Taking Liberties with Stuffed Cabbage Paired with 2010 Crios Mendoza Argentina Rosé of Malbec

One of the great pleasures of cooking is transforming the familiar to something new and (hopefully) excitingly delicious.  I am presently in the midst of a little bender in this regard.  A couple of weeks ago I had a long conversation with my mother that focused on some of the favorite foods of my childhood.  She followed up the conversation by sending me a dozen recipe cards for some of my favorites.  To set the stage a bit, I came from a small farm town in Michigan that was defined by lower middle class, equally divided between those working the fields, and the factory lines in nearby Grand Rapids.

My culinary exposure growing up under these circumstances was limited at best.  Compounding these circumstantial limitations is what I would classify as a challenged culinary tradition.  Before I get all the hate mail from Michigan, please know that my comments are a result of MY experience...I hope yours was better.  Around the U.S., you can go to many regions and expect to be treated with unique and enjoyable local cuisine.  I never had that sense of local tradition in Michigan.  Most dishes of interest resulted from less than remarkable poor immigrant food from the many Dutch, Germans, and Polish.  Unfortunately, my experience told me that many of these traditional foods were either lost or diluted over time.

One of the remarkable gastronomic pleasures in Michigan comes from the abundance of freshwater fish and game.  Trout, salmon, pheasant, wild turkey, venison, etc.. Each of these went under appreciated in my youth.  A shame I try to rectify whenever possible.  One particularly weighty memory from my youth was the smelt run.  In the spring, as the streams and rivers feeding the great lakes warm, the smelt begin their voyage.  At this point in their maturity, they are just several inches long and are caught with nets - otherwise known as "smelt dipping."  This process of netting smelt resulted in drums of fish being brought home and divided among the extended family.  A full day would be devoted to cleaning smelt with the reward of fresh smelt pan fried in butter waiting at the end of our labors.  A fond memory.

Back to stuffed cabbage.  Stuffed cabbage was a common guest at our table that continued when I was eventually married...completely different execution, but the same premise.  Just days ago, Chef Sue and I were out running errands and began to talk about dinner plans.  Stuffed cabbage had been on my mind since the conversation with my mother and I offered it as an option.  We quickly settled on stuffed cabbage but were in agreement with the idea of reinterpreting.

Stuffed cabbage rolls, otherwise known as galumpkis or Gołąbki (Polish), are traditionally served casserole style with a stuffing of ground beef (and/or pork) with a tomato sauce.  Our first modification was to substitute diced NY strip steak (because it was a leftover from a recent grilling extravaganza).  Next we decided to put the tomato sauce inside the cabbage rolls in the form of diced tomato.  The next modification was born from our experience of roti in Trinidad; we used curry for the seasoning of the stuffing along with some diced jalapeño pepper.  Finally the greatest herresy - we dipped the cabbage rolls in flour, applied an egg wash, then bathed them in a mixture of panko and corn meal which was finished off in a jacuzzi of heated oil.  The result was a spectacular melding that one might expect from a Polish-Trini - something I'm not sure that actually exists.  Regardless it was tasty.

While conceiving of this, my mind went directly to "what wine will work?"  As is the difficult case of pairing any spicy concoction, I quickly thought of wines with strong acidity and mild sweetness.  Our chosen day for this preparation was also a hot one, further reinforcing my thoughts of citris acidity and slightly off dry.  I have recently been intrigued by a class of wine for which I have little experience - Rosé.  Over the years, I have not had much interest for Rosé because it reminded my of the wine drinkers gateway drug - mass produced boxed White Zinfandel.  This was only reinforced when I was talking to a winemaker who shared his secrets of Rosé in a moment of weakness.  "Rosé is money!  It is a byproduct of producing my other wines - I used to pour it down the drain.  Now I bottle it, and it is pure profit."  In fact, this is one of the three methods of producing Rosé and is called Saignée.  The other two methods involve reduced skin contact (just a few days) to impart color when Rosé is the primary product, or the less common blending of red and white wine.

In my attempt to eliminate, or at least diminish, my bias against Rosé I decided to forge ahead with a pink pairing.  Wandering the rows of wine I found a bottle that caught my eye.  The 2010 Crios Mendoza Argentina Rosé of Malbec.  I was attracted to this wine for a couple of reasons.  First, just days before I had sampled the 2010 Crios Argentina Torrontes which was fantastic.  Second I was interested in a Rosé made from Malbec.

I was not disappointed with the 2010 Crios Argentina Rosé of Malbec.  This wine has more structure than I am accustomed to with Rosés (which I like), bright fruit flavors with strawberry most prominent, great acidity, and a nicely restrained touch of sweetness.  And best of all, it paired perfectly with the stuffed cabbage.  The acidity and fruit balanced the piquance and curry in the stuffing and mango chutney.  In combination, the experience greater than the sum of its parts.

Recipes

Spicy Mango Chutney

Ingredients

• Juice from two oranges
• 2 mangos diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• water

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat adding enough water to cover the diced mango.
2. Stir occasionally and reduce until thickened.

Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients

• Approximately 1 pound leftover grilled steak - or substitute any meat you care to - diced.
• 1 head of cabbage
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 onion diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tomato diced
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups panko
• 1 1/2 cups corn meal
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Prepare rice as you normally would.  Add the curry powder to the rice while boiling.
2. Sautée the onions and garlic until onions are translucent.
3. Combine rice, meat, sautéed onions, and tomato.  Mix well.
4. Microwave cabbage (whole) for five minutes.  Peal away leaves that have cooked and encase t tablespoons of the stuffing mixture.  Repeat microwaving procedure until the stuffing is exhausted.
5. Combine the cream and eggs in a bowl and mix to form an egg wash.
6. Combine the panko and cornmeal in a shallow bowl or plate.
7. Preheat vegetable oil in a fryer, large sauce pan, or as in our case - a fondue pot to 375 degrees F.
8. Roll the stuffed cabbage in the flour, then dip in the egg wash, and finally roll in the panko-cornmeal mixture.
9. Fry the stuffed cabbage until golden brown.
10. Serve with the spicy mango chutney on the side.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Sea Scallops Poached in Citrus and White Wine with a Spicy Grapefruit Reduction Paired with 2010 Hawk Haven New Jersey Pinot Grigio

After spending New Year's Eve with Friends Don and Beth in Cape May New Jersey, we set out on the first day of 2012 to visit several wineries in the Cape May area.  Among our stops, I was introduced to a true gem at Hawk Haven Vineyard and Winery. Todd and Kenna, owners of Hawk Haven Vineyard do several things exceptionally well - they produce wonderful food friendly wine, they run a warm and welcoming tasting room where they do an exceptional job of describing the wine and their philosophy behind each wine, and they are really nice people.

Hawk Haven Vineyard and Winery is young having produced their first vintage in 2007.  I find the quality of their wines quite amazing given the short time they have been producing.  The food friendly approach to their wines is of particularl interest to me.  For me, this means healthy acidity, a restrained approach which allows the fruit do the talking, and avoiding heavy handed approaches with oak and alcohol.  In other words, their wines are well balanced and begging for a great meal.

When I first tasted the 2010 Pinot Grigio from Hawk Haven Vineyard and Winery, I was immediately impressed with the beautiful floral aroma and stone fruit flavors mingling with hints of lemon in perfect balance with healthy acidity.  The acidity was a component of the wine I tucked away in my memory banks with the thought that this wine could standup to a number of bold dishes.  When conceiving my preparation of citrus and white wine poached sea scallops, the 2010 Pinot Grigio immediately came to mind.

This preparation involves poaching the sea scallops in a medley of white wine, orange, grapefruit, lemon and lime juice.  When plated, the scallops are then drizzled with a spicy grapefruit reduction.  Clearly, this amounts to acid, a bit more acid, and a touch of spicy acid to top it all off.  Anything other than the bold acidity of the 2010 Hawk Haven Pinot Grigio would have fallen flat in the face of this aggressive approach.  The pairing was a match made in heaven as the stone fruit flavors of the Pinot Grigio melded with the citrus bathed scallops.

I have to admit some fear that I had gone overboard with the citrus approach to this dish.  I was afraid that the pepper flakes in combination with the citrus juice medley would overwhelm the delicate sweet brininess of the scallops.  My fears were unwarranted.  The dish was wonderfully balanced with layers of flavor rewarding our senses.

Finally, I need to thank Chef Sue for her spectacular role as sous chef.  I came home from work, jumped into the phone booth and transformed from mild mannered cube dwelling suit guy to chef with an acidic attitude.  Upon entering the kitchen, I found mis en place set for my culinary adventure.  Now that is the way to cook!

Recipes


Ingredients

• 1 pound sea scallops
• 2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
• Juice from two freshly squeezed limes
• Juice from one freshly squeezed lemon
• 2 cups white wine
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup grapefruit, segmented
• Sea salt to taste

Spicy Grapefruit Reduction

Ingredients

• ¾ cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
• ¾ cup white wine
• zest from ½ lime
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons grenadine
• 2 tablespoons shallots, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Yuzu juice
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine orange juice, white wine, rice vinegar, lemon juice, carrots, onions, celery, ginger, bay leaf, pepper flakes and peppercorns in large pot. Bring to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
2. While poaching liquid is cooking, prepare Spicy Grapefruit Reduction: Combine grapefruit juice, white wine, grenadine, lime zest, shallots and rice vinegar in small sauce pan. Bring to simmer and reduce volume by ½. Add butter while whisking sauce. Season with salt, to taste.
3. To poach scallops, add scallops to poaching liquid and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove with strainer and reserve warm.
4. To serve, place scallops over grapefruit segments and drizzle with the spicy grapefruit reduction and season with sea salt to taste.

I served the scallops with roasted cauliflower and onions.  Cut a head of cauliflower into bite size segments.  Coarsely chop an onion.  Spread onion and cauliflower over a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt in pepper.  Place in a preheated oven (350 F) for 25 minutes or until edges of cauliflower begin to brown.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Smoked Pork Butt Spicy Apple Compote Spaetzle and Bacon Wrapped Sweet Onion Paired with 2009 Frei Brothers Reserve Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

For the first time, Chef Sue recently prepared smoked pork butt in our beloved smoker located at our secret culinary lair on the Potomac River.  In short, I was delighted.  I was beyond delighted - every tasty morsel was enough to make my eye roll back in my head deliriously.  Most of this delectable treat was donated to a community event, which left me begging for more.  My begging paid off.

Returning to our secret Potomac lair this weekend, Chef Sue put two eight pound pork butts on the smoker.  This is a time consuming process, but well worth the wait.  And like an impending snow storm, the anticipation is a good part of the fun.  Chef Sue's process involves 24 hours of brining, eight hours in the smoker (one hour for each pound) and basting once per hour while smoking.  The result is other-worldly.

Commonly, smoked pork butt is converted to pulled pork for barbecue sandwiches, but I prefer enjoying this wonderfully tender and juicy meat in it's primal smoked form, treating it like any other large cut of meat and carving off large slabs of mouth melting goodness.  Are you getting the hint that I love this stuff?  I do.  I love pork, and it loves me back.

After the prior weekend's experience with Chef Sues smoked pork butt, I was committed to a wine pairing and sharing this porky love fest with you.  The first task was completing the meal.  Chef Sue and I huddled, threw out a few options and eventually settled on adding a touch of piquance and sweetness with an apple compote, spaetzle, and a bacon wrapped baked sweet onion (is it possible to have too much pork? - I don't think so).

Next I moved on to the wine selection.  My thought process started with a medium bodied wine to match the body of the pork, moderate acidity to balance the fat, and prominent fruit (pork and fruit is a natural combination in my mind), and a touch of earthiness or oak to echo the smoke flavor in the pork.  With this criteria in place, I still had the decision of going red or white.  The balance was tipped in favor of a red when I decided to go in the direction of earthy flavors to add depth rather than oak as a direct mirror of the smoked meat.  I settled on the 2009 Frei Brothers Reserve Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

The wine answered my desires wonderfully with rich flavors of dark berries and plum, moderate acidity, and pleasant earthy notes.  The pairing worked nicely, but I have two minor reservations with the wine.  First, I would have liked a touch more acidity.  The winemaker appears to have sacrificed acidity for a velvety smooth mouth feel.  Second, the alcohol content is high and is not hidden behind the strength of the fruit.  Although the pairing was very good, these two aspects make it less than perfect.  We enjoyed the wine and would buy it again, but with the acidity and alcohol levels, I would not intentionally compose another pairing.

