Rooftop Gourmet

Cherry Coca-Cola was first introduced to a test audience by Pink Floyd at the World’s Fair in 1982. That makes us both 27 years old, and despite the fact that I don’t drink soda, I still cook with it. The syrupy sweet cherry flavor combined with the classic cola flavors (vanilla, cinnamon, and licorice) makes for a nice braising liquid. I found some awesome beef short ribs at the market that were well marbled and about three inches thick. I love adding some sweetness to my shortribs because it gives them a glossy, sticky texture and it balances out all of the slow cooking richness. 

Even though there was enough fructose in the soda to give me a cavity, I added some organic black mission figs to the pot because they were in season and looked extra plump. After getting a nice sear on the ribs, I started off by layering flavors in the pot to build my braising medium; starting with carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. 

Once everything was soft, I added the Cherry Coke, beef broth, and figs to the mixture before I popped it into a 325 degree oven and said goodbye for about two hours. The low oven temperature is key to braising because you want the liquid to stay at a constant simmer; slowly breaking down the tough fibers in the meat. The end result should be a mouth-watering, fork tender bite that literally dissolves in your mouth while delivering a wallop of concentrated flavor.

 In order to balance out the sweetness in the sauce, I paired the short rib with some cipollini onions with thyme, and some baby carrots. The plain wild rice was really good for sopping up the sauce too.

 Sometimes when I’m looking for wines to pair with food, I think about the descriptions of certain grape varietals and break down their typical characteristics. Cabernet Sauvignon, especially when grown in California, tends to be fruity, powerful, and rich; very similar to the short ribs.

The 2006 Foreman Cabernet Sauvignon was a match made in heaven for this dish because it was ruby-red in color and tasted like black currant, cassis, licorice, spice and fig. It was a little less powerful than most Cabernets that I am used to but that is probably because the winemaker decided to do most of the fermentation in stainless steel tanks.

Leaving the carbonation behind, the wine had a lot of similar qualities to the Cherry Coke. The entire meal was rich and hearty; perfect on a cold, winter night that felt like the Dark Side of the Moon.

Most of the dishes that I create are packed with tons of intense, bold flavors which is why I love wines from the Grateful Palate. The Grateful Palate is a gourmet food catalog and wine importing company based in Oxnard, California. The founder, Dan Phillips imports tons of Austrailian wines that are loaded with jaw dropping intensity and extreme flavor. His goal is “to make food and wine culture more egalitarian– and more fun”; which he does with his clever names and wine labels.

Two years ago, I discovered that Dan and I had something in common… we’re both bacon fanatics! I don’t know where my obsession with pig came from, but not only do I ogle over artisanally smoked bacon products, I am also hoping to get a pet pig someday. A few years ago, I joined Dan’s “Bacon of the Month” club (www.gratefulpalate.com) and immediately I was hooked. Every month, I would get a shipment of bacon delivered to my door, straight from small farms and producers all over the country. I was fascinated at how each and every one was completely different and it reminded me of winemaking. There are so many different contributing factors that go into making wine, and creating bacon. Starting with the breed of pig, what you feed it, the cut of meat, what type of wood you smoke it with, how thick you cut it, and so on.

The other day, I came across a product that Dan claims to be the greatest bacon known to man…or pig; Mahogony Smoked Meats Double Smoked Bacon. I knew these slabs were going to pack a punch because I could smell them through the vaccum-sealed bag. I knew had to create a dish that wouldn’t get overpowered by the bacon…. or the wine; the 2007 Chris Ringland Barossa Valley Shiraz is a monster! Knowing that I really had to step it up in the flavor department, I chose to base the dish around three of my favorite ingredients… bacon, black peppercorns, and pungent Gorgonzola cheese.

It was a bold move, but assembling my first meatloaf was actually pretty fun. I started off with ground chuck meat, onions, red bell pepper, garlic-butter flavored croutons, eggs, and milk. Halfway through packing it into the loaf pan, I studded the center with tons of crumbled Gorgonzola, creating a sneak attack of flavor. I covered the entire loaf with the double mahogany smoked bacon and popped it into the oven to bake, letting the bacon fat render and weave throughout the meat.

While I was impatiently waiting for this colossal beast to come to temperature, I made a quick Bechamel sauce and stirred in another brick of Gorgonzola, followed by a handful of freshly cracked black peppercorns.

