Lobster Ravioli with Truffle Mushroom Cream Sauce Paired with 2009 Piedmont Vineyards Special Reserve Virginia Chardonnay

I recently spent the better part of a week in Boston.  Although I was there for business, I was eating my way through Beantown at every opportunity.  I was particularly fortunate to be staying at the Mariner’s Inn in the North End - an Italian neighborhood with dozens of wonderful Italian restaurants.  While walking down Hanover Street grazing through menu after menu of mouth watering delights, I felt I was in Italy – there were equal amounts Italian and English conversations as I strolled along.

Here are just a few of my indulgences while in Boston:

• Wellfleet Oysters at Union Oyster House
• New England clam chowder from Boston Chowda
• More Wellfleet Oysters at The Met Back Bay
• Osso bucco at Mama Marias
• Seafood fra diavolo at Strega
• Veal Marsala at Artu Rosticceria &Trattoria
• Lobster ravioli in a white wine truffle cream sauce at Florentine Café
• Oh, and a couple of cigars at Stanza Dei Sigari

My last meal in Boston was the lobster ravioli from the Florentine Café.  Soon after the meal, I was on the phone with Chef Sue to tell her I just had the best lobster ravioli of my life.  I mentioned that I was inspired and planned to attempt a recreation of the dish.  While my intentions were good and pure, I was stopped short by Chef Sue when she said “I will handle this.”  Chef sue is working hard these days – meaning she needed a day of therapy cooking.  I did not put up a fight.

With only a couple days separation from my wonderful experience at Florentine Café, the memory of flavors still lingered closely.  I tasted Chef Sue’s version and was amazed at how close she matched it – without the benefit of sampling the meal I had enjoyed just three days earlier!  Maybe we can credit my precise and detailed description…or maybe we can just call Chef Sue a kitchen magician.  The only difference I could detect was the slight acidity and fruit added by the wine used in the Florentine Café version.  Chef Sue decided to forego the wine component.

The principle flavors of this dish come from the sweet lobster, and creamy, earthy truffle components of the sauce.  Within the dish, the flavors are very well balanced, allowing each component to bask in the limelight without competing for attention.  Beautiful.

My pairing choice was the 2009 Piedmont Vineyards Special Reserve Virginia Chardonnay.  This wine is a full bodied Chardonnay featuring pronounced butter and healthy oak flavors with a lengthy, and satisfying finish.  This is not a shy wine – it grabs your attention and demands you take another sip to ensure there are no misunderstandings.  For some foods, this wine may not be the best choice given the prominent role of the French Oak.  However, it worked splendidly with the truffle, cream, and sweet lobster flavors of our dish.  The moderate acidity and full body formed a nice balance with our meal.  As we finished, both Chef Sue and I commented that this wine would be spectacular with smoked chicken or smoked fish.

Recipes

Pasta Dough

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups semolina flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 6 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

1. Add flower to the bowl of your electric mixer (with dough hook)
2. Start the mixer to medium speed and add eggs one at a time.
3. Add olive oil and salt.
4. Let the mixer do it's thing until the dough is smooth, firm and dry. You can adjust the texture with water or the addition of flour.
5. Remove the dough from the mixer, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let sit for an hour.

Lobster Ravioli

Ingredients

• 1 lobster (2 to 3 pounds)
• 1 pint half and half
• 1 pound sliced baby portabella mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons white truffle oil
• 1 pound pasta dough
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation

1. Steam lobster. To steam live lobster, pour about two inches of water in a large pot, add 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water (sea salt is best). If you have a steaming rack, use it. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add lobster - head first. Cover and return to a boil as quickly as possible and start counting the time. Here are recommended cooking times:
   • 1-1/4 lbs. 7-8 minutes
   • 1-1/2 lb. 8-10 minutes
   • 2 lbs. 11-12 minutes
   • 2-1/2-3 lb. 12-14 minutes
   • 5 lb. 20-22 minutes

Lobsters are done when the outer shell is bright red and when the meat is white, not opaque. DO NOT overcook your lobsters. Your lobsters will continue to cook a little after you take them out of the pot. To stop the cooking process, place your steamed lobsters in a bowl of ice before cracking. 

1. Reserve one cup of the steaming liquid for use in the sauce.
2. Remove claw and tail meat and cut to bite size pieces. Reserve half of the meat and set aside.  Dice the remaining half, mix with ricotta cheese, and season to taste.
3. Roll out pasta dough and make ravioli from tablespoon of lobster mixture. Cook ravioli for two minutes just before serving.
4. Sauce. Add 1 cup liquid reserved from steaming the lobster to a sauce pan with 1/2 of the sliced mushrooms to the pan. Cook over medium heat for about ten minutes.
5. Add mushrooms and liquid to a blender with 1/2 of the half and half. Blend until smooth. Return to the sauce pan and add remaining half and half, and mushrooms. Simmer, reducing by 1/3.
6. Add truffle oil and reserved lobster meat. Season to taste, and simmer until lobster is warmed through.
7. While simmering sauce, boil ravioli for two minutes, drain and pour sauce mixture over the ravioli when serving.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Maine Lobster Roll from Luke’s Lobster Paired with 2008 Ledson Sonoma Coast Tres Frais Chardonnay

For the last few month’s, my wine pairing work list (my favorite work list) has included pairing a lobster roll from one of the Washington DC food trucks.  However, I recently learned of Luke’s Lobster (624 E Street NW) that opened in May 2011.  So rather than have a lunchtime lobster roll from a food truck and glass of wine (still a good idea), Chef Sue and I decided to give Luke’s Lobster a chance at satisfying our lobster dependency.

We were not disappointed.  On the contrary, we were delighted well beyond our expectations.  We decided to treat ourselves at Luke’s Lobster and order “Noah’s Ark” billed as a taste of Maine for two which included two half lobster, crab and shrimp rolls, two pairs of Empress crab claws, chips, and Maine sodas.  Luke’s Lobster claims the rolls are made Maine style with the seafood served chilled on a buttered and toasted New England-style split-top bun with a light touch of mayo, a sprinkle of lemon butter, and a dash of “secret” spices.  If you are not craving a lobster roll at this very moment, you are either not a fan of crustaceans, or may be from an alien race inhabiting the meat bag you call a body.

These seafood rolls were spectacular.  Everything that surrounded the seafood was applied with a very light touch leaving the wonderfully prepared seafood to speak for itself.  The seafood is the star of the show, and Luke’s Lobster does a brilliant job of ensuring the other components of the sandwich do not detract from the beautiful tenderness of the seafood.

Having only lived in New England for a few years, I cannot claim to be a lobster roll aficionado.  However, Chef Sue is an authentic New Englander so I had to ask; “how does this lobster roll rate on authenticity?”  The moans of approval and a thumbs up from the hand not occupied with the lobster roll told me that Luke’s Lobster had satisfied the discriminating palate of a New England native.

With these straight forward, delicate and fresh flavors, pairing with this meal was easy stuff.  I chose the 2008 Ledson Sonoma coast Tres Frais Chardonnay.  Here are the tasting notes from Ledson Winery and Vineyards:

“A blend of our Stainless Steel Chardonnays, this Sonoma Coast Chardonnay delights with lemon, apple, lychee fruit and pineapple flavors that swirl with aromas of butterscotch and notes of vanilla on your palate. Smooth and crisp, this Chardonnay follows with a clean finish perfect with dishes like lobster, mashed potatoes, garlic linguini, or grilled scallops in lemon-butter sauce.”

According to the fine folks at Ledson, this wine was made for lobster.  I completely agree.  The fresh fruit and vanilla notes were a perfect complement to the seafood.  The body of this Chardonnay matched perfectly, and the smoothness combined with the crisp finish allowed the flavors to blend nicely leaving the wine and seafood flavors to linger equally after each bite.  The 2008 Ledson Sonoma coast Tres Frais Chardonnay is normally $28, a good value, but is now specially priced at $17 on the Ledson website.  At $17, this is an exceptional value that I highly recommend for your next lobster indulgence.  Better yet, order a bottle (or maybe a case), head over to Luke’s Lobster, and enjoy a beautiful bi-coastal marriage of flavor – a spectacular indulgence worth every penny.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Crab Stuffed Lobster Paired with 2009 Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio

The title of stuffed lobster is a severe understatement.  This pairing featured Chef Sue at her New England root’s finest.  Keeping company with the perfectly prepared crab stuffed lobster were clam fitters, fried clams, long neck clams, and some garlic sautéed green beans to add a bit of color.  Joining us for this shell fish fiesta was good friend Gun Slinger Teji.

I will not be providing recipes for this menu – other than making some crab stuffing (freshly picked crab meat, bread crumbs, butter and minced onion), this menu is just a matter of steaming fresh seafood and a small bit of time in the oven for the stuffed lobster.

