Curried Pumpkin and Squash Soup Paired with 2010 Fox Run Vineyards Finger Lakes Riesling

With the onset of cooler weather comes pumpkins and all the fine squash family members.  The cooler weather also proclaims the start of soup season...at least in my mind.  Although I love the refreshing cold soups of summer, the luscious soups of fall and winter are always welcome on my table.

Today I made curried pumpkin soup from a couple of pumpkin varieties and a little help from an acorn squash.  Curried pumpkin (or squash) soup is easy, makes the house smell wonderful, and is quite rewarding when paired with a beautiful Riesling like the 2010 Fox Run Vineyards Finger Lakes Riesling.  Using a curried approach to pumpkin makes the wine pairing easy.  Just ask any of your Indian friends and you will find that Rieslings and Gewurztraminers are routine.

Making this soup is easy.  Start by selecting a pumpkin, or a couple of varieties as I did.  Clean the pumpkin then cut into cubes about two inches square (rectangles are fine too!).  Cut enough to completely cover two sheet pans then slice two onions to fill in any remaining holes.  The pumpkin should be placed skin side down.  Season with salt and pepper and place in a 400 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Switch positions (top to bottom) of the sheet pans, and continue to roast for another 25 minutes.

When done roasting, the pumpkin should be fork tender.  Harvest the flesh from and add to a 4 or 5 quart soup pot (including the roasted onions).  Add 32 ounces of chicken broth (vegetable broth works fine as well), 1 tablespoon curry powder and a can of coconut milk.  Stir and bring to temperature over medium heat.  Finally, puree the mixture with a submersion blender, adjust seasoning, ladle into bowls, and garnish with finely sliced scallions.

Now you are ready to enjoy the wonderful magic of Riesling and curry.  For this pairing, I chose one of two successful approaches; medium sweet with good acidity.  The 2010 Fox Run Vineyards Finger Lakes Riesling is delightfully balanced with a touch of sweetness and healthy acidity complementing the citrus, honey, and stone fruit flavors.  This wine has a wonderful nose of apricot and tropical fruits that make it difficult to delay a first sip.  It is inviting to say the least.

When pairing with curry, Riesling reigns.  However, be careful of Riesling that are too sweet.  Either a dry Riesling with strong acidity, or a medium sweet would be a good choice.  The 2010 Fox Run Vineyards Finger Lakes Riesling offered the best of both worlds - mild sweetness and refreshing acidity.  Just right.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Taste Test: Free Range Chicken vs. Industrial Chicken

Inspired by Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck, Chef Sue and I decided to do a side-by-side taste test of free-range chicken vs. mass produced “industrial” chicken.  In her book, Nina goes into great detail regarding the benefits of eating pastured, free range, and otherwise more naturally raised animals without the modern influences of confined spaces, cages, steroids, growth hormones, antibiotics and the feed created for quickly growing and fattening the animals.  She makes a strong case for the health and humane treatment of the animals along with the nutritional benefits of pastured and free-range approach.  With respect to pork and beef, she adds that flavor is greatly improved in comparison to industrially produced meats.  With this in mind, we decided to see if there was a discernable flavor difference between free-range chicken and it’s industrial produced counterpart.

We started by purchasing two skinless, boneless free-range chicken breasts from Chesapeake’s Bounty (www.chesapeakesbounty.com) in Saint Leonard, Maryland.  We then went to a big box grocer and bought two skinless, boneless, major brand industrially produced chicken breasts.  Chef Sue prepared the chicken identically; seasoned with salt and pepper, seared over high heat with a little olive oil, then placed in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes keeping the chicken in the sauté pan.  The chicken was removed from the oven and allowed to rest in the sauté pan for 10 minutes.

Now for the tasting.  We found no appreciable difference in flavor.  The only difference we found was a marginally juicier and tenderer consistency with the industrial chicken.  Chef Sue hypothesized this difference was a result of the industrial chicken being younger.  She came to this conclusion in part because the free-range chicken breast was much larger than the industrial chicken (say 50% larger).  We cannot say with any confidence the industrial chicken was actually younger, but it seems like a reasonable guess.

Based on this near stalemate of a taste test, there are several things to consider when making your choice between free-range chicken and industrially produced chicken.  In addition to claims of improved nutritional value of free-range chicken, you may consider the manner in which the chickens are treated; confined cages vs. green fields.  These considerations will likely be balanced with the cost.  The free-range chicken was priced at over three times that of the industrial chicken.

As far as the nutritional claims go, all but a couple of the studies I could find focused on the nutritional value of eggs.  These were led by evidence supporting substantially improved nutrition from free-range eggs.  The studies regarding nutritional value of the chickens were less decisive and marginally favored free-range.

You will need to make your own judgment regarding the full breadth of issues associated with your chicken purchase, but from a flavor perspective, we found no appreciable difference.   For now, if you will excuse me, I’m feeling hungry and am thinking the leftovers are looking good.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig