July 4th Pig Roast

This past friday was July 4th, and I felt it was time to celebrate our independence from the British empire the way Americans should celebrate: by getting drunk with friends.  However, I felt that, given all the recent issues and troubles our nation has been experiencing, from erosion of constitutional civil liberties to economics woes and war, we needed something a little extra.  Thus, the first annual July 4th Pig roast celebration was born.  Complete with homebrew!

This party had been on my mind for month, since February after we held our much-delayed 2nd annual Gregtoberfest.  In anticipation, I searched online for recipes of beers from some of our great founding fathers and came across three:  George Washington’s Porter, Ben Franklin’s Spruce Ale, and Thomas Jefferson’s Wheat beer.  Given that I dont enjoy porters, I ruled out George Washington’s beer for now.  The spruce ale sounded very intriguing, and the Maryland homebrew store does have spruce extract for such such an occasion, but I decided to leave this beer for an experimental batch for myself, rather than give to people.  Thus, Thomas Jefferson’s recipe was chosen.  Preparation began in April and the beer was racked in early May, about when i started searching for the pig.

My usual butcher (J.W. Treuth) did not have whole hogs for sale, and being that I dont like small undertakings, I continued to search for a good one.  Luckily, my boss informed me of Wagner’s our in New Market, MD.  I called them up and very quickly they informed me I could have any size hog I wanted, and the different prices associated with the poundage.  I settled on a 37.5 lb pig and we agreed on a pickup date and that was that.  I was the proud potential owner of a pig.  The next issue was clear…. How to cook it?

If there’s one thing any good American knows, it’s that BBQ is awesome, and that roasted meats are awesome (sorry pescatarians and such, I dont mean to offend, I’m just stating my opinions on the matter).  After weeks of searching through recipes and consulting cooks, I decided to follow a rough estimate of what the internet Italians call ‘porchetta”.  When I finally got my pig, I salted the meat for 24hrs, squeezed lemon juice on the skin (it helps break down the fats under the skin) and added cracked black pepper to the animal and let it sit in my fridge.  The following 12 hrs I added a bit more salt, stuffed the pig with many (and I do mean many) garlic cloves, fresh sage leaves, rosemary and some fennel, along with 4 lbs of loose sage sausage.  I then proceeded to sew up the animal, and inserted garlic cloves in various places under the skin and let the animal sit in the fridge overnight, for the roasting day.  I also prepared a basting solution of water, salt, olive oil, black pepper corns, garlic, fennel, rosemary, oregano, sugar and a medium sweetness blush wine.  Keep in mind this was basting for a large animal for several hours, so the total solution volume must have been well over a gallon… for your own preparation records!

Come July 4th, I awoke and ran downstairs, possibly more excited than a kid at christmas.  I assembled a spit that one of my Greek friend’s mother’s was gracious enough to lend to me, skewered the pig, tied him up and started the coals.  By 9am, I had the pig roasting on the fire, trying to be careful to keep the coals near the hams and shoulders, since these are thicker parts and require more heat than the gut.  Almost exactly 6 hours of roasting later, the pig was done and left to cool on a table, prepared for butchering when guests arrived.  And arrive they did!  Over the course of 9 hours, we must have put down easily 200 beers, a small pony keg of heineken, several bottles of wine, and a couple shots of tequila.  oh, and some pig brains too.  Approx. 50 people made their way through my house, consuming almost all the food and almost all the beer.  The perfect party!  The pig was a little salty, which I felt went well with the beer available.  The TJ wheat beer was a hit as well (though I felt it lacked a little something extra… maybe next time!).  All in all, things worked out well.

In the end, I realized that when you roast an animal, people come from all sorts of places to eat it.  However, I am looking forward to my next excuse to roast an animal.  Anyone have any good reasons excuses??

 

Wine Pairings: What wine goes with 64 hotdogs?

This past Friday, July 4th, Nathan’s Hotdog had their annual hot dog eating contest. Dating back to 1915, the annual Nathan’s hotdog contest brings the worlds biggest appetites to NYC for a 10 minute hot dog eat-off. (Photo credit: A hot dog, taken by Renee Comet, photographer, and from the National Cancer Institute. http://visualsonline.cancer.gov/details.cfm?imageid=2669) Read more

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

Happy February 14th!

You all know what today is…it’s my friend Carlos’ birthday! Oh, and it’s Valentine’s day. This “Hallmark Holiday” (Valentine’s day, not your birthday, Carlos) is a day perfectly marketed to those who generally  don’t show their love and appreciation for their spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends, or other loved ones, on a regular basis. What better way to show someone how much you care than to do something nice for them when the corporations and society tells you to?

So take my advice: save your money today/tonight and just tell that special someone how much you love them. Sure, maybe open a bottle of Champagne with dinner (which I recommend doing at least weekly anyways), even a Rose’ but don’t go all out with flowers, chocolates, gifts and a fancy dinner reservation. Use this as a reminder that you should be doing things for your mate frequently- buy them a random gift when you’re out shopping, make them a card when you have a few minutes at work, clean the house and make dinner without their help to remind them how much they mean to you! It’ll mean a lot more than a cheesy heart shaped box filled with lousy chocolates!

I know I’ll be celebrating February 14th, but not because of Valentine’s day: ¡Feliz cumpleaños Carlos!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Gung hay fat choy (a New Year greeting meaning, “May you become prosperous.”)
Sun nien fai lok (meaning, “Happy new year”)
Chinese (Mandarin)
Xin nian yu kuai

Danish
Godt Nytår

Dutch
Gelukkig nieuwjaar

Farsi
Aide shoma mobarak

French
Bonne année

German
Gutes Neues Jahr

Hawaiian
Hauoli Makahiki Hou

Hebrew
Shanah tovah

Italian
Buon Capo d’Anno

Japanese
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu

Polish
Szczesliwego Nowego roku

Portuguese
Feliz ano novo

Romanian
La Multi Ani

Russian
S Novym Godom

Spanish
Feliz Año Nuevo

Swedish
Gott Nytt År

Turkish
Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Six months ago I decided to start a food and wine blog that highlighted the wine and restaurant scene in Baltimore, as well as took a laid back, more informal approach to learning about wine. Well now going into 2008, I couldn’t be happier with its success. Readership has exponentially grown since the launch of the website with more than 3500 unique visitors this month alone! I would like to thank everyone who visits and ask you, the readers to give me some feedback on how you think I can improve the site. I am very thankful for the comments and criticisms I receive and love learning about wine with you all.

That being said, I wish you all an amazing 2008 and hope that together we can keep making wine informal and fun!

I leave you with this:

“In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary.”

Ernest Hemingway –A Moveable Feast

Cheers,

Michael Mohammadi

New Years Resolutions and My New Years Champagne Selection!

There are only a few hours left in 2007 so now is a good time to reflect on the past 12 months and think ahead to the next year. It’s also a good time to make a couple New Years resolutions!

Mine are pretty simple. I’d like to train for another marathon, learn to speak Italian, finish my PhD, and finally, would like to visit my family more in Michigan this year since I only made it home a couple times last year!

My wine resolutions are to spend more time focusing on Italian wine and food, host one wine tasting per month, find as many wine bargains as I can and share them with you all, update the restaurant reviews I’ve been working on for this site, have an article (or two!) published in a major publication, and introduce more and more friends, family and strangers to good wine.

And to ring in the New Year Kim and I will be toasting a Champagne from one of my favorite producers: Boizel Blanc de Blanc NV.

I wish you all a great night of celebration and hope everyone stays safe and healthy into and throughout the new year. Feel free to post a comment with your New Years resolutions!

Salud!

Three sparklings, two Champagnes, and one night of celebration

Sparkling wine can turn any meal into fine dining, any night into a celebration, and any celebration into a great party. Rightfully so, it is always a good idea to have a few bottles of bubbly in your fridge especially with New Years Eve just around the corner. But before stocking up for the holidays, keep these tips and sparkling recommendations in mind. I wish you all safe and happy holidays!

First remember that all Champagne’s are sparkling wines, but not all sparkling wines are Champagnes. To be a real Champagne (always with a capital letter “C”), the wine must have been produced following the rigorous standards set by French wine law and only in the French DOC (recognized wine region) of Champagne. Because of the limited production of real Champagne, it tends to be quite pricey.

The primary grape varieties used in Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. On the label you may find terms such as “NV”, which indicates that the grapes used to make the wine came from multiple vintages. A designated year on a Champagne means it’s a vintage Champagne (only made in years where conditions were optimal) and usually more expensive than NV. Finally, the term Brut denotes that it is semi-dry appears on a majority of the labels, whereas demi-sec, denotes a sweeter wine.

The first Champagne I recommend is Taittinger NV Brut Champagne ($36) which is very crisp, has good amounts of peach, honey and vanilla and has very good structure. This is much more bang for your buck that the more popular and similarly priced Veuve Clicuot. For around $40, NV Heidsieck Champagne Brut Blue Top Monopole is another excellent choice with great structure and balance, as well as plenty of fresh flavors.

On to the sparklings!

The Italian equivalent of Champagne is Prosecco. It comes from white grapes grown in the foothills of the Alps in the Venuto region of northeast Italy. Prosecco is generally a pale/straw color with a fresh melon and citrus flavors as well as honey and nuts. Prosecco has a crisp, refreshing finish and is a great, affordable way to celebrate any occasion. I highly recommend the Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Extra Dry NV which can be found for $13 and is filled with great fresh fruit flavors and lots of refreshing bubbles.

My personal favorite alternative to Champagne comes from the Catalonia region of Spain and is called Cava (literally meaning “cave” or “cellar”). Produced in Catalonia for hundreds of years, Cava is light, crisp, filled with apple and citrus, and quite refreshing. One of my favorite produces of Cava is Avinyo; look for the Brut Reserva which is less than $15 and a lot of bang (and bubbles) for the buck!

And of course there are many versions of sparkling wines produced right here in the USA. The styles of these are quite diverse and rather than get into the details of each, I suggest to you a glass of Domaine Chandon Brut Classic (one of my favorite California-made sparklings) and an hour or so of Google searchers!

A few tips

• When serving a sparkling wine, be sure it is chilled properly (42 degrees for non-Champagne, 45-50 degrees for NV and vintage Champagne).
• The best way to open the bottle is to use the following method. Remove the foil from the top of the bottle. Gently unwind the metal twist-ties and dispose of the cap. With one hand firmly grasp the base of the bottle while placing the other hand on the cork. In one quick motion, turn the base of the bottle while pulling the whole bottle down and away from the cork. The hand that is securing the cork should remain in place throughout the process. Caution: due to the pressure of carbonation in the bottle, use extreme care when opening any sparkling wine. Never aim the top of the bottle at any living object! An alternate method for opening a Champagne bottle is the more advanced “saber” method which involves chilling the top of the bottle in an ice bucket, then running a saber up the side of the bottle at a 45 degree angle to cause a splitting of the glass (see image to the right, not recommended for beginners!).
• When possible use a Champagne flute: the shape of the glass helps preserve the bubbles. One final tip, sparkling wines and Champagne go great with many different foods (especially Sushi and spicy foods like Thai), so experiment and have fun!

As you can see there are many options for sparkling wines at all different price ranges. Whether it’s for dinner on a Tuesday night or to toast in the new year, a great sparkling wine or Champagne can turn any occasion into a celebration. Cheers!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m back here in the United States and getting ready to make a turkey.  I just wanted to take a second to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

I hope your day is filled with football, good wine and great food!

Cheers!

Thanksgiving Wines

I have seen these articles and blogs all over the internet and had hopes of writing my own breakdown of the best wines for Turkey Day.  But, seeing as I am still in Germany and too busy to work on anything substantial, I offer this short advice.

• Sparklings and Champagne are always great to start off the meal and to have throughout the day.  The best part is that almost everyone loves a good sparkling.  Find a bubbly you and your family enjoys and have a few bottles around…if there is left over Champagne, don´t frett, New Years is just around the corner.
• Have both red and white wine available.  A Chardonnay without much oak will be great for those wanting white meat.  A zinfandel will be great with that turkey leg and a spicy stuffing.  A great wine for both meats?  Go with a Riesling if you want a white, a Pinot if you prefer a red.
• There are too many components to the meal to have the perfect wine, so experiment, have a lot of options around and you´ll be sure to have something to please everyone.   As with all food and wine pairings, don´t feel obligated to go by the rules.  Try new things and drink what tastes best to you, even if it´s a big Cabernet with a delicate turkey breast.  Who is going to tell you what you enjoy or don´t?

Bon Appetit!

Happy Halloween!

As you may know, Halloween began as a pre-Christian Celtic festival which stood as a celebration to honor and interact with the dead. During this time, crops were harvested and large bonfires were lit to honor the dead and keep them away. People dressed like ghosts to keep demons and ghosts away. Finally, and most importantly, people would leave food and wine on their porches as an offering to the dead in the journeys.

Following the birth of Christianity, Halloween became something quite different. As the Christians were converting the Celtics and getting rid of their pagan holidays, Pope Gregory I stepped in to say that it was better to continue to allow people to hold their beliefs and own rituals as long as these practices were under the name of Christ.

So tonight I suggest putting on a scary costume, enjoying food and wine with friends and leave a glass of port and some blue cheese on the porch when you turn in. Wouldn’t you enjoy this delectable treat if you were on a long journey?