Fork and Gobble It: Don't Lose Your Head

I have a new favorite place to get fresh seafood. A large Korean supermaket, Hmart, is as I have previously reported, a store like I have never seen. Tanks of live fish from which you can choose your dinner, tables of whole and fileted fish of impeccable quality, but what has catching my attention lately is the shrimp counter. Head on and apparently never frozen shrimp for way cheap.

Here in the interior of the NYC suburbs seeing shrimp with their heads on is a bit of a novelty. We have been carefully trained to see our food as... well, food... and not anything that resembles something that was once living. The most often heard comment I can reference is something along the lines of not wanting to look at dinner when it is still apparently looking up at you. This is an attitude that is especially prevalent in the metropolitan areas of this country. Heads, tails, eyes, are not welcome on some peoples' plates. I see it as a kind of anesthesia or sterilization of the mind. Seeing the thing that you are about consume as a whole or close to it should impart the notion of fresh and clean. It's those foodstuffs that are so processed and manipulated that should make you squeamish.

Anyway, I decided that in my house we'll get used to seeing shrimp with their heads on because they're so fresh and so cheap that I'd be a fool not to buy them that way. Plus the real bonus for those in the know is that shrimp head are rich with really tasty fat.

Bonafide fresh shrimp eaters know that sucking that fat out of the head is one of the true great pleasures of life. I picked up two pounds of these beauties and brought them home with the intention of making something instantly filling and yet not heavy since it is still about 90 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the day in the tail end of July.

A green salad with fresh corn and avocado and a pile of these magnificent crustaceans would do just fine. Fresh Jersey corn is coming in just fine now and I had some whole cobs leftover from the weekend that were still just as sweet as when I boiled them. I made a dressing of fresh garlic, dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, and rice wine vinegar, olive oil and sesame oil. Mesclun greens and diced avocado, the leftover corn kernels scraped from the cob, tomato, and cucumber made up the salad. I made up a marinade of lime juice, soy sauce, fresh grated ginger, garlic and chile paste, and olive oil, and tossed the shrimp in it.

I lit the grill because I frequently will saute outside to avoid having to clean up in the kitchen. When the fire was hot enough I place a steel pan on it and let it get screaming hot. In went the shrimp sizzling 'til they were just done.

We piled them up next to the green salad and ate them with gusto. The beverage of choice was a Portuguese white wine called Fado. An Alentejano white, which means it is from the region of Alentejo. The grapes are closely related to the whites of nearby Spain and are bright, citrusy, and light. They match the seafood of the region perfectly and even better, they are very inexpensive.

The meal was cheap, exotically delicious, and easy to prepare and clean up. If the shrimp were looking up at me, they must have been thinking, "Job Well Done."

Debbie Miller Nelson's Trip to France, Part 4

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In June 2011, Debbie Miller Nelson, Wine Manager of the Iselin store had the privilege of traveling to France and immersing herself in French food, culture, and most importantly, wine! Here is the 4th installment of Debbie’s trip.

It is Tuesday and we have a one hour drive to Pouilly Fuisse which is great since we stayed up so late in the hot tub! Our first trip of the day was to visit Antoine Vincent at his home and winery. Antoine is a great guy who has officially taken over for his father Jean- Jacques (who later joined us for lunch).


Antoine does have vineyards behind his home and he teaches us about the soil and the landscape of the area which is more like a bowl.


We explore the vineyards driving through town and I even have a great picture below which has the town of Pouilly and the town of Fuisse in it. Yes, it all makes sense to me now.


After our tour, we head back to the family dining room (which looks more like a castle complete with a full set of knight’s armor – Martin from Frederick Wildman put the head armor on) and enjoy a 2010 barrel tasting of the whites and then their first ever Beaujolais which is phenomenol!






When we are finished, Antoine’s wife and mother treat us to a buffet lunch with meats, cheeses, smoked salmon, an egg delicacy, veggies and the highlight – chocolate mousse that his mom made. This was the best chocolate mousse I had ever tasted. It was light and fluffy with raisins macerated in rum. Antoine kept saying to his mom, you were really heavy handed with the rum. She just shrugged. Gotta love his mom! Antoine invited me to work a harvest… I wonder if my bosses would let me go?


Deb’s Spotlight
JJ Vincent Pouilly-Fuisse 2008
The wine has a bright nose of lemon and pineapple. It is crisp with great acidity and minerality with a silky finish and flavors of tropical fruits. A nice wine to pair with tilapia or roast chicken.

Joe Canal's Presents Blackheart Rum!

Joe Canal's is excited to announce the arrival of Blackheart Rum!

They called her Blackheart. She was bold and bawdy. Cunning and cutthroat. Sexy and seductive. She fought like a man. She drank like a man, but she was every inch a woman. She had a body that entranced and a lusty look that turned boys into men and men into blubbering fools. Every man wanted her. Every woman wanted to be her. No man could resist her. But few could have her.

No one knows where she came from. Some say she was a mermaid who lived as a human for a few rowdy and rambunctious years. Some say she was a princess who ran off to sea to live wild and carefree before she returned to her castle. Some say she was the daughter of Aphrodite herself.

What is known is that she left a trail of broken hearts wherever she traveled. That’s how she came to be known as Blackheart.

Here’s the rum she drank to celebrate her conquests—93 proof Blackheart Premium Spiced Rum.

Blackheart Rum
750ML - only $13.99!

Debbie Miller Nelson's Trip to France, Part 3

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In June 2011, Debbie Miller Nelson, Wine Manager of the Iselin store had the privilege of traveling to France and immersing herself in French food, culture, and most importantly, wine! Here is the 2nd installment of Debbie’s trip.

After we leave a Leflaive and have lunch, it’s time to drive to Beaujolais to meet Stephane Aviron, a 40-year old negociant who learned the business from his father. His winery looks more like a barn with the big doors facing the vineyards and a real basement where he ages his wines. We go on a brief tour where Stephane shows us the underground fermenting tanks and the other side if the tanks where the grapes come out.



Stephane then brings us to the cellar to taste 2010 barrel samples. One of the questions that arises is about aged Beaujolaises. Can they age well? So, Stephane looks around and starts to open 94, 95, 97 and 99 Chinon. 1994 was Stephan’s first vintage and it was the best of the four. He bestowed one of his remaining bottles of 1994 on the group.

We bid farewell and nap until dinner in the van which happens to be at Patrick and Annick Leflaive’s house.

Before we go their house, we have to go back to the hotel to pick up Alex who missed his initial flight and took the next flight out on Monday, then the train and a taxi to the hotel. With the full group finally together we drive to Patrick Leflaive’s house.

After our initial meet and greet we are surprised to see the one and only Olivier Leflaive arrive in time for drinks and dinner.

We chat in the backyard over Leflaive whites, one of my traveling companions bounces on the grandchild’s trampoline and we enjoy their appetizers in the yard. Olivier insists that I sit next to him at dinner and I do. He is quite the charmer and even finagled some kisses from me.

Annick makes us a home cooked seafood stew over rice, salad, cheese and a bread pudding for dessert. I finally convince her to let their family dog go free so we can enjoy his company as well and she does.

The Leflaives regale us with stories of their youth, the war and family (Olivier has a 4-year old son in addition to his adult children). It was a great evening. They even opened a magnum of 05 Batard-Montrachet and Patrick invited me to work a harvest. Olivier did say something about needing a new wife, hmm.

After we head back to the hotel where a few of us enjoy the hot tub and open a bottle of Dujac.

Life is good!

Fork and Gobble It: Texas Brisket and a Shortcut

My food magazines are bombarding me, as they always do this time of year, with BBQ articles and recipes. They start slowly in May and by July they are roaring about the virtues of charcoal, hardwood smoke, and a thousand variations on barbecue sauce.

I had a Sunday last month that was free enough for me to mentally commit to cooking a beef brisket Texas style. That means slow smoking with hardwood charcoal in order to tenderize and impart flavor just as you would braise a tough cut of beef. Slow cooking turns fats and collagen, the connective tissue in muscle meat, tender and moist, and makes a tougher, more muscular cut of meat a tender, delicious treat.

A whole beef brisket is made up of two pieces, the point and the flat, that are connected by a thin layer of fat and tissue. Usually you can opt to buy the whole, or one or the other of the smaller cuts. I purchased a flat cut weighing in at about 6 pounds. For this particular type of barbecue I would start by seasoning the meat with a mix of salt and pepper and other seasoning collectively called a dry rub.