Recipes

Smoked Pork Butt

Ingredients for Brine

• ½ cup coarse salt
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 4 cloves garlic
• 24 ounces beef broth
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 5 pound bag of ice

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a pot over medium heat and stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. Thoroughly clean a small cooler (small enough so brining liquid covers the meat, yet tall enough to accommodate a 5 pound bag of ice) and add pork butt, pour brining liquid over the pork, then add a 5 pound bag of ice.
4. Keep in cooler for 24 hours.

Ingredients for Basting Liquid

• 1 cup cider vinegar
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir.
2. Preheat smoker to 200-225 degrees F.
3. Place pork butt in smoker, fat side up.  Smoking time is 1 hour per pound of meat.
4. Baste the pork but with a clean rag or brush every hour.

Spicy Apple Compote

Ingredients

• 1 apple diced 
• water to cover the apples
• 1 squirt lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• dash of cayenne pepper
• pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat.  Stir occasionally until apple is tender.

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Onions

Ingredients (per serving)

• 1 Vidalia onion
• 2 slices of thick cut bacon
• 1 pad of butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Peel onion and cut one end to provide a flat surface that lets the onion stand on it’s own.
2. Cut flat the opposite end of the onion, then carve out a small well to hold the pad of butter.  I leave it to you to choose the size of your pad.  I love butter and was generous.
3. Wrap the onion in two strips of thick cut bacon and hold in place with toothpick(s).  Season with salt and pepper.
4. We wrapped the onion in foil and placed in a preheated oven (350 F) for about 30 minutes.
5. Alternatively (and the way we intend to do it next time), place the onions on a broiler pan that should add more texture to the onion.  The process would work equally well on a grill off direct heat.

Spaetzle

Ingredients (per serving)

• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Mix the dough several minutes until glossy. The dough should be wetter than brownie batter but not as wet as pancake batter.
2. Bring water to boil in a large pot.  Reduce heat so water is just under a boil.
3. Place a portion of the batter on a cutting board (a smooth glass board works best) and spread until about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.
4. Using a pastry knife or other flat edge, scrape off the batter, 1/4 inch or less into the water.
5. Allow to cook until the spaetzle floats.  Remove, keep warm, and repeat with remainder of batter.
6. Alternatively, you can take finished spaetzle, brown in a skillet with butter and finish with cheese.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Butter Poached Scallops Filet of Flounder over Pesto Fettucini Paired with 2008 Koonowla Clare Valley Riesling and 2008 Fournier Pere & Fils Sancerre Cuvee Silex

Just about a year ago, I prepared and posted an article featuring butter poached divers scallops, flounder filet over pesto fettucini.  This meal was a last minute gig and I was not prepared to photograph and did not put much thought into a wine pairing.  Since the original post, I prepared it again, made an appropriate wine pairing, and of course, took care of the photography.

For the recipes, please follow the link to the original post.  In this post, I will talk about the wine selection and the joy of our wine pairing (as well as share photographs of round 2).

In my original post, I recommended a dry riesling.  I stick by this recommendation and believe it to be a good choice.  However, I did not fully follow my own recommendation and decided to take another path.  One of the great things about food and wine pairing is that there is not a single answer.  Wines with completely different characteristics can work with a meal for dramatically divergent reasons.  This time around I chose a 2008 Koonowla Clare Valley Riesling and 2008 Fournier Pere & Fils Sancerre Cuvee Silex.

My choice was made on the basis of the need for acidity to balance the richness of the butter poached scallops and prominent bright fruit to balance the strength of the pesto.  The 2008 Koonowla Clare Valley Riesling answered brilliantly on both accounts with very nice acidity coupled with bright lemon and green apple fruit flavors.  This part of the pairing was brilliant.

The 2008 Fournier Pere & Fils Sancerre Cuvee Silex from Loire France worked spectacularly with respect to the acidity.  This wine is clean and crisp.  However, the fruit was more subdued than the Riesling and was balanced with the minerality one would expect from a Sancerre.  We were very pleased with the less prominent grapefruit flavors balanced with the minerality and how well this played with the pesto.  This was a pleasant surprise that brought smiles around the table.

As we enter the summer months, this is a somewhat rich yet refreshing meal with equally refreshing wines.  I will not repost the recipes here, but encourage you to visit my prior post for the details (butter poached divers scallops, flounder filet over pesto fettucini).

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Grilled New York Strip Steak Garlic Foam and Garlic Sauteed Beets Paired with 2008 RdV Vineyards Virginia Rendezvous

This pairing is a celebration of grilling season.  Well, to be quite honest, I tend to grill all year long, but at the moment, we are quickly approaching Memorial Day in the U.S. which marks the unofficial beginning of summer and a traditional grilling weekend.  I tend to side with the Aussies, who I have learned through some good Aussie friends, take their grilling very seriously.  It is not just a cliche.  As the stories have unfolded over a couple of drinks milling about the grill, Aussies approach grilling with the same dedication as rugby - it is a full contact sport.

One evening in Abu Dhabi, I was at the home of my good Aussie friend Steve as he was preparing kangaroo loin on the grill.  Don’t ask how he was able to get kangaroo in the U.A.E., that is another story.  As Steve was carefully grilling the kangaroo, I asked about the barbecue culture in Australia and heard the stories that support the commonly held belief that Aussies love to barbecue.  One story that supported the “full contact” version of Aussie grilling is the favored pass time of standing around the hosts grill and critiquing his work.  It sounded much like the trash talking that commonly occurs on playing field.

As you honor our U.S. grilling tradition this weekend, here is a tasty, garlicky approach to making your steak something special.  I would only add that maybe some potato salad would be a nice addition.

First we will start with the steak and my full proof method for perfectly medium rare steak with nice surface texture.  Start with a trip to a good butcher and have your steaks cut between 1 and 1/2 inches thick.  Avoid freezing - fresh is always more flavorful.

Before grilling, leave the steaks at room temperature for one hour.  If you are using a gas grill, bring it up to full temperature.  High heat is important to getting a good seer.  Set your timer for two minutes and put the steaks on the grill.  If you are using charcoal, place the steaks just off center of the heat.  When the timer chimes, take a sip of wine, and make your way back to the grill...don’t be in a rush.  Rotate the meat 90 degrees, take another sip of wine and start the timer.  Repeat the process flipping the meat on the next turn, and a final 90 rotation to get the hallmark grill lines.  In total, the grill time should be about 10 minutes.  To test for medium rare, pinch your thumb and forefinger together and feel the pad on your palm just below the thumb, this is what a medium rare steak should feel like.

This pairing featured the much anticipated RdV Vineyards 2008 Virginia Rendezvous.  I had not previously tasted the Rendezvous, but it came highly recommended not only from friends, but from neighboring wineries.  We were not disappointed.  The wine is exceptionally well balanced - a complete wine with a strong French influence.  Rendezvous is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.  The nose is slightly soft but foretells the wonderful subtlety of the wine.  With a firm foundation of earthy flavors and well rounded tannins, the wine presents pleasing flavors of dark berries, black cherries, coffee and a hint of leather.  A further hint of oak brought this wine back to its roots as a fine Bordeaux style blend.  This full rich wine was begging for a bite of the steak.

The pairing was heavenly.  With perfectly matched body, the flavors of the wine were free to play joyfully with the perfectly grilled steak and mild garlic presented in the garlic foam and garlic sautéed beets.  Other reviews of this wine have noted the strength of the tannins.  When paired with the rich steak, this was not a problem for our dinner party as the tannins brought a healthy structure that worked well in combination.  However, if you plan to simply sip and enjoy this wonderful wine, I would recommend decanting for an hour or so to let it open up.  For our purposes, we decanted, but only for about 30 minutes - more than sufficient for our meal.

Recipe

Garlic Foam

Ingredients

• 5 cloves roasted garlic halved
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 4 ounces cream cheese

Preparation

1. Simmer in sauce pan for 15 minutes.
2. Strain, allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.
3. Pour into ISI foamer and discharge. If you don’t have a culinary foamer, add a tablespoon of Lecithin to the simmer and when cooled, create the foam with an immersion blender.

The beats were prepared in sauté pan with garlic and butter.  Peel and slice the beats, heat the butter and minced garlic, and sauté until tender.

Goan Fish Curry Paired with 2009 Delaplane Cellars LoCo Virginia Viognier and 2010 Swedenburg Estate Vineyard Virginia Riesling.

I have a long love affair with Indian food.  The amazing aromas, complex flavors, enticing textures, and beautiful colors make me all tingly inside - not unlike my first kiss with Joyce Klunder just 39 years ago.  And even better, Indian food is not difficult to prepare – except for the breads.

To date, I have conquered dhal pouri (see Curried Chicken and Potato Roti Paired with Chenin Blanc) and barra (see Trinidad Doubles, Cucumber Chutney, Trinidad Pepper Sauce Paired with 2010 Cupcake Vineyards Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc) but have not yet perfected naan.  My attempt at naan for this pairing was an admirable effort, but I am not yet satisfied.  I am fairly confident in the recipe, but have not perfected the baking part.

When I posted to Facebook about my pending attempt at this meal, good friend John Downey, mentioned that his lovely wife Ji had nailed the preparation by grilling the naan.  Once I get the grilling instructions from Ji, I will have a great excuse to prepare another Indian feast, and report back with my results. 

My next attempt at naan may be another shot at Goan fish curry.  Although our meal was excellent, and our dinner party was all smiles, the dish did not quite meet the memory of my favored experience of this dish.  A couple years back, I spent about a period working as a consultant in Abu Dhabi.  During my time there, we frequented a restaurant that in my opinion prepared the best Goan Curry…period.  Now, I am chasing.

In comparison, the recipe you will find here featured more spice and less sweetness than my memory of the wonderful Abu Dhabi Goan fish curry.  My next attempt will back off just slightly on the heat and substitute coconut milk for the water in the gravy.

As for the wine pairing, I decided to experiment with two distinct approaches to balancing the moderate heat of the curry.  I chose a Virginia Riesling intending to balance the piquance with sweetness, and a Virginia Viognier as a fruit forward approach to provide balance.  We were rewarded with two excellent pairings, but the dinner crowd nodded in agreement that the Riesling made the better pairing.

Our first wine was a 2009 Delaplane Cellars LoCo Virginia Viognier featuring aromas and flavors of apricot, peach and honeysuckle with a full rich mouth feel one would expect from a full bodied Chardonnay.  My pairing instincts were good – the fruit of the Viognier did a splendid job of balancing the heat of the curry.  The full body also did a fine job of standing up to the richness of the dish.  The only downfall of this pairing was the attenuation of the fruit flavors which faded quickly when faced with the boldness of the curry.  I would guess this wine will do much better with respect to allowing the fruit flavors to linger with the recipe modifications I mentioned earlier.

The second wine on our pairing list was the 2010 Swedenburg Estate Vineyard Virginia Riesling.  The principal characteristics of this wine that made for a successful pairing include prominent green apple flavors accompanied by a pleasant floral aroma, mild sweetness and well balanced acidity.  Unlike the Viognier, the sweetness and strong acidity led to a longer finish that lingered through each bite of the curry.  Without the sudden vanishing of flavor, we reached our unanimous agreement that the Riesling was the preferred pairing.

As a side note, in absence of the pairing, I preferred the Viognier.  The 2009 Delaplane Cellars LoCo Virginia Viognier is a wonderfully complex and rich wine featuring beautiful fruit flavors and well balanced acidity.  For my drier taste preference, the 2010 Swedenburg Estate Vineyard Virginia Riesling is too sweet – but exactly the reason it worked so well with the Goan fish curry.

Recipes

Goan Fish Curry

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fish cleaned and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Any firm white fish or tuna will work well.  I used Basa – an inexpensive Asian catfish.
• Pulp from two tamarind pods
• 2 medium onions diced
• 2 medium tomatoes diced
• 8 dried red chilies with stems removed
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh finely grated ginger
• 1 ½ cups grated coconut
• 2 tablespoons coriander powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon hot red chili powder
• 2 jalapeno peppers diced
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 2 cups water
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Put the onion, tomato, coconut, ginger, garlic, jalapenos, dry red chillies, all the spices, tamarind pulp, and water into your food blender and blend until smooth.
2. Heat a large skillet on a medium heat, add ghee.
3. Add the blended mixture and heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Adjust seasoning (salt), reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes.
5. Add the fish and continue to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Serve over basmati rice.

Naan

Ingredients

• 1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons ghee
• 3 tablespoons yoghurt

Preparation

1. Add the dry yeast and sugar to the warm water and stir till the yeast is dissolved. Set aside until the mixture begins to froth.
2. Add flour, salt, yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons of ghee and all the yogurt to a mixing bowl and knead with a dough hook (or you can do it manually).
3. Cover and allow to rest for about 90 minutes or until the dough doubles in volume.
4. Punch the dough down and knead again for 10 minutes.
5. Equally divide the dough and form 8 round balls.
6. Lightly flour a rolling surface  and roll out to 7 inch circles.
7. Preheat your oven 400 F.
8. Grease a sheet pan with the remaining ghee and cook the naan (three at a time) until the Naan begins to puff out and get lightly brown. Flip the Naan and repeat.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Virginia Wine Blogs

Now that I am in the midst of my second food and wine pairing book - devoted exclusively to Virginia Wines - I am doing my level best to drink (lots) and get smart about Virginia wines.  As part of my research, I put together a list of all the blogs devoted to Virginia wines.

While not all of the blogs address Virginia wines exclusively, they all feature Virginia wines prominently.  As I visited each of the blogs I found a wide diversity in focus, but nearly all are well written and informative.  The list includes blogs that look at Virginia wine casually, reviews of visits to Virginia wineries and vineyards, behind the scenes looks at the wine industry, and in depth wine analysis.  In summary, this list includes something for just about everyone.

For the bloggers out there, if I have missed your contribution, I apologize.  Send me a note or a comment, and I will be happy to include you as well.  What did I miss?  As a point of commentary, the length and breadth of this list speaks directly to the bourgeoning success of Virginia wine.  Look back in time just 5 years, and this list would be much shorter.

There are a number of other informative resources devoted to Virginia wine.  I will post a (hopefully) comprehensive list of these as well.  If you have a recommendation for the list of Virginia wine resources, please let me know.

Anything Wine:  http://anythingwine.wordpress.com/

Beltway Bacchus:  http://beltwaybacchus.blogspot.com/

Cellar Blog:  http://www.cellarblog.org/

Chalottesville UnCorked:  http://cvilleuncorked.com/

Dave McIntyre’s Wine Vine:  http://dmwineline.typepad.com/wineline/

Drink What You Like:  http://drinkwhatyoulike.wordpress.com/

East Coast Wineries:  http://eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com/

Hagarty on Wine:  http://www.hagarty-on-wine.com/OnWineBlog/

Keswick Vineyards:  http://keswickvineyard.wordpress.com/

Kristy Wine Vine:  http://kristywinevine.blogspot.com/

Love VA Wine:  http://www.lovevawine.com/blog.html/

My Vine Spot:  http://vinespot.blogspot.com/

Notaviva Vineyards Blog:  http://www.notavivavineyards.com/weblog/

Richard Leahy’s Wine Report:  http://www.richardleahy.com/

Sébastien Marquet:  http://www.sebastienmarquet.com/

Swirl, Sip, Snark:  http://swirlsipsnark.com/

The Burg Chronicles:  http://burgchronicles.blogspot.com/

The Other 46:  http://theother46.com/

Uncork Virginia:  http://uncorkvirginia.blogspot.com/

Virginia Pour House:  http://virginiapourhouse.com/

Virginia Wine Dogs:  http://vawinedogs.blogspot.com/

Virginia Wine Events:  http://www.virginiawineevents.com/

Virginia Wine Girl:  http://virginiawinegirl.blogspot.com/

Virginia Wine Guide Online:  http://vwg-online.com/

Virginia Wine In My Pocket:  http://vawineinmypocket.com/

Virginia Wine Know:  http://virginiawineknow.wordpress.com/

Virginia Wine Lover E-Newsletter:  http://www.vawinelover.com

Virginia Wine Notebook:  http://vawinenb.blogspot.com/

Virginia Wine Pointer:  http://vawinepointer.blogspot.com/

Virginia Wine Time:  http://www.virginiawinetime.com/

Virginia Wine TV:  http://www.virginiawinetv.com/

Wannabe Wino Wine Blog:  http://wannabewino.com/

Wine About Virginia:  http://wineaboutvirginia.blogspot.com/

Wine Compass:  http://winecompass.blogspot.com/

Wine Cruisers:  http://www.winecruisers.com/

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig