Roast Gold Beet and Turkey-Breast Salad

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, but in Vancouver that could all change in a heartbeat. Welcome to the WestCoast WetCoast~! If you’ve ever been here you understand how and why we always cherish the *(brief) moments of sunshine when they arrive… and what could be more in keeping with the current conditions than a hearty salad for dinner.

The trouble is, it’s only the first week of April and we really don’t have salad crops coming in: hence the need for what a chef-colleague of mine refers to as “The Crunchy Salad”. Not for the faint-of-heart, this salad includes celery, cauliflower, carrot – just about any winter crop that you can think of. And when it comes to those wintery vegetables, don’t think that they can’t fit into a salad – they just need a little extra love!

So for this salad I’ve roasted some beautiful Gold Beets, then sliced them against the grain to showcase the gorgeous colors. I also roast a sweet potato and parsnip for my next salad at the next time. Trust me, with the right dressing even my finicky 2-year old gives it a try… “What is it Daddy?” she ask. “Oh,” I respond with fingers crossed, “it’s just carrots. You love carrots!”

And there’s nothing that says summer to me more than sparkling wine; in any of its guises. Cava, Prosecco, Champagne… bubbles are the Sirens call for weddings, baby showers, Mother’s Day mimosas and so much of what we celebrate in the “School-Free” season. I’ve paired this salad with two unique wines that not only provide excellent balance for the dish but are from producers who I have the highest respect for; as winemakers and as people.

THE WINE

1. 1.    Summerhill Cipes Rosé

http://www.summerhill.bc.ca/

Gold Medal, Top 10 Sparkling Wines of competition - 2013 Effervescents du Monde

100% Pinot Noir

$27 at the winery

91+ points, EXCELLENT VALUE

… Springtime in a glass~! An enthusiastic mousse rushes to the surface carrying with it aromas of cranberries, young strawberries, clean flinty-mineral tones and a light savory herb tint. The palate is brisk with tight/lean/focused cranberry acids driving that mineral backbone. Dry enough to be almost austere, the generosity of the concentrated red berry flavors (currant, young raspberries) delivers excellent balance and superlative structure for the price. This is a natural pairing for most any poultry dish but is so refreshing that I love to serve it at home just before dinner to wake-up the taste-buds and get everyone thinking about food~! It is worthy of note that Summerhill is not only an organic winery, but also bio-dynamic, which means that while you’re getting your great value – you’re also supporting a company that works with their eco-system. Bravo!

1. 2.    LaMarca Prosecco D.O.C

http://www.lamarcaprosecco.com/

100% Glera varietal grapes

from $10 USD in some American markets to $20 in some Canadian *(BC)

90 points Wine Spectator

89 points, Great Value

… as the Summerhill rose is the essence of bright red berries, the LaMarca Prosecco is the essence of white fruit: young peaches, Golden Delicious apples, Anjou pear, melon and light honey tones. Another example of dry sparkling wine *(brut), once again the concentration of fruit flavors more than adequately compensate. Very good balance and structure, only the (relative) coarseness of the bubbles made me score this less than 90 points. If you’re in the mood to serve this with breakfast, try it with chorizo and onion scrambled eggs, tomato-cilantro relish…. Sparkling wines, of course, being one of the best bevvies to pair with egg dishes, the flavors in this particular Prosecco get a little giddy when around cilantro and/or fresh basil~! I love the wine, love the price, but especially love that consulting winemaker Fabrizio Gatto started off on the family’s modest vineyard, in a small town. He sets his sights, worked his tail off, and grew a career bringing the grapes of his native hillsides to international respect.

THE FOOD

The (sometimes) dullness of winter vegetables can easily be uplifted by the ultra-fresh flavors of sugar-peas. The addition of a handful of peas from Mexico/California bring an entire dish to life and become, to me, an incredibly effective seasoning. My daughter also likes snacking on them raw and I can’t say that I blame her!

RECIPE (4 portions)

3         tomatoes, seeds removed, julienne

½        cucumber, seeds removed, julienne

4 stalks celery, julienne

3 oz    sugar peas, julienne

2 oz    cauliflower, julienne

2 oz    carrots, thin julienne

1 oz    purple onion, julienne

(THE DRESSING)

3 Tbsp mayo

1 fl oz fresh lemon juice

1 fl oz rice wine vinegar

10 leaves fresh basil, chiffonade *(fine julienne)

           Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

1 lb     gold beets, roast until just tender

1 lb     roast turkey breast, cooled

4         savory scones: I made sun-dried tomato, dried cranberry and BC goat cheese

While it’s true that food is sustenance; we need it in order to live, it is also true that great food nourishes the soul or the spirit as much as it does the body. Living with the seasons celebrates what is surrounding us and helps us keep our focus on what really matters. To me, that becomes abundantly apparent when we sit down as a family and share what other families have worked so diligently to offer us.

 

So enjoy your meal with great wine and family or friends. Treat yourself, spoil someone else, and above all: savour the moment~! Many thanks to E & J Gallo Winery Canada for letting me try the LaMarca Prosecco!

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

Valentine's Special

As I am a trained chef, I get a lot of people asking me for suggestions for what to serve their significant other on Valentine's Day.

Oh it's a dangerous thing to give advice~! And with this in particular, so much depends on personal taste and so I often say "Make them something you know they love." I mean, what's the point of grilling steak for a vegetarian??

With that out of the way, I love oysters. Absolutely love them. And what could me more classically Valentines then a little oyster-aphrodisiac appetizer? I've got a few easy ways to prepare them and some brilliant wines to pair that won't break the bank.

THE FOOD

Oysters Rockefeller

An utter classic, this recipe has been around for almost two centuries, and this is my adaptation of it. Not brave enough for raw oysters? Give this a try... I've even given this to "non-oyster" eaters who declared "Hey - this is actually pretty good!"

6 oysters on the half-shell, shells cleaned

1 cup    36% cream

1/2 cup sparkling wine

            cornstarch to thicken

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup blanched spinach

1/2 cup home-made bacon bits, cut large

6 large slices of medium-firm white cheese like: Jarlsberg/Gruyere/Fontina

1. bring the cream just under a boil in a saute pan. Add the wine, whisk thoroughly, and as it returns to a low-boil add the butter and whisk again.
2. add the oysters and poach 2 minutes, turning them as necessary to ensure even cooking
3. place the spinach on the bottom of the oyster shells to provide a stable base and put the oysters on top of the spinach 
4. thicken the poaching liquid with cornstarch and spoon a small amount of the sauce over
5. place some bacon over the oysters, top with the cheese and place under the broiler in your oven under the cheese starts to brown (gratinée in French)

 WINE OF CHOICE:

Jaume Sera Cristalino Brut, $12.91 http://www.bcliquorstores.com/

Bold. Fresh citrus notes in this wine will cut through the dishes richness and bring it into focus. A keen mineral edge to the wine will harmonize perfectly with the mineral-tang of fresh oysters.

89 points

"Au Naturel"

Those who truly love oysters though, will adore fresh fresh oysters with nothing more then a bed of coarse sea-salt, a great glass of wine, and pleasant company. I know that restaurants are full of fresh oysters with "Mignonette" sauces, lemon, cocktail sauce, fresh horseradish, pickled daikon and the like. Infidels! Oyster connoisseurs around the world enjoy the fresh ocean-brine quality of great oysters and most of the above simply overpower these more subtle flavors. 

Of course, it's not for me to tell you that you can't or even shouldn't enjoy oysters with a condiment, but if you spend $2 per oyster for something that is only a mouthful, why wouldn't you want to savor the flavor??

