The Sahel to Smash -- Africa!

ONLINE WINE WAREHOUSE SALE! Touring & Tasting is trying something new--a 4 hour online wine warehouse sale tomorrow, March 19th, from noon to 4 pm. Prices are unbelievably low--up to 70% off retail prices. You need to be an email subscriber (no obligation, get off the list any time) to be eligible--look at the details here.
This week's wine pairing recipe:

JAPANESE GRILLED TUNA AND PEA PODS WITH ROASTED SESAME SAUCE:

1 tuna steak 1 to 2 lb. (1/4 or 1/2 lb. per person depending on preference)

1/2 cup sake

1/2 cup Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)

1/2 cup dark soy sauce

1 Tbsp. grated ginger

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 cup fresh Chinese pea pods

Sesame dressing ingredients:

4 Tbsp. red miso

4 Tbsp. white sesame seeds

1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. Mirin

Mix the sake, 1/2 cup Mirin, soy sauce, ginger and lemon in a glass mixing bowl and add the tuna, turning to coat on all sides with the marinade. Cover and put in the refrigerator for half an hour, turning once in the middle of the marinating time.

Pull the string off the back of the pea pods and steam for just a few minutes, until they are bright green, softened but al dente. If you have a pea pod tendril to cook and use as garnish, steam this also. Rinse with cold water, drain, cover and put in the freezer to chill for a few minutes.

Spread the sesame seeds in a thin layer on an ungreased baking sheet and toast under the broiler, stirring, until they are golden brown. Remove to a spice grinder and grind them into a paste. Add the miso, sugar and Mirin and mix well. You can refrigerate this, or alternatively, warm it just before serving for a contrast with the cooled pea pods.

Put the tuna steak on the baking sheet and broil the tuna until the outside is browning and bubbly, then turn and cook the other side. Plate the tuna and the pea pods, pour the sesame sauce over the pea pods. Serve with Japanese white rice and a glass of the crisp 2007 Edward Sellers Blanc Du Rhone. Serves 4.

WEEK #7 CULINARY CLASS:
We took on the cuisine of the entire continent of Africa this week. Africa's 11,668,545 square miles makes it over 3 times the size of the US! The world’s largest desert, the Sahara, bisects the continent from east to west, cutting a wide swath across the top of the continent. It is fringed with the Sahel, a semi-arid savannah with a largely nomadic population, moving their cattle and goats as the growing season determines the availability of fodder. Central African food usually consists as of a stew or soup, cooked on a pot over a fire since cooking implements need to be simple for easy transport. There is some cultivation of crops despite poor growing conditions and corn is a staple food, with peanuts and beans added when possible.
    Northern Africa’s proximity to the Middle East and the Mediterranean fills their cuisine with aromatic herbs such as cumin, caraway, coriander, cinnamon, saffron, ginger, garlic and hot red pepper. North Africans like flower water, couscous, sweet tea and sweet deserts. Since many north Africans are Muslim, pork is avoided. Meals are lavish affairs with much care taken to provide numerous dishes with contrasting tastes, textures and aromas.

    East Africa is home to the largest tectonic plate rift system in the world, giving birth to both the Great Rift Valley and Mount Kilimanjaro. Though the base of the great mountains are still hot and dry, elevation brings a temperate climate and abundant rainfall. The conditions are much improved for agriculture, but sadly the politics of Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania have brought starvation to much of the population. During the time of English imperialism, the British presence was strongly felt, resulting in blander food. Many lakes and rivers, including the world’s longest, the Nile, provide fresh fish. When my father was in Africa one summer, he was served Nile perch from lake Victoria at every meal since they can grow to be larger than a VW bus and are not difficult to catch for such a large source of protein (much easier than bagging a rhino or gazelle!).
    The Dutch East India Company established a station at Cape Town, South Africa in 1652 and Malayasian slaves were brought in as laborers. In the 1820 Boers (Dutch, Flemish, German and French settlers) expanded the settlement. The discovery of diamonds and gold in the 19th century brought immigrants from around the globe, looking for mineral wealth. The international influences in South Africa is reflected in its national cuisine--see my blog post of March 4 10 for a South African recipe. Smash is not a crash, but a recipe made from tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and mustard.
    Western Africa enjoys rain and humidity from moisture-laden clouds blowing in from the Atlantic, but unfortunately the soil is poor. Tropical fruits do thrive and the cuisine uses these amply, as well as chili pepper. Seafood is prevalent, both fresh and dried. Okra, yams and cassava are important ingredients in west African cuisine. The travesty of slavery brought many west Africans to the New World and the west African cuisine is reflected in the cuisines of former slave countries, including the US.
    My team won the gold medal this week! Jessica made scrumptious banana beignets beautifully plated with mounds of whipped cream and chips of brickle--yum. Kyle made a spicy fish stew and I made chicken and eggplant couscous with a crisp cucumber salad and dukka--a toasted nut, sesame seed and spice. I brought the remainder home and have been eating dukka with everything--on my eggs, with flatbread--just dip in olive oil, then in the dukka, and on a green salad--especially yummy on spinach and tomato with a Basalmic vinegrette. I didn't measure my ingredients, so the following dukka recipe is an approximation--but be creative! The local olive oil company il Fustino sells dukka made with roasted almonds, sesame seeds, sundried tomato, onion, garlic, salt and oregano.

TAMA'S DUKKA RECIPE--ROASTED NUTS AND SPICE:

1/2 cup white sesame seed

1/2 cup cashews

1 Tbsp. caraway seed

1 Tbsp. celery seed

1 Tbsp. coriander seed

1/2 tsp. hot chili pepper

Chop the cashews roughly into 1/4" across pieces. In a dry pan, add all the ingredients and toast over high heat, stirring continuously until the sesame is a toasty brown color. Easy!

La Cucina Italiana -- Cacciatore e Tiedla

This week's recipe is from our Culinary Arts class two weeks ago covering the cuisine of Italy.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE:

1 fryer chicken, cut into pieces
flour, for dredging
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 oz. pancetta (or one strip bacon) minced
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. button mushrooms
5 peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. sage
1 tsp. marjoram

1 tsp. thyme
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cooking sherry
Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Dredge with flour. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot with a tight fitting lied (like Dutch oven) over medium and cook the pancetta or bacon for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken and brown on all sides, then add the onion, and garlic, cook until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally. Stir in the herbs, then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and sherry. Bring to a boil, stir, then turn down to low, cover tightly and simmer for an hour, turning the chicken over halfway through the cooking time. You can leave the lid off for the last half hour for a thicker sauce. Serves 4. Serve with pasta or sop up with crusty French brea and pour the French Rhone: 2005 Domaine de Cristia Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau.

I frenched the chicken which gives a nicer presentation, here's a YouTube how-to:
Being on the subject of Italian cuisine, this is the perfect post for sharing a recipe from Mary in Omaha who learned how to make "Tiedla" from her Italian grandmother. This recipe will be great for anyone who wants to cook Italian food without garlic and onions; it has plenty of flavor from the fresh herbs. Mary prepared it with all fresh ingredients from her backyard garden; it's easy to make and goes with almost everything. It brings back happy memories of summer, and the sensations of harvesting vegetables from my garden: the aroma of fresh-cut basil, the heat of the sun warming my back and the tomatoes bursting with flavor, the cool undersides of zucchini plants and their prickly stalks, the buzz of bees and flashes of iridescence from hummingbirds and the bright reds, greens and yellows of glossy vegetables on my kitchen counter.

TIEDLA:
8 ripe Roma tomatoes

8 medium potatoes
1 large zucchini or 8 6" zucchinis
handful of parsley
2 sprigs of marjoram
2 sprigs of oregano
4 sprigs of basil
olive oil
salt
pepper
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Boil a big pot of water and put in tomatoes, cook until the skin bursts (about 1 minute) then remove into a colander. Peel and slice the potatoes thin (1/8"), slice the zucchini into 1/4" slices. Remove the stems of the herbs and chop together. Remove skins from the cooled tomatoes. Put the tomatoes into a wide bowl and mash thoroughly with a potato masher, then add the chopped herbs (do not drain the tomatoes). Spread a layer of zucchini on the bottom of a large casserole, then a layer of sliced potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue this to fill the casserole, leaving an inch of space below the rim and ending the layering with a layer of zucchini rather than potato. Pour the tomato sauce over the vegetables, cover with tin foil and bake for the first hour. Remove tin foil and bake another hour. Check the casserole during the last hour--if it starts to look like it is getting too dry, replace the tin foil. When fully cooked, the potatoes should be soft. Top with grated Parmesan if desired. Pair this with a California Chardonnay or the creamy Edward Sellars Blanc du Rhone.

CULINARY CLASS WEEK #6: Russian food was on the menu, my team made a Stroganoff with hand-made herb noodles by Kyle, Kenny made blinis with sour cream and caviar and I made stuffed cabbage, molded like my post Dec. 9 09 but with a meat stuffing and served with traditional sweet/sour sauce. Here's the sauce recipe:

POLISH STUFFED CABBAGE ROLL SAUCE:
3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 apple, peeled and minced fine
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. honey
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients except salt and pepper in a saucepan and simmer for 1/2 hour. Taste and add salt and pepper only if desired. You can puree the sauce for an even consistency. Serves 4. Click here for vegetarian cabbage roll recipe or here for meat filled cabbage rolls.

Wake up, America, your food may kill you!

I rented "Food Inc." from Netflix and watched it last night. Every American should view this film! Or at least look at the trailer: www.foodincmovie.com/ and read the info on their website, in order to understand the travesty of industrial farming. The material covered by the film is supported by information from my Food Safety class and from our guest lecturer--a Santa Barbara Health Inspector. A brief list of some things I've learned between class and the film:

1. feed lot cattle are fed corn because it is cheap, but their stomachs are designed for grass; corn feed causes ecoli to proliferate leading to 71,000 illness and around 60 deaths per year, mostly of children under 15
2. feed lot cattle stand in fecal material and are coated with it when they go to the slaughterhouse where they are butchered without being cleansed, meaning the fecal matter is mixed with the meat
3.  scrap pieces of flesh are ground up and soaked in ammonia to kill pathogens, then pressed into meat filler called "pink slime" which goes into 75% of ground beef (read the NY Times article, including how the USDA allows 15% of this sludge in school lunch meat)
4. agricultural and chicken farmers have become serfs to the multinational corporations who can put out of business any farmers that don't want to use the inhumane livestock practices or use the pesticide and fertilizer dependent seed
5. there is no such thing as a "24 hour flu" or "48 hour flu", influenza is a 7-10 day illness, the others are due to food borne illness--what we used to call food poisoning. The Center for Disease Control says 76 million illness a year are due to food contamination with 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths
6. the FDA, which is supposed to safeguard our health, has been populated by former Monsanto executives and lobbyists--in both the Bush and Clinton administrations. Monsanto has created a monopoly in seed where the farmer cannot save seed from one year to the next without facing a lawsuit. Plus genetically modified crops are fertilizing nearby acreage, meaning we are all facing eating genetically modified food without knowing what the long term effects will be.
7. We can change things! I think the answer is to eat organic, eat local, eat humanely raised meat (Fox News video on difference between corn fed and grass fed), poultry (website on chicken farming) and eggs--or even better--eat vegetarian food. But, make up your own mind--just be informed in your choice by taking a look at what's happening to our food supply. Ignorance might be bliss in some instances, but not when ignorance can kill you or your kids.

(View Anderson Cooper's interview on CNN with the director of Food Inc.)

In case you think that I'm being unduly harsh with US food production practices, I want to point out that in general the US is far safer than many other countries, including China. You have probably read the headlines about thousands of US pets dying from contamination in pet food imported from China, thousands of babies and children in China poisoned by melamine in milk products and dangerous antibiotics and pesticide in seafood and farmed fish imported from China. If you haven't read the headlines and haven't avoided Chinese food products, you might want to read what the Washington Post article by Rick Weiss has to say, including: "For years, U.S. inspection records show, China has flooded the United States with foods unfit for human consumption. And for years, FDA inspectors have simply returned to Chinese importers the small portion of those products they caught -- many of which turned up at U.S. borders again, making a second or third attempt at entry. Juices and fruits rejected as 'filthy.' Prunes tinted with chemical dyes not approved for human consumption. Frozen breaded shrimp preserved with nitrofuran, an antibacterial that can cause cancer. Swordfish rejected as 'poisonous.'" or the summary of the FDA report from 2009 which includes:"[problems with Chinese imports] 'filth', unsafe additives, inadequate labeling, and lack of proper manufacturer registrations—are typically introduced during food processing and handling. Another of the most common problems—potentially harmful veterinary drug residues in farm-raised fish and shrimp—is introduced at the farm." or from the full version of the FDA report: "Chinese authorities seek to control the safety of food exports by certifying exporters and the farms that supply them. [but] Certified exporters constitute a small fraction of China’s food industry. Most of China’s 200 million farms and food companies are, in theory, excluded from export supply chains." (Full version and summary found at this FDA link) Another informative article is a report on the last 10 years of problems from CNN and from WorldWatch on environmental pollution in China. For the opposing viewpoint, read the rebuttal to the New York Time's article on ammonia-treated beef by the producer Beef Products Inc.

Bobotie and Mulderbosch -- South African adventures

Stolpman Vineyards' Italian-Style Crackling Pork Roast:

2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
4 fresh bay leaves, whole
1 tablespoon sage, chopped
Fresh ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, crushed
zest from 1 orange
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
3 tablespoons Stolpman Olive Oil
1 boned and rolled pork shoulder or leg, skin scored
olive oil
Kosher salt
*The key to “crackling” is to start roasting the pork in a very hot oven and
sprinkling the skin with lots of salt. The extra salt can be brushed off
before carving.
Mix together the chopped herbs, pepper, garlic, orange zest, crushed fennel seeds and
Stolpman Olive Oil. Rub mixture into the pink flesh of the pork, not on the skin.
Marinate overnight or for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 450º F. Remove pork from refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting.
Rub the skin with the extra olive oil and sprinkle very generously with
kosher salt*. Rub the salt into the skin, place in a roasting dish and put in oven to cook for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º F. and continue to cook for 1 hour (or 30 minutes per pound). Pork is done when the internal temperature reaches 165º F. and
juices run clear.
To serve: Allow pork to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with rice pilaf, mixed green salad or fresh Spring peas with water chestnuts. This dish pairs nicely with the 2005 Stolpman Sangiovese for the perfect spring dinner.

CULINARY CLASS WEEK #5:
I was MIA this week, missing the food of Germany and Scandanavia, to help pour wine for Touring & Tasting at the Lobero supper club. T&T is a sponsor for the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and it's a sweet deal for me--pour wine for the pre-concert dinner guests, then enjoy an evening of fine music. Santa Barbara is blessed with generous art patrons like the Towbes who bring world class music to our small burg of less than 90,000. Maestro Heiichiro Ohyama seemed genuinely touched by being called back three times to a standing ovation to take his bows and, in typically Japanese fashion, tried to give his orchestra full credit. But, deserving as they are, our applause was for his masterful conducting of Beethoven's Symphony #7. The intensity and precision of the lively allegro con brio movement was breath-taking! Supper was good, too: pasta and salad from the good chef Renato at Via Maestra 42.

The best meal this week was at my neighbors Catherine and Jean Francois' house. They are part of a wine and dinner club that meets once a month to wine and dine around a theme. This meal was South African and Catherine and JF prepared a feast of interesting dishes for us. Snoeck Pate (a smoked fish spread with a base of tomato paste and cream cheese), Curried Cashews and Sultanas (white grapes), Bobotie (national dish of South Africa dish, spiced minced beef with egg topping), Baked Chicken and Stampkoring (chicken with wheat berries, onion, tomato, mushroom, paprika, mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce) , Denninguleis (lamb stewed with garlic, allspice, cloves, tamarind, nutmeg, chili, rosemary) served with Fruit Chutney, Carrot Bredie (mashed carrots and potatoes), Yellow Rice (turmeric, raisins, sugar, and cinnamon, a staple of the South African diet), Green Bean Salad (with onions, vinegar and stuffed olives), and Soetkoedies (spiced wine cookies) served with Rooibus Tea  (which is Afrikaans for "red bush"). Wow. A lot of cooking for them and a taste treat for us!

Everyone brought a South African wine: Ken Forrester 2008 Petit Pinotage, Klein Constantia Vin de Constance and Chenin Blanc, 2008 Goats Do Roam (clever play on "Cotes du Rhone"), Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, Kanoncop Kadette 2008, Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose', Southern Right 2007 Pinotage and Ataraxia 2006 Serenity.
My impression was that South African food is nuanced, not heavily spiced, but delicately so. The South African red wines are more in the French tradition--softer, less alcoholic and less fruit-forward than California wines. The South African whites were sweet without being cloying with nice aromatics. I normally don't like rose' but the Mulderbosch was very nice. The reds had more of a herbaceous flavor to them than fruit-forward--I envisioned the veld as the terroir.
Here's one of the recipes, courtesy of Catherine Almo, contact me if you would like any of the others. In 1954 Bobotie was declared the National Dish of South Africa by the United Nations Women’s Organization and today still is one of the most popular South African food recipes.

BOBOTIE (hoenderpastei):
•    2 Lbs lean ground beef

•    2 -3 Medium onions – peeled and chopped finely or sliced
•    1 Tablespoon oil (preferably olive oil)
•    1 Teaspoon crushed garlic
•    1 Teaspoon fresh ginger (grated)
•    ½ Tablespoon curry powder (try a medium-strength curry to start off with)
•    1 Teaspoon turmeric
•    Pinch garam masala (optional)
•    2-3 slices bread with the crust removed; and soak in a ½ cup of milk. Remove from milk, squeeze out excess, mash with a fork to separate, and set aside
•    ½ Cup milk
•    2 Tablespoons lemon juice or 2 T vinegar
•    2 Tablespoons sugar
•    1 Tablespoon Chutney  (optional)
•    ½ Cup seedless raisins
•    1 apple peeled and finely chopped
•    25 grams blanched almonds, chopped
•    30 grams apricots, finely chopped
•    2 T apricot jam (optional)
•    Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Bobotie Ingredients – Topping
•    2 Eggs (medium) beaten
•    ½ Cup milk
•    Bay leaves (to garnish)
1.    Preheat the oven to 325°F
2.    Grease an oven-proof dish
3.    Heat the oil in deep frying pan; add the onions and sauté until clear
4.    Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and turmeric and mix quickly – don’t leave this on the heat for too long, as the garlic can burn. Remove from the pan and set aside.
5.    Saute the ground beef. keep stirring on med heat until brown. Drain fat, add back in the onion mixture.
6.    Add sugar, mashed bread (squeeze out excess milk), chutney, lemon juice and raisins to the mixture
7.    Season to taste with salt and pepper
8.    Spoon the mixture into the greased dish, and place into the oven for 35 minutes.
9.    Mix the eggs with ½ a cup of milk, and any milk that may remain from the bread
10.    Remove the dish from the oven, and spread the egg mixture evenly over the top
11.    Add the bay leaves as decoration, and put back into the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until the topping has set
Serving Bobotie: Although South African winters are fairly mild, Bobotie is generally served with rice as comfort food in winter. The rice is generally cooked to be yellow in color (by adding a small amount of turmeric to it); and chutney and sliced bananas are often served as accompaniments. Alternatively, the Bobotie and rice can be served with a small side salad of tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce with a vinaigrette dressing.

COMING UP MARCH 20TH: A wine warehouse sale at Touring & Tasting! I've bought some great wine at these events at unbeatable prices. If you're in Southern California--make the drive to 125 Quarantina Street--there will also be complimentary Il Fustino olive oil and vinegar tastings.

Ratatouille With Spicy Harissa Sauce and 92 Point Matthews Syrah

RATATOUILLE (ZUCCHINI/TOMATO STEW) WITH SPICY HARISSA (CHILI SAUCE):
Ratatouille ingredients:
1 Japanese eggplant
salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 zucchini
1/2 red bell pepper
2 ripe tomatoes
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/8 tsp. cumin
splash of red wine
1 bay leaf
Harissa ingredients:
1 Tbsp. chili powder
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground caraway seed
1/2 tsp. cumin
Plus:
2 slices bread
approximately 2 oz. grated Parmesan
Chop eggplant into rough 1" cubes, place in a colander and sprinkle on all sides with salt. Let sit for 1/2 hour so some of the liquid "sweats" out of the eggplant. Heat a pot of water until boiling then add the tomatoes (you can slit the skin of the tomatoes to help peel them). When the skin of the tomatoes begin to peel off, remove them to a bowl to cool, then peel and mash them. Heat the oil in a wide skillet or saucepan and cook the onions and garlic in it over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels and stir the eggplant into the skillet. Cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peeled tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, herbs and splash of wine. Adjust the heat to simmer for 30-40 minutes. Stir the ratatouille occasionally and cook until the vegetables are soft but not mushy. Remove the bay leaf and adjust seasoning to taste (you will probably not need to add additional salt as the eggplant will retain some salt).
In a bowl, mix the harissa ingredients well and set aside. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan on the bread and toast them until golden brown. Cut into triangles for a nice presentation and use a squeeze bottle to apply lines of harissa to your plating of the ratatouille. Enjoy with the luscious 2006 Matthews Syrah given a 92 Point rating by Wine Spectator. Serves 2.

WEEK #4 CULINARY SCHOOL ADVENTURES: This week's country was Italy--land of fabulous food and wine. Just the thought of it brings back sensuous gustatory memories--the fecund, earthy aroma of the Tuscan land that is captured in each ruby glass of noble Brunello, the plates of fresh fish and risotto at Il Porticciolo with the waters of Lago Maggiore spangled with lights in the evening, and the magical summer festa in my Italian friend Luciana's garden with a feast of fresh produce and fish--which precipitated the birth of this blog. (see July 3, 2008 post for recipes) Even the snobbish French conceded in Larousse Gastronomique (the seminal encyclopedia of cuisine) that Italian food is the most imaginative in Europe and, in fact, the mother of European cuisine. We learned this from our textbook, along with the history of Catherine de Medici. She was married to Henry II of France in 1533 and brought her chefs with her, along with new foods such as broccoli, peas, artichokes, and the tradition of fine pastries and sauces. She also brought the Italian love of opulent table settings with embroidered linens, perfumes, sugar sculptures and luxurious silverware and glasses.

The teams' task was to prepare handmade Ravioli di Melanzane E Pomodori (Eggplant and Sundried Tomato Ravioli), Pizza, and Pollo Alla Cacciatora (Chicken Caccitore). Our team also made almond butter cookies. I frenched the chicken (see here for YouTube video) and gave it a splash of brandy.

Once again, there was amazing creativity--one team deep fried their ravioli and topped it with sugar, lemon zest and caramel sauce. Another made chicken scallopini as an extra dish--it was my favorite. Nestled on a bed of tender, hand-cut noodles, the chicken was crispy and topped with a line of sundried tomatoes and capers.

Coq au Vin and Week #3 Culinary School adventures

CULINARY SCHOOL: This week's Culinary School class covered French cuisine. Our teams had to make Coq au Vin, Ratatouille, and Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin in a little over two hours. The textbook recipes are just a springboard for us to dive into creative interpretations of the dishes. So, one team made their ratatouille in an innovative fashion--towers of the grilled vegetables that would normally go into a classic recipe, piled high and topped with a tasty tomato sauce. I made ratatoille cooked in butter and served with a harissa sauce of chili, garlic, salt and olive oil. (note: see Feb. 24, 2010 entry for recipe).
Teammate Kyle made his awesome Coq au Vin (the recipe below is my own tried and true home recipe) that wowed the other student judges. It's bit hectic getting one's dish prepared in the intricate dance of a commercial kitchen with a dozen chefs weaving past each other to get to the stoves, ovens and sinks, so there was no time for me to get his exact ingredients but the potatoes were braised in a separate cream sauce and the chicken was nice and juicy. Our team won a Gold Medal again this week! My favorite dish out of all the class dishes was Marguerita's version of the Tarte Tatin. She formed individual tarts with melt-in-your-mouth pastry and plated them with brandied whipped cream--top notch!

TAMA'S COQ AU VIN WITH ROASTED POTATOES:   
2 small roasting chickens cut into eighths
approximately 1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. thyme, in two parts
1 tsp. marjoram, in two parts
1/2 Tbsp. garlic salt
1/4 lb. butter
3 Tbsp. cognac
1 dozen pearl onions, peeled
1 dozen button mushrooms
2 cups dry red wine
1 bay leaf
ROASTED POTATOES:
1 dozen fingerling potatoes of approximately the same size
spray olive oil
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. ground rosemary
Arrange your oven racks so you can accommodate a baking sheet and a heavy, lidded pot (like a Dutch oven). Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Mix the flour with 1/4 tsp. of the thyme, 1/2 tsp. of the marjoram and the garlic salt. Dredge the chicken parts in the flour (discard any leftover flour mixture). Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat then brown the chicken on all sides. Pour the cognac into a separate bowl, then into the pot (not directly from the bottle to the pot) and flame it by lighting it with a long handled match or bbq lighter--be careful not to get burned as the cognac will suddenly flare up for a few seconds. Add the pearl onions, button mushrooms, red wine and bay leaf, then stir, cover tighly and put in the oven.  To make the potatoes: peel and tourne them, if you want a more French presentation, or leave the skins on for the vitamins and mineral nutrition. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with the parsley and rosemary. Place on an oiled baking sheet and put in the oven an hour after the Coq au Vin went into the oven. Turn the meat over in the Coq au Vin pot so the meat is braised in the juices evenly. Continue baking the coq au vin for another 45 minutes, turning over the Coq au Vin once more and the potatoes once during that time. Remove the potatoes when they are cooked through and lightly browned. Serves 6-8 people. Pair with the 2005 Curtis Heritage Cuvée.
For a more elaborate recipe using mirepoix and no flour--see 10/18/11 post.

FOOD POISONING AND FOOD SAFETY:
To take the "Modern Food: Design and Theory Class",  I'm required to take Food Safety which is everything you didn't want to know about food borne pathogens. (it would be so much easier to still believe in the "ten second rule")
Test your knowledge:
1. what is FAT TOM?
2. can you safely eat a baked potato that has been on the counter all day?
3. if you cook fish thoroughly, does that mean it can't make you sick?
Basically, there are bacteria and viruses everywhere--in the air we breathe, the water, the soil. They normally don't cause problems because our immune systems can destroy them if they enter our body, but when our immune systems are weakened or the pathogen population has proliferated, then we get sick. FAT TOM is an acronym for: Food, Acidity, Time, Temperature, Oxygen and Moisture. Pathogens thrive when the PH balance is neither too alkaline nor too acid (PH between 4.6 to 7.5); when the temperature is between 41 degrees (refrigerators are below this) and 135 degrees;  when there is sufficient moisture (over 85% is optimal for growth) and when there is oxygen (though botulism can grow without oxygen in food such as garlic/oil mixtures and improperly canned food). Time is a huge factor. For instance, Salmonella won't grow much for the first two hours poultry or dairy is at room temperature, but after that, Salmonella growth is explosive and the population will be doubling every 20 minutes. After four hours, foods sensitive to Time and Temperature pathogen growth should be thrown out! Not all foods fall into this time and temperature sensitive category--for instance, crackers are alkaline in PH and low in moisture, so they don't foster pathogen growth. Uncooked rice is similar--but cook rice (adding moisture and changing the PH) and it becomes vulnerable. Fish, ground meat and chicken are particularly dangerous if handled or cooked improperly because their meat is porous, allowing bacteria to move into the center parts. Slabs of beef, such as steaks, are dense. If the outside is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill bacteria (as on a grill) then the inside can safely remain rare (ground beef has to be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 140 degrees).

Fish is doubly problematic because it can harbor parasites. I think of the years when I used to go out fishing with my boyfriend and make ceviche from our fresh catch. Even the lime juice and salt won't kill the parasites on the interior parts of the fish pieces. I'm so relieved I never had the symptom mentioned in the textbook: coughing up worms! One interesting bit of information is that Japanese sushi fish is always flash frozen then rethawed to avoid parasites. Sushi bars in the US are often owned and run by non-Japanese who have not been trained well. I'm half Japanese so I recognize Korean sushi chefs (most Americans can't tell the difference). I've even seen a Hispanic sushi chef and when I queried him, heard what I was sure of from the outset--that he was never trained in the Japanese method. In Japan it takes years of training, sometimes ten years, before an apprentice can move up to making sushi--in the meantime he makes the rice and learns from the master how to inspect and treat all the ingredients so no one contracts a parasite or illlness. I never eat sushi unless it's from a Japanese chef I trust. Anyway, toxins in seafood cause illnesses like Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning. They're not bacteria or viruses but substances created by bacteria or by the fish themselves or by the algae they have been eating--they can't be smelled or tasted or cooked out. The only way to avoid these toxins is to buy fresh fish from reputable sources who buy from fishermen working in unpolluted water, something becoming more difficult in this stressed planet. Buy good quality food from reputable sources, keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. And never pick up food from the floor--your shoes could have stepped in dog doo outside and tracked a trace of it onto the floor that's too small to be seen by the naked eye--drop something that picks up the Hepatitis A and pop it into your mouth? I don't think so!
Links:
Center For Disease Control: Food borne illness
USDA Food Safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill
*the most complete and organized site for Food Safety: TLC Food: Food Safety Tips

Roasted Vegetable Tart and Week 2 Culinary School

ROAST VEGETABLE TART WITH CHEDDAR CHEESE CRUST:
For the crust:
3 cups flour
7 oz. cold butter, cut into chunks
1/2 tsp. salt +
6 Tbsp. sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
about 3/4 cup ice cold water
For the filling:
1 medium beet, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 Japanese eggplants, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1/2 Tbsp. rosemary
1/2 Tbsp. thyme
1/2 Tbsp. oregano
spray olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg yolk
4 Tbsp. milk
8 oz. goat cheese at room temperature
6 oz. whipped cream cheese at room temperature
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Spread the cubed eggplant onto a double thickness of paper towel and sprinkle all over with salt, turning the cubes to coat all sides lightly. (This drains some of the water from the eggplant) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
MAKE THE CRUST:
Process the flour and butter together in a food processor until they are mixed and crumbly. Turn onto a lightly floured board. Add the salt, cheese and the smallest amount of the cold water needed for the the dough to just come together in a rough ball. Put the ball of dough into plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
Continue preparing the Vegetables:
Spray a baking pan with olive oil and spread the cubed beets on one part, spray with oil, then sprinkle with the rosemary. Spread the cauliflower florets on another part of the sheet and spray with oil. Roll the eggplant up in the paper towel and gently press to remove any liquid that has "sweated" out, then spread the eggplant cubes on the remaining area of the pan and spray with oil. Sprinkle the cauliflower and eggplant with the thyme and oregano. Put in the oven and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, until beets can easily be pierced with a fork. Remove the baking sheet and set aside to cool. Roll out the dough into a circle on a piece of parchment. Slide the parchment onto a clean baking sheet. Mix 4 oz. of the goat cheese, the cream cheese and Parmesan in a bowl with a spatula. Spread the cheese mixture onto the circle of dough, leaving an inch space around the edge. Place the vegetables onto the cheese in stripes for a decorative effect. Turn up the edges of the dough and pinch together (see photo). Taste a bit of vegetable with the cheese mixture and sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper if desired. Separate the remaining 2 oz. of the goat cheese into small bits and sprinkle on top of the tart. Mix the egg yolk and milk together.  Use a pastry brush to coat the exposed areas of the dough with the egg mixture. Place the tart into the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. Serves 6.

CULINARY CLASS WEEK #2: Lots of fun! Each week, we cook recipes from a different country (or group of countries). Week #1 was Great Britain: England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales--so our dishes were Cornish Pasties, Cod Cakes and Scones. This week covered Spain and Portugal: empanadas, gazpacho, and paella. There were 12 students--perfect for four teams of three. I formed our empanadas like the rustic tart above--with cumin seed in the dough, stuffed with pork loin cubes cooked in orange juice, garlic and cumin, and plated it with an olive tapenade made with capers and garlic. One of my team members Marguerita, made a beautiful gazpacho, nicely presented with crispy pastry triangles topped with various gaspacho condiments, such as thin sliced pepper. Each team presents their dishes with a description of the ingredients and cooking techniques, we taste all the dishes, then vote on the best team effort (voting for our own not allowed). Our team won Gold Medals! (just like the Olympics) Chef Van Hecke posted photos here.

Post Zinfandel Weekend and School Of Culinary Arts

Last weekend at ZAP, someone told me it is the single largest wine event in the world with 9,000 attendees.

I don't know how to verify that, but I can tell you that the Saturday event had a convention-like hum during the press/trade hours, but when the Zinfandel afficionados were let in there was a roar and din for the rest of the afternoon that made it impossible to hear anyone who wasn't shouting in your ear. It was crazy! But fun! Zinfandel has grown up and is a far cry from the insipid factory produced white Zinfandel that gave the grape a bad name. Now small-lot, Estate winemakers with vineyards in prime Sonoma, Napa, Lodi and Mendocino real estate are making wonderful, complex, jammy, structured wines.

Saturday I was working the Touring and Tasting table giving away magazines,
so only had the chance to scurry off and have a few sips, but was impressed, especially with all the Seghesio Zins: the 2008 Sonoma, the 2007 Old Vine and the 2007 Cortina, Dry Creek Valley. Many of the best Zins came from the Dry Creek appellation (just north of the Russian River), like the 2006 Dry Creek Old Vine (their 2007 Heritage and 2007 Summer's Ranch also good). Speaking of Old Vine, I wonder if that may be one reason some Zins are so delicious. Zinfandel has been planted in California for almost 200 years and not only are there very old vines yielding highly extracted wines but Zinfandel has become identified so much with California that some call it "America's vine and wine".  A benefit for those of us watching our budgets is that the Zin price points are lower than Cab, and an extra benefit (or so I experienced) is that the Zin "audience" seems to be friendly and unpretentious. Anyway, I hope to be at ZAP again next year!

On another note, I'm taking cooking classes at the School of Culinary Arts at Santa Barbara City College. I'm not taking the full course, but petitioned to take the Modern Food: Design, Style, Theory with Vincent Van Hecke, chef at the Valley Club of Montecito. Each week we cook dishes from a different country. Next week is Spain and Portugal, so I came up with my version of the favorite empanada with a sauce that's essentially a thick gazpacho with Manchego cheese:

CHICKEN EMPANADAS WITH MANCHEGO-TOMATO DIPPING SAUCE:
Dough:
1 /12 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
 1  egg, stirred, in two parts
1/8 cup ice water
3/4  Tbsp. white vinegar
Sift flour with salt into a large bowl, then quickly cut in the butter until the lumps are the size of peas. Use a pastry blender or two dinner knives-- with one in each hand and the knives crossed in the middle of their blades, cut the butter by closing the blades together so they act like a pair of scissors. Whisk together 1/2 the egg, water, and vinegar in a separate bowl. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. Avoid overmixing or being slow and letting the butter melt, otherwise the dough will be tough and not flaky. With floured hands, gather the dough together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour along with the bowl containing the rest of the egg.
Filling:
1 half chicken breast with rib and skin
1 bay leaf
1 baking potato, quartered
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Put potato, chicken and bay leaf into pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and put it in a bowl inside a larger bowl of ice to cool the chicken so you can remove the meat. Chop into 1" pieces. When the potatoes are just done (don't overcook), remove them to a bowl to cool inside the ice bowl. When cool, remove the peel and cut into 1" cubes. In a pan, saute the onions until translucent. Mix the chicken, potatoes, onion mixture, garlic, and cumin in a bowl. Taste and add the salt and pepper to taste. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take the dough and egg out of the refrigerator and divide the dough in two. Roll out each part of the dough into a long oval on a floured board. Mound half of the chicken mixture on one half of the dough, dip a finger in water and run it around the edge of the dough, then fold the empty side over the chicken mixture and press the edges together. Poke the empanada with the end of a sharp knife to make holes where steam will escape. Repeat for the other empanada and brush the remaining egg on the tops. Put the empanadas on a cookie sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper in the oven and cook 35 minutes or until golden brown.
Optional Manchego-Tomato Dipping Sauce:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 clove garlic
2 roma tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 lemon
2 Tbsp. parsley leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
dash pepper
1/2 cup finely grated Manchego
Mix all the ingredients, except the parsley and Manchego cheese, in a blender on "liquefy" until smooth. Add the parsley and pulse until it is cut into small bits but not blended completely--you will see flecks of the green parsley. Use a spatula to transfer into a saucepan and add the Manchego. Heat over medium flame until warm and serve with the empanadas along with the French-oaked 2007 Greenwood Ridge Chardonnay. Serves 2.

CULINARY ARTS CLASS WEEK #1: This week was our first class cooking in the School of Culinary Arts commercial kitchen and I have to say I was nervous! I'm used to cooking in my kitchen alone with ample time; the class is run like "Top Chef" where each team cooks three recipes in an alloted amount of time and is judged by the class. Luckily Chef Van Hecke gave me a break since I didn't know where anything was or how to fit in--I was an extra member for one of the teams and had to make something supplemental to the three dishes, which were a Scottish pastie (last week's region was the British Isles), cod cakes and scones. My team made some lovely pasties with flaky crust that I garnished with a parsley/tomato relish (more on this later),  scones that Jesse plated beautifully with a spiced tea and my pineapple/raisin compote, and cod cakes with aioli. When I first started, I let my nervousness get the best of me, at one point, I looked down at my cutting board which was a mess of parsley and tomato for the garnish. Chef looked over my should just at that moment and pointedly asked how I was doing. "I've gotten off on the wrong foot", I gasped. "Well, we learn from our mistakes." he replied and it prompted me to take a deep breath, say my prayers and get myself organized.  Fortunately, the class liked what I prepared, so I felt like I'd passed the initial test, though I still managed to do something dumb out of ignorance. Not knowing the protocol for washing dishes, I put a dirty dish with food scraps into the rinse basin and was reprimanded by one of the students, and rightly so, for as I realized, with thirteen cooks running around a kitchen with hot pots, sharing the equipment and facilities under time constraint, anyone getting in the way or messing up the system takes away from the efficiency of everyone else. There's plenty of opportunity for me to make a mistake in the future, so I'm determined to think things through in the future and remember mise en place: to get all my ingredients assembled and prepped before starting to cook so my workspace can be clean and neat. Anyway, the class is nerve-wracking but exhilarating. I definitely feel in my element being with others who are crazy about good food. Yesterday morning my daughter found me at the computer looking at pictures of food. She rolled her teenage eyes at me and said "Mom, only YOU would be looking at food at 6 in the morning." I haven't been able to confirm this yet as I don't really know the other students in my class, but I'm sure there are kindred spirits who are thinking about and researching food in their free time as well!

ZAP!

The room is serenely quiet; but 26 floors below, San Francisco buzzes with street life. Walking through downtown, one hears the hum of the city, the shrill call of an ambulance, the clang of cablecars, bits of conversation in many languages in this city that is #8 on the list of tourist destinations worldwide.  SF is a foodies dreams with excellent restaurants of every ethnicity and pricing. Imagine being able to sample tidbits from 50 different restaurants of the Bay Area in one night--each prepared to match a specific Zinfandel! One of the delectable perks in working in the wine business is attending the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP) annual event in San Francisco for free. Thanks to Touring & Tasting, we have an elegant room in the Intercontinental Hotel with panoramic views of the city and bay glittering beyond two walls of floor to ceiling glass.

Tonight was the "Good Eats and Zinfandel Pairing" with around 50 wineries pouring their Zin at Fort Mason, each with a individual recipe created by a chef--a foodie's paradise! Some of my favorites were the gougères (see my post 3/26/09 for a recipe for these French delicacies) with hand-cut bacon by the Gamba Estate Restaurant (pictured below) paired with the Gamba 2007 Estate Old Vine Zin from the Russian River; the ravioli with shitake and crimini mushrooms in a cream black truffle sauce from

Pazzo in Petaluma with the Starry Night 2007 Old Vine Nervo Station from Alexander Valley; and the French Onion Soup with Cipolla Onion and Gruyere--a bit delicate for the zesty flavors of Zin, but a beautiful dish prepared by Taste of the Sierra Foothills--a restaurant that was give the Wine Spectator "Award of Excellence" in 2008 and 2009. I don't pretend to be a wine critic--but to my taste, the best Zin was from the Mounts Family Winery who has been growing Zin in Dry Creek Valley for over 50 years. Zin is like Cabernet Sauvignon in one can really taste the terroir in the wine. Dry Creek Valley in northern Sonoma County is home to many stellar wineries, producing old vine Zin as well as noted Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Saturday is the Grand Zinfandel Tasting with over 200 wineries, so stay tuned!

Burmese Coconut Squash Soup With Caramelized Onions

My parents had a Burmese friend (Burma is now Myanmar) who was a whirlwind in the kitchen. He would pile the kitchen counter with fresh herbs and rifle through the cupboards for every spice. He'd prepare six or seven vegetarian courses at once, each dish unique in its flavoring and texture. He never tasted as he cooked but judged each dish by its aroma. To this day, the smell of fried onions stirs memories of his garnish.  Most squash soups use cream, this one uses creamy coconut milk for a rich taste. It's thick and spicy, with the sweet caramelized onions on top. It needs a dry, acidic wine to balance the richness: pour the 2007 Scheid Sauvignon Blanc.

BURMESE COCONUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CARMELIZED ONION:
1/2 baked acorn squash (about 1 cup cooked)
4 Tbsp. olive oil, in two parts
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 medium onion
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dry ginger powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce (use Burmese if you can get it)
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Put cut side down of one half of the squash on a sheet of aluminum foil on a pan and bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees or until flesh is soft when pierced with a cooking fork.  Remove from oven and let cool until you can scoop the cooked squash into a food processor.  While waiting, thinly slice the onion (1/8" slices). Put 2 Tbsp. oil plus the butter into a saucepan and heat for a minute over medium heat, then add the onion and sauté them until translucent, stirring or flipping continuously so they brown evenly. You may need to lower the heat to keep the onions cooking and their liquid evaporating without burning. When they are golden brown, sprinkle with sugar and continue cooking and stirring until they are deep brown. Spread on 4 layers of paper towel when done. Film 2 Tbsp. oil in a saucepan and cook the ginger, garlic, chili, coriander and turmeric for a couple of minutes over low heat. Add the fish sauce, coconut milk, water, vinegar and pepper. Tip: shake the can of coconut milk well before opening as it usually separates. Bring to a low boil for two minutes. Carefully pour into the food processor. Mix on "liquefy" until smooth.  Taste, and then add salt,  adjusting the  seasonings, adding more chili if you like it spicy.  Some fish sauce is saltier than others, so the amount of salt will vary according to the sauce used and your taste.  Serve in small bowls, topped with the sweet carmelized onions. Makes 4 servings.

Foods to Fight the Flu

First, this week Touring & Tasting has a great deal on World Class wines--save from $28-$100 depending on whether you're a wine club member and if you order one or two bottles each of the three hand-crafted wines. I wanted to make something different to match the full-bodied 2007 Sculpterra Maquette--the highly extracted Bordeaux blend from Paso Robles, and came up with this crunchy appetizer:

HUMMUS WITH CRUNCHY PITA APPETIZER:
2 pita
1/2 cup almonds
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbps. dried onion flakes
1/4 cup sundried tomato
1/4 cup + approximately 4 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Japanese cucumber
1 cup prepared hummus
paprika

Chop the almonds into small pieces about 1/4" across. You can use a food processor--just pulse briefly so the nuts are not ground fine. Chop the sundried tomatoes, mix with the almonds, sesame seeds, spices and 1/4 cup olive oil to make a paste. Cut the pita into 6 wedges each and spread the paste on each piece equally. Toast in the broiler until golden brown. Slice the cucumber. Put the hummus in a serving bowl, sprinkle with paprika, then drizzle with a swirl of olive oil. Place the pita and cucumber slices around the hummus. Serve with a spoon to put a dollop of hummus on the pita or cucumber. Serves about 8 as an appetizer. Serve with the mouth-watering 2007 Sculpterra 'Maquette'.

The new year knocked me out with the flu and since it seems to be going around, I thought I'd share my five top foods that helped me recover from the flu:
1. Ginger tea. Ginger has long been used to treat nausea from seasickness or pregnancy and according to the U. of Maryland Medical Center can be used for upset stomach for cancer patients and can alleviate arthritis inflammation. Cut an inch off the fresh ginger root, peel, slice and put in a cup of hot water for a tasty brew.
2. Peppermint tea. UMMC reports peppermint is antiviral and antibacterial as well as working as a decongestant. Crush a handful of fresh peppermint in a pot of hot water--using fresh rather than dried means getting the peppermint oil. A study by the American College of Gastroenterology found peppermint oil most effective in treating irritable bowel syndrome. Maybe more important is the fact that peppermint tea is soothing and smells heavenly!
3. Miso soup. When you have the flu, you don't want anything acidic and are advised to stay away from dairy, carbonation, and caffeine. Also, when you can't keep food down, electrolytes can be off balanced leading to weakness. Miso is a bit salty, helping to rehydrate the body and balance electrolytes and it's nutritious with a lot of protein. I make miso from scratch with dashi and miso from the Asian market:
MISO SOUP WITH TOFU AND POACHED EGG:
2 cups water
1 dashi pack (soup base made from fish shavings)
4 heaping Tbsp. miso (red or white) paste
1/2 block firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1 egg
Boil water with dashi pack for ten minutes, turn heat down to simmer. Spoon miso paste into a strainer that can be immersed into the soup, stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the miso. Add the tofu and turn the heat up for a low boil. Crack the egg into a small cup and slide the egg into the gently boiling soup, poach for two minutes. This makes about 3 servings, save the left over in the frig and reheat to poach another egg, if desired.
4. Chicken soup. I don't eat chicken anymore, for compassionate reasons, but I still make chicken soup for family as it does seem to hasten recovery. The garlic and lemon have an antibacterial effect in the stomach and it's protein and vitamin rich.

TAMA'S CHICKEN SOUP:
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 fryer, cut up
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. marjoram
1/2 Tbsp. thyme
1 qt. chicken broth
2 potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, cut into pieces
2 corn cobs, cut into 2" pieces
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 lemon approximate
salt to taste
 1 avocado, optional
Heat oil in cast iron pot, like a Dutch oven, and sear the chicken all over. Add the garlic and onion, turn down the heat and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until the onion is translucent. Stir in the spices and add water to cover the chicken completely and cook for about an hour with the lid on. Turn heat off and remove chicken pieces to a tray to cool. When chicken is cool enough, remove the meat and return it to the broth. I like to keep the meat pieces large--tearing the chicken breasts into about four large pieces. The corn cobs are difficult to cut into 2" slices--use a very sharp, heavy chef's knife. Add the vegetables to the soup, turn the heat on to low and cook for another 45 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Add as much of the chicken broth as needed to keep the vegetables submerged. When the vegetables are cooked, chop the 1/2 bunch cilantro and add to the soup. Squeeze the lemon juice into the soup, adding the salt slowly and tasting after each addition. You want to find the right mix of flavors between slightly lemony and slightly salted. The amount of lemon and salt used will depend on the other ingredients and your personal taste. Serve with slices of avocado, if desired. Makes about 8 servings.

5. Almond butter. The local health food store has a machine that grinds roasted almonds into almond butter. The aroma of roasted almonds is very appetizing! Almond butter on a toasted waffle was all I could take for a couple of days, it seemed neutral to my stomach which allowed it to remain when all else was rejected. Turns out almonds boost the immune sytem and reduce inflammation--turns out my "gut instinct" was right on!

Temecula

Last week would have been the perfect time to blog about Temecula, since last week's sold-out wine special included two wines from that region. But, I was knocked to my knees with the flu and just barely eked out my work for the week before collapsing for four days.

Many years ago, Temecula was just a flash of a sign seen from highway 79, going from San Diego to Riverside. She's a grownup lady now and bustles with shops, restaurants and a burgeoning wine industry. We sat on the expansive patio of Thornton Winery for a chat with winemaker Don Reha about the development of the wine business in Temecula Valley. When Don arrived, most wineries were mom and pop operations without the tools and techniques of modern enology. He brought a degree from UC Davis and a pedigreed resume from Fetzer, Cline Cellars and Renwood to Thornton in 2003. Since then, the 25 or so wineries in Temecula have also stepped up their game and are producing notable wine that's putting Temecula on the wine touring map. Thornton is known for their sparkling wines made in the Méthode Champenoise: with the ocean just 17 miles west, the surrounding hills are bathed with the cooling fog necessary for Chardonnay grapes. But, it's the hotter valley floor soil that excites Don. Every winemaker lists the grape quality as the number one element in making great wine. The dry, sandy soil requires drip irrigation which gives precise control over nutrients, thus yielding superior grapes. Don has been moving the winery towards more red wines and winning multiple awards along the way. He poured us his "baby": the 2006 Thornton Estate Syrah. I loved it so much, I bought a case to bring home!