Brisket Dry Rub

-¼ cup Kosher salt
-2 TBSP ground black pepper
-2 TBSP chili powder
-½ Tsp cayenne pepper
-1 Tsp garlic powder

Mix together well and rub liberally all over the brisket.

This cut is the “flat” portion of the brisket. I chose it because of the two parts, it is evenly sized, has less external fat (but lots of collagen to cook tender), and is usually the smaller of the two pieces. While this was going on, I started a hardwood charcoal fire in my Weber kettle. When the coals were ready, I moved them all to one side of the grill. I placed an aluminum pan in the grill next to the coals and filled it with water. I then added a few chunks of hickory wood to the embers. I then put the grill grate back in place. Once I got some good smoke coming off the fire, I put the brisket on the grill over the water pan and placed an oven thermometer in the kettle next to the brisket. I turned the dampers on the grill almost completely closed. My goal was to keep the temperature inside the covered grill at about 225F.

Three and a half hours of smoke and I brought the meat inside. BBQ purists would say keep it in the smoker until it is done. On the grill I think it would have taken another 6 hours, which I didn't have. I place the meat on a half sheet pan and dumped a full beer (Blue Moon Belgian White) over it.

I covered it with foil and put it into a 225F convection oven. Another three hours and voila', she was done. I took the meat out of the oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes. When I started slicing it, it was obviously very moist and very tender. I cheated a little bit in the eyes of BBQ purists, but my results were supreme.

Served up with a potato salad I'd made the night before, and some fresh corn on the cob, it was heavenly.

We washed that all down with some Caymus Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. One of my favorite Cali Cabs, still delivers for it quality to price ratio. Great wine for well under $100.00.

When I have the time, I'll cook the meat all the way over smoke, but it's nice to know I can get killer results in a little less time.

Debbie Miller Nelson's Trip to France, Part 2

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In June 2011, Debbie Miller Nelson, Wine Manager of the Iselin store had the privilege of traveling to France and immersing herself in French food, culture, and most importantly, wine! Here is the 2nd installment of Debbie’s trip.

It happens to be a holiday on this day Monday, June 12th - All Saints Day. The Wildman group had to juggle their usual schedule around to accommodate who would actually see us today. Off we head to Maison Olivier Leflaive in the town of Puligny about 20 minutes away. The winery produces about 80,000 bottles every year – mostly white and unbeknownst to us, we are in for an amazing day with a cast of characters.

At Leflaive we are met by Cellar Master Franck Grux who recently is recovering from a soccer accident playing with his son. He looks a little like actor Tim Curry and Franck is anxious to show us the ropes.

But first a side bar on the vineyards in Burgundy. You know how you visit a winery and there is a big house with their vineyards in the back? This is not the case here. In Burgundy, think of a big piece of land like a park that is owned by 50-60 people. Each person has a different sized piece of property and each is responsible for maintaining their own land. One owner might be able to plant 7 trees and other 50 trees while the owner right next to him may only be able to plant one tree. The house the owners live in and work in is somewhere else. This is Burgundy.

We piled into the van so that Franck could take us on a tour of the vineyards. It is here that I finally “get it”. All the vines of all the owners are in one plot. This guy owns a few rows, that guy a few plants, but I get it now. And I could walk across the short street, 10 feet or so to walk from Bougorgno Rouge across the street to Montrachet. Cool.

I learned that Leflaive uses no technology at all. All the oak is French and the grapes are hand picked and the wine is made as organic and natural as it can be.

After the tour, we head over to the winery for a 2010 barrel tasting and work up quite an appetite. When the tasting ends we bump into none other than Patrick Leflaive, Olivier’s brother for a brief hello while he smokes outside and bid him farewell until later. We were having dinner at his house that evening.

Lunch was outside at Le Montrachet, a short walk from Leflaive. At lunch I was able to taste current vintages of wine of Leflaive wines paired with wonderful light cuisine and of course, cheese.

Stay tuned next time for a visit in Beaujolais!





Deb’s Spotlight
Olivier Leflaive Les Setilles Bourgogno Blanc 2008
A buttery nose with citrus, hazelnuts, pineapple and pine cone. It is full and creamy with a zingy acidity that could cut through a creamy dish like lobster bisque or corn chowder or just the lobster with drawn butter.

Debbie Also Recommends
Olivier Leflaive Batard Montrachet 2006 $299.99
Olivier Leflaive Batard Montrachet 2004 $174.99
Olivier Leflaive Chassagne Montrachet 1er Clos St Marc 2005 $61.99
Olivier Leflaive Chablis 2008 $20.00

Joe Canal's Presents King's Highway!

Joe Canal's is excited to announce the arrival of King's Highway Cabernet Sauvignon!

King's Highway was built in 1650, by order of Charles II of England to be a mail route from Boston, Massachusetts to Charleston, South Carolina. The colonists first used this trail to deliver the mail using post riders. Later, the newly-blazed trail was widened and smoothed to the point where horse-drawn wagons or stagecoaches could use the road. During the 19th century, turnpike companies took over and improved pieces of the road. Much of King's Highway is now U.S. Route 1, the very road where our two stores thrive today!

This new exclusive label for Joe Canal's is sure to be an instant hit! The Cab has aromas of blackberry, mint, blueberry and vanilla. It is full-bodied with great fruit like plums, cassis and blackberries and some earthy elements like eucalyptus. Give it time to unwind and enjoy with grilled pork ribs or filet mignon. An excellent value!

This special wine can ONLY be found at Joe Canal's Lawrenceville and Woodbridge locations! Stop in today and grab a few bottles to enjoy!

King's Highway Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Regular Price $10.99 / BottleClub Price $8.96

Debbie Miller Nelson's Trip to France, Part 1

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In June 2011, Debbie Miller Nelson, Wine Manager of the Iselin store had the privilege of traveling to France and immersing herself in French food, culture, and most importantly, wine! Here is the 1st installment of Debbie’s trip.

On Saturday, June 11th, I left NJ by plane to the unknown. I was meeting a group of people from New York that I have never met before in a country that I have never visited before and I was arriving in a separate terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport than everyone else. Tricky? You bet! I did see the Eiffel Tower during landing! I had arrived!

I arrived at the airport a few minutes late from my expected time, and my only task was to call the group leader as soon as I arrived. There was only one small problem… my phone that I specifically rented for this very function had died in transit. I tried using the pay phone with my Am Ex, only to get a recording of an operator in New Zealand. Huh? I tried again and again with no success while a line built behind me. Frantic that the group was waiting for me on the other side of the airport, I went to the tourism desk to ask for advice. She would have dialed for me had the number been local, but she suggested that I go to the newsstand and ask for a “ticket”. This is equivalent to a phone card, but there are a series of numbers and prompts to enter based on this purchase. I purchased my ticket for a mere $7.50 euro and headed back to the same US phone. No luck. 45 minutes had now passed since I left the exit. Not speaking French, alone and concerned, I may have cried a little and someone noticed. A very nice French man offered his assistance, used the French phone and handed me the phone when my group leader answered. Viva la France!

John Little from our distributor from Frederick Wildman & Sons, my group leader, advised me to hang tight as another guest was nowhere to be found and they were trying to assess if he even got on the plane. I went outside for some air and waited, and waited… After an hour, I went back to the phone and called him again (now that I knew which phone to use!) He said they were in the rental car and on the way. Another 45 minutes passed and John finally arrived. They didn’t leave without me!! I could have kissed him.

Indeed, we found out later that Alex, the missing guest had missed his flight. So, I met the remainder of the group and we drove to Beaune. We stopped halfway at a rest stop for lunch – so Parisian and fancy for a rest stop… and finally arrived at our hotel after a 5 hour journey.

Our hotel was the La Terre d’Or. It was a house at the top of the mountain overlooking vineyards. More like a Bed & Breakfast. It had a pool with a terrace overlooking the countryside and through the kitchen you went through a door that went to the basement to the "cellar." It was a cave where proprietor John-Louis kept his wine and his Jacuzzi. Happy days!

