Spinach, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Frittata with Spanish Rose'

Ciao, amici, e benvenuti a Cépage et Cuisine!  Hello, friends, and welcome to Cépage et Cuisine, Mary’s and Brian’s wine and food blog.  As we have shared in a couple of earlier posts, we try to have at least one meatless day per week and today we’re sharing another of our meatless meals.  This dish is also a foray into a bit of Italian cuisine.

The dish today is a spinach, red pepper, and goat cheese frittata with hand-cut French fries.  It is delicious, easy, and has a variety of interesting and healthful ingredients with vivid flavors.  Mary says a frittata is easier to prepare than an omelet or a quiche and is incredibly versatile.  It’s almost a blank canvas for creative ideas.  The method Mary describes here is also great because it doesn’t require flipping to get both sides nicely done.  It is cooked first on the stovetop, then finished under the broiler in the oven.

Here’s Mary to discuss the ingredients and preparation.

I’ve made frittata several times, but this is the first time for this particular version.  I included spinach, olive oil, red bell peppers, garlic, marjoram, salt & pepper, eggs, and milk. Our bonus ingredient was chèvre, a goat cheese from France (but I forgot to include it in the pictures).  It is creamy, tangy, and adds complexity and excitement.  The spinach was blanched a little ahead of time, drained and blotted dry. I did that first thing and then moved on to chopping the red bell peppers and preparing the garlic.

The red bell peppers were sautéed in olive oil for 8-10 minutes in a non-stick pan (very important), then I pressed several cloves of garlic to add to the peppers, then the chopped spinach and marjoram. I wanted to use fresh marjoram leaves, but I couldn’t find it at my local grocery store, so I bought dried marjoram. I cooked the veggies for just a few minutes, then scooped them all into a bowl to cool on the counter.  I cleaned the pan and added a bit of olive oil for the eggs.

In a large bowl, I whisked the eggs with 2 tablespoons of milk. Salt and pepper were added, then the veggies were stirred in. This is when I added chopped slices of fresh chevre to the eggs. The egg mixture was poured into the hot skillet to cook for about 10 minutes. When the eggs were almost set, I put the pan under a hot broiler for about 5 minutes, being careful not to burn the frittata.

Here’s the finished frittata right out of the oven.

Brian here:  About French fries, they have been really trivialized by fast food.  Those of us of a certain age remember when homemade French fries were a rare and special treat, from potatoes freshly peeled and sliced by our mothers, then cooked to a golden brown in oil in a frying pan and served piping hot.  Well, folks, I’m here to tell you fries made like this are still a real treat.  The entire dinner, even with the chopping and peeling, took less than an hour to prepare, and that includes homemade fries.  Now back to Mary.

We have made homemade French fries quite often, but in the past I have just heated oil in a saucepan. Our one nod to modern convenience THIS TIME was a Fry Daddy deep fryer.  What a huge difference that made! It was SO much easier! When I started cooking the red bell peppers, I put oil in the Fry Daddy and heated it up (that took 15 minutes). By the time the eggs were cooking on the stovetop, Brian had peeled and cut the potatoes into fries and put them in the basket. We figured they would take about 15 minutes in the deep fryer, and that was about right. The frittata came out of the oven about the same time the fries were ready.

Here are the frittata and fries, ready for assembly and devouring.  Now back to Brian to talk about the wine.

A meatless dish like this doesn’t require a heavy or complicated wine.  Like the shrimp and grits dinner we described recently, I decided a light-bodied, refreshing, racy rose’ would be great for the frittata and fries, especially with the chèvre.  I like to use salsa with this dinner and the rose’ was also a great contrast with the flavors and mild spiciness of the salsa.  You can just about take your pick of rose’ and any would be fine.  Tapeña is a producer from central Spain that makes inexpensive, easy-to-drink wines from native Spanish grapes.  This particular rose’ is a blend of Garnacha, Syrah, and Monastrell.  Garnacha is also known as Grenache and Monastrell as Mourvedre.  I think the grapes were probably picked before they were fully mature because the wine was quite brisk of acidity with bright red berry and melon notes.  The alcohol was only 12.5%.  It doesn’t require much pondering...you just enjoy it with dinner.  It will be a great summertime sipper, too.  It cost only $11 at Briarwood Wines and Spirits in Jackson.

Here’s another look at a delicious, light, casual Friday night dinner with my wonderful wife.  That’s our post for today.  We hope you enjoyed it and found it interesting.  Keep checking back at Cépage et Cuisine for more articles about wine and food.  In the meantime,

Cheers, everybody!

Mary♥Brian

Shrimp & Grits, Y'all

Hello again, everybody, and welcome back to Cépage et Cuisine, Mary’s and Brian’s wine and food blog.  Perhaps I should say it is our food and wine blog, since Mary’s articles about cuisine create more excitement among readers.  We believe food and wine is a package deal, that each is enhanced by the other and that both of them together add richness and enjoyment to life.  Sharing the experience with others, especially around our dinner table, but also here on the blog, adds to the fun.  Thanks for reading us.

Our post today is about a recipe we tried recently, a variation of a time-honored traditional Southern cuisine specialty, shrimp and grits.  It is especially popular here in the Gulf South, where fresh Gulf shrimp is plentiful.  To give credit where credit is due, this particular version is from a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina called Husk.  The chef is Sean Brock.  The dish is enhanced by fennel and sausage.  There are a few things we will probably change next time, but it was delicious and well worth sharing here on the blog.  Here’s Mary to talk about ingredients and preparation.

The dish is prepared in four major steps: roasting the tomatoes, preparing the fennel, cooking the grits, and the shrimp and sausage.  Then everything is assembled.  I’ll talk about it in that order.

I used 4 Roma tomatoes (also known as plum tomatoes), cut in half lengthwise.  I put them in a baking dish, cut side up, and covered them with minced garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. I roasted them for half an hour in the oven and set them aside.

I bought one fennel bulb and cut off the fronds. If the fronds look nice, you can use them along with the bulb. I cut the bulb into thin wedges and put them into a small saucepan with enough water to cover, a little butter, salt and white pepper. The fennel cooked on top of the stove for 10-15 minutes, then I set it aside.  Save the cooking liquid.

The recipe called for coarse corn grits, bay leaf, butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt and white pepper.  Brian thinks slow-cooked grits would be best.  We used quick-cooking grits because it’s hard to find slow-cooked grits in markets, but I would NOT recommend instant grits.  Brian wants to order Callaway Gardens Speckled-Heart grits next time. 

For our California readers, it’s important to stir the grits to keep them from clumping and sticking to the bottom of the pan.  The grits were cooked according to the package instructions with the addition of a bay leaf.  Other ingredients were added after the grits were cooked.  The recipe calls for cream cheese, but you could use other cheese if you prefer, such as high-quality cheddar or gruyere (NOT the shredded stuff in the zip lock bag from the supermarket).

I cooked one cup of sausage in a small frying pan and set it aside.  The recipe calls for crumbling the sausage, so we used regular breakfast sausage.  We think we will use smoked sausage such as andouille next time, cutting it into small bite-sized pieces. 

For the shrimp, Brian insisted on buying it fresh, not frozen.  He handled the peeling and deveining.  He says you don’t have to be all that particular about the deveining.  Just pull it out as best you can.  If it doesn’t all come out, it’s no problem, but make sure you remove all the shell and tails.  The picture above shows the peeled and deveined shrimp on the left side.  We do at least buy them with the heads already removed.  We're not quite THAT hardcore!

In a large sauté pan, I cooked the shrimp very quickly in a little olive oil, just a minute on each side. I added the fennel, sausage, roasted tomatoes, and a cup of the fennel cooking liquid.  Simmer all together and add lemon juice, hot sauce, and salt to taste.  Brian is trying to reduce his salt intake, so we didn’t add much salt, especially since the sausage is already salty.  Once we plated everything, we ended up adding quite a bit of hot sauce.  Next time, we’ll probably add a little more hot sauce or perhaps cayenne pepper in the preparation.

To assemble the dish, spoon a generous bed of grits onto the plate.  The shrimp, sausage, fennel, and tomatoes are added on top.  Make sure you get some of each!  We garnished with parsley, but you could use some of the fennel fronds here.  Isn’t this pretty?  The only other thing you need is some crusty French bread!

Here’s Brian to talk about the wine.

For typical shrimp and grits, white wine is often recommended. With this expression of the dish with the roasted tomatoes and sausage, I was skeptical that a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc would really work.  A nice Riesling might be good, but I decided a refreshing, chilled rose’ would be just the right pairing.  Spring is springing here in the Jackson area, the weather is getting nicer, and rose’ sounded great!  Our friends at Briarwood Wines and Spirits in Jackson already have a nice selection.  Another nice feature is the price tag.

This particular wine is a rose’ of Garnacha from the Navarra region in northeastern Spain.  The grape is known in France as Grenache.  Rose’, often called rosado in Spain, is made by leaving the juice in contact with the red grape skins for only a short time.  If the grapes are mature, varietal character should be apparent on the nose and palate, but rose’ wines typically also show lively flavors of berries and melon.  They’re great for picnics, lunches or dinners on the patio, or just watching a pretty sunset if you enjoy wine that way.  This Garnacha rose’ was perfect with our shrimp and grits dish, a delicious contrast to the spicy notes of the sausage and hot sauce.  Here are my notes on the wine, short and to the point.

Bodegas Alconde Viña Sardasol Navarra Rosado de Lagrima 2008.  Delicious berry and melon fruit aromas and flavors, a little Garnacha spiciness on the palate, fresh acidity, nicely balanced, a terrific pairing with shrimp, grits, roasted tomatoes, and sausage.  13.5% alcohol.  $16 at Briarwood Wines in Jackson.

That’s our post for today.  We hope you enjoyed it.  Comment on our blog and offer your own suggestions for interesting cuisine and wine and food pairings.  Keep coming back to Cépage et Cuisine for more about food and wine.  In the meantime,

Cheers!

Mary♥Brian

Cabernet Sauvignon - Bordeaux and California

Bonjour tout le monde!  Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Cèpage et Cuisine, Mary’s and Brian’s wine and food blog.  It has been a month since our previous post.  Family, work, and travel have conspired to delay writing about our adventures, but we have much to share, we’re glad to be back, so here goes!

We had our long-planned and much-anticipated Cabernet Sauvignon event recently, a blind tasting of Cabernet or Cabernet-based wines from Bordeaux and California.  What fun! 

I vacillate back and forth on whether Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir is my favorite red varietal.  If the wine is balanced, elegant and finessed, the grapes not overripe and the wine not too high in alcohol, it is a close call. 

And there’s the thing.  The Cabernets of Bordeaux tend to have just that…finesse, elegance, complexity, and pair well with food, but they don’t always impress as a leisure beverage, which is what many Americans expect.  For California Cabernet, all roads lead to Napa Valley, which in recent years has trended toward a bolder, riper, fuller style that get big numbers from the critics, but to my palate, are not as interesting and not as friendly with food.  So in this tasting event, we tried to minimize bias by blinding the wines so no one knows what is in the glass until after the tasting.

We chose six wines, three from Bordeaux and three from California.  The Bordeaux were all from the classic 2000 vintage.  They included Chateau Leoville Barton, a second growth Bordeaux (perhaps a post on that later), and Chateau Langoa Barton.  These wines were of interest because the two estates are basically separated by a lane, have the same blend of grapes, are made in the same way, and have the same owner.  Differences in character have to be from the differences in terroir…soil type and other factors.  The third Bordeaux was a more anonymous, less known, lower cost wine from Chateau Cambon la Pelouse, with grapes drawn from various vineyards.

The California wines included a prestigious wine from the valley floor, Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard 1999.  I posted a note about the 1991 vintage in a previous article on the blog.  The other Napa Valley wine was a 2000 vintage wine from Wing Canyon on Mt. Veeder, high above the valley floor on the steep hillside.  Wines from the mountain appellations are often more structured, austere in character, with intense flavors that reflect the site.  I blogged about the great folks at Wing Canyon a few months back.  Check out that article.  The third California wine was a 2001 vintage from B.R. Cohn in Sonoma Valley, a highly regarded producer who offers one of the few Cabernets outside of Napa Valley that are considered to be top tier.

Now I’ll describe how we blinded the event.  The stems were on tasting mats with color-coded circles.  You can see in the photo the circles from left to right were yellow, green, red, blue, orange, and purple. To the right you see tasting notes that were also color-coded.

Identical-appearing decanters were coded similarly with colored ribbons. 

I opened the bottles and placed them in plain, brown paper bags with the tops rolled back so they could be poured.  Mary was out of the room while I did this.  Then, I exited and Mary returned, having no idea which wine was in which bag. 

Mary tied a diffferent colored ribbon around each bag.  If the first bag she picked up had a yellow ribbon, for example, she then poured that wine into the decanter with the yellow ribbon.  Mary and our very good friend, Beverly, poured all the wines into the decanters.

At that point, I returned, having no idea which wine was in which decanter.  Wines were poured into the stems…yellow decanter into yellow stems, etc, and off we went.

It was an education for everyone and, of course, preferences changed when the wines were tasted with food.  When we tasted the yellow wine, one person pronounced it tart and thin and stated unequivocally, “This wine has no place in my life.”  But he agreed later it was better when paired with dinner.  The expectation of Bordeaux = lean and elegant and California = bold and fruity didn’t hold up under blinding, either.  The Chateau Leoville Barton followed the stereotype, a complex, medium-bodied, balanced wine with relatively high acidity and tannins that had not quite resolved, with all the expected aroma and flavor characteristics of a great Bordeaux…currant, red cherry, leather, cedar, graphite, and herbal and floral notes.  On the other hand, the Chateau Langoa Barton, from literally across the road, was bigger, softer, bolder, fuller, had darker fruit character, not as complex.  Most people were sure it was a California wine.

Likewise, the California wines didn’t exactly follow the pre-determined rules.  The consensus favorite of the evening ended up being a California wine.  At the first sniff and sip, most people around the table made happy sounds in unison.  It was fantastic, silky smooth and polished in texture.  The aromas had everything we could want in a great Cabernet.  Like the Leoville Barton, the currant, cherry, a little spice, leather, cedar, and lovely sage and violet notes drew us to the glass.  It was classically Cabernet in flavor, but I think those berry and floral qualities especially reflect the mountain origin.  The palate showed that great smoothness, medium body, medium acidity, and flavors that largely followed the nose, especially the currant and cherry notes.  And as the evening progressed, it continued to evolve and change.  It was wonderful on its own and it was delicious with dinner.

And what was this amazing winning wine?  Congratulations to Wing Canyon Vineyard on Mt. Veeder above Napa Valley!  Kathy and Bill, I know you’re reading this and I was just delighted that your wine performed so well in a blind tasting among this group of outstanding wines.  It is a reflection of your many years of hard work, craftsmanship, caring, and passion.  We’re proud to know you.  Now there are several Mississippians who want your wine!

The tasting was not exactly a competition and the wines were all good, top to bottom.  It is fun to rank preferences, though, and see how they change through the evening and with food.  My own bias is that I tend to see wine through the lens of food pairings.  Since Mary and I pretty much drink wine only with meals, I often think about how I will like the wine with food even before I taste it with food.  Beyond the Wing Canyon, preferences varied quite a bit.  My two through four choices were the Bordeaux with the Chateau Leoville Barton my second most preferred.  But get this.  I paid $25 for Bill’s and Kathy’s wine and $135 for the Leoville Barton.  Considering the difference in cost, the Leoville Barton becomes a distant second!

Dinner was delicious, thanks once again to Mary.  It was the rack of lamb and ratatouille dish we described in a blog post a few weeks ago.  As a surprise, I made a pear tatin and opened a Bonnezeaux and a Point Reyes blue cheese.  The dessert-style wine of Bonnezeaux and the pear tatin and cheese were a perfect end to a fun and delicious wine dinner.

Here are several photos from the next morning.

Here are my notes on each of the wines.

Wing Canyon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Mt. Veeder 2000.  Congratulations to Bill and Kathy!  This was the consensus favorite of the evening!  It was silky smooth, had great balance, and complexity.  The aromas showed lovely currant, cherry, floral notes, earth, leather, and cedar.  The palate was beautiful, silky smooth, gliding across the tongue with medium acidity and exquisite balance.  Currant, red cherry, and earthy notes followed the aroma profile.  The finish was nice and long, the balance perfect, very complex. Everyone thought it was the expensive Bordeaux before the paper bag came off.  85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 13.0% alcohol.  We paid $25 for this wine.

Chateau Leoville Barton Saint Julien 2000.  Although some folks really liked this wine, some attendees rated it low from the beginning.  For me, it was my number two preferred wine, with and without food.  It had wonderful Cabernet aromas of currant, cherry, floral qualities, leather, and cedar.  The palate followed with similar flavors, possibly with added anise or licorice characteristics.  It was moderate to high in acidity, not surprising with only 12.5% alcohol, almost rough in texture, and medium in body.  It had a tartness and thinness that was not appreciated by all and definitely performed better with food than without.  I would be glad to have more of this wine.  72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 12.5% alcohol.  This baby cost us $135.

Chateau Cambon la Pelouse Haut Medoc 2000.  For me, at least, this wine performed well, my third most preferred wine out of six.  It had good varietal qualities of cherry, violet, earth, and smoked meat aromas and flavors.  It was medium in acidity with smooth texture and a medium to full body.  It was nicely balanced, long finishing, fairly complex, getting an excellent quality rating.  It was mostly rated around the table as "like."  It was a different cèpage from the others, comprised of 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 13.0% alcohol.  An excellent value at $20.

Chateau Langoa Barton Saint Julien 2000.  The Langoa Barton was discernibly different and less preferred than the Leoville Barton.  It was riper in character, even to the point of raisin and other dried fruit, with earthy notes.  The palate showed low to medium acidity, smooth texture, not exactly silky, medium to full body.  Blackberry and dark currant fruit were evident on the flavor profile.  The finish was medium in length, the balance was adequate, and complexity moderate, rating a good quality assessment.  I rated it four out of six.  72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 12.5% alcohol.  We paid $60 for this wine.

Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Martha’s Vineyard 1999.  There were varying degrees of preference for this wine, but I must say I was a bit disappointed in it, especially considering its price.  We had a 1991 Martha’s a few weeks ago that was absolutely amazing.  Perhaps it is vintage variation.  The older vintage Martha's Vineyard wines are just so compelling, but I think Heitz has followed the market pressures to produce riper, more extracted wines with bold flavors that score well with the critics.  It was not disliked, to be sure, and had nice dark berry and fruit qualities along with some graphite and charred wood characteristics, but did not have the classic Cabernet quality of earlier vintages.  The acidity was low to medium, the texture was reasonably smooth, it was moderately complex, rated as good quality, but my fifth out of six wines on preference.  100% Cabernet Sauvignon.  14.2% alcohol.  We paid $144 for this wine.

B.R. Cohn Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley Olive Hill Estate 2001.  There was diversity around the table on the preference for this wine, but it was my least preferred wine, which is not to say I didn't like it, but it was just not in the top tier.  It was reasonably powerful on the nose, but not all that complex.  It showed blackberry, cherry, and plum, the typical dark fruit characteristics of a New World wine, along with chocolate and a bit of cured meat aromas.  The acidity was low with smooth texture and full body.  It was medium in length, reasonably balanced, moderate in complexity, overall a good but not excellent wine.  100% Cabernet Sauvignon.  14.0% alcohol.  We paid $40.

That’s our post for today.  We hope you enjoyed it and found it interesting.  If you are near Jackson and would like to join one of our events, comment on the blog to reach us.  We enjoy warm conviviality, Mary’s great creations, and come away with great memories.  If you're one of our California friends from St. Gabe's or Pres, come visit us!  Keep checking back at Cèpage et Cuisine for more posts about wine and food.  In the meantime and as we shared at the event, may you never want for good wine nor friends with whom to enjoy it.

Cheers!

Mary♥Brian