Easy Manicotti and A Great Bordeaux

Alright, the title is kind of false advertising, because I didn't actually drink the Bordeaux with the manicotti. I made flat iron steak on Saturday night and we opened a 2001 Bordeaux that had actually been allowed to age in our pantry for years. Oh my. What a lovely, delicate balance -- smooth on the palate with a subtle, sophisticated flavor. I still need training to recognize exactly what I'm tasting. If someone says "currants and black pepper" I'll be able to distinguish those flavors but can't think of what I'm tasting on my own. Yet. I am enjoying the wine-tasting experience, and I intend to learn as much as I can without ending up in rehab in the process.

Flat iron steak is really good if it's marinated. I've tried it both marinated and not, and it definitely benefits from soaking in wine or some other type of marinade. This time I mixed red wine, olive oil, garlic (of course!), fresh rosemary, and a little dry mustard, and let the steak marinate for about an hour. Then I grilled it for about 5-7 minutes each side, and it was delicious! I served it with a red wine mushroom sauce that sort of came about accidentally. I was cooking the mushrooms as I usually do, with salt, pepper, garlic, and a little white wine, when I remembered that I wanted to make a red wine sauce for the steak but it was a little late. So I dumped some red wine into the mushrooms, added a little arrowroot to thicken it and then finished by stirring a pat of butter into it. It was quite passable and received good reviews from the family.

Now on to the manicotti: last week I was bored with the usual dinners and when I saw a package of manicotti tubes at Albertson's, I bought them and tried to decide what to fill them with. I didn't want anything super-heavy on the stomach, so decided against Italian sausage or ground beef. Spinach and ricotta alone would not fly with the kids, so I thought about the package of frozen ground turkey that I'd been saving for Sloppy Joes. I browned the turkey with chopped garlic and onion, seasoned the mixture with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, added some ricotta cheese that I had left over from the last batch of lasagna and a little of the shredded six-cheese Italian blend that Albertson's sells, and stuffed the manicotti with that mixture. I WAS going to make homemade Alfredo sauce to put on top, but I was in a hurry (as usual), so just dumped spaghetti sauce on it, sprinkled more cheese on top, and shoved it in the oven for 30 minutes. It was really delicious! I was pleasantly surprised. I got a thumbs up from one kid and thumbs down from the other, which means I'll make it again and tweak it a bit to see if I can get the almost impossible thumbs up from both of them. I'm an incurable optimist.

First Wine Tasting of the New Year at Parker Wine Cellars!

The New Year started off beautifully at Parker Wine Cellars with a taste of the wines of Castoro Cellars, out of Paso Robles, California. My Aunt Mona and cousins Jane and Tom live in Paso Robles, so the name immediately brings up good feelings. Familial considerations notwithstanding, the Paso Robles area turns out wonderful wines. The last time I visited California (July 2010), I drove through the wine vineyards and marveled at the beautifully symmetrical rows of grapevines, lovingly and carefully tended.

We sampled:

2008 MUSCAT CANELLI~~ A much maligned grape over the years that when done right, can serve a great purpose. It's popularity in California is on the rise while in Texas it's grown just about everywhere. Starting with a very floral nose dominated by honeysuckle, the wine hits the palate with layers of ripe peach, honey and a touch of creme brulee. Minimal residual sugar shows some sweetness that balances with ripe fruit and very low acid. The finish is medium length even for a fairly light wine. Best served as an apertif and not a dessert style wine but would also work very well with spicy food. (MY NOTE: This was an AMAZING wine! It was lightly sweet, not syrupy or heavy. I was surprised at how much I loved it and at only $9.99, it's a real bargain.)

2008 "ZINFUSION"~~ A wonderful little wine that certainly intrigues your palate with a lot of flavor and a lot of fun. This super little wine harks back to the old style Zins that aren't overly alcoholed and hit the palate a little brighter. A blend of Zinfandel from three different vineyards, the Lojocano, Whale Rock and Shell Creek Vineyards where each one brings a different style of this finicky grape. A nose of raspberry, and earthy red plum explodes on the palate with oodles of blackberry, pepper and spicy fig that meld together seamlessly for sips of pleasure. The finish is quite lengthy and shows a balance of acid and muscle that covers the 15.3 alcohol. Not subtle and quite frankly could work well with a nice juicy Rib-eye grilled to perfection. Only 509 cases produced. (MY NOTE: I enjoy Zinfandel on occasion, but it's not my favorite wine. Zinfusion, however, got my attention and held it with its complex, bold flavors.)

2006 VENTI CINQUE ANNI~~ OK, for you non Latin types, simply put, Twenty Fifth Anniversary. A Blend of Small lots from some of the exquisite vineyards in P.R. that include 34% Zinfandel, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah, 9% Petit Verdot, and 9% Malbec, this big boy delivers in style. A nose of earthy dark fruits and pepper wafts through your sinuses that seems to make the palate jealous. When satiated, your palate then does a happy dance around the ripe plum, black currant, vanilla and white pepper that races up and down your tongue front to back. The finish is quite lengthy as expected and easily shows off a balance of acid and a muscled structure that tells you that it is good now, but has room to get even better. Versatile in which is is really good just enjoying on its own, but could sit quite comfortably on a dinner table of hearty food. (MY NOTE: One word: YUMMMM. This is a GREAT wine and perfect for this time of year along with a good beef stew or leg of lamb with Yorkshire pudding or, as Jeff suggests, on its own, perhaps in front of a roaring fire. It was REALLY cold today and snowed, so my mind is on the concept of keeping warm.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Right. I know. I'm four days late with this. I'VE BEEN BUSY!!! I did make time on Christmas Eve, however, to visit Jeff at Parker Wine Cellars to apologize for missing so many wine tastings lately and to take him a sampling of Greek pastries. (There's an interesting thought: which wine would you pair with kourambiethes or melomakarouna?)

I walked into Parker Wine Cellars at the PERFECT time, because there was an open bottle of wine and I got a taste. Steve, the representative for Amancaya, was showing off their 2008 Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Argentina. Very dry, full-bodied, with a good flavor. I think Jeff is considering whether to carry the wine in Parker Wine Cellars.

We're past Christmas now and almost to New Year's, so I'll get a head start by saying HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Kourambiethes (as promised)

We all have our favorite childhood memories. A great many of mine revolve around food (travel too, but that might have to be a subject for another blog). Kourambiethes and my beloved Greek grandmother are among my earliest memories. Traditionally, Greek grandmothers are called "YaYa" but mine was "Nana." That loving title was bestowed on her by her first grandchildren, whose mother, my Aunt Mona, came over from Wales as a war bride after World War II. She was always Nana to me, and no child could have wished for a better grandmother. Or a better baker. She divined early on that her little granddaughter simply adored the Greek shortbread, and made sure that when I visited her big clapboard house in Englewood, New Jersey, a large supply of the pastries were readily available to someone of my short stature. The door would open and I'd take off for the pastry cupboard as fast as my fat little legs would carry me.

I never outgrew my love for these pastries so, naturally, when I was old enough to start cooking, I learned to make them. Mom used to just throw in a little of this and a little of that, but *I* have a recipe:

1 lb. unsalted butter (yes, a whole pound)
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 oz. brandy, whisky or ouzo
3 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
Whole cloves (for garnish -- optional)
1 lb. box confectioners sugar for topping

Allow butter to soften to room temperature. Beat with electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar, egg yolk, orange juice and liquor, beating all the while until thick as mayonnaise. Add flour and cornstarch and mix. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 5 minutes until smooth (no cracks in the dough from unmixed flour -- those will come back to haunt you). The consistency of the dough should remind you of PlayDoh. Roll dough into a round log and cut diagonally into 1/2" thick slices about 2" x 1", or make into round balls, or whatever shape you like, really. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1/2" apart. If you want to, stick a whole clove in the center of each one. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

In the meantime, sift 1 cup confectioners sugar on a clean shallow pan or cookie sheet and cover the bottom thickly. Using a spatula, transfer hot cookies onto the sugar gently and side-by-side, as soon as you remove them from the oven. Sift the remaining sugar on top and sides of the cookies. Cool for a few hours, if you can keep people away from them. They can be made ahead of time, because they taste great the next day and the day after that . . . if they last that long!

Melomakarouna!

My mother was Greek, born in America to immigrant parents. Her rich cultural heritage included some kick-ass recipes that I remember fondly from childhood and, as The Family Cook, I have faithfully recreated as many of them as I can.

Jennie and I are particularly fond of Melomakarouna, which is ridiculously easy to make. Simply mix together the following ingredients:

1 1/4 cups oil (I use canola oil)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
Rind of one orange
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup whisky or rum
1 Tbs. honey
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 cups flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (either in the batter or sprinkled on top)

You'll also need a medium size bottle of honey, but don't put that in the dough.