The house had 5 rooms, each with their own bath and a separate house with 2 rooms as well as an outside pool. The Wildman crew stayed in the separate house and John-Louis suggested that the “queens” (myself & a female Sommelier) choose their rooms. As we looked around, one room was more beautiful than the next. Three rooms upstairs, one on the main floor and one with an outside entrance to the “bridal suite” which may have been a servants quarter at one time. As we flipped a coin for the bridal suite (hey it was huge with 2 sinks!) she won and then promptly decided against the room. Yay me! 5 nights in the bridal suite. Work is hard!

That night we were taken to Maison Lameloise, a 3-star Michelin guide restaurant and treated to a 7-course meal. I actually lost count, but I do have the menu. We started off with seats in the parlor. It looked more like a hotel than a restaurant. We enjoyed a Magnum of Bollinger Champagne that was opened with absolutely no sound by the Sommelier apprentice (He looked 10 years old).

Snacks such as potato chips flavored with escargot, fois gras, fish cakes, salmon spread, olives and other bite sized delights flew out of the kitchen.

We were seated for dinner in a beautiful, private room and the Wildman group thought that to get to know each other better and start conversation, we would taste all the 5 wines…blind!



I was nervous actually. They were going to see how uneducated in Burgundy wines I really was. But, I held my own and it was fun. Our Sommelier was delighted to fool the Americans! He had these bottle huggies with question marks on them ($40 euro for a set of 4 – I thought brown paper bags were just as efficient).

My favorite of the night was the enormous cheese cart! How to choose only 4?

Dinner ended at 1am. I couldn’t wait to start the winery visits. Life is good!

Deb Recommends:
Bollinger Brut Special Cuvee NV $51.99
A rich, smoky Champagne, with hints of marzipan and fennel seed accenting honeyed malt, bread dough, baked apple and gingersnap flavors. It's all focused by intense acidity, which meshes beautifully into the layers of flavor and refined texture, with a lingering finish. Wine Spectator 94 Points

Fork and Gobble It: Summertime Blues

A recent discussion with one of my dog park buddies led to the joys of grilled bluefish. That brought up the question of where does one get fresh bluefish? An East Coast thing, and to be sure, a Jersey thing, bluefish are a species that are the quarry of dayboat fishermen. They put up a great fight and are plentiful. Because their flesh is very oily and thereby quick to spoil, they are not a good commercial catch. However, when cut and eaten the same day they are caught, they are meaty, toothsome, and delicious.


On the way home that day I stopped by a new Korean/Asian supermarket. Hmart is a supermarket like I have never seen. The fish counter, which boasts a daily catch brought from Fulton Fish Market, is amazing. There are tanks of live fish that you may choose your dinner from, and long counters of fileted and whole fish that appear to be just hours out of the water. As I walked the length of the counter there they were whole bluefish that, by their appearance, could have still been alive. I asked the attendant behind the counter to show me the gills of the fish. If they are bright red that would confirm that they were indeed very fresh. Those gills were very bright red and I chose a pair of those blues to take home for dinner. Hmart will filet the fish for you, but I was all about doing it all myself I took them as is.

Waxing creative that night, I decided to grill the filets with a little bit of mesquite smoke, and then flake the meat for fish tacos. I prepared a salsa fresca from plum tomatoes, onion, cilantro, sea salt, and habanero pepper.

I diced some fresh avocado, finely shredded some white cabbage and proceeded to filet the fish. To the right, you will see the gills - this is the color that the gills should be when you purchase whole fish like this.

Fileting a fish is a skill you learn from your Uncle or your Dad, or as I did, in culinary school. If you aren't familiar with the technique, you can take advantage of the attendants at the fish counter if they avail themselves. Once I had the filets cut I could again see from the bright color of the fish's flesh and bloodlines how fresh they really were.

I got my grill going and added a couple of chunks of mesquite wood to give the filets just a kiss of smoke. A few minutes on the grill and they were done. I allowed them to cool for a minute or two and flaked the meat off the skin. Those were some mighty fine tacos.

We paired them up with a rose. The 2010 Bandol rose' from Domaine Tempier was a perfect match. A fuller style of rose' made from 100% Mourvedre, it had the enough fruit while still being perfectly dry. It also showed good acidity, and a really nice mineral note. Tempier roses are also known for their ability to age. We chose to drink this one young and fresh to match up to our fish. The perfect foil for these summertime blues.