Broiled Oysters Paired with 2009 Mayo Family Winery Emma's Vineyard Napa Valley Unwooded Sauvignon Blanc

This pairing was inspired by two recent events.  The first was the Old Ebbitt Grill annual Oyster Riot, and the second a visit to Senart’s Oyster & Chop House on Barracks Row in Washington DC.  In the last month, I have consumed more Oysters than I normally slurp down over the course of several years.  What have I been thinking?  I love oysters!

I attended the Oyster Riot with a group of friends that made for a wonderful evening.  Not only is this event a celebration of oysters, it features the top wines from an international competition of oyster and wine pairing – right up my alley.  Unsurprisingly, the wines were dominated by Sauvignon Blanc – a pairing that virtually guarantees success.  The real surprise was the variety of flavors represented by oysters harvested up and down the East and West coasts of the U.S. and Canada.  I had no idea there was such a diversity of flavor from the humble oyster.

The three dimensions on which the flavors varied were salinity, sweetness, and earthiness – in order of prominence.  The oyster riot features stands of oysters each labeled with the location they were harvested making comparisons easy and quite enjoyable.  The first two dimensions of flavor were easily distinguishable – salinity and relative sweetness jumped out immediately.  More subtle was the component of earthiness – a mushroom-like flavor that was particularly noticeable in the Rhode Island oysters.  Coincidentally, the Rhode Island oysters were my favorite closely followed by a selection from British Colombia.

More recently, Chef Sue, Golf Buddy Steve, Formerly of Austin Dawn and I visited Senart’s Oyster & Chop House following an exciting victory of the New England Patriots over the Washington Redskins.  I am a fan of both teams, but was happy the game was close and the Pats came out on top.  I instantly targeted the broiled oysters on the menu to cap off a great day – and what a good choice they were.  I also came to the conclusion “hey, I can make these!”  My approach to preparing the broiled oysters is directly inspired by the expert preparation at Senart’s Oyster & Chop House and is a near relative to Oysters Rockefeller.

Sauvignon Blanc is a classic pairing for Oysters.  The 2009 Mayo Family Winery Emma's Vineyard Napa Valley Unwooded Sauvignon Blanc is no exception.  The great folks at Mayo Family Winery recognize this holy marriage as well - as they state on the bottle “Serve this crisp, fruity, elegant wine alongside oysters on the half shell…”

Notes from the winemaker:

“Emma's Vineyard in Napa Valley is the source of Sauvignon Blanc grapes that always possess a citrus character we love so much and you will too. This wine has always been one of our most popular bottlings for its expressive and refreshing qualities. The 2009 vintage is made from the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vines on the property and delivers stone fruit notes, a fresh palate presence and hints of grapefruit and lemon. Perfect for the last warm days of the year.”

So why do Sauvignon Blanc and oysters work so well together?  The answer is that not all Sauvignon Blancs work well. To achieve a well balanced pairing, seek out a Sauvignon Blanc that features fruit that is not over ripened and sweet.  A light bodied, crisp, grassy, Sauvignon Blanc with healthy acidity and minerality will echo the flavors in the oyster while offering a balancing level of acidity much like the wedge of lime we often add.  A joyous experience – precisely accomplished by the 2009 Mayo Family Winery Emma's Vineyard Napa Valley Unwooded Sauvignon Blanc.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 12 fresh oysters in the shell
• 6 ounce package of baby spinach cleaned and dried
• Gruyere cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 strips bacon
• White caviar
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation

1. Halve the bacon lengthwise then cut into one inch lengths.
2. Render bacon in a large skillet over medium low heat. Do not allow the bacon to crisp. Remove bacon and set aside. Finely dice when cooled.
3. In same skillet with remaining bacon fat, add minced garlic and sauté until just browning.
4. Add spinach, wilt, and sauté. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and reserve.
5. Clean the oysters under cold water and scrub with a brush to remove whatever may be left clinging to the shell.
6. Shuck the oysters with an oyster knife and a oyster glove or knife glove. Shucking oysters can be a challenge until you find the little opening near the hinge. Insert the knife, and twist to open. Using an oyster knife and a oyster shucking glove is important to keeping you from the emergency room and unwanted stitches. Retain the oyster in the deep side of the shell.
7. Assemble the oysters by placing a small bed of spinach in the bottom of the shell, add the oyster, then a one inch square sliver of gruyere cheese and top with diced bacon from step 2.
8. Place under a broiler for five minutes or until cheese melts. For those of you who do not like the slimy texture of oysters, no fear. The broiling process takes care of this.
9. Remove from broiler top with caviar and serve with a wedge of lemon.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Grilled New York Strip Steak with Craig’s Bourbon Rub, Grilled Garden Fresh Vegetables Paired with 2007 Mayo Family Winery Napa Valley Random Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Labor Day, the official end of summer in the U.S. has come and gone.  Like many people, part of our holiday weekend included well spent time in front of the grill.  Although Labor day marks the official end of summer, it should not mark the end of your grilling season.  Quite the contrary.  With football season underway and the first week of the NFL schedule capped off by a spectacular and record crushing win by my beloved New England Patriots over the Miami Dolphins, we now enter the serious tailgate grilling season.  If you want to take your grilling experience to a new level, my bourbon rub is a tasty way to do so.

I have to admit that “bourbon rub” is a bit of a misnomer.  On the other hand, it is not a barbeque sauce either.  It is somewhere between the two – it is a barbeque paste.  The word paste just doesn’t have the same appeal as a “rub” so I am taking a bit of culinary creative license…because I can.

When you look at the seasonings in this concoction, it looks like a rub…until you get to the brown sugar and bourbon.  These two ingredients rule out use as a “rub.”  If you use this as a rub, the bourbon will give you a fun moment of pyrotechnics as the bourbon ignites.  As the bourbon ignites, it caramelizes the sugar, and if left on for the full grilling time, will go beyond caramelization to a full-on char.  For this reason, I am providing specific directions for when and how to use the rub.

But before we get to that, we need to discuss meat.  The best way to buy meat is from a butcher.  Not the butcher at your local grocery store (there are exceptions) who cuts the meat, wraps it up and places it in the display cooler.  I mean a real butcher where you can pick a slab of meat, have the butcher trim it to your specifications then cut the steaks to your favorite thickness.  Personally, I prefer the Barney Rubble size steaks – 1 1/2 inches thick or even a touch more.  Why?  Thickly cut steaks allow you to get a nice sear, grill for an appropriate time, and leave the center a beautiful and tasty medium rare.  Honestly, it should be a criminal offense to cut a thin steak, grill it until uniformly brown throughout, and serve it as a substitute for shoe leather.  I cringe when I hear someone order a steak well done.  Why bother?

With my “well done” rant out of the way, lets talk about the appropriate use of Craig’s Bourbon Rub (paste).  First I will explain my formula for grilling Barney Rubble sized steak.  Heat the grill so when you set your first steak on the grates you hear that wonderful sizzling that lets you know the fun is underway.  I set my timer to two minutes and flip the steaks three times so the steak is on the grill for 10 minutes.  But you say “three flips multiplied by two minutes does not add up to 10 minutes Craig!”  I will prove that it does.  Place your steaks on the grill, close the lid, pick up your glass of wine, take a joyful sip, then turn on your timer.  When the timer runs down, take another sip of your wine, put the glass down, turn off the barking timer, walk over to the grill, lift the lid, flip the steaks and repeat the process.  This leisurely approach to enjoying your wine, fiddling with your timer, and maybe a kiss for your spouse will account for the missing two minutes.

Now the critical part – applying Craig’s Bourbon Rub.  The rub should be applied at the last flip and will be on the grill for just two minutes to avoid going from caramelized to char.  Specifically, when you get to the last flip, take the steaks off the grill.  THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!  With honest to god real bourbon in the recipe, you do not want to risk a flame-up while you have your hands over the grill.  With the steaks off the grill apply the “rub” to both sides of the steak using the back of a spoon to compress the “rub” onto both surfaces.  Send the steaks back to the grill, and flip after one minute to get good caramelization on both sides.

For the pairing, I ventured to the depths of the Corl wine vault and selected a 2007 Mayo Family Winery Napa Valley Random Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.  Here are some notes from the winemaker:

“Officially this vineyard is in Napa Valley. However, it really sits on the very top of the mountain that divides Sonoma Valley from Napa Valley. The mountain grown grapes give us obscenely rich, intense wine that is stuffed full of dark berry and cassis flavors backed up by a structure that begs for cellaring. Very little is produced in part because yields are so low in the vineyard, but also because fruit from this vineyard is very difficult to come by. Fortunately, our relationship with the owner/grower is quite solid. Enjoy this wine with a medium rare, well seared rib eye.”

Although the winemaker suggests this wine begs for cellaring, we found it silky smooth and ready to drink now.  The dark berry flavors were a wonderful flavor compliment to the bourbon rubbed NY strip steak, and the body was a perfect match.  Steak and Cabernet Sauvignon is a natural pairing – like Tom Brady and Wes Welker – you just can’t lose!

This wine is available online from Mayo Family Winery.  This is a small Sonoma winery that produces spectacular wine.  You will not find it at your local wine store, so give them a visit and enjoy some fantastic wine.

Recipe

Craig’s Bourbon Rub, errr Paste

Ingredients

This recipe provides enough "rub" for two to three steaks

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Grind fennel seed and dried rosemary leaves in a coffee grinder.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Add bourbon (I used Maker's Mark) and mix into a paste.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
5. When you are ready to grill your steaks, season with salt and pepper, and begin grilling using my secret timing formula.  Apply the paste (OFF THE GRILL) to both sides for the last two minutes of the grilling time making sure each side gets one minute of flame time.
6. Happy grilling!

Grilled Vegetables

For the gilled vegetables, I selected a variety of vegetables from the local farm stand that included three different colors of eggplant, potatoes, red pepper, and onion.  I cut the vegetables into bite size chunks, placed them in a foil packet with a pad of butter and seasoned with salt and pepper.  Place the packets to the side of the grill (off direct heat) when you put the steaks on.  Grilling in the tent for 10 minutes makes for nicely al dente veggie morsels that maintain some texture to match nicely with the steak.  If they are too al dente for you, just leave them on the grill for a few extra minutes while you let the steaks rest before serving.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Curried Duck with Ginger and Mango, Seared Duck Liver with Plum, Turnip Puree, Duck Gizzard and Heart Salad Paired with 2007 Mayo Viognier

This meal is all about making the most of the rest of the duck.  Recently I wrote about a duck breast pairing “Glazed Duck Breast Quinoa, Cipollini Onions, Black Trumpet Mushrooms Paired with 2006 ZD Carneros Pinot Noir.”  The pairing under consideration in this post is a result of the rest of the duck.  I had carcasses (including legs and thighs intact) and all the other bits and pieces so decided to use every quacking piece.

My results were mixed.  As I have always promised, I will share the good and the bad – even when the “bad” is my own doing.  So lets get on with the blow-by-blow.

The Food

With all the bits and pieces of duck, I decided on a three course meal.  To start, a salad of sautéed duck hearts and gizzards over mixed greens with a plum vinaigrette.  This was followed by seared duck liver over sliced plum and a plum caramel sauce.  And finally, curried duck with ginger and mango accompanied by a puree of turnips.

The salad was very tasty, but the texture was horrible.  I was not able to get the gizzards soft enough – no, they were just plain chewy.  So we pushed aside gizzards and enjoyed the hearts, greens and plum vinaigrette.  I will include the preparation instructions when I get it right.  If you can make gizzards sufficiently tender, you have a winner.

The seared liver was very nice, and the caramel plum sauce and bed of sliced plums added a bit of sweet contrast with the plum flavors swimming in unison with the seared liver.  Unfortunately, you will have to take my word for it; Chef Sue is not a fan of liver and politely declined my offering.

The curried duck with ginger and mango was really all I needed.  The rest of the meal was just taking up space.  This was seriously good, and perfect use of the unused duck.  The dominant flavors came from the mildly gamey duck, curry spices, coconut milk, slight hints of ginger, and sweet fruity mango.  Surprisingly, the flavors were well balanced.

Finally, the turnips.  Just stinking awful.  I have prepared turnips plenty of times.  These were fibrous and nearly inedible.  This was a real disappointment because I enjoy turnips.  I can’t say for certain, but I believe it was the turnip and not the cook.  But in the end, I was enjoying the duck and the wine sufficiently to completely forget about the turnip abomination (as a matter of fact, I almost forgot to write about it).

The Wine

The 2007 Mayo Family Winery Russian River Valley, Saralee’s Vineyard Viognier comes from our membership in the Mayo Family Winery wine club – a recent delivery.

