tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15548580849037939372024-03-05T00:00:11.098-08:00Vin de la TableKirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-86529781685352844812009-04-21T17:42:00.000-07:002009-04-21T18:49:48.866-07:00It's Not You, it's Brie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNBv8KdedUIsBAgNmprmMqJSxcm3gczVR_FMOHqqjnN26zS8f_awvlP7kFTXJ1Q72rMlM_ui2itGsYZRGBvt-aWw6Lj-1IF8rD2SBenVNG9-Qf_DnFyWJ1groOETwWnrz-cK8Bp2uk8PM/s1600-h/kjeCh7a-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 104px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNBv8KdedUIsBAgNmprmMqJSxcm3gczVR_FMOHqqjnN26zS8f_awvlP7kFTXJ1Q72rMlM_ui2itGsYZRGBvt-aWw6Lj-1IF8rD2SBenVNG9-Qf_DnFyWJ1groOETwWnrz-cK8Bp2uk8PM/s400/kjeCh7a-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327326779528737682" /></a><br /><br /><br />It's not so hard to say goodbye after all when you're only going next door, to a cheese kingdom. <br /><br />To my dear Vin de la Table readers, I spend all day pouring, tasting, selling, and writing about fermented grape juice, and although I love it and my former blog base, I am very excited to finally start sharing my other gastronomic love on the blogsphere. Sadly, there is only so much time in a day, and because I won't be able to keep up with all things, I'm letting this blog go. It's had a good run.<br /><br />I invite you to instead visit my new blog, <a href="http://itsnotyouitsbrie.com/29">“It’s Not You, it’s Brie.”</a> Focusing on dairy magnificence, "it's Not You,.." will serve as a platform for fromage obsession, explore cheese’s role in our everyday and ceremonial lives and include recipes, cheese memories, and interviews. <br /><br />Feel free to email me questions about wine and food pairing anytime at itsnotyouitsbrie@gmail.com, and feel comfort in knowing that it will be a rare occasion that I will write about cheese without involving wine. <br /><br />To my Vin de la Table fans, I still have a candle-lit shrine devoted to you. I hope that you still love me too and will visit me at my new home often. Thank you so much for your readership. It's meant so much to me.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-42653677423914658692009-04-14T16:15:00.000-07:002009-04-14T16:40:23.996-07:00Edible East Bay & Wine and Cheese & Dessert ClassesHello. I've been away. I've been working on projects galore, including a new cheese blog that I'll be very happy to share as soon as it looks half as good as Baskin Robbin's peanut butter & chocolate ice-cream does in my favorite ice-cream dish. Does anyone else eat this anymore? You should. <br /><br />Until I get more going in the blog world, I'd like to share an article that I wrote for Edible East Bay called "<a href="http://www.edibleeastbay.com/content/pages/articles/spring09/wearShoes.pdf">Wear Shoes to this Year's Crush</a>." Maybe it will distract you from the neglected blog page. Anyhow, working on this article provided me with a wonderful opportunity to interview some of Berkeley's finest winemakers, and was really fun to write. And believe it or not, it is even more fun to read. I swear. <br /><br />On a final note, I will be<span style="font-weight:bold;"> teaching both a French cheese and wine pairing class and another focused on dessert wines </span>at Solano Cellars in Albany, CA (bordering Berkeley) in May and June, respectively. If anyone is interested in going, or reading more about them, they can do so here: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.solanocellars.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=FRENCHCHEESE">Regional French Cheese and Wine Pairing: Le Duet Dynamique Saturday, May 9th, 2-4pm</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.solanocellars.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=STICKIESCLASS"><br />Stickies and Sweets: The Last Course - Thursday, June 4th, 6:30- 8:30</a>Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-46918834536076229802009-03-26T22:53:00.000-07:002009-03-28T12:05:49.402-07:00Nicoise Steamed Monkfish Salad: What Would You Pair With.....?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUidcyCB1aucs2uN7zP6c45ZMifDhvq_jAs3tFVMLS65JiDaHX7B3tKLxeiP-QNsYOoFjTg8BYzcWES7_OCC8OXoZMOaNFqGdxHzlJZNh7tkg6uIZqfAT7VGlRrlzV4p0BhkMRfLLGGrKK/s1600-h/IMG_1779.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUidcyCB1aucs2uN7zP6c45ZMifDhvq_jAs3tFVMLS65JiDaHX7B3tKLxeiP-QNsYOoFjTg8BYzcWES7_OCC8OXoZMOaNFqGdxHzlJZNh7tkg6uIZqfAT7VGlRrlzV4p0BhkMRfLLGGrKK/s400/IMG_1779.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317743244755422722" /></a><br /><br /><br />If you were throwing your father a birthday lunch, and served a nicoise salad, a la monkfish, what would you serve as a wine or refreshment? Where would you serve it? Who would be there sipping the refreshment too?Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-75936634891101167572009-03-20T05:42:00.000-07:002009-03-20T06:08:09.824-07:00Homemade Mozzarella Focus: Home Creamery Event IIII'm going to be out of commission for a few more days, dear readers, due to a short trip to L.A, articles deadlines, a wine list that I'm updating at Brown Sugar Kitchen, and the demands of starting a new blog devoted entirely to cheese (and wine, of course, always about the wine). Did I mention that I really need to wash my car? But I wanted to take a moment to emerge from my office hermit hole to announce the object of the next Home Creamery Event's devotion. It is <span style="font-weight:bold;">mozzarella</span>. <br /><br />I must admit I'm a little scared. Anything involving heating milk more than once and stretching the outcome two or three times is a little dangerous in my accident-prone kitchen. I'm excited for this sexy venture too, but mainly fearful of my runway elbows hitting pots while stretching.<br /><br />As mozzarella is a feat that requires a little more time than other Home Creamery focuses, we're going to take a little more time to make this one. The entry for this pasta filata style cheese is due in a month from now, on April 20th.<br /><br />A recipe for buttermilk starts on page 82 in Farrell-Kingsley's book. Online, more recipes and advice for making buttermilk are available at these links <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/homemade-mozzarella-recipe/index.html"> here </a>, <a href="http://mominmadison.blogspot.com/2009/02/home-made-mozzarella.html"> here </a>, and <a href="http://agirlamarketameal.blogspot.com/2008/11/big-cheese.html"> here </a>. Look around, see which inspires you most. These recipes can be surprisingly different. Anyone know why? I don't....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Warning: Check out your specific recipe before the event. Some require cheese-making products that not everyone already has at home.</span><br /><br />Event Rules:<br />Home Creamery Event Guidelines: <br />1) Make the dairy product (MOZZARELLA FOR APRIL) of the month at home.<br />2) Optional: Suggest a wine you think you might enjoy sipping with your milk creation in a raw or transformed state (i.e with buttermilk fried chicken or cardamon-buttermilk pie). <br />3. Send me one of two following things by the last Wednesday of the month (Feb 25th for the second month):<br />a) If you have a blog, send me the link to the post where you talk about your Home Creamery experience and I will post some of your findings on my Home Creamery post.<br />b) If you don't have a blog, email me a photo of your results (vindelatable@gmail.com) by the last Monday of the month and/or a brief 2-4 sentence sum up of your experience and your delectable pairings, which I will feature on my blog post.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-29635847294059814752009-03-09T21:38:00.000-07:002009-03-10T09:16:15.615-07:00Buttermilk: Home Creamery Event III<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0aJbVeDVZ4HxFy2hjgPqHKyWAlSvlAjpMkNp6N1DQTdv5wmZ4EBpjNnol8boIYifNXmYlOzFC-VfRZKUHyoBepEu-1mISpPkh9UqEZVEIp7tHB-eX-IKXVRKyemKiWHeU9fsWlq8wzP3/s1600-h/biscuit1JPG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0aJbVeDVZ4HxFy2hjgPqHKyWAlSvlAjpMkNp6N1DQTdv5wmZ4EBpjNnol8boIYifNXmYlOzFC-VfRZKUHyoBepEu-1mISpPkh9UqEZVEIp7tHB-eX-IKXVRKyemKiWHeU9fsWlq8wzP3/s400/biscuit1JPG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311414034805671266" /></a><br /><br /><br />Don't my buttermilk biscuits look gorgeous? Aren't these buns just the perfect blend of crispy exterior and fluffy, inner, buttery goodness? The story this picture tells is that the last Home Creamery exercise of making buttermilk worked out as smoothly as Jane Fonda in a three-piece leotard. <br /><br />But no.<br /><br />My buns were flat. And I think it was because the homemade urban buttermilk I made to use in the biscuit recipe and the buttermilk with which Dorie Greenspan's biscuit recipe was tested were structurally different. I hope. Darn that baking. Darn those exact measurement devices and chemical reactions. See below for the actual size and lack of height of my little creations.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zIY84qzhfCFF3oi6mfFk15YPKqVQg9WqZo404B2wgJEdMbLKSxPEftRjwjpMwS2b0hI5sUlP3ROdg-LoU09cPFVzqHuhXN8_4kbWThEqohuc2rfHLTySwmcflDbW6P0fo9jP8eDmY8c5/s1600-h/biscuithand.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zIY84qzhfCFF3oi6mfFk15YPKqVQg9WqZo404B2wgJEdMbLKSxPEftRjwjpMwS2b0hI5sUlP3ROdg-LoU09cPFVzqHuhXN8_4kbWThEqohuc2rfHLTySwmcflDbW6P0fo9jP8eDmY8c5/s400/biscuithand.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311414040616706578" /></a><br /><br /><br />Alas, that's how baking goes. And that's how I bake. Sigh. Maybe I should have used the recipe Dan did below. His buns were fluffy. Why? Why? Although the Home Creamery event suggests pairing the Home Creamery creations with wine, just for fun (!), I couldn't. I was busy throwing my biscuits against the wall when I had a break in tears rolling down my face.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dan's Biscuits and Buttermilk Experience, in His Words</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OqDHbQ6bIFUKIwKmweO1DStMBxzBL02JjhTFAg33JvGDSdYN7f_cl-Yek_rDkfX6xkQ7WponqsahpN0bW7kYju5bJY2ed9dgbIxKr3SMVudhrgE3-Q-lUDlaeTX01NeIdQS-czTgoi7C/s1600-h/Fantails.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OqDHbQ6bIFUKIwKmweO1DStMBxzBL02JjhTFAg33JvGDSdYN7f_cl-Yek_rDkfX6xkQ7WponqsahpN0bW7kYju5bJY2ed9dgbIxKr3SMVudhrgE3-Q-lUDlaeTX01NeIdQS-czTgoi7C/s400/Fantails.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311417325388031154" /></a><br /><br /><br />"Making the buttermilk was easy; I followed the simple recipe from the Homery Creamery which called for whole milk (Strauss Family Creamy) and Creme de Tartar. And I couldn't resist attempting to make the buttermilk Fantail biscuits on the cover of the recent Gourmet magazine. Build the yeast, make the dough, cut 'em up, fill the muffin pan, let it rise again and then wack it in the oven. <br /><br />The biscuits were a delicious mix of light and flakey and rich and creamy. The small pieces fanning off each other were easily separated and allowed us to spread either a tarragon butter or olive oil marinated goat cheese with oregano and red pepper. We paired these buttermilk bread treats with our other appetizers and 2006 Sancerre from Alphonse Mellot (Edmond). The wine, made from 100+ year old vines, was refined and elegant, yet rich and juicy. When tasted against a 2006 Larkmead Sauvignon Blanc, it was quite the opposite - the Larkmead being intense and textured. Both faring quite nicely with the biscuits. Thanks for choosing buttermilk for this month's activity - I have always been curious about it, since eating Thomas Keller's buttermilk fried chicken at Napa's Ad Hoc. Looking forward to next month's challenge!"<br /><br />And here's a link to participant's Simone's <a href="http://briciole.typepad.com/blog/2009/02/latticello-fatto-in-casa.html">buttermilk action</a> at her Bricole blog . She made a gorgeous blueberry buttermilk sorbet, but it seems as if she wasn't satisfied with her Home Creamery attempts either. Is it possible that we picked the only recipe in the book that doesn't work? I think we both chose the recipe that used vinegar rather than cream of tartar.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Does anyone know why the buttermilk flopped?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Also, any ideas for our next Home Creamery dairy selection?... I'd love to hear, leave em' in the comments below.....</span>Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-84159109837687561572009-02-26T08:55:00.000-08:002009-02-26T09:36:21.117-08:00Chick Pea Salad: My Legume Love Affair<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX5TuJFVvl1keqKk4wjd46KqW1pDPETcLHOLrxcUyw1KDbSSSVjLwUlEtifw65TBY4AUY2VwskbxGwFYWSPXCzk1CWsKpGiWeUGrJ2q4zu4B9KAozoEXqJG_6IruAVJ75C7tgv4cyvnkS/s1600-h/chickpeasalad.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX5TuJFVvl1keqKk4wjd46KqW1pDPETcLHOLrxcUyw1KDbSSSVjLwUlEtifw65TBY4AUY2VwskbxGwFYWSPXCzk1CWsKpGiWeUGrJ2q4zu4B9KAozoEXqJG_6IruAVJ75C7tgv4cyvnkS/s400/chickpeasalad.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307151463493833394" /></a><br /><br /><br />If I had to choose my favorite legume, it would be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickpea">chick peas</a>. Or lentils. Or the peanuts in Reeses peanut butter cups. <br /><br />Although my heart is warmed upon tasting homemade hummus laden with enough garlic to keep vampires away for seven nights and part of a twilight, and the manner in which Greek chick pea and lemon soup manages to taste like actual chicken thrills me like dandelions do a two-year old, when I cook chick peas, their destination is most often Salad City. And they don't just get tossed on some lettuce. I compose a salad around them. Or rather, I roast off what's remaining in my vegetable drawer right before it's time to go shopping again, add some olive oil and lemon, and call it dinner.<br /><br />On occasion, for a super fantastic night, I go all out, think about flavors and textures, and put some fish on top. Like I am doing, for example, for the following event.<br /><br />At the wine bar where I work, we have a winemaker dinner this weekend with Sergio Germano of <a href="http://www.omwines.com/OMWINES/Germano.html">Germano Ettore</a> winery in Piedmont, Italy. I wanted to do something special because, well, he's one of the nicest guys in the winemaking world, and because his lemonesque, mineral, clean and sprightly dry Riesling, which we are serving with the first of four courses, deserves some extra attention. Extra special chick pea attention, that is. Since the <a href="http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/2009/02/announcing-my-legume-love-affair-eighth.html">My Legume Love Affair</a> blogging event just happens to take place on the date of that occasion, I'm going to share a little chick pea love with the legume folks too. <br /><br />The meaty chick peas carry the mineral, fiesty nature of Germano Ettore's Reisling well, and I made sure to pack the salad full of lemon, in zest and juice form to carry the citrus flavors and high acidity of Ettore's wine. For the event, I am cooking squid to top the salad. In the photo below, marinated anchovies that I used to top the salad another time are featured. Instructions for both preparations follow the salad recipe.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chick pea, feta, and arugula salad</span><br /><br />* Serves 4-5 people<br />* Soak legumes in water overnight or for at least six hours before cooking.<br />* Salad will taste best if all but arugula marinates overnight.<br />* In the salad photo, you might notice I tossed some carmelized onions into the salad. For the event, I choose to keep it a little fresher and omitted the onions. Include if like.<br /><br />8 oz chick peas, soaked<br />bay leaf<br />rosemary sprig<br />zest of one lemon<br />juice from 1 1/2 lemon<br />2 - 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil<br />5 oz French feta<br />1/2 bunch fresh chervil, chopped<br />1/2 bunch fresh tarragon, chopped<br />2 large handfuls arugula<br />salt and pepper to taste<br /><br />1. Bring soaked chick peas to boil (in fresh water) in a medium-sized pot with bay leaf and rosemary. Once boiling, adjust heat to simmer and cook for 45 minutes or until legumes are tender, but not mushy. Drain, and discard herbs.<br />2. Once peas are cool or at room temperature, place in a large bowl, add lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil and stir until well-blended. Crumble feta and add to bowl along with fresh herbs. Salad may be set aside to marinate now, or before arugula is added.<br />3. Add arugula right before serving, and divide among 4 plates<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5mJLsKmoBkEn5S7LsdduqR0cbPxHG1kK-XdM0q35VIEF1S4tzwzF1OsXYhmSXJ1Rs8RMqD5PpMnWythQTr-3u3NX8AY3l1UJODLzyxYAxiqLizWZ9LBcsofKVPOWa8TJViyrJPNRHGin/s1600-h/anchovies.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5mJLsKmoBkEn5S7LsdduqR0cbPxHG1kK-XdM0q35VIEF1S4tzwzF1OsXYhmSXJ1Rs8RMqD5PpMnWythQTr-3u3NX8AY3l1UJODLzyxYAxiqLizWZ9LBcsofKVPOWa8TJViyrJPNRHGin/s400/anchovies.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307151463290626274" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Anchovies</span><br />This was my first adventure cooking at home with the sweet, oily little fish. If you want to top your chickpeas with anchovies per photo, do as follows. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cleaning:</span><br />Wash the little guys in cool water. Make sure your cat is outside. Cut off head directly beneath gills. Glide fish knife from underneath the gills on the crease of fish's belly to the end of its tail. Open the fish, it should open into two flaps. Remove the organs. Pluck out the blones with the tip of the knife and pull out with fingers until removed. Cut the anchovies into two fillets.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cooking:</span><br />Heat a sauté pan to high heat. Once hot, drizzle with canola oil/olive oil mixture. Gently place fish in pan, skin side down, and cook for one to two minutes each side. These fish are salty, salt with extreme caution. After cooked, set aside in small bowl and cover with thin lemon slices and olive oil to marinate until ready to serve.<br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Squid</span><br />Oh how I love calamari, in all it's glorious forms.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cleaning </span><br /><a href="http://video.aol.com/video-detail/how-to-clean-squid/4220681326">(thank god for video):</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cooking:</span><br />Cut into rings about half an inch thick. Heat sauté pan to high heat, and drizzle with canola oil/olive oil mixture. Add squid rings and tentacles to pan, and saute briefly. The key to cooking squid without going rubbery is to either cook the swimmer for under three minutes, or over thirty minutes. Cook here for two minutes or under, or until rings and tentacles are just firm and no longer translucent. Top the salad and drizzle the juice in pan around the plate.<br /><br /><br />Do you have a favorite chick pea dish you make at home or enjoy at a restaurant?Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-58816349624247389472009-02-18T08:57:00.000-08:002009-02-18T09:40:20.579-08:00Homemade Buttermilk: Home Creamery Event II<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhwOV0AE5YLslp0O8XAW0hKMX6xOWDfzKDTAOd7AGRV5deFhBEhpcPzv-ygmZ40iSLa6XhHVWJ9NyoaurrR_eCji_ZWOJQQsLSE75oJ09MVkACOl_bYEaLc0iEeDOmkcfZTEaadwNcpcN/s1600-h/waffles.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhwOV0AE5YLslp0O8XAW0hKMX6xOWDfzKDTAOd7AGRV5deFhBEhpcPzv-ygmZ40iSLa6XhHVWJ9NyoaurrR_eCji_ZWOJQQsLSE75oJ09MVkACOl_bYEaLc0iEeDOmkcfZTEaadwNcpcN/s400/waffles.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304191331251057362" /></a><br /><br />Buttermilk fried chicken and cornmeal waffles from <a href="http://www.brownsugarkitchen.com/">Brown Sugar Kitchen</a>.<br /><br />The forces have spoken. The dairy focus of the next Home Creamery Event will be....<span style="font-weight:bold;"> BUTTERMILK.</span> That's right, buttermilk. What's the point of buttermilk, you ask? What culinary magic can one create from this tangy, creamy lactose haven?<br /><br />First, there's a recipe for buttermilk pot cheese (cooked <span style="font-weight:bold;">in</span> a pot, you naughty readers) in Kathy Farrell-Kingsley's Home Creamery book. Second, buttermilk pancakes. Or fried chicken, <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/buttermilk-ice-cream?autonomy_kw=buttermilk+ice+cream">buttermilk ice cream</a>, <a href="http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Hot-Crusty-Buttermilk-Biscuits"></a>buttermilk biscuts, <a href="http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Buttermilk-">Panna-Cotta</a>, <a href="http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Cardamom-Buttermilk-Pie">cardamon-buttermilk pie</a>, or, of course, there is the old standby of buttermilk wrapped in bacon, simmered in buttermilk and a rare late-harvest Sancerre from the Loire Valley, then wrapped in short pastry dough and topped with a reduced bacon and buttermilk sauce. Wow.<br /><br />Two different recipes for buttermilk can be found in Farrell-Kingsley's book on pages 38, and 39, or very different recipes for buttermilk are available at these links <a href="http://www.livingonadime.com/recipes/buttermilk.html"> here</a>, <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Homemade-Butter-and-Buttermilk-242047"> here</a>, and <a href="http://www.mrbreakfast.com/superdisplay.asp?recipeid=1192"> here </a>. Look around, see which inspires you most.<br /><br />Hope to see your buttermilk concoctions soon!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Event Rules:</span><br />Home Creamery Event Guidelines: (for the end of the month)<br />1) Make the dairy product (<span style="font-weight:bold;">BUTTERMILK IN FEBRUAR</span>Y) of the month at home.<br />2) Optional: Suggest a wine you think you might enjoy sipping with your milk creation in a raw or transformed state (i.e with buttermilk fried chicken or cardamon-buttermilk pie). <br />3. Send me one of two following things by the last Wednesday of the month (Feb 25th for the second month):<br />a) If you have a blog, send me the link to the post where you talk about your Home Creamery experience and I will feature it in on my Home Creamery post.<br />b) If you don't have a blog, email me a photo of your results (vindelatable@gmail.com) by the last Monday of the month and/or a brief 2-4 sentence sum up of your experience and your delectable pairings, which I will feature on my blog post.<br /><br />Lastly, the contest (see below) for guessing <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2009/02/home-creamery-event-giveaway-guess-her.html">Dot's favorite cheese</a> to win a copy of Farrell-Kingsley's The Home Creamery is still on, as no one has guessed correctly. Consider that an itty bitty hint. <br /><br />Any buttermilk or buttermilk making experiences to share? Any helpful hints that we all should know or <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/article/healthy-buttermilk-menu?autonomy_kw=homemade%20buttermilk&rsc=header_10"> recipes </a> favorite we have to try?Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-11305849125566698492009-02-10T10:21:00.000-08:002009-02-10T11:26:03.717-08:00Home Creamery Event Giveaway: Guess Her Favorite Cheese<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraJedigKUWHcrvgTPahcKuU3MBCJrh3lBs453hHrw8vkQDqAl0fX3JgU86auKjMNy4LDNCp7QWnya6Q0AMD-cHDpeWz8yo4Nnb16BaWz7x72EdMb50NpnaZnJD5M1vvVufpeDB6Seh9n9/s1600-h/MizDotJoo.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 371px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraJedigKUWHcrvgTPahcKuU3MBCJrh3lBs453hHrw8vkQDqAl0fX3JgU86auKjMNy4LDNCp7QWnya6Q0AMD-cHDpeWz8yo4Nnb16BaWz7x72EdMb50NpnaZnJD5M1vvVufpeDB6Seh9n9/s400/MizDotJoo.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301248744796518738" /></a><br /><br /><br />It's finally time for the second of three Home Creamery Book Giveaway Contests, and this month, Miz. Dot Joo (on right) is the star. Storey publishing has donated three of Kathy Farrell-Kingsley's books, The Home Creamery, in honor of Vin de la Table's monthly event, and we're going to send one of the books off to the lucky event participant who is able to correctly guess Miz Joo's favorite cheese. There are five given possiblities. It's a good time to mention that although the event is based upon Farrell-Kingsley's publication because of its ease and friendly nature, no one will be turned away from participating in this event for lack of this book. Any recipe is fine. As long as one makes the monthly dairy love product, they are invited to play. <br /><br />Following the five cheese guesses are the contest rules, the main event guidelines are included at the end of this post, and have fun guessing the cheese! Please leave a comment at the end of this post with your cheese of choice guess by this Sunday night, Feb 15th, 12pm Oakland time. Thanks!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Is Miz Joo's favorite cheese:<br /></span><a href="http://www.livarot-aoc.org/"> Livarot </a><br /><a href="http://www.vellacheese.com/pages/jack2.html">Vella Dry Jack</a><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/17/france-america-import-tariffs"> Roquefort </a><br /><a href="http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GARRX">Garrotxa</a><br /><a href="http://www.cheeseforager.com/hooks.php">Hook's Cheddar</a><br /><br /><br />Info about Miz Joo that might or might not help one win the contest:<br />1. She was a guest blogger on <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2008/03/korean-bbq-and-beer-miz-dot-joo.html">Vin de la Table</a> .<br />2. Her parents own a deli on the East Coast.<br />3. She loves cheese.<br />4. She made Hello Kitty waffles for her neice on Christmas morning and a space ship out of wooden wine boxes for her to play in.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Contest rules</span><br />1. Anyone who wins the book must participate in Vin de la Table Home Creamery: Making Cheese and Drinking Wine event. <br />2. Unless willing to support all of the book's shipping costs, all contestants must live in the United States or have a shipping address in North America. <br />3. Individuals may win the contest only once.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Home Creamery Event Guidelines:</span> (for the end of the month)<br />1) Make the dairy product of the month at home.<br />2) Either sip your dairy product to a wine or suggest a wine you think you might enjoy sipping with your milk creation in a raw or transformed state (i.e the cheese itself or a cheesecake). Also, I'll forgive you if you don't want to pair your goodness with wine, and just want to make join in on the dairy love.<br />3. Send me one of two things <span style="font-weight:bold;">by the last Wednesday of the month (Feb 25th for the second month)</span>:<br />a) If you have a blog, send me the link to the post where you talk about your Home Creamery experience and I will feature it in on my Home Creamery post.<br />b) If you don't have a blog, email me a photo of your results (vindelatable@gmail.com) by the last Monday of the month and a brief 2-4 sentence sum up of your experience and your delectable pairings, which I will feature on my blog post.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-33048365860195337952009-02-02T10:13:00.000-08:002009-02-04T11:52:48.589-08:00Home Creamery Event: Makin' Cheese, Drinkin' Wine, and Ricotta and Sweet Potato Gnocchi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hUmyszlgKmX_NVK4-XBOzjWfPcGW9HmkKrLROUjbJYfvFYF5vq44M-9B8fnKpHMQ2spYrLR9yP597D_hxAXOgrv_xH6XrOIj1cR9X31A_QYhNwa1Mcg9TlVF44Dqke17DNGFA5vyR2DE/s1600-h/sweetpotatoricottagnocchi.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hUmyszlgKmX_NVK4-XBOzjWfPcGW9HmkKrLROUjbJYfvFYF5vq44M-9B8fnKpHMQ2spYrLR9yP597D_hxAXOgrv_xH6XrOIj1cR9X31A_QYhNwa1Mcg9TlVF44Dqke17DNGFA5vyR2DE/s400/sweetpotatoricottagnocchi.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298365628164661330" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gnocchi recipe at end of page</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BmS-QGvBt2eYMVxRt-H25o4ekJ8CLM2adpjXmVHMszh1hgkzPu3_ss_jY5DSbNKrQzFs8x12K4WmjYEtf8QoJSfzGLnGFWBThznnzL5tyE2kANHAwGgkX2WqXs7QGW7RZ8OvgxNhXfPi/s1600-h/homemadericotta.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BmS-QGvBt2eYMVxRt-H25o4ekJ8CLM2adpjXmVHMszh1hgkzPu3_ss_jY5DSbNKrQzFs8x12K4WmjYEtf8QoJSfzGLnGFWBThznnzL5tyE2kANHAwGgkX2WqXs7QGW7RZ8OvgxNhXfPi/s320/homemadericotta.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298344359117621714" /></a><br /><br />As fellow Home Creamery Event participant Dan Petroski stated, ricotta is "quite possibly the easiest and least timely cheese to make." It is also a strong contender for the least photogenic cheese ever. It doesn't ooze. It doesn't stack. It doesn't glisten in the right places- it just sits there, waiting for its white curds to be baked or drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. If there were paparazzi of the cheese world, they wouldn't waste time scaling ricotta's Berverly Hill's gated mansion. Ricotta does not look good in a bikini.<br /><br />But bless the cheese, although it is not as succulent as Brillant Savarin or studded with diamond-like crystals like Beemster, it rolls up its sleeves, puts in full days at work, and only stops for cigarette breaks. In short, it is the ultimate cooking cheese. <br /><br />For the first Home Creamery Event, the dairy product of choice was ricotta and the participant number was three: Dan Petroski, the assistant winemaker of <a href="http://www.larkmead.com/"> Larkmead </a>vineyards and Simona Carini of <a href="http://briciole.typepad.com/">Bricole</a>, blog and me. <br /><br />Although the Home Creamery Event is based on Farrell-Kingsley's book, Carini made two types of ricotta. One was the buttermilk and whole milk recipe from the book, and the other she made from whey and milk she had leftover from an earlier home cheesemaking venture. I loved this. Anytime a recipe for the dairy product of the month other than Farrell-Kingsley's inspires you, by all means, use it in addition to or instead of the one in the book. The link to Carini's two experiments can be found <a href="http://briciole.typepad.com/blog/2009/01/ricotta-fatta-in-casa.html#comments"> here </a>. Keep on eye on this girl's blog, she's a dairy master. Prior to playing ricotta with us, Simona's been <a href="http://briciole.typepad.com/blog/2008/10/formaggio-con-le-pere.html"></a>crafting aged goat cheeses at home with milk from a friend's farm. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Makin' Ricotta</span><br />Now, instead of talking about my own ricotta making experiences, I'm going to share parts of Petroski's write-up about his time in the kitchen. I'm doing this because Petroski summed up the experience so well, and even though my own time with curds and whey was much more exciting than his (I alternated between watering the plants outside and visiting the local strip clubs during the acidification process) I like the way his words flow. Plus, he emailed me cool pictures that I swear I didn't shrink to make mine look better. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Towards the end of this post is my ricotta and sweet potato dumpling recipe that I made with my homemade ricotta.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Petroski's Cheese: A Homemade Ricotta Experience</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZIdnx5vFYOCFH27zkzanitwdoFjnS2asSsHN88DIpeayfroINJ4Y8k7jJLJbgYMB4qe_xPNsGO4xfHoEWYQVQn-SZCge2Ne6MjCJHgHIy33U-jSvqWCst9GgFuWigoN0rLmDYIrOEk-q/s1600-h/ricottaonstovejpeg.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 221px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZIdnx5vFYOCFH27zkzanitwdoFjnS2asSsHN88DIpeayfroINJ4Y8k7jJLJbgYMB4qe_xPNsGO4xfHoEWYQVQn-SZCge2Ne6MjCJHgHIy33U-jSvqWCst9GgFuWigoN0rLmDYIrOEk-q/s320/ricottaonstovejpeg.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297581277209850882" /></a><br /><br />"My ingredients, as pictured, were pretty straight forward - Strauss Family Creamery organic whole milk and heavy cream, white wine vinegar and salt. After getting the temp up to 185F, I removed from heat and stirred in three tablespoons of the vinegar for thirty seconds and then half a tablespoon of salt for thirty seconds and let stand, covered, for about two hours. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfZced7d8bv0EChfW84ncfekiYG5kBK_hzioDTvwC-NPweF9hDhpvRiIX1ZpbrLvNF4fldfVjZcCYzZincM3Lhe25FaQN6Wa-RLC2gJ2R0IvgBjAdUa-cDVt8b_uvN0qCcVUuRbUwsVWI/s1600-h/drainingricotta..jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfZced7d8bv0EChfW84ncfekiYG5kBK_hzioDTvwC-NPweF9hDhpvRiIX1ZpbrLvNF4fldfVjZcCYzZincM3Lhe25FaQN6Wa-RLC2gJ2R0IvgBjAdUa-cDVt8b_uvN0qCcVUuRbUwsVWI/s320/drainingricotta..jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297581895931975186" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBveoF6OuwipojWflOkjkQn0a1W_J_GyBq65feiL2ngpCq4bhPGZD_Sg5Ezuhf7iJb6WTqUpw1n57hs5Y5dmGOrNHCi2aa0hkXCf-SAmj-4mTDmC9MXZ7lCGHNseoc9418JfR5ICA3g99a/s1600-h/ricottacookingtemp.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBveoF6OuwipojWflOkjkQn0a1W_J_GyBq65feiL2ngpCq4bhPGZD_Sg5Ezuhf7iJb6WTqUpw1n57hs5Y5dmGOrNHCi2aa0hkXCf-SAmj-4mTDmC9MXZ7lCGHNseoc9418JfR5ICA3g99a/s320/ricottacookingtemp.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297581894623893730" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />As soon as the vinegar was added, the milk/cream mixture began its curdling and at that point, by smell alone, I knew things were going to turn out well. After the alloted time I moved the curds to the cheese cloth and let sit, wrapped for two more hours in a colander above a bowl. <br /><br />While the cheese was coming together, I halved a couple of Roma tomatoes, de-seeded them and filled a pyrex glass dish with a half of cup of olive oil, placed the tomatoes, drizzled them with more oil added salt, sugar and oregano and baked them in the oven, cut side up, for one hour and then flipped them for another 15-30 minutes. I plated the tomatoes drenched in their own oil and juices; cut open the cheese cloth and sliced some ciabatta. <br /><br />All the while, during the waiting period, I pulled the cork on a 2001 Val di Suga Brunello di Montalcino. Tasted for corkiness and then double decanted to let it develop, opened, in bottle until we were ready to snack, The Val di Suga translates to "Valley of the Sauce." With the vineyards slopped high on a hill facing the Tuscan sun, these Sangiovese Grosso grapes bake all day long, giving the wine a wonderful core of red and black fruit hidden under pepper and earthy terroir; the refined tannins and bright acidity confirms why Sangiovese is the king when pairing with tomato sauce drenched pasta. However, our little creation this night with a little extra sweetness coming from the tomatoes, the texture of the cheese and the crusty bread all helped round out this relatively young wine and allowed the food and wine to sing in concert."<br /><br />After making my two cups of ricotta from a gallon of milk and quart of buttermilk (I choose a different recipe in the book from Dan), I decided to put the cheese to work. It had, after all, cost me around the same amount as high-end ricotta purchased from a store so I thought that I should get my money's worth out of the curds and create something in addition to the cheese. My dish of choice was sweet potato ricotta dumplings. Whether you choose to call them gnocchi or not is your choice. I've heard that gnocchi made from anything other than potatoes and flour are gnocchi impostors and should really be called dumplings. I'll let you decide if you want to shame yourself as I have in the title. <br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpK89PdTyS9JAoLNj7O9FR3_Ff2IBMzpScsgB9r2TvPTfofI_If1KpUKUb0xsS89bqLlRs5ZCYmxqafDck-gY-7ml6udus01gQwarG6l-LMTljMK9auShFrxCWLYKFqKk5lAyiLDMSLVYw/s1600-h/homemadegnocchi.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpK89PdTyS9JAoLNj7O9FR3_Ff2IBMzpScsgB9r2TvPTfofI_If1KpUKUb0xsS89bqLlRs5ZCYmxqafDck-gY-7ml6udus01gQwarG6l-LMTljMK9auShFrxCWLYKFqKk5lAyiLDMSLVYw/s400/homemadegnocchi.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297522918811210002" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SWEET POTATO AND RICOTTA DUMPLINGS</span><br /><br />An Italian mother once told me that when boiling potatoes for gnocchi, always use the older ones laying around one's kitchen. Water won't be able to penetrate though the older, tougher skin as much as it would with a new tuber with thin skin. This is good because less water in the gnocchi mix produces a lighter, fluffier dumpling.<br />* a food mill or ricer is recommended for this recipe.<br />* have a small pot of boiling water ready to test the dumplings.<br /><br />2 medium sized sweet potatoes (I used the standard orange guys found in supermarkets across the country)<br />1 cup ricotta, well drained<br />1/4 - 1/2 cup flour<br />salt and pepper<br /><br />1. Put sweet potatoes in a medium-sized pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring to a simmer and cook until a fork inserted into the potato slides out with little effort (about 20-30 minutes). <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6ptsBdgoN0jXMPn9dtzn5nj6IDCvJZ3C6SnJxA4d131hoftL-3Hze2ZUKy9DkNCU58APdjgz_tLaISRUfuliPHmulPzhcrt9JYx0iuxGi5YAjoFFje2-NH2lFXzt1ANl9UtzIOu2Eo9A/s1600-h/foodmill.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6ptsBdgoN0jXMPn9dtzn5nj6IDCvJZ3C6SnJxA4d131hoftL-3Hze2ZUKy9DkNCU58APdjgz_tLaISRUfuliPHmulPzhcrt9JYx0iuxGi5YAjoFFje2-NH2lFXzt1ANl9UtzIOu2Eo9A/s400/foodmill.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297522915323718978" /></a><br /><br />2. Once potatoes are cooked, remove from water and let set only until cool enough to touch. Peel, cut into thirds, and run through the food mill over a bowl. It is easier to put potatoes through the mill when they are still warm and the resulting puree will have a smoother consistency. Cool after milling.<br /><br />3. Add the ricotta to the bowl and mix throughly with fingers. <br /><br />4. Add a little flour at a time to the bowl until the mixture starts to cling together and sticks less to your fingers. I eventually used around a half a cup of flour. Use as little as you think might be necessary because the more flour used, the heavier the dumplings. Salt and pepper to taste at this point.<br /><br />5. Now do a test run. Form an oval ball about half the size of an egg with your hands and make an indentation with your thumb unto one side of the dumpling. Drop into the boiling test water already on the stove and lower the heat to a simmer. If the dumpling rises to the top of the water and does not fall apart within 3-5 minutes , you're good. If it falls apart, you need to add more flour to the original batch and make another tester to check your progress.<br /><br />6. When ready to cook the entire batch, bring a large, salted pot of water to a boil. Add only half the dumplings to the pot at a time so they will have room to move about and cook throughly. After 3 minutes, run a gnocchi under running water and then taste. If it tastes of uncooked four, continue cooking the batch for one to two more minutes.<br /><br />7. Remove dumplings from water with a large slotted spoon or small sieve. Continue process with next batch.<br /><br />8. At meal time (these gnocchi keep best uncooked in the fridge until ready to cook and serve), cook gnocchi and serve with sage leaves and browned butter. <br /><br />I enjoyed this hearty dumplings with an arugula salad and an Uvaggio <a href="http://www.uvaggio.com/"></a> Vermentino from Lodi. The nose on the Vermentino was lightly floral, pear and lemon-laced, and crisp and dry on the tongue. Most times when I make a light sauce like browned butter and sage for a pasta or dumpling, I like to let the ingredients shine and keep the wine light, but I've been known to pour a Viognier or Rhone blend with this dish, which brings out the earthy and sweet butter and potato flavors. <br /><br />This is the end of the ricotta home creamery edition. I welcome you to join us for the next Home Creamery Event and would love to hear about your ricotta experiences or any prefences for the next dairy product we tackle in the comment section below. Thanks for playing!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />To sum up the event's guidelines again:<br />1) Make the dairy product of the month at home.<br />2) Either pair the dairy product to a wine or suggest a wine you think you might enjoy sipping with your milk creation. There are no limits here- it's okay if you want to make something with your creation beyond the raw dairy product, like ricotta cake, dumplings, or baked ricotta, or you can suggest a wine to sip with simply the fresh, buttery ricotta. Your choice. Also, I'll forgive you if you don't want to pair your goodness with wine, and just want to make join in on the dairy love.<br />3. Send me one of two things by the last Monday of the month (Jan 26th for the first month):<br />a) If you have a blog, send me the link to the post where you talk about your Home Creamery experience and I will feature it in on my Home Creamery post.<br />b) If you don't have a blog, email me a photo of your results (vindelatable@gmail.com) by the last Monday of the month and a brief 2-4 sentence sum up of your experience and your delectable pairings, which I will feature on my blog post.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-40142093736629668202009-01-26T15:52:00.000-08:002009-01-27T09:21:30.765-08:00Visiting Domaine Carneros, Etude, and Darioush & Home Creamery Submissions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihQXJdZqc0DNZoWlnMmPL8TKh_DmalHjx4VXu5mnpuK47vBXyt2eGNU-9FCh1FD82boTlSei9LSoiJI5-YWgkYY4B12J_mta7kTcTwo0vU-QPuHkJWSpsHo3nY_vmqCRit1IJoiWteq78/s1600-h/etudeglass.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihQXJdZqc0DNZoWlnMmPL8TKh_DmalHjx4VXu5mnpuK47vBXyt2eGNU-9FCh1FD82boTlSei9LSoiJI5-YWgkYY4B12J_mta7kTcTwo0vU-QPuHkJWSpsHo3nY_vmqCRit1IJoiWteq78/s400/etudeglass.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295768807619086242" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Home Creamery Event Participants:</span> Out of consideration of shopping lists gone awry and butter muslin sheets not arriving in time, I am extending the first Home Creamery Event ricotta submission deadline to Wednesday night, Janruary 28th. I do, however, welcome and love early submissions. Event details may be found in paragraph three or four of <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2009/01/book-giveaway-home-creamery-winner.html">this</a> post, and submissions may be emailed to vindelatable@gmail.com. </span><br /><br />Most weekends, our excursions involve deciding whether to hike in Oakland's Redwood Hill park or walk down Fruitvale Ave to get a <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2009/01/brief-intermission-stroll-down.html"></a>taco. Or pan dulce. This past Saturday, however, my husband and I filled up the gas tank, said farewell to Oak Town, and drove to Napa. Our mission: wine tasting at Domaine Carneros, Etude, and Darioush.<br /><br />It's been our practice to visit wineries during the winter months when there are less elbows to nudge at the tasting bars and (slightly) fewer swerving cars on the road. Fortunately, one out of any two winter days in Napa is guaranteed to have clear skies, so in addition to seeing sullen clouds cloaking the haunted Domaine Carneros chateau, we spotted yellow wild mustard shining in vineyards. Here's a little piece of our trip.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lanzF80RGPjMf1o3TmFtKQmshl2zbSbnKH2W4eLdh33QGUyxKjedjbJDBRacBlB5RgsP1cPSaPDD_aBbHBKvCAHaUFTmFyPd1Qa-20WNwfsrgStZEAWiqzokoN9yeIMP78x90M22wRYN/s1600-h/mustardoldvine.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lanzF80RGPjMf1o3TmFtKQmshl2zbSbnKH2W4eLdh33QGUyxKjedjbJDBRacBlB5RgsP1cPSaPDD_aBbHBKvCAHaUFTmFyPd1Qa-20WNwfsrgStZEAWiqzokoN9yeIMP78x90M22wRYN/s400/mustardoldvine.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295770344269824850" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lGGPVdSMP_HRLMOX3JzVoctJpMsQjOw6AuaKM7lYK-BrLtBvThuI9Yao3QBQXWjsLAokrK0Q7ytKoyTjNeTxPAxDTdQ7A4gqNBEx83ee3S4PiqwPum9MYpQ9mR8e-lHAeW_NKQSVyOwC/s1600-h/domainecarneros.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lGGPVdSMP_HRLMOX3JzVoctJpMsQjOw6AuaKM7lYK-BrLtBvThuI9Yao3QBQXWjsLAokrK0Q7ytKoyTjNeTxPAxDTdQ7A4gqNBEx83ee3S4PiqwPum9MYpQ9mR8e-lHAeW_NKQSVyOwC/s400/domainecarneros.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295763892915885538" /></a><br /><br /><br />The Domaine Carneros Chateau. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ME9TsrWeoLs7ICA8yvmjGZ6HLdY3RRxMGvKYQA0_oDmUzydqoi48AFCJluFKnrcixeWvf-CMPyDJlydcE4i3jA7JbRpMaUrh_jJTCJpD0yCZ0g88YpnmZiaX61yqDSafFw0ndH07It-e/s1600-h/DomaineCarnerosLineup.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ME9TsrWeoLs7ICA8yvmjGZ6HLdY3RRxMGvKYQA0_oDmUzydqoi48AFCJluFKnrcixeWvf-CMPyDJlydcE4i3jA7JbRpMaUrh_jJTCJpD0yCZ0g88YpnmZiaX61yqDSafFw0ndH07It-e/s400/DomaineCarnerosLineup.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295765795821533378" /></a><br /><br />Sure, the high end Pinots Noirs we sampled from the Domaine were nice, but the sparklings were the big hits. Our favorites were the rosé and "Le Reve," (The dream) sparkling. Good Pinots run rampant all over California, they can be practically found at every rest stop. Good Cali sparklings, on the other hand, are few and far between.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGa8stvvbHriUeWbFgdCSKmO5vIJ1x6H2zNMXp1VFsHiIQxkiCPD56EBhLcnsWC3ZMuP-LOo_1e9mgsA_KLChhZ-p4zF1p9NWgqb_xMnI2FVaSTSpQx8wkiVBcuGmzCNMLw_MXhLPTiixd/s1600-h/cheeseplate.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGa8stvvbHriUeWbFgdCSKmO5vIJ1x6H2zNMXp1VFsHiIQxkiCPD56EBhLcnsWC3ZMuP-LOo_1e9mgsA_KLChhZ-p4zF1p9NWgqb_xMnI2FVaSTSpQx8wkiVBcuGmzCNMLw_MXhLPTiixd/s400/cheeseplate.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295765787774383362" /></a><br /><br /><br />My husband knows we're not allowed to stop the car without a promise of cheese. Domaine Carneros had a plate that went smashingly with their wines that featured Cypress Grove's Mad River Roll goat cheese, Bellwether Carmody (both amazing with everything), and a brie, that while tasty, was overshadowed by the local beauties.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nw0myH0E2FC2reyOrKPdGcY5NttGACEvV0Nd_0YxxoMmJh-2RTak3G0utFpjU4DweAna8fexfmGPBBTvi3mCivOFobp8KhpKYzyEpWlc-gEKzvHgKf2iW_BmOqsAzlKuFGMJIXBtNjXw/s1600-h/Etude1999merlot.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nw0myH0E2FC2reyOrKPdGcY5NttGACEvV0Nd_0YxxoMmJh-2RTak3G0utFpjU4DweAna8fexfmGPBBTvi3mCivOFobp8KhpKYzyEpWlc-gEKzvHgKf2iW_BmOqsAzlKuFGMJIXBtNjXw/s400/Etude1999merlot.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295767898391872530" /></a><br /><br /><br />I love Etude, and this is the 1999 Heirloom Merlot that we took home with us. It had raspberry and plummy fruit with smokey tobacco flavors and enough acidity and tannins to last two to five more years. We just happened to visit Etude on a day when they were sharing their Heirloom wine with club members and managed to invite ourselves to the release party. We had party hats in our back pockets. Etude's Heirloom wines are limited edition bottlings available for purchase at the winery that are intended to express the nature of old vines around Carneros. They are, quite simply, gorgeous.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WklZDgMpZyhZ9wtXy_fwCBs34XUs_q-nnQyFLyvOtQAAbi7mwQTusTRubsVsFrn2QkLpsX-mt5sXgso1UMuhTt4pLak1bmkYoRgGea_kYxAeaquAllNUZo9sP_puZOAb0B0SQQWRtlGb/s1600-h/ThalassaSkinnerJPG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WklZDgMpZyhZ9wtXy_fwCBs34XUs_q-nnQyFLyvOtQAAbi7mwQTusTRubsVsFrn2QkLpsX-mt5sXgso1UMuhTt4pLak1bmkYoRgGea_kYxAeaquAllNUZo9sP_puZOAb0B0SQQWRtlGb/s400/ThalassaSkinnerJPG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295807448462298786" /></a><br /><br /><br />Thalassa Skinner, manager of Oxbow cheese in downtown Napa and part-owner of <a href="http://www.culturecheesemag.com/"> Culture </a>, a new quarterly cheese magazine just released that has taken on the duty of singing me to sleep at night, selected cheeses to pair with Etude's Heirloom wines with the help of assistant manager Ricardo (not pictured). My husband is the lurker.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmC6f-Or7K06GHCFBNlwhOkGafFiSj86OsEALQo53RiZHyNPgbuU-x-Z8jKPCGSXmLNtw94nr3_SddWgN8fKmWuAiq90D8DesDvvpOHCLEI8ybrWTU_j7wGfjwCFEY8QPpj3EOfA5RKVr/s1600-h/etudecheese.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmC6f-Or7K06GHCFBNlwhOkGafFiSj86OsEALQo53RiZHyNPgbuU-x-Z8jKPCGSXmLNtw94nr3_SddWgN8fKmWuAiq90D8DesDvvpOHCLEI8ybrWTU_j7wGfjwCFEY8QPpj3EOfA5RKVr/s400/etudecheese.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295767903765636402" /></a><br /><br /><br />Cheeses pictured from Oxbrow market are Abbaye de Belloc, a sheep's milk cheese made by Benedictine monks in the Pyrenees mountains of France, and Beecher's Reserve Cheddar. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKseIMtj7nFqkpg0fFJJZEmL3zt4YBBQnP0YkM89xoYUFMP6pvXcoGGwWoISRHbmzxzOwIDAlp5r3K30FI1dz2sFqzk6pdE_eHQLBSrKaptT9iDDCxg-9U4OOvm6i_sxrKLdYFgD2s801/s1600-h/darioushpalaceJPG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKseIMtj7nFqkpg0fFJJZEmL3zt4YBBQnP0YkM89xoYUFMP6pvXcoGGwWoISRHbmzxzOwIDAlp5r3K30FI1dz2sFqzk6pdE_eHQLBSrKaptT9iDDCxg-9U4OOvm6i_sxrKLdYFgD2s801/s400/darioushpalaceJPG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295807334839670290" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Our last stop was Darioush. They make yummy, very expensive wines and their tasting room is modeled after a Persian palace. Enough said.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-6605251196971031092009-01-18T17:55:00.001-08:002009-01-19T12:27:57.245-08:00Winter Carrot-Apple Salad and Gros Manseng<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt95Om8aC0W7R8lOr5Pd6CXi6AoZ1eA5hcF-BOWenwQfVJB0lqs-2KCp9UFLwOobsTDFYOqMmKDObIgStaeUZZG3d2LRhBfCVFKtTNfX1Sw1iwaDONI1gCLUAOn3ETJDczlUXe0fY3p4Av/s1600-h/carrotapplesalad2JPG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt95Om8aC0W7R8lOr5Pd6CXi6AoZ1eA5hcF-BOWenwQfVJB0lqs-2KCp9UFLwOobsTDFYOqMmKDObIgStaeUZZG3d2LRhBfCVFKtTNfX1Sw1iwaDONI1gCLUAOn3ETJDczlUXe0fY3p4Av/s400/carrotapplesalad2JPG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292819135386655826" /></a><br /><br />When it's a warm day and the seventy-degree California air outside whistles at you with disgust when you reach for a skillet but your vegetable crisper is still packed to the till with the root vegetables the January weather normally dictates, reach for the grater. Make a root vegetable and apple salad, dress it with a light lemon, olive oil and dijion vinaigrette, and call it lunch. Sip with Gros Manseng.<br /><br />After a week of days blessed with sun that warms the soul in the middle of winter, turning on the stove feels like a kitchen sin. Take heed, dear readers, there is a livelier way to utilize those those previously soup and braising-bound veggies.<br /><br />While we normally think of using spring peas or summer tomatoes for a seasonal salad, grated root vegetables can rock a salad bowl too. Just as braising winter produce soothes their starchy nature and brings caramel-like sugars to the surface, shredding a carrot or parsnip into fine pieces breaks down the grainy fibers and softens the plant's rough edges. Futhermore, the acid in the vinaigrette cooks the veggies like citrus cooks or processes fish in ceviche, so the vegetables soften, and guests won't still be chewing on fibrous roots on the car ride home.<br /><br />There are a couple things to keep in mind when going root-style. First, since root veggies generally become limp and uni-textural when shredded and dressed, adding something with a snap like apple or celery to the mix adds another dimension to the salad that keeps your mouth coming back for more. Unless your a fan of that soft slaw that sits on family picnic tables, adding crunch is key, otherwise, add mayonnaise. Another way to booster even more crunch is by tossing in a small handful of roughly chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans at the last minute. Next, to liven up the salad's sugary, simple winter flavors, make a punchy extra virgin olive oil vinaigrette heavy on the lemon, seasoned with a handful of chopped herbs and dijon that will contrast the sweetness of the roots and offer the salad balance.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Quick and Easy Winter Root-Vegetable Apple Salad</span><br />serves 3-4 people<br /><br />shredded root vegetables- 2 carrots, 2 parsnips <span style="font-weight:bold;">or</span> 1 small celery root (mix and matching possible)<br /><br />1/2 tsp. dijion mustard<br />1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice<br />1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil<br />2 tbsp fresh herbs, chopped<br /><br />1 small handful roughly chopped pecans<br /><br />1 crisp apple, such as fuji<br /><br />salt and pepper<br /><br /><br />Place shredded root vegetables and chopped pecans a large bowl. In a small bowl or jar, mix dijion, lemon juice, oil and chopped herbs and set aside. Cut apple into match stick pieces at the last minute to avoid browning and add to large bowl. Pour dressing over salad and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43G1gv09SdGJ-3HDlSDQjfbkOI0elBPjnoJlCB5vkMksRGuyaFuvnT2cIeNiMFeZRG05fLIQc6g_RGn3jKILRlLqEt3ELIKb10uxYxHwv-7rOhQ6slTrCoFlSb3FJ7Q_DhZ3QqPaHgXgv/s1600-h/grosmanseng.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 374px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43G1gv09SdGJ-3HDlSDQjfbkOI0elBPjnoJlCB5vkMksRGuyaFuvnT2cIeNiMFeZRG05fLIQc6g_RGn3jKILRlLqEt3ELIKb10uxYxHwv-7rOhQ6slTrCoFlSb3FJ7Q_DhZ3QqPaHgXgv/s400/grosmanseng.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292838755060826722" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What to drink</span><br /><br />It's afternoon, it's cool. If you're feeling like a glass of cold wine, grab a bottle of Gros Manseng or another crisp, punchy white from Gascony or the Laungedoc regions of France. Typically made with Gros Manseng, Petite Manseng, and sometimes Ugni Blanc, whites from this region are typically high-acidity, aromatic wines that pair with vegetables like Sophia Loren pairs with a slim-cut dress. If you were under the impression that Gruner Vetliner had no match in the contest of who paired best with vegetables, well.... Gros Manseng (get ready for this) tastes good with brussel sprouts, broccoli, and even asparagus. I know, I know, life continues to amaze. And best of all, it's relatively cheap in the world of good wine. The Domaine des Cassagnoles bottle I drank, pictured above, went for $13.50, and the bottle I had from the Laungedoc last week sported a $9 pricetag. The flavors, you ask? Granny smith apple, quince, apricot, flowers, lemon, and a finish that makes your lips purse.<br /><br /><br />Any favorite salads that utlilize the tougher winter produce in your house?Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-32525197974607372062009-01-15T08:34:00.000-08:002009-01-17T09:16:33.221-08:00A Brief Intermission: A Stroll Down Fruitvale Avenue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4r2VjmQpqWBsTgh2iEIwLvR5Z5BDupkM2FCpscL4zF0iwdfWuL4Na14ntDvlx5essU40Bar2dI-AbGU5i2zufzLgI25ZVnBsc5d2vJJUq7sYY5giT8pVvCsY-0qFKQqhOOjTSV9xM45Tq/s1600-h/pandulceJPG.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4r2VjmQpqWBsTgh2iEIwLvR5Z5BDupkM2FCpscL4zF0iwdfWuL4Na14ntDvlx5essU40Bar2dI-AbGU5i2zufzLgI25ZVnBsc5d2vJJUq7sYY5giT8pVvCsY-0qFKQqhOOjTSV9xM45Tq/s400/pandulceJPG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291566156710788178" /></a><br /><br /><br />When my husband and I couldn't decide whether we wanted to head to Redwood Park five miles from our house, or go for an urban hike down the long stretch of Fruitvale Ave, in Oakland for our leisurely Sunday activity, it was the food that swayed us. Here's a short photo essay capturing our decision.<br /><br />Is there an area near you that you go for awesome Mexican food?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5i0hfnhyqp4EJ9gMnYsee9nSkqU2SxIcPcIPxPS3VBPwkl2l2zCCf2vLLnkk5YIOUiOtKZBTTXqQAmayoJp37R18gMHvDKqNpu8tDVB_7U2clytil-BsiuOK7oAVGMo8IX-A2jjMosG15/s1600-h/hotsauce.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5i0hfnhyqp4EJ9gMnYsee9nSkqU2SxIcPcIPxPS3VBPwkl2l2zCCf2vLLnkk5YIOUiOtKZBTTXqQAmayoJp37R18gMHvDKqNpu8tDVB_7U2clytil-BsiuOK7oAVGMo8IX-A2jjMosG15/s400/hotsauce.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291563901082421362" /></a><br /><br />The hot sauce aisle at a Fruitvale grocery store.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ha3YKKA6pTMkbsGhhKEKtF69Q89znDEfqc2y7Q9jxdsfaS88V-gFIys63-BfQM6Ahz-1y5ZSMLGeXL4_jliIxAJAy4QCyhcDQzn2EytDzojZv55MimrVBuwbmF4lLVTPGA7JnqIsMvLj/s1600-h/elpastortacos.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ha3YKKA6pTMkbsGhhKEKtF69Q89znDEfqc2y7Q9jxdsfaS88V-gFIys63-BfQM6Ahz-1y5ZSMLGeXL4_jliIxAJAy4QCyhcDQzn2EytDzojZv55MimrVBuwbmF4lLVTPGA7JnqIsMvLj/s400/elpastortacos.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291563899817955442" /></a><br /><br />El pastor and carne asada tacos from a corner taco truck.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiznIyoh08Bk5kkJADfqtDtolLNp_ii1JJRacL8PtyKfRou_rZWtrg86iLz0zraHwfj_pZBqJxlEABUtJf0_Ex7xqpaotFHxb0n26u-i8wUHUDh1n7L1H7CLEqGeVKzYGVlLLXfBKa1K0/s1600-h/pasteleria.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiznIyoh08Bk5kkJADfqtDtolLNp_ii1JJRacL8PtyKfRou_rZWtrg86iLz0zraHwfj_pZBqJxlEABUtJf0_Ex7xqpaotFHxb0n26u-i8wUHUDh1n7L1H7CLEqGeVKzYGVlLLXfBKa1K0/s400/pasteleria.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291563907582205106" /></a><br /><br />Los Mexicanos Pasteleria- everything made in-house. You tell them when you're ready to order, they hand you a silver tray and tongs, and you select your morsel.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JR4cre_Pht_qMKEPPrvut1o_Gl6-JYkXFaAoTJkbhv_dt_OYd5krefMCD8VJxX3qh-HHqf2Ty_ZC2s94mmdfrbpv76V_HmWdSx6SaquZ7W2tTshG_KHwyv6FLyAQDCpbrY5Lvvb9JObQ/s1600-h/pandulce2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JR4cre_Pht_qMKEPPrvut1o_Gl6-JYkXFaAoTJkbhv_dt_OYd5krefMCD8VJxX3qh-HHqf2Ty_ZC2s94mmdfrbpv76V_HmWdSx6SaquZ7W2tTshG_KHwyv6FLyAQDCpbrY5Lvvb9JObQ/s400/pandulce2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291563901233516610" /></a><br /><br />Coconut Cream Pan Dulce from Los Mexicanos.<br /><br /><br /><br />Lastly, a quick note for <span style="font-weight:bold;">Home Creamery event participants</span>, I found a great website where one could purchase butter muslin and other supplies that will be needed for future dairy adventures that can be found <a href="http://www.cellar-homebrew.com/store/catalog/Butter-Muslin-p-1133.html"> here </a>Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-65421004653765894702009-01-12T12:15:00.000-08:002009-01-17T09:19:45.432-08:00Book Giveaway Home Creamery Winner!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KUVpoiyNNJwX91daA21fiTAvuOBYC60x5Xyhlz-Gg0EdJ76DNGoXZ-7gxb2YQD_np4vGWoXSU5U6DLmcUUGGjBVv4SlId6Gd2s08rLD8XmdVoafVcDw65jhRqNbByH37dZSAZKrE4B1V/s1600-h/cheeseporn1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KUVpoiyNNJwX91daA21fiTAvuOBYC60x5Xyhlz-Gg0EdJ76DNGoXZ-7gxb2YQD_np4vGWoXSU5U6DLmcUUGGjBVv4SlId6Gd2s08rLD8XmdVoafVcDw65jhRqNbByH37dZSAZKrE4B1V/s400/cheeseporn1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290516011677270722" /></a>o<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzq_zImymZvK3F72phFUYKHaIMSxIde4CYxT9ec8rbSrIfXowX6kmVecqf_f4COG4YX0qs6athgddqAEGo30LhjXj6YxU4BbwCnfUW2ews72REd-Lma4djgFa_CnvS8TgX88BvidEHh0b/s1600-h/cheeseporn2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzq_zImymZvK3F72phFUYKHaIMSxIde4CYxT9ec8rbSrIfXowX6kmVecqf_f4COG4YX0qs6athgddqAEGo30LhjXj6YxU4BbwCnfUW2ews72REd-Lma4djgFa_CnvS8TgX88BvidEHh0b/s400/cheeseporn2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290516018730203890" /></a><br /><br /><br />Just a little cheese porn to get us all supped up for the dairy love to follow.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zsuU9ceFscwzvCMYHRk8lzbWRgGbaFMsMUo5G0pDFfy16fZX9ZCBsqLpzgysHQHyWTY8jSFS8UX4LDqRbiBCIvNB2e7IkrinBID3Y9_iqDoyC5ty-8PxwbdF_ngy65lYfSlTxTIAToo3/s1600-h/cheeseporn3.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zsuU9ceFscwzvCMYHRk8lzbWRgGbaFMsMUo5G0pDFfy16fZX9ZCBsqLpzgysHQHyWTY8jSFS8UX4LDqRbiBCIvNB2e7IkrinBID3Y9_iqDoyC5ty-8PxwbdF_ngy65lYfSlTxTIAToo3/s400/cheeseporn3.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290516027089863458" /></a><br /><br />After excluding my father's vote in the comment section for Claire's favorite cheese, which we later determined he probably knew because she told him, there was only one contender. The competition was fierce and furious. I wrote his name on a piece of paper and put it in a hat, shook it around to give him a fighting chance, washed the bones to clear the air, and then grabbed absolutely the first name my fingertips brushed and drew it from the hat. <br /><br />The winner for the first of three monthly Home Creamery Book Giveaways is...... JACK!<br /><br />Way to go Jack! Congratulations. <br /><br />While my heart would be warmed if Claire's favorite cheese was a bandaged wrapped cheddar or Epoisse, the young cute pie is a picky eater and would probably wrinkle her nose at the sight of bandages on cheese or the smell of Epoisse. But, we'll get her. She's moved from string cheese to cheese with holes. This is big. Next time I see her, I'll cut holes in slim peice of Comte, make it into a mask shape to involve her in the cheese process, then eat the cheese holes. We'll get her folks, oh, we'll turn her around. <br /><br />Now, for the first assignment from The Home Creamery book by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley (drum roll please, again)...<span style="font-weight:bold;"> RICOTTA</span>! Ricotta's story starts on p. 68, and the recipe starts on pg. 70. It's probably a good time to mention that <span style="font-weight:bold;">no one will be denied participation in the Home Creamery Event if they are interested in making dairy products at home</span>. Although the event is based on Farrell-Kingsley's book, partially because of its easy,d friendly nature and partially because I love the idea of supporting this author whose teaching us to take cheese into our own hands,<span style="font-weight:bold;"> participants are welcome to use any recipe of their choosing for the dairy challenges</span>. I would encourage everyone to buy this awesome book, but I just really want you to play dairy with me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">To sum up the event's guidelines:</span><br />1) <span style="font-weight:bold;">Make the dairy product of the month at home</span>.<br />2) Either <span style="font-weight:bold;">pair the dairy product to a wine</span> or suggest a wine you think you might enjoy sipping with your milk creation. There are no limits here- it's okay if you want to make something with your creation beyond the raw dairy product, like ricotta cake, dumplings, or baked ricotta, or you can suggest a wine to sip with simply the fresh, buttery ricotta. Your choice.<span style="font-weight:bold;"> Also, I'll forgive you if you don't want to pair your goodness with wine, and just want to make join in on the dairy love.</span><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Send me one of two things by the last Monday of the month</span> (Jan 26th for the first month):<br /> a) If you have a blog, send me the link to the post where you talk about your Home Creamery experience and I will feature it in on my Home Creamery post.<br /> b) If you don't have a blog, email me a photo of your results (vindelatable@gmail.com) by the last Monday of the month and a brief 2-4 sentence sum up of your experience and your delectable pairings, which I will feature on my blog post. <br /><br />That's it for now, i'm so excited to start the event. Please leave any questions, concerns, or excellent ricotta making advice in the comment section. This is my first time with ricotta, so if it's important not to eat the concoction until it's finished, someone warn me. <br /><br />Thanks for playing! Remember, in the next two months there will be two more chances to win The Home Creamery book. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jack, please email me at vindelatable@gmail.com with your info so we can get you that great book. </span>Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-87847810780804870482009-01-05T13:30:00.000-08:002009-01-09T17:13:14.073-08:00Home Creamery Event Giveaway Contest: Making Cheese and Drinking Wine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyZKg5yGnDAoHaMBfLoP-buTRyGQce_r9F8xk20xpMM3CIGu6gGTIaClvh6UARbzOpI8mCJydCqogW0Nd-9BTvg5o-Tt2WbRPrjqGXH9hXbADQ5WsyAG-VA_xuX0iRwfLNvGeYDGv_l4G/s1600-h/Claire'sCheese.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyZKg5yGnDAoHaMBfLoP-buTRyGQce_r9F8xk20xpMM3CIGu6gGTIaClvh6UARbzOpI8mCJydCqogW0Nd-9BTvg5o-Tt2WbRPrjqGXH9hXbADQ5WsyAG-VA_xuX0iRwfLNvGeYDGv_l4G/s400/Claire'sCheese.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287921332739660722" /></a><br /><br /><br />Some readers might be wondering why cutie Claire's picture is topping the Vin de la Table home page. Although appearances are deceiving, she does not look old enough to disperse <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2008/10/coq-au-vin-and-burgundy.html">coq au vin and Burgundy</a> pairing advice or impart a <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2008/10/gingersnap-bacon-fat-cookies-what-to-do.html">baconsnap</a> recipe upon the masses. Ah, but there is a glorious reason. Read on.<br /><br />Get out your milk and pots, dear readers, for the first <span style="font-weight:bold;">Vin de la Table Home Creamery Event: Making Cheese & Drinking Wine</span> is almost upon us. After months of anticipation, the blogging event that will applaud your attempts and triumphs at creating dairy morsels in your own kitchen has arrived. No longer will you have to pay thousands for that tub of fresh ricotta, because after making it once from the Home Creamery book, you will have the power to create that plush goodness at home.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHTlxcffYgWn9y6984hyrukWdbxFhsgyAb3xr_E7Obg4Ydf5ZCb_n2ZTN_Cvq3SaV0_GokpBEtHtSzfAT3TqvWn3z_33jscMU9lKidoGcOVEPQzOKplu1jGiy6QuCPLXHsTwiASZ2V-ri/s1600-h/homecreamery.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHTlxcffYgWn9y6984hyrukWdbxFhsgyAb3xr_E7Obg4Ydf5ZCb_n2ZTN_Cvq3SaV0_GokpBEtHtSzfAT3TqvWn3z_33jscMU9lKidoGcOVEPQzOKplu1jGiy6QuCPLXHsTwiASZ2V-ri/s320/homecreamery.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286871335484566834" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Home Creamery Event Details:</span> The event is open to the public. Every month, I'll pick a recipe for a cheese or dairy good from The Home Creamery book pictured above, and participants (that's you!!!) will make the dairy products. Suggestions for next picks are welcome. After making the dairy product (here's the Vin de la Table hook), participants would pair it with a wine of their choice. There are no limitations. Say we're making mozzarella. Jane Doe (ohh, how she loves fresh cheeses) could focus entirely on pairing the cheese she just made with a favorite wine, or she could make a fried mozzarella sandwich, then tell us about the wine sauce she dipped her creation in and the glass of wine she sipped with her fried cheese (Jane's a naughty girl). <br /><br />All entries are due until the last Monday of every month (first entries are due January 26th), and contestants are urged to purchase the Home Creamery book by the wonderful Kathy Farrell-Kingsley because while the dairy product recipes and advice included on each page are straightforward and pretty simple, they are too long to post on this blog. Plus, it might provoke fuzzy feelings in us to know that by <a href="http://www.greenapplebooks.com/cgi-bin/mergatroid/16034203122"> buying </a>the well-priced $16 <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781603420310-0"> book </a>, we are supporting a writer who is nuturing our own creative cheese endeavors. <br /><br />But before the actual event, I have more good news having to do with the aforepictured Claire. Are you sitting?<br /><br />In celebration of all things blogging and milk-related, Storey publishers <span style="font-weight:bold;"> have agreed to donate three books to kick off the Home Creamery event!</span> So, in honor of Storey publisher's generosity and the Making Cheese & Drinking Wine event, I'm holding a contest called: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Guess the Cheese</span>. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Guess the Cheese</span><br /><br />Every month for three months, I will post a picture of a person (Claire rules January) and contest participants will guess that lovely lady or man's favorite cheese out of a selection of five offerings. The names of all correct guessers will be tossed into a hat, one name will be drawn, and the winner will win a Home Creamery book that they will use to participate in the Vin de la Table event. Please leave your guesses on the comment section of this blog, and for privacy's sake, email me (vindelatable@gmail.com) your contact information in case you are the winner.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Please remember to email me your contact info in case you are the winner so we can decide where to send the book!</span><br /><br />And now we begin!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Guess the Cheese:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Is Claire's favorite cheese:</span><br />Époisses<br />Swiss Cheese (with holes)<br />String Cheese (at room temperature)<br />Comté<br />Fiscalini Bandage-Wrapped Cheddar<br /><br /><br />Info about Claire that might or might not help one win the contest:<br />She is six.<br />She likes to decorate tables for Christmas.<br />She aims to grow out her hair until it reaches her lower back.<br />Her mother is a teacher and her father is a cook. <br /><br />The contest will end Sunday, Jan 11th, midnight, Oakland time. <br /><br /><br />Good luck! Lastly, three book giveaway rules:<br />1. All contest contenders must participate in Vin de la Table Home Creamery: Making Cheese and Drinking Wine event. <br />2. Unless willing to support all of the book's shipping costs, all contestants must live in the United States or have a shipping address in North America. <br />3. Individuals may enter the contest only once.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-86389296871725296682008-12-29T08:36:00.000-08:002009-01-02T17:31:20.167-08:00Bi-Coastal Chinese Food & Wine Pairing II: Red-Cooked Lamb<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFSEbTvLdo3rAY8xuHlNVnY6jzFGzBqCrXP7yD9-kwXYmXqlCgBKlFpvw2XBWxqy0blf9YO5DJg4fa165DsTPT2gVpJRyVVl4obtIy9Vo4fm_hrzpA8jn6ibxHYz6ml_7ab1PvAxmzYJg/s1600-h/redcookedlamb.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFSEbTvLdo3rAY8xuHlNVnY6jzFGzBqCrXP7yD9-kwXYmXqlCgBKlFpvw2XBWxqy0blf9YO5DJg4fa165DsTPT2gVpJRyVVl4obtIy9Vo4fm_hrzpA8jn6ibxHYz6ml_7ab1PvAxmzYJg/s400/redcookedlamb.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282374775587964066" /></a><br /><br /><br />Finally, the meat. For those of you who haven't been keeping up with the joint wine and Chinese food pairing between <a href="http://www.redcook.net">RedCook</a> and myself, I'm not saying you should be ashamed of yourself, or make yourself go a day without carbs for punishment, I'm just saying, <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2008/12/bi-coastal-chinese-food-wine-pairing.html">read here</a>. <br /><br />Last time, <span style="font-weight:bold;">RedCook</span>, the magical Chinese food blogger based in NYC, and I paired daikon and chive blossom salad and steamed tofu and mushrooms to two white wines. This time, to even the palate, give honor to the circle of life, and to soothe the protesters out my window holding signs reading "Where's the Lamb" and "Gimme Meat," we decided to prepare a classic Chinese meat dish paired with red wine. That crowning glory of a meat dish is called Red Cooked Lamb, and the recipe can be found on <a href="http://www.redcook.net/2008/12/29/bi-coastal-wine-pairing-2/">RedCook's part of the joint post</a>.<br /><br />Slowly cooked with star anise, cinnamon, tangerine peel, Sichaun peppercorns, fennel, dried chilis , ginger, soy, Shaoxiing cooking wine, sugar, daikons and carrots, the lamb takes on a reddish brown color and absorbs the warm to hot aromatic spices that make your mouth tingle and your tummy warm. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4Bqrq_9NjOBmG2tM6pFZndybYumYJb4WcljLArnNgqOUUM-SqvpBdx0MDHU8B4oPuoapgwFUZaTGQDCD-MYAtel0Qeb0T_wj6yzDfhQ-pScM-ujK34GsDfyUEMfnWq5cbM2R3DWWbaZz/s1600-h/redcookedspices1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4Bqrq_9NjOBmG2tM6pFZndybYumYJb4WcljLArnNgqOUUM-SqvpBdx0MDHU8B4oPuoapgwFUZaTGQDCD-MYAtel0Qeb0T_wj6yzDfhQ-pScM-ujK34GsDfyUEMfnWq5cbM2R3DWWbaZz/s400/redcookedspices1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282374647061308866" /></a><br /><br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">How to Pair?</span><br /><br />If one was consulting the Chinese food-focused Vin de la Table guide featured in <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2008/12/bi-coastal-chinese-food-wine-pairing.html">Bi-Coastal Chinese Food and Wine Pairing I</a> when considering what wine to pour, they might look at the sections talking about how to pair wine with prominent sweet and spicy flavors. When choosing a red, I suggested going with a Zinfandel or Grenache because they have an especially fruity, friendly nature that highlights any sweetness in a dish, and because their peppery and spicy qualities strike an especially harmonious cord with high aromatics and picante heat. The sweetness in this dish comes from the tablespoon of sugar, Shaoxing cooking wine, and touch of soy sauce added to the braising liquid. The heat comes from the chiles and fresh ginger. Keep in mind, as noted in the spicy section of the guide, to stay away from the high-alcohol wines because high-alcohol + spices = amplified pain on tongue and throat. To be avoided.<br /><br />When my guests and I enjoyed the red cooked lamb over rice, we drank a 2006 Vina Valoria Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain. I choose this wine because although it wasn't Grenache or Zin based, I remembered that it had a dark berry spicy taste, and was low-alcohol with unusually low oak for a modern Rioja. For RedCook, I suggested he find a Grenache based Rhone blend and a Zinfandel that I found at a wine store near his place by looking on their website. Did I pick three different wines for us to prove my point that as long as one considers how the components of a dish will react with the general characteristics of a wine, that nothing is set in stone and they should have fun playing around? No. We couldn't find the Vina Valoria in Oakland and Manhattan. But gosh darn it, it was fun to play around. <br /><br />For those of us on the west coast, the Vina Valoria was a great match. It was a pure fruit and spice festival. For RedCook's pals on the East Coast, the Rhone/Grenache-blend worked very well, but the Zin I suggested, which I coincedentally didn't taste before recommending, was almost too sweet for the lamb. Ahh.....maybe I should have done what I swear by and asked the knowledgable clerk at the wine shop to describe the wine to me to see if it fit the bill, or (I know, I know) asked how she thought it might pair with a spicy lamb dish. To hear what RedCook had to say about his pairings, see here.<br /><br />Well, dear readers, this post marks the end of the Bi-Coastal Chinese Food and Wine Pairing with Vin de la Table and Red Cook, but only marks the beginning of a beautiful food and wine pairing friendship between you, RedCook and VindelaTable. I urge all of you to check out his site as often as possible. He's got more Chinese food cooking knowledge in his little pinky finger than many of us have in our whole bodies, and he likes to share. Thank you RedCook!<br /><br />Have any of you had any amazingly good or horrible Chinese food and wine pairing experiences, maybe with wines I didn't mention? <br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENe5u9dbqIAhNYZ3DZ3HumuGTKYKn5pAc4QZwznhce5TmcSQQHE3sd7HrGGNuAgA-DyccmjcljUapYUzESbxhyphenhyphen-jOo6t0FSLVWghlyHx_tBeuIXJG_fcXKr2m-vheCVbsEQPxIPTrbkcn/s1600-h/lycheedesert.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENe5u9dbqIAhNYZ3DZ3HumuGTKYKn5pAc4QZwznhce5TmcSQQHE3sd7HrGGNuAgA-DyccmjcljUapYUzESbxhyphenhyphen-jOo6t0FSLVWghlyHx_tBeuIXJG_fcXKr2m-vheCVbsEQPxIPTrbkcn/s400/lycheedesert.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282371392229114306" /></a><br /><br />P.S. The beautiful lychee fruits that we had for dessert.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-40850106885105721652008-12-12T11:31:00.000-08:002008-12-13T12:34:44.152-08:00Five Wine Gifts: For The Juice LoversBefore Red Cook and I bestow our final post next week, I thought it fitting to share some of my gift ideas for the wine lovers in your life. This way, there's still enough time to shop <span style="font-style:italic;">and</span> enjoy Redcook's recipe for red cooked lamb with Vin de la Table wine recommendations before Christmas.<br /><br />The list is packed full of wine related things that I either own and love or items that I covet. If you haven't done your Christmas shopping this year and still have plans to do so, here are ten things I would bet a true vinophile wouldn't mind getting in their stocking. Most products can be found on my amazon store.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TZsdD_hg_D6MYqiQ8xTKL6y-zTV_HigfXmVeIvKPOZg_fciKK2SKvBP1jPnJozDIX1AsCm9qAtsf0dhZYPQnDsU4o8kuk8PdyOtRgc4GdHafnLOIIpMjerZEWj1cAw-eWomAaaBBW7ZH/s1600-h/homecreamery.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TZsdD_hg_D6MYqiQ8xTKL6y-zTV_HigfXmVeIvKPOZg_fciKK2SKvBP1jPnJozDIX1AsCm9qAtsf0dhZYPQnDsU4o8kuk8PdyOtRgc4GdHafnLOIIpMjerZEWj1cAw-eWomAaaBBW7ZH/s400/homecreamery.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278990681168203954" /></a><br /><br /> The Home Creamery Book, so they could join the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Vin de la Table</span> <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2008/09/home-creamery-event-making-cheese.html">Home Creamery event</a> that will officially begin in January, make cheese at home, and then pair their creations to wine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtszBgzG_CZlSOnB-DK21tmj2xiym1vTOPEa2-uxqXdcMWxVwfyaCtTzhMZsvV4PJig4pmRULQVC2aTdNCd4xHg5r_antWxsbX8rhu_wZdS0OK0Apy8wf91BfDrkUJPNRlAEFPRgyd6SO-/s1600-h/5191NqbILpL._SL210_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 165px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtszBgzG_CZlSOnB-DK21tmj2xiym1vTOPEa2-uxqXdcMWxVwfyaCtTzhMZsvV4PJig4pmRULQVC2aTdNCd4xHg5r_antWxsbX8rhu_wZdS0OK0Apy8wf91BfDrkUJPNRlAEFPRgyd6SO-/s400/5191NqbILpL._SL210_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278992261663085090" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/vindelatable-20/detail/1845333012">The World Atlas of Wine</a>, Sixth Edition by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. The holy duo just released this edition, and I couldn't think of another book that better explains who does what where.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPLRG4A9GLJQDVxQYszPUTrb51Jcn6OwiJ4K0Ey4az9gQ9Z3HCoF09r0iDKXC5AaE38p9RKZYmJnj5MF1eM3YI_Tayj_HI9klJ8llOqx0z2D35IbWO2PP0OE5oQYyEI4vBbmu03PFZx4U/s1600-h/31sqtzWoM7L._SL210_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPLRG4A9GLJQDVxQYszPUTrb51Jcn6OwiJ4K0Ey4az9gQ9Z3HCoF09r0iDKXC5AaE38p9RKZYmJnj5MF1eM3YI_Tayj_HI9klJ8llOqx0z2D35IbWO2PP0OE5oQYyEI4vBbmu03PFZx4U/s400/31sqtzWoM7L._SL210_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278993843436854354" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/vindelatable-20/detail/B000RKXD84">Riedel Wine Decanter</a><br />Good for separating sediment from juice in an old bottle of wine and highlighting the flavors in an ordinary bottle, a Riedel decanter is a gem to have around. Especially when your other one breaks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJhWgZSIFt0VkQJVNdt-VBObEmxSopNZN6DKxoBCGjrqjucKybnurJ1yBMPIo1sRZ79kkeoEp4Y1uFNI6hObga4GmyaF5p69J-NQ8Wd-bZiU57jGuKcT2dYQ99x6tEfdXpTy8EWGAyOw_/s1600-h/41zpt7rNzyL._SL210_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 136px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJhWgZSIFt0VkQJVNdt-VBObEmxSopNZN6DKxoBCGjrqjucKybnurJ1yBMPIo1sRZ79kkeoEp4Y1uFNI6hObga4GmyaF5p69J-NQ8Wd-bZiU57jGuKcT2dYQ99x6tEfdXpTy8EWGAyOw_/s400/41zpt7rNzyL._SL210_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278992825921831634" /></a><br /><br />Wine Books by <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/vindelatable-20/detail/1400096375">Jay McInerney</a><br />He's decadent, he's got high standards and old-fashioned tastes, and he could very well be the funniest wine writer typing keys on the keyboard to date.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.vintageberkeley.com/Wine_Clubs.html">Solano Cellar's</a>Wine Club Membership<br />Okay, this may seem a little self-serving, since I'm kinda affiliated with this place, but let me tell you, these wine clubs rock. There are two ways to go (on the right hand side of the linked page). Make someone a sampler case member, and they'll receive 12 bottles of fun, hand-picked (yes, I'm involved) everyday table wines monthly, or make them a pick a two-bottle club member, and they'll receive two of our favorite wines that month from the choosen category (Zin, Pinot, Red, White, Red & White or Fringe Drinking).<br /><br />What will you be giving to good little wine lovers this year? Corkscrew reindeer heads? A vineyard? Nothing (naughty wine drinker!)? A glass or two of wine and some good converstaion?Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-46278914161147191092008-12-09T18:40:00.000-08:002009-01-02T17:32:22.024-08:00Bi-Coastal Chinese Food & Wine Pairing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_Zj_CmzUlIN-_0N4aI05ik5XfiHfDkEVgwv6qti8YAMDkbd3a5XLR24Filhzcroj4p9uYnQjifkNaVMmXoosb6G0Y5jMJNuxMEKmhIC5R9KzfbzdTsWWffs7UXaITDSCeKxde-pd-ETH/s1600-h/spicyhand.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_Zj_CmzUlIN-_0N4aI05ik5XfiHfDkEVgwv6qti8YAMDkbd3a5XLR24Filhzcroj4p9uYnQjifkNaVMmXoosb6G0Y5jMJNuxMEKmhIC5R9KzfbzdTsWWffs7UXaITDSCeKxde-pd-ETH/s400/spicyhand.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277451897779875234" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6zvPMeXs2MVb00dFKjL-KrACH-BqBDDwx3qsAEqCUc56ibHtzwW8x8IZOuT8cGySX1xAZt-tWxFDyL2oaAa4oh0DIfHU07FlfoZgERZflOpJQAFxkyhwGP5fYUF5mvTw7PQEhrzABHFO/s1600-h/aftersalad.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6zvPMeXs2MVb00dFKjL-KrACH-BqBDDwx3qsAEqCUc56ibHtzwW8x8IZOuT8cGySX1xAZt-tWxFDyL2oaAa4oh0DIfHU07FlfoZgERZflOpJQAFxkyhwGP5fYUF5mvTw7PQEhrzABHFO/s200/aftersalad.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277452286937612034" /></a><br /><br />All it took was one link, a picture or two of pork belly, and I was hooked. <br /><br /><br />I found <a href="http://www.redcook.net/">RedCook </a>blog's through Matt Bites' blogroll. As if it wasn't cool enough to just be included on Matt Bites <a href="http://mattbites.typepad.com/">Matt Bite's</a> blogroll (Matt Bites as in the Matt Bites that is on Martha Stewart's blogroll), RedCook's blog delivers a whole lot of cooking love, beautiful photos, and provides insights into a Chinese kitchen and home.<br /><br />The focus of RedCook is Chinese home cooking, or Chinese cuisine versus the food dished up in most Chinese-American restaurants. Kian, the blog's author, focuses on the traditional cuisine he ate while growing up in Singapore and China, and tells the stories behind the recipes he posts and the ingredients within them in fantastic detail, which befits many a average cook in the United States unfamiliar with Chinese produce, sauces, and fish and meat cuts and preparations. While most posts introduce recipes, when Kian focuses entirely on cooking methods, or shares his amazing experiences cooking for New York chefs in his own home, or his recent role as translator and cook at the Dumplings & Dynasties James Beard dinner, the results are just as educational and inviting. <br /><br />Why the name <span style="font-weight:bold;">Red Cook</span>, instead of Kian Cooks, or Cooking Chinese not in China but Instead from Kian's Harlem Apartment, you ask? The "red" part of the name is used to describe a cooking method common to Chinese home cuisine that utilizes warm spices like star anise, clove, and peppercorns to impart rich red and brown hues to the tender meat that's sitting simmering in the braising liquid. This cooking method in particular expresses what is so compelling about Kian's blog. Through showing us what was on his parent's stove and what's on his own stove now, like red cooked meats, he's gently and passionately educating those of us who didn't grow up cooking with five-spice blends who may be more familiar with chow mein than silken-mushroom tofu or mooncakes- about the true and wide realm of Chinese cuisine. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Why Red Cook and Vin de la Table?</span><br /><br />Well, I'm an excited food and wine dork who gets amazing thrills just thinking about pairing awesome food like RedCook's to wine. So, after oogling the dishes on his website for months, I finally struck up the nerve to ask if he'd let me play wine pairing with him after school one day. And he said yes!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The pairings</span><br /><br />Focusing on three dishes, our joint post turned out to be a true wine pairing blogging adventure. The deal was this: RedCook would send me recipes, I would head to my local Chinese market, rustle up the ingredients, choose wines to match the dishes, try them both at home, and give him the names of the wine I tried so he could do his own wine pairing tasting in New York City. <br /><br />Simple, yes?<br /><br />No...... Did you know that it can be an extreme pain in the booty to find a wine on both coasts if you're not going with Gallo or Kendalll Jackson? I'm of the small-production wine persuasion and believe that wine tastes better when produced in small batches -the key word here being "small," which in the wine world translates to <span style="font-weight:bold;">limited</span>. The wines I was accustomed to swilling here were somewhere in New York I was sure, for if one can buy a roast chicken at three in the morning, they could certainly find a small-production French wine, right? Ah....well, let's just say that dear RedCook ended up having to make two dinners to test through suggested wines, and I decided to suggest some higher-production wine than I normally would. And then there was that hurricane. So expect to see more wine notes on RedCook. Note to self- just because a wine is listed on a shop's website does not mean that they haven't sold out. RedCook, you are a trooper.<br /><br />Anyhow, we found wines to sample and we had some profitable hits and misses with what we poured (and aren't misses the most educational!). Here goes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pairing Wine to Chinese Cuisine: A General Guide</span><br /><br />Chinese cuisine tends to have three characteristics in particular that demand attention when pairing wine to a meal. Separately, the characteristics aren't too daunting, but when they are combined in one dish, as they very often are, it's good to have a general idea of how to charm the flavors into getting along with wine. They're proud flavors and have become accustomed to owning the show. However, as the ideals behind Chinese cuisine are achieving harmony on the palate and health, a happy wine pairing with this cuisine can feel especially poetic once achieved.The main attributes to keep in mind that can puzzle when pairing wine to Chinese cuisine are <span style="font-weight:bold;">sour, sweet, and spicy</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"> SOUR OR HIGH ACIDITY</span> <br /><br />Just as pairing wine to <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2008/04/salads-and-wine-dirty-rumor-exposed.html"></a> salads with vinaigrettes has caused futile alarm to wine fans for centuries, pairing wine to sour elements in Chinese food can provoke raised eyebrows.People fear that the acidity in the food will throw the acidity in the wine off balance. As the dishes with the most sour elements seem to be salads and lighter, cold dishes, we'll focus on white wine. The key to having an enjoyable white wine experience with the sour, or higher acidity flavors in Chinese food is to pick a wine that still has remaining residual sugar left in the bottle after fermentation (i.e.,that is lightly sweet). Or, one can go with a super fresh (not tropical), yet fruity aromatic, unoaked white like a Godello or Gruner Vetliner. The sugar in the slightly sweet wine will be a study in contrasts with the vinegar in many Chinese dishes, make the sauce or dressing appear even more vibrant, and even highlight the sugar that (see below) will inevitably also be included in the recipe. On the other hand, a fresh, fruity, unoaked, not sweet wine will play on the acidity in the dish and highlight the feisty, punchy sours flavors in, say, rice vinegar or Shaoxing cooking wine. If you appreciate bright vinegar notes, go with a fruity, fresh wine like Godello or Gruner Vetliner. If you're not afraid of a little bit of sweetness in your glass, pour a Riesling or friend to celebrate the harmony on your plate. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SWEET</span><br /><br />As mentioned earlier, Chinese food is much about balance (and deliciousness, yes). If there's vinegar or higher-acidity cooking wine included in a recipe, there's most likely going to be sugar or fruit too, so the dish will have the tools necessary to reach an tasty internal equilibrium. This is similar to how the best, sweet-as-perfectly-ripe-fruit Rieslings will have lip smacking acidity. And just as sweeter wines paired and contrasted expertly with the sour flavors in the cuisine, they will match well with dishes that have a touch of sugar too. The sweetness in the wines will match with the sweetness and highlight any high acidity notes in the food, and the food will return the favor in full for the wine. The fruity wines mentioned in the above sour section will, as Kian demonstrates with his own pairings, also be successful here. Note to readers: If you want a straight wine winner every time with a lighter Chinese dish, a good Gruner Vetliner is a sure bet. Gruner Vetlinr, is simply put, a magical wine, and can be found on the wine lists of the best Asian Restaurants accross the country because it pairs to spicy, sweet, and sour notes like no other wine does. And it loves cilantro and green onions, and even the asparagus dishes that make other whites crinkle their nose. But don't go with a Gruner Vetliner every time just because it's easy. Play around. To match dishes with sweet characteristics with a red wine, think of Zinfandel or Grenache, both of which are sweeter grapes even on the vine. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SPICY</span><br /><br />Food spiked with those spices that demand complete and upright attention of your senses- like Chinese 5-spice mixes, star anise, ginger and Sichuan chiles, for example- favor spicy, peppery, and and often fruitier and sweeter wines that dually highlight and calm the spices at the same time. For whites, Gruner Vetliner wins again (like Governor Arnie at the Olympia contest), as do wines with just a hint or a whole lot of sweetness, like Riesling, Sylvanner, white Rhone blends (Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne), and sometimes Chenin Blanc or Pinot Gris. For reds, Zinfandel, Grenache and Grenache-blends are go-to wines, as they naturally show a fruitier sweetness, and tons of spice and peppery. But, <span style="font-weight:bold;">watch the alcohol level</span>. High alcohol + spices = horrible burning sensations in mouth, throat, and nose areas. High alcohol wines can be just as detrimental to sweetness in dishes, amplifying any sugar notes until all you can think of are Pixie sticks. Note this for white wines as well. In particular, Rhone whites can be very high in alcohol and set your tounge ablaze just as easily. It would be preferable to drink a white 13.5% alcohol, and a red no higher than 14.5% alcohol (and much lower if possible) if you're having a hosting a spice fest. <br /><br />Lastly, with Chinese cooking, a dish's prominent flavors are generally in the sauce or dressing. So focus on that rather than the protein or vegetable being served. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Time to pair</span><br /><br />Just in case your boss enters the room and you've already spent a good ten to forty minutes reading my prologue, we'll focus on two pairings today, and address the meat dish in part two of the post later this week or early next. All recipes can be found on Redcook's blog on <a href="http://www.redcook.net/2008/12/09/bi-coastal-chinese-food-and-wine-pairing/">this post here</a><br /><br /><br />Part of the fun of wine is that it provides a different experience to everyone, and Kian and I hope that you enjoy, as RedCook and I did, that our and our guests's wine pairings preferences differed. In the same vein, I hope that my descriptions of pairing wine to Chinese food flow well with Kian, and that the photos I took of his recipes, made Vin de la Tble style, resemble the actual dishes, and that he doesn't laugh so hard that he has to lie down for the rest of the day. By the way, I'm pretty sure that I cooked chive blossoms where I shouldn't have. <br />Let's start with the courses that we poured with white wines.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqzx5H4PDj7S35JXjDwQjCgb_DdSOAEh6F6xujL0dsW9zpobQZA6Hp93mr9RrUSPsguEVzlYwjundyHk7JYHiE_2CWIhno0EUnHLs0MZ5-ScpwaftGF-0mBniTEEbA08X94zYy3JVH-Fi/s1600-h/daikonsalad.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqzx5H4PDj7S35JXjDwQjCgb_DdSOAEh6F6xujL0dsW9zpobQZA6Hp93mr9RrUSPsguEVzlYwjundyHk7JYHiE_2CWIhno0EUnHLs0MZ5-ScpwaftGF-0mBniTEEbA08X94zYy3JVH-Fi/s400/daikonsalad.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277448350008370322" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">GARLIC CHIVE BLOSSOM AND DAIKON RADISH SALAD</span><br /><br />The wine I picked for this lively salad was the Val de Sil Montenovo Godello, Valdellorras, Spain (whichever vintage). Godello is grape native to the Galacian area of Spain whose scent is a cross between a Riesling and an Albarino. Apples, peaches, lime, floral, crisp and dry, I could drink a lot of this. However, it proved to be a controversial (yeah, stay away if you can't handle the heat) pairing among the guests. I liked the way it rocked the bitter flavors of the daikon and contrasted with the sugar in the dressing. But, it seemed that just my husband and I like this wine with the the daikon salad's sweet and high-acidity vinaigrette. To be fair, I'm not sure that my husband's vote counts because he told me that he liked my recent peanut-butter bacon cookie experiment before I admitted that they were a bad idea. But I still think you should try the wine here if you like the bitter daikon bite amplified like we (I) did. We also tried the white Rhone listed below, which matched the sweetness in the dressing and let the daikon rest. Kian, unfortunately wasn't able to sample the Godello because it had sold out when he reached the shop. So I suggested a Chenin Blanc which appears to have struck him on similar notes as the Godello did with my guests.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVHGHqPwRnui8PbKKF4_S5k1f7orWAKyYpVeWzHZ3JMM5eCTA_vq9scp64JkyX2yquM91PLzBrwOiDkh2UEAq3xQmWcS6HnwqYa22uKuM-9nNvv2gtPqMFKuu9m91D63GHWL5nlEEGDp_/s1600-h/mushtufocooked.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVHGHqPwRnui8PbKKF4_S5k1f7orWAKyYpVeWzHZ3JMM5eCTA_vq9scp64JkyX2yquM91PLzBrwOiDkh2UEAq3xQmWcS6HnwqYa22uKuM-9nNvv2gtPqMFKuu9m91D63GHWL5nlEEGDp_/s400/mushtufocooked.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277448592447067394" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">STEAMED SILKEN TOFU WITH MUSHROOMS</span><br /><br />Let me start by saying that I was a vegetarian for seven years who ate bacon from time to time, and I have never eaten tofu that tasted this good. Furthermore, the night we served this, my meatlover husband almost left me for soybean curd. Maybe you shouldn't cook this. The recipe made for earthy, succulent, tofu garnished with bok choy and mushrooms in a slightly sweet sauce. For this dish, I decided to go with 05 Guigal Cote du Rhone White, from the Rhone Valley, France. Made from Marsanne and Roussane, this wine was slighty spicy, was warm with apple and vanilla scents, and earthy enough that I immediately wanted to serve it with mushrooms. There was a little sugar in wine too that snuggled up to the flavors in the slightly sweet sauce. For me this was a winning combo. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Part two in progress.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZaDNCMdQFP0S43Z7O_iU9iYNUwhLQeT-7VWln8pw6aO94cXAGiiXsl0LH7rKtQtS-tSrJVhooMIwtU6hOAImoUDFLXvaNyeJ6YmgFfRwdu5Uwbrqa35lW7kenH-WTphz4PTAyLs3GIiU/s1600-h/guest1JPG.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZaDNCMdQFP0S43Z7O_iU9iYNUwhLQeT-7VWln8pw6aO94cXAGiiXsl0LH7rKtQtS-tSrJVhooMIwtU6hOAImoUDFLXvaNyeJ6YmgFfRwdu5Uwbrqa35lW7kenH-WTphz4PTAyLs3GIiU/s200/guest1JPG.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277252666307799250" /></a> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixA-Ndzeagc1phzN1T3116KNkWUPy5KLmOzJ00A8YhvbFZioq6RLfvLXYkn2YhUnjS3KrAOWf9WBc_LkF1KkXgpZTX1ggpQskQ3rXiQqnGhWq0gMHn5xZLMiuepxEXbMQFXhl_0KAG4QiI/s1600-h/guest2.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixA-Ndzeagc1phzN1T3116KNkWUPy5KLmOzJ00A8YhvbFZioq6RLfvLXYkn2YhUnjS3KrAOWf9WBc_LkF1KkXgpZTX1ggpQskQ3rXiQqnGhWq0gMHn5xZLMiuepxEXbMQFXhl_0KAG4QiI/s200/guest2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277252664603349394" /></a><br /><br /><br />The discerning guests: Miz Joo of the post <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/search?q=korean">"Korean BBQ and Beer: Drinking Against the Wine Pairing Grain"</a>, and my husband.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-44925236267531531812008-11-29T10:08:00.000-08:002008-11-30T13:28:39.117-08:00Fontodi Winery: Drinking in Chianti<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq9O-de60sKBCkrXqNDi3DbowHcPQNNKUPS8LPgEL_93zeqjwrr21VV4d46CWe-ZKTWHDuR2-loSDAs9-U_J-IwFq-ZWxcJ8UeYnnxsIqg6m1nOPgkvSDIaSwzLZi3c0u6wqnNauYngZC/s1600-h/FontodiSign.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq9O-de60sKBCkrXqNDi3DbowHcPQNNKUPS8LPgEL_93zeqjwrr21VV4d46CWe-ZKTWHDuR2-loSDAs9-U_J-IwFq-ZWxcJ8UeYnnxsIqg6m1nOPgkvSDIaSwzLZi3c0u6wqnNauYngZC/s400/FontodiSign.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274553325174572690" /></a><br /><br />A couple months before leaving for Italy, the owner of Fontodi winery visited our wine shop. After learning that my mother and I would very soon be in his neck of the wine world, he invited us to visit his Chianti hills haven.<br /><br />I knew that, similar to how French cheese exhibits more flair when consumed in the motherland, and how Kettle Korn tastes better at the California State Fair than when popped at a mall, that his wines would be even more enchanting when poured on Fontodi grounds. I also thought that my mother, always appreciative of a fine dresser, might enjoy seeing the owner in his immaculate Italian three piece suit among his vineyards. So I said yes. <br /><br />Pictures of the winery follow. Unfortunately for those readers hoping to spot an Italian suit among the collection, we missed the owner on our tour. But I have included a picture of our kind and dapper tour provider, who closely resembles an unnamed Italian-American actor. All in all, the grounds were gorgeous, our tour guide was incredibly nice and informative, and the wines were fantastic. We had a great time. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4atg3iBqtwY-khVr_BClsKMqzOOhxfex9t8X9leS1-TO6mgQamgHG2N5oX2wFKHCC4frsRF0YYRfc30UGuwG4pP6aNnVB5sFkotmvQodpMR22CPBRFXdJ2OaM5CSDTk0oh8S3dVIu5Auz/s1600-h/wineryoffice.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4atg3iBqtwY-khVr_BClsKMqzOOhxfex9t8X9leS1-TO6mgQamgHG2N5oX2wFKHCC4frsRF0YYRfc30UGuwG4pP6aNnVB5sFkotmvQodpMR22CPBRFXdJ2OaM5CSDTk0oh8S3dVIu5Auz/s400/wineryoffice.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274553329893128786" /></a><br /><br />The winery office and tasting room.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7C4bbneCTG8wkLoIUouV3nWQQHBxPMLcvn_apQlwwRmSPIUt9Bbcdgw-eD4RzCeaz5-mLItrSiuV6bUQAHbOuimwKfUbLz0V5bCnMU4Nu9yM92DrOdOnF3VZ_pWA9rWf9sl1J9RF_AN-/s1600-h/pickinggrapes.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 345px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7C4bbneCTG8wkLoIUouV3nWQQHBxPMLcvn_apQlwwRmSPIUt9Bbcdgw-eD4RzCeaz5-mLItrSiuV6bUQAHbOuimwKfUbLz0V5bCnMU4Nu9yM92DrOdOnF3VZ_pWA9rWf9sl1J9RF_AN-/s400/pickinggrapes.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274553322655389810" /></a><br /><br />Carts used to pick grapes next to the crushing facilities. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gdvZOwx9fSQdq-yF02AGgSpDo5k6K8oEBPMCNeV_QVxFrI-AFLNyo8p1x2_7bhYDwiaow7k_7Xg0ozyhgluqOhzd7aAty1T2PJf2t2Q0mchrnJ-v4hUq7Rh7ewiSsFs5jK9NjuvYuoUm/s1600-h/winebarrell.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gdvZOwx9fSQdq-yF02AGgSpDo5k6K8oEBPMCNeV_QVxFrI-AFLNyo8p1x2_7bhYDwiaow7k_7Xg0ozyhgluqOhzd7aAty1T2PJf2t2Q0mchrnJ-v4hUq7Rh7ewiSsFs5jK9NjuvYuoUm/s400/winebarrell.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274553329713073538" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbko_InjF46FHWsWKc6e2CXh5zTTjGgya9Otecdoc3JfZWHzY0hMvVJMiUI-KTfvsfBulBUM_uRRbP337UzMRF-pa_C3eZUGxRyEyRw-pLQB7-xN2Mwd7D3UCbyJEjKybVpvliM26kpI8k/s1600-h/dargaud&Jaroles.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbko_InjF46FHWsWKc6e2CXh5zTTjGgya9Otecdoc3JfZWHzY0hMvVJMiUI-KTfvsfBulBUM_uRRbP337UzMRF-pa_C3eZUGxRyEyRw-pLQB7-xN2Mwd7D3UCbyJEjKybVpvliM26kpI8k/s400/dargaud&Jaroles.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274564720356047266" /></a><br /><br />Fontodi buys their oak barrels from several French barrel makers in order to evenly distribute the differing flavors and attributes characteristic of each barrel maker's oak. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1nXCa0VvxDEtUZVH3sVoFeHjaC3V9fww5im7t9bcHEQVBaGYhea62pNJ-zqlR7FprLVVDTUJvyRIeFuXC9qfpzRpCW6oOxqWh5dQ73cJEkDQOm6j-s8Ug7TiVUXRJSvgWXbE3XTo9-EY/s1600-h/F.TourGuide.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1nXCa0VvxDEtUZVH3sVoFeHjaC3V9fww5im7t9bcHEQVBaGYhea62pNJ-zqlR7FprLVVDTUJvyRIeFuXC9qfpzRpCW6oOxqWh5dQ73cJEkDQOm6j-s8Ug7TiVUXRJSvgWXbE3XTo9-EY/s400/F.TourGuide.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274553336767200210" /></a><br /><br />Our lovely tour guide, who my mother and I refrained from telling looks like one of our favorite actors so we wouldn't sound like all the other silly American tourists. Because we're not silly. <br /><br />Interested in learning more about <a href="http://www.fontodi.com/versioneGB/home_gb.htm">Fontodi</a>? Check out some of the links <a href="http://www.thewinedoctor.com/italy/fontodi.shtml">here</a>, <a href="http://www.initaly.com/regions/tuscany/sims1.htm">here</a>, and, a video of harvest<a href="http://www.wineanorak.com/blog/2008/10/video-harvest-at-fontodi-chianti.html"> here </a>. If you plan to be in their area, tastings are limited, by appointment only, and worth every twist and turn to reach the property.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hzrVXPHIqne_KLEGdqzTILk8MVQ0tMVDXxo7MoQzI-ykBMBhO_-oH6bMVtGPsRF8skNuqGWIzASDIwkE5Tly8T57XC9dTqGP1IXI3j_aCQ581InoVo1aQbincfapQsYTAb5svjqWjm-A/s1600-h/ChiantiHills.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hzrVXPHIqne_KLEGdqzTILk8MVQ0tMVDXxo7MoQzI-ykBMBhO_-oH6bMVtGPsRF8skNuqGWIzASDIwkE5Tly8T57XC9dTqGP1IXI3j_aCQ581InoVo1aQbincfapQsYTAb5svjqWjm-A/s400/ChiantiHills.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274560726689569890" /></a><br /><br />The view from the winery office.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-91977901654076610322008-11-18T10:21:00.001-08:002008-11-23T13:17:07.527-08:00Driving, Getting Lost, and Then Drinking in Italy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rQFNHRzoALL14mb6wi_mg1yOfkwyUQFiUUstlNW4pN3a8Ngd0qHFBbwbH8sfOaYLB8aGN-nO_Es9tEStYASBDRUWuMvS0pCLS-ZhYC4XMIzPyxi13OASskYBw6dYAOlM_0l3bC-YstJQ/s1600-h/derek&manus.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rQFNHRzoALL14mb6wi_mg1yOfkwyUQFiUUstlNW4pN3a8Ngd0qHFBbwbH8sfOaYLB8aGN-nO_Es9tEStYASBDRUWuMvS0pCLS-ZhYC4XMIzPyxi13OASskYBw6dYAOlM_0l3bC-YstJQ/s400/derek&manus.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270075066045182050" /></a><br /><br />I, um... left the cord that transfers my photos from my camera to my computer in Italy. Inside the house whose balcony was the staging grounds for the above photo. Don't tell my husband- I'm hoping he won't notice that the temporary cord I just ordered is small and grey and the old one is long and black. Anyhow, the people whose apartment we stayed in will be returning to their lovely home in a couple weeks and might be inspired to ship me the one that's resting on their computer desk. Or in the kitchen. Or under their bed? So, although I was hoping share oodles of pictures and Italy stories with you, I won't be doing so for a while. Until then, I'll distract you with a wine pairing story relating to cars in Italy.<br /><br />We drove in Italy. Well, my mom drove in Italy. I was useless because I can't drive stick. And the "automatic" cars in Italy, they aren't really automatic like we have the states. While they don't have clutches, they still shift sticks that need to be vigorously jiggled when driving. <br /><br />After driving for hours in Italy, we got lost in Florence. In the future, <span style="font-style:italic;">when</span> I learn how to drive stick, I'd happily drive in the Italian countryside. It's gorgeous (see below) and serene. But I will never drive in an Italian city. Nor would I sit in the passenger seat of a car steered by a foreigner who is simultaneously trying to navigate the city's signs, one way streets, blockades, and considering whether the many honking cars around her mean anything besides, "i have a horn!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2QsqkbYzcvEyxpB37W1qhJucK6ohQ5tOG59rv2oSPetO9toCn8MIlMbXE0NylY39kkU7Cwq7I3LMKDu8j4BBcP53xTYB8SFvN0-Iwb2pudfuGO8aJV7SWHRdk7_GJir8SFBlw91hbE67/s1600-h/drivingtosiena.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2QsqkbYzcvEyxpB37W1qhJucK6ohQ5tOG59rv2oSPetO9toCn8MIlMbXE0NylY39kkU7Cwq7I3LMKDu8j4BBcP53xTYB8SFvN0-Iwb2pudfuGO8aJV7SWHRdk7_GJir8SFBlw91hbE67/s400/drivingtosiena.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270075066881317602" /></a><br /><br />The driving situation in Florence was intense. So was asking directions in extremely limited Italian in the very outskirts of Florence at night while wearing a skirt and looking lost. The medieval town of Siena, on the other hand, was relatively calm and compact and there weren't as many bridges to cross. This made for easier navigation once you got outside the city walls, as cars aren't allowed inside the huge, bricked walled of the inner Siena fortress.<br /><br />Anyhow, if one ever gets lost while trying to drive in Florence then waits for a taxi for an hour that doesn't come and then has to park in an underground station because they can't find the rental car return garage, they should have a wine and food pairing experience to help them through the rest of the night.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMU3F_kJgoCuaB5tRLWnhnHTFg4ueGx5B8PB3TkxXgHtBVqSuurHib8ESqNaRRgEkv9WXwJ98vq38xgJ_4UEXNcHtGCmitSYPALir8K0XTE5WZvSQPRRaTaW-GW4z06P2eok3Jt4MRLVF6/s1600-h/charcuterieplate.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMU3F_kJgoCuaB5tRLWnhnHTFg4ueGx5B8PB3TkxXgHtBVqSuurHib8ESqNaRRgEkv9WXwJ98vq38xgJ_4UEXNcHtGCmitSYPALir8K0XTE5WZvSQPRRaTaW-GW4z06P2eok3Jt4MRLVF6/s400/charcuterieplate.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270075056866214946" /></a><br /><br />I suggest salami, prosciutto, crostini with pate or liver, olives, and wine. At this point, any type of wine will do, but one should go in either of two directions when pairing on this night. First, if you want to gently relax, choose a regional red of the area that you are visiting, such as a Chianti, and enjoy a glass with your charcuterie. Or, if one would rather drink with the aim of forgetting the entire night, and quickly, choose a high alcohol Zinfandel that you packed in your suitcase just for this occasion, pour the wine in plastic cups provided by your hotel, and consume. Then turn down your bed, because after quaffing two glasses or three glasses of the high-octane jammy juice, you'll sleep like a baby. Then return your car in the morning.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyx53qIgEYBXKcf0fa2u3dcaWlGx_Q3v_HQFcqXhA7Z2K6VeFpQ5JsP3boHG69pcIplSWOaPl0W-TuFnGDvSs1ngBCssDz4YHTaBeI6kgUvMFh_7ziDb4q88AO4eOqadcsad04wA-2WkV/s1600-h/meatshopitaly.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyx53qIgEYBXKcf0fa2u3dcaWlGx_Q3v_HQFcqXhA7Z2K6VeFpQ5JsP3boHG69pcIplSWOaPl0W-TuFnGDvSs1ngBCssDz4YHTaBeI6kgUvMFh_7ziDb4q88AO4eOqadcsad04wA-2WkV/s400/meatshopitaly.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270075056813062034" /></a><br /><br />More photos to come.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-61469491760722321722008-11-08T13:02:00.000-08:002008-11-09T08:42:37.200-08:00Florentine Sweets<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXW3wTnZKbFGocwanuZrg3DF0DbbzM_hTqmoYiln6ivuBFhHwBbGaX0H15UnLq6dWOdsBG9eM2I8voKsX-2WBiwG9oXvfYeE552M6dywyvQsVoAuAt8urw4ohbcUkoUBY-P0dJtCHBjHh/s1600-h/torrone.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXW3wTnZKbFGocwanuZrg3DF0DbbzM_hTqmoYiln6ivuBFhHwBbGaX0H15UnLq6dWOdsBG9eM2I8voKsX-2WBiwG9oXvfYeE552M6dywyvQsVoAuAt8urw4ohbcUkoUBY-P0dJtCHBjHh/s400/torrone.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266400075228131506" /></a><br /><br />White chocolate-coated torrone<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk05O2qif5mmXONP3GaWvpgdISdyBcT_-ZRAuhuThoGMHmGS1Y-8R5q3YdJUi0MBoD2Nwtcgbv_lW1V8vP3v-Xtnf83L98J3mSGbB-luecQLSCsVhKT-ViOx4bOVuM2j_00wVwS_t6g-Wk/s1600-h/pistachiogelato.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk05O2qif5mmXONP3GaWvpgdISdyBcT_-ZRAuhuThoGMHmGS1Y-8R5q3YdJUi0MBoD2Nwtcgbv_lW1V8vP3v-Xtnf83L98J3mSGbB-luecQLSCsVhKT-ViOx4bOVuM2j_00wVwS_t6g-Wk/s400/pistachiogelato.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266400070304982786" /></a><br /><br />Pistachio gelato topped with a waffle piece, and held by mia mamma<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTE80Y3liEEB21Fi4F1BR3V_PYpG2dMT56IAOgRYmIy9PAj9sVujZa7JQQTfDPQuXtu0F5ZIHnhFiNPWOR0ITijBZKhhuVFQbr5Boj1I9AOejPg6Cj9oAG8q9ikqojI2Rk41vcP-mnrc6V/s1600-h/vivoli.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTE80Y3liEEB21Fi4F1BR3V_PYpG2dMT56IAOgRYmIy9PAj9sVujZa7JQQTfDPQuXtu0F5ZIHnhFiNPWOR0ITijBZKhhuVFQbr5Boj1I9AOejPg6Cj9oAG8q9ikqojI2Rk41vcP-mnrc6V/s400/vivoli.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266400082723784402" /></a><br /><br />Vivoli Gelateria, the best in Florence<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8Zc6RAXZhFQVFOFmNW1sQawFa-Aa8JGA79_Hdl4EOGMP2gFzzlJ8Anh8Dweug4aLi5OuNHzWvqKI_MLHoR_4uVkkHSHeCfilU2JfCZM-3LA_WAKD3doWC3L1gMj6CSYTIJipioAQU58R/s1600-h/italiansweets.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8Zc6RAXZhFQVFOFmNW1sQawFa-Aa8JGA79_Hdl4EOGMP2gFzzlJ8Anh8Dweug4aLi5OuNHzWvqKI_MLHoR_4uVkkHSHeCfilU2JfCZM-3LA_WAKD3doWC3L1gMj6CSYTIJipioAQU58R/s400/italiansweets.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266400064470371458" /></a><br /><br />Oh, pan forte and marzipan, I love you<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4RvbGuye0_53J7u5IGoPIoEWqPLcfwIzyVgskZQjzrtZ5AmFl-AL2IRaTEiaZXS4C_xTPRbLWDkeVieWIBvoF-Q0XxzMfhOtgDSEGHo6chKsIcA3rVOwXWBWn_QC002iWzjJhg9zX3KZ/s1600-h/ItalyFoodPrep.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4RvbGuye0_53J7u5IGoPIoEWqPLcfwIzyVgskZQjzrtZ5AmFl-AL2IRaTEiaZXS4C_xTPRbLWDkeVieWIBvoF-Q0XxzMfhOtgDSEGHo6chKsIcA3rVOwXWBWn_QC002iWzjJhg9zX3KZ/s400/ItalyFoodPrep.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266400062070140114" /></a><br /><br />Food prepKirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-83724987904893787172008-11-08T11:31:00.000-08:002008-12-01T11:56:24.026-08:00Yogurt Adventures in Italy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSm8Q-hV7luPtPNhktkiIGZWqdmjeinuksxuT-S5JwVkAe49uil5bZ2eVQ1xwAt28qdiZjEeBQeSgk9HMwzMuMEtCpnCUAT70ROZ7wthrB9RrorMUJrRObwqqelcohyphenhyphen9qgYw2QcL7vFKb/s1600-h/yogurtMila.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSm8Q-hV7luPtPNhktkiIGZWqdmjeinuksxuT-S5JwVkAe49uil5bZ2eVQ1xwAt28qdiZjEeBQeSgk9HMwzMuMEtCpnCUAT70ROZ7wthrB9RrorMUJrRObwqqelcohyphenhyphen9qgYw2QcL7vFKb/s400/yogurtMila.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266391665583837218" /></a><br /><br />Bunnies in Oakland, California, reindeers in Reykjavik, Iceland, and yogurt in Florence. A major source of protein in different culture's diets? No. Graffiti and stencils across the globe. For the first of my Italy series, meet Yogurt graffiti. It's Florentine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbqSDF28DSJ3tSSrVSwjbsaEPLIOV0sJM9y2uo5PBW0TFgZ7ETZ8VNnlIaSbyCTnemDGR-uQhxO8fsiP5Rx52x7r5FV_tEivDrb-4YjhiqVKn0NK1iQc7R08hpERaqzpacuDyN3BAKRDb/s1600-h/yogurt1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbqSDF28DSJ3tSSrVSwjbsaEPLIOV0sJM9y2uo5PBW0TFgZ7ETZ8VNnlIaSbyCTnemDGR-uQhxO8fsiP5Rx52x7r5FV_tEivDrb-4YjhiqVKn0NK1iQc7R08hpERaqzpacuDyN3BAKRDb/s400/yogurt1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266390854924841282" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvLSOhCzGDioJVGssxluSgullHSZTf8kNfwiI9Z9pqs9gTQ_r4tW5L5N_2SuyBe_Qbaib7HU0zloZfX4_vkbUl8Y63ajVE06PZ7eRGdUfsyg5reYbU_6-q_c-Yv83dMkoeuCyRFaF2mEf/s1600-h/yogurt2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvLSOhCzGDioJVGssxluSgullHSZTf8kNfwiI9Z9pqs9gTQ_r4tW5L5N_2SuyBe_Qbaib7HU0zloZfX4_vkbUl8Y63ajVE06PZ7eRGdUfsyg5reYbU_6-q_c-Yv83dMkoeuCyRFaF2mEf/s400/yogurt2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266390074189071186" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFY0iC7xyNm6M71uq-9aziZzmcrLdPlLW9y9NBU2juDkW8wgnHuCGYLVevD-utsYPXwPYBSUg-vewm0z-h3uqj1mj6ur0HgQsKMit7nx6eUHYew9-UcuZa1VuO3mXb6GpEEVDo6GDMiDU_/s1600-h/yogurt3.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFY0iC7xyNm6M71uq-9aziZzmcrLdPlLW9y9NBU2juDkW8wgnHuCGYLVevD-utsYPXwPYBSUg-vewm0z-h3uqj1mj6ur0HgQsKMit7nx6eUHYew9-UcuZa1VuO3mXb6GpEEVDo6GDMiDU_/s400/yogurt3.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266391505956837282" /></a>Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-11218202512848642232008-10-30T09:23:00.000-07:002008-10-30T15:43:29.457-07:00Gingersnap Bacon Fat Cookies: What to do with those velvety drippings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZZ99GiLgOG5ENJErQJFGHT_BFNVgOGojDhCsx-26WsaIgcDWnap-pPYAiShx_Ce0Qm51uCWqFuuDZ7ETPl820upOVIcRGiDvCJYz5teo-W5aD9Z5yupgrC-CeOHYz90Fx_kxk4zP69Du/s1600-h/gingersnapcookie.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZZ99GiLgOG5ENJErQJFGHT_BFNVgOGojDhCsx-26WsaIgcDWnap-pPYAiShx_Ce0Qm51uCWqFuuDZ7ETPl820upOVIcRGiDvCJYz5teo-W5aD9Z5yupgrC-CeOHYz90Fx_kxk4zP69Du/s400/gingersnapcookie.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263075208216183698" /></a><br /><br />If after reading my <a href="http://vindelatable.blogspot.com/2008/10/coq-au-vin-and-burgundy.html">coq au vin </a> post, you decided to multiply the recipe by six to feed a party of twenty-five for a Burgundy dinner at the wine bar you manage, you might have extra bacon fat left over. That is, if you stayed true to the roots of coq au vin and used the bacon and its fat as a flavoring agent rather than as a deep-frying vehicle. Not that I wouldn't try chicken deep-fried in bacon fat, I would, but within a mile's proximity from a doctor's office. <br /><br />Let me tell you, with <span style="font-weight:bold;">fat from five pounds of bacon</span>, one can cook and bake a lot of things. One thing that one should <span style="font-weight:bold;">not</span> do, by the way, is make peanut butter bacon-fat cookies. They taste like peanut butter and ham sandwiches. Not that I would know from experience. One thing one should do <span style="font-weight:bold;">is bake the best gingersnap cookies that you'll ever eat in your life</span>. Sorry grandma.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANAVAFWMi0ON1aJXlVQPeI-kV-CaWc7CE4XjF79PTxDuNyEShR4LKqwWbYe0AK1CY1OJ6oajWUkmY7mrBGT04fVG9O_4CMc9509-KJaa3GBLAXNsQ8xkjWKsBJfIst4QN59mIJ1KKxYBt/s1600-h/baconfat.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANAVAFWMi0ON1aJXlVQPeI-kV-CaWc7CE4XjF79PTxDuNyEShR4LKqwWbYe0AK1CY1OJ6oajWUkmY7mrBGT04fVG9O_4CMc9509-KJaa3GBLAXNsQ8xkjWKsBJfIst4QN59mIJ1KKxYBt/s400/baconfat.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263075226150149586" /></a><br /><br />The following cookie recipe is an adaption of NY Times Fashion Critic Cathy Horyn's family <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/style/t_h_2290_2291_talk_cookie_.html?scp=1&sq=%20cookies%20bacon%20fat&st=cse"></a> recipe. She adapted the recipe from Nelle Branson's Trinity Episcopal Church Recipe Book, whose author orginally got the recipe from Kevin Bacon's mother's cousin.<br /><br />The bacon adds a smoky character to the cookies unattainable by using butter that touches your heart in that special way. Good lord they were good. I didn't change very much in the recipe, but the photo accompanying her recipe shows her cookies as thin and crisp when mine were thicker and crunchy. Should we play a riveting game of guess which cookies were made by the fashion critic? The difference in texture could be ascribed to me toning down the sugar in the recipe because, wow, they used a lot of sugar. I also mixed the ingredients in bowls rather than using a food processor.<br /><br />And I'll admit, I ate these cookies with milk, no wine, and it was all that I hoped for. But if I were to serve these cookies, say as the bread part of a cinnamon ice cream sandwich, I just might serve these babies with an Auslese Riesling, a sparkling moscato, or nearly any late harvest white dessert wine. <br /><br />Cheers, happy baconing, and please, tell me about your bacon fat delights in the comment section. Kitchen experiences only, please. Oh, and I'm leaving for Florence next week and am requesting your input in the next post down! Have any insights? Include them <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1554858084903793937&postID=6729625408711055586">here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bacon-Fat Gingersnaps</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesiejObJve7M28tBkdfYIcDGth1sezn8ktulnTjOE9DZMaEbRvpS90-yg3Rsi1WBcAgiIMe7ZbZMimh2KZlYoUAn_G-hHCDmg5FGPBW14OOKqkgseLpLE9ifjIRIh_UyjgvK6ewo_woDj/s1600-h/gingersnapingredients.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesiejObJve7M28tBkdfYIcDGth1sezn8ktulnTjOE9DZMaEbRvpS90-yg3Rsi1WBcAgiIMe7ZbZMimh2KZlYoUAn_G-hHCDmg5FGPBW14OOKqkgseLpLE9ifjIRIh_UyjgvK6ewo_woDj/s400/gingersnapingredients.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263075213454067346" /></a><br /><br />2 cups all-purpose flour<br />1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt<br />2 teaspoons baking soda<br />1 teaspoon ground ginger<br />1 teaspoon ground cloves<br />1 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />3/4 cup bacon fat, cooled (from 1 1/2 to 2 pounds bacon)<br />3/4 cup sugar, plus more later for rolling cookies<br />4 tablespoons dark molasses<br />1 large egg<br /><br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.<br /><br />Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, combine, and set mixture aside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAruR2E91uVABdwaJCwZTgdUFSFV2MuCmMAbAajumgBA-TilmLDNY5eWWEZgYzKMSdC-javMT7qYeGyI-HvcfTegmeDwlc3f0EBa3lWPqYxWbHB3M450kdZq1-btG3Pb0YKjO_k5VFIaDV/s1600-h/baconfatmolasses.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAruR2E91uVABdwaJCwZTgdUFSFV2MuCmMAbAajumgBA-TilmLDNY5eWWEZgYzKMSdC-javMT7qYeGyI-HvcfTegmeDwlc3f0EBa3lWPqYxWbHB3M450kdZq1-btG3Pb0YKjO_k5VFIaDV/s400/baconfatmolasses.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263075202789349394" /></a><br /><br />Put the cooled bacon fat, molasses, and sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Add the egg and beat all until well-blended. Taste. Because you can. But don't sue me if you get sick and ate this raw egg yolk.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2zTBvF0G_Vel6D-oz9DL4crRjiv9C9cdIljVa4hnyg30cnjlxTtvvwK21hk-15UoaMNqbpP5gJdmUmR-kSYt_kb7xSymdtRpJpnKFYFQzpJ0-PdzAqFzvglguBU5wvSxWN8Kpbti3kiI/s1600-h/tastingmolasses.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2zTBvF0G_Vel6D-oz9DL4crRjiv9C9cdIljVa4hnyg30cnjlxTtvvwK21hk-15UoaMNqbpP5gJdmUmR-kSYt_kb7xSymdtRpJpnKFYFQzpJ0-PdzAqFzvglguBU5wvSxWN8Kpbti3kiI/s400/tastingmolasses.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263075211387824274" /></a><br /><br />Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Form the dough into tablespoon and a half sized balls, roll in sugar, then place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Press the balls flat with your fingers, then use the back side of a fork to indent. <br /><br />Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes until dark brown. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to finish cooling.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-67296254087110555862008-10-30T09:00:00.000-07:002008-10-30T09:22:54.190-07:00I'm Going to Italy: What Do I Bring Back and What Should I Not Miss?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYEwKZ3l56CrOcyz44Q02ulu0e2KeomDgi2f63o4O527N5xaDfV6uLsU8LdTCq75m8g28oco1BIxpbtYZbVK9HT1znMEiZVImy2YOQsvBDOUki68VLI2X1P2r8UYY413UNq1_jG9XFeHd/s1600-h/158px-Flag_of_Italy.svg.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 158px; height: 105px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYEwKZ3l56CrOcyz44Q02ulu0e2KeomDgi2f63o4O527N5xaDfV6uLsU8LdTCq75m8g28oco1BIxpbtYZbVK9HT1znMEiZVImy2YOQsvBDOUki68VLI2X1P2r8UYY413UNq1_jG9XFeHd/s400/158px-Flag_of_Italy.svg.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262982920227491106" /></a><br /><br />As of next Tuesday, I will be in Florence, Italy. I will be jet lagged and incomprehensible, but gosh darn it, I'll be there. It's my first time in this land of pecorino, prosciutto, and gelato, and I'm more excited than vampire in a blood bank. I've also heard thatthe people and art are nice too. After a four night stay in Florence, my mother and I (my traveling partner) will drive to Siena, where we will stay in a friend's apartment and take a cooking class with our friends mother. Then we'll return to Florence and see all the sights we haven't seen for four or five more days.<br /><br />I've never been to Tuscany, or Italy at all for that matter, and would like to ask you, dear readers, what foods, candies, packaged goodies, should I bring back? And if you've been to this region and know of a place you swear I can't miss (i.e. a gelato shop that trumps all others), I'd love to hear about it in the comments! Along the same lines, if there is something that you saw or did in Italy that translated horribly across cultural lines, tell me!<br /><br />I'll be blogging about our experiences either while I'm there, or shortly after my return, so keep tuned for photos, pictures of cheese, and winery visit discussions.Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-53746205891470991292008-10-20T08:02:00.000-07:002008-10-21T09:07:12.376-07:00The Last Watermelon Pomegranate Salad<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tWtV1H21JxTAyda_K9qH5OO865zmiDrNpZAhvhUvSzyLUwsa34RN668d2qFbFIq62apWNkJPnVlW7V52sm7xqHCZYlQSIx0xxLOLJMW_0Y8Jgp05y0oQKXHqPBha1LMSvck1J4NgAdHd/s1600-h/watermelonsalad.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tWtV1H21JxTAyda_K9qH5OO865zmiDrNpZAhvhUvSzyLUwsa34RN668d2qFbFIq62apWNkJPnVlW7V52sm7xqHCZYlQSIx0xxLOLJMW_0Y8Jgp05y0oQKXHqPBha1LMSvck1J4NgAdHd/s400/watermelonsalad.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259255058636778210" /></a><br /><br />Solemn in their infrequently visited cardboard bins, the remaining watermelons of the season watch the steady procession of the crimson fall persimmon and pomegranate beauties with wistful eyes. They know that their time has come, that the market owners will pray for the last dog days of summer to inspire grocery store visitors to pluck them from their dark fruit bins so that they can make room for the many incoming apples varieties that seem to multiply themselves by the dozen every year.<br /><br />A customer claims her watermelon when the thermometer hits 85 degrees and has a slice or two then puts the fruit in the fridge and forgets about it for a couple days. It isn't until she places a half-eaten pomegranate next to the melon that she remembers last year she ate a lot more melon salads. She tells herself tonight she'll revisit the seasonal dish.<br /><br />A stony Chablis, a Chardonnay grown in the shell-ridden soils of Chablis, France, which in former land times used to be underwater, gets placed in the fridge. Un-oaked, clean, and steely, the chardonnay was grown in a cooler region and although it develops tart apple and lemon flavors, the grapes that form the wine never get so ripe that their flavors would compete with the sweet and savory nature of the salad. Instead, the clean flavors will settle nicely with the sweet watermelon and pomegranate, salty ricotta salata, and herbs. She has a glass of the almost chilled wine while considering future flavors.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Last Watermelon Salad</span><br /><br />yellow seedless watermelon, cubed<br />ricotta salata<br />pomegranate seeds<br />basil or tarragon leaves<br />olive oil<br />salt and pepper<br /><br />Chop watermelon into smaller cubes and place in medium sized bowl. Crumble some ricotta salata over the fruit. Tear enough tarragon or basil leaves so that the salad will be lightly flavored with the herb's fragrance. Add enough pomegranate sees to please your crunch factor. Drizzle salad with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Eat within a couple hours to preserve the watermelon's texture.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiNbihRFGUlye6BeMnSSXCrVzwWCq05NWl1sN2K5BCL0-oXfvSLy5qvx6PxWT6sSOsbwr-gf73ucj8uwbAdapTgmIdG9_321fr-dSRv2cSHq8EI6ZOrUzm81YG6MML_EKKaB4JtOFAUf2d/s1600-h/water.fork..JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiNbihRFGUlye6BeMnSSXCrVzwWCq05NWl1sN2K5BCL0-oXfvSLy5qvx6PxWT6sSOsbwr-gf73ucj8uwbAdapTgmIdG9_321fr-dSRv2cSHq8EI6ZOrUzm81YG6MML_EKKaB4JtOFAUf2d/s400/water.fork..JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259255164489918722" /></a>Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554858084903793937.post-33070455906012818722008-10-17T10:41:00.000-07:002008-10-17T10:57:07.741-07:00Foodbuzz Publisher Community LaunchesSome of you might be interested to learn about a foodie community that I belong to called Foodbuzz. It just formally launched it's publisher community program that unites over a thousand foodies, winos, and just pure drinkers from around the world on the interweb. Foodbuzz is a website where bloggers can check out other blogs, where foodies can drool over the latest featured boiled peanut or s'mores post, where cooks can find recipes, and where, if you have a free minute or two, you can go and just hang out online. There's a lot of cool stuff there, and a lot of my favorite bloggers are members of the community. My Foodbuzz profile is <a href="http://www.foodbuzz.com/foodies/us/california/oakland/profile/vin+de+la+table"> here </a>. Browsing my friend list will give you a good idea of how the website connects people from Oakland to bloggers in Singapore and Germany. Thought you might like the website, and I'll be posting more soon!Kirstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01748504317187765281noreply@blogger.com0