Cooking on a weeknight can be more than
just microwaving a *quickie* meal
Tuna encrusted w/garlic,lemon,rosemary
breadcrumbs & misted with truffle oil
Grilled to perfection(IMHO)
Creamy Risotto-Blend of Arborio & Basmati
rice, Asparagus, Mushrooms w/ parmesan
cheese sauce
Segura Viudas Cava Brut Heredad-Spain
As wines vary, so do wine tastings. I had an especially enjoyable evening this past week, experiencing one of San Antonio’s least pretentious (and maybe most engaging) wine tasting groups. Though it was my first time attending, I felt right at home. You’re only a newcomer for a few minutes, once you’re greeted by Clayton and company – you’re family!
The group meets at Sun Harvest (I-10/Callahan) twice a month. It usually consists of about 20 “regulars”. This week, the turn-out was a bit larger – more like 30 "foodies", though the close knit, comfortable atmosphere was maintained. The participants range from the mid-twenty-ish age group up towards septuagenarian. All with a warm, unassuming and excited interest in wines/food paring/and pretty much anything else.
That evening Pinot Noir wines were featured. Trina did an awesome job of selecting and presenting 8 different wines for our tasting pleasure. Flecia from Serendipity Wine Imports added her insights. As we sampled each wine, Trina discussed the wines specific features. Thus began the interactive portion of the tasting where audience participation was not only allowed but encouraged. It was entertaining to hear the different ideas from the group. D.E.W.’s favorite was when the suggestion was made to pair a certain wine with the chocolate cheesecake. Oh, yes, of course there was food provided; meats, cheeses, bread, crackers, fruit, veggies, and aforementioned cheesecake samples. Cheesecake samples were supplied by Zak, co-owner of JacobsCheesecakes. Insider hint: they deliver in Austin & San Antonio.
Clayton and Janet did the pouring duty (and a fine job, I must say). Clayton usually presents the wine but gave his protégé, Trina, the night to shine.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the next tasting!
Featured Pinot Noirs:
Dr. Zenzen - Rheinhessen '05
Mirassou '06 (California)
A By Acacia '06 (California)
St. Gregory Mendocino '06
Dom. Du Chateau de Meursault-Bourgogne '02
Terre di Gioia - Friuli '05
Elk Cove Willamette '06
Marchesi Incisa "Rollone" - Piemonte '05
click images for a larger view
SAINT-MARTIN-DU-PUY, France: The walled courtyard under the gracefully decaying 15th-century tower and the irregular pond, stone-lined and shaped roughly like a kidney, caught Hayan Cheng's eye.
"The Chinese connected with the pond and its irregularity," said Bruno Roussy, who sometimes acts as a go-between for Chinese wanting to do business in the West. "Because the Chinese believe evil spirits don't like crooked lines."
He added: "The Chinese are very superstitious."
The pond, the courtyard and the tower belonged to the imposing Château Latour-Laguens, with two towers, including one for a bell, and a crenellated lookout, in this wine-growing hamlet of several hundred people southeast of Bordeaux.
Superstitious or not, Cheng, 28, bought it all in January for about $3 million, the first time a château in the prestigious Bordeaux region had been sold to the Chinese. Cheng was not in France to hawk the usual Chinese-manufactured bargain-basement apparel, or toys, or household appliances. Rather, she came as the daughter of a vastly wealthy Chinese businessman, Zuochang Cheng, whose huge trading conglomerate already imports wines to China from Australia, Italy and South Africa, and the idea was to buy some respectability.
"He said to himself, 'I have no point of reference or credibility in the field of wine, so I'll go to France, to the roots, and buy a château,' " said Roussy, describing the reasoning behind Cheng's decision to send his daughter to France in search of a castle and vineyard. His idea was to acquire and master the technique of winemaking as it is done in France, Roussy said. "He wanted to be the first group in China to have a kind of embassy in France."
Roussy, 48, who divides his time between the Bordeaux region and China, met Cheng through a mutual friend. A former police commander, Cheng had gone into business, establishing one of China's largest trading groups, the Longhai International trading Company, in Qingdao, on China's east coast. In recent years the group has branched out into wine, and his daughter became president of a wine-importing affiliate, now to be known as Latour-Laguens (Qingdao) International Wine Company. Its Web site is up and running, in French, English and Mandarin. The Beijing summer Olympics, just around the corner, are expected to increase wine consumption, and Qingdao, long known for its beer industry, is the site of the Olympic sailing competitions.
In search of the château of their dreams, the Chengs were shown more than 30 available châteaux in the Bordeaux region, said Daniel Carmagnat, whose real estate agency in nearby Sainte-Foy-la-Longue, the A2Z Agency, specializes in wine-producing properties. "She took lots of pictures, and she was constantly on the phone with China," he said of Hayan Cheng. "But when I showed her this one, she flipped."