 Much to my girlfriend’s disgust, I store tubs of fat in the fridge for times like this. Why let something so delicious go to waste? While she covered her eyes, I spooned out two golf ball-size hunks of bacon fat and let them render in a small frying pan. When it was warm, I whisked in some dark brown sugar, creating a beautifully sweet, and glossy pork fat glaze to baste the meatloaf with.

When the meatloaf was done, the bacon was golden brown and crispy, shimmering with sweetness and ready to be devoured. I sliced it nice and thick, bisecting the Gorgonzola vein that ran throughout the loaf and plated it with some homemade cornbread and brussel sprouts. After a healthy drizzle of the racy, Gorgonzola sauce, we were ready to dig in.

 The meat was moist and well seasoned, while the bacon added some texture and smokiness. It was like the Pro Bowl for intensely flavored ingredients… the best of the best all coming together to create a meal that in my opinion could only be paired up with a Barossa Valley Shiraz such as this one. The wine was dark purple; almost inky black in color and delivered gobs of flavor and weight. Aromas of roasted coffee, cherries, and spice on the nose, followed by a surprisingly pleasant mouth feel.

This wine tasted like dark chocolate covered blackberries with a finish that lasted forever. My mouth was literally in shock. Between the wine and the meatloaf, my palate was getting bombarded with flavor. After tasting bacon this good, I decided that getting a pet pig wasn’t such a good idea.

On Sunday I got knocked out of my works’ NFL Knockout Pool so after realizing I wouldn’t be collecting the pot, I decided to have friends over for dinner and keep the budget under $30. My eyes are usually much bigger than my stomach, and I tend to get carried away in supermarkets, so for me this was a difficult task. I had to feed four people after a long day of watching football so I knew everyone, including me, was starving. Pasta was my first idea because it’s cost efficient if you keep it simple, and only a few solid ingredients go a long way. I decided to make Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Pomodoro (A.O.P). It doesn’t get much simpler than this; three ingredients…garlic, olive oil, and tomato.

 As simple as it sounds, in order to make the perfect A.O.P, there are a few techniques that you must follow. First, buy whole, peeled plum tomatoes in the cans and use a food mill to grind the tomatoes into a sauce. To me, the previously pureed tomatoes don’t have the same natural sweetness that you get from the tomatoes that are still whole.

Second, slice your garlic cloves as thin as possible and toast them in the olive oil until they’re golden brown. By slicing the cloves, the garlic has more surface area and won’t burn as quickly as minced garlic; not only will you get some nice toasted garlic chips but they flavor the olive oil as well. Lastly, add the milled tomatoes to the toasted garlic oil and let it simmer pretty rapidly so it can reduce and thicken quickly.

When your al  dente spaghetti is finished you want the sauce to adhere to the pasta and not be thin and watery. I made 2 pounds for about $10! I still had $20 left in my budget and I knew that a bowl of A.O.P wasn’t going to cut it for this crowd.

I grabbed a huge skirt steak and threw it in a marinade of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Skirt steak is wicked inexpensive for the quality and quantity that you get out of it. They usually come rolled up inside of the package, but when you open it, the steak looks like my girlfriend’s scarf. It was about 3 feet long and heavily marbled just to my liking (fat=flavor). I roasted some red bliss potatoes with fresh thyme, and I made some balsamic-caramelized onions to kick the flavor up a bit.

After a short stint on the grill, the steak was sliced thinly over the potatoes and topped with the sweet and tangy onions. Since I was serving two separate meals, I had to choose a wine that was versatile and delicious. The 2005 Elio Grasso Barbera d’Alba “Vigna Martina” was a perfect choice because it was light enough to compliment the pasta, but still had enough fruit and structure to stand up to the steak.

Barbera is like the baby brother to Piedmont’s kings; Barolo and Barbaresco. Some say that Barbera is what you drink while you’re waiting for your Barolo to age. The wine is light ruby colored and gives off tons of beautiful bing cherry and spice aromas. On the palate, the wine is soft and lush with loads of  plum and a touch of oak. The silky smooth tannins and long finish make this wine elegant and great for parties. I ended up achieving my goal of keeping the food under $30 and my friend Tommy still went home with a pound of A.O.P that he devoured at work the next day.

When I woke up Wednesday morning, I peeked into the fridge to see what I could make for dinner and I went into one of those fridge comas where you don’t realize that you’re staring into the abyss with the door wide open for about fifteen minutes.  I got so frustrated by the random mix of ingredients and my loss for creativity that I opened the dreaded “Take Out Menu” drawer. After scrolling through nine different Chinese Food menus that I yanked out of my mailbox (they’re all the same anyway, I have no idea what I was looking for) a lightbulb went on in my head. I had some fresh Chinese Lo Mein noodles in the fridge and a hodgepodge of vegetables… I could make my own Chinese Food!

This was a daring move because I  have never really attempted to make Lo Mein but I have been experimenting with a lot of Asian flavors recently so I went for it. I picked up a skirt steak from the grocery store and rushed back to get it into a marinade. Skirt steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef because it is ridiculously flavorful and super inexpensive; the key to its tenderness is in the angle in which you slice it.

I raided the fridge and pantry and came up with a marinade consisting of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ponzu, dried ginger, chilies, honey, and fresh tangerines. A perfect balance of heat, sweet, salty, bitter, and Umami… yes Umami. The proposed “fifth sense” that has become more widely known as of recently; is tricky to describe. Umami is due to the detection of carboxylate anion and glutamic acid, a natural occurring acid in meat, cheese, broth, stock, and other protein-rich foods and serves as a flavor enhancer… I just call it savory, rich, and earthy (soy sauce has all these components).

After about eight hours in its Umami rich bath, I simply grilled the steak to medium-rare and sliced it thinly against the grain of the meat, making sure to save the marinade which I reduced later to saute the vegetables. I had some spinach, radish, and shallots and that was about it so I sauteed the spinach, cut the radish into matchsticks, and fried the shallots to add some crunch to the Lo Mein. The noodles only took a few minutes to cook and in no time I was tossing all of the components together with a little sesame oil.

When it comes to spicy Asian food, I typically turn to semi-sweet Alsacian whites such as the 2007 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer. The acidity that this wine lacks is made up for with tons of fruit and minerality. It is full gold in color and has aromas of ginger, clove, and herbal tea. On the palate, the fruit hits you boldly up front with tons of lime, tangerine, and honey but it finishes with a peppery crispness.

The oily, nutty-ness of the sesame oil and the salty soy sauce worked perfectly with the sweet flavors in the Gewurztraminer. The one thing I learned from this experience is that Chinese food at 3:00 am after the bar is good, but homemade Chinese food is better!

When it comes to choosing a steak, I typically go for a ribeye, strip, or hangar steak because of its marbling. Marbling is the fat content that runs throughout the meat and adds flavor when it is cooked (fat = flavor). If you choose a flavorful, well marbled cut of meat you have to sacrifice tenderness, which is what you get out of a Filet Mignon or tenderloin. I used to always order Filet when I went to steakhouses but have recently switched to the darkside because once you have a perfectly cooked ribeye and taste the maximum flavor potential of the beef, there’s no turning back. Don’t get me wrong, I still eat Filet but I do like to try to kick up the flavor a little bit whether it’s with a compound butter, dry rub, glaze or something that I tried last night. I have to admit, I kind of stole this idea from The Capital Grille because their signature steak is rubbed with Kona Coffee.

Kona coffee is a specific bean grown on the big island of Hawaii and is incredibly rich and aromatic. I added pink peppercorns and kosher salt to the ground coffee beans and encrusted both sides of the filet before throwing it on the grill. The aromas of the rich, decadent coffee and the peppercorns filled the air creating a steakhouse-coffee shop fusion atmosphere. I envisioned a rich cup of steaming coffee in a mug and decided to add that dollop of frothy milk, which in this case was a spoonful of creamy, tangy goat cheese. To my surprise, the coffee didn’t completely overpower the beef and the rich cheese balanced out the heat from the peppercorns nicely. I served the steak with some roasted Parmesan red bliss potatoes.

The wine I chose to pair this steak with is the 2006 Graeagle Red Wing blend from Walla Walla, Washington State. The wine is composed of 38%Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, 6% Syrah, and 3% Petit Verdot; somewhat similar to a Bordeaux-style blend. Washington State soil and climate is great for growing Cabernet Franc, which is why I believe the winemaker chose to add a healthy chunk of it into this wine (you normally don’t see more than 10%). Cabernet Franc is typically medium bodied and extremely aromatic and it shows through in this wine.. This isn’t your giant California Cab that can sometimes overpower a delicate filet.

This wine is balanced, lush, and elegant and I believe paired perfectly with this meal. The complex, dark fruit was balanced with soft tannins and the wine actually had a toasted espresso bean aroma…what a coincidence. I will have to get to The Capital Grille and try their version (I think they use a NY Strip) sometime soon. When it comes to ordering steak…what do you look for? Maximum flavor or extreme tenderness?