Birthday Dinner

Well it was my beautiful wife’s birthday and that called for a special dinner.  Since one of her favorite foods is lobster tail (and Wegman’s happened to have a couple of them) we decided on that as the main course.  Unfortunately the tails were a little on the small size so we supplemented them with some scallops.  Combined with baked potatoes and roasted broccoli and we had my wife’s perfect birthday dinner. 

Perhaps even more surprising was that we paired the dinner with a WHITE wine.  As it turned out, the Chateau St Jean Fume Blanc was an extraordinary pairing.  The nose and taste showed fresh pineapple and lemons which complimented the seafood excellently.  In fact, we decided that this was one of the best pairings we have EVER had.  It is definitely recommended … although I can’t say it went with the chocolate very well (make note that for my birthday we need red wine for dessert).

Rainy Days and Monday ...

The rainy weather decided on the dinner tonight.  In an effort to change our mood from the cool wet evening, I decided to make a special chili.  Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili looked like an excellent alternative to the usual hamburger infused version.   This turned out to be easy to make and was both spicy and tasty (although it did not have the same appeal as a regular fat enriched chili).   If you have vegetarian tendencies, I can recommend this as a good alternative … if you are a dedicated meat eater, look for another recipe.

We paired the dinner with a Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel.  This 2009 Rubus was good for a Zinfandel, but we have gotten away from the berry and fruit flavors of a standard Zin and therefore did not like this as well as some of our other wines.  Never-the-less, the wine did pair well with the chili and especially well with the chocolate.

Playing with the New Machine

Sorry, it has been a while since I have been inspired to write on this blog, but the spring weather today has certainly inspired me!  First let me apologize for the lack of wine in this posting.  We recently purchased a “Margarita Machine” and I just had to try it (mainly to reward my wife on Mothers day … that’s my story and I am sticking to it).  First I made some BBCs with banana, coconut rum, Baileys, and Disaronno.  These were very good but I have yet to get the hang of the “machine” to make a silky smooth daiquiri type drink.  I followed this up with some home made margaritas which were of the right consistency.  I guess there is a reason it is called a Margarita Machine.

            Meanwhile I actually cooked something for dinner!  Since the basil is in, we started off with caprese.   As you can see from the picture, this turned out very well and there was enough basil to make it the way I like it and not the way it seems you get it in Italy (with just a small taste of basil).  

            We also had some left over rice which my wife had the idea to combine with broccoli, fresh lemon juice, and dried cherries.  This and some roasted onions turned out to be very good side dishes for the main course of Salmon.  

            When we last went to Wegmans (yes that is still our grocery store of choice) they had "King Salmon" for a premium price.  Although we had never had this version of Salmon before, knowing that Sunday would be a special day (remember Mothers Day?) we elected to splurge on this fish and boy am I glad we did!  The fish was melt in your mouth good and when topped with a mild horseradish sauce was truly memorable (it even paired well with the Margaritas).  

            To return to one of the main reasons for this blog, we finished the dinner with a Port from Veritas.  This is a Virginia winery which has a special place in our heart since it is where our son will be getting married this summer.  Anyway, the Port was an excellent pairing with the dessert chocolate. All things considered, I believe my wife had a good mother’s day and I know I did also.

Beets that CAN be Beat

The beets were supposed to be the star.  This weekend we found some orange beets at our local grocery store and I was excited to try my hand with them.  Looking through the internet, I finally found a recipe that looked interesting.  Roasted Carrots and Beets with the Juiciest Pork Chops by Jamie Oliver looked like a real winner.  So with grand anticipation, I merrily set to work fixing the carrots and beets for the roasting pan.  I also prepared some broccoli for roasting since we needed something green (other than the rosemary on the beets). 

Anyway, I put the beets and carrots in the oven and about 40 minutes later I put the broccoli in.  At the 55 minute mark, I started some pork chops and anticipated the entire dinner would be ready in about 15-20 minutes.  Imagine my disappointment when I checked the beets after 70 minutes of cooking and discovered they were as hard as they were when I first put them into the oven … unfortunately they were also getting quite black.  We covered them and continued roasting for another 20 minutes while I pulled the broccoli out of the oven.  I also turned the pork chops way down and covered them to stall their cooking. 

When I came back to the kitchen to check on everything, I found the pork chops swimming in a pool of their own juices (by the way, it’s never a good idea to boil meat) and the broccoli was cold.  The only fix I knew of was to put the broccoli back into the oven while I partially drained the pork chops and turned them on high.  A long 10 minutes later, I served this disaster.  I have to say it was better than I expected but not nearly as good as I had hoped.  The beets and carrots were still hard (even after more than an hour and 45 minutes in the oven) but the pork was surprisingly tender after being boiled alive.  As you can see from the picture above the plate even looked presentable.  All things considered this was a dinner which provided nourishment but was far short of the anticipation.

As a contrast, the dinner was paired with a 2008 Corbières Rouge, Grande Cuvée from Castelmaure Vineyards.   This wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan and was purchased for about $12.  It is rated 91 points by wine enthusiast and was dark and intense and paired well with the pork and (highlight of the dinner) the chocolate.

Wild Boar

One of my favorite diners in Italy was a Wild Boar Pappardelle.  This was served with fantastic Chianti and made for a fabulous meal!  I have been trying to figure out how to recreate this ever since.  My daughter even went so far as to give me a pasta machine for my birthday so that I could make the Pappardelle pasta.  I was thus only missing the key ingredient … wild boar.  You would think that finding a boar in the DC area would not be that difficult but for some counterintuitive reason it seemed to be.

Imagine my excitement when we found a Wild Boar shoulder at Wegman’s this weekend!  I could finally recreate my vision of culinary nirvana.  After a search on the internet I found a recipe by Anne Burrell.  The fact that it included unsweetened cocoa powder only served to convince me that this was the recipe I should attempt.  After three hours of cooking, it turned out very well if I do say so myself.  The boar was very tender and the sauce was thick and rich.  The only improvement I could make would be to add fresh ground nutmeg early in the cooking to give the dish a little more depth.  I even had some success with the pasta.  I have to admit that it was not as good as that memorable meal in Italy but it was never-the-less delicious and worth a repeat performance.

The dinner was paired with what has become our house wine  and a wine I have talked about before.  d’Arc from Tre Donne is a delicious wine we discovered at a local wine shop in Fredericksburg.  It is a blend of varietals from the Piedmont region of Italy and is smooth and intense and paired well with both the boar and the chocolate.

Homemade Pasta

      I have always wanted to try to make my own handmade pasta.  So, when I received a pasta maker for my birthday, I knew I would have to try my hand at the challenge!  I made a whole wheat pasta (1 cup whole wheat flour, ½ cup all purpose flour, 2 eggs, and a small amount of olive oil) and it turned out to be easier than I thought it would be … although it was also messier than I had hoped it would be.  I topped the fettuccini pasta with a homemade marinara sauce with mushrooms.  Sprinkled with freshly ground parmesan and the dish was actually good enough to be served at the Trattoria.

      We paired the pasta with a 2005 Bordeaux Superieur.  This was a very complex wine with a smooth finish that complimented the acids in the pasta excellently!  Of course it also went well with chocolate.

Nothing Special

We really had nothing special tonight.  We sautéed Mahi Mahi with some Island Fish Spice and combined it with roasted butternut squash and left over roasted Brussels sprouts from last night.  It all made for a tasty dinner with little effort.

This was paired with one of our house red wines, Les Enfants Terribles.  I have written about this $10 wine earlier and it is still as good as it ever was.  By the way, although I said it was nothing special … I may have lied because the chocolate pairing was special.

Cannelloni Beans from Italy

The last time we were in Italy we purchased a bag of dried cannelloni beans.  These are basically a white kidney bean which we use for one of our favorite dishes … Tuscan Chicken with White Beans and Wilted Greens (see a previous blog).  This time we decided to make something different with the beans so a search on food network dot com came up with Tuscan Shrimp with White Beans by Michael Chiarello.  We teamed the shrimp with roasted Brussels sprouts for a great and very filling dinner.

            The most difficult part of this meal preparation turned out to be the cannelloni beans.  We soaked them overnight but they were still hard so I put them in a skillet and added some water and let them simmer and simmer and simmer.  After about an hour and a half, the beans were finally soft and ready to serve.  As a contrast, the shrimp took about 10 minutes from initially putting the pan on the stove to putting the shrimp on the plate.

            The dinner was paired with a 2005 Valserrano Reserva.  This excellent red wine from Spain is an Alfio Moriconi selection from Total Wine.  It went very well with the dinner and of course paired well with the inevitable chocolate.

Wine was the Star

Our daughter is very partial to pumpkin so October is her favorite culinary time of year.  Therefore, when she found a recipe for pumpkin gnocchi she insisted that we make it and of course, since I like pasta, I readily agreed.  Although the dish used roasted butternut squash instead of pumpkin it surprisingly had the flavor and texture (and of course the color) of pumpkin.   This turned out to be unfortunate since when combined with the gnocchi it made a truly horrible (sticky and far too sweet) combination which could not be saved even when topped with toasted walnuts.  We were able to save the dinner somewhat by serving roasted tomatoes and onions on the side.

We paired the dinner with a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  “Cult” is an excellent wine with full body and very flavorful.  This complex wine was fantastic but even it could not bail out the disaster that was the gnocchi.  It did however go very well with the chocolate.

Missing New Orleans

It has been several years since we have been to New Orleans and I guess we were just missing it.  That is the only explanation I offer for why we were drawn to a Shrimp Creole with savory sautéed rice for dinner.  This was another volunteer from our Cuisine for Two cook book and it turned out to be just what we were interested in.  The seasonings on the Shrimp were perfect with just enough of a spice kick to give a little Creole burn.  The rice was sautéed in the pan with chunks of ham and green peppers and the cooked shrimp.  We added some roasted broccoli for a perfect meal and just let the good times roll.

            We paired the meal with a 2009 French cuvee which we purchased for about $10 per bottle.  Les Enfants Terribles is a blend of Mourvedre and Syrah which was a perfect compliment to the dinner.  The wine makers named the wine in honor of their 5 children and I can only guess at the mischief they must create.  Since the wine also compliments chocolate very well, I have to believe the “terrible children” must like chocolate which makes them all right in my book!

Coconut Fish

Tonight we decided to have Grilled Cilantro Fish in Coconut Broth.  This was another selection from our Cuisine for Two cookbook and was another winner.  The halibut was marinated in a cilantro and garlic marinade before it was grilled.  The recipe also included a sauce made with ginger, coconut milk, and serrano chile peppers.  We included black rice and roasted brussel sprouts for a delicious meal.  The halibut was great but the sauce was amazing and the black rice lent some body to the dish. 

It was a fantastic meal which we paired with a Vouvray wine.  Vouvray is a French white wine which went very well with the fish.  We topped off the dinner with a desert of pumpkin pie (seems like it is now fall).  The wine went superb with the pie but I have a suspicion it would have gone even better with chocolate.

Tarragon Chicken

If you follow this blog, you know we like chicken.  With that in mind, we searched the internet for a new recipe for a chicken dish.  We came across a Tarragon Chicken at myrecipes.com.  Since we still have some tarragon growing in the south forty of the gardens, we decided this would be a great dish to try out.  We combined the chicken with left over sautéed vegetables from last night and some roasted butternut squash.  I fix the butternut squash by cutting it into small pieces, drizzling olive oil over it, and sprinkling roasted cumin, salt, pepper, and nutmeg over it all.  As a side note, use fresh ground nutmeg … the difference is surprising.   By the way, when fixed this way, the butternut squash tastes and looks very similar to sweet potatoes (without the carbs).

            We paired the dinner with a 2010 Dogajolo Toscano.   This is a Sangiovese & Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Tuscany Italy which we purchased from Costco for about $10 a bottle.  Although I have to admit, we selected this bottle  because we liked the pretty label, it turned out to be a good wine that went very well with the dinner and even better with the chocolate!

White Again

Well we once again dived into our Cuisine for Two cookbook and found another new recipe.  This was for a Moroccan Spiced Halibut with sautéed vegetables and lemon parsley couscous.  The halibut had a delicious crust, the vegetables were fresh with a citrus flavor and the couscous was creamy and rich.  All in all, it was an excellent meal with only one problem … what wine to pair with it.

After a lot of soul searching we decided on a white?  That’s right, I said a white.  The Chateau St. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay turned out to be an excellent choice.  With flavors of pineapple and mango, it complemented the dinner perfectly!  And for a white wine it went ok with the chocolate.

Pepper Pork

We once again dived into the “Cuisine for Two” cookbook to find an alternative for dinner tonight.  When I stumbled on the recipe for pepper pork, I knew we had found another alternative to our regular Cruz Bay Grill Rub pork.  This recipe included pork with a spicy ground pepper corn crust and a delicious sauce with apple juice and calvados.  The menu also included an apple barley salad which went very well with the pork and roasted broccoli.  All in all, the dinner was excellent (however the sauce was fantastic).

This was paired with a 2009 Pinot Noir from France.  Red Bicyclette is a light wine which should pair well with poultry and seafood.  Although it was not a truly epic match, the wine did go well with the pork and just as well with the chocolate.

Maybe White?

We ran across a fantastic new book with healthy recipes called “Cuisine for Two” (before you tell me this has existed for years, let me state that it is at least new to us).   Anyway, the first dinner we decided to create was Pistachio Fish with Pineapple Rice.  The baked halibut with a pistachio crust was a great change from our usual way of cooking fish (with the island fish spice) and the pineapple rice was fantastic and a recipie we may try in the future with pork.

Unfortunately we tried to pair this dinner with one of our favorite red wines.  Les Enfants Terribles, is a 2009 blend of Mourvedre and Syrah.  At $8 per bottle this has become a wine we really enjoy.  However, I have to admit it did not pair very well with the fish and probably for the first time in a long time (maybe forever), I have to admit a white wine would have paired better.  We actually had a good white wine last night (a Chateau St Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay) that would have paired perfectly with this dinner.  I know Tom … but this realization is probably what caused the earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods we have been plagued with.

On the flip side I can categorically state that the wine went perfectly with the chocolate!

German Heritage

My father thought I should pay some homage to my own heritage by sampling some traditional German fare in this blog.  So I thought, what could be more German than Sausage and Sauerkraut?   We bought some spicy chorizo chicken sausage from Wegmans.  These are not only low in fat, they are also very tasty.  We paired it with some sauerkraut we also purchased from Wegmans.  I split the sausages lengthwise and sautéed them in a pan, heated up the sauerkraut and had the start of a great dinner.  We had decided to make sandwiches with this combination so we purchased a loaf of focachia bread; split it and cut it into sandwich sized pieces.  Now all we needed was some Thousand Island dressing for the sandwich but (oh-no) we did not have any!  So my creative wife decided to try to make her own version.  She combined mayo, ketchup, relish, and some mustard and thereby made a great spread for the sandwiches.  Lastly, we added some whole wheat taco chips.

The only question was what drink to pair with the sandwiches.  If I were to follow my usual rule of thumb (pair food with wine from the same region) I guess I would pair the meal with Riesling or more likely some German beer.  Unfortunately we had neither so I selected a Spanish Tempranillo.  Campo Viejo is a 2005 Reserva which I have to say successfully complemented the sausage.  Of course it also went well with the German chocolate for dessert.

Hurricane Lamb

We stopped by Wegmans to get ready for Hurricane Irene (we needed orange and pineapple juice as well as Coco Lopez … we already had the rum).  Anyway while cruising through the store trying to decide what to have for dinner; we came across some lamb shoulder chops.   Since I was excited to try something new, we picked up a package of the chops and brought them home.

