Alexis Bailey Vineyards

In September Joel and I went down to Hastings, Minnesota to help harvest grapes at Alexis Bailey Vineyards. We have done this on one other occasion and hope to make a tradition out of it. Nan Bailey took over the vineyard from her father and each year welcomes volunteers to come out and pick grapes for a weekend. This year the weather was perfect...slightly chilly but we quickly warmed ourselves up as we cruised down the vines clipping off juicy bunches of grapes.

I think the best part of the harvesting is the mid-day lunch. Nan usually has a friend in the kitchen whipping up some fabulous pasta dish served with cheeses and fruits and olives. And of course there is a ton of wine. Everyone grabs and plate and sits down at long tables to get to know each other and rest up for another few hours of picking.

Why am I talking about picking grapes in the middle of winter? Great question. I have just now offloaded pics from my digital camera for last year and thought I would share them with you. :0)

Picking grapes at ABV is definitely one of the highlights of my fall. Throughout the year Joel and I frequently drive to the the Vineyard with friends to sample the wine and to play cards on the back veranda. If you are looking for a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, head down to the vineyard with a lunch and may sure you say hi to Nan's new puppy Tumi.

For directions, hours and more info check out their website at www.abvwines.com

The Perfect Happy Hour

I had a great class tonight at Cooks teaching 3-30 Minute Meals. We whizzed through 9 courses and had lots of great Q and A. Should you be looking for a fun date night idea for Friday, there are still 6 spots open in the class I am tag-teaching with Josh Pepper, The Perfect Happy Hour. Sample 6 types of beer and as many apps. This will be a great class!

Cooking for Oscar

Lately I have been fascinated with the concept of cooking for my dog. Maybe I have too much time on my hands...maybe I need to have kids. But whatever the reason, I have been reading up on it and even experimenting a bit on my own end.


Depending on your source, I have heard that a dog's sense of smell can be 25 to 100 times great than that of a human. And as 80-90% of what we taste is linked to smell, one could argue that a dog would get oh so much more enjoyment out of a good meal than we ever will. But what do they eat? Dried kibbles, the smell of which I try not to inhale as they pour into Oscar's dog dish.


I am far from an expert on the subject, but so far I have learned that fats, seasonings and salt should be avoided. Leftover rice and chicken are ideal meals. I am still working on portion control and nutrition, but for now Oscar is enjoying a delicious gourmet meal every few nights. Tonight (as well as a few nights ago), I served him a generous portion of rice with pieces of roasted chicken.



He scarfed down his food and then spent several minutes licking every square inch of the floor surrounding his bowl. He moved his bowl off the food mat so he could get under it. And then went back to the bowl to lick it clean for the dozenth time...just in case. He then repeated this exercise two more times. To say he enjoyed his meal is definitely an understatement.


Some of my cookbooks have dog recipes at the back. One of the finer details I always find amusing is the serving instructions. The recipes always say to serve the dinner at the temperature of a warm rabbit.


I have been told by a baker who bakes treats for his dogs that garlic is what really makes the dogs go nuts. But I also found several sources that said not to feed your dog garlic. And others that said it helped keep off fleas, so to use in moderation. There is a lot of info to sift through on the net...some of it is contradictory, but there is a general consensus. I have a summary of my findings below.

When cooking a good ratio is 25-40% meat and the rest veggies. Good foods are:

• Grains
• Vegetables
• Dairy
• Eggs (not raw)
  
• Meat: Liver, Chicken, Beef, Poultry, Tuna, Lamb
• Veggies: Carrots, Broccoli (in small portions), and Spinach though it is recommended that you cook and finely chop or food process before serving to aid in digestion
• Brewer's Yeast
• Bonemeal
• Powdered milk
• Turmeric is rumored to reduce inflammation, but as dogs have very sensitive palates any spice should be used in moderation
• There is even beer for dogs Happy Tale Ale!

Foods to avoid:

• Fat
• Spicy things
• Spices including salt and pepper
• Onions
• Chocolate (though milk is less dangerous)
• Raisins and Grapes
• Macadamia nuts
• Cooked bones
• Alcohol
• Many flowers
• Soybeans
• Avocadoes
• Mushrooms
• Caffeine
• Nutmet
  

It is recommended that if you plan to consistently prepare your dog's food, you talk to your veterenarian to make sure your pet is getting proper nutrition. Most likely you will want to add a good dog multivitamin/mineral supplement. If you cook for your dog, I would love to hear about their favorite meals!

FDA Approves Eating Cloned Animals

On Tuesday, the FDA approved eating meat and milk from cloned animals. I talked to my 16-year-old brother about this and his first reaction was "Um, aren't cloned animals dying from genetic disorders?" Apparently, that is one of the concerns that people have in spite of the FDA stamp. So, what do you think? Vote on my poll.

For more info, read some of the site below.

One side from following article: ""Extensive evaluation of the available data has not identified any subtle hazards that might indicate food-consumption risks in healthy clones of cattle, swine, or goats," the 968-page "final risk assessment" concluded."

And the other..."The FDA also concluded that food from newborn cattle clones "may pose some very limited human food consumption risk."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/01/15/fda.cloning/

So why clone? Let's say a farmer has an extremely healthy herd of cattle or a particular cow that produces a ton of milk. A farmer could clone these animals and potentially produce more at a lower cost. He knows his cattle will be healthy and productive...not a bad deal.

Ah, Martinis...

Last night we had friends Dave and Sandra over to play cards and I had an inspiration for a new drink. I recently purchased Pama (pomagranate liquor) but wasn't having any success using it to make mixed drinks. It has sort of a cherry cough syrup taste, but I was confident it could be so much more. After a little fiddling around, I arrived at a drink we proudly named Pink Titty, in honor of Dave's grandmother who recently passed away and casually remarked one day that a house was the color of titty pink.

So in her memory:

Equal parts of each:

- Pellegrino or sparkling water
- Pama
- Vodka
- Orange juice or other orange fruity beverage
- One sugar cube

For more recipes using Pama, check out their site: http://www.pamaliqueur.com/index.html?Section=

Whistle While You Work

Not enough is said about music and cooking. It is a given that while cooking, a glass of wine in hand can only enhance the experience. But I would argue, that wine and cooking is an incomplete combination. A big itunes fan, I have many playlists that are labelled for the season in which I am cooking. For example I have a playlist called "Cooking", a "Thanksgiving" and others, such as "Dinner Fall 05", "Summer 2006", "Dinner Winter 06"...you get the idea. I am always on the look-out for great kitchen tunes. With that in mind, here are some of my favorites that keep pace with my culinary moods:

- Sia's newest CD, some people have real problems (I bought this tonight and played it during my cooking class tonight. Got rave reviews from the crowd.)

- Soundtracks such as Amelie and The Triplets of Bellvie; great for French cooking

- A few favorite artists who always inspire: Regina Spektor, Feist, Bebel Gilberto and Imogen Heap.

Music completely sets the tone for my prep. Rarely do I play the same music for dining as I do for cooking. Now if only I had a "doing the dishes" playlist...hm, what music does Joel like?

The Stemless

For the past couple of years I abhorred the stemless wine glass. As far as I could tell a stemless glass was an invitation for gruesome fingerprints. And who wants to drink out of a grungy wine glass? At the end of a meal, the glasses were completely covered in bits of finger grease and food. Disgusting. Prejudice aside for Hannukah I bought my husband a set of four.

I NEVER would have bought them for myself. However, they have quickly become my favorite wine glass. As nature would have it (perhaps something to do with growing too quickly at a young age), I am inordinately clumsy. Breaking things, dropping others, tripping over my own shoes all come with the territory. On countless occasions I have spilled my wine glass onto my dinner plate, creating a lovely red flotsam and jetsam soup.

I still detest the splotchy food prints on the glass, however, I can overlook this as I have found that the glasses are virtually unspillable. Even as we speak I have one perched next to my laptop...something my more elegant long stemmed glass would have been nervous about.

Not only will these wine glasses spare my carpet and electronics, they will prevent me from wasting my lovely wine.

Easy meals

I would have said 30 minute meals, but this terminology has been claimed (along with evoo). Not that I dislike the RR, in fact I admire any foodie who can create a following and generate mucho dinero doing something they love. For those of you who aren't fans of the other Rachael (though her parents get kudos for spelling it correctly), there is a blog where you can find others of similar ilk: Rachael Ray Sucks Community.

Not that I know.

Ok, on to my quick and easy meals. My goal was one fish, one chicken and one steak. I usually only plan three evening meals a week...and here are this week's.

Slow Cooked Salmon with Asian Rice

Bring 3 cups of water, 2 cups of jasmine rice, salt, grated ginger and coconut (last two optional) in a medium sauce pan. After 6 minutes or until crater like holes form on top of rice, turn down to low and cover with lid. Ten minutes later remove from heat. Five minutes later remove lid and fluff. Serve when salmon is ready.

Salt and pepper slab of salmon and place in oven on rimmed cookie sheet or in al-clad saute pan at 300 for about 15-20 minutes. You are aiming for an internal temp of 145 give or take a few degrees. When finished I put the saute pan on top of my stove and quickly sauted a few lonely snap peas I found in my fridge.


Roasted Chicken Breast with Brussells Sprouts

Lightly coat chicken breasts or thighs with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place on rimmed cookie sheet and roast in 325 degree oven. After about 20 minutes check temp with a thermometer...you are looking for 160 degrees. Or pierce flesh with a knife. If the juices are clear and the meat seems firm to the touch you are good.

Cut stems off brussells and cut in half. Add a large pat of butter with a swirl of olive oil to a hot saute pan. When melted, add sprouts open face down. Chop a large leek into thin slices. Rinse these in a bowl of water. Pull out of bowl and shake off water. Add to saute pan. After about 7 minutes the brussells sprouts should be a little carmelized at the bottom. Add a few tablespoons of water to the pan and place a lid on it to finish cooking them. Check in about five minutes by inserting a knife. Sprouts should be al dente. S&P as needed.

Grilled Steak with Acorn Squash Chips

Heat peanut or vegetable oil in medium saute pan until temp reaches 300 (imperative to have a candy thermometor for this one). With mandolin, thinly slice acorn squash. Place a few chips at a time in the oil until crisp and lightly brown. Drain on paper towels and add salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, salt and pepper steaks and then throw on hot grill. I like my meat medium rare, so pulled it off when the center felt pliable, but not springy. For more on grilling, I recommend the Cook's Illustrated Grilling cookbook.

New Year's Eve

This New Year's we had a few friends over for tapas. Everyone chipped in so I could buy some really cool ingredients I might not have been able to afford otherwise. I never think to get a camera when I cook, but I will make a bigger effort to do it now that I have a blog. Ok, so here was our menu and if anyone wants any recipes just let me know:



- Beef Carpaccio with Truffle Oil and Parmesian shavings (which I felt needed shaved fennel as well)
- Foi Gras (duck) with mustard miso on deep fried butternut squash chips (the hands down favorite)
- Baked feta with marinated bell peppers, kalamata olives and Herbs de Provence
- The slow cooked salmon I mentioned in my last post
- Seared tuna on a paprika mustard miso
- Cheese plate
- Chicken teriyaki

I had never cooked foie gras in my home and had forgotten how much smoke comes off the pan. Basically you are cooking fat at a very high temperature. Forgetting this, I waited until everyone showed up (literally, the second everyone showed up) to drop the greasy little bits of fat into my very hot pan. Bad idea...(and in case anyone is curious, I buy my foie gras from Coastal Seafoods who purchases from humanely raised and fed duck farms.)

After everyone stopped choking and we cleared the house of smoke...the drinking and eating began.

It was a great way to ring in the New Year, definitely one of my favorites.

Christmas Books

This year I received some excellent cookbooks for Christmas. The first book is Nobu West by Nobu Matsuhisa and is a brilliant collection of very simply asian meals. The ingredients aren't cheap, but the composition of each dish is very simple. I made several items from this book that were inspired by his recipes...I find it hard to stick to things exactly.

The second book I received was What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. They are the author's of one of my favorite books called Culinary Artistry.

What is cool about this book is that you can look up a style of cuisine or a dish you will be eating that night and figure out what types of beverages will go best. What surprised me most about this book was the wide variety of beverages listed, from the expected different types of wine to obscure beers and the fun non alcoholic drinks like root beer. This book is going to come in really handy for my next beer and food pairing class!