My standard pasta recipe is Lidia Bastianich's from her book Lidia's Italian Table. It is simple, delicate and comes out perfect every time I've made it. I use my Kitchen Aid Mixer for the initial blending and then add the pasta roller attachments when it is time to roll it out. When possible, I like to use farm fresh eggs (the fresher the better) that we buy from Justin Pitts at the Crescent City Farmer's Market.
This is Lidia's recipe when using an electric mixer. Her book also details mixing the dough by hand as well as with a food processor.
Ingredients 4 cups unbleached flour 6 large eggs 1/2 t. salt 1/2 t. olive oil warm water as needed
Directions Place all but 1/3 cup of flour in the mixing bowl of a of a heavy duty electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, salt and olive oil together until blended. With the mixer on low speed, pour the egg mixture into the mixing bowl. Knead just until the mixture comes together to form a rough dough. If necessary, drizzle a very small amount of warm water into the bowl.
Remove the dough from the bowl and knead using the remaining flour, and more if necessary, using the following method.Once you have formed a rough dough, it is ready to knead. Flour a marble or wooden work surface. Press the heel of one handing deep into the dough, keeping your fingers high. Then press down on the dough while pushing it firmly away from you-the dough will stretch and roll under your hand like a large shell. Turn the dough over, then press into the dough first with the knuckles of one hand, then with the other; do this about ten times with the knuckles of each hand. Use the knuckles of your forefingers especially during this process.
Then repeat the stretching and "knuckling" process, using more flour if needed to prevent sticking, until the dough is smooth and silky, 10-2o minutes. Roll the dough into a smooth ball.Place the dough in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for at least 1 hour at room temperature, or up to 1 day in the refrigerator, before rolling and shaping the pasta. If the dough has been refrigerated, let it stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour before rolling and shaping.
Rolling the dough with a pasta machine (I used the Kitchen Aid attachments). Cut the ball of dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a rectangle about 5x3 inches. Lightly flour the pasta rectangles and cover them with a kitchen towel. Set the rollers of the pasta machine to the widest setting. Pass one of the pasta rectangles through the rollers long side first, then pass it though the rollers a second time. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Keep the dough lightly floured-just enough to prevent if from sticking to the rollers. Reduce the width by one setting and pass each piece of dough through the rollers two times. Support the dough with your hand as it comes through the rollers-don't pull it though, or the dough will shrink so it is narrower than the width of the rollers.
Continue working with the pieces of dough in the same order and reducing the width one setting each time until all pieces of dough have been passed through to the proper setting. (Each pasta machine is different. Consult the directions for proper setting of your equipment the type of pasta you are making); the pasta sheets should be about 5-1/2 x 30 inches. Always keep the pieces of dough that aren't being rolled covered with a towel. If you find the dough is very elastic, let all pieces rest for 5 to 10 minutes before continuing. Once all pasta has been rolled into sheets, let them rest, completely covered with towels, for about 15 minutes before cutting them.
Now comes the fun part of deciding what you want to do with these beautiful sheets of dough. Linguine and fettuccine will need another cutting attachment or a hand crank pasta roller. Lasagna, ravioli, papardelle, cannelloni can all be cut by hand from this point.
There must be something in the air because the little fig cutting surprised us with not one but two new leaves this past week! Things are looking good so far! It is amazing what a little warmth and sunshine does for all of us...
I've been wanting to learn Italian for years now. After many Italian language tapes, a conversational class at Delgado, and a few trips to Italy (and more in the future), I've decided it's time to really do this. Most likely the oldest person registered in the Italian I class at UNO, can one learn a new language at middle age? My swiss cheese like memory and crazy schedule will make it challenging, but what the hell? What am I waiting for? Do what you want to do now, who knows what could be coming your way....I'll keep you posted on my progress.
Rocca Delle Macie is considered a young winery when looking at the history of most of their Tuscan neighbors. But in their short 37 years they have managed to become one of the most highly regarded producers in the Chianti Classico region. Founded by spaghetti western star, Italo Zingarelli, the winery is still family owned and operated and produces a stellar lineup of wines.
Located in Castellina in Chianti, they have built their reputation on affordable and approachable Chianti Classico and Riserva, but also produce award winning Super Tuscans including the Ser Gioveto and Roccato. I tasted the whole line up of wines last week with Jimmy Buckle of Palm Bay Imports to chose our wines for our upcoming tasting on Tuesday with Rocca Delle Macie's Vito Candela. Presented with 8 amazing wines, it was hard to narrow it down to 6 for the tasting, but I decided to stick with what these guys do best, Sangiovese. From the light and easy Rubizzo to the seriously structured Roccato, you experience the many faces of this grape from the best production areas in Tuscany.
If I had to pick a favorite from the group, it would have to be the 2005 Chianti Classico Riserva. It is 90% Sangiovese with a touch of Merlot and Cabernet, that spends 2 years in French oak and a minimum of 3 months in bottle before they release it. It's got everything a great Chianti should have; beautiful cherry fruit with a slight tobacco note, a richness in the mouth, nice structure without being overly dry and tannic, the wine over delivers for the price.
But the Roccato Super Tuscan was a huge favorite among the tasters as well, showcasing the classic combination of Sangiovese and Cabernet. One of their premier high scorers with multiple Tre Bicchieri awards under its belt, this shows terrific red fruits with spice notes, cocoa, vanilla and rich fig and coffee.
So there will be something for everyone at this tasting, except white wine lovers will feel a little cheated. Being a classic Tuscan producer, the will only be one white wine, the Occhio a Vento which showcases the Vermentino grape. Call if you are interested in attending, we're limiting it to 40 people and the cost is $12. 504.304.0635, Tuesday 1/20, 6:30pm.
Needing to get the menu set for our upcoming sake tasting and food pairing, Chris Noyes sat down with Chef Dan Esses, Ron and me to taste through the lineup for next week. Hands down the best sake I've ever tasted, these are all new to the market and being brought in by Winebow. We were all blown away by the quality, complexity and individuality of the wines which inspired Chef Dan to come up with an amazing menu. Check it out below, but if you are interested, don't wait too long, we only have 8 spots left...504.304.0635.
Handmade Apple Pork Sausage over Braised Cabbage topped with Pickled Onion paired with Naba Shoten Futsuu-shu
Chef Daniel's BBQ Shrimp over Popcorn Rice paired with Suzuki Shuzoten Honjozo
Crab Salad over Fried Green Tomato paired with Akita Seishu Junmai Ginjo
Smoked Brisket with Spicy BBQ Sauce paired with Akita Seishu Junmai
Fish & Chips, Fried Gulf Fish with Handmade Sweet Potato Chips paired with Hinomaru Jozo Junmai Ginjo
Baked Oysters with Cheesy Mornay Sauce paired with Tenju Shuzo Junmai Daiginjo
Trying to decided what I wanted to cook to accompany Kerry's chicken dish she prepared last week, I picked up a beautiful clump of oyster mushrooms at Whole Foods. Originally from Asia his delicate white mushroom is ideal for simple preparations that allow its sweet, woodsy flavor to come through. It is now cultivated around the world and is highly praised for its medicinal and pharmacological value due to its high content of statins which help to control cholesterol. So hopefully that help to balance out all of the butter and fat I used for this recipe... We opened up a 2001 Poliziano Asinone Vino Nobile di Montepulciano to pair with the chicken dish, but it actually worked better with the mushrooms. The wine was fabulous, but it has hit its peak so we better drink that last bottle we've been saving soon!
Ingredients 1/2 lb. fresh oyster mushrooms 2 T. butter 1 T. olive oil 2 ounces pancetta, cut into small half inch pieces 2 T. Marsala 1/4 C. water Salt and pepper to taste
Directions -Separate the mushrooms by hand tearing each one away from the clump. -Take a large saute pan and add the butter and oil over medium heat until the butter starts to foam. -Add the pancetta and stir until browned. -Now add the mushrooms, coat with the butter/oil and turn up the heat to medium high. Once it starts to sizzle, add the marsala and water and cook until mushrooms are softened but still have a bit of a crunch. -Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Just as we have all been hiding under the covers for the last month, not wanting to venture out into the cold, gray days of winter, the little fig cutting has been in hibernation mode. The short days and cool temperatures have made for slow growing but this week we started to see a change as a new leaf is breaking through. Hopefully, in anticipation of the warmer weather scheduled to arrive this week, it has decided it will be safe to come and show its new growth!
My fascination with this little cutting has led me to research the history of figs and I found out it is possibly the most ancient of domesticated plants. The latest archaeological evidence has determined that figs were propagated as early as 11,400 years ago, predating the domestication of cereal grains and legumes by about 1,000 years. At the Gilgal site, in the Jordan Valley near Jericho, they found dried, half eaten figs from trees that could only have survived with the help of human hands. See there is a type of genetic mutation in some species of fig trees that allows them to produce without pollination and the help of the fig wasp. However, the only way these trees can propagate is by taking shoots and planting them in the ground to grow more trees. The fruit found at the Gilgal site was of this mutant variety indicating the earliest origins of fruit orchards.
So I found it pretty cool know that I'm doing what was done thousands of years ago, putting a stick in some dirt and hoping it will grow! So far it seems as if they knew what they were doing!
For the story of how our Sicilian fig cutting came to America, click here: For the Love of Figs
Our friend Liz has been patiently (not!) waiting for me to taste the new vintage of one of her favorite wines. A very frequent buyer and fervent fan of the 2007 BenMarco Malbec, she wasn't sure if the 2008 would be worthy of her adoration. Knowing the history, producer and quality of past vintages, I was confident it would, but nonetheless Liz wanted me to taste it before she purchased her case. So earlier on New Year's Eve day, before the bubbly feeding frenzy began, Lucie Fitch came in with a sample of the BenMarco for us to taste and share with customers. The nose alone told me this was going to be something special, and Liz will be delighted to know that the 2008 is a knockout!
The BenMarco wines are crafted by one of the most talented winemakers in Argentina, Susana Balbo, and her world famous viticulturist husband, Pedro Marchevsky. The winery is a family affair as Pedro’s daughter-in-law is an artist and designs all the labels while Susana’s son is currently a student at the University of California at Davis. One of the wines is called “Crios,” which means offspring and the label depicts two small hands in a big one symbolizing Susana and her two (now grown) children.
Beautiful, deep purple color with perfumed aromas of ripe red fruits and roasted coffee beans. It is lush, full-bodied and fills the palate with loads of chewy, currant jam flavors, bright acidity, and a touch of grip on the almost savory finish. This wine really unfolds with some air so try not to slurp it down in a rush, and it shows why the Argentine people are in love with Malbec. Pedro blended in some Bonarda for greater complexity and to achieve better balance. Pairs well with a wide range of foods including beef, sausages, spiced or grilled pork, veal, medium-strong cheeses, and meat-based pasta sauces.
We liked it so much that I talked Lucie into doing our Friday tasting this week so that all of you could taste it too, along with some of Susana Balbo's other wines from Argentina. Maybe I can convince Chef Dan Esses that he should pair it with a chimichurri sauce on his tapas menu that night....
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate The 2008 Malbec, which contains 10% Bonarda, spent 11 months in 50% new French oak and 50% first use American oak. Purple-colored, it reveals an expressive nose of wood smoke, cinnamon, incense, and black cherry. Round, ripe, medium-bodied, and savory, this layered effort has a lengthy, fruit-filled finish. Enjoy it over the next 5 years. Score: 90.
Like it or not, New Year's Eve tends to be a day of reflection. As many news publications like to write about the biggest news stories or the best movies of the year, I started reminiscing yesterday about my top 10 wine moments of the past 12 months. This isn't a buying guide nor does it have anything to do with ratings, I'm not even sure if all of these wines are still available, and some of the experiences are not even about a particular wine. These are really just 10 specific, very special moments in time when everything came together and made me pause and say to myself "hmmm! this is why I do what I do..." I've listed them in order of experience, not rating, so they start with our visit to New York last year in January and end with an evening in our home right before Christmas.
1. The first time I tasted an Etna Rosso was in New York for the Italian Trade Commission Wine Conference in January. Invited to a party by our friend Lisa, we needed quick bottle and walked into a little wine shop in the East Village on our way there. To my delight we found a small section of Sicilian wines with an inexpensive 2006 Tenuta Delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso. We popped it open immediately at the party to have with some pizza and I knew I had just found my new favorite grape varietal. A beautiful introduction to the Nerello Mascalese grape, it was lush and easy drinking, with a purity of fruit and hints of dark cherries, tobacco and wild herbs, and an earthiness and texture reminiscent of Burgundy, but is distinctly Sicilian. I was hooked.
2. More of a complete sensory overload of wonderful wine, food and people was our 2009 Tre Bicchiere Wine Dinner at Ristorante del Porto with our friend Antonio Molesini leading the way. Each year we hold this dinner with Antonio that features six of the highest award winning wines of the Italian wine guide, Gambero Rosso, at a top notch Italian restaurant. The combination of amazing wines, delicious food, delightful people and Antonio's humorous presentations made the entire evening a truly unforgettable experience. I can't wait to see what the 2010 dinner will bring!
3. Our introduction to skin fermented white wines came by way of some of our favorite people in the wine world. When our friends Neal and Monica brought us Abe Schoener's 2007 Scholium Project Prince in His Caves to taste for the first time, we were blown away, as we are every time we have had it since then. What we began to call, in very technical industry lingo, the "crazy wine", Abe's wines are known for pushing the envelope and this one is an enigma in itself. An unfiltered, skin fermented Sauvignon Blanc that is aged in new oak fills your glass with a cloudy yellow, viscous juice that looks more like a Belgian beer than wine. It opens with aromas of pink grapefruit juice, but as it hits your palate there are complex notes of honey, minerals and spice with a dry and "tannin-like" astringency at the back end and a finish that never ends. A true wine geeks wine and the start of our love for Abe and his wines.
4. Every once in awhile you come across a truly exquisite wine, one that you can't stop thinking about, whose memory haunts your olfactories and taste buds until you finally have it again. Even in this business where tasting 75 wines a week is the norm, I rarely run across a wine that makes me salivate like this. But knowing my love for Italian wines, our friend Matt Lirette nonchalantly popped the 2004 Cigliuti Barbaresco Serraboella at his house one evening for dinner and I've been thinking about it ever since. In the glass, the first thing that throws you is the color, a rich ruby tone that tells you this is not a typical Nebbiolo. A true "meditation" wine, the aromas are so intoxicating you never want to take your nose out of the glass, but know you need to start drinking or your wine loving friends will finish the bottle before you even have a sip! But the earthy, leather, cherry and tar perfume keep hinting at the treasures that await your palate. And once you do actually take a drink of this exquisitely elegant yet rich and complex wine that coats your mouth with its velvety texture and flavors of violets, spice box, sweet tobacco and dark fruit, you find that somehow it tastes even better than it smells!
5. We were given a very special bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir one day by our new friend James Moises, and wanted to share it with people who we thought would appreciate it. So with a huge piece of freshly caught tuna to grill, we invited our friends Lisa and Karoline over for dinner and popped a stunning 1999 Yamhill Carlton Wahle Vineyard Pinot Noir given to use by James Moises and made by his partner Mark Wahle. It was eye opening to me how amazingly, fresh and elegant yet powerful this wine was with 10 years of age! This particular bottle and my experiences with the Moises Wines from the same vineyard marked the start of my deep appreciation for OregonPinot Noir!
6. Researching wineries our Wine and Culinary Tour of Sicily, I came across a very small producer on the northern slopes of Mount Etna that really got me excited. Frank Cornelissen , who I now affectionately call the "Mad Man of Etna", is doing some really amazing stuff with indigenous varietals and I knew he had to be part of our trip. Cynthia Nicholson, our partner in the wine and food trip visited Frank in the spring and brought back a few of his wines to share with us. I made a very Sicilian dish called Pasta Trapanese and we had Frank's skin fermented white, the 2008 Cornelissen Munjebel Bianco and his amazing Magma with the meal . The pairings, Cynthia's company, the conversation and of course the sensory introduction to Frank's wines (which have become somewhat of an obsession with me...)made it a truly unforgettable experience that we all talked about for months.
7. Kerry and I had the privilege of meeting Clovis Taittinger about a year ago and made an instant connection with the quirky, humble, funny and somewhat shy French aristocrat. So when we found out he was coming back in October, we teamed up with Commander's Palace for a Taittinger Champagne dinner hosted by the man himself. Eating fabulous food in one of the world's most prestigious restaurants, drinking the amazing 1998 Comtes de Champagne with Clovis, surrounded by customers who have all become our friends, it couldn't have been a more wonderful evening.
8. Our Wine and Culinary tour of Sicily could encompass 10 top moments on its own, but if I had to narrow it down, I would pick the beautifully stunning morning we drank wine with Frank Cornelissen on his black lava rock courtyard in the little town of Solicchiata on the northern slopes of Mount Etna. The wines, Frank's passion, and the entire group's appreciation for both made it a really magical moment. Through his practice of extreme non-intervention Frank allows the wines to take a natural course and through taking that course a very distinct quality comes through each and every wine. I can only describe it as an essence of purity and an expression of the grape from a very particular time and place that you taste in every sip and each one of his creations. That particular place is the Etna and is like no other on earth. And Frank's wines are alive with the spirit of this amazing place.
9. Our friend Rachel's mother had just passed away and a group of friends gathered at her house that evening to reminisce and bring closure to the amazing story her life had been. We nibbled on cheese, chorizo, olives and fresh bread as we laughed, cried and hugged each other. I wanted to bring something special to celebrate Patsy, so I chose the 2007 Jean Louis Tribouley Carginan. It was elegant and fresh, a beautiful, soft richness on the palate, yet with a little spicy kick, reminiscent of the woman we came there to honor. It was the perfect wine for the moment and it will forever remind me of Patsy.
10. One Sunday evening recently I decided to cook up some Esses Foods fresh pasta with a little pancetta and tomato sauce I had just made. Our friend Matt Lirette had given me a bottle of a new Etna Rosso (Matt has come to share my love for Nerello Mascalese), that he thought I would like. So we invited our friend Lisa over and popped the 2007 Pietradolce Archineri with the meal. Again, another wine that reinforced for me the amazing things that can come from this grape! A heady perfume of red fruits, baking spices and caramel literally jump from the glass, with lush, almost jammy flavors of plum, raspberries and oranges coat your palate. I called Matt the next day and said that I had to have that wine in the shop! He assures me it's coming.... I find it only fitting that my top wine moments of the year started and ended with Kerry, Lisa and a glass of Nerello Mascalese...
So, while there were times throughout the past year where life was challenging and difficult, it is nice to think back on these moments of joy spent with people I care about and sharing my passion for food and wine. Because a great wine is nothing without someone special to share it with and I am thankful to have a partner and friends who appreciate these wonderful moments just as much as I. I can't wait to see what 2010 will bring! Happy New Year!
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, wine scores sell wine. They’re used as marketing tools when the ratings are high and can kill a wine if they’re low. By their very nature, wine ratings are subjective. Really, what is the difference between a Wine Spectator score of 90 and a Wine Advocate score of 89? Or better yet, a Wine Spectator score of 82 and a Wine Advocate score of 90 on the same wine? A function of advertising dollars, perhaps? So how did this business, and a lucrative business it is, get started?
Ratings were not really part of the wine world before 1978. If they used any scoring system at all, critics in both the United States and abroad tended to use a simple 5-point system. Enter Robert M. Parker Jr. a lawyer turned self-employed wine critic who introduced the 100-point system to the wine world in 1978, when he started a wine buying guide called The Wine Advocate, published every two months.
Easy to comprehend, consumers embraced the 100-point rating system immediately. Under his system, a 96 to 100 is an extraordinary wine, 90 to 95 is excellent, and 80 to 89 is above average to very good. To avoid being influenced by the name or reputation of a winery, Mr. Parker tasted batches of wine together, slipping the bottles into individual paper bags and then mixing them up and rating each one.
His system grew in popularity and “Parker Points” started being used as marketing tools by wine retailers. As others began to see the value of such a simple yet effective system, they adopted similar scales. Enter Wine Spectator who in the mid 1980’s introduced their own 100-point scale to market their publication, while others followed over the next 10 years as both Wine & Spirits and Wine Enthusiast adopted the 100-point systems in the mid 1990’s.
Fast forward to 2009; Wine Spectator’s highly anticipated Top 100 Wines hit the newsstand smack in the middle of the holiday shopping frenzy, and wine ratings have a major influence on retail sales. On the positive side, ratings can give novice wine tasters an objective way to judge wines. On the negative side, ratings have become influential enough to cause wineries to rise and fall on the strength of their published ratings. A very high rating from a respected rating authority can result in a rapid sellout of a particular wine while leaving another high quality wine without a rating, collecting dust on the shelves.
What you need to keep in mind about all of this is that rating wines is absolutely subjective. The points (and even the tasting notes) ascribed to a particular wine are the opinions of the reviewer and reflect the rater’s own tastes, biases, and preferences. In the end, it’s not my opinion or Mr. Parker’s or the Wine Spectator that matters, it’s how you feel about a wine and the enjoyment it brings you that really counts.
At our Swirlin’ Dervish Tuesday, January 12, “You be the Judge” as we feature 6 wines that have been rated 90 or more points by various “respected” wine critics, and all retail for under $20. We’d like you to be the judge and let us know what you think of the wines on the 100-point scale. Make a reservation by calling 504.304.0635.
