Chillin' and Grillin'

With the weather turning decidedly toward summer over the last few days, many of us are doing more grilling. Sometimes it's for flavor, and sometimes it's just to keep extra heat out of the house. Whatever your reasons for grilling, and whether you're gas or charcoal, our industry partners have some great ideas and pairings.

Grilled Salmon with Creole Mustard-Tarragon Sauce

Recipe courtesy Chateau Ste. Michelle.

8- 6oz salmon fillets
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 lemon
Creole mustard-tarragon sauce, recipe follows

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat grill to medium-high.

Rub salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place salmon on grill and cook about 2 minutes. Rotate 90 degrees to make cross hatch marks on the flesh and cook 2 more minutes. Turn fish over and cook 2-3 minutes; rotate 90° again and cook a few more minutes. Depending on the thickness of the fish, it may take more or less time. Transfer salmon to a serving platter and squeeze lemon juice over each piece. Drizzle with Creole Mustard-Tarragon Sauce sauce and serve.

Creole Mustard-Tarragon Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp chopped shallots
1 cup dry white wine - Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay
¾ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup heavy cream
4 Tbsp Creole mustard
8 oz unsalted butter, softened & cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place shallots, wine and vinegar in a heavy non-reactive saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until liquid is reduced to about ¼ cup. Add cream and return to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half and slightly thickened. Whisk in creole mustard. Remove from heat and whisk in butter a few pieces at a time, incorporating each piece before adding the next. If the sauce cools too much to fully incorporate the butter, place over low heat for a minute, but do not boil. Stir in tarragon, lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pair with Chateau Ste. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris

Blue Cheese Burger with Chive Aioli

Recipe courtesy St. Francis Winery & Vineyards

Ingredients:

1½ pounds ground beef
1 large red onion, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch rounds
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
½ cup mayonnaise
1 bunch chives, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, finely minced
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Salt and black pepper
Sliced tomatoes and baby spinach for garnish
4 Hamburger buns

Preparation:

Coat the sliced red onion with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and marinate for about 1 hour.

Mix the chives, garlic and mayonnaise together and reserve for later use.

Preheat a grill or cast iron griddle pan over medium high heat.

Form the ground beef into 4 to 6-ounce patties about 5 inches in diameter.

Grill the onion slices on the preheated grill for 2-3 minutes per side or until well marked and just tender. Remove onions from the grill and reserve someplace warm.

Season both sides of the hamburger patties with salt and black pepper and lightly coat with olive oil. Place the patties on the preheated grill and cook about 3 minutes per side for medium or until desired temperature. When the burgers are nearly done, distribute the crumbled blue cheese evenly over the 4 patties so the cheese begins to melt. Remove the patties and reserve.

To assemble; spread a liberal amount of the chive aioli over the bottom piece of each bun and add the finished burgers. Garnish with grilled onions, tomatoes and baby spinach as desired.

Serve immediately, with St. Francis Old Vine Zinfandel.

Ommegang Summer Chicken with Orange Hennepin Glaze

Recipe courtesy of Brewery Ommegang

CHICKEN
1 large roasting chicken, cut up
1 cup Ommegang
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup olive oil
1 bunch of scallions, both white and green stems snipped
3 chopped garlic cloves
3 Tbsp. orange zest
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes a pinch of salt and pepper

MARINADE
1 cup orange marmalade
1 cup Hennepin
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp. Allspice

CHICKEN
Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken, marinate for 1 hour. Grill the chicken or roast it in a 425 degree oven.

MARINADE
Heat ingredients together and brush over grilled or roasted chicken. Serve with Cranberry Almond Rice.

Serves 4 to 6

Provide by Elena’s Sweet Indulgence, Oneonta, NY. Enjoy with Ommegang Hennepin.

Pineapple Bourbon Pork Tenderloin

Recipe courtesy of Evan Williams Bourbon.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. pork tenderloin
1/2 cup Evan Williams Bourbon
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pineapple, peeled and cored
1 cup Evan Williams Bourbon
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar

Instructions:
Place pork tenderloin in plastic bag with blended marinade ingredients and set in refrigerator to marinate overnight. Cut pineapple into 1/2 inch pieces and mix with remaining ingredients in heavy saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer uncovered for about 40 minutes or until sauce reaches a marmalade consistency. Remove pork from marinade and grill over hot coals for about 20 minutes. Slice pork and spoon sauce over the top.

Fireball BBQ Chicken

Sweet mustard chicken with a hint of cinnamon and whisky. Courtesy of Fireball Whisky.

12 chicken thighs
4 tablespoons yellow mustard
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 teaspoons Fireball Whisky (for the rub)
1/8 cup Fireball Whisky (for the sauce)
12 oz of your favorite BBQ sauce
Your favorite BBQ Rub

In a bowl mix the mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and 4 teaspoons of Fireball Whisky. Partially remove skin and fully coat chicken with 1/3 of the mixture and sprinkle on your rub. Put skin back on and coat with the rest of the mustard mixture and more rub. Grill chicken until done. In a separate pan, mix BBQ sauce and 1/8 cup Fireball Whisky on low heat until sauce is well mixed and warm. Use this as a dipping sauce or coat chicken with sauce.

If You Cook It, They Will Come

On occasion, we like to offer up some interesting recipes from our winery partners. We're regularly asked about pairing wines with food, and we know these recipes pair perfectly with items that we have on our shelves.

Merry Edwards produces some of the best Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, period. Their Dolce Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, like much of the Merry Edwards collection, typically rates over 90 points in Wine Spectator. Merry Edwards wines also do very well in restaurants; in the 24th annual poll by Wine & Spirits Magazine, released in April 2013, Merry Edwards was ranked #4 Pinot Noir, #6 Sauvignon Blanc and #8 brand among the top 50 in restaurants.

With that kind of a background, don't we recommend scanning their web site recipe page when you're hungry. Here are two of our easy-to-make favorites:

Potato Crusted Salmon

Ingredients
1 russet potato, peeled and grated
4 6.5-ounce wild salmon fillets, pin bones removed and skin off
2 tablespoons tablespoons olive oil
pinch kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, mix the grated potatoes with some salt and pepper. Pack a 1/8 of an inch layer of the potato on the inside side of each fillet. Heat a large pan with the olive oil on medium high heat. When hot, add the salmon fillets potato side down. Cook until the potatoes are golden brown and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Flip and finish cooking to desired doneness, about 3 minutes for medium rare. Pair with the Merry Edwards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Serves 4

Crabmeat Mango Salad

Ingredients

6 ounces fresh ripe mango, diced into small cubes

1 tablespoon of chopped white onion

1 tablespoon chopped red bell pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

4 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat

6 ounces spring mix salad

Spring Mix Salad Dressing

Crabmeat Mango Sauce

Make the dressing for the Spring Mix Salad (see ingredients below) and toss with spring mix. Pile the spring mix in the bottom of the plate. For the best visual results use a shallow bowl. Pair with the Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc.

In a separate bowl, make the Crabmeat Mango Sauce (see ingredients below). Add the mango, white onion, red bell pepper and cilantro and crabmeat. Toss lightly. Place dressed crabmeat on top of the spring mix or use a mold to make it into a preferred shape.  

Spring Mix Salad Dressing

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon plum sauce

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and toss with the spring mix.

Crabmeat Mango Sauce

Ingredients

4 ounces mayonnaise

1 teaspoon horseradish

1 ounce Dijon mustard

Mix all ingredients together and see above.

Many of the wines we have for sale include the company web site, or QR code, or other identifier on the label. We all need cooking inspirations on occasion, and exploring the Merry Edwards web site, or the web site of another wine that you enjoy, can provide that inspiration.

  

Countdown to the Big Game, Woodbridge Style!

Here's a quick look at the free events and activities at our Woodbridge store in the 13 days leading up to the Big Game! The Bourbon Bowl and Allocated Beer release are detailed at our web site. Please read to the end for all of the important details.

Tuesday, January 21: Bacardi Gazebo Tent Raffle
Wednesday, January 22: Coby 15" TV Raffle

Thursday, January 23: Golf Bag Raffle
Friday, January 24: Autographed NY Jets Football Raffle
Saturday, January 25: Fire Pit Raffle
Sunday, January 26: Catered Big Game Party for 10 Raffle (Details TBA)
Monday, January 27: Shiner Bock Corn Hole Game Raffle
Tuesday, January 28: Bourbon Bowl, 6pm
Wednesday, January 29: Allocated Beer Release, 6pm (TBA); $15 Sam Adams Utopias pours (while supplies last)
Thursday, January 30: Golf Bag Raffle
Friday, January 31: Portable Yuengling Grill Raffle

Saturday, February 1: Antonio Cromartie Autographed NY Jets Helmet Raffle
Sunday, February 2: Slider Food Truck, 1pm-3pm; Raffle for 2 tickets to the 2014 NY Giants Home Opener

Official Rules: You must be 21 or older to enter any raffle or sample any alcoholic beverage. We reserve the right to request proper ID that conforms to the laws of the State of New Jersey (Valid Drivers License from any US State or Territory, Valid Passport or Valid US Military ID). Lack of proper ID may result in your disqualification. No purchase is necessary to enter. You must enter each raffle separately, and you may enter as many different raffles as you wish. One entry per raffle per person. You do not need to be present to win. Entries will only be accepted in the store. Void if prohibited by law. Agenda is subject to change without notice.

We will collect and draw the raffle tickets separately each day. For example, to enter to win the NY Giants tickets, you must submit an entry form only on Sunday, February 2. There will be no exceptions to this rule.

The raffles on Sunday, January 26 and Sunday, February 2 will be drawn at 5pm. All the other raffles will be drawn at 9pm. The decisions of the Store Manager are final.               

Cooking with Joe Canal's

It's the time of year when home-made everything seems to be a first choice, even with our busy lives. We thought we'd share a few recipes with you that include ingredients that you can find at our stores.

Bourbon Chocolate Bread Pudding (from food52.com)
Serves 6

•     2 cups whole milk
•     4 eggs
•     1/3 cup bourbon
•     8 ounces 72% dark chocolate, chopped
•     4 cups day-old French bread cubes (packed)
•     1/2 cup turbinado sugar

-Preheat oven to 350.

-Whisk together milk, eggs, and bourbon. In a large bowl, combine the liquids with the chocolate, bread cubes, and sugar. Toss to coat and set aside to soak for about 45 minutes. Gently stir once or twice while soaking.

-Pour mixture into a 1.5 quart baking dish. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the custard has set and the top of the pudding is slightly crispy (be careful not to overcook). Serve warm or at warm temperature.

If you need Bourbon for this recipe only, ask at Customer Service for 375ML ("pint") or 200ML ("half-pint") bottles. We carry Knob Creek in the pint size at both stores, and Jim Beam and Woodford Reserve are available in Lawrenceville.

Pasta with Shrimp, Spinach and Lemon Garlic

Several Joe Canal's team members visited St. Francis Winery, in Sonoma County, earlier this year. They have an award-winning restaurant there, and were just voted Best Restaurant in the US by Open Table readers. This dish, which will pair beautifully with the St. Francis Sonoma Chardonnay, is best viewed at their web site: Pasta with Shrimp, Spinach, and Lemon-Garlic - Pasta - Categories - Recipes - Culinary - St. Francis Winery & Vineyards

If you enjoy cooking, you should definitely check their many other recipes.

 

Corn-Jalapeno Cakes with Smoked Salmon

From Chateau Ste. Michelle. Follow the link to the recipe and pair with their Sauvignon Blanc.

http://www.ste-michelle.com/wine-and-food/recipes/corn-jalapeno-cakes-with-smoked-salmon

 

Main Course Suggestions

Castello Banfi, a winery that this writer was fortunate to have visited last year, offers a number of recipes for all courses on their web site. Follow/copy and paste this link for main course suggestions from the heart of Tuscany:

http://www.castellobanfi.com/pdf_files/MainCourses.pdf

 

Beer Braised Shrimp with Louisiana Salsa and Rice

From Abita Beer, who learned this from Rachel Ray. Again, follow/copy and paste the link. You'll be happy that you did:

http://abita.com/brews/recipes/beer-braised-shrimp-with-louisiana-salsa-and-rice

 

With just this small sampling of recipes, we've illustrated how the wine, beer and spirits that are available at Joe Canal's can add sop much to your meals. And we've also shown that our partner wineries, brewers and distillers can provide crowd-pleasing recipes on their own web sites. So when you need a fresh meal idea, check the web site for your favorite brand; they just might have the answer for you.

 

 

 

Wine 101: Barbecue

While this weekend may be a bust as Tropical Storm Andrea hits us with heavy rains, the summer weather is fast-approaching! Grills are being scraped for 2102 -- it's barbeque season! What's for dinner?

Barbeque is quick and easy. It's so simple to pull some meat out of the freezer and throw it on the grill. It's a fast and easy way to cook, it doesn't heat up the house, and the best thing about grilled food? It pairs beautifully with wine!

Burger: Burgers pair well with Zinfandel, an "All-American combo." The spiciness and fruitiness of the wine plays well off of a juicy grilled burger.

Chicken: Since most barbecue sauces are on the sweeter side, and a basic rule of pairings is that wines should be sweeter than the sauces on the foods you're eating them with, try an unctuous Vouvray.

Ribs: Ribs pair well with a nice Rioja, the smokiness and acidity of the tempranillo grape complements the smoky flavor of the ribs, as well as their fatty content.

Steak: When Cabernet Sauvignon is paired with steak, the tannins are neutralized, allowing the fruits of the wine to be more noticeable.

Kabobs or Vegetables: When you've got vegetarians in your family or are just in the mood for a light, refreshing meal, choose either a Barbera, or a dry Rose when grilling up veggies or kabobs!

Dessert Wine Pairings

Ahh, the holidays. A time when we're not afraid to loosen our belts a couple notches and allow ourselves to indulge a little more than we normally would the rest of the year. With all the tempting cookies, cakes and other sweet desserts filling our tables, how could we not? Here's a guide to what wines to serve with the desserts on your holiday table.

A couple basic rules on dessert pairings: You should never serve a dessert food that's sweeter than the wine you plan to serve it with. For example, don't serve a light Riesling with a rich, dark chocolate lava cake - much like a Chardonnay with a barbecued steak, the flavors will clash. Also, if you're serving a large, lavish dinner, and the meal with a lighter wine, as opposed to a heavy, super-sweet full-bodied wine.

A good rule of thumb according to some wine experts is that as the color of the desserts get darker, so do the wines.

Rieslings and Sparkling Wines: Work well with vanilla flavors, and custard-filled pastries. The wine will play off the buttery flavors in the pastry.

Sauternes: Tend to go well with light fruity desserts that include peaches or apples. Also, if you're serving a sauterne you may want to skip the sweets entirely and choose instead to lay out some cheese. Sauternes and Roquefort cheese are a match made in heaven. Try other blue-veined cheese like Stilton or Gorgonzola.

Moscato or Muscat: Wines are made to be drank with fruity desserts. Also pair them with a sweet Mascarpone Cheese.

Madeira: Is another wine that would be well-suited to a nice plate of cheese. Also working with the blue-veined cheeses, Gruyere's nutty characteristics will work wonderfully with Madeira. You may also try serving Madeira with a nut-based dessert.

Ports: A classic pair, a nice port compliments chocolate fantastically. Both sweet and rich, they'll dance in your mouth. Any dessert with nuts will also go great with port, which tends to have a has a nutty flavor on its own. Walnuts work especially well because they are tannic, and the sweetness of the port will counteract that.

Ice Wine: I've read Ice Wine referred to as "a dessert in itself," so pour a glass of this and enjoy it for the rich treat it is!

Why red wine and red meat pair so well

It's always interesting to explore the science behind why some things are so darn delicious!

For any gourmand who has ever wondered why certain wines pair so well with a hearty steak, or how a palate-cleansing sorbet works its magic between courses, science has an answer now.

Oral astringents -- substances that elicit a "rough" or "dry" taste, such as high-tannin wines -- occupy the exact opposite end of a taste spectrum relative to substances with fatty, or "slippery" qualities, such as steak, according to a study published Monday in the journal Current Biology.

Because the dry wine and slippery beef tastes are opposites, they are constantly working to undercut, or reduce, the opposing sensation during the course of a meal, the study said. If diners sipped only water with their steak, they would perceive much more quickly the sensation that their mouths had become coated with fatty, or slippery, substances, it said.

"The opposition between fatty and astringent sensations allows us to eat fatty foods more easily if we also ingest astringents with them," said study author Paul Breslin of Rutgers University and the Monell Chemical Senses Center.

The researchers found that astringent sustances such as wine, tea, sorbets and pickles need not be strong to oppose fatty sensations. That's because the overall sensation of dryness or roughness builds with each bite or sip.

The affinity that people have for oppositely paired tastes may be due to the body's need for a diverse diet, according to Breslin.

"The mouth is a magnificently sensitive somatosensory organ, arguably the most sensitive in the body," he said. "The way foods make our mouths feel has a great deal to do with what foods we eat."

This article was written by Monte Morin and originally published on latimes.com.

A Guide to BYOB

Buying wine at a restaurant can be ridiculously expensive. You could end up paying 3 times more than you would here at Joe Canal's at a nice restaurant. There's a way past that, however: BYOB. There are quite a few BYOB restaurants in our area that make delicious food and have lovely ambiance. Why not scope out a local BYOB restaurant, and stop here on the way! One of our knowledgeable Wine Managers will be happy to help you choose the perfect bottle for your dinner, but here is a general list to guide you, based on the cuisine you'll be eating.

Chinese
Dominant flavors in Chinese food include ginger, garlic, sesame, soy sauce, chiles, and oyster, all of which fall into either the sweet or the salty taste group. This means that your best matches are going to be sweetish, spicy or fruity white wines. If you're going for reds, choose low-tannin, unoaked reds, because salty foods make a wine's tannins taste more bitter. Light, crisp roses or sparkling wines would also be a very good match, as their texture can either cut through any heaviness in a dish or underline the delicacy of more fragile ones, such as wontons or steamed dumplings.

Japanese
Overall flavors of Japanese cuisine are bitter and vinegary, with elements such as wasabi, vinegar, soy sauce, and onions. Therefore, you should avoid acidic wines and go for chilled, off-dry, fruity white wines and any sparkling wines with dishes like sushi or sashimi. For heavier dishes like tempura, choose fuller, fruitier styles like Champagne. Or, of course, you may opt for a bottle of traditional sake.

Thai Thai food has playful, contrasting tastes including lemongrass, citrus, chile, ginger, coriander and basil, and can often be difficult to match. Try a crisp, dry white like a Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. A fruity, robust Shiraz will also work well with this spicy chile or beef dishes.

Mexican
Very hot and spicy foods need equally spicy wines with a touch of residual sugar to counteract the spice. Try fruity whites and acidic roses to temper the heat. Low-tannin reds that are fruity and spicy like a Merlot or a Pinot Noir will also work.

Indian
What matches well with the Indian staple, curry? Stay away from the oak and stick to full-bodied wines. Possible matches include Merlots, Zinfandels, and Syrahs, a rose with samosas and pakoras, or a Gewurztraminer with tandoori.

Italian
While we could get into the specific flavors of Italian foods and pair precisely with the dishes (Riesling with gnocci, for example), why not do like the Romans do and drink Italian wines with your Italian dinner? Chianti is a traditional Italian staple and you can't go wrong with a bottle on your table. Other Italian wines that would be fantastic to grace your table with would be Barolos, Barbarescos or Barberas.

Fork and Gobble It: Gone Fishing

Winter has stalled. I can't recall a January with so many days of 50°F temps. I've taken advantage of the mild weather to get in some mid-winter grilling. After the bacchanal that was the holidays, I've been cooking a lot of fish. The challenge here is twofold. One, my wife was not a big fan of fish until she met me, so every time I introduce something new I have to make it so good she can't possibly look crossways at it. The other challenge is grilling the fish itself. I'm kind of a purist when it comes to grilling. I use a basic Weber Kettle and hardwood charcoal, nothing fancy. I've seen people have all sorts of trouble grilling fish, especially more delicate filets that are particularly difficult when they have the skin on them. But when you have the ability to do it well, you come away with a smoky, moist piece of fish with crisp skin that no one would turn their nose up at.

Tackling the grill issue is relatively simple once you figure out what really goes on when you put a piece of fish on a hot grill. What you don't want is for the fish to stick and then tear as you try to move it. For me it was a matter of getting the grill seasoned. That just comes from using it. Just like a cast iron skillet you need to develop a layer of carbon on the cooking surface that in a short period of time becomes more non-stick than any commercial substance. A few things I do to help the process along are 1)Make sure the grill is clean using a wire brush. 2) Have a rag or paper towel that has been lightly dipped in oil and quickly wipe the surface of the hot grill (careful!) just before putting the fish down on it. 3) Apply a little oil (or butter) to the surface of the fish prior to cooking. In the final analysis it is like riding a bike for the first time... you just have to do it.

A favorite preparation I make these days that is a big hit at home is Rainbow Trout stuffed with a compound butter of garlic and herbs. Good quality trout filets are fairly common in most good fish markets, as they are farm raised. I buy them fileted and boned as they are tedious to clean at home and I can't do it as well as what I can buy. I simply leave a couple of tablespoons of butter out on the counter to warm to room temperature. I add a little minced garlic and whatever fresh herbs I have on hand to it and mix it well. I spread this inside the trout filet like so...


This will baste the fish from the inside out, seasoning it and keeping it moist. I reserve just a little butter to smear on the skin side of the fish once I close it up. This helps keep it from sticking.


I place the filets on the hot grill and put the lid on. This acts as a damper and keeps the heat low and prevents flare ups that might occur as the butter melts. I cook the fish for about 2-3 minutes per side, and when it's done it looks like this:


Red Snapper is another fish that once you have the technique down, comes out great off the grill. Although it's true that Caribbean Reds are only in season in the late spring, there are varieties that come from foreign waters and when they are looking fresh and cheap, I don't resist.

Now Snapper is a fish that I will take the time to filet at home and maybe save some $$. If you feel comfortable doing so, I say go for it. As I pointed out in a blog about Bluefish, it can really save you some money if you have the skill. If not, then let the fishmonger do it for you.


After nearly 18 years working in restaurant kitchens and fileting hundreds of pounds of fish, I trust my own hands. This fish was so pristine that just a little olive oil, salt and pepper was all the dressing I gave it. Now if fish like this sticks it's gonna make for a messy presentation, but this is where the time spent seasoning the grill and learning (and messing a few filets up along the way) good technique really pays off.


Nice clean grill marks and a little browning make for an attractive looking plate. Patience and practice are also essential ingredients here.

So if the weather holds out I'll be playing around with a lot more presentations to see how far I can challenge my wife's palate. I like to grill squid and I'm wondering how that will fly.

On a completely unrelated wine note, Lambruscos are in again. Not Riunite or the like that swept the country in the '70s, but artisinal wines that are dry, food friendly, and really damn good. We now carry three from Cleto Chiarli, one of Italy's oldest producers of Lambrusco and I can readily attest that they are fantastic. Ask me and I'll happily direct you to them.

Fork and Gobble it: Scratch (and Peck) Turkey Chili

Fall + Football Season x Cold Weather (rainy/damp) = Chili

I love chili. I have made it with lots of different kinds of meats, from beef and pork and venison, to chicken and turkey. Lately we go back and forth between the beef version and the turkey version. I alternate in the interest of health. No question turkey is leaner, much leaner, but it also has flavor. One will never replace the other, but just as I couldn't live on a steady diet of Porterhouse steaks, I make adjustments in other dishes as well.

I will not get into the debate of what is real chili. That would be a whole other discussion which might never be resolved. The version I make is based on what I like, so yes it contains beans. It also mixes textures with half ground meat and half cubes, contains bell peppers and onions, and tomatoes. I grind and cube whatever meat I use myself, make my own chili powder, and take other steps to make a killer (if unorthodox) bowl of red.

The recipe here is the same one I use for beef and can be shortcut in many ways, so you can immerse yourself in this process as deeply as your ambition and time will allow. It yields about 6 quarts which can feed 12 very hungry people or 20 regular folks. I will be happy to help downsize it, just leave a comment below with your contact info and I'll get back to you.

Let's get going, this takes a while...

Your Shopping List
1 lb dried black beans
6 - 8 large Ancho chilies
16 dried Chipotle chilies
4 TBSP whole cumin seed
4 pounds turkey thighs (bone-in, skin on)
3 - 4 pounds turkey breast (½ breast bone-in, skin on if available)
Kosher Salt
2 large Spanish onions (about 1 ½ to 2 lbs.) ~ diced large
4 large bell peppers of various colors ~ seeded and diced large
2 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes
*for garnish if you like ~ Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream

First, take 1 lb of dried black beans, sort them for debris, and soak them in warm water. (You can opt for canned beans here and take the shortcut. I would use one 1 14 oz can + 1 28 oz can to equal 1 lb dry)

Next, prepare the chili powder (or use your favorite pre-ground). This is going to require a spice grinder. I use an inexpensive blade type coffee grinder.

I learned a long time ago that ground spices on the supermarket shelf can never compare to what is ground as it is needed. There is no way to preserve the freshness. I like mine assertive but not too hot because I don't assume everyone likes it as hot as me.

Take 8 whole Ancho chilies, and 15 chipotle chilies (dried, not in adobo) and toast them in a toaster oven, skillet, or regular oven. Toasting them intensifies their flavor and allows you to grind them into powder. Although they are dried, they still retain enough moisture to keep them leathery and impossible to grind. You will see them puff up when they get hot enough. Remove them from the heat about 30 seconds or so after they puff, fully taking care not to burn them. Set them aside to cool. Then, toast 4 tablespoons of whole cumin seeds. If you don't have a toaster oven, do this in a dry pan over a medium flame shaking them until they start to pop and become fragrant, then immediately remove them. Once the chilies are cool, break them apart to remove the stems and seeds. (If you are sensitive to capsaicin, you may want to wear rubber or latex gloves to do this.) Wash your hands well with soap and warm water afterward. Discard the stems and seeds and grind the chilies into powder in your spice grinder. I then grind the toasted cumin seeds and keep them separate. This usually yields more than enough chili powder. I like to control the amount of cumin I put in. Some store bought chili powders have cumin already mixed in which makes that impossible.

Drain the black beans, put them into a pot and cover them with cold water by at least 2 inches. They will about double in volume so make sure your pot is large enough. Bring them to a boil and the simmer them until they are tender, about an hour or so. Once they are tender simply shut off the flame and leave them in the pot.

While the beans are cooking, I prepare the meat. Turkey parts are cheaper and give me control as to how they are prepared. Ground turkey is more expensive but saves much time. That being said, I buy turkey thighs and bone them out to use for cubed meat. I reserve the bones in the freezer to save up for stock. Discard the skin. If you have the ability to grind your own meat, I recommend doing so. I prepare a more coarse grind than what is available in the supermarket, which I like better for chili. If not, you may opt to do all cubes, or buy ground.

Thighs have the most flavor and are very simple to bone out. There is only one large bone to remove. A half breast with the bone left in may prove difficult to find, so pick one of the options I listed above.

A recipe this size calls for a round dutch oven of at least 8 qt. capacity. I used a 13 ½ qt. pot. Pour in enough oil, I used olive but any cooking oil will do, to cover the bottom of the pot and get it hot. Sear off the cubes first, adding half at a time and working in batches. Crowding the pot will only keep it from staying hot enough to sear and the meat will just boil in its own juices. Season liberally with Kosher salt while the meat is browning. Remove the cubes from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Now brown the ground turkey. Once it is browned remove it from the pan and set aside. Add the onions first and cook them for about a minute or two, then add the bell peppers. Cook the vegetables over a medium high heat until they are soft and starting to brown. Lower the flame slightly and add back both cuts of meat to the pot. Season well with chili powder and ground cumin to your particular taste. I start with a minimum of 4 tablespoons of chili powder and 2 tablespoons of cumin. Cook those together for 2-3 minutes. Add the contents of both cans of tomatoes. Rinse both cans with a little cold water and add that to the pot. The consistency should be a little soupy. If it is necessary to thin it, take water from the pot of black beans. Over medium heat, bring the pot to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. After the first hour, drain the black beans, reserving the water, and add the beans to the pot. If the chili gets too dry and starts to stick, add a little bean water. Also at this point check for seasoning and if necessary add salt, chili powder or cumin. After about 90 minutes check the cubed thigh meat for tenderness.

This chili should be ready to rock. Serve it in crocks topped with grated sharp cheddar cheese and dollops of sour cream if you like.

Wines to pair with a full bodied and bold meal such as this present many possibilities. My first inclination would be a full bodied Languedoc wine such as the La Deveze Cotes du Roussillon Villages 2007. Its intense fruit and earthy notes will stand up to and compliment all the elements going on in this chili. An American alternative along the same lines would be the Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands 2006. Same idea here, but with a little less earthiness and a little more fruit. If you prefer the earthy elements, I recommend the Masante Dolcetto Langhe 2008 from the great Piedmonte producer Aldo Conterno.

Now go out and enjoy!

If you have any questions, or if you try this recipe, leave me a comment below and let me know how it turned out!

Fork and Gobble It: Winter Cotes

The wines of Southern France are some of my favorites in the world. If you are bitten by the wine bug, at some point you will recount the first time you tasted a Cotes du Rhone and liked it. I'll bet it was the product of E. Guigal who is to the Rhone Valley what the Gallo family is to Sonoma Valley. The wines are easy to like. They come from the southern portion of the Rhone Valley where Grenache is the dominant grape variety. They can be fruity without tasting like jam, and add in components like mineral notes, herbs, roasted meats, olive, and licorice. It sounds strange to describe a wine that way but if you close your eyes and smell and taste, all those suggestions and more can be found. If you continue to seek out the wines from the Cotes du Rhone appellation, you may come across a label that is a little bit different. It may have the additional word Villages on it. This means simply that the wine comes from the higher designation appellation, Cotes du Rhone Villages. There are 96 villages in the broad Cotes du Rhone appellation that are deemed worthy of labeling their wines Cotes du Rhone Villages. Of those, 16 (at last count) are allowed to name the village they come from on the wine label. They are perfect wines for this time of year as they pair so well with so many of the foods we crave for comfort when the wind howls and the temperature falls.

One of my more recent discoveries is a wine we just got into the store from Philippe Cambie. Halos of Jupiter is his label under which he makes several Southern Rhone wines including a Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau. Rasteau is one of the villages that is permitted to include it's name on the labels of it's Cotes du Rhones... or was. When these villages feel that their wine is of sufficient quality, they may apply for an upgrade in status. The village of Rasteau did just that and in 2010 they were granted their own AOC or Appellation Originale Controllee status. You see the Cotes du Rhone Villages label on this wine because it is a 2009 vintage.


Going forward the wines from there may simply be labeled Rasteau without needing the Cotes du Rhone Villages title.

Confused?? It does take a bit to understand the system and it is far easier to drink the wine. Some of the other villages of note in the Cotes du Rhone Villages AOC are Vinsobres, Cairanne, Sablet, and Seguret. Each of these villages has their own spin on how they produce their wines and by virtue of that, their own fingerprint of style. Grenache based wines like this usually drink well young and have the ability to age as well.

I like to pair these wines with among other things, lamb. One of my favorite preparations is the traditional French method of Leg of Lamb Roasted for Seven Hours. A partially boned leg of lamb is seasoned and flavored with garlic and rosemary and slowly roasted for seven hours in a slow oven until it becomes falling apart, tender and richly flavored.


It is a commitment of time, but the results are spectacular. The gamey flavors of the lamb, garlic and herbs are complimented and heightened by the wine. If you are a Cotes du Rhone fan, it is definitely worth the trouble to seek out the village wines of the region.

Fork and Gobble It: Comfort

The first real blast of winter arrived this week. Temperatures dove into the teens and the cold sank right into the bones. My first response to this assault is to move to the stove. It is natural to shift into a different gear in the kitchen when the elements get brutal. 14°F outside is pretty brutal. The perception that heartier foods warm not just the soul but the body as well, may not be founded on any scientific evidence, but it is a welcome illusion nonetheless. With the rush of holiday business in the store behind me, I find time to batch cook large quantities of foods I can freeze and draw upon throughout the winter. Soups, gravies, casseroles, and stocks are stored away for convenience, providing quick solutions when time is limited. Being the primary cook in the household, I get requests from my wife for her favorites. Last weekend it was spaghetti and meatballs. I decided to make enough meatballs to get several meals out of it so I started with 5lbs of ground beef.

My recipe is fairly simple:
-Ground Beef (I roll them big so 1# = 4 meatballs)
-2 cloves of garlic peeled and minced per lb. (of meat)
-1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs per lb.
-1 egg per lb.
-2 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce per lb.
-2 tsp of salt per lb.
-½ tsp of black pepper per lb.
-¼ cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves chopped per lb.
-2 tsp dried oregano + 2 tsp dried basil per lb.
-2 ounces EVOO per lb.

I mix this well and fry the meatballs in olive oil.


I keep a marinara base sauce in the freezer in quart size containers to pull out as needed. I finished cooking the meatballs in the sauce which gave it a great meaty taste and I tossed the spaghetti in that. I actually yielded close to thirty meatballs so I put some in the deep freeze for a snowy day. We got a new Dolcetto in the store last week from Renatto Ratti. A very rustic style with bright acidity and tobacco notes, it worked well with the sauce.

My Mom's side of the family comes various place in Eastern Europe and the Polish influence was felt in the things my Great Grandmother used to cook for the kids. I was inspired to make egg noodles and cabbage with Kielbasa a few weeks ago. I sauteed cabbage in olive oil and butter.


I boiled my egg noodles and added them to the cabbage in the pot and let everything get lightly browned and crispy. Served up alongside the kielbasa it was the epitome of comfort food.


This is the kind of meal I typically think of drinking Alsatian whites wines with. A Gewurztraminer or Riesling from Zind-Humbrecht or Albert Mann would be awesome with this meal. These wines offer clean bright fruit and complex spiciness that works as a perfect foil for the rich and earthy flavors of the sausage and cabbage.

Pasta of any type is comfort food to me. I recently made something I'd seen on countless restaurant menus, but never tried in my own kitchen... Puttanesca. If you're the kind of person who hears anchovies and thinks “Yuck”, then this is a must try for you. It is the wonderful harmony of garlic, anchovies, tomatoes, olives, capers, crushed pepper, and olive oil and when executed properly with quality ingredients, it is divine.


The name, literally “whore sauce”, is thought to be derived from the meal an unfaithful woman would throw together quickly for dinner since her afternoon might be spent in other pursuits. Oh, those urban legends, so colorful! Anyway, bad behavior aside, this is a quick but very satisfying sauce whose chunky texture works well with a short tube type pasta such as penne.


The bright and briny flavors here are a good match for my new favorite Montepulciano D'Abruzzo Poggio Anima Samael. The label is a grabber but the wine is right up there.


Bright red fruits and subtle tannins make this medium body wine marry well with the Puttanesca.

Whores... comfort food... Really now people?!!

Fork and Gobble It: Go Big or Go Home

Christmas Day dinner and my first day off in twelve days. I wasn't about to skimp on what we would eat that night. Of all the things I could choose to cook I needed to go with the King of Christmas dinner food... a Prime Rib Roast. I ordered it from my favorite old school (who actually knows meat) butcher, John's in Scotch Plains. A two rib standing roast that weighed in somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 pounds, it was a dry aged beef beauty.


The even and well distributed marbling were evidence of the high quality of this piece of meat. I would roast it simply and serve it with a couple of our favorite sides; Pommes Paillason or Straw Mat Potatoes, and sauteed Broccoli Rabe.

Saturday night, Christmas Eve was a tough one in the store, and as a result I came home and popped a new discovery, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon. This fabled distillery is responsible for such legendary bourbons as George T. Stagg, an extremely limited and sought after whiskey, but the namesake spirit has not made its way into the NY/Metro market until now. I am happy to report that is both delicious and very inexpensive compared with it's peers.


Of course I was feeling a little blurry the next morning so I had to create a breakfast cure. Rummaging through the fridge I found the remnants of an oversized corned beef sandwich from Harold's Deli. The meat to bread ratio was about 52 : 1. Corned beef hash and eggs was definitely in order. I went to work right away sauteing onion, adding in the corned beef, and then shredded potatoes. A couple of eggs over easy and the work was done. This would be the fuel that would get me through dinner preparations.


That might be a glass of beer in the background, I don't remember.

So I knew I wanted to put an herb crust on the beef, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to bind it to the meat. I didn't want to use mustard because I didn't want the competition between the strong flavor of mustard and the roast. Then I remembered an essay by the chef/owner of Prune in Manhattan, Gabriel Hamilton where she speaks of the virtues of Hellman's Mayonnaise as the quintessential cooking medium for grilled cheese. It seemed to make perfect sense. A couple of tablespoons of Hellman's, some fresh rosemary and thyme, kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper coated this thing of beauty and worked as a wet rub to season the beast a couple of hours before cooking.


When at 5pm I decided to cook this monster, I started it in a hot oven at 450°F. I roasted for 30 minutes at that temperature, then lowered the heat to 300°F for another 35 or so minutes until we hit about 127°F internal, or just medium rare once the meat rested. While this was going on I shredded potatoes for Pommes Paillason and proceeded to saute them in duck fat.


I asked Elvis the Wonder Dog to pick out a Cabernet Sauvignon to go with the meal and in keeping with the theme of Big Dogs/Big Bottles, he chose a 2007 Ramey Cellars Napa Cabernet 1.5L. Can't say as I blame him. The wine is awesome now, it will age very well, and it is a big bottle.


I took the roast out of the oven and turned it off. Then I popped the potatoes in there to finish them and keep them warm. I quickly sauteed the Broccoli Rabe, and we proceeded to the dinner table. After a long week of work, we celebrated the holiday in style.


Here's hoping you and yours have a wonderful holiday and great New Year. 2012 will bring many new food and wine adventures.

Fork and Gobble It: 2011 Holiday Edition

'Tis the season and as sure and the sun rises in the morning, people all over the world prepare for celebration of some sort. Christmas, Channukah, Kwaanza, and the end of the calendar year, bring folks of all faiths and races together to rejoice, reflect, and prepare for the coming New Year. Celebration and food are inseparable, and for most people that includes wine. We feel the need to pull out all the stops at in December. The most grand and treasured recipes, some passed many generations down, are required. Sometimes new ones are added keeping the menus fresh and alive. When I cooked professionally, I was relied on heavily for my own family's feasting. Sometimes it was the tomato sauce or “gravy” for Christmas Eve's Feast of Seven Fishes, or a whole poached salmon. I am the default carver for Christmas roast beef and always look forward to pitching in in the kitchen with my Sister, Brother, and my Mom putting that dinner out. Of course I always need to provide the wine and we do our best to go big there also. I recall one year I prepared a leg of lamb that needed to roast in the oven for seven hours. It was a real nail biter because we had just bought our house and the oven we inherited had a tendency to shut down on its own at the most inconvenient times. We lucked out that night and the lamb was tender, moist and falling off the bone.


Bordeaux was the wine for that night. Pichon Lalande Longueville 2004, young to be sure but definitely open for business with lively fruit and mineral flavors and a touch of herbaceousness that set up perfectly against the gamey flavor of lamb, rosemary, and garlic.

My heritage being Italian, Christmas Eve was always a culinary three ring circus. It started with my childhood at my Grandmother's house. Josephine did more to open my eyes to the wonders of good food as a child than any celebrity chef could do now. At ten years of age I was eating eel braised in tomato sauce, escargot or frog's legs in garlic butter, shrimp fra diavolo and Fettucine Alfredo. This was the mid 60s and James Beard and Julia Child were just getting rolling. We have for the last few years been at my Sister's in-laws on Christmas Eve, and the traditional Italian seven fishes menu has been put aside for the moment. I look forward to the opportunity to pull out some of those recipes again though. One of my very favorites is Squid braised with red wine and tomatoes. It is a simple dish relying more on great simple ingredients and watchful execution than flashy tricks and exotic foods. The single most important thing is the freshness of the squid. If it isn't pristine, the recipe will suffer.

Once prepared this can work on its own as an appetizer or tossed with pasta such as linguine for a pasta course.

-2# fresh cleaned squid, tubes and tentacles
-½ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
-crushed red pepper flakes
-8 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced thin
-2 tsp kosher or sea salt
-2 cups of good red (Italian) wine such as Montepulciano D'Abruzzo
-2 24 ounce cans of plum tomatoes crushed by hand

Heat the olive oil in a 6qt pot. Add the garlic, pepper flakes and salt. Saute the garlic over low to medium heat until it turns golden. While this is going on slice the squid tubes into rings ½" wide. When the garlic is ready add all the squid and raise the heat to high. Saute' the squid until it turns from translucent to milky white and firms up. Add the wine and bring it to a boil, then simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, return the pot to a simmer and simmer slowly for 60 – 90 minutes or until the squid is very tender. Adjust the seasoning, add a little more EVOO, and serve.


A good quality Montepulciano D'Abruzzo such as the Poggio Samael Anima that I mentioned last week drinks very well with this. It is always a good idea to drink the wine you cook with unless it is a Grand Cru Burgundy.

One of the meals that I look forward to the most of through all the holiday feasting is breakfast/brunch on New Year's Day. We inevitably sleep late and I'm usually the first to rise. I'll prepare coffee and work up a frittata to soak up the alcohol from the night before. A frittata is an open face omelette of Italian origin. I'll usually start with thin slices of potato and onion sauteed in a big cast iron skillet. I cook them slowly until they are tender, then pour in the beaten eggs. The pan gets covered so the top cooks along with the bottom. When the eggs are nearly set, I'll add herbs and whatever cheese I have on hand. The whole thing gets inverted out onto a plate and cut like a pizza.


Egg dishes like this are a traditional component of anti-pasti, and this tastes as good cold as it does hot. Speaking of New Year's Eve, we will be going back to our old standbys, Chartogne-Taillet Cuvee Ste. Marie, and Vilmart Cuvee Rubis NV Rose. Unless of course I hit the lottery and then it will be vintage Krug.