Sublime Pairings

I don't know what happened this past week but I was in a scheduling funk.  I hadn't planned a dinner menu, I hadn't gone grocery shopping, we had to keep eating out...  I was just out of sorts.  Menu planning for me is all about the routine: creating the menu, making the grocery list, doing the various shopping (Fresh Direct, farmers' market, Todaro Bros.), and then the actual cooking.  And when I don't go through every one of those rituals it just throws me off.  Ugh.  I'm getting stressed even recounting all this to you.  Last week wasn't my best.

It was in this mindset a few days ago that I decided we couldn't eat out another night; I was just going to have to create something from what I had in my kitchen already.  I had pasta because I always keep a package of fresh linguine in the freezer (another Fresh Direct stand-by).  I also had a butternut squash that I had picked up randomly a couple days earlier.  The squash was roasted, the pasta boiled.  I melted some butter, browning it and then adding some dried sage.  The last touch was to toss the pasta in the butter, put it in a bowl, and top with the squash, some freshly grated nutmeg, and Parmesan.

As usual, I checked WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT to see what they suggested as a wine pairing.  As luck would have it, Viognier was recommended with butternut squash and I just happened to have a bottle of Sobon Estate Viognier in my wine fridge.

It was, in every way, a divine pairing.  The earthy sage and salty Parmesan brought out all the warm butter and wood from the Viognier; together, it seemed to be autumn personified.  I actually gasped out loud; it was that perfect.  It's not to say that I don't enjoy most of my wine-food pairings because I do (thanks to Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page!)...but every once in a while you hit the perfect one and there's just nothing like it.

And what about a bad pairing?  We once had a young family friend - she was about 18 at the time - ask us how you know when a wine-food pairing is bad.  I responded, "It'll turn your face inside out."  If you've experienced it, you know exactly what I mean.  This pairing was the exact opposite of that.

Eat, drink, and pair up.


NOTE: Your kid(s) won't touch butternut squash?  Neither will mine.  So I didn't add any to Bug's bowl - she pretty much had just buttered noodles.  Then I sliced up an apple and put that on the side for her since that's about the only fruit/vegetable she eats gladly.



ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA
Recipe by Pinot and Prose
Serves 4

1 pound fresh linguine (dried is fine too)
1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp dried sage (or to taste)
1/4 tsp freshly and finely grated nutmeg (or to taste)
4 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Peel butternut squash then cut in half.  Remove seeds.  Cut squash into 1/2-inch pieces.  Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for about 30 minutes until squash is pierced easily with a fork and starting to brown.

2. In a large pot, boil water over high heat and then add 2 tbsp salt to the water.  Add pasta and cook according to package instructions (fresh pasta will take only about 2-3 minutes).  Make sure you try pasta before draining to make sure it's done.  Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

3. Melt butter in a large saute pan.  Add sage and the cooked pasta; toss.  If the pasta seems dry, add the reserved cooking water, 1/4 c. at a time.

4. Add pasta to individual bowls.  Garnish with roasted squash, grated nutmeg, and Parmesan.  Serve immediately.  With a big, buttery Viognier, of course.

I favor The Individualist or The Loyalist

Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg have outdone themselves in their recent Washington Post column: "Picks with Personality".  The idea, of course, is that wines can be understood better if we attribute personalities with each of them. 

This isn't really a new idea...at the risk of revealing that I have the geekiest taste in movies, I remember that scene in French Kiss where Meg Ryan describes a

wine as being "bold with a hint of sophistication but lacking in pretension."  Then she sheepishly tells the always-delicious Kevin Kline that she was actually just describing herself.  Kevin Kline's character then tells her that she's not wrong, that wine is like people and it takes from its surroundings, absorbs it, and grows in complexity.

So the whole wine-as-people thing is clearly already in my head.  But Dornenburg and Page infused it with such fun in this article, not to mention that they have wine recommendations to go with it.  My favorite is #3: The Achiever.  Not surprisingly, it's chardonnay.  "Still to sparkling, dry to sweet, steely to oak"...it will "do anything to entertain and hold your attention."  This is an interesting comparison to me because, while I love this about chardonnay, it is also what I find really frustrating about it.  You think you can trust it...then you choose the wrong one...and it bites you (and your meal) in the rear.  I feel like chardonnay is The Charlatan: it can't always be trusted.

This struck me today because, last night, the Husband and I had chicken satay for dinner after the Kiddo went to bed.  Alongside I served jasmine rice with ginger, garlic, and cilantro.  So I used my handy-dandy What to Drink with What You Eat and discovered I needed an oaky chardonnay STAT to accompany the dinner.  The Husband, being a good sport, immediately ran out to get me some...and brought back a Clos Du Bois Chardonnay, otherwise known as The Oakiest Wine EVER.  And it went perfect.  The Achiever rocked last night's dinner.

Eat, drink, and figure out which personality type best fits Viognier...

Bacon and Bleu Cheese "Cake"

When Confections of a Foodie Bride shared her recipe for Bacon and Bleu Cheese "Cake", I knew I must make it. First, I have a deep love for bleu cheese (any cheese, really) and, second, Adam is fond of saying that "bacon makes everything better." When I told him that the recipe required that the loaf pan be greased with the rendered bacon fat, I think he actually swooned. Here are the results and Foodie Bride's recipe:

Bleu Cheese and Bacon “Cake”
8 strips (5oz) of bacon or pancetta, cooked to a crisp, grease reserved for later use*
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 small bunch of chives, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup) or scallions
5 oz well crumbled bleu cheese or Roquefort**
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

**To make the bleu cheese easier to crumble, put in in the freezer to firm a bit.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan, reserving the grease. When the bacon has cooled, crumble.

Grease a 9-inch loaf pan (or a 10-inch pan) with reserved bacon grease and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, chili powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, yogurt, mustard and chives until smooth. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to stir in the wet mixture, stirring just until the wet ingredients are almost incorporated. (there should be a bit of flour still visible). Do not over mix. Fold in the bleu cheese, parmesan, and bacon bits until everything is just moistened. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour (45 minutes was enough for a 10-inch pan), until the top is golden brown and the cake springs back when you gently touch the center. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then tilt it out onto a wire cooling rack. Peel off the parchment paper and let cool upright before slicing.

Storage: The cake can be wrapped in plastic and kept for up to three days. It can also be frozen, well-wrapped, for up to two months.

Yields: One 9-inch loaf cake
Source: Adapted from Parisian Desserts, by David Lebovitz

I served this as a main dish with a light salad on the side. It was very interesting...it took us a couple bites before we got used to eating bacon...in a cake. But overall the effect was surprising and unique. I used bacon, but I felt that the smoky flavor was too overpowering so I'll try pancetta next time. Also, I would have liked more punch from the bleu cheese so, next time, I'll crumble some over the top 5 minutes before the cake is done. Last, I used the 9-inch loaf pan and thought it was a bit too dry so I'll cut the time by about 10 minutes next time and see how that goes. I drank Bridlewood Viognier with this, which was a good fit since it was light enough for the salad but still full-bodied enough to match the bacon (Adam drank a glass of Blue Point's Toasted Lager).

Eat, drink, and put bacon in everything

A phoenix rising from the ashes

So here were the ashes last night:


This pathetic mess is the Cabbage Galette recipe from My French Kitchen by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde. Based on the photo in the book, I expected soft green cabbage and a golden crust. So I kept looking through the window of the oven, wondering what the hell was going on. Then I realized: CRAP! I forgot to add two eggs to the crust mixture!!!! No wonder I didn't have enough to cover the top of the galette! No wonder I wasn't getting a golden crust! But with only 10 minutes left on the timer, I decided to keep it in the oven. When time was up, I took it out and noticed the cabbage was still raw and crunchy. Wha...?!?! I checked the recipe... CRAP! I forgot to blanche the cabbage first! It was just SO BAD that I laughed and told the husband to just dump it. Wanna hear why this happened? Because I was actually home by myself when I was making it versus the usual mid-week madness of my kiddo's homework and a schedule to stick to. I actually had time. So I leisurely prepared it, drinking wine and singing along to music. I got lazy. I wasn't vigilant. And this is what happens. I always knew I worked better under pressure but I learned last night just how true that is.

And here's the phoenix:


Instead I made the dinner I originally had planned for this evening: Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Christmas Salad. It was the first time I had made it (also the first time I tried the Cabbage Galette), and I can't even express to you how simple it is, yet how rich it is in flavor. First you start off with the mozzarella di bufala, which is on the bottom, and you sprinkle salt, pepper, and freshly grated lemon zest on it (Layer 1). Then the recipe calls for clementine slices next, but I used peeled cara cara oranges (Layer 2). Then you dress some salad greens in lemon-oil dressing and wrap them in some speck (smoked proscuitto, Layer 3). Then the recipe calls for shaved Parmigiano Reggiano on top, but I used pecorino romano, which didn't work so well - use Parmigiano Reggiano like Jamie says (Layer 4). Last, finish with a sprinkling of aged balsamic vinegar (Layer 5). It was textured, rich, and simple. It tasted decadent but was still surprisingly light on its feet. And it paired splendidly with the Bridlewood Viognier I had already poured. The best part? It took me about 20 minutes to pull together after my cabbage galette debacle.

Bon appètit!