Shakshuka

This week the local alternative newspaper (Willamette Week) in Portland, Oregon came out with their 2010 restaurant guide where they named their restaurant of the year. The winner is a place called Tasty n Sons. What is remarkable isn't that the food is great. What makes this a wildcard choice is that this place is only open for Brunch.
In homage to the winner and their amazing chef John Gorham, I had to make their specialty egg dish called Shakshuka. This dish has its roots in Morocco and it is a spicy/savory /tomato/pepper/onion melange that gets a couple of eggs poached (soft & runny) just before service. This is quick, easy and it kicks serious flavor ass. The only thing that made this better was some toast and some fresh ground Stumptown Coffee.

Yum!

Portland on Dwellable

Bacon & Egg Bruschetta with Spring Greens

It seems like forever since I have posted. I have been grilling a ton lately and Now that Fall is here I am starting to dust off my LeCruset Casserole pots for some braising action.
Anyway, tonight I was craving something "fun", but just a bit lighter. I had some nice Spring Greens (from Fresh Express via Foodbuzz) and some Sourdough bread that needed attention so I thought I would do a quickie warm bacon dressing . I keep a homemade Balsamic vinaigrette around at all times so I tossed in a couple of spoonfuls of that into a sauce pan that I had crisped a single slice of minced bacon. An assortment of greens, some toasted bread (please note, I make the best garlic bread on the planet...really, just ask my son. Recipe: toasted bread, rubbed with a piece of raw garlic, butter a dash of olive oil plus some kosher salt...I think I am more than ready for a Bobby Flay Garlic Bread Throwdown!) and a couple of 3 minute poached eggs. This came together in the time it took to get the two eggs poached.
Not too shabby for a Wednesday, eh?

Bon Appetit

Wine is not Kryptonite

"Wine Guy" to the rescue!

I wrote this wine blurb over a year ago and since it seems like I am being asked the same basic questions about wine by friends and acquaintances alike, I decided to re-post it.

When I go out to a restaurant I often see people treating the Wine List like it has been infected with the Ebola virus. I am sure many uncomfortable diners would love to be able to have a wine super hero "Wine Guy" fly in and make a wine selection . While there are more and more restaurants who have a Sommelier or a knowledgeable Wine Steward who can assist in making a selection, I get the feeling that many of you have a fear of asking for directions when choosing a wine (kind of like not asking for directions to the Freeway and spending an extra hour driving in the wrong direction).
Well, I am here to say that the wine list is not made out of Kryptonite and if you want to think of me as a wine Super Hero (but without the cape and the tights) that is up to you.
The next time you are figuring out what to serve with dinner or are going to dinner and you are looking at the "Wine List", just keep in mind a couple of things when trying to pair your wine with your meal.

1. If it grows together, it goes together. Italian food goes well with Italian wines. Oregon Pinot Noir goes well with Salmon, mushrooms, truffles and game. When eating well prepared fresh local cuisine look for the wines of that region as well.

2. Forget the Red Wine w/Red Meat -White Wine w/Fish or Poultry Rule. While a Bordeaux or a California Cabernet go well with a steak you are absolutely allowed to drink whatever your palate says you should drink. If you want to drink a Sauvignon Blanc with a steak ..... do it! Personally anything that hits my grill is getting paired with a red wine that has the backbone to standup to some smoke and spice.

3. Don't be afraid of asking for directions. If the restaurant has a Sommelier use his/her expertise. These people have spent years training their palate (like a runner training for a marathon) and they can be a wonderful resource. Also, don't be anxious about ordering something less expensive on the list. The restaurant doesn't care if you order the most expensive bottle or the least expensive bottle, they want you to have a great dining experience and they want you to come back.

4. Take your own wine- My group of friends are very wine savvy and we all take wine to restaurants. Keep in mind that the restaurant will charge you to open the bottle. The standard term is called a "Corkage Fee". These fees will range between $10-25/bottle. The reason to bring wine is not to save money, it is to enjoy wines that are not on the restaurants wine list. Older wines, limited production wines, wines from mailing lists, etc.

5. Upgrade your stemware- As geeky as it sounds, different wines taste and smell better in different style glassware. If you want to maximize your drinking pleasure use a proper glass. While you can have an almost infinite variety of stemware if you are just starting out, purchase Cabernet/Bordeaux style glasses. These glasses are the most versatile for both red and white wines and by the time you get around to really enjoying Burgundy or new world Pinot Noir you will already have notched up your glass collection a stem or two just by osmosis.

6. EEE-Experiment, Expand your palate, Enjoy!-The more wine you taste, the better your palate will become and the more you will enjoy what you drink. Not to go all Forrest Gump on you, but the wine world is like a 1000 piece box of chocolates-try them all!

Wine can and should be first and foremost a fun experience.

7. Watch a couple of episodes of Wine Library TV- Trust me, Gary Vaynerchuk is doing more to take the "snob" out of wine than anyone I know. Follow the Three-E's and remember as Gary says: "You, and a tiny bit of me, is changing the wine world".

Hobby or Obsession?

I can remember vividly when the "light" was switched on in my head (the wine light that is). Or maybe since I still have "Exhibit A" I can refer to the date on the spine of the Wine Spectator magazine that shoved me into the deep end of the wine pool (March 31, 2003).
I had been a wine drinker for more than 20 years and though I love the taste of wine I never really thought about what I was tasting. Looking back it surprises me just a bit. I am a very accomplished chef and I was good at matching food to wine, but after reading that issue of Spectator I had a revelation. That revelation was simple: "I need to buy 2000 Bordeaux......now!".
For the next several weeks I poured over as many sources of information as I could get my hands on. Wine Spectator, Wally's of L.A. newsletter, Wine Advocate, Zachy's online and countless online sources I can't even remember. The result was that I ordered about 15 cases of Bordeaux. Most of this was Petite Chateau and Bordeaux Superior, but I did also snag some Cru Classe wines. My goal with my selections was to get as much high quality wine as I could for what I had to spend. This also meant that I needed to get a place to store the incoming wine since suddenly my 5 case under counter cooler was now woefully undersized.
I discovered a new wine storage facility on the Eastside of Portland called Portland Wine Storage. I rented a 18 case locker and the rest is history. Today my locker has turned into a 30+ case room and the owners Tom Harvey and Joe Padulo have become good friends of mine. Tom, his wife Andria and my buddy Sam Sundeleaf and I are on the verge of making wine commercially. The funny thing about wine is that once you start amping up your collection you would be surprised how often I can walk into that 30 case cellar and still not feel like I have anything to drink.

Here is the list of the wines I purchased (listed alphabetically).Chateau D' Agassac
Chateau Batailley
Chateau Beaumont
Chateau Bellefont Belcier
Chateau Cambon La Pelouse
Chateau Cantemerle
Chateau Cantenac
Chateau Clos L'Eglise
Chateau Fombrage
Chateau Gigault Cuvee Viva
Chateau Haut Batailley
Chateau Lynch Bages
Chateau Lynch Moussas
Chateau Martinens
Chateau Petit-Village
Chateau Pibran
Chateau Reignac
Chateau Rollan De By
Chateau Rouillac
Chateau Sociando Mallet
Chateau Les Trois Croix

I have sampled all of these wines with the exception of the Sociando Mallet and the Lynch Bages. The find of the bunch I think is the Reignac. Wally's wine shop was out of one of the wines I was ordering and they recommended this wine in its place (Parker gave this 92 pts. and I think I paid $19.99/btl.). The nice thing about purchasing wine that you intend to drink versus collect, is that any of them can be broken out for a party whether it be formal or just a couple of friends. Wine is meant to be shared and I hope I can share some of these with those of you who are my friends reading this.
The top bottles I purchased were the Lynch Bages and I tell my 15 year old son that someday we will open those when he gets married. This makes me wish my Dad had set down some 1961 Lynch Bages for my wedding.

Crunchy Blue Cheese Cole Slaw

Crunchy Blue Cheese Cole Slaw

Since the weather actually got nice here in Portland I have been doing a lot of entertaining and also have been getting invited to cookouts. Lately I have been focusing more on side dishes and salads. While growing up I have to admit that I wasn't a big potato salad or cole slaw guy. As of late I realized that both of these dishes have a broad flavor and taste profile.
I now understand what I didn't like about cole slaw was the mayonnaise/sugar based dressing.
Once I found you could dress cabbage with an oil and vinegar dressing I have broken out of the box and been playing with all of the tastes humans can discern: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and that late addition to the taste game, umami .

For this dish I use thin sliced Red and Green Cabbage along with some Napa Cabbage for fun. A thin sliced red onion with scallions to taste. The dressing is a 3:1 mix of canola oil and sherry wine vinegar, salt, pepper, a tablespoon of dijon mustard, a few minced garlic cloves. Dress the salad then add a scant cup of crumbled gorgonzola and toss again and refrigerate until ready to serve (this is best cold). This dish looks great and is a simple to make, looks tremendous and it is a great foil for anything you can grill-Enjoy