Rooftop Gourmet

Shellfish, Pig, and Fruit… sounds crazy right? Trust me on this one;  the combination is absolutely delicious. After a long day at work I was in the mood for something quick and simple for dinner. As I strolled through the supermarket, the first thing that caught my eye were the bright red, plump strawberries. I threw a package in my cart with the intention of having a healthy dessert as opposed to the typical cheese plate or ice cream. After wandering around for another 20 minutes with nothing to show for it in my cart but a lonely box of strawberries, I got an idea. I still had some leftover Double Smoked Bacon in the fridge that I could pair with the fresh fruit.

 I don’t know where this idea came from, but if you still can’t grasp it… think about the strawberry jam you spread on your toast at brunch dropping  into your bacon. The marriage between the smoky, salty bacon and the sweet, and tart strawberries are a match made in heaven (very similar to a Hawaiian pizza: pineapple and bacon).

 I picked up some fresh shrimp and headed home to get started. My goal was to bring these three bold flavors to life by keeping the preparation simple and hoping that they would all come together as a complete dish. Each ingredient is typically eaten on it’s own anyway and I thought it would be interesting to combine all three.

After some tedious peeling and de-veining  of the shrimp, I threw them on the grill while the bacon was rendering on the stove. The entire apartment reeked of savory bacon which kept my brief stint on the deck even more brief. I simply tossed the warm shrimp, with a slight char on them, together with the sliced strawberries and the crispy bacon strips. A squirt of fresh lemon juice and a little salt and pepper completed the dish, creating a perfect harmony of all three ingredients.

The warmth of the bacon and shrimp elevated the natural aromatic essence that strawberries have, perfuming the room. Each bite was delectable and surprising, ranging from sweet and salty to briny and smoky.

The contrasting textures were a plus as well going from the crispy bacon, to the fleshy berry, and finishing with the pop of the shellfish. I decided to pair this dish with a wine that is just as simple yet complex as the food was. The 2008 Forefront Sauvignon Blanc is new project by Pine Ridge Wines, which offers more affordable wines with the same Pine Ridge quality. This wine is composed of 67% Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma, and 33% Sauvignon Blanc from Napa.

The blending of the grapes from neighboring appellations gives this white balance and complexity. The Napa Valley fruit brings the crisp acidity while the Sonoma fruit compliments it with a rich mouthfeel. This is a very approachable wine that has classic grapefruit flavors as well as some lime and honeydew melon. The subtleness and acidity was just what this complex dish needed as its counterpart. Unfortunately I ate all my strawberries with dinner so I was forced to settle with ice cream for dessert.

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.

Over the past few years there has been a huge increase in popularity and demand for artisanal microbrews and specialty beers. The gourmet beer craze has officially swept the nation and people are now buying $30 22oz. beers like they would Bordeaux. I came across a beer the other day that I couldn’t resist trying based on its description; “the first beer specifically designed to be paired with food”. The Estrella Damm Inedit is a blended beer created by world renