A Small Sampling of Wines with Foods

The "Winefest Renaissance" benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen, will be held on April 12th this year. My husband has been busily recruiting people who will promote my part in the event, which, similarly to last year will be a selection of 6 different wines, and foods prepared specifically to pair with each wine. This is a wonderful way to show the differences in what a wine tastes like on its own, as opposed to tasting with a food, and most pertinently, if the food is made with only food items that pair well with that varietal or style. We also provide rating sheets to help people examine what exactly they like or dislike about any given wine, and why. These rating sheets are ones I have created, and are each person's to keep. Last year too many people seemed to be under the impression that we were "grading" them on how they rated. This was not the intent at all, but for each person to discover more about what they like or dislike in a wine, and why. There is no right or wrong to this process; only knowledge gained.

Chicken, Pear & Onion Tarts with Chevre Cream

Green Pea, Feta & Mint Spread

In preparation, some of the people my husband has recruited are unfamiliar with rating wines. They will need to know what this is all about in order to drive people to my tables. Thus, as we did last year, we held a little mini wine tasting last Friday evening for a couple of young women, to teach them what is involved in rating a wine and learning what one can discover through this process. Then, I wanted to demonstrate the differences between tasting a wine on its own merits, and then tasting a wine paired appropriately with a food. I chose one white wine and one red, and made a couple of foods to taste with each. I chose a 2012 Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc with floral, pear and citrus flavors, and paired this wine with my Green Pea, Feta & Mint Spread on artisanal bread, and Chicken Pear and Onion Tartlets with Chevre Cream, a new creation of mine. The red wine was a 2003 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape. The Chateauneuf was served with Glazed Pecans with Garrigue Seasoning and Garrigue Seasoned Flank Steak with Cheddar and Arugula. I will touch on the red wine and its food pairings in my next blog. Today I will focus on the Chicken, Pear and Onion Tartlets recipe.

Steps 1 & 2; cream cheese, butter, salt, 1/2 the flour and nuts

Steps 3 & 4: second half of flour processed in

To date, I am able to pair wines with appropriate foods quite easily. With my Wine and Food Pairing Sheets, which I talked about in my blog of February 17th, I just run down the column under the particular wine style and select a few of the listed foods to create a recipe. I did this with the Chenin Blanc column, selecting chicken, pear, red bell pepper, macadamia nuts, cream cheese and Chevre cheese. First I wanted to make the tart shells with cream cheese and butter, and added ground macadamia nuts. As a matter of fact, though this was my plan, when I actually made the pastry I completely forgot about the nuts! I had already ground them and set them aside, but when it came time to add them to the food processor, I just forgot. No worries though; when I rolled out the pastry dough, I put the ground nuts onto the mostly rolled pastry, pressed them in, then finished rolling the pastry to the desired thickness. Voila! When I rolled the pastry, I used a 3-inch biscuit cutter and made little pastry rounds to fit into the mini tart pans. I wanted a bit of a lip to the pastry, so it would not slide down into the pans while blind baking, and I used a second, identical but empty tart pan to set on top. This kept the tart shells in place. If you do not have that many tart pans, you may have to work a bit harder to make the little shells stay put while baking, but it can be done.

Macadamia Cream Cheese Tart Pastry 

Makes about 35 mini tart shells or 1 9-inch tart crust

Steps 5 & 6: adding liquids & forming dough

1 stick unsalted butter, cold in small cubes
1½ cups all-purpose flour, divided in 2 parts
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup macadamia nuts, pre-ground
½ of an 8-ounce package cream cheese
2 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons vodka
1 teaspoon vinegar

Into the bowl of a food processor, place half of the flour, the macadamia nuts, salt, butter and cream cheese. Pulse repeatedly until the mixture makes wet, large crumbs (Steps 1 & 2). Add in the rest of the flour and pulse to finer crumbs (Steps 3 & 4). In a small measure, combine the water, vodka and vinegar. Add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Remove the dough from the processor, bring together to form a ball, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap or place in a zip-top bag (Steps5 & 6). Chill the dough thoroughly, at least 3 hours before using. The dough may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.

Steps 7 & 8: rolling, cutting, fitting in tart pans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (350 on Convection). If making mini tarts, have tart pans handy. If the dough has been frozen, allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or set on the counter to thaw until workable. Flour the surface and Roll out the dough to ⅛-inch thickness, or less. Cut into 3-inch diameter rounds and fit the dough rounds into the mini tart tins, allowing a bit of a lip to overhang. Prick all over with a fork (Steps 7 & 8).

If you have extra identical size/shape tart tins, before baking carefully set one empty tart tin on top of the first. This will help in keeping the dough from slithering down into the well while baking. Bake the shells for 12 minutes. Remove the top tin and bake for another 3 – 5 minutes longer, or until golden. These can be kept in a tightly sealed container for 2 days ahead.

The filling was a combination of the other ingredients I chose, with some seasonings:

Chicken, Pear & Onion Filling

Steps 9 & 10: baked shells and chicken filling

Makes about 35 mini tarts

1 recipe Macadamia Cream Cheese Tart Shells, baked
1 pre-cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast, chopped finely, (or rotisserie roasted chicken breast)
⅓ cup orange juice
1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, quartered lengthwise and sliced ⅝-inch across
½ teaspoon salt
1 firm pear, cored and cut into tiny pieces
½ red bell pepper, chopped finely
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
A few grinds of white pepper
½ teaspoon anchovy paste

CHEVRE CREAM
1 (6-ounce) Chevre cheese, softened
Pinch salt
Zest of 1 lime
4 – 6 tablespoons heavy cream

Finished Tarts

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil, swirl the pan, then add in the onions. Sprinkle on the ½ teaspoon salt. Cook the onions very slowly over low to medium-low heat for at least 45 to 55 minutes, stirring very often until caramelized and browned, not burnt. Add in the pear, red bell pepper, chicken, thyme, lemon zest and juice, pepper and anchovy paste. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes (Steps 9 & 10). This mixture can be made 1 to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated until needed.
 
The anchovy paste makes the flavors more complex, but is not enough to taste. If not using anchovy paste, more salt may be needed. Taste the mixture and adjust accordingly.

Open Star Tip 1M or 2110

In a small bowl, combine the Chevre, lime zest and 3 tablespoons of the cream. Mix with a hand mixer until smooth. This should be firm enough to stay in place, but loose enough to go through a piping bag. Add more cream as needed. Refrigerate until needed.
 

When ready to serve, pack the chicken & pear mixture tightly into the prepared tart shells. Top with the Chevre Cream, either using a piping bag with an open star tip (I used 1M), or using 2 spoons to place a dollop of the cream on top of each tart.

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.

A Wonderful, Any-Night Supper

Beef Ragout

Beef Stews are so comforting, and especially on these cold nights. There are so many possible ways to combine ingredients to make a stew, and this is just one more. I made this last week some time, and am just getting around to posting it. Looking at the recipe makes me want to go back and make it again.I called this Beef Ragout. Ragout is just a spiced stew of meat and vegetables. That description leaves a whole lot of leeway, and would fit most any beef stew. This one is nothing fancy, and just plain good. It has just the right amount of meat and vegetables, and a lovely flavor. It is hearty and warming and all that one wants from a dish such as this. Because the meat is marinated and then cooked in wine, the resultant sauce is very purple. This is perfectly acceptable for a stew made with wine, but to adjust the color, I used Kitchen Bouquet.

Beef Ragout

Beef Ragout

1.5 pounds beef stew meat, or chuck, in 1 – 2-inch cubes

MARINADE:
1 cup dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 – 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 whole cloves
----------
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet meat coloring
1 large can (13.25 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
½ - 1 cup water or stock
1 cup frozen peas
4 medium-small potatoes, peeled, cooked in salted water

Early in the day or the evening before, combine all the marinade ingredients in a container with a lid or a zip-top bag. Place the meat into the marinade and toss to coat well. If marinating and cooking the same day, the meat can be left on the counter.

Peas added to the cooked stew to heat through

When ready to prepare the stew, remove the meat from the marinade and place on layers of paper toweling to dry. Reserve the marinade. Preheat oven to 300, or whatever temperature will just maintain a simmer.

Have ready a large stew pot or braising pan with tight fitting lid. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the butter and olive oil with the onions. Sauté the onions, stirring until golden but not browned. Remove the onions to the stew pot, reserving any oils in the skillet.

Cooked potatoes added in

Add in half the meat cubes and brown them quickly, raising heat if necessary; remove them to the stew pot when done. Repeat with remaining meat cubes. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and onions and toss until the flour disappears. Add in the reserved marinade, Worcestershire, Kitchen Bouquet, mushrooms and water or stock to just reach about half to ⅔ up the meat. Cover the pot and set the pan in the oven for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the meat is tender.
When the stew is done, remove from oven, add in the peas and cover, allowing the peas to heat through. Add in the cooked, cubed potatoes and stir to combine.

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. 

Garrigue - A New Word and a New Spice Blend

I am trying to think up some appetizers for Friday; one is for a Chateauneuf du Pape (Vieux Telegraphe). In all the research while filling in those wine/food pairing sheets I made (see yesterday's blog), I came across the term “garrigue” as in a flavor or aroma and used in reference to Southern Rhone wines such as Chateauneuf or Bandol and others. We have had some bottles of Rhone called Domaine la Garrigue, Vacqueyras, but had not ever seen the word "garrigue" used as a flavor term, so I looked it up.

Turns out it is a term for the combined aromas of all the wild herbs and plants that grow in the chalky soil in that area, such as rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel, juniper, lavender, mint, lemon verbena, marjoram and others. One web site says: The reason we now hear this term in relationship to wine is that it refers to the flavorful, earthy, salty and pungent aromas and flavors often found in garrigue wines.

Garrigue Seasoning Spices

So today I got this idea. I was thinking of using a flank steak again, as it is easy to marinate and give all sorts of flavors, then broil and slice. I decided to pick from this palate of flavors and make a dry mix first, them blend that with a combination of balsamic and currants, a touch of honey and olive oil. I went shopping late this afternoon, so I just got the flank steak. I will probably wait till Thursday to open it and start the marinating. This is what I used:

Garrigue Seasoning Blend

Makes ½ cup

1½ tablespoons pink peppercorns (for their floral notes)
1 tablespoon each, dried: lavender flowers, black pepper, sage, thyme, fennel
15 juniper berries
1 tablespoon sea salt
 
All these spices went into a little spice grinder and ground fine. I will probably add in some dried lemon peel instead of lemon verbena (that I don’t have). I added the pink peppercorns to lend their floral notes, though they are not a part of the garrigue herbs. It is a pungent combination of ingredients and it smells really, REALLY good. I put the whole batch into a spice blender and made it into powder. This makes about 1/2 cup in all, so there is plenty left to use for other applications.

Meanwhile, as with everything I make now, I thought I should get some pictures of the herbs and spices, individually, and then mixed the whole batch together and took shots of the whole mélange. The pictures are so pretty I may just make this my wallpaper!
 
I am planning to marinate and broil the steak, slice it and serve it on little toasts with a couple pieces of arugula and a slice of sharp cheddar. Once I have used this and see how it goes, I will report here on the results.


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.

Filled, Frosted Cupcakes: Finishing my Valentine Labor of Love

Yesterday, I wrote of the process involved in the creating of the recipes for these cupcakes, and the fact that the flavor combination was from a vaguely Middle Eastern palette; cardamom, black pepper, orange, pistachio, rosewater. I wanted to make filled and frosted cupcakes, something I had not yet tried. Pureed sweet potato would go in the cake, knowing this would give a great moist texture. I settled on a Pistachio Cream Filling, which was made in 2 steps. First the Pastry Cream, which is also wonderful as a pudding. Since the Pistachio Cream Filling recipe only needs a small part of the Pastry Cream recipe, you can give this a try as a pudding and taste its wonderful flavor. The frosting used freeze-dried strawberries, processed fine and added to the confectioners' sugar for the frosting. Rosewater was the combination with the strawberries to bring that Middle Eastern flavor to the frosting.

Sweet Potato Cardamom Cupcakes with Pistachio Cream Filling & Strawberry Rosewater Frosting

Rosewater is not something just everyone has at home, I realize. If looking for it, you will likely need to find a specialty store or order online. It can be found on Amazon, of course; look for it under culinary - not health and beauty. This is not "rosewater and glycerin" for the face, but one made for ingesting. Even Nielson-Massey, whose vanilla extracts I adore (and buy by the pint!) has rosewater now, though I did try it and did not like it at all. I far prefer Cortas brand, the flavor is more authentic. While culinary rosewater can be used for beauty purposes, do not buy cosmetic rosewater to use for cooking.

Inside the Cupcakes

This whole set of recipes may seem like a lot of work, and making everything on the same day can certainly be work. Instead, break the recipes up into components and make them ahead. The pastry cream can be made a couple of days in advance and kept chilled until needed. The Pistachio Cream can be completed and chilled 2 to 3 days in advance and kept tightly covered and chilled until needed. The frosting could possibly be kept for a day, though I am unsure of how the texture would fare. It may need to be beaten again to bring it back to usable form. 

Coring & Extracting

All the cores & closeup of cupcake

Making the cupcakes with the intent to core and fill was something I had never attempted. On TV I saw someone using the exact same kind of apple corer that I own to take the core out of cupcakes. AHA! It was very simple. My corer, seen in these photos, has a little serration to the edge. Obviously this helps with coring an apple, and helps as well with taking the center from a cupcake. By gently twisting the corer as you work it into the cupcake, you can easily bring out the core without crushing the cupcake. Just as with slicing bread with a serrated knife, the object is to gently saw back and forth, rather than press down and crush the bread. A gentle twisting of the corer will do the same for the cupcakes without crushing. Just remember that you do not want to go all the way out the bottom of the cupcake when coring. Check the approximate height of the cupcake and then keep an eye out for the height when using the corer.

To finalize the cupcakes, use a piping bag, or a freezer-strength zip top bag with a corner cut out to fill in the centers with the Pistachio Cream. Make the filling mounded just slightly, as the filling will soak into the cupcake. Once the frosting is ready, use a piping bag and large star tip, or other open star tip to pipe a pretty design. The icing can just as easily be spread on with an icing spatula. Use a pinch of the reserved crushed freeze-dried strawberry over the top of the icing; see yesterday's post about the Strawberry Rosewater Frosting. 

Sweet Potato Cardamom Cupcakes

Makes about 24 cupcakes, or two 8-inch round layers, or one 9 x 13-inch cake
 
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

Cardamom Seeds & Pods

1½2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup cooked, peeled, pureed sweet potato
fresh zest of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange (about ⅓ cup)
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely ground cardamom
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup buttermilk
 
Preheat oven to 350 (325 on Convection). With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Add the pureed sweet potato, orange juice and zest and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom and black pepper. Add these ingredients to the creamed mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk until all combined.
 
Set cupcake papers into two 12-cup muffin tins. Fill the papers about 2/3 full. Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before attempting to core and fill.
 
If baking round cakes, the baking time may be 25 to 35 minutes. For a 9 x 13-inch cake, the bake time may be 35 to 45 minutes.



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.