Wine-Down Wednesday- The Spirit Of Things!

This week on Wine-Down Wednesday I would like to introduce ‘Corky’, Wine Sleuth and resident PI for a new venture, Partners In Wine Club, New Jersey, and online of course! To get in the ‘Spirit’ of things I will talk about several things pertaining food and wine education; spirits; other libations that will be available on our new site, as well what went array in my kitchen just this very weekend!

Over the years running my catering company in Dallas, and then in the north east one of the many questions I get is “Do you have an ideas for cooking with wine”. Sometimes they ask what dish would go best with a wine they have, or vice versa. There are many wine blogs, and plenty of food blogs, but not many combine the two, and add in a spirit or beer into the mix. Partners In Wine Club felt this is a venture well worth the time.

Corky will be looking into a few things for you, and one of them is how he cannot stand going into a restaurant bar area and sitting on very uncomfortable chairs, and would rather them go check out Bar Stools before they just throw a small wooden stool up there. He wants to be comfortable while he is sipping and swirling away!

Now let’s talk about this dessert I made, ummm, well Corky helped too, he wants me to tell you! On a trip to the market for my Valentine meal supplies, I was thinking about making a goat cheese cake. While looking at different ingredients and wandering down the sugar isle a woman was asking the store clerk for Karo Syrup. I had just seen it and told her it was down my way and she thanked me. I had pecans in my hand and she asked if I was making a pecan pie. I said no, but I was thinking of making another type of pie. We began to chat and it turns out she got me all in the mood for a pecan pie, so my original pie idea went hay wire.

I wish I could say I had been kidnapped by a ship full of pirates, because it has rum raisins in it too. Goat Cheese Rum Raisin Pecan Pie, yes, I have gone and lost my every lovin’ cheffy mind haven’t I? No, it was one of the tastiest inventions yet. Hubby said it needed more goo (okay filling), but I thought it was caramelized nutty and savory goodness. Maybe it did need a little more cheese, but the torte pan already over flowed onto my sheet pan, and the remnants of overflowing goo turned into candy. Hard to clean, yes it was; it also fell when I took it out of the oven. Next time- deeper pie pan, and more filling.

Hubby and I sat down with a slice and had a glass of port. Rum and Port? Well the port balanced out the tangy'ness of the goat cheese and rum raisins. Port goes very well with blue cheese, and goat cheese; it also is a nice compliment to most nuts. The port I use for cooking savory dishes is an inexpensive bottle of Six Grapes Port, one of mine and Corky's favorite cooking buddies!

Six Grapes is one of Graham’s original Port marques. It is a big-hearted wine, sourced from the same vineyards (essentially Quinta dos Malvedos and Quinta das Lages) that contribute to Graham’s famed Vintage Ports in ‘declared’ years. As such, it closely resembles Graham’s Vintage Port style: full-bodied, with rich opulent black fruit on the palate and fragrant brambly aromas. We think of it as the ‘everyday Port for the Vintage Port drinker.’ Six Grapes is bottled relatively young (between 3 and 4 years) in order to retain the freshness and vigour comparable to a young Vintage Port.

The distinctive depiction of grape bunches on the bottle is taken from the identification symbols long used in the Graham’s lodge to identify the wines destined to make up the Six Grapes blend.

Dark red color, with a seductive rich perfume of ripe plums and cherries, and on the palate the flavors are complex, with a good structure and a long lingering finish. Earth and plum flavors give way to ripe fruity flavors. Rated- Sweet & has won many medals (Information- Graham's)

I always notice when it is served at wine tastings; it is one of the first dessert wines to go, and I am the first in line! This is one of my favorite fortified wines*.

PS I forgot to mention in Monday's piece about how the economy has affected Lobster fishing prices, and this ingredients is at its all time low in the market, so you do not need to wait until a special occasion to eat lobster, as I did in my ‘I’m In Love Again’ post on Monday! Help sustain their major source of income...

Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage (usually brandy) has been added. When added to wine before the fermentation process is complete, the alcohol in the distilled beverage kills the yeast and leaves residual sugar behind. The end result is a wine that is both sweeter and stronger, normally containing about 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). The original reason for fortifying wine was to preserve it, since ethanol is a natural antiseptic. Even though other preservation methods exist, fortification continues to be used because the fortification process can add distinct flavors to the finished project.[citation needed]

*Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it. Many different styles of fortified wine have been developed, including port, sherry, madeira, marsala, and vermouth.

I Am In Love Again!

The snow this past week put a halt on my original Valentine post, so I decided Doc @ What Cooking With Doc could have this dish for his site as per his request.

No, I am not in love with Doc! However he is a cutie, can cook, loves to travel, and is a real doctor!

I am IN love however...with my husband, and ALSO with a new product that I found at Trader Joe's...

Dark chocolate covered Edamame…

Yes, they are intriguing aren't they? They also have chocolate covered Pom Seeds, and I cannot wait to play with those in a recipe...

Little chocolate crunchy nibbles, oh I knew there was trouble after the first bite!

I also knew I had to use them in a recipe that you might not expect...a butter poached lobster salad, with endive, leafy lettuce, radicchio, red onion, blue cheese, and dressed with a port wine dressing.

In order to read more and see the finished salad, you have to go over to Doc's site...I am only posting the 'how to' photos here...

For your mise en place you will need-

The key to this salad is making the Port Wine Dressing first- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 ½ tablespoon EVO, ¼ cup (Six Grapes) Port Wine: Mix well.

Clean and prepare to heads of endive, cut in half; 1 small head of radicchio, torn into pieces; 1 small head of leafy green lettuce torn into small pieces; ¼ thinly sliced red onion; handful of blue cheese crumbled; handful pecan pieces, or chocolate covered nuts (I am sure most would work)- dress salad before you add lobster and plate all together. Dressing will go to the bottom of bowl, so sprinkle more just before serving.

Butter Poached Lobster (I used three 1 ½ lb tails):

This is a typical recipe you will find for butter poaching, the only difference is I cut my tails into about ¼ inch pieces, horizontal cuts, and then cooked them.

When you are about an hour from serving the lobster tails, take them out of the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature.

When ready to poach the lobster tails, in a pan large enough to hold the lobster tails and using a thermometer, bring the prepared Beurre Monte up to at least 160° degrees F., but not over 190° degrees F.

Depending on how large and how many lobster tails you are preparing, will determine how long to poach them; it usually takes from 5 to 7 minutes (do not overcook. They should not be rubbery but of a soft consistency (almost as if not completely cooked). The lobster should be white and not very opaque in color. When done, remove them from the Beaurre Monte and serve.

Definition of Beurre Monte: Butter is an emulsification of 80% milk fat, 18% water, and 2% milk solids. Heating butter above 160 degrees will cause it to "break" or separate into its different composition parts. A Beuree Monte is a technique of keeping melted butter in an emulsified state between 180 degrees and 190 degrees, which is sufficient to poach meats or vegetables.

Determine how much butter you will need for the Beurre Monte by placing the lobster tails in a large enough pan, side by side; add just enough water to cover. Immediately remove the lobster tails, drain them, set aside; and measure the water in the pan. You will need this amount of butter to cover and poach the tails.

In a saucepan, bring the 1 tablespoon of water to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low and begin adding the chunks of butter (a little at a time) whisking to emulsify. Once the emulsion is started, more butter may be whisked in faster. Hold the temperature of the Beurre Monte between 160 and 190 degrees F. for poaching.

DO NOT BOIL OR THE MIXTURE WILL BREAK! The mixture should have the consistency of a very thick butter sauce. NOTE: Beurre Monte can be set aside on the stove after being prepared. You should use the beurre monte within an hour after you make it.

Wine: Newton Chardonnay, St Helen, Napa Valley, '06, $48-  Complimented the buttery lobster, and all the other ingredients, and when you are done eating, you can sip on some Six Grapes Port left over from the dressing with your dessert! (I noticed online the price varied $32 and up, $69 Dean & Deluca, so I do feel it was mid-range).

I made a Rum Raisin Goat Cheese Pie for our dessert- I will post that with Wine-Down Wednesday...