The consistency of the batter is a little weird, kind of like wet Play-Doh. Form the dough into little oblong or round cakes (about 1 1/2" in diameter) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until light brown.

In the meantime, put the honey into a deep saucepan (trust me on this one), and bring to a boil. Honey boils up and over VERY easily, by the way, so don't walk away from it. When the cookies come out of the oven, drop them a few at a time into the boiling honey and then just as quickly take them out. That's the time to sprinkle the nuts on top, if you haven't put them in the batter, because they'll stick nicely in the honey. And I'm SURE my readers are smart enough that I don't really need to say "please use tongs to pick the cookies out of the boiling honey," right?

These cookies are great for a decadent, carb-filled breakfast with a cup of coffee, and they stay moist for days, if they last that long. My mother used to make a big batch of them before a family vacation, and we'd have them for breakfast with a cup of coffee in the motel rooms instead of spending money for breakfast at a restaurant. No complaints from me -- I love Melomakarouna!

Today I'm going to make Kourambiethes, a Greek variation on traditional shortbread. This was my grandmother's specialty, and I'll regale you with family stories in my next blog. Opa!

Fireworks For My Birthday

The holidays are full of good food and wine, and I've been too damned busy to write about any of it. If I'm not eating and drinking, I'm recovering. Or shopping. The day after Thanksgiving, one of my best friends flew over from England for a much-needed escape, and we spent five lovely days eating, drinking and shopping.

Two days after she departed, I celebrated my 55th birthday. Yes, I am now eligible for the senior citizen discounts at both IHOP and Sigel's Liquor Store (on Tuesdays only). Three guesses which one I'm hitting up first. And this year, the City of Murphy, Texas provided fireworks for my birthday! Unfortunately, I had to miss the weekly wine tasting at Parker Wine Cellars in order to make it home in time, but, well, fireworks don't happen on EVERY birthday!

Oh, okay, the fireworks weren't FOR my birthday, but they did occur ON my birthday. Murphy Maize Days, our October vendor fair, got rained out so they rescheduled the fireworks for December 2, my birthday, which pleased me enormously. I've loved fireworks ever since I lived in Anaheim, California, close enough to Disneyland that we could watch the summer fireworks from the end of our street.

In celebration of both the fireworks and my birthday, my friends Bonnie and Margaret came over with a few bottles of wine. We sampled prosecco, moscato, and 7 Deadly Zins. The prosecco and moscato were an experiment, and we all agreed that Barefoot Bubbly was a better sparkling wine for the price. However, it was all wonderful: friends, fireworks, and a toast to my new year.

Because of family obligations, tonight was my "official" birthday dinner (see, I managed to celebrate all week in one form or fashion!), which I chose to have at Urban Crust, a lovely restaurant in historic downtown Plano, Texas. The menu is simple yet fresh and innovative: wood-fired pizza, interesting appetizers (mussels in tomatillo sauce -- YUM), and a daily special, which today was Almond Encrusted Flounder with a Lemon Butter Sauce. It was absolutely delicious.

My wine of choice was their special: a 2005 Shardana, Sardinia Carignan-Syrah. It was a complex wine with hints of fruit and dried flowers and a finish of vanilla and black pepper. I savored every sip. Yes, it was too heavy with the fish, but it was a truly perfect wine, so instead of having a wine that complemented the meal, I enjoyed the wine and I enjoyed the meal. It's my birthday. I can do what I want.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I hope that each and every one of you had an absolutely awesome Thanksgiving! Ours was a lot of fun, probably because we don't have any blood relatives in the vicinity, so our guest list is comprised of friends who share our farts and foibles, and are good-humored under most circumstances. We had 11 humans and 4 dogs. The feast began around noon and finished up around 10 p.m. We had turkey, ham, oyster stuffing (YUM!!! Check out the recipe in last week's Dallas Morning News Wednesday Guide section, bread stuffing, mashed potatoes (made with homemade creme fraiche, which gave it a little extra panache), mashed rutabagas (my new favorite veg), homemade focaccia and homemade rolls, broccoli cheese casserole, pumpkin pie and chocolate bourbon pecan pie. It was all totally awesome. Now, it would have been nice if the Cowboys won the football game we were watching, but considering that three of us cooks (and the dogs) napped all the way through half of it, well, . . . whatEVA! Great day.

And no, I do NOT go shopping on Black Friday, though I ventured forth timorously to purchase a needed item (ironing board) and then scuttled back home to prepare for the arrival of a friend from England.

Let the holiday festivities continue!