Another Wine & Food Pairing

My Garrigue Seasoning Mixture

Yesterday I wrote about the mini tarts I made to pair with a Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc. Today I am going to describe my thinking on the food pairing I made for the 2003 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape.

As I mentioned in my post on February 18th, I learned a new term when researching the flavors to pair with this Rhone / Southern France wine. While the term "garrigue" has been around for a while, I have not been reading the different wine publications as avidly as I once did, and missed ever hearing about this new descriptor. It is used to describe all the bouquet of aromas from the wild herbs that grow in that region of France. Any time a grape grows in a very specific soil and environment, this affects the grapes' flavor, and therefore the wine made from them. It is said that many Rhone wines retain some of this garrigue aroma. It was a bouquet of scents I was unfamiliar with, as a whole, and so I had never been able to detect this bouquet in a wine.

Showing long, lengthwise grain of the meat

I had drunk this particular Chateauneuf before; we had various bottles in our cellar. This time would be a brand new tasting, with this new idea in mind. I had created a sort of spice seasoning mixture I creatively called "Garrigue Seasoning." I know - not so creative, but what else could I possibly call this kind of mixture? I intended to use this dry spice mix to flavor a flank steak, with the idea to also marinate the steak in a mixture of currants, balsamic and olive oil. I dry-rubbed the meat with the spices first, then poured over the wet mixture and marinated it a full day. Once I broiled and sliced the meat, it didn't have nearly the flavor I hoped for, though it was very good, and paired well with the wine.  I believe if I were to make this again, I would dry rub the meat, possibly with even more of the rub than I used, and a little olive oil to marinate. 

Cheddar Rectangles

Other foods I chose to pair with a wine that is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM) were sharp cheddar and arugula, with its peppery flavors. I broiled the meat and sliced it very thinly across the grain, at an angle in order to make each slice more than double the width it would be if slicing straight down. If you have never used a flank steak, it is a very thin piece of meat. It can be a little tough because it is very lean, but cutting across the grain of the meat makes all the fibers of the meat very short, and therefore edible.

I looked for the sharpest cheddar I could find, and sliced it into ¼-inch slices. Then I cut those slices to make them ¼-inch widths by about 1¾ to 2-inches long, approximately the width of one of the slices of the steak. I got a box of baby arugula and selected  enough leaves to use 2 per steak roll. 

Garrigue Rubbed Flank Steak Rolls with Cheddar & Arugula

This makes 50 or so rolls

Garrigue Rubbed Flank Steak Rolls with Cheddar & Arugula

1 flank steak, about 2 pounds
4 - 6 tablespoons Garrigue Seasoning (post of February 18)
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
baby arugula leaves
 
Rub the flank steak well with the Garrigue Seasoning on both sides. Sprinkle the olive oil over and rub into the seasonings and meat. Wrap well and set in the refrigerator overnight. Prepare the cheddar by making little rectangles 1/4 x 1/4 x 2-inches. These can be cut and stored in the refrigerator until needed. Select nice, small arugula leaves.
 
When ready to prepare the meat, heat the broiler and set the rack on the second level down. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, for easy cleanup later. Set a small rack onto the foil and place the meat on the rack. Place under the broiler and broil for 6 to 7 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the meat. When done, tent with foil for 15 minutes before slicing.

When ready to cut the meat, set the steak with the length of the grain crosswise in front of you (as shown in picture). Hold a sharp chef's knife or carving knife at a 45 degree angle. Slice at this angle, creating thin slices, much wider than if slicing straight down. These lengths of meat will need to be cut into 2 or even 3 pieces each. The length needs to be just wide enough to roll around the cheddar and arugula leaves, crossing enough to insert a toothpick to hold them in shape.

When serving these with a good wine, always try to serve slices of bread along with, as the bread helps to absorb the alcohol. It becomes very difficult to taste and rate a wine when a few sips make you tipsy. I served these flank rolls with little slices of bread, brushed with oil and broiled lightly. The meat went well with the Chateauneuf du Pape. We also smelled the garrigue seasoning and them smelled the wine, and found that these smells were definitely apparent in the wine's bouquet. Hurray!


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

So Many Wines, So Much Info

I love wine. I have been learning about wine for the last 24 years. When I met my current husband, I knew nothing about wine, and had just barely learned to tolerate dry reds. I have come a very long way since then. I am no "master sommelier," but I have absorbed a lot of knowledge over these years.

When someone asks me to teach them about wine, usually meaning in 25 words or less, I am stumped. There is just so much to know. This whole topic really hit home in the last couple of days, as I was re-creating my Wine and Food Pairing sheets. A couple of years ago, I had created a couple of sheets, trying to cram all the info I could find into these tiny boxes. They certainly help! Last year when I was asked to prepare foods specifically to pair with certain wines for a local Charity Wine Tasting Event, I went to those sheets, looked down the list of foods and created an appetizer using specific things from that column. The pairings were absolutely perfect. 

So, in advance of the event this year, my husband wants a few people to come over to our house and do a little trial run, so they know what Tasting and Pairing is really all about. These are people who will be helping out at the event, so it is important they know how a correct food pairing can make such a difference with a wine. I selected 2 wines for this little mini-event; a Chateauneuf du Pape and a Chenin Blanc. The Chateauneuf specifically states it is "Grenache forward." A Chateauneuf du Pape is most often a mix of mainly three varietals; Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, often listed as "GSM." I went to my Wine and Food Pairing sheets and found that neither Grenache nor Chenin Blanc were among those listed! Obviously, I would have to redo / revise my sheets.

I have spent the last 2+ days hard at work on this endeavor. I separated the 2 sheets into five, putting less varietals per page, and adding in some new ones, like Grenache and Chenin Blanc!

One of my new and revised Wine and Food Pairing Sheets

But while working on these sheets, it hit home again just how difficult it is to really pinpoint anything. The list of possible flavors or aromas to detect in a wine could be ones in the French Style or in the US Style; utterly different. A Riesling's flavors can vary widely, for example. A German Riesling of good quality is hard to find in most places, but when you find one, it is a marvel. The balance of acid to sweet makes these wines just divine. Then, you may find a Riesling from California that is absolutely bone dry. Acidity to sweetness is really not an issue at all. The flavor profile is so completely different it is hard to compare. A Riesling from Australia or Austria is yet another story.

Sauvignon Blanc also has an array of styles. Sauvignon Blanc is the grape used in the Graves region of Bordeaux. The style is dry and crisp, but that does not begin to explain how another dry and crisp Sauvignon Blanc from California can be so totally different. Or how about Chardonnay? Chardonnay can be made in so many styles. Aside from Chardonnay from California or other states, and from Australia or New Zealand and who knows how many other places, the most amazing thing of all is what is done with Chardonnay in France. In France, Chardonnay is one of the white grapes of the Burgundy region. It is white Burgundy, to be sure, but then you have all these tiny little areas, all with their own specific "terroir," and all with their own unique flavor profile. Most are very dry, but some have the very precise flavors of its own tiny vineyard. Chalk plays heavily in the Chablis area. Others will have flavors like flint. Whether from the Cote d'Or, Cote de Nuits, Cote de Beaune, Macon or Chablis, or even Champagne, each has a very distinct flavor profile, which in turn dictates the type of food that will pair well. All these little areas, and there are others besides these I mentioned, have their own way with Chardonnay. Positively amazing and mind-boggling. 

Anyone who has tasted California Chardonnays will realize that even here there are wide ranges of styles and flavor profiles in play. Some are round and buttery, while some are almost light and playful. Some are heavily oaked, some are aged, and the list goes on. To try and really make a comprehensive Wine and Food Pairing sheet to cover all these parameters would be completely prohibitive. So, I just lumped all the flavor profiles together, trusting that I know my wines well enough to pick out those that will work when I am trying to put together foods to pair. For now, my sheets are up to date. For now, I am planning to make a Green Pea, Feta and Mint Spread served on toasted No-Knead Bread, and some sort of mini tart including caramelized onion, goat cheese and possibly chicken to go with the Chenin Blanc. I am still a little up in the air on the red Chateauneuf du Pape, though probably flank steak will enter into the picture. I will keep things going and work on my recipes. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.