The Food

Seafood, shell fish or not, is always welcome on my plate.  I love the delicate flavors and textures.  But how do you describe the flavor of lobster?  The word that comes to mind is DELICIOUS.  The same goes for the clams and crabs that were keeping the lobster company.  Unfortunately, when we are asking the questions of “why” with respect to a wine pairing, “delicious” is not of much help.  So here is my stab at a description of the dominant flavors; when I think of lobster, I think of early summer corn combined with an easy earthiness and a touch of the sea.  This description is not great, but it helps explain why we love to combine butter with lobster and the other shell fish supporting the lobster.

I have to admit that this menu was terribly indulgent.  Crab stuffed lobster, clam fritters, fried clams, and long neck clams (steamers) along with some clarified butter for dipping, and some garlic sautéed green beans just for the fun of it.  Time to hit the road for a few miles!  Not withstanding my need to hit the gym, the flavor palate across these dishes was a true pleasure; consistent and related which made the wine pairing a piece of cake.

The Wine

The 2009 Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio is a beautifully fresh wine with abundant acidity, flavors of fresh citrus conjuring orange and grapefruit (accentuated by the pleasant citrus aromas) and a nicely balanced sweetness.  Overall, the Santa Cristina is lively, bright, refreshing, easy to drink, and a wonderful pairing for dishes not featuring acidic components (like a tomato based sauce) and more delicate dishes that require the wine to blend with, rather than overpower the subtle flavors.  At $13, this wine is a very good value with a wonderfully food friendly composition.

The Pairing

Our judges, Chef Sue and Gun Slinger Teji, were very pleased with the pairing.  Our mouths were watering in anticipation of this New England shell fish extravaganza which left our expectations high.  The food was brilliant, and the wine a perfect match.  The success of the pairing can be attributed to the pleasant citrus flavors and the acidity of the Santa Cristina - a natural for seafood.  Think of squeezing a fresh lemon on your seafood to balance the acidity – in this case it came in a nice bottle, and was more pleasant than the lemon.

Final Words

Unlike some of the pairings I have written about, this pairing featured a number of items.  Fortunately, all the flavors fell within a fairly narrow band and did not complicate the way food and wine worked together to achieve a heavenly blend.

I believe I have one other pairing on deck that features photography using only available light.  In the near future you should see some improvement in the quality of photography with the use of my new homemade lighting rig.  If you are interested in my lighting solution, check my photography blog “Craig Corl Photography” later this week.  I will be explaining fully my lighting solution and what my experimentation has revealed.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Taste and Flavor for Food and Wine Pairing

The photograph leading off this post is simply gratuitous.  Unlike most posts, this one is more about words than photos.  So if you are just looking for the pretty photographs of great food, you can turn back now.  However, if you want to read about taste and flavor, read on.

My purposes for Craig’s Grape Adventure are several including a great excuse to enjoy great food and wine, explore food and wine pairings I have not yet experienced, uncover the “why” of food and wine pairing that creates a sensation greater than the sum of it’s parts, and of course to enjoy making it all look good through photography. The purpose of this article is to begin discussing our experience of taste and flavor to lay the foundation for understanding why food and wine pairings work – or don’t.

For those of you who already have a solid understanding of this, I apologize – like my good friends who enjoy all the pretty pictures, you too can turn back now. However, among my group of friends and others who have written to me, I know that the understanding of pairings vary dramatically; from those who are eager learners to those who are more skilled than I am. I trust everyone will find a grain of useful information. To begin the discussion I want to focus on taste and flavor. While some argue the distinction between taste and flavor is a matter of splitting hairs, I believe there is good reason to distinguish and hope to make the case here.

We are all aware of the five basic tastes; sweetness, bitterness, sourness, saltiness and the less well understood and more recent acknowledgement in western cuisine – umami. And this story of tastes is a debate that has not yet ended. Consider the flavor of piquance that comes from the Spanish word “picante” which reflects our sensation of spiciness – as in spicy hot – a taste with roots in Chinese, Indian, and Japanese cuisine. Personally, I like the expanded definition of tastes; it gives us more and better ways to describe our experience. For my less than scientific purposes, I will admit all six.

Because umami is less well understood in Western culture, let me take just a moment to talk about it. Umami comes from the Japanese and means a pleasant savory taste. Some research suggests that rather than a distinct taste, umami refers to a distinctive quality or completeness of flavor which in the West we would generally describe as savory or simply delicious. Personally, I generally use it as a declaration of particularly delicious food like a steak fresh off the grill when I exclaim “ooooooh mommy!” Umami is common among proteins, like the NY strip steak I just seared and grilled to perfection, and vegetables – think of ripe tomatoes, eggplant, fish, mushrooms, soy sauce, and spinach. When you think of these foods, you can imagine the mild and pleasing taste that is difficult to describe. Just thinking about it starts the salivation and conjures flavors concentrated in the back of the mouth.

While on the subject of umami, a good question is whether we experience umami in wine. The answer is yes! But unfortunately it is not commonplace. Umami develops in wines that are at the peak of maturity and quality and typically appear in wines that have been treated with extreme care and involve artisanal methods such as barrel or cuve fermentation, malolactic fermentation, extended barrel development, bottling with no filtration, and aging in temperature and humidity controlled cellars. Chances of experiencing umami in wine increase with bottle aged wines in the three to ten year range.

The debate of umami and wine continues to rage – mostly because of the chemical-receptor processes involved (too deep for me!), but I am confident I have experienced it. A recent umami experience with umami in both the wine and the food came with my Ghost Block Cabernet Sauvignon pairing with lamb from the Decanting Napa Valley cookbook. That was a serious ooooh mommy moment. Finally, don’t expect to find umami flavors in young fresh wines. These wines focus on the tastes that generally do not include umami. When it comes to umami and wine, think of mature rather than fresh.

When we experience food, these basic tastes are just the start. Other strong contributors to our experience include smell, texture, temperature and the visual component. I won’t dwell on the visual component, but I am confident we have all had the pleasure of a beautiful dish (or not so much) that affected our expectations and therefore influenced our judgment of the flavor.  Now we get to the hear of the matter; the difference between taste and flavor. Taste refers to the receptors that send a signal to the brain. Flavors are the more complex combination of all these additional components. In other words, when you take your first bite of a perfectly prepared and plated foie gras, the combination of appearance, aroma, texture, taste, and temperature all contribute to your experience and judgment of flavor. It is this integration of the senses that compose the flavor. This helps explain why we describe wine in terms of flavors (fruit, citrus, acidity, earth, fresh, dark, deep, spice, and so on) rather than taste. Another way to think about it is understanding taste as physical (bitter, sour, salty, sweet, umami) and flavor is the sum of our perceptions from all these tastes plus the aroma, texture, temperature, and appearance. Flavor is cognitive – meaning it is the recognition that happens after the taste signals are transmitted. Taste is a finite chemically induced piece of information, while flavor is an infinite mental construct which can also include intangibles of memory and place such as that bite of lobster macaroni and cheese that takes you back fondly to a New England dockside food shack with lobster boats bobbing in the distance.

To wrap up this first installment of the “stuff” that informs our choices of food and wine pairing, the conclusion is that flavors are complex and infinite. The good news is that with an infinite (ok, maybe almost infinite) set of flavors and flavor combinations, we have lots of room for making food and wine pairing an extremely pleasurable experience. In future posts we will look at flavor descriptions, flavor and aroma, and some of the rules of thumb that help us understand why pairings work – or don’t.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Food Photography Tips and a Preview

I have heard from a number of you with kind words about this blog.  I really appreciate it.  The other thing I hear, are great stories of why people visit the blog and how they experience it.  Some of you can’t read, and just look at the pretty pictures.  Others get to the section describing the wine, open a bottle, and then forget you left your computer on.  Many of you have been inspired to go the gym more frequently so you can enjoy more of this great food and wine.  Many of us should spend more time in the gym.  And then there are some of you who are interested in improving your food photography.

I have recently started a series of articles on my photography blog (Craig Corl Photography) to share what I have learned about food photography.  I have written three articles so far, and am sure to have at least two or three more before I wrap up the series.  Here are links to the first three articles:

• My Challenges with Food Photography
• Food Photography Tips (1 to 5)
• Food Photography Tips (6-10)

Finally, I have a small backlog of wine pairings that include a 2009 Santa Cristina Pino Grigio paired with Chef Sue’s New England seafood extravaganza, and a 2006 Baron Herzog Chenin Blanc paired with smoked chicken and polenta with sautéed spinach, home made ricotta parmesan crisp and pancetta.

Come back soon for all the details on this great food and wine.  I also hope to get back to Decanting Napa Valley the Cookbook sometime this week.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig