We are finally getting some warm weather in NJ. This has triggered thoughts of farmers' markets, fresh produce and working on my garden. I have expanded my garden this year and now have room for some different vegetables. I usually plant tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, string beans, herbs and sometimes watermelon or some other more exotic plants. Any thoughts on what I should plant this year.
I was in Palm Springs, California a few weeks ago right before Coachella. The desert landscape can be wonderful with the muted colors and interesting lighting effects at sunrise and sunset. I can't say that I had anything great to eat but I did manage to find a few local restaurants that were quite good. I have always found it interesting that it is not that easy to find good California wines in California.I stayed at a big Marriott resort and they did not offer any wine worth drinking. Even the small local restaurants did not have wine lists with wines worth mentioning here. I drank beer.
Recent wines of note.
2009 Deboeuf Morgon Jean Descombes - France $14 -- enjoyed the bottle with grilled chicken. I have mentioned this wine before. I find it to be a very reliable wine to drink year after year. The 2009 beaujolais' are finally starting to impress me. Light and fruity with good finish.
Crios Torrontes - 2010 Argentina $12. Very floral white wine, fruity but dry with some flavor complexity.
Chalone 2006 Pinot Noir, California. I had a chance to get several cases of this wine at a very reasonable price. I have tried 1 bottle so far and it has good fruit. It is a big wine with 14.5% alcohol. There is also a spiciness to the wine. I like the wine but will be able to discuss it better after I have tried a few more bottles. I tend to like the Chalone Pinot Noirs. The wine usually sell for over $30 but I obtained it for under $15.
Recipe of the week
Cut boneless chicken breasts in to 2 inch cubes. Marinate for 10 minutes in olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and thyme. Put on skewers and grill until done. Do not overcook. Serve with cous cous and pita bread. Add some hummus and a salad and you are set. White or red wine works well. How about some baklava for dessert.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Aruba
Went to Aruba last week. Interestingly the weather was rainy. Locals told us that they have had lots of rain since October. We stayed at the Tradewinds Club at the Marriott hotel. The wine list was poor and expensive. They didn't even have the local beer on tap. I met a consultant to Marriott in the elevator and complained about the wine and some other things at the Club. We had free drinks and wine at the club lounge but the wines were cheap $5 bottles while the liquor was fancy brands. Why are wine drinkers an afterthought at such club lounges. Next thing we knew there was a bottle of wine in our room complements of the hotel. It was a Mondavi cabernet. It was the Private Select 2008. It sells for $8.40 in NJ. It was OK and certainly better than other affordable wines at the hotel.It was also a very nice gesture by the hotel.
Our dilemma was where to drink our wine. We wanted to have it with dinner. So I went to one of the Marriott restaurants and asked if we could bring our wine to dinner since the hotel had given us the bottle. The wonderful hostess said OK. It made for a nice evening. We sat outside and enjoyed their excellent buffet with our wine.
Another night we went to an Italian restaurant. I checked the wine list and on the last page low and behold they had an Argentinian Malbec from Finca Flichman - Misterio 2010. It was $20 and we drank it and it was very good. I found that South American wines were better values in Aruba probably because they are so close to South America. Wine list tip - go with what looks like the best local deal. Do not focus on familiar wines that may be very overpriced.
BTW the Aruban people we met were great. Herminia, who was in charge of the Tradewinds club portion of the beach was delightful. She made our stay fun.
We ate at a restaurant call Wacky Wahoos. It was in a small strip mall and had about 20 tables. It was cute but noisy. The fish was awesome, I had wahoo and my wife had swordfish. Best fish we have had in a while and we eat lots of fish. It was pan sauted Aruban style and the sides - plaintains, yellow rice, steamed veggies and corn meal polentalike cake that was a local thing - were great. We really enjoyed although again the wine list was a joke -- poor and overpriced. I had a Heinekin and my wife had a glass of wine.
Overall the food was pretty good and not that expensive and the wine was overpriced. I did get to one supermarket and checked the wines. They had some excellent reds from Spain at very cheap prices. Next time.
Wines of the Week
To give some idea of the wines I buy, this week I bought:
Wyatt Chardonnay 2009 California $10. Highly recommended by Parker. Love their pnot noir. This chardonnay was ok. A little heavy and unbalanced but decent fruit.
Bodegas Lan rioja. Spain $10 . 2006
Zenato Valpolicella. Italy 2008. $11.
Guigal Cotes Du Rhone 2007. $10. A classic and very good bottle year in and year out.
Cupcake Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. $8. Really good white. Typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc - fresh and fruity. Big bargain.
Terre Do Lobo Godello 2009. Spanish white. $12. Interesting white. Rated 92 by Wine Advocate. OK but I guess the Godello grape makes it special.
Lauverjat Sancerre 2009. Loire Sauvignon Blanc, France . $15.
Paso a Paso Verdjo 2009. Spanish white.$7. Another interesting white from Spain.
Our dilemma was where to drink our wine. We wanted to have it with dinner. So I went to one of the Marriott restaurants and asked if we could bring our wine to dinner since the hotel had given us the bottle. The wonderful hostess said OK. It made for a nice evening. We sat outside and enjoyed their excellent buffet with our wine.
Another night we went to an Italian restaurant. I checked the wine list and on the last page low and behold they had an Argentinian Malbec from Finca Flichman - Misterio 2010. It was $20 and we drank it and it was very good. I found that South American wines were better values in Aruba probably because they are so close to South America. Wine list tip - go with what looks like the best local deal. Do not focus on familiar wines that may be very overpriced.
BTW the Aruban people we met were great. Herminia, who was in charge of the Tradewinds club portion of the beach was delightful. She made our stay fun.
We ate at a restaurant call Wacky Wahoos. It was in a small strip mall and had about 20 tables. It was cute but noisy. The fish was awesome, I had wahoo and my wife had swordfish. Best fish we have had in a while and we eat lots of fish. It was pan sauted Aruban style and the sides - plaintains, yellow rice, steamed veggies and corn meal polentalike cake that was a local thing - were great. We really enjoyed although again the wine list was a joke -- poor and overpriced. I had a Heinekin and my wife had a glass of wine.
Overall the food was pretty good and not that expensive and the wine was overpriced. I did get to one supermarket and checked the wines. They had some excellent reds from Spain at very cheap prices. Next time.
Wines of the Week
To give some idea of the wines I buy, this week I bought:
Wyatt Chardonnay 2009 California $10. Highly recommended by Parker. Love their pnot noir. This chardonnay was ok. A little heavy and unbalanced but decent fruit.
Bodegas Lan rioja. Spain $10 . 2006
Zenato Valpolicella. Italy 2008. $11.
Guigal Cotes Du Rhone 2007. $10. A classic and very good bottle year in and year out.
Cupcake Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. $8. Really good white. Typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc - fresh and fruity. Big bargain.
Terre Do Lobo Godello 2009. Spanish white. $12. Interesting white. Rated 92 by Wine Advocate. OK but I guess the Godello grape makes it special.
Lauverjat Sancerre 2009. Loire Sauvignon Blanc, France . $15.
Paso a Paso Verdjo 2009. Spanish white.$7. Another interesting white from Spain.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Valentine Day Week
No one wants to take Valentine's Day too seriously. We don't like being manipulated. However one ignors it at one's peril so I decided to be creative without going crazy with dinner for Valentine's day. First bought a bottle of 2009 St Amour, a cru beaujolais. The is a real place and is a very good wine. The label even has a heart on it. We drank it on Sunday, the day before Valentine's Day because I wanted a white wine to go with the VD dinner. The St Amour was everything a beaujolais should be and we enjoyed it.
For the big day I made a salad from baby arugula aka rocket. Got a bag of it at Trader Joes. Added fresh avocado and fresh grapefruit slices. Dressed the salad with olive oil and tossed with some salt. Simple and good.
Next I steamed open some oysters and topped them with bread crumbs, I used panko, parsley and olive oil mixture and some prosciutto. Baked the oysters. We enjoyed them.
Next we had had scallops. I am very picky about scallops. These were from Whole Foods and they looked and smelled great. Seared them with some olive oil and placed them on potato and onion pancakes that I had made with olive oil.
The wine was Chateau Chasseloir Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur lie 2009. This a French wine and is great with shellfish. It was $9.
Dessert was chocolates from Diane Pindar and her company Donna and Company. She is a local NJ woman who makes excellent chocolates. Her chocolate can compete with the world's best.http://dianepinder.shopdonna.com/
Last weekend tasted some wine at my friend's house. He happens to be the chef at an excellent NYC restaurant.http://www.gracestrattoria.net/home The restaurant is located at 201 E 71st St in Manhattan. The wine a Ferrari -Carano cabernet sauvignon and syrah blend called Prevail West Face 2005 was fruity with some complexity. I intend to have some more when I have a chance.I am interested in seeing how it goes with food.
Cabernet Sauvignon
A friend asked me to recommend some good reasonably price cabernets. 2007 was a great year in California for cabs. Also Chile, Argentina and Washington can produce some very good value cabs. Here are some Cabernet Sauvignons to look for in your local store. Most should be widely distributed.
Note: It can be tricky to find the right wine. Check the year and other fine print such as the area ( Rutherford) or the designation (Reserva) etc. Also beware of wine ratings. Ads and retailers are using anybody's 90 point rating in ads for wines. I would stick with Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate ratings. I read each of these publications and have been able to confirm many of their ratings. However they do not always agree with each other which is why I always advise to drink a wine first before buying more than 1 bottle. Everyone's taste is different.
The Show 2007 California $12 I like the 2007 but have been advised that 2008 is not as good.
Beaulieu BV Napa Rutherford 2006 and 2007. They make several Napa cabs. Look for the Rutherford. $20. This is a classic Napa cab.
Louis Martini 2007 Napa $20. I have not tried this one but it is getting raves.
Chateau Smith 2007 Washington. $15. This is a lighter style wine that I really
like.
Catena 2008 $14 Argentina
Vina Cobos Felino 2008 $18 Argentina I have not had this wine.
Santa Ema 2008 Reserva $18 Chile I have not had this wine.
Cousino-Macul 2007 or 2008 Antiguas Reserva $12 to $18 I have not had this wine.
For the big day I made a salad from baby arugula aka rocket. Got a bag of it at Trader Joes. Added fresh avocado and fresh grapefruit slices. Dressed the salad with olive oil and tossed with some salt. Simple and good.
Next I steamed open some oysters and topped them with bread crumbs, I used panko, parsley and olive oil mixture and some prosciutto. Baked the oysters. We enjoyed them.
Next we had had scallops. I am very picky about scallops. These were from Whole Foods and they looked and smelled great. Seared them with some olive oil and placed them on potato and onion pancakes that I had made with olive oil.
The wine was Chateau Chasseloir Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur lie 2009. This a French wine and is great with shellfish. It was $9.
Dessert was chocolates from Diane Pindar and her company Donna and Company. She is a local NJ woman who makes excellent chocolates. Her chocolate can compete with the world's best.http://dianepinder.shopdonna.com/
Last weekend tasted some wine at my friend's house. He happens to be the chef at an excellent NYC restaurant.http://www.gracestrattoria.net/home The restaurant is located at 201 E 71st St in Manhattan. The wine a Ferrari -Carano cabernet sauvignon and syrah blend called Prevail West Face 2005 was fruity with some complexity. I intend to have some more when I have a chance.I am interested in seeing how it goes with food.
Cabernet Sauvignon
A friend asked me to recommend some good reasonably price cabernets. 2007 was a great year in California for cabs. Also Chile, Argentina and Washington can produce some very good value cabs. Here are some Cabernet Sauvignons to look for in your local store. Most should be widely distributed.
Note: It can be tricky to find the right wine. Check the year and other fine print such as the area ( Rutherford) or the designation (Reserva) etc. Also beware of wine ratings. Ads and retailers are using anybody's 90 point rating in ads for wines. I would stick with Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate ratings. I read each of these publications and have been able to confirm many of their ratings. However they do not always agree with each other which is why I always advise to drink a wine first before buying more than 1 bottle. Everyone's taste is different.
The Show 2007 California $12 I like the 2007 but have been advised that 2008 is not as good.
Beaulieu BV Napa Rutherford 2006 and 2007. They make several Napa cabs. Look for the Rutherford. $20. This is a classic Napa cab.
Louis Martini 2007 Napa $20. I have not tried this one but it is getting raves.
Chateau Smith 2007 Washington. $15. This is a lighter style wine that I really
like.
Catena 2008 $14 Argentina
Vina Cobos Felino 2008 $18 Argentina I have not had this wine.
Santa Ema 2008 Reserva $18 Chile I have not had this wine.
Cousino-Macul 2007 or 2008 Antiguas Reserva $12 to $18 I have not had this wine.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wines of the Week
Last week was a week of Wine Spectator top 100 wines. The Castello D'Albola Chianti Classico 2007 is a very good wine. Light, fruity with that chianti taste. I bought it for about $13. #47 in the 2010 top 100.
# 48 is the Mumm Napa sparkling wine NV. Dry, balanced, lots of bubbles. Enjoyed it alot with my classic lobster dinner. Paid about $17 for the bottle.
Rondel cava NV. Nice, fruity cava. Enjoyed with ravioli. I have a sweet spot for any cava from St Sadurni D'Anoia, a small town near Barcelona where a great deal of cava is made. We visited there a few years ago and had a great day. We visited the Codorniu winery and had a fabulous tour.
Bodegas Ondarre 2004 rioja reserva. #58. I love riojas and this bottle is light and fruity.
# 48 is the Mumm Napa sparkling wine NV. Dry, balanced, lots of bubbles. Enjoyed it alot with my classic lobster dinner. Paid about $17 for the bottle.
Rondel cava NV. Nice, fruity cava. Enjoyed with ravioli. I have a sweet spot for any cava from St Sadurni D'Anoia, a small town near Barcelona where a great deal of cava is made. We visited there a few years ago and had a great day. We visited the Codorniu winery and had a fabulous tour.
Bodegas Ondarre 2004 rioja reserva. #58. I love riojas and this bottle is light and fruity.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Cayman Islands
Just spent a few days on Grand Cayman island in the Cayman Islands. Some very good wines were available there at decent prices. We had a Chateau Smith, Washington cabernet from Charles Smith. Not sure if it was 2007 or 2008. This wine was excellent with nice fruit and not too heavy as the alcohol was about 13%. Got it for about $25 in a wine shop. The shop also has Chakalaka, a South African rhone blend that I have had and it a very pleasant surprise. It is from Spice Route. Also had a Sancerre 2008 Pascal Jolivet at Kaibo. It was one of the best white wines that I have had lately. It had more fruit than most Sancerres and was beautifully balanced. BTW Sancerres are from the Loire valley in France and are made from the sauvignon blanc grape.
Caybrew, the local beer is also very good . The German brewmaster makes a great beer . They also make a fantastic dark beer called Ironshore Bock. This beer is only in cans and draught. A number of bars and restaurants carry it. You can taste it at the brewery for free. Check out the brewery. It is small but good samples, interesting t - shirts and I think that you can get a tour of the facility.
Had some good fish there on the island. The wahoo was great. Had it a Kaibo on the beach and a friend had it at Tukka, a new restaurant at the old Portofino spot. It has an Australian accent. Get out your Tukka bag. Had some fish tacos with mahi mahi that were excellent at a restaurant at the Comfort Suites across from 7 mile beach. Great burgers and fish tacos and very reasonably priced. Also had Mahi at the lunch restaurant at Rum Point. Nothing like lunch on picnic tables in the sand with a draught Ironshore Bock. Don't have dinner there.
Did not get a chance to eat at Michael's Genuine Food this time. Ate there last July when it first opened and we had a great meal. Better than anything else that I have had on the island.
Caybrew, the local beer is also very good . The German brewmaster makes a great beer . They also make a fantastic dark beer called Ironshore Bock. This beer is only in cans and draught. A number of bars and restaurants carry it. You can taste it at the brewery for free. Check out the brewery. It is small but good samples, interesting t - shirts and I think that you can get a tour of the facility.
Had some good fish there on the island. The wahoo was great. Had it a Kaibo on the beach and a friend had it at Tukka, a new restaurant at the old Portofino spot. It has an Australian accent. Get out your Tukka bag. Had some fish tacos with mahi mahi that were excellent at a restaurant at the Comfort Suites across from 7 mile beach. Great burgers and fish tacos and very reasonably priced. Also had Mahi at the lunch restaurant at Rum Point. Nothing like lunch on picnic tables in the sand with a draught Ironshore Bock. Don't have dinner there.
Did not get a chance to eat at Michael's Genuine Food this time. Ate there last July when it first opened and we had a great meal. Better than anything else that I have had on the island.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Happy New Year
It has been an eventful Christmas and New Year's from a food and wine perspective. Received some excellent wines from the relatives for Christmas. More on these bottles when I open them up.
The tennis party of Champagne and paella was great. We had bottles of Pol Roger and Monopole. We also had a Jaime Serra Cristolino cava. The champagnes were fine, nothing special. Liked the cava the best. Created a new rift on the caesar salad. I steamed some 2 pound lobsters and and took out the meat. I then tossed the meat with the romaine lettuce and dressing. A classic and so simple.
Received a new pizza stone for Christmas. Bright red 14.5 inch round from Emile Henry, France. Tried it and the pizza came out nicely crisped. Pizza hint--- put the cheese on before the sauce. Just don't cover the entire crust with cheese. Place the sauce where there is no cheese.
New Year's eve dinner was my favorite. We picked up a whole Peking Duck at the Peking
Duck House in Chinatown in NY. We also bought some dumplings at Joe's Shanghai. It was the first time we have been to Joe's. We then bought some ribs from NY Noodletown, an old standby. I bought some greens and baby bok choi from a street vendor. We brought it all home. Started cooking around 7pm. Opened a bottle of Duc de Romet champagne. Great bottle. It received vg reviews from the Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate. Paid $30.
For dessert I made a hot passion fruit souffle with passion fruit whipped cream. This is a recipe that I have adapted from other types of souffles. I use concentrated passion fruit juice from Aunt Lillikoi a small business on Kauai. We discovered the shop when we were in Kauai and now my wife gets me the juice for my birthday. Easily shipped and relatively inexpensive.
We decided to open up a Sauterne with the souffle. I was able to obtain 2 half bottles of 2001 Chateau de Rieussac several years ago. It was the Wine Spectator No. 1 wine of the year several years back and they rated it a perfect 100. Never before had a wine rated 100. Truthfully the wine was good but didn't knock our socks off. We finished half the bottle on New Year's eve and the other half the next night. The wine was golden and honey like with a nice finish.
We have been drinking a few more 2009 beaujolais's and the I must say that they are good but not as good as the all of the hype suggests. Try the Deboeuf 2009 Jean Descombes Morgon. Just found it for $12. It is as good as they can be.
Wine of the Week
2008 Tukma malbec from Argentina. About $12. The WA recently gave the wine a 91.It outclassed a 2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva . We had the bottles for Christmas dinner.The Muga is a favorite of mine so it says alot about the Tukma. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find another bottle of the Tukma.
Hope 2011 is a great year for everyone.
The tennis party of Champagne and paella was great. We had bottles of Pol Roger and Monopole. We also had a Jaime Serra Cristolino cava. The champagnes were fine, nothing special. Liked the cava the best. Created a new rift on the caesar salad. I steamed some 2 pound lobsters and and took out the meat. I then tossed the meat with the romaine lettuce and dressing. A classic and so simple.
Received a new pizza stone for Christmas. Bright red 14.5 inch round from Emile Henry, France. Tried it and the pizza came out nicely crisped. Pizza hint--- put the cheese on before the sauce. Just don't cover the entire crust with cheese. Place the sauce where there is no cheese.
New Year's eve dinner was my favorite. We picked up a whole Peking Duck at the Peking
Duck House in Chinatown in NY. We also bought some dumplings at Joe's Shanghai. It was the first time we have been to Joe's. We then bought some ribs from NY Noodletown, an old standby. I bought some greens and baby bok choi from a street vendor. We brought it all home. Started cooking around 7pm. Opened a bottle of Duc de Romet champagne. Great bottle. It received vg reviews from the Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate. Paid $30.
For dessert I made a hot passion fruit souffle with passion fruit whipped cream. This is a recipe that I have adapted from other types of souffles. I use concentrated passion fruit juice from Aunt Lillikoi a small business on Kauai. We discovered the shop when we were in Kauai and now my wife gets me the juice for my birthday. Easily shipped and relatively inexpensive.
We decided to open up a Sauterne with the souffle. I was able to obtain 2 half bottles of 2001 Chateau de Rieussac several years ago. It was the Wine Spectator No. 1 wine of the year several years back and they rated it a perfect 100. Never before had a wine rated 100. Truthfully the wine was good but didn't knock our socks off. We finished half the bottle on New Year's eve and the other half the next night. The wine was golden and honey like with a nice finish.
We have been drinking a few more 2009 beaujolais's and the I must say that they are good but not as good as the all of the hype suggests. Try the Deboeuf 2009 Jean Descombes Morgon. Just found it for $12. It is as good as they can be.
Wine of the Week
2008 Tukma malbec from Argentina. About $12. The WA recently gave the wine a 91.It outclassed a 2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva . We had the bottles for Christmas dinner.The Muga is a favorite of mine so it says alot about the Tukma. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find another bottle of the Tukma.
Hope 2011 is a great year for everyone.
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