Winefest Was a Great Success

It's taken me a couple of days to wind down after spending a few very focused weeks prepping for this years Winefest Renaissance, held for the benefit of the Boys & Girls Club of Aberdeen. The Winefest event was held on April 9th at the Ward Hotel downtown, and had a huge turnout. My part of the event was to pair four appetizer foods with four wines, to match food flavors as perfectly as possible with the flavors in the wine. 
 

Flank Steak Rolls with Romano & Cherry Onion Relish, paired with Planeta, Cerasuolo di Vittoria

When tasting a wine, there may be mixed reactions. Some wines are friendly all on their own. While they may pair excellently with food, they can also be enjoyed solo. Other wines are truly meant to pair with a food in order to bring out the wine's best flavors and attributes. For this reason, when I create a new food combination to pair with a wine, I endeavor to take into consideration all the flavors the winemaker has worked to create. If a wine is supposed to have notes of cherry or strawberry, then I try to work in those flavors, even if only in a marginal way. If it is best paired with particular aged cheeses, then I might select one of those cheeses to use in the food.

What makes it challenging for me is that most of the wines that are listed as possible selections, are also not ones that are sold here in town. I must rely exclusively on what I can glean from online sites. I read critic's commentary, winemaker's notes, expert ratings where available, and anything at all I can find, to prepare myself to make a food that will pair most appropriately - all for a wine I cannot taste-test while working on the food prep. Still, this has not hampered my efforts to date, as in all these 4 years of Winefest events, all the foods have been absolutely wonderful pairings with the wines I selected. 

While planning for the foods, the final wine I was planning for was Planeta, Cerasuolo di Vittoria (shown at right), a Sicilian wine, with the only D.O.C.G. wine designation in Sicily. I wrote about this wine and a proposed appetizer on March 26th (read that blog here). Ultimately, I made a change rather late in the game and switched to making flank steak rolls once again. I have made differently flavored and filled flank steak rolls for each of the four Winefest Renaissances to date, and always to great acclaim. I had wanted to diverge from that rut this year, but in the end I caved and made them again. Again, to great acclaim. And, they paired most excellently with the wine. What was written about the wine were things such as "fruity, reminiscent of red berries, strawberries, cherries" . . . "lively and pretty" . . . "brooding dark fruit and herb flavors" . . . "pairs well with medium aged cheeses, lamb . . .".

With these descriptors to take into consideration, I created strawberry & jalapeno marinade for the flank steak and used the Cherry & Onion Relish I had created originally. I chose Romano cheese, grated it and mixed it with a bit of Chevre goat cheese to bind it enough to roll into little logs. I kept the cheese flavors savory, as the wine, while evoking bright fruit flavors, is a dry red wine. The Cherry & Onion Relish had some sweetness, so I used only a small amount per roll - just enough to give the bright flavor. The herb flavors were accented with the use of a little dab of "Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs" paste. The mixture made a most flavorful mix, and paired well with the wine. 

While the marinade flavor was not extremely noticeable in the broiled steak, it also did not fight with the wine. The use of jalapenos gave a little zip without there being any overwhelming heat. Here is the marinade I created:

Strawberry Jalapeno Marinade for Steak

Enough for 2 - 3 pounds of steak

½ pound fresh, hulled strawberries
3 fresh jalapenos
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 cup fresh blackberries
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh minced sage
1 teaspoon fresh, minced oregano
1 teaspoon fresh minced basil
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
½ medium onion

Place the strawberries into a blender container. Remove stems and cut the jalapenos into 3 - 4 chunks, with seeds, then add to blender along with all the remaining ingredients and blend to a puree. It is of no importance to be perfectly pureed, but only to make a liquid mixture for the marinade. Place your meat of choice (I used flank steak) into a gallon zip-top baggie or other marinating container and pour in the marinade. Toss well and refrigerate overnight. When ready to use, remove the steak from the marinade and scrape off excess. Broil or grill the meat to your desired doneness.

For flank steak, I broil the meat about 4-inches from the broiler element in my oven for 6 minutes per side for perfectly pink centers. Allow the steak to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes or more before slicing very thinly across the grain of the meat.



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.

It's that Wine Time of Year

This year marks the 4th Annual Winefest Renaissance, held for the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen. This year the Winefest will be held on April 9th, at the Ward Hotel. And, once again, I will be creating foods to pair with wines of my choosing.

Parmigiano Stuffed Prosciutto Wrapped Medjool Dates

After a brief scan of the list of wines to be available, I opted for an Italian theme, selecting a Roscato Prosecco, a Barone Fini Pinot Grigio, a Chianti and a Secco-Bertani (a mix of Corvina and Merlot). I had never tasted any of these particular wines before, though I have had other Proseccos, Pino Grigios, and Chiantis. The Secco-Bertani was new to me. I had to quickly make a decision on what foods to pair with these wines, so I followed my normal route of first going online to find all the information I could about each particular wine, vintner, flavors, pairings and such. Then I looked through my own lists compiled over the last few years, with a table of the wine varietal and what foods pair well with each. 

I sent in my wine choices and the pairings I had decided on, only to find out that after all, the two reds would not be available. Drat! Meanwhile, I went ahead with my planning for the foods to pair with the two white wines.

Parmigiano Stuffed,
Prosciutto Wrapped Medjool Dates

For the Roscato Prosecco, which is described as "sparkling, fruity with a hint of sweetness," I went through my table list. I felt that dates would provide sweetness, though too much sweetness and the wine will taste sour. A fine balancing act is required. I know that antipasti platters are said to pair well with Prosecco, so I though of wrapping the date with prosciutto. To add balance to those sweet dates, I also combined enough chevre goat cheese with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano to hold it together and stuffed the dates with this mixture. After tasting one made up in this way, I felt that they still needed another component. I happened to have some Blue Diamond BOLD Habanero Spiced Almonds on hand, so I pressed two of them into the cheese stuffed date before wrapping with the prosciutto. This seemed a bit better. I am planning to open a bottle of Prosecco to taste with them, later. Meanwhile, I took a few down to my husband's office for the people there to taste and critique.

Parmigiano Stuffed, Prosciutto Wrapped Medjool Dates

Makes 22 - 24

Making Parmigiano Stuffed Prosciutto Wrapped Dates

12 ounces Medjool dates (about 22 to 24 dates), pitted
2.25 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
4 ounces Chevre or Montrachet goat cheese
45 - 50 Bold and Spicy Almonds (Habanero or Sriracha spiced)
6 - 8 ounces Prosciutto 

Mix together the Parmigiano Reggiano with the goat cheese, to form a thick paste. Divide the mixture into about 3/4-inch diameter balls (weighing approximately 0.25 ounce each). There should be at least enough balls to fill the amount of dates. Be sure your dates are pitted. If not, slice into one side of them down the length to reach the pit and remove. Lengthen each of the cheese balls into logs and stuff them inside the dates. Press in two of the spiced almonds.

Most prosciutto comes in about 4 x 8-inch thin slices. I sliced down the length, making two thinner lengths out of each slice. Roll each of the filled dates with one of these halves of the prosciutto slice and secure with a toothpick, if needed. These may be made ahead a couple of days, if needed.

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For the next wine, a Pinot Grigio, I went with the flavors of lemon, artichoke, parsley and chicken. I made a Lemon Artichoke "pesto," which was absolutely fantastic on its own, and then cooked up a chicken breast, cooled and finely minced the chicken, adding it to the pesto mixture. I set this atop a toasted baguette slice, and Oh My! These are so good - all I can hope is that they do well with the Barone Fini Pinot Grigio at the event. Unfortunately, though these wines are on a list to be available for the event, they are not currently available for sale in the local stores. 

Lemon Artichoke Pesto with Chicken atop Toasted Baguette Slice

Lemon Artichoke Pesto with Chicken atop Toasted Baguette

Lemon Artichoke Pesto
with Chicken atop Toasted Baguette

Makes about 50

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, white pepper and dill for sprinkling
-------------------------
1 packed cup parsley
zest of 1 lemon (save lemon for juice later)
2 - 4 cloves garlic + white vinegar
3 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, in cubes
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ teaspoon each: salt and pepper
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
1 teaspoon capers, drained
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil

A baguette, sliced about ¼ inch
olive oil for brushing

First, set the artichokes to drain in a colander and set aside. Butterfly the chicken breast so it lays flat and about ½ inch thick. Season both sides well with salt, white pepper and dill, and place in a very hot skillet with the tablespoon of olive oil. Fry to a deep brown, then turn and brown the opposite side. The browning provides wonderful flavor, so do not eliminate this step. Lower the heat to low or medium low and allow the chicken to cook through, about 10 minutes, total. Allow the chicken to cool while making the pesto.

Lemon Artichoke Pesto
before adding chicken

Finely mince the garlic into a small bowl. Cover with the vinegar and allow to set for a few minutes. This helps eliminate the strong raw-garlic taste. When ready to use, drain off the vinegar.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the parsley, lemon zest, the drained garlic, the Pecorino Romano cubes, walnuts and salt and pepper. Run the processor to finely chop. Stop to scrape down sides, then process until very fine. Add in the drained artichokes with the capers and lemon juice and process to a paste. Add in the olive oil to combine. Pout out into a bowl, replacing the processor bowl.

Cut the cooled chicken into cubes and place in the vacated processor bowl and pulse until the chicken is fine, but not pureed. Fold into the pesto.

To serve, brush the baguette slices with olive oil and set them on a sheet pan. Preheat the broiler with the rack in the highest position and broil the breads until nicely toasted, about 1½ minutes. Watch closely! Scoop a small amount of the Lemon Artichoke Pesto with Chicken onto each slice.



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.

Last Prep for Winefest and a Revised Apple Cake

The Winefest Renaissance 2015 is coming up quickly. It will be held this Saturday evening at the Ward Hotel. The event benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen area, going towards building a much larger facility. 

I have been working daily on various aspects of the foods I will pair with the wines at the event. Today I did my last grocery run, grilled the flank steaks (which will be sliced once cold and rolled with little cheese logs), heated together the olive oil and garlic that will be brushed on the little English muffin halves,  combined the pizza sauce, pepperoni and Parmesan for the mini English Muffin Pizzas, printed the name badges for all of us involved. And now it is 5 PM already. 

Tomorrow we have two friends arriving to stay with us for a bit, and they will also be attending the event. I have their bedrooms readied. I will slice and roll the flank steak tomorrow. Some of the frozen foods will be thawed. Breads will be thawed and sliced. And the day will be gone before I know it. Saturday will be finishing everything off. Baking the Mini English Muffin Pizzas, making the mixture for the little Asparagus Quiches. Reheating the mole to take off the chill. Last minute prep work before leaving. And the night will be over before I can even think. It gets so busy that time just ceases to exist. 

Then prep for Easter will start. I am going to make the Bacalao a la Vizcaina for Good Friday, though I do not truly celebrate Easter anymore except for the fact of the family coming together on that day. I will get a ham to have at home, make some of the Beets with Horseradish to go with it just because I cannot conceive of having a ham without it, and I already made bread; it is in the freezer for when needed. 

Apple Cake, Revised

Fresh Apple Cake, made with fresh apples instead of frozen

In the meantime, I wanted to update a Fresh Apple Cake recipe I had made that didn't come out well. I used frozen apples for this cake, though once they thawed enough to use, they made the cake exceedingly soggy. While neither my husband nor my sister-in-law had any problem with the cake as it stood, and nor did I, this texture might not be everyone's cup of tea. I bought some fresh apples and cut them in small bits and added them to a slightly revised cake batter. This time the cake was exactly as I had hoped. The cake was like cake; nice and moist, but not pudding-y. The apples did their job without oozing all over.  Here is my revised recipe, using true, fresh apples. I used Pink Lady apples, but other types would also work, as would a combination. I only needed three apples to make the 4 cups for the cake.

Fresh Apple Cake

Fresh Apple Cake

Makes one 13 x 9-inch cake

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
1¼ cup granulated sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), melted
¼cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup buttermilk
4 cups fresh peeled, cubed small

GLAZE:
½ cup confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
1 tablespoon milk or water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 on Convection Bake). Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and set aside.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the first 8 (dry) ingredients. Separately, mix together the melted butter with the honey, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Combine these liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients until no dry ingredients remain. Add in the apples and stir well. Pour this batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40 to 45 minutes (longer if needed). Make the glaze by stirring together all the glaze ingredients. Set the glaze aside.

Allow the cake to cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before drizzling on the glaze.

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.

Creating Appetizers for Wine Pairing

I've been working very diligently to create the appetizers to pair with wines for the Winefest Renaissance 2015, to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen Area. As with the past two years, I have selected 6 wines to showcase, for the purpose of teaching people to take the time to really taste a wine, using a wine rating sheet of my design. This forces one to take note of the particular aspects of a wine, from the immediate bouquet, the "legs" that give some indication of viscosity, the taste of the wine itself and all the possible adjectives to describe. All these things will give a person more knowledge of what it is about a wine that they like or dislike. Does one like earthy wines or floral wines? Or maybe peppery with leather? How about blackberry and cedar? These last all describe various red wines. White wines have other adjectives such as  apple, peach, grapefruit, mineral, chalk, butter, honey, vanilla and many more.

Wine with "Legs"

Once one establishes the particular attributes of sight, smell and taste, is it a wine you like? If not, sometimes a particular food will make a wine more palatable, sometimes changing its character completely. With a proper pairing of food, a wine can be enhanced dramatically. Just as an improper pairing of food can made a wine taste awful. The goal during my presentation at the Winefest Renaissance is to make little appetizer foods that encompass the correct food flavors to show a wine's character to best advantage.

Part of my newest Varietal/Food Pairing Sheet

To assist myself in the creation of a proper pairing of food with a wine, I created wine varietal and food pairing charts. I had 5 pages made, with 5 kinds of varietal or blend per page. Some are blends, such as Bordeaux or Meritage, that always use a particular few varietals to create a blend. Most of my sheets contain single varietals and with these lists of foods to pair, I look through and come up with ideas. One particular wine was giving me fits this year. It is the Menage a Trois 'Midnight'. I had not yet actually tasted this wine, but had read about it. I do like the original Menage a Trois blends, both red and white. The "Midnight" has 4 varietals in its mix, instead of three. The part that stumped me was the mixture of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot. Though I know I have tasted Petite Sirah on its own, I had no recollection of the particular attributes. And as for Petit Verdot, I had no clue at all. So, back to the internet and the beginning of another wine varietal and food pairing sheet!

Sara Lee on left, my mini on right

As it turns out, the Menage a Trois 'Midnight's' claim of deep dark color can be attributed to the Petite Sirah, known for its deep, dark inky color. The Petit Verdot mostly contributes the tannic structure or backbone. Once I had those concepts in my mind, it was a little easier to see how some of the food suggestions could make more sense. Pizza, Italian food, Mexican food; these were the suggested items. I opted to make some kind of mini pizza for this Wine Tasting Event. 

Then came the search for what form this appetizer would take. I completely changed my approach 4 separate times. Once it came down to the creation of a sample, I tried making pizza dough and rolling it out like for cinnamon rolls and filling, slicing, baking. Nope. This was messy at best. I tried using regular English Muffins (I used Sara Lee). Nope. My husband and I both agreed: too big for just tasting. But still, the English Muffin was really tasty for this application. I had been wanting to make English Muffins for quite some time already, and since there is a recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (which book I have been touting for over a year now), I finally went for it. I created small English Muffins about 2½-inches in diameter. I used a few to test with the pizza toppings and they were just the right size. I had reached Eureka!!

Final size: one tiny muffin half

What remains for the creation of these appetizers is to first make a whole lot more of the little English Muffins. The toppings will be set in place and baked on the day of the event. Most people eat pizza cold, or at least room temperature at some time, and these will be at room temperature. To test out the taste comparison, I bought a bottle of the Menage a Trois 'Midnight' to drink with these little bitty pizzas. It was an absolute perfect pairing!

I know not everyone will have the time or ability to make tiny English Muffins. If anyone does, I made each ball of English Muffin dough to weigh 33 grams on my little kitchen scale, or a scant 1.25 ounces. They are just cute as can be. They are still about the thickness of a regular English Muffin, so they are sturdy enough to hold the toppings and easily held to eat neatly without utensils. 

Ready to bake

For the toppings, I wanted to use sausage initially, but instead opted for pepperoni. To make the toppings easy to apply, I mixed together in a bowl some store-bought pizza sauce, a little grated Parmesan cheese, some pepperoni (about one or so slice per muffin half) chopped finely and a little green pepper, just because I love green pepper on pizza! I always make garlic steeped in olive oil to brush on pizza dough before ever applying toppings, and I did the same here. I brushed each English muffing half with the oil, then placed a small dollop of the pizza sauce mixture, spreading to the edges. One of the particular cheeses mentioned for this kind of wine was cheddar, so I made sure the type of shredded cheese topping contained cheddar. They are easy to assemble this way and they baked at 375 for about 10 minutes to perfect melty goodness. 

Perfect size and perfect melty goodness

Best of all? They were absolutely perfect when tasted with the Menage a Trois 'Midnight'! I could not have asked for a better way to show how well a food can taste with a particular wine.

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.