All my life I've been exposed to this language and culture, though perhaps not in a good way. "It's a naïve domestic Burgundy without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused at its presumption." Thank you, James Thurber, for furnishing that little corner of my mind. And thank you also, Dorothy (Sayers that is, not Parker*) for making Lord Peter Wimsy** the world-class wine expert he is. So I don't really have to go there. I can just sit back and watch. And enjoy.
Simply put, I just don't get all the fuss. I certainly recognize the history of viniculture, admire the complexities and enjoy the varieties of varietals. My favorite book this week is Karen MacNeil's encyclopedic The Wine Bible: she knows far more than I will ever pretend to.
But it is all vicarious. I simply can't afford the cost in time, money or sheer psychic energy to develop a palate and a nose and speak convincingly of my own knowledge on the subject. It is far too easy to fall into mock pomposity about what is truly an ancient and well-respected calling. I shouldn't do it.
You will hear me say, if you are around long enough, that I can tell the difference between a $5 wine and a $15 bottle of wine - no, wait, this is 2010 - make that $12 and $30. Beyond that the subtle qualities are lost on me. And yet I enjoy it immensely.
I find great fun in buying a cheap and different wine (I'm not saying 'indifferent') then looking around to find out what I have brought home. Pairing wine and food amuses me greatly also. I try to keep it so I never have enough at stake to actually risk anything beyond a burned saucepan or a broken glass.
Last night, instead of the usual house wine, we sat facing a chilled bottle of Con Class 2008, a Rueda (DO) white wine by Sitios de Bodega of Valladolid. An interesting (though remarkably inexpensive) wine. Experts rate it around 90 on their 100-point scale.Ricardo Sanz-Martin and his sister Alejandra, the sixth generation of a well-known wine producing family in the Rueda region, decided to branch out on their own in 2004. In keeping with their heritage, they care deeply about Rueda and craft their wines to the individuality of each vineyard site.
This wine is organic (a new direction to me) and made mostly from old-vine Verdejo grapes. A small percentage of Sauvignon Blanc brings a bright flavor to the table. You can almost taste the deep chalky soil and the breeze off the Atlantic that causes the vintners to keep their century-old vines close to the ground. So say my sources.
 |
| Valladolid |
The evening caused me to recall one of the last courses I took in Music History at CCM: The Renaissance in Spain, taught by James Reilly, long may he be remembered. One still autumn afternoon in particular, he dedicated the entire class to playing a single CD of music by Tomás Luis de Victoria (born in Ávila and studied at the Cathedral there, 179 km. from Valladolid). I spent the time looking at a limestone gargoyle on the dormitory across the way, listening to the most beautiful counterpoint ever written and thinking wistful thoughts.
Broiled Salmon with Cilantro Sauce
This recipe brings salmon, broiled with salt and olive oil, together with a Spanish-style cilantro and green pepper sauce from the Canary Islands.
Ingredients:
10 oz salmon fillets
Salt
Olive PAM
For the sauce:
1/2C cilantro (leaves and stems)
1 small can green chiles
3 garlic cloves
1/2t salt
1/2t cumin
2T wine vinegar
2T olive oil
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and spray with PAM
2. Put on the grill (or under the broiler), skin side toward the heat
3. Grill 20 minutes without turning.
4. Put the remaining ingredients in the food processor and blend until liquid
5. Remove the charred skin
6. Make a pool of the sauce on the plate and place the salmon in it
7. Spoon a little sauce on top for effect, and serve.
2 servings, each
432.5 calories
11 carbs
Coliflor con ajos y pimentón
Preparing this dish flowed very quite well. Simmering the cauliflower in the paprika imparts a wonderful flavor and a tinge of color. The sauce - another highly flavored bread sauce like Romesca, but with different ingredients and color - is quite simple to make.
Ingredients:
1 Cauliflower
1/2 Lime (juice only)
1-1/2C water
For the sauce:
2 cloves Garlic
2t Paprika
2t Pine nuts
1/2C Croutons
1/2 bunch Parsley
1t olive oil
salt to taste
Method:
1. Blanch the cauliflower, separate florets and sprinkle with lime juice
2. Heat olive oil and paprika until it begins to bubble, add water and stir
3. Add the cauliflower florets and simmer 20 minutes
4. Put everything else in the food processor with a bit of water and blend to a thick paste
5. Remove cauliflower to serving dish
6. Add sauce to the remaining liquid in the pan, then blend and whisk another 5 minutes
7. Spoon the sauce over the cauliflower and set it forth
My method with the cauliflower was simple and direct. I put the whole head, upside down, in a saucepan of water and brought it to a boil. After a minute or so I picked it up by the stalk (still cool), drained it, and ran it under cold water to make it easy to handle. I then picked the cauliflower apart and squeezed a half lime over the bowl. It was much easier to separate the florets after blanching, plus it was partially cooked.
2 servings, each
182 calories
26 carbs
Random Thoughts
- What you cannot tell from the description is just how good it all tasted, or how well it went with the wine.
- It crosses my mind that you could switch the sauces and the meal would taste the same, but the cilantro and the salmon did pair wonderfully.
- The amount of raw garlic in the sauce for the salmon makes me recommend that everyone participate equally.
- The preparation of both dishes in the same half-hour was made easier by the two food processor bowls I mentioned, but could have been done with one. There was plenty of time.
- I actually used steelhead trout (freshwater salmon, and probably farm raised). It was certainly not wild-caught Atlantic salmon.
- It's a great invention, the food processor. It's the reason I don't own a stone mortar...
 |
| The Dead Soldier |
* Though certainly not unfamiliar with the effects of alcohol, the only wine-related quote I have been able to trace to Ms. Parker is this:
Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
- Dorothy Parker
Her better-remembered bon mot in this bibulous context:
I like to have a martini,
two at the very most,
after three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host.
** Several have told me they consider this person to be my alter ego. I dispute the allegation: I'll never be rich enough to carry that much side.
Broiled Salmon with Cilantro Sauce modified from http://fishcooking.about.com/od/fishfilletrecipe1/r/salmon_cilantro.htm
Coliflor con ajos y pimentón modified from The Heritage of Spanish Cooking (ISBN 0 09 178186 8)
Salmon photograph by Holly Heyser. Other images from Wikipedia.
goody
ReplyDelete