Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode10: Part2- Mike vs. Greg “The Showdown”

Food, Wine, Culture TV: In Episode 10-Part 1 Michael invited beer expert and close friend Greg Bissonette to come by for a beer vs. wine with mussels tasting. Well in this episode, the mussels are ready, the beers and wines are poured, and the boys are ready to duel- Beer vs. Wine. Greg vs. Mike- The SHOWDOWN! Who’s pairing is the best match? You’re going to have to watch to find out!

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Food, Wine, Culture TV - Episode 8: Two easy seafood dishes and Italian White Wines

Food, Wine, Culture TV- The Real Episode 8: Today we’re making fried calamari and lobster which I pair with a couple white wines from Soave (Veneto, Italy) that I tasted in Episode 7 (here). Join me for a 12 minute journey into some great seafood and good wines!

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Italian Night in an American’s Household

So, Mike has tasted the finer things of Italy, the good proscuitto and he has rated and drank many fine Italian wines and even toured the countryside finding delicious things to eat or drink.  For now, however, I am home bound.  However I do sometimes get caught up in the good, simple foods from Italy, and last night I made two of them: Chicken cutlets and Risotto.  Below are my basic recipes for simple Italian goodness (with my own twists).

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Food, Wine, Culture TV- Episode 6: Cooking show- Mike’s Mama’s Schnitzel & Rieslings!

Wow…already at episode 6! If you missed the first five, click on the FWB-TV link above (or here!). Today we’re back in our “still being renovated” kitchen where I prepare my Mama’s schnitzel with pommes frites and a few Rieslings. Carlos L. is back this time with his electric guitar to provide music and expert food tasting skills. The schnitzel turned out great, the wines are good and Carlos keeps the music rocking. (Main image credit: wikipedia.com)

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Food, Wine, Culture TV: Episode 3- Scallops, Pork, Wine and Beer- Cooking and wine pairing!

Foodandwineblog.com’s Food, wine, culture TV Show! In this third episode, I make two simple yet delicious dishes (one is noblepig.com inspired!) and try a few different beverage pairings in our recently (and ongoing) renovated kitchen. Carlos L is back on guitar, the dogs are wandering around and dinner turned out great. So grab a glass of wine and join me for a night of cooking and wine!
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Foreign beer and Smoked meat: Part 1

As usual, the weekend affords me plenty of time to not do my research or other work associated with the research and to cook.  Seeing as how it is summer time, it seems only fitting that one should make proper use of the grill whenever possible.  So two nights ago as I was putting a glass into the freezer to get a nice chill before I poured a beer into it (it was a miller lite… I know what you’re gonna, but someone has to drink the leftover beer!) and I noticed a bag of ribs I had bought from the butcher.  Unsure how I had forgotten about a large quantity of spare ribs, I defrosted them in the fridge over night.

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A Few Recipes From Around The Blogosphere: With wine pairings!

I read a lot of food blogs and am always impressed with the number of great home chefs (and pro chefs) out there! Since I love food and wine, and enjoy coming up with interesting wine pairings for any dish, I decided to feature a few recipes from around the internet each week and offer my wine pairing advice.

From FigandCherry.Com: Red wine lamb shanks with herb mash

If this dish doesn’t look or sound amazing to you, then I’m guessing your a vegetarian! With a nice red wine sauce, the obvious pairing here would be a medium to big bodied red with good structure and dark fruits- I’d look to the left bank of the Gironde river in Bordeaux to the Cabernet-heavy blends.

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Recipes for the 4th of July…with a few wine pairing ideas!

Here are some recipe and wine ideas for this fourth of July that are certain to make your celebration a delicious success. Many of these come from Cathy at the Noble Pig website, which is my favorite food blog and overall just an outstanding website with great pictures, stories and more! I highly recommend you check out her website and sign up for her feeds!!!

As for the dishes below, most are simple, all are delicious and are complete with wine pairing ideas.

Appetizers:

Cinghale Shrimp on Greens: Wine Pairing: I like the fruit, acidity and complexity of a nice Spatlese Riesling. My pick: 2002 J.J. Prum Riesling Himmelreich (Spatlese) ($30)

Blue Sky Potatoes: Wine Pairing: The slight oakiness of a good Chardonnay would go well with the bacon and creamy potatoes. My pick: 2006 Wente Chardonnay Arroyo Seco Riva Ranch ($13)

Shrimp Rockefeller Stuffed Mushrooms: Wine Pairing: This is a tougher dish to pair, there are a lot of big flavors and a variety of textures. I think a safe bet would be a crisp Sauvignon Blanc such as 2006 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand ($16). Read more

Recipe: Old Ebbitt Grill Crab Cakes courtesy of Ali Ehrlich!

This past weekend Kim, the dogs and I spent three days kayaking, fishing, swimming and relaxing at our friends Shenandoah River house. The company included our friends Dave and Ali (Ali is pictured here on the left, with Kim and Raja), who we met through the weekends host a few months ago. Great food was eaten, great wines were drank, and great stories were both told and written.

Ali and I got to talking about her website “Life as an E” (Ehrlich) in which she gives fun and well written commentary on her life since marrying her husband David Ehrlich (the “E”!). The blog covers much more than just what they did last Tuesday or who called them last night. In fact, it is a good source for random travel, food and wine information including tasting notes and recipes! After picking her brain a bit and going through her website, I’ve asked her to share some of her recipes with us since many of them sounded very good.

Below is recipe for “Old Ebbitt Grill Crab Cakes” which I’m going to give a shot as soon at the kitchen is finished!!! Don’t forget to check out her site which features more recipes and great food and wine ramblings!

From “Life as an “E” by Ali Ehrlich:

Old Ebbitt is a DC institution, and while this is about 99% their recipe, we have made it at home a few times and tweaked it a bit for our tastes. These are authentic Maryland style crab cakes -all lump meat with almost no filler added and tastes incredible! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

First, you will need:

1 large work bowl
1 small/ medium work bowl
a baking sheet
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning (such as Old Bay)
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon water
4 Saltine or Ritz crackers (or ¼ cup of breadcrumbs)
1 lemon (optional)

Got everything? Now, you:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet

Pick the crabmeat over to remove excess shells and cartilage.

Combine the mayonnaise, crab seasoning, parsley, mustard, and water in the medium bowl and mix until smooth. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the crabmeat and mix, being careful not to break up the lumps of crabmeat.

With your hands, break up the saltines into crumbs and mix into the crab mixture.

Form into patties and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the crab cakes over, and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until nicely browned.

Plate and garnish with any extra fresh flat leaf parsley and lemon wedge, serve with tarter sauce on the side. Enjoy!

We usually get our crab and fresh seafood and fish from Cameron’s Seafood Market in Rockville. They have lots of locations in the DC area, and have daily and weekly specials available online.

Recipe: The most simple grilled rainbow trout…EVER!

Another simple recipe, this time using Rainbow trout that was on sale for $7.99 / lb at Whole Foods! This went great with zucchini and asparagus. The other items on the plate are chicken breast and spicy chicken burgers. I know the plate looks messy and crowded…but when you don’t have a kitchen (STILL!) it’s nice to use less dishes so you are able to cook at home sometimes!

Grilled Rainbow Trout

Ingredients:

• Whole rainbow trout, cleaned and gutted with head intact.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Ground Sea Salt
• Fresh Ground Pepper
• 1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Necessary tools:

• Grill (or broiler)
• Metal skewer (or wood skewer soaked in water for 30 mins)

1. Rinse trout in cool water.
2. Rub inside and out with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Place lime wedges inside trout and use metal skewers to enclose the cavity of the fish.
4. Grill over medium heat, 6-8 minutes per side until skin is crispy. Flip only once and use great caution not to let the fish fall apart.
5. Serve!

Persian Recipe: Persian Meat Loaf

This is the first of many upcoming recipes of traditional Persian Cuisine. Growing up, my father often cooked Persian food on nights my mom wasn’t making Schnitzel or some other traditional German dish (she’s of course, German). Persian cuisine features a variety of exotic spices and flavors that capture the essence of thousands of years of culinary history.  Below is a recipe for Persian Meatloaf that I’ve adapated from In  A Persian Kitchen by Maideh Mazda.  You’ll find this meatloaf to be a more interesting take on the traditional American version.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb ground lamb
• 3/4 lb ground beef (can use 1 1/2 lbs of either meat alone)
• 1 large onion, grated
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery leaves
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• slice white bread

As side items: Fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.

1. Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, except for the bread.
2. Soak the bread in water for a few seconds, then squeeze excess water from bread and add to bowl.
3. Mix all ingredients until everything is uniformly distributed.
4. Let rest for 20 minutes (room temperature) or up to 4 hours in the fridge.
5. Remove from fridge and place into baking pan at 2 1/2″ thickness.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place meatloaf on middle rack for 45 minutes.
7. Increase heat to 425 for last 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through.
8. Serve with yogurt and fresh cut tomatoes and cucumbers.

Recipe: Simple Grilled Rockfish (Striped Bass) With Citrus Marinated Red Onions

This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to cook a whole Rockfish highlighting the freshness and flavors of the fish. Simple, healthy and delicious! (image from wikipedia.org)

Ingredients:

• 1 whole rockfish (2-3 lb), scaled, gutted, and washed thoroughly
• olive oil
• red pepper flakes
• red onion, sliced very thin
• juice of 2 lemons
• juice of 2 oranges
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• salt/pepper

1. In a small bowl, combine red onion, white vinegar, lemon/orange juice (and zest), and salt/pepper. Place in fridge for 1 hour (up to 24 hours) before preparing fish.
2. Preheat oven to 315 degrees also, preheat grill to medium high heat. Rub fish (inside and out) with salt/pepper, red pepper flakes, and olive oil.
3. Place fish on grill for 3 minutes per side or until skin is slightly charred.
4. Remove from grill and place in baking pan. Bake at 315 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes away from skin.
5. Remove fish from oven and plate with marinated red onions.
6. Serve with a Vinho Verde or other crisp white wine.
7. ENJOY!

The Perfect Steak; and a few reasons I hope my kitchen renovation takes a little bit longer!

With the kitchen about 1/3 of the way renovated, I’m beginning to enjoy our dinner options: Eat out or grill. Last night we rewarded ourselves for getting the tile in this past weekend with a nice surf and turf on the grill. Here’s my recipe for the perfect steak, and a recap of our night:

The Perfect Steak:

1 1/2 - 2″ thick dry-aged ribeye steak (brought to room temperature)

1. Rub steak with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Place on very hot part of grill to sear each side, approximately 4 minutes total.
3. Move steak to indirect heat location of grill and maintain interior temperature of the grill at 300 degrees. Cook for an additional 6 minutes per side.
4. Remove from grill, top with 1 Tbsp butter and add salt to taste.

It’s that easy! Enjoy. Read more

Recipe: Another great pizza recipe with ground lamb and goat cheese.

Alright, this one is as simple as the others - same basic crust, but this time we’re going with lamb and goat cheese on top. The pizza went great with a 2005 Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino ($20).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground lamb (sprinkle with salt/pepper)
  
• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped thin (dried rosemary works as well)
• 1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped thin
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 oz red wine
• 1 Tbsp chopped jalepeno pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil (4-5 tablespoons)
• 1 lb fresh Caprino (Itlian goat cheese) or cheese of your choosing, grated or broken into balls
• Marinara sauce (or other preferred pizza sauce)
• Pizza dough - enough for 1 large pizza (either frozen dough from store or use recipe below)
• Flour

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In saute pan, brown lamb over medium heat with garlic, jalepeno, mint and rosemary. After 3-4 minutes, add red wine.
2. Stir frequently over medium heat for an additional 5-7 minutes or until lamb is cooked through (and liquids have cooked off). Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Place dough on an oiled (olive oil) pan and rub crust with olive oil, salt/pepper.
4. Lightly coat pizza dough with marinara sauce. If not included in sauce, sprinkle lightly with dried rosemary for extra flavor. Evenly top the pizza with lamb and cheese and place in for 17-20 minutes, or until crust in golden.

Homemade Dough (Variation of Mario Battali Recipe)

1/4 cup Chianti (or other red wine)
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 ounces fresh yeast
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
3 1/2 cups flour

Place wine, water and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the honey, sugar, salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix well to combine. Add 1 cup of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until it becomes a loose batter. Add 2 more cups of the flour and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, incorporating as much flour as you can with the wooden spoon.Bring the dough together by hand and turn out onto a floured board or marble surface. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until dough is smooth and firm. Place in a clean, lightly-oiled bowl, using remaining tablespoon of oil and cover with a towel. Let rise in the warmest part of the kitchen for 60 minutes.

For one large pizza, knead into 1 large round. For either, let rest for 15 minutes.

Recipe: The million dollar cookie (courtesy of the Noble Pig)

Maryland native Carolyn Gurtz recently one a million dollars for this peanut butter cookie.  Our friend Cathy at the Noble Pig put her spin on it.  Check out her website for step-by-step instructions and outstanding photos of the whole “million dollar cookie” making process.

Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from Carolyn Gurtz’s Million Dollar Cookies

1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 package (16.5 ounces) Pillsbury Create’ n Bake refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled

Preheat oven to 375 degree.

In a small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In another bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended.  Shape the mixture into 24 1-inch balls.

Cut a roll of cookie dough into 12 slices.  Cut each slice in half, crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly.

Shape one cookie dough piece around one peanut butter ball, covering completely.  Repeat with remaining dough and balls.

Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat the mixture completely onto the balls.  On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart.

Spray the bottom of a drinking glass with cooking spray.  Flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness with the bottom of a glass.  Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into the dough.

Bake 7 to 12 minutes (mine took eleven) or until edges are golden brown.  Cool one minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack.  Store tightly covered.

Recipe: Cinghale (Wild-Boar) Sausage and Shrimp on Greens

A very easy and quick appetizer I came up with one night while figuring out a new way to make shrimp. Any mild sausage could be used as a substitute if cinghale is not available.

Ingredients

• 8-10 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 Tablespoons Shallots, chopped fine
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 3 oz wild boar sausage, chopped roughly
• salt/pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups arugula, spinach or other preferred green

1. Saute garlic and shallot in olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage after 2-3 minutes and cook for 3 additional minutes.
2. Deglaze pan with sherry - allow to reduce for 3 minutes. Add butter.
3. Once melted, add shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side. Coat well with sauce while cooking.
4. Plate on bed of greens and serve with sauce as a dressing.

Wine Pairing: 2004 Dutton Estate Chardonnay Dutton Ranch

A glimpse of summer…Fresh Maine Lobster, Scallops and a Chilled California Chardonnay

What better way to welcome warm summer nights than to chill some Corona’s and Sparkling wines? Kim and I recently decided that we have had enough of the cold and picked up some Live Maine Lobsters and sea scallops.

The pairing of the night was the 2004 Dutton Estate Chardonnay, which was very buttery and a great match for both the lobster and the scallops.

2004 Dutton Estate Chardonnay - $35: Pale gold color. Good weight in the glass, with aromas of apple, peach, buttered popcorn, oak, vanilla bean. Bubblegum, dried apricot, apple, cotton candy, with a hint of grass on the medium body. Good acidity, good balance, nice crispness on the finish. Bordering on “too much oak” but it pulls it off nicely. I’d recommend an hour decant (yes I know it’s a white wine). My rating: 90 pts, GV (good value)
A great place to get live Maine Lobsters any time of year:

Recipe and Tasting Notes: Grilled Lamb Ribs and a 1995 Brunello di Montalcino

Some Thursday night meals are just better than others. This one was, well, better than most. As you may know, twice a year I buy a whole lamb from our vet who owns a farm (we buy a cow, as well!) and takes outstanding care of her livestock. It’s quite nice to know you’re buying meat from animals that were well taken care of, especially with all of the problems with abuse in the large slaughterhouses. The result of this great care is beautiful cuts of meat that are filled with flavor!

For tonight’s dinner I came up with a rub using some ingredients we had around the kitchen and used it to make grilled lamb ribs. I really enjoy cooking when we haven’t gone shopping in a while; it’s a fun challenge and I usually come up with combinations I haven’t tried before. The result this time was a rib of lamb, rubbed with a dry rub of sage/garlic/thyme/capers (and more) and grilled to juicy perfection!

Here are the tasting notes on the wine (from my favorite wine region in the world, Montalcino) which I acquired recently from a collector with a cellar deep in Italian greats. Overall, the wine was very good- making me miss Montalcino even more!
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Recipe: Mint/Saffron Poached Shirmp

Here’s an easy recipe I came up with last week that went great with a bottle of Champagne, bread and cheese for a first course.

Saffron Poached Shrimp

Ingredients

• 6-8 extra-large jumbo shrimp, split and deveined (shell on)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon savory
• 1 teaspoons dried/crushed mint
• 2 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/5 teaspoon Saffron fibers

1. Be sure shrimp are properly de-veined- gently rinse in cold water. Pat dry and sprinkle with salt/pepper.
2. In medium sauce pan add olive oil and all herbs/spices (except not saffron) over medium heat.
3. Add butter in small pieces to mixture and allow time to melt. Once butter has completely melted, stir in crushed saffron working the spices into the oil mixture.
4. Allow the oil/butter mixture to infuse with flavors for 10 minutes over medium-low heat.
5. Increase heat to medium and add shrimp in small batches so shrimp are completely covered by liquid. Gently stir occassionally over the next few minutes.
6. After 7-8 minutes, remove shrimp and repeat as necessary.
7. To serve, drizzle shrimp with poached liquid and plate with with fresh mint and plenty of bread to dip!

Wine pairing advice: This dish would be served with an appertif, I’d go with a N.V. Champagne, perhaps the Charles Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top ($35), which has good acidity, crispness, and subtle fruit flavors which won’t take away from the delicateness of the mint and saffron.

Recipe: Grilled Leg of Lamb in Red Sauce

I came up with this a few months back and made it again recently. The key here is to grill the leg of lamb before making the sauce. This can be done the day before, or immediately before, whichever time permits. Recommended wine: Barbera or Syrah of your choosing.

Ingredients:

• One 3-4 lb leg of lamb (with bone), trimmed of excess fat
• 5-6 large rosemary sprigs (fresh)
• 1 head of garlic
• olive oil
• salt/pepper
• butchers twine
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 4 cups diced tomato (canned works fine)
• 1 cup roughly chopped red pearl onions
• 2 large turnips, washed thoroughly
• 2 cups red wine (I used Merlot)
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
• 2 bay leafs
• 1 cup slightly torn fresh mint

1. Pre-heat grill. Cut 6-8 slits into the leg of lamb and place roughly chopped garlic in each. Rub the lamb with olive oil, salt and pepper. During this time, soak the rosemary sprigs in water so they do not catch fire on the grill.
2. Surround the lamb with the length of the rosemary so that it’s covered on all sides. Then use the butcher’s twine to tie the rosemary to the leg of lamb. Tie the twine so the rosemary is secure to the lamb and tie it off into a knot. Sprinkle the whole thing with salt/pepper.
3. Place the leg of lamb on the grill over little or no direct heat. Turn the leg of lamb every 4 minutes, or until each side is nicely browned (see image above) but the lamb is very medium-rare in the middle. Use this time to prep the vegetables, open the cans of tomatos, etc.
4. In a large dutch oven or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped pearl onions, garlic and crushed red peppers. After 2-3 minutes add turnips.
5. Remove lamb from the grill and transfer to a cutting board. Carefully remove the butchers twine and cut the leg of lamb into small 1″ x 1″ cubes. Lamb should be medium-rare to almost rare on the inside. Place the lamb cubes into the stock pot as well as the leg bone for additional flavor.
6. Once lamb is browned on all sides, carefully add tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, beef stock, chopped rosemary, bay leafs and dash of Worcestershire’s sauce. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat so it’s gently simmering.
7. Allow contents to simmer with lid on for 1 hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes. At 1 hour, move the lid so some moisture escapes and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning at this point (more salt/pepper sa you desire). Add fresh mint to sauce about 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with pasta of your choice. Also great served with bread or rice. There are a lot of wine choices you could go with here, but for me a wine with a little acidity and spice would do best with the lamb and tomato’s. A Syrah works, as well as a Barbera.

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