Matters of Taste

The Well-Dressed Salad

Last week I wrote about the sensational Frisee Salad with Endive, Pear, Pecorino Toscano and Pistachios at Seattle’s new Staple & Fancy Mercantile restaurant.

It’s an easy one to do at-home. Here’s the recipe for the vinaigrette. 

STAPLE & FANCY MERCANTILE CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE

1/4 cup Champagne or sparkling wine (see note below)
2 tablespoons water
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup canola oil

In the jar of a blender, combine the Champagne, water, egg yolk, mustard and a pinch of salt. Pulse to chop the ingredients. Then add both oils in a slow, steady stream. You should end up with about 1 1/2 cups of dressing.

Note: If Champagne isn’t in the budget, use an Italian Prosecco and serve the “leftovers” mixed with a few drops of freshly squeezed blood orange juice (in season now).

 

Creamy, Dreamy Cheese -- Paradise Blue

I make it a habit to rummage the cheese counter at specialty food stores looking for intriguing blues.  Recently I found a ridiculously delicious cheese and I’m praying that my Whole Foods doesn’t run out before I can get back to buy everything they have left.

Called Blue Paradise, and made in Mineral Point, Wisconsin by the Hook’s Cheese Co., it’s a double-cream, cow’s milk wonder that stopped me in my tracks. Double cream means it contains milk and cream, and has a milk fat content of between 60 and 75 percent.  That also means that the texture is seductively creamy, soft and silky.

Paradise Blue’s flavor is divine, with both a subtly flavored, cream-colored “background” and assertive blue veins that explode with robust, well-aged goodness.

This is a blue I want to eat straight from the plastic wrap, which is what I am doing as I type. It’s also amazing on pear wedges, beet salads, hamburgers, and roasted fingerling potatoes. For instant gratification, just spread a tad on a Mary’s Gone Crackers Original or Black Pepper cracker. These wispy wheat- and gluten-free crackers are thin enough to let the cheese flavor have center stage.

Crafted by Tony and Julie Hook of Hook’s Cheese Co., the Paradise Blue was introduced to their line in 1997. Before that, the couple (the Web site says they were college sweethearts) was winning awards for their cheddars since the late ‘70s.

I paid $19.99 a pound for the Paradise Blue at Whole Foods. It’s also available for about $24 a pound on-line at  Vivant Fine Cheese. Or you can visit the Hook’s Web site for instructions for email, phone or Fax orders. (There’s a five-pound minimum from the farm so band together with your cheese-loving friends.)

 

 

 

Winning Wines -- Four Delicious Discoveries

A half-dozen or so stand-out wines flowed my way recently. Wines that were so delicious they sent me to Google to learn more about them and to wine shops to see if I could buy more.

Apparently the cognoscenti (and even Oprah!) have been fans of BLACKBIRD VINEYARDS since it squished its first grape in 2003. But I just discovered this powerhouse of Pomerol-style wines this week, and it was love at first sip.

Blackbird Vineyards ARISE 2008 is the blend of 42% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc that knocked my socks off.  Called a Bordeaux-inspired blend (Merlot is the principle player in the region’s Pomerol wines), Arise is a luscious wine that pulls you in with its layered aromatics – cherry, plum, a hint of mint – then blows you away with rich black-fruit flavors and velvety mouthfeel. It’s an elegant wine, yet totally unintimidating.

For those who need to know more than the fact that it tastes great, I can tell you it’s aged in French oak barrels for 19 months; that the 2008 vintage was unusual because of weather conditions that created an exceptionally low yield, leading to great concentration of flavor in smaller berries; that 1570 cases were produced; and that winemaker Aaron Potts says the spice in this wine “reminds me of a Moroccan bazaar.” The 2008 Arise retails for about $50.

The Blackbird vineyard is in Napa’s prestigious Oak Knoll district. Guests are invited to taste and buy wines at Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley in Yountville. Limited quantities are available through an allocated mailing list direct from the winery and in fine restaurants and hotels.

The very clever Flock Box Collection contains a selection of six 50 ml. glass bottles containing samples of Blackbird’s Merlot and Cabernet Franc blends, such as Arriviste rosé, Arise, Paramour, Contrarian, and Illustration. The Flock Box costs about $48 through the winery.

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I also got lucky this week with an invitation to taste the wines of COTE BONNEVILLE, an award-winning  operation in Washington’s Yakima Valley. Our neighbors were hosting Cote Bonneville owner, Dr. Hugh Shiels, for a happy hour mini tasting and so I trotted over to join them. 

I was very impressed with the 2008 Chardonnay which has plenty of acidity balancing tropical fruit flavors (and a lovely whiff of vanilla); less excited about the Carriage Hill 2006 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (with a pinch of Cab Franc) which I applauded as smooth and well-balanced but found a little restrained for my tastes; and totally wowed by the Cote Bonneville DuBrul Vineyard 2005 with its come-hither aroma and supremely satisfying plum, black berry and cassis flavors.

Small wonder this Cab/Merlot wine scores consistently in the stratosphere with the “Wine” guys, that is Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator, who had this to say:

"Polished, focused, and juicy, with bright red fruit flavors that mingle appealingly with hints of chocolate and cherry as the finish lingers expressively on a refined frame. There's an elegance to this, and a depth that only becomes apparent with successive sips."

The Chardonnay and Carriage Hill retail for about $45; the Cote Bonneville DuBrul Vineyard 2005 is about $110. Available at Vinfolio.com.

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The captivating BOURGUEIL wine I tasted recently at Quinn’s in Seattle is now both a lovely memory and a big mystery.  The wine list said simply LE PETIT BON DIEU BOURGUEIL. Our server suggested a glass to accompany the terrific Crispy Skin Chicken with Celeriac Anna & Glazed Baby root Vegetables that I had ordered.  And I promptly fell in love with the wine’s lively fruit flavor, lovely floral aroma, impressive balance, and easy-going personality that also married well with our appetizers and my son’s Goat Confit with Foie Gras Barley entrée.

However, it seems unlikely I’m going to get another glass real soon because the folks at Quinn’s say it’s a special cuvee done for the Seattle importer A&B Imports, and a whole lot of Googling hasn’t turned up any retail leads.  I have learned, however, that Bourgueil is a light, bright red wine with a peppery perfume that’s made of Cabernet Franc grapes in the Loire region of France. Typically, it’s the whites from the Loire Valley that get all the attention. But I, for one, am going to be on the lookout for this intriguing Cab Franc and its neighbor wine, Chinon. Most Bourgueils and Chinons retail in the $10 to $15 range.

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D. H. PORTH DUNDEE HILLS PINOT NOIR is another recent find that’s a real steal at 13 bucks a bottle.   The second label of acclaimed Arterberry Maresh,  it doesn’t have the extended barrel-aging of the winery’s more exalted Pinots (which retail for $35 to $75) but it has a light, lively flavor that’s immediately appealing and enough body and charm to hold our attention.

The wine hails from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the Dundee Hills appellation. With its transparent  cherry-red color, good acidity, bright fruit, and modest 13.8 percent alcohol content, it’s a lip-smacking partner to good food and good times.

I discovered D. H. Porth (which is named for the Porth brothers, Ted and Fred, who helped run the Maresh farm and vineyard back in the late 1950s ) at Staple & Fancy Mercantile in Seattle. Our server suggested it to go with the savory, tomato-based pasta dishes I was craving.

It also played very well with the kitchen’s sensational take on pork belly (photo), a crackly, well-burnished hunk of goodness that managed to taste rich and voluptuous without being fatty or unctuous. The bright, crisp pearl onions and Brussels sprouts sharing the plate were the perfect textural counterpoint.

But, honestly, I’d drink this Pinot with just about anything – pizza, burgers, pasta, beef stew, chicken paprikash, omelettes, pork roast, you-name-it. A quick on-line check for sources showed availability only at stores in the Pacific Northwest. But this delectable bargain is worthy of more sleuthing.

 

 

Pre-Pre-Gaming

Is there such a thing?

I mean, can one start drinking two weeks before a night out instead of the customary two hours?

This week I experimented with the concept by making myself a Poquito Picante, in anticipation of visiting that cocktail’s birthplace – Yerba Buena restaurant in New York City – later this month.

What’s so hot about a Poquito Picante, you ask? I wondered the same thing when our son Ben called one morning from his home in New York City raving about the “awesome” cocktail he had discovered the night before.  The New York Times seems to be of a like mind, calling the restaurant’s cocktail list “a knock-out” and adding that “everything tastes good while sipping a Poquito Picante… (Photo by Rebecca McAlpin for The New York Times.)

The Web site Metromix.com also sang the praises of the PP at YB in a post entitled “New York’s Spiciest Cocktails.”

“A textbook handling of heat in a cocktail: the subtle spice adds body and texture, rather than sharpness or pain, and serves as a distinct flavor before giving way to other notes, like the cucumber’s freshness. A fire that warms rather than burns you.”

And apparently the Poquito Picante isn’t the only thing worth raving about at Yerba Buena (which has two locations, on Avenue A in East Village and Perry Street in the West Village). Our other son, Nicholas, visiting his brother from Seattle, also sang the praises of the eatery’s pan-Latin food, including to-die-for renditions of “coffee-glazed pork belly” and “tamarind-glazed duck confit,” a modern way of saying ropa vieja. 

I hate being left out of the party. That’s why Yerba Buena will be the first stop on my trip to New York next week. Stay tuned.

Here’s the recipe for the Poquito Picante to hold you over ‘til you, too, can visit Yerba Buena.

Ingredients:
6 to 8 cilantro leaves
2 slices of cucumber with skin
3 slices of seedless jalapeño
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
½ ounce Cointreau
2 ounces gin

Gently muddle cilantro, cucumber, and jalapeño with lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients. Shake well and double strain through fine mesh strainer.
Garnish with a dry chili pepper or a small bird chili.

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Pecorino Primer.....At Staple & Fancy Mercantile

Poor Pecorino. It just doesn’t get much respect.

Over the last couple decades, Americans have learned to love Parmesan as a serious cheese and not just something sprinkled out of a Kraft package. But pecorino has had a tougher time shaking off that plebian image.

Now that seems to be changing. These days Pecorino is showing up as the star at restaurants and in cookbook recipes.  A particularly delicious example is the Frisee Salad that I had last week at the new Staple & Fancy Mercantile in Seattle. (MORE about the restaurant below.) 

The composition included lacy frisee, crisp, silky endive, slivers of ripe pear,  toasted pistachios and Pecorino Toscana. Held together with a light, citrusy vinaigrette, it was a masterpiece of textures and tastes. (My own version, prepared at home and pictured here, wasn't quite so elegant. But, you get the idea!)

So who knew from Pecorino Toscano? Not I.

However, after a little Googling, I know that Pecorino is the name for a family of hard and semi-hard Italian cheeses that are made from sheep’s milk. There are four main varieties: Pecorino Romano (the best known and usually most pungent), Toscano, Siciliano and Sardo (from Sardinia). The cheeses range from hard and crumbly to soft and shiny, depending on how long they’re aged. All have a distinctive buttery, nutty flavor that works well with nuts and fruits (especially pears), and is ideal for finishing pasta dishes. (It’s less expensive, as well as drier and saltier, than Parmigiano-Reggiano.)

The Toscano that topped the salad at Staple & Fancy was characteristic of that variety. Silky smooth, with a bright, tangy flavor, it brought out the best in the dish’s other components, rather than bullying them.

To be sure, all Pecorino is not created equal. You can still buy Kraft’s Shredded Pecorino Romano in a can. But now you can also buy Pecorino di Fossa (Mario Batali’s Babbo Web site tells the whole fascinating story about this cheese); Pecorino Gran Riserva (which is brushed with olive oil and often served for dessert with a drizzle of honey) ; and Pecorino Umbriaco, the production of which involves grape skins to infuse a pleasant winey flavor. For more info, check out the counters at upscale markets and visit Web  sites such as Igourmet.com and Amazon.com.

Back to the Staple & Fancy Mercantile frisee salad.

Wunderchef Ethan Stowell’s newest eatery is a casual, rustic place with open kitchen, long wooden tables, a high-spirited clientele and a short menu of extraordinary food. Short, that is, unless you order the chef’s fancy, which delivers small portions of  nine, ten, eleven or more courses of positively inspired food. (Stowell himself is at the stove here, leaving his other restaurants --  Tavolata, how to Cook a Wolf, and Olives & Anchovies – in capable hands.) The photo here is courtesy of Geoffrey Smith.

You’ve gotta be crazy to forego the Staple & Fancy “family-style supper” – at $45 per person, it's one of the city’s best values. But in case you falter in the decision-making process, the menu provides guidance.

 

“Thanks for joining us at Staple & Fancy Mercantile. Please feel free to order as much or as little food as you like. And, if you would like to avoid the trouble of ordering altogether, please feel free to hand your menu back to your server and let the kitchen prepare you a family style supper served in four courses for $45 per person. Participation by the entire table is required. We would also like to inform you that you really should do this.”

When I visited recently, I was on overload after several nights of pigging out at my favorite Seattle eateries. So I opted to order just three courses and was rewarded with the frisee salad and two memorable pasta dishes –  rigatoni with luscious pork ragu and fresh marjoram, and a comforting bucatini with guanciale and tomato.

Unfortunately, in doing so I missed out on many things including this exquisite gnocchi that was enjoyed by Seattle Times restaurant writer Nancy Leson and photographed for her blog.

I can’t wait to go back again and “play by the rules.” Stay tuned.

 

 

 

Pushing "Cooking 101" to a New Level

Interesting book review in today’s Wall Street Journal.

  According to writer  Katy McLaughlin, Nathan Myhvold’s “Modernist Cuisine: The Art & Science of Cooking”  is “a large-scale investigation into the math, science and physics behind cooking tasks from making juicy and crisp beer-can chicken to coating a foie-gras bonbon in sour cherry gel.” (Myhvold is pictured here in a NYT photo by Ryan Matthew Smith.) The book is the work of a team of 36 researchers, chefs and editors, along with one multimillionaire computer whiz.

I don’t doubt that the author, a 51-year old former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer who also happened to have his Ph.D from Princeton by the time he was 22, knows what he’s talking about. I’m just wondering how many home cooks will rush out to buy a 2,400-page tome that weighs 47 pounds and costs $625. I mean, really, if you can't spend 15 minutes cooking a boneless chicken breast, are you really going to spend 15 ninutes fathoming "Fick's first law of diffusivity?"

Nonetheless, McLaughlin assures us that the massive manuscript includes “insights that even the humblest home cooks can use to improve their meals.” And, to pique our appetites, she throws out some juicy little tidbits. 

“Among the book's revelations: Expensive pots and pans are a waste of money. Organic food is no healthier than non-organic. Black coffee cools off faster than coffee with cream.”

By the way, "Modernist Cuisine" is only $467.62 at Amazon.com.

Economic Crunch? Let Them Eat Cookies!

Earlier this week I visited one of my favorite bakeries, Sugar Bakery & Café in Seattle. It’s your basic one-room storefront with few tables and a minimum of style, but, oh my, does it turn out sensational cookies, cakes and breakfast pastries.

On Tuesday morning, the old-fashioned display case was packed with all the reasons I pop into this First Hill shop every morning of every visit to Seattle – Lemon Crunch, Oatmeal Cranberry, and Peanut Butter cookies; Jam, Blackberry Oat, and Lemon-Ginger scones; Lavender Shortbread; Brioche Cinnamon Rolls; Dulce de Leche cupcakes; muffins, croissants and coffeecakes. But it was only when I paid at the register that I discovered the little bags of four Economic Crunch cookies.

“For a while it seemed that everyone was talking about the “economic crunch,” said Stephanie Crocker, the self-taught baker behind Sugar. “That term was in every sentence; it was kind of absurd. I decided we really needed an “economic crunch” cookie,” she added with a laugh.

These bumpy, beautiful drop cookies feature bits of almonds, toffee, coconut and chocolate chips, all playing hide-and-seek in a moist, shortbread-like, almond-scented dough. Each warm cookie is rolled in sparkly sugar. The texture is to die for.  The flavor of each distinctive ingredient is pure and  pleasing.

But then, that’s pretty standard operating practice at Sugar. Everything I’ve ever tasted here was extraordinary, including the Lemon Lavender all-butter cake that’s brushed with home-made lavender syrup, filled with lemon cream, frosted with vanilla buttercream and garnished with lavender flowers. And the baristas at Sugar take espresso very seriously, turning out picture-perfect drinks that are vastly superior to those at local Starbucks, Tully’s and Seattle’s Best depots.

Crocker started the business in 2003 when she sold apple tarts (made with apples from her backyard) at  Farmers Markets and to wholesale clients. A few years later she opened a retail shop, which has since been relocated to its present First Hill location. Today she does a booming mostly-retail business that goes beyond booming on such occasions as Valentine’s Day. This year’s holiday special is a flourless, dark chocolate Valentine Lover’s Cake that serves two. It’s topped with chocolate mousse and whipped cream and costs $14. The special collection of brownies, gourmet bars, shortbread, frosted sugar cookies and sandwich cookies, pictured here, costs $22.