We stayed at Temecula Creek Inn, thanks to Touring & Tasting, and played two of the three parts of their 27-hole golf course. The Stonehouse 9 is particularly beautiful with the fairways lacing through rock outcroppings. My short game fell apart and I chased my ball over around the green and was ready to give up the game for good. Golf, I hate you! But, golf is a devilish teaser--it takes you to the brink of despair, then gives you a peek at heaven and you're hooked again. On the last hole, I had a perfect drive, two perfect fairway shots with my fickle fairway driver, one of my rare decent chip shots and two putts in on the sloping green ringed with bunkers. Golf, I love you!

We enjoyed our meals at the Temecula Creek Inn restaurant, particularly breakfast with the panoramic view of the course through the floor to ceiling windows in the dining room (try the pecan waffles). One evening we opened a special bottle of 2006 Phelps Insignia Cabernet Sauvignon we had brought--a wine given 90 points by Wine Spectator. It was dark and intense with flavors of black cherry and sage and paired with filet mignon and grilled salmon. We also enjoyed a fine lunch at Falkner Winery: the Pinnacle Peak. The rich artichoke cheese appetizer would have been enough for six; the wild mushroom soup was delicate and flavorful, the Cobb salad fresh and large enough for two.

Another wine tasting stop to enjoy is the Briar Rose tasting room. The property was built by a former Disney contractor and it has storybook charm, with Disneyana in abundance. The wood paneled tasting room is intimate and you can try their small-lot, handcrafted wines. Also, stop in old town Temecula and enjoy a free olive oil tasting at the Temecula Olive Oil company. All the tasting rooms were full when we visited, between Christmas and New Year's, a welcome sign during this time of economic stress. Perhaps some of the increased traffic comes from Temecula's location, being so much closer than Napa/Sonoma to the major urban centers like San Diego and Los Angeles. It's half the drive from Santa Barbara and though not quite the world class destination that the Napa and Sonoma area is, it's on it's way and certainly a tasty and more affordable weekend getaway.

None of my photos turned out well, so I nabbed the photos from the websites listed above.

This week's Online Grapevine saves you 50% off retail. The wine shipment includes the 2005 Hall Napa Valley Merlot.I try to keep my rudimentary Italian current by reading Corriera della Sera online; the recipe section is a particular favorite of mine. I found the following recipe as a wine pairing. If you read Italian, check out their Scuola di Cucina for more ricette and tools and techniques of Italian cooking.

ITALIAN STRACOTTO WITH POLENTA:
2 oz. fatback (or lardon, if you can obtain it) or 2 strips bacon
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
2 oz. butter
2 lb. beef roast
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 1/2 cups water and 1 1/4 cup yellow corn meal (or 6 servings of prepared polenta)
Mince the onion, peeled carrot, celery and the fatback or bacon. In a heavy pot (like Dutch oven), melt the butter over low heat. Add the vegetables and bacon and cook for around ten minutes, stirring frequently. Add the beef and cook for a few more minutes, turning and browning it on all sides. Add the salt, pepper and red wine and continue cooking until the wine reduces by half, stirring frequently. Mix the tomato paste into the broth and add to the pot, covering and simmering for 2 hours. Uncover, turn the meat and cook another 2 hours, ladling juice over the meat from time to time. While the beef is cooking, boil the water in a separate pot, sprinkle in the cornmeal and cook, stirring continuously until the polenta is done. Serve slices of the beef on a scoop of polenta, with the cooking juices spooned over the top. Approximately 6 servings. Pair with the 2005 Hall Napa Valley Merlot.

Killer Shrimp

Ugh, I have the flu, so I don't even want to think about food. If I'm not eating, then I must be REALLY sick. Fortunately, I have this recipe in my stash of favorites that will pair well with one of this week's wines. Imagine a restaurant that serves only one dish, it would have to be really killer! And it was. Killer shrimp in Los Angeles had two branches that for years had only shrimp and French bread, though they later added salad and dessert. It was a meal that was literally finger-lickin' good--a big bowl of juicy, spicy, buttery, garlicky shrimp with chewy bread to mop up the sauce.

KILLER SHRIMP:
1 stick butter
2 stalks celery, minced fine
3 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. rosemary
2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. chili pepper flakes
2 quarts chicken broth
8 ounces clam juice
 3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and pureed
1 cup dry white wine
2 pounds cleaned shrimp, whole or with shell
1 loaf crusty French bread
Cooking the shrimp with heads on adds flavor, but is not necessary. Do not use peeled shrimp because the shells add flavor to make this dish truly delicious. Make sure the shrimp are cleaned by slitting down the back with a sharp knife and removing the digestive "vein". Crush the herbs together in a mortar and pestle or herb grinder. Melt the butter over low heat in a heavy saucepan and add the garlic, celery, and herbs and cook for a few minutes. Add the broth, clam juice and tomato puree and simmer for an hour, then add the wine and cook for another two minutes. Taste the broth and add salt only needed, then add the shrimp. Cook until shrimp are just cooked, when they have turned pink (about two minutes). Don't overcook or they will be tough. Serve the soup with French bread, which is tasty dipped in the broth, and a glass of the 2008 Callaway Pinot Gris. Serves four hungry people or six moderate eaters.

Happy New Year and Papa Miner's Hot Cakes With Strawberry Sauce

Some days in Santa Barbara, the sun peeks shyly over the horizon, blushing softly in pastel pink and orange, her light barely kissing the sleeping Channel Islands and her skirts brushing the sea with the palest reflection of her light. This morning she rose hot and harsh with flashing eyes and a challenge to get up and get things done! I had two weeks with very little time on the computer, busy with family and friends and holiday meals--but it's time to get back to work. I finally tasted the famed "Papa Miner's Buttermilk Hot Cakes" after years of hearing how great they were. Papa Miner was a crusty character who purchased 330 acres of Southern California land just below the National Forest, to build a family compound with houses for his kids. The kids produced grandkids who lived an idyllic life safely romping in the woods and gobbling up hot cakes. They (the hot cakes, not the grandkids!) were smothered in strawberry sauce, simmered from bushels of fruit harvested from the extensive garden. Grandpa Miner is long gone and sadly it seemed that his recipe had passed as well, but lo, a recipe was found and I share it with you below. These hot cakes are both dense and fluffy, which seems contradictory, but try them and see for yourself!

PAPA MINER'S HOT CAKES:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk (regular, not non-fat)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. dark Karo syrup
Sift the dry ingredients together, then mix with a whisk. Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff. Mix the yolks with the Karo syrup. Shake the buttermilk well and add to the egg yolk mixture and whisk together. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and gently turn over with a large wooden spoon until just mixed. Carefully fold in the egg whites. Don't beat the batter; it will be lumpy. Cook on a griddle until bubbles form in the dough, then turn to cook the other side. Serve with the strawberry sauce (and whipped cream if you want a sweet treat). Makes about 14 medium pancakes.
STRAWBERRY SAUCE:
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
+ Karo syrup to taste
Bring to a boil, then simmer until the strawberries are soft. Taste and add Karo, if desired.