WINE OF CHOICE: 

Jaume Sera Cristalino Rose, approximately $15 **specialty wine/liquor stores**

First-place finisher at the Whistler Cornucopia wine-festival, this was my choice for Top Sparkling Wine (under $50) for 2013. Worth the work to find, it's bright red berry tones of cranberry/raspberry/young strawberry will delight! Very approachable acids mean that it works well with slightly leaner seafood/fish dishes.

91+points

The Option

And if oysters just aren't your thing, and cooking is the last priority for Valentine's, then consider a plate of fresh fruit: your local grocer is bound to have some special goodies this week so (as I do) pile a plate with grapes, cut melon, ripe pear and garnish with a few long-stem strawberries (yes a real thing), maybe some blackberries or raspberries, a wedge or two of starfruit or mango and a little chocolate dipping sauce on the side.

WINE OF CHOICE: 

Riondo Prosecco, $14.93 http://www.bcliquorstores.com/

A decidedly feminine wine, small wonder this is the #1 sparkling wine of Italy! Ripe flavors of melon, tangerines and lemons are cut by mild yet zesty acids and an ultra-creamy mousse. Truly addictive you may want to purchase an extra bottle for mimosas the next morning and this will surely make your list of what to keep on-hand for romantic evenings or Monday nights watching "Castle"

90 points

So enjoy your Valentine's Day in your way, with some good food, great wine and even better company. Treat yourself, spoil someone else, and above all: savor the moment~!

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

Flor n/v, Prosecco DOC, Italy

What do you get when Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and Lidia Bastianich decide to put their collective heads together to import Italian sparkling wine?

If your answer was anything other then “Quality”, “Value” or “Excellence” then you are wrong my friend. This trio represent some of the absolute pre-eminent Italian regional cuisine in all of the New World and have an understanding of the human palate far beyond the keen of most people. Their collective success is more then sufficient evidence to support this wild accusation and so I’ll go one step further:

If they understand how flavors interacts with the tastebuds then they understand how wine can interact with the soul.

Prosecco, Cava, sparkling wine, Champagne… all words that represent tiny bubbles of perfection captured in time by an ethereal liquid. It is a well-cut suit, a beautiful woman by your side and a well-appointed vehicle to whisk you to your destination. This glass of effervescent gems is a glamorous party with pretty people thronging to be let in and you walk past them all. Sparkling wine is the dream of something better, something prettier, something richer.

How utterly brilliant that these collective taste-gurus have imported such luxury, but at a price that the masses can appreciate. At under $20 this wine is an easy competitor for the contemporaries in France who charge twice, thrice, tenfold the cost… and also handles itself confidently against Spanish challengers with it’s ripe orchardfruit and stonefruit palate.

Brilliant value for the money? The proof is in the glass!

Flor n/v Prosecco DOC

90+/91 points

$16.99 limited special in BC

• tiny pearls of air raise through the glass with movie-like perfection, bringing refreshing aromas of ripe pears and clean minerality… the palate is Springtime; peaches and apricots are warm and honey-like, emphasized by a seductively approachable medium- acid. Excellent balance and structure with medium+ length, a show-stopper for the price and an excellent way to start an evening or create Mimosas with the next morning 

Prosecco is still a red-headed step-child in the sparkling wine market of the New World. Misunderstood, often abused, this wine is capable of greatness in the right hands but has been bastardized by some into a bubbly Koolaid beverage that stuck in the minds of many… ah the heyday of Asti Spumante right?!

Batali. Bastianich. Koolaid. Like they say on Sesame Street, “One of these words just doesn’t belong.” So don’t trust my words, or my palate, that this wine is worthy of your time and effort. Don’t even trust the literally hundreds of fellow journalists who have written words of praise for this budget-conscious jewel. Just trust your own eyes when you read that it was created by three of the savviest people in the restaurant business today.

And trust your own palate when you try it, because really, at the end of the day yours is the most important opinion.

Many thanks to the Christopher Stewart Wine Agency, representatives in Canada, for the sample bottle. www.christopherstewartwineandspirits.com

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape