Crispy Duck, Fried Rice and Pear Cake

Last night, Friday, what a feast we had! It will live in my memory for years to come. Margaret, my dear British friend whose son Greg is my son Jackson's best friend, asked if she could try out a new recipe on us, and we happily acquiesced, because she is an awesome cook. The Great Experiment was Beer Can Crispy Duck, and may I say it was a resounding success. I don't have the recipe, except for the fact that you shove a can of beer into the backside of the duck and stand it up on the grill for a couple of hours. That duck was tender, moist, delicious, with perfectly crisped skin and not a hint of greasiness.

We served it with mu shu pancakes, slivered green onions, sliced cucumber sticks, and a homemade Asian barbecue sauce lovingly simmered for an hour to a perfect consistency and flavor. I made fried rice as an accompaniment, and pear cake.

The pear cake recipe came from epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Marie-Helenes-Apple-Cake-361150. Oh, okay, so it was an apple cake on Epicurious, but I didn't have any apples, and no dark rum (scandalous!). HOWEVER, Margaret's the friend with the two prolific pear trees. These are hard cooking pears, so their consistency is similar to that of a crisp apple, and the flavor is delicately sweet. Instead of rum, I used Frangelico, which was absolutely perfect. We served the cake warm with whipped creme fraiche, and it was so good I had some for breakfast this morning. Definitely a keeper!

As for the duck, I want more!

Thursday Night Was A Little Rushed

But I did get to the wine tasting at Parker Wine Cellars, as evidenced by the photo above, and I'm glad I went. Wines from the Saint Laurent winery in Washington State were featured. I learned a lot -- first of all, did you know that Washington State is on the same latitude as France? That's one of those little factoids that doesn't occur to either my conscious or subconscious brain until it's pointed out, but it makes sense that grapes would grow in Washington State. Of course, the soil and other conditions are not the same as France; however, as you will see below in Jeff's thorough descriptions, the growing conditions are excellent for the Saint Laurent wines: "Owned and operated by Michael and Laura Mrachek which began some plantings in 1978, this Washington State winner seems to get over looked by some wine aficionados. Beginning in 1999 Mike planted 60 acres on the Wahluke Slope and today there are over 260 prime acres under vine near the beautiful Columbia River. Here the growing conditions are any winemakers pleasant dream. Long sunny days and a unique soil profile from lava flows and ancient glaciers all come together to put the right fruit in the right bottle."

And now, the wines we tasted:

2008 "LUCKY" WHITE~~ This blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Chardonnay meld together to offer a generous nose of gardenias, lemons, and ripe apricots that all seem to show up on the mid palate as well. A jaunty little wine that seems to have a chameleon personality that almost changes with each sip. Dry and crisp on the finish, the balance seems to lean toward the fruitiness instead of any sweetness. Finishing strong, it comes off medium to light bodied with enough muscle though to stand next to your dinner plate and work well with several light dishes. (MY NOTE: This was a fascinating wine. As noted above, with each sip the taste subtly changed, and I could detect the different flavors. I would drink this wine with a cheese and fruit plate or something that would allow you to concentrate on the wine.)

2006 "LUCKY" RED~~ This fruit forward blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah with all estate grown grapes from the Wahluke Slope imparts the flavors and aromas of cherry, currant, vanilla bean, black tea and hints of clove that seem to alternate on which one stands out more. The mid and rear part of the palate seem to notice a little muscle, but used with a slight finesse that shows a balance of soft tannins and ripe dark fruit. The finish is fairly long with just enough acid not to come off as flabby. This wine almost begs to put it with your favorite loaded pizza or pasta, but on its own it seems to be a stand out treat, and definitely would work well with your favorite DVD. (MY NOTE: The merlot, which was about 65%, if I remember correctly, did stand out. The cab and syrah balanced it out nicely but did not blend so much that you couldn't appreciate what you were drinking. I don't like to drink a blend that has been so sternly put together that all you think is, "I'm drinking red wine.")

2006 SYRAH~~ Here we have a 'Showcase' wine that shows off what Washington can do with this Rhone style stalwart. Dark and brooding in the glass, the nose exudes wave upon wave of spicy blackberry, tea leaves and mushrooms. The palate then gets to show off the ripe fruit that brings out raspberry, clove, graphite and black currant that all seem to fight over what's going to stay on the finish longer. Really structured well, the balance shows strength, acidity and a depth of ripe dark fruits that can stand out at the dinner table with a multitude of wonderful meals. Wine Spectator~~91 POINTS (MY NOTE: Oh yeah, this one was a winner! Absolutely delicious. A perfect syrah.)

After a quick run to the local emergency clinic to check on a sick friend, I scooted home and threw together chicken breasts in puff pastry, mashed potatoes and sauteed mushrooms to feed the gang. I kept telling them that Europeans eat dinner at 9 p.m. so it can't be THAT horrible.

Jambalaya

As promised and with permission of the cook (and my very good friend) Karen Guillory Yeargin of Hammond, Louisiana, I present you with an easy and delicious recipe for Jambalaya:

JAMBALAYA


1 medium green pepper, chopped

1/2 onion chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into strips), smoked sausage, shrimp, crawfish,oysters, etc..

2 Tbsp. Creole seasoning

1 can(14 1/2 oz. ) diced tomatoes undrained

1 cup water

1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)

2 cups uncooked rice


Heat oil in large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add bell pepper, onion and celery; cook until tender crisp. Add preferred meats cook until done. Add tomatoes water and tomato sauce and seasoning. Bring to a boil,add seafood, stir in rice, cover and let cook about 25 min or until liquid is absorbed.

makes 6 servings

* * *
I just used chicken and Andouille sausage in mine, but I think I'm going to make a big pot of this for Hallowe'en and add seafood and some olives to the mix. It's really delicious!

Tonight was Chris' turn to cook and he did shishkabobs of marinated grilled steak, chicken, shrimp and mushrooms. They were really delicious, and with the leftovers I'm going to make fried rice tomorrow night (and will find the recipe and post the link, for those of you who are interested). The marinade took some time to make, though, so it might be something to prepare the night before and then cook the next day, unless it's one of those lazy days when you have 3-4 hours to wander about the kitchen. Sometimes I enjoy doing that, but most of the time I'm rushing around so I look for shortcuts.

It's Really Not That Bad . . .

The orange colored walls in the living room, that is. In the bright light of day, the warmth of the burnt orange/terra cotta really does complement the paneling, kitchen cupboards, and wallpaper, so MAYBE this will work after all. At least for a while. Fortunately, paint is not as hard to change as wallpaper, should one get tired of the color.

Today was a day of errands, mostly of the grocery shopping variety, and I tried a new tenderloin recipe tonight. It's an Epicurious.com recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-Tenderloin-with-Port-Balsamic-Sauce-5808, and it was pretty easy and quite good.

Of course, my cooking was not without a little drama, in this case my discovery that the bottle of port in my liquor cabinet was not ruby port, but tawny port.

According to Wikipedia, "Tawny ports are wines made from red grapes that are aged in wooden barrels using the Solera process, exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation. As a result, they gradually mellow to a golden-brown colour. The exposure to wood imparts 'nutty' flavours to the wine, which is blended to match the house style.

"Tawny ports are sweet or medium dry and typically consumed as a dessert wine.

"When a Port is described as Tawny, without an indication of age, it is a basic blend of wood aged port that has spent at least seven years in barrels. Above this are Tawny with an indication of age which represent a blend of several vintages, with the average years 'in wood' stated on the label. The official categories are 10, 20, 30 and over 40 years. The categories indicate a target age profile for the Ports, not their actual ages, though many people mistakenly believe that the categories indicate the minimum average ages of the blends. It is also possible to produce an aged white port in the manner of a tawny, with a number of shippers now marketing 10 year old White Ports."

A ruby port, on the other hand, is simply "the cheapest and most extensively produced type of port. After fermentation, it is stored in tanks made of concrete or stainless steel to prevent oxidative aging and preserve its rich claret color. The wine is usually blended to match the style of the brand to which it is to be sold. The wine is fined and cold filtered before bottling and does not generally improve with age."

Since I live in Texas, I am under the constraints of the remnants of the old Blue Laws, which means that I can't buy hard liquor on a Sunday. Anywhere. It's seriously stupid when in OTHER states you can go into a grocery store and buy whatever you want, as long as the grocery store is open. Alright, no politics, but I've found it damned inconvenient since I moved here in 1973, and the feeling isn't abating with time.

So I was stuck with tawny port but it didn't seem to matter. The sauce came out quite good, if a trifle sweet -- I think it might have to do with a touch too much balsamic vinegar, which I will adjust next time, but I will definitely try it again. I served the tenderloin with oven fried potatoes (cut potatoes in thin strips, dry with paper towels, toss with a tablespoon of oil and some salt -- I used kosher salt -- and bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, turning over halfway through) and Green Beans Almondine (steam green beans slightly, leaving them crispy, then saute in butter with chopped garlic, salt & pepper, and sliced almonds).

The wine of the evening was that excellent $20 cabernet that I bought at Parker Wine Cellars on Thursday night.

I also made Jambalaya (because I didn't think that Jennie was going to eat the tenderloin but she surprised me), an excellent and easy recipe from my friend Karen, who lives in Louisiana so knows what she's talking about, and I will share that recipe tomorrow. Fortunately, Jambalaya tastes even better the second day, and it will be happily eaten then.

Hook 'Em Horns

Alright, it was SUPPOSED to be a dark terra-cotta sort of color that would blend well with the wallpaper in the kitchen, the paneling on one wall, and the lighter terra-cotta color on the stairs. It is, instead, a rather definite UT Longhorn burnt orange. However, after two glasses of Fetzer pinot noir (see, I CAN get wine into this tonight!) I'm not sure that I dislike it. If nothing else, it goes with the Hallowe'en theme of the month. I'll have to see it in the daylight tomorrow to make a final consideration.

Today was a busy day with errands, one movie ("Red" -- really good, highly recommend), and, since the movie ended at 7 p.m., a rather hurried Saturday night dinner: macaroni & cheese; chicken breasts coated with seasoned bread crumbs, sauteed in olive oil and finished in a hot oven for 10 minutes; and sauteed mushrooms.

Jennie's day started extra early. She will be 17 next week. Her friends "kidnapped" her and a couple of other kids whose birthdays are around this time, at 5:30 a.m. and took them to IHOP for a gala breakfast. Jennie's gracious response consisted of throwing the covers over her head and wailing: "I hate you -- go die!" when awakened at 5:30 a.m., but pancakes revived her. Her daddy bought her a proper stereo for her POS car (first cars are always a Piece of Shit), and we did a little girl shopping.

All in all, a very productive and delightful day!

The Days Are Getting Shorter

The sun was already beginning to set when I walked into Parker Wine Cellars this evening, as you can see from the overexposed photo of the featured wines. I'll have to either get there earlier (a good goal) or try a different angle next week.

Tonight's wines come out of the Pine Ridge vineyard with the Forefront label. All three were notable, in my opinion. Jeff, of course, says it best, and this time I printed out the newsletter and had it up on the counter while I tasted each wine because I wanted to see if I could identify the notes -- I could, too! My palate is untrained except for "like" and "don't like," but looking at the description and then swirling the wine around and kind of listening with my taste buds allowed me to appreciate the complexity of each wine.

2008 SAUVIGNON BLANC~~ A nice little surprise white that can please just about any wine lover. The fruit for this offering was sourced in two regions: 67 percent came from Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley, the balance from Napa County. This wine was fermented in stainless steel and never saw any oak before seeing the bottle. A bright offering with a nose of citrus, melon and hints of grass are present and really shine. The palate of this wine is loaded with a remarkable array of stunning fresh fruit flavors that really show up for the party. Tangerine, nectarine, honeydew, gooseberry and a hint of lemon all seem to work together that finishes in a balance of wonderful fruit and subtle acidity. (MY NOTES: I could definitely identify the citrus and melon flavors -- this is a nice dry white wine that would work well for a lot of meals or just as a refreshing drink. I'm starting to appreciate white wine more than I used to.)

2008 WILLIAMETTE VALLEY PINOT NOIR~~ A real head turner showing off what Oregon probably does best. Using fruit mostly out of the Dundee Hills, this up and comer acts like it's been doing this for a while. Seeing oak for 10 months helps this wine establish a nose of wild strawberry, hints of clay, mushroom and rhubarb that are the most prominent aromas of this young Pinot Noir. The middle palate of this wine is loaded with lean, dry fruit flavors, and bright red fruit flavors dominate -- cherry, raspberry and cranberry lead the charge. A host of mineral notes, as well as sour cherry, graphite, earth and cola, emerge on the impressively lengthy finish that makes you feel like you've found a new favorite. (MY NOTES: Yes, I definitely tasted the sour cherry, and the earthy flavor gave the wine a depth that I don't usually expect in a pinot noir. Very good wine.)

2007 CABERNET SAUVIGNON~~ This Big Boy is made predominately from fruit sourced in Napa (87 percent), with the balance coming form El Dorado (10 percent) and San Luis Obispo Counties (3 percent). In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon (78 percent), Syrah (13 percent), Merlot (5 percent), Petit Verdot (2 percent), Cabernet Franc (1 percent) and Malbec (1 percent) are also blended in to put California Cabernet in its proper perspective. Seeing 15 months in French oak really rounds out the style and grace of a young wine that is drinking well now, but might even get better for another 5 years or so. The blending of multiple varieties and appellations gives this bottling tremendous complexity. Syrah was included in the blend to deliver a modern profile for this wine, lending a luscious fruit-forward character that is a soft counterpoint to the Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. Tobacco, leather, and dark, brooding fruit notes lead the nose of this dark purple sampling that would make Bacchus proud.. They're balanced by an underlying layer of brighter red fruits including baked blackberries, black raspberries, dark plum and some subtler rich berry fruit flavors that are all part of the persistent palate of this wine. Chicory, espresso, earth and black pepper comprise the finish, which lingers for what seems like minutes. This wine has firm but yielding tannins and good acidity that shows a balance of pure pleasure and stealthy strength. (MY NOTES: "Fruit-forward" is a good description for this wine, but it's not overpowering, just present and satisfying. I bought a bottle, intending to let it age awhile, but Jeff assured me that for $20 I may as well enjoy it now, which I'm sure I will shortly!)

Making fine wine is part luck, part chemistry, and many parts love of the craft. When the end result is as good as what I tried tonight, the process is definitely worth it.

Tribute

Tonight's blog is not about food or wine, but about an extraordinary and great person, my Uncle George (the middle one in this photo, with Uncle Spero on his right and Uncle Paul on his left), who died today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. He was 91 years old.

Uncle George was a great man, not because he was President, or had any kind of important job in his life. He was a good son, a jolly brother to his two brothers and one sister, a loving husband to the same woman for over 60 years, a wonderful father to three children, and a kind uncle to me and my cousins Jane and Tom. Uncle George always had a smile on his face and a cheerful outlook on life.

Uncle George was born in 1918, the last child of Demetrios and Vasiliki Giannacopoulos, who immigrated to America from Greece in 1912 and 1910, respectively. George was the dreamer of the family. When he was a young man, he ran away from home and hopped trains for a year, living the life of a hobo and seeing the United States. He has always had a fascination with trains and at one point had a wonderfully elaborate model train set in his basement.

He is the last of my adult family to die. Funny thing is, they all died in birth order: my grandfather (the oldest), my grandmother, Uncle Paul (1999), Uncle Spero (2000), my mother Katherine (2005), and Uncle George (2010). May they all rest in peace, those funny, loud, loving Greeks. I miss them all. My life is richer for having known them and I will never forget them.

Life goes on in a continuous wave, always moving forward. We are not meant to live forever. People pass through our lives as we grow and change. Some people make a lasting impression and when they move on, they leave a warm glow within us. My Uncle George left that legacy for everyone who knew him.

Do You Know What A Stelvin Closure Is?

Yesterday's tasting at Parker Wine Cellars featured three wines from Schild Estates in Australia, and all of them were quite good:

2009 UNOAKED CHARDONNAY~ Using grapes from their original Three Springs Farm property that doesn't see oak, but does see malolactic fermentation, this wine shows what the true nature of Chardonnay is. Starting with a nose of guava and lemongrass, this golden hued liquid jostles the palate with honeydew melon, ripe pear and subtle lemon. Mineral tones with a balanced structure keeps the finish around for an extended stay that pleases with a smile.

2007 BAROSSA SHIRAZ~ A classic grape that shows off the Barossa Valley's best quite nicely. Your olfactory is stimulated by ripe blackberries and pipe tobacco that meld into a palate full of black currant and black cherry that shows hints of licorice and sage. The finish actually seems fuller than it really is and shows off a balanced structure that lingers until your next sip. 92 Points and Best Buy~The Wine Spectator. (MY NOTE: This was my favorite of the three and the one I took home. Even at $21.99 it's a bargain because it is such a good wine.)

2009 OLD BUSH VINE 'GSM'~ Wow, what a treat! This heady offering brings together 55% Grenache, 20% Shiraz and 25% Mourvedre that all seem to get along quite well, thank you. Top that off with all the grapes coming from vineyards that average 70 years old and boy oh boy do we have a wonderful mouthful of fun. Seeing oak helps put this wines' nose through its paces with spicy cherry and smoky currant that tickle the right spots. The palate sees a front to back covering of black cherry, and ripe raspberry with a little allspice, cinnamon and white pepper thrown in for good measure. The finish shows a well balanced strength but finesse where it need be This big boy speaks with a true Australian accent.

All three wines featured a Stelvin Closure . . . or, as any connossieur of Old Thunderbird calls it, a screwtop, screwcap or twist-off cap (take your pick). Those of us who grew up thinking that only cheap wines had a twist-off cap are having to readjust our prejudices, because the industry has found that in many cases the Stelvin Closure is actually better for the wine than traditional corks or even synthetic corks. I read a fascinating article about it here: http://www.tinhorn.com/page.php?pageID=146&parentID=135.

Of course, when you serve a fine shiraz you don't want to refer to the stopper as a "screwcap" -- it just sounds so . . . ordinary. "Stelvin Closure" sounds appropriately important, slightly mysterious (and no, it wasn't named after a Mr. Stelvin), and no doubt will turn up as a word to be defined in the game Balderdash, along with "runch."

Melange

I am surrounded by talented cooks! I may just hang this up and let all my friends and relatives write guest columns about their creations.

The combination of crisp bacon, silky dark chocolate, and a glass of shiraz may seem like a strange taste sensation but it is actually quite delicious. My friend Rick, who is an excellent and imaginative cook, suggested that I try this, so since I do on occasion take orders well (but don't push your luck) I dutifully picked up a bar of dark chocolate and a $4.79 (on sale at Walgreen's) bottle of David Stone Shiraz. That was both an experiment on the merits of a wine in that price range and the potential need for cooking wine . . . just in case. Actually, the shiraz wasn't half bad so we'll be drinking it, except for what I'm going to splash into the chuck roast I'm cooking tomorrow.

Rick said that the chocolate should be soft enough so that the smooth texture is set off by the crunch of the crisp bacon. The mixture of sweet and salty is tantalizing, and a mouthful of wine brings it all together to make a fourth flavor. You'll find yourself taking more bites and drinks in an effort to describe the taste. It makes a delicious end to a meal.

Chocolate has been undergoing a lot of transformation lately. Last month at Central Market, during the Hatch Chile Festival, a local confectioner made chocolate toffee infused with Hatch Chile oil. Wow! The first bite is pure chocolate toffee, sweet and delicious, and then as it's ingested the chile oil sneaks up on you and your mouth explodes with flavor.

I do love how the chocolate industry has moved from a simple Hershey chocolate bar to vibrant gourmet creations!

Wine, Education, A Pool, and A Damned Fine Steak

And a dog named Murphy! That's my basset hound in the picture that's not the one with the wine bottle, and he's wanting the piece of steak that you see in the picture with the wine bottle. He didn't get it -- that steak was too good. It was a recipe found on epicurious.com and prepared by my husband, who is really getting into this cooking thing. He served it with the lovely bottle of Rhone wine that you see in the picture that's not the one with the dog in it, and we both enjoyed it thoroughly. Let's see, . . . that was Sunday night and I felt like I was more or less getting over the cold that I was CERTAIN I had on Saturday night. Saturday was the end of the ALA Regional Convention, and I was absolutely wiped out. It was a fun and educational convention, though. I learned a lot, as I always do, was able to center myself (I am NOT crazy; all of the other administrators are going through exactly the same things I'm going through), and had a good time with my peers, who are also my friends.

I'm going backwards with my week, as you can tell. On Friday we had seminars all day, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. I learned about employment law, social media in the workplace, and a few other things that are a bit of a blur right now but I have the handouts and my notes. After the seminars, three busloads of administrators from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and Utah (Region 4) went to the State Fair of Texas.

I love the State Fair. I love the sights, the sounds, and most of all I love the junk food. It was my pleasure to escort three people around the Fair who had never eaten Fair food. We each had a corny dog, a Charburger, a funnel cake, and caramel apple. That's the TAME stuff. We passed on fried butter, fried Snickers, fried Frito pie (though I heard that was pretty good), fried alligator, fried Coke, and fried beer. We got there too late for the Pig Races, alas, but I'll manage to live with the disappointment somehow.

Friday was the full day of seminars, but Thursday night was the welcome reception, with food, drinks, music and dancing to music from the 60's to the 90's. I think I dance really well after a few glasses of champagne, or at least I really don't care what I look like on the dance floor at that point. Either way!

Hot and tired of dancing, the Dallas group went down by the hotel's swimming pool and relaxed and talked. I suggested that we all take off our shoes and stand in the pool for a group picture, but no one was sure how deep the pool was. It didn't look THAT deep.

I really should learn to look more closely at signs, like the depth tile on the pool, but "Cautious," according to the personality analysis I did during one of Saturday's seminars, is one of the BOTTOM 3 personality traits of yours truly.

I jumped in.

The depth at that point (according to the tile that was now in front of me and corroborated by the height of the water) was 4 1/2 feet, a little deeper than I'd reckoned on.

However, the water was deliciously cool and felt great, so I didn't mind, and I was headed straight home anyway. To quote a rather nice song: "What's the point of life if Risk is just a board game?"