The Château Latour-Laguens, not to be confused with the First Growth Château Latour farther north, was typical of many of the other 30. Its owner, Serge Laguens, inherited the property from his father, who had purchased it together with the château shortly after World War II. The château's vineyards, with their cabernet, sauvignon blanc, merlot and cabernet franc grapes, produced red, white and rose wines, most of it sold in bulk, some in bottles.
But the market for such midrange wines, the specialty of this region of the Bordeaux, has contracted of late, squeezed by competition from California, Australia, South Africa and Chile. Laguens, 61, found it increasingly difficult to run the property; a son and daughter were too busy with careers elsewhere to take over.
As word leaked out that the Chinese planned some improvements to the château and its grounds, there was some grumbling among neighbors. Roussy, who favors black leather and drives a black Porsche, said the Chengs would restore the castle, creating accommodations for guests who would be invited to wine tastings and seminars on wine.
"They want a museum of wine, in order not to lose the château's history, and to show how the work was done by hand," he said. "No Disneyland."
They also plan to double the acreage under cultivation, he said, to about 60 hectares, or 150 acres, if needed by acquiring additional property.
"It is important that foreigners are coming," said Roussy. Then, with a sweep of his hand toward the surrounding vineyards, he added: "This is dying."
In his office on the edge of Bordeaux, Hervé Olivier, the regional director of a public-private agency that oversees land use, explained that the last several years had plunged the wine growers of the Bordeaux region into crisis.
"Sales have been poor," he said. "The largest market is the domestic French market, but the French are drinking less wine. And the so-called New World wines, from Australia or South Africa, are very competitive."
The 150 or so grand houses, with names like Château Margaux and Saint-Émilion, continue to flourish, he said. "But the rest are going through difficult years."
By
Here's a video shot by my good friend and musical guru Mark Forman.
A fellow foodie, former New Yorker now living in Taiwan
If you're going to be in the St. Louis area (Webster Groves to be specific) in March. Clear your schedule for the Beer Dinner at Big Sky Cafe March 5th featuring beer from O'Fallon Brewery.
I attended the dinner featuring beer from New Belgium Brewing and it was fantastic!
Menu
O'Fallon Gold Beer Battered Spring Rolls w/ peach red chile sweet & sour sauce
paired with O'Fallon Wheat
Duck Confit Flatbread w/ goat cheese, red onion & spinach
paired with O'Fallon 5-day IPA
Maytag Blue Cheese & Pepper Bacon Bison Sliders w/ Vermont white cheddar cheese & tobacco onions
paired w/ O'Fallon Smoked Porter
Sangria anyone?
Even if you’re not a fan of the wine with fruit floating in it,
speakers made from sangria jugs are a pretty unique idea
for some
drunken musical entertainment.
Wino Carlo Rossi has created the Sangria
Sound System for your alcoholic pleasure.
Andrew Dobrow
I've had many a friend ask me why I love my Keurig.
-I love it because it's fast.
-I love it because it"s flexible towards cup size and the ability to use fresh ground coffee.
-I love the many excellent brands of coffee and teas that are available
6 russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
2 tablespoons butter
4 links Andouille, chopped
1 pound leeks, cleaned and dark green
sections removed, approximately 4 to 5 medium
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
1½ cups cream
¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream
green onions, chopped
Preheat the oven to 400°
Rub the potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a baking
sheet. Bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow
to sit until cool enough to handle, but still warm.
While the potatoes are baking and cooling, melt the butter in a large
soup pot Add the Andouille and cook until brown. Remove from the pan
with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and
sweat for 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the
leeks are tender, approximately 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and garlic to the
pan and cook until the onions are soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from
heat.
Peel 3 of the potatoes, add to the pot and mash until nearly smooth.
Gradually stir in chicken broth and cream until blended. Return to the
heat and cook until hot, stirring occasionally.
Cut the remaining potatoes (with skin) in ½-inch pieces and stir into
the soup. Stir in the Andouille and parsley and continue to cook until
heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve garnished
with the cheese, sour cream and green onions.
Pesto-Stuffed Pork chops with caramelized Onions
2 (about 6 ounces each) boneless thick-cut pork chops
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pesto
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onion
- Preheat oven to 350 F
Cut
each pork chop horizontally 3/4 of the way through the meat, creating a
pocket, being careful not to cut all the way through. Rub the meat
with cumin, paprika and salt. Fill each chop with 1 tablespoon pesto;
secure with wooden picks.
Heat oil in medium ovenproof skillet over
medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
Add pork chops; cook for 1 minute on each side until brown. Place
skillet in oven.
Bake pork chops and onion for 15 to 20 minutes or until pork is cooked through. Remove wooden picks, top with remaining pesto.
A new weekly feature here at the Zinful will be food related science videos from twitter buddy and all around killer science babe-
*DrKiki*
Dr. Kirsten Sanford.
If you like her stuff,
swing by her site and
tell her Duane
(PreppyDude™) sent you.