I found the description on the back label of the bottle entertaining, and I thought you might enjoy it as well.

“Consider this wine a real showoff…with a secret.  It’s the aroma that makes the statement.  The wine is explosive and exotic.  Perfumed aromas of honeysuckle, ripe apricot and sweet summer peaches will knock your socks off as this is not a typical, cloying Viognier with a simple sweet greeting.  Once on your palate, you’ll love its fresh, crisp structure not usually found in Russian River Valley Viognier.  Balanced on its well-structured frame is an array of peach, lemony and floral flavors that finish forever.”

I may not be quite as energetic as this description, but I honestly cannot disagree with it – this is a wonderfully intense wine that leaves you with thoughts of “wow, where did that come from?”  The parts that stood out for me were certainly the apricot and peach aromas, a well balanced sweetness, nice crisp acidity, and the peach flavor taking center stage.  This is a great wine for food.  The sweetness, acidity and pleasing peach – apricot flavors will stand up to demanding and highly spiced foods such as Indian and Thai.  At $35, this is a fairly priced wine.

The Pairing

This was a roll your eyes back in the head palate dislocating intense experience.  No kidding.  Forget about the salad (tasty, but lets just give it an honorable mention).  Forget about the seared duck liver with plum caramel sauce (super tasty and the sweetness melded perfectly with the wine) - just a warm-up band for the main event.  The curried duck came out of its corner punching with big flavors of duck, coconut, and curry supported by a ring crew of sweet ginger and mango.  This is a heavy weight contender.  They Mayo Viognier is no light weight and returned the punches with matched intensity.  Oddly, after the first punches were thrown, they both decided to dance and sing rather than fight.  The fruits fused.  The sweet notes sang in harmony, and the acidity of the wine balanced the spice of the curry. 

Final Words

This was a prize fight match contrived by Don King, fought by the iconic heavyweights, and concluded with a Broadway musical.  This was not my plan, but I liked it!

Recipes

Plum Seared Duck Liver

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 sliced plums
• 3 duck livers

Preparation

Over medium heat add butter and sugar to a sauté pan and heat until caramel forms. Add basalmic vinegar and plums. Cook until beginning to thicken. Remove from heat and leave at the ready for plating with the duck liver.

Heat pan over high heat, and add livers seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Place plums on plates, top with seared liver and drizzle caramel around plate.

Curried Duck with Ginger and Mango

Ingredients

• Six legs and thighs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, diced
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 large mango cubed
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Garnish with Fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Season duck legs and thighs with salt and pepper.

2. After taking the breasts off your ducks and using them in another recipe (see Glazed Duck Breast Quinoa, Cipollini Onions, Black Trumpet Mushrooms Paired with 2006 ZD Carneros Pinot Noir) season the balance of the duck with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan and into a preheated oven (350).  Remove from oven when internal temp reaches 160.  Alternatively, oil a sauté pan over high heat, add duck and brown on both sides.  Either way, the legs and thighs need to end up in the sauté pan.

3. Blend one onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, vinegar, cayenne, turmeric, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water in a blender until smooth.

4. Add one onion and a large pinch of salt to the sauté pan with the duck drippings on medium heat . Sauté until soft. Add the product of your blender sidetrack and cook for two minutes.

5. Add coconut milk and 2 cups water, and bring to a simmer. Add mango, brown sugar, and duck. Bring to a boil, cover and turn heat to low and simmer for one hour turning the duck every 15 minutes. Turn duck again, and let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

6. Plate with fresh cilantro as garnish and serve.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Duck Three Ways with Mayo Viognier

Last minute invite…I am doing duck three ways tonight, and if you have a good bottle of wine, come on over and we can all share.  Tonight’s duck is “the rest of the duck” from a wine pairing we did earlier in the week – that pairing only used the breasts.  So I have three ducks in the oven rendering down some great duck fat (every freezer should have equal parts ice cream and duck fat). I will be making an adaptation of plum foie gras, the hearts and gizzards will be sautéed and featured in a micro green salad with vinaigrette, and the legs and thighs will become curried duck with mango and plum.

The remaining bits and pieces (bones and neck) will be turned into stock.  In the end, my goal is to use every possible morsel of these brave ducks.

I’m posting this at just after 5pm on Friday, 1 April.  You have about two hours before the tasting begins.  Photos and the full blow by blow should be posted next week.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig