recipes

 
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