Crème Fraiche & Milbrandt Riesling

Crème Fraiche

Yes, we’re pretty late to the party. We make our own garlic Aioli by grinding fresh garlic cloves in a mortar. We use fresh herbs instead of dried whenever possible. We cook just about everything from scratch. But we never bothered to make Crème Fraiche.

Crème Fraiche is a French matured cream, but not at all like our U.S. sour cream. We’ve never found it in our semi-rural grocery stores, but we’ve read for years how “easy” it is to make. Even Julia Child has a recipe. The typical recipe calls for a cup of cream and a tablespoon or two of buttermilk. But who in the world has buttermilk in the fridge anymore, especially when it comes in quart cartons? Yet a few weeks ago we found a tiny half-pint carton of buttermilk, and decided to try this creation.

We mixed (without measuring, as usual) the cream and buttermilk and let it stand overnight until it actually did develop a nice, thick creamy consistency. It had a wonderful bite yet a smooth creaminess that sour cream just doesn’t have.

Since then, we’ve mixed it with Dijon mustard for a salad dressing; we’ve added honey and vanilla for a topping for fresh wild raspberries (not that the raspberries really needed anything); and we’ve mixed a bit of it with a leftover tomato-artichoke-olive sofrito to go on top of red potatoes steamed with fresh rosemary.

We’re hooked. Our most recent meal using Crème Fraiche was as the potato topping mentioned above, and for that dinner we also had halibut sautéed in butter and herbs accompanied by a crisp Washington state Riesling, reviewed below.


Milbrandt Riesling 2006 – Washington

When we bought this, we had no way of knowing if it were dry or sweet. Many Rieslings will note a style on the label (and we wish all wineries would), but without that information it’s hard to know whether to open a bottle of Riesling as an afternoon sipper or as a dinner wine. We took a wild guess, and were right with this one.

The nose is mild, with a bit of apple and herbs. The tastes are a nice medley of crab apple, apple, mild herbs, maybe a little grassy or leafy. It finishes crisply, with some mild but nice acidity. Surprisingly for a Riesling, it was still fine as it warmed in the glass on an 87-degree evening. It developed more depth and complexity, without losing that distinctive Riesling character.

The best part is the price – only $6.50 when we found it. At that price, it’s a House/Yes wine for sure (depending on availability).

Rhubarb Apricot Chutney & Chardonnay

It’s spring, and rhubarb is busting out in the garden. We’ve been trying to find other uses for the tart plant than simply in the ubiquitous Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. So we created a chutney.

Last night, we had this chutney with quinoa, a piece of rockfish, and a mixture of roasted garlic, pearl onions, and shallots. We paired the meal with a Barnard Griffin Chardonnay.

WINE
Barnard Griffin Chardonnay 2007 – Washington
Still another winner from Barnard Griffin. Nose is distinctly of apples, with floral notes, violets, mints, herbs. The taste has a nice medley of crisp green apple, lemon, a hint of earthiness, maybe even eucalyptus? Does it make any sense to say it’s light but has a little weight? Just enough acid keeps it from being dense and overly creamy. Yes. $10 on sale, usually $14.

CHUTNEY RECIPE

• Cut rhubarb stalks (the leaves are not edible) into 1/2-inch pieces, making about 2 cups
• Coarsely chop about 1/2 cup onion
• Quarter dried apricots to make about 1 cup
• Put about 1/2 cup vinegar and maybe 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan
• Add all the onion and half the rhubarb (this portion of rhubarb will cook down to almost a paste)
• Add spices of choice – we used a home-made Garam Masala (Indian spice mixture), but ginger, cinnamon, or such would be good
• After about 10 minutes of cooking, add the apricots
• When the apricots soften (maybe another 10 minutes more), add the other cup of rhubarb (you might need to add a bit more vinegar if chutney looks too dry)
• Cook until the second round of rhubarb begins to soften, but stop cooking while the pieces are still whole
• Chill immediately

Wild Mushrooms

What is it about mushrooms – especially wild mushrooms – that intrigues folks so much? Sure, some can have interesting and distinctive flavors, but those are usually of the earth/peat/woodsy variety. Wild mushrooms can also very easily kill you. They’re hard to find, they’re fragile, and they live in the dirt. Nonetheless, they are esteemed in many food cultures. Because, truly, there are few tastes as earthy, subtle, and varied as wild mushrooms. They come in varying sizes, colors, tastes, and seasons.

This article is NOT about mushroom identification. You should rely on knowledgeable teachers and quality guidebooks for mushroom identification – even then, some excellent edibles have look-alikes which are not edible or are poisonous.

We know just enough about gathering and eating wild mushrooms to be appropriately cautious – very cautious. And to make our lawyers happy, let us state upfront that if you have ANY doubt about any mushroom, do not try even a single bite. It’s suggested by most authorities that you don’t eat wild mushrooms raw, and that even with a positively identified known edible, it’s best to sample a small portion the first time around.

All that out of the way, we love wild mushrooms. Some of the mushrooms we find most flavorful – and also ones that we think we can identify “no-fail” – include:

King Bolete – Woodsy, earthy flavor. This is the Porcini of Italy and the Cepe of France. Their flavor intensifies after drying. Wonderful in quiches, casseroles, and with eggs. Along with Morels and Chanterelles, they are some of the most sought-after wild mushrooms.


Chanterelle – Delicate, almost fruit-like flavors. These work well in cream sauces and with chicken, fish, eggs, pasta, and vegetables. Wonderful in Alfredo sauces over pasta. These may get tough with drying – instead either sauté and freeze, or only partially dry and then freeze.

Puffballs – A mild, earthy taste by themselves, but we love them sliced and sautéed for Puffball Lasagna. They range from small pear-shaped puffballs to giant puffballs more than a foot across. The insides deteriorate quickly – make sure they’re pure white inside.

Shaggy Mane – Very fragile, and they go bad within hours of gathering. But quickly sauté them in a little butter and they are great in delicate cream sauces or with fish or eggs.


White Matsutake – Very strong, peppery flavors. We like them sautéed almost crunchy, and use them on top of crepes, quiches, and casseroles. A little goes a long way.

Meadow mushroom – This is the wild version of the grocery-store mushroom. It is the Champignon of France, and can be used like any commercial mushroom. It is a white version of the Crimini or the larger Portobello (same mushroom, just different in size).

Prince – The Prince is rather like a large, more-flavorful meadow mushroom. Or like a robust Portobello (which itself is really just a type of Champignon). We use the Prince similarly to a Portobello.

Morel – To some folks this is one of the jewels in the crown. As with the Boletes, this is best dried and then used re-hydrated, intensifying its flavors. Rich and earthy. Great in soups, sauces, and pasta.

Tree Ears – These rubbery mushrooms are probably inedible in themselves, but dried they add some interesting and subtle flavors to soups. Common in Oriental cooking.

There are many other excellent edible mushrooms, but they are ones we encounter less frequently (hen-of-the-woods, blewits, hedgehog). Also, to us, some of the “choice” edibles simply don’t have all that much flavor (Oysters and Honey mushrooms, for example).

Preserving: 1) Some mushrooms – especially firm-fleshed ones like boletes, meadows, and morels – dry well. We typically dry mushrooms in a fruit dehydrator. 2) Some mushrooms (prince, matsutake) keep well in the refrigerator for as long as do grocery-store mushrooms. Put them in a paper bag, but try to eat as soon as possible. 3) Freezing. We generally sauté fragile mushrooms very lightly in butter or oil and freeze them in small containers or in freezer bags. We have had success freezing boletes and chanterelles raw, but they usually come out of the freezer a little soggy – OK if you’ll be cooking them in a sauce later.

Cooking With: 1) Dried mushrooms should be rehydrated in warm water, broth, cream, milk, or wine, depending on the recipe. Many mushrooms (boletes, morels) actually intensify in flavor after being dried – you may not need as many as you think. 2) Frozen mushrooms – either sautéed or raw – should be drained of as much water as possible, and then lightly re-sautéed before adding to your dish. 3) Fresh mushrooms are the best. Cook them generally however you’d cook commercial mushrooms. 4) Try not to add too many spices to any mushroom dish. You want the flavor of the mushrooms to shine through, not overwhelming spices.

If you’re unsure about finding, identifying, cleaning, picking, and cooking wild mushrooms, the best way to start using wild mushrooms in your cooking is with a trip to the grocery store. You can usually find packets of dried wild mushrooms – often a “forest mix” – at reasonable prices. Rehydrate the mushrooms in warm water, wine, or cream, depending on your recipe. These rehydrated mushrooms can sometimes be a little tough, so you might want to simmer in a liquid or the sauce rather than eating right after rehydrating.

Some of our favorite recipes using mushrooms include: Bolete-brie quiche; potato-bolete soup; chanterelles in Alfredo sauce over pasta; puffball lasagna; prince or meadows mushrooms in omelets or quiches; and lightly sautéed shaggy manes over halibut. Once you know your mushrooms, experiment with ingredients. As noted above, our biggest suggestion is to spice very lightly if at all – mushrooms have delicate, intricate flavors, and you don’t want to overwhelm them with heavy doses of herbs and spices.

Our Favorite Cookbooks, Part II: Francesca’s Favorites

As usual I have waited until the last minute to write my “5 favorite cookbooks” article (Ken writes with ease and in such an interesting, creative way . . . not me, i have a tendency to try too hard with my limited writing skills and I’m too wordy), but since today I need to pick my “Wednesday night dinner” choices, this is perfect timing.

The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook
When Ken and I first started our romance together, I was a strict vegetarian (salmon once a year on my birthday) and he was still eating meat & chicken, supplementing with his love of fish & pastas. Our eating habits soon changed . . . I started eating more fish and he stopped eating meats. Christmas morning at my parents a few years ago, one of the presents to my mom was this cookbook. Ken and I immediately snatched it from her and began to look inside like two little kids. This cookbook offers a variety of creative main dishes, breakfast & brunch ideas, soups, pastas, casseroles, stir-fries, salads, and condiments. Accompanying this storybook of vegetarian cooking is an array of beautiful pictures to feast upon.

Vegetarian Planet
“350 big-flavor recipes for out-of-this-world food every day” . . . filled with little tidbits about some of the more unknown, hard to find, obscure ingredients.

Horn Of The Moon Cookbook
I happened upon this cookbook when planning a self-catering-accommodation vacation to Vermont to enjoy the autumn colors. In addition, we have a border collie whose name is “Moondoggie” and I seem to gravitate to anything with the word “moon” in it. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful little cookbook. The recipes (which come from the restaurant of the same name in Montpelier, Vermont) are quite simple using basic ingredients, yet fun and inventive.

Café Paradiso Seasons
Each chapter is devoted to a particular season – late spring, summer, autumn, winter, and early spring (with a chapter on outdoor cooking as well). At the beginning of each section is a list of the fruits & vegetables grown during that time of year. The pictures are deliciously enticing, the preparation instructions are incredibly vague, but the end results are very tasty and I love challenging my experience in the kitchen.

Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers
We have several Moosewood restaurant cookbooks, and this one is definitely my favorite. Excellent every day recipes for a wholesome, well-balanced diet . . . down-to-earth cooking fun.

(See Part I, Ken's favorite cookbooks, on this previous entry.)

Our Favorite Cookbooks

Not too long ago, we got to discussing our favorite cookbooks. As much as we invent and create, we still enjoy collecting and using cookbooks. We even have our Wednesday Night Dinners, where we randomly choose a recipe from one of our cookbooks. (Of course, we always seem to add, subtract, spice differently, or adapt almost any recipe we try. Truly, as I type this, Francesca is making a zucchini risotto that was originally a carrot risotto in the cookbook.)

Ken’s Favorites
(Next week, look for Francesca’s reviews of her favorite cookbooks.)

The Complete Asian Cookbook
If you want just one cookbook covering just about everything Asian – Thai, Japanese, Burmese, Indian, you name it – this should be on your shelf. Authentic recipes, often requiring hard-to-find Asian ingredients that may not be available outside larger cities. Nonetheless, a great book.

Great Dinners from Life
Life magazine used to run a feature on Great Dinners, where the entire meal was presented – appetizer, soup, main, dessert, as appropriate. The recipes were compiled into this book in 1969. I can’t think of another cookbook that has so many successful recipes. Plus, the photos are gorgeous and inspiring.

Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers
The Moosewood cooperative has been running a successful restaurant for decades, and producing cookbooks for nearly as long. The food is mostly vegetarian, but the newer cookbooks (such as this) include some fish and seafood recipes. We own several Moosewood cookbooks, but this is my favorite.

Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery
Old. This 12-volume series was published in 1966, and despite its age is still an incredible reference. If you want to know the history of asparagus, or the basics of how to make a hollandaise sauce, this is great. Probably only available in used book stores or thrift shops.

Horn of the Moon Cookbook
This was a cookbook I resisted actually liking. I found several recipes that sounded good, but they always seemed full of Tofu or earth-hugger grains; or the spicing seemed just too wimpy. Well, consider myself chastised. As we always do in the kitchen, we modify a lot, but the recipes in Horn of the Moon have consistently been excellent.

Chipotle Mayonnaise Recipe & Bogle Petite Sirah

RECIPE
Carvers Restaurant in Durango, Colorado, is a wonderful casual restaurant and brew pub that serves (among other dishes) great sandwiches and burgers with a signature Chipotle Mayonnaise. Chipotles are smoked Jalapeño peppers, and usually sold in cans in a tomato-like Adobo sauce. (On a totally unrelated note, a friend of ours in Durango always gets strange looks from the Carvers waitresses when he orders a veggie burger with bacon.) Being friends with the owners, we were able to coax from them the Chipotle Mayonnaise recipe. Despite the fact that recipes can’t be copyrighted, we wouldn’t want to give away the exact Carvers recipe, so here’s our slightly modified version. (Besides, the original recipe calls for ingredients to make gallons of the stuff.)

• Chipotles in adobo sauce chopped very fine (2-3 chiles from a 6-oz can – the rest can be successfully frozen for later use)
• Tablespoon fresh crushed Garlic
• Tablespoon chopped fresh Cilantro
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Tablespoon Honey
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• (Alternately, all ingredients can be added to a food processor to make this Chipotle base mix.)
• Mix Chipotle mix with your favorite Mayonnaise – start with maybe a cup of Mayonnaise for the above amount of Chipotle base mix.
• Add more or less Mayo depending on your heat tolerance and the strength of the Chipotles.

This is wonderful with any kind of sandwiches, burgers, nachos, other Mexican dishes, and even seafood cocktails. If you’re ever in Durango, stop by Carvers and try the original. The restaurant also has the best craft-brewed beers in the region. (Carvers was the second micro brewery in the state, opening just a few months after New Belgium, of Fat Tire fame.)

WINE
The most recent time we used Chipotle Mayonnaise was with some veggie/mushroom/cheese burgers. We accompanied it with....
Bogle Petite Sirah 2005 – California
We’d forgotten how much we liked this wine, and we hadn’t re-tasted it since we started writing these wine notes. Nose of dark cherry and pepper. Smooth, integrated tastes of boysenberry and spice. Just enough tannins to give the wine some weight. Very much along the stylistic lines of the Concannon we reviewed (and especially liked) previously. This, too, has that almost Zinfandel tone to it. House. $12

Scallop & Onion Stew

We’re back from a good trip to Scotland, and although we didn’t return with any Scottish wine, we did have one of the best dinners of our lives (Three Chimneys restaurant on the isle of Skye), had a couple of interesting whiskey tastings, and enjoyed randomly buying inexpensive wines from various market shelves. We also brought back a few books, including a Scottish fish cookbook.
Last night, we adapted a scallop and onion stew from the cookbook.

• Quarter large scallops, or leave tiny bay scallops whole
• Simmer in a little water and white wine until done
• In a separate pan, sauté finely chopped onion in butter until soft (not brown)
• Add a tablespoon of flour to the onions when done, and then add the scallop liquid
• Boil for a few minutes, then add scallops, about a quarter cup of cream, and a dash of Dijon mustard
• Heat (but don’t boil) the stew, and transfer to individual baking/serving casseroles
• Top each casserole with a mix of bread crumbs and grated Scottish cheddar
• Broil for a minute or two, just until the top begins to slightly brown and the cheese melts
• Serve with mashed potatoes (we used non-mashing red potatoes from our garden and they were great)

We paired this with a Mayacamas Sauvignon Blanc we previously reviewed, and it was an excellent match.

Vacation

We’re off to Scotland for the next 3 weeks. Visiting the Highlands and Islands; driving on the other side of the road; sampling a wee dram of Whiskey here and there. We are planning to get away from technology as much as possible, so we’re NOT taking a computer and don’t plan on any posting. Also, that means any comments to this blog won’t be moderated until we return. See you all again in late September.

For your enjoyment until then, here are a few of our totally biased “best of” entries from the past year:

Our House Wine List
Famous Fish Tacos
Wine Tasting Travel Tips
French Onion Soup
Teriyaki Salmon with Mushroom Risotto

Artichokes, Shrimp Cocktail & Chenin Blanc

WINE
Covey Run Chenin Blanc 2005 – Washington
This is one of those wines that are two-wines-in-one. The first is when the wine is cold from the refrigerator – the nose is mild, just a hint of apple. The tastes are a little too much like many inexpensive, ethereal (typically California) Chenins. Yet once this wine warms and opens in the glass, it becomes almost like a Vouvray – tastes of honey and melon. And the tangy zingy-ness it has when cold disappears and becomes a mild natural sweetness with a nice, mild acid balance. It definitely smoothes out as it warms. Yes (bordering on House). $8


DINNER
Steamed Artichokes & Southwest Shrimp Cocktail

• Pan braise fresh peeled and deveined shrimp in tequila, chili oil, rosemary, and garlic. Chill.
• Mix ketchup, mayonnaise, crushed garlic, finely chopped onion, finely chopped chipotle chili. Chill.
• Serve warm artichokes and cold shrimp. Dip artichokes in either melted butter or cocktail sauce.

Oyster Alfredo & Chardonnay

WINE
Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay 2004 – California
This dark straw yellow wine opens with a nose of honeysuckle and baked apple. The wine is a big, creamy, rich, smooth California style. Tastes of burnt honey and oak, along with thick butterscotch. Interestingly, this tasted very little like the 2002 Santa Cruz Mountains Home Ranch Chardonnay we reviewed awhile back. This had none of the minerals and earth of the earlier vintage. As much as we love Ridge wines, because of the heavy style of this 2004, we’d give it a Maybe. About $35.

DINNER
Oyster Alfredo
We used tortellini, but any large, chunky pasta (rigatoni, thick fettucini) would do. (As one of our Italian food gurus said, “thick sauce, thick pasta; thin sauce, thin pasta.”)

• Sauté oysters in butter and thyme; remove from pan (save pan juices)
• Optionally, you can also sauté quartered mushrooms and thick-chopped onions, either with the oysters or separately
• Cut large oysters into about quarters; if small, use whole
• Mix a jar of commercial Alfredo sauce, some dry white wine, thyme, sage, the butter and liquid from the oyster pan, and a tiny splash of Tobasco or similar hot sauce
• Add the oysters to the sauce, and pour over pasta

Asparagus Pizza & Tempranillo

WINE
Tapena Tempranillo 2005 – Spain
We generally enjoy Spanish wines, especially Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache), so it’s fun to find something new and affordable. This has a great nose of cherries, and a lovely garnet color. The tastes are of black cherries, bing cherries, and some delicate spice. To us the wine doesn’t have the “silky tannins” suggested on the label, but some nice, firm, sharp ones. This is a Yes wine, bordering on House (a second bottle tasting will tell). $8 on sale (usually about $11).


DINNER
Francesca made a fabulous asparagus, onion, and garlic pizza. Used a store-bought pizza shell (we can be lazy), topped with a thin alfredo, pesto, and olive oil sauce. Next, grated Asiago and sharp provolone cheeses. Finally, she sautéed onion and asparagus in Italian spices, and added those to the pizza along with some previously roasted garlic.

Shrimp Louie & Vouvray

DINNER
We love “Louie” salads, but didn’t really know what they were. We discovered Louie dressings in several old cookbooks, but no reference to a Louie salad. After some research, it seems nobody actually knows for sure the origins of the Louie (Louis) salad, other than it probably began on the U.S. west coast (Seattle or San Francisco) early in the 1900s and was originally made with crab.
Our Louie salads are usually a mish-mash of everything possible. Last night we used sautéed shrimp in olive oil and spices, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, mixed greens, pickled asparagus, artichoke hearts, red pepper, green onions, croutons, home-made green tomatoes in brine, pickled garlic, radish, left-over sautéed potatoes and mushrooms, and thousand island dressing. We’ve also used salmon or crab instead of shrimp, as well as red or yellow onions, fresh mushrooms, black or green olives, sliced carrots, fresh herbs, broccoli, avocado, and other vegetables.

WINE
We had a B&G Vouvray (previously reviewed) which went perfectly with the salad. Sometimes wines are hard to pair with salad, but we’ve found that whites or roses that have the very slightest tinge of softness (sweetness) are the best. Wines that are too dry (Sauvignon Blanc) or too hearty (Chardonnays, especially from California) just don’t work that well. Try a Chenin Blanc, any decent rose (as long as it’s not bone dry), or a Gewurztraminer.

French Onion Soup & Marsanne

WINE
d.A. (Domaine Astruc) Marsanne 2005 – France
Deep, pineapple nose. Tastes of pineapple and honey (not sweetness). Definitely some oak. Marsanne is a “third-tier” grape that is usually worth a try (at any reasonable price). Yes. $8

DINNER
French Onion Soup
(Recipe for 2)

• In a medium sauce pan, sauté 3/4 of a large onion in equal parts olive oil and butter, until the onions begin to brown and caramelize a bit.
• Add ground thyme, white pepper, sage, and whole thyme, to taste. (Tarragon is often a traditional spice, but we don’t care for it.)
• Add 2 cans of beef broth, or equivalent stock. (We’ve also made this with chicken stock as well as with homemade veggie stock – most anything works.) Add about 1/4 cup dry white wine and a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. Scrape the pan to make sure all onion is well mixed. (If using a lighter chicken or veggie stock, we sometimes add red wine instead of white. Or even sauté red onions instead of yellow.)
  
• Simmer uncovered, and cook until reduced by about 1/3. The longer you simmer, the more infused will be the onion flavor.
• Put into individual broiler-proof soup tureens.
• Top each soup with a round of toasted French bread, and about 1/4 cup of grated Gruyere (or other) cheese.
• Broil just until cheese melts completely but before it starts to brown.
• Serve with additional slices of French bread (toasted or not) and Parmesan cheese.
• (Some recipes call for a flour roux after the onions have been sautéed, but we find any flour in the soup makes it drab and grainy.)

Quick Bouillabaisse & Chardonnay

DINNER
After watching a very old episode of Julia Child’s old TV show, The French Chef, we had a craving for a simple bouillabaisse. Thus, our Bouillabaisse for Two Recipe.

• About 3 cups fish stock, clam juice, or whatever’s on hand (we had some frozen shrimp-shell stock) in a saucepan
• Separately, sauté a leek, some sliced onions, and crushed garlic in olive oil (we used fennel oil) until soft
• Add some kind of sliced tomatoes (we used grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise) and simmer until the tomatoes just begin to soften
• Add vegetables to stock pan, and add a half cup of white wine
• Season with saffron, thyme, white pepper, and salt
• Let this simmer for 15-20 minutes to blend the flavors
• About 5 minutes before serving, add fish or shellfish (we used a few shrimp, and a couple of small Dover Sole filets)
• Serve in large bowls, accompanied by warmed buttered bread

WINE
Domaine Talmard Macon-Chardonnay 2006 – France
The nose starts off almost like a Sauvignon Blanc – crisp apples and grassiness. The tastes come on wonderfully with green apples, some buttery oak, and a hit of citrus/grapefruit on the mid palate. It has a nice, “unusual” lingering finish for a cheap white wine. We tend to like cheap French whites more than cheap French reds. The label gives a nod to Americans (actually listing Chardonnay as the grape, rather than having to know that most Macons are Chards), and the taste is another of those 50/50 French/American styles. Yes. $10

Welsh Rabbit (Rarebit) Recipe

A lot of words have been spent justifying calling melted cheese on toast Welsh Rabbit or Rarebit. The consensus seems to be that Rabbit is the original phrase.

Ken’s dad was arguably the world’s most un-creative cook. If you’ve ever suffered through “pizza” topped with canned tomato sauce, pieces of cooked ham, and canned green chilies, you’d understand. Anyway, he did have one excellent signature creation – Welsh Rabbit.

Our version is pretty close to Dad’s. It’s basically a roux white sauce, to which beer and cheddar cheese is added. It works well thick over toast, or thinner as a cheddar cheese sauce for vegetables, baked potatoes, or other dishes. Here’s our version (remember, we don’t measure much).

• Melt 2-3 tbsp of butter in a saucepan
  
• Add equal quantity of flour, cook on low heat for a minute or so
• Add maybe 1/4 cup milk, and stir constantly
• Add some beer (another 1/4 cup) - a good beer, please, not some watery American "light"
• Season with some combination of prepared Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, white pepper, sage, thyme, a tiny pinch of nutmeg, and either a dash of cayenne or a shake of Tabasco-type sauce
• Add grated Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup at a time, alternating cheese with beer until you have your desired consistency (thicker for traditional Rabbit over toast; thinner as a cheese sauce)

Tonight we had a thinner sauce over leftover broccoli-mushroom popovers and some pan-braised asparagus (please don’t ask us where that came from in January). Our wines were leftovers, too – a dry Riesling for Francesca and a hearty Zinfandel for Ken. Both worked well.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Teriyaki Sauce; Mushroom Saffron Risotto; Pinot Grigio

DINNER
We eat salmon a lot, and in a lot of different ways. We also make our quick homemade Teriyaki sauce, which is:

• Soy sauce or Tamari
• Sake or dry white wine
• Maple syrup
• Crushed garlic
• Crushed ginger
• Mix equal parts of soy, wine, and maple syrup; add garlic and ginger to taste.

Salmon
We like salmon cooked pretty lightly, so we first sear it skin-side down in olive oil. As soon as the skin side begins to get pink, we flip the filet over, peel off the skin, and cook the second side for another minute or two. We add a splash of the Teriyaki just before the fish is finished, then remove and plate the salmon. We add the rest of the Teriyaki sauce to the pan, to heat it and reduce it a bit. Drizzle some sauce over salmon, and serve the rest on the side.

Risotto
Risotto rice is cooked differently from Japanese or Chinese rice.

• Soak a pinch of saffron threads in a tablespoon or two of warm water.
• Sauté sliced mushrooms and set aside.
• Sauté some finely chopped onion in butter.
• Add dry Risotto rice to onions in pan and coat the rice with the butter.
• Add saffron and its soaking liquid, and a quarter cup or so of white wine.
• Add warmed vegetable or chicken stock a quarter or half cup at a time, and wait for rice to absorb all the liquid before adding more.
• When rice is fully cooked, add the mushrooms.

WINE
A Columbia Crest Pinot Grigio (previously reviewed) went perfectly with the smoky and smooth tastes of both the risotto and the salmon.

Lost River Syrah & Pumpkin Soup

WINE
Lost River Syrah 2005 – Washington
This is another nicely made wine from our closest local winery. It exhibits good Syrah character, in a style that the winemaker describes as between California and France. It’s nice to see a winemaker not just imitating California or Australia. Black cherries and spice on the nose, tastes of spice, chocolate, and very dark berry fruit. Yes. $22

DINNER
Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• Fresh pumpkin (about 1/3 of a medium pumpkin)
• Desired spices
• Butter
• Carrot – 1 large sliced
• Onion – half medium thick chopped
• Chicken or Veggie stock – about 4 cups
• Olive oil

Method

• Cut pumpkin into manageable size pieces
• Sprinkle with spices and drizzle with melted butter
• Bake in 350 degree oven until tender
• Scoop out flesh and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Sauté onion and carrot in olive oil until start to soften
• Add stock and cook another 15-20 minutes
• Add pumpkin and cook another 5 minutes
• Remove about half of soup, and blend until smooth
• Return blended soup to pot

Serve with crusty bread or a side salad.

By Request: Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe

Our Mushroom Stroganoff recipe is inspired by the Horn of the Moon cookbook’s Mushroom Tofu Stroganoff.

INGREDIENTS

• About 1/2 cup dried Bolete mushrooms (or other earthy dried mushrooms)
• 1/2 cup warm water and 1/2 cup half & half or milk
• 2 tbsp Butter
• One medium chopped onion
• 3 crushed garlic cloves
• Basil (fresh or dried)
• Dill (fresh or dried)
• Salt
• About 3 cups thick-sliced button mushrooms
• Cayenne pepper
• Spinach Fettuccini (or the noodles of your choice)
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1 tsp Poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped Arugula
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups sour cream

METHOD

• Soak dried Bolete mushrooms in warm water and milk/half & half for a couple of hours.
• Sauté chopped onion, crushed garlic, basil, and dill in butter for 10 minutes.
• Add thick-sliced fresh mushrooms, cayenne pepper, a little salt, and chopped rehydrated Boletes. Sauté another 10 minutes or so. Add Bolete soaking liquid. Simmer until reduced by about half.
• Cook spinach fettuccini in a large pot of water.
• While the noodles are cooking, melt butter and add poppy seeds in a fry pan and cook for 5-10 minutes.
• Turn off mushroom pan (if still simmering) and add sour cream and chopped Arugula and chives.
• Toss noodles with butter/poppy seed mix.
• Plate the noodles, and top with the mushroom/sour cream sauce.

Famous Fish Tacos

We’ve proclaimed ourselves the masters of Fish Tacos, so thought we’d share the secret recipe.
Fish – our favorite is Halibut, but we had Cod last night, and have enjoyed other flaky fish. We didn’t care for Talapia.
Cooking Spice – a homemade mix (all ground) of:

• Cumin – 1 tsp
• Coriander – 1 tsp
• Smoked Paprika – 1/2 tsp
• Red Pepper – 1/4 tsp
• Salt – 1/8 tsp
• Garlic powder – 1/8 tsp

This makes enough spice for several dinners. We grind all with a large mortar & pestle, and store the left-over spice in a tightly closed jar.
We pan sauté the fish in Olive Oil and maybe a teaspoon of the spice mix, until the fish flakes apart.
Tacos – We alternate corn and flour, but generally prefer flour tortillas “soft fried.” We use a 1/8-inch layer of Olive Oil in a large fry pan, and cook the tortillas until they are “not-quite” crispy. Drain on paper towels.
Vegetables – We almost always use chopped onion and cabbage. Usually red onion and green cabbage, but sometimes red cabbage and yellow onion. We’ve also substituted Arugula for the cabbage and it tastes great, but offers a different texture.
Crema/Sauce – We experiment with Cremas a lot. Last night we used:

• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• juice from half a lime
• approximately 1/4-1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• grated 1/4 of a very large green apple (maybe 1/2 cup grated)
• several splashes of a Tabasco-type hot sauce
• a few grindings of salt

Other Cremas we’ve made (usually always with the base of sour cream/mayonnaise) have been garlic & lime; sweet red pepper sauce & onion; green onion & green olive. The possibilities are endless.
NOTES: We seldom measure anything (unless we’re baking, which we don’t do much). We experiment and substitute a lot. When in doubt, we think fewer elements are better than many. (For example, we’d rather have our fish tacos with fish, crema, cabbage, and onion, rather than a “normal” taco loaded with meat, beans, cheese, lettuce, onion, salsa, sour cream, black olives, jalapenos, tomatoes, and more.) We don’t worry about pairing any particular wine with any dish. We usually drink whatever wine we opened before dinner with whatever we end up cooking.

Leftover Wines & Shrimp Louie

On July 5, 2007
DINNER
After a hike in the hot sun for Kenneth Juan and a bike ride in the hot sun for me, we decided a nice cool salad sounded splendid for dinner. Our Shrimp Louie Salad was built on arugula topped with purple onion, radishes from our garden, hard-boiled free-range local eggs, orange pepper, tomato, and a sauté (wine, homemade garlic olive oil, parmesan cheese) of mushrooms & shrimp. The piece de resistance -- Thousand Island dressing.

WINE
Leftovers – nice cold whites.