            After some internet research, I discovered a recipe for Pan-Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops.   It must have been destiny … we had all of the ingredients so this looked like a perfect change of menu for the Trattoria.  We paired the lamb with fresh corn on the cob and roasted brussel sprouts; both also available at Wegmans.  The lamb marinade was a relatively easy recipe to make.  I really liked the use of fresh rosemary and lemon juice; although I added some lemon zest to the marinade to “kick it up a notch”.  My only complaint with the lamb was the instructions included recommended cooking time on each side … this was essentially 6 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second side.  Although I actually cooked the chops for about 8 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second they were still very rare.  We are not fans of rare meat and so this presented a problem.  However, I think I could have solved the entire issue by turning off the lights since the lamb tasted excellent and was very tender (just awfully red inside).

            We paired the dinner with a 2004 Brunello Di Montalcino which we purchased for $70 from Kybecca (hey the earthquake and hurricane have convinced me that life is too short for bad wine).  This Sangiovese wine from Tuscany was rated 93 points by Wine Spectator and includes plum notes and very soft, juicy tannins.  It pairs well with lightly grilled meats and it was an excellent pairing with the lamb!  Of course it also paired well with the chocolate.

And the Earth Moved

Yesterday, we decided to make soup for dinner.  My favorite recipe is a “Tuscan Chicken with White Beans and Wilted Greens”.  This includes fennel, onion, Swiss chard, and cannelloni beans (if you are really interested in the recipe, send me an email and I will forward).  Anyway since soup does not really go well with a Virginia summer, we have not made this particular recipe for several months and were really looking forward to it! 

We paired it with some warm bread (to dip into the soup) and had a meal that is unequaled.  We also included a Virginia Merlot from Barboursville, Va.  I have previously commented on this Merlot and how I believe it is unusual as an affordable and delicious Merlot from Virginia.  Also, as I said, even though this is our favorite soup, we have not made it for several months. 

I guess with this convergence of unusual events it was inevitable that something incredible would happen.  In short, as a result of these choices, the earth moved in Virginia … so I have to offer my apologies to those affected by the earthquake since it seems I may be inadvertently responsible for this event. 

Anyway, I can verify that the soup and wine combination were worth the effort and the chocolate pairing would have made my earth shake regardless of any thing I could have done otherwise.

House Wine at the Trattoria

We had leftover Cruz Bay pork roast tonight.  It was served up with roasted broccoli and a zucchini and tomato sauté.  The sauté is a recipe I created to duplicate a dish I liked in a restaurant (before you ask, I can’t remember the restaurant).

I first cut the zucchini and an onion into thin strips.  I then sauté the onion and zucchini and add a diced garlic clove.  This is seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried basil.  After the onion, zucchini, and garlic brown I add a can of Huntz fire roasted tomatoes.  Finally, I cover and cook on low for about 15 minutes or until the zucchini is soft.

The dinner was paired with what has become our house wine.  d’Arc from Tre Donne is a delicious wine we discovered at a local wine shop in Fredericksburg (Kybecca).  It is a blend of varietals from the Piedmont region of Italy and is smooth and intense.  At $15 per bottle it is a great bargain and a wine we can share every night … even those nights we only have chocolate.

Onions as Good as Potatoes

We decided to have pork loin for dinner.  I like to fix it in my favorite cooking vessel a Le Creuset French pot.  I cook it with a heavy coating of Cruz Bay Grill Rub; then brown it on all sides on high heat and then add some red wine, cover and let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

We paired the pork with roasted brussel sprouts and I thought about roasted potatoes (either sweet or white).  Although I have to admit I was really looking forward to roasted rosemary potatoes which are like French fries.  Unfortunately, we did not have any potatoes of either kind.  My first thought was this was a disaster but then I thought if I couldn’t have “French fries” perhaps “onion rings” would be just as good.  So I took a couple of Vidalia onions and sliced them into thin rings, then coated them with olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and roasted cumin.  These were spread out on a cookie sheet and roasted at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.   Success … they came out crunchy and similar enough to onion rings to satisfy my taste buds.

The wine we chose was a 2005 Bordeaux.  The Vieux Chateau Landon we selected was a Cru Bourgeois from the Medoc region and was delicate, medium colored, and elegant.  It paired very well with the pork, the onions and even better with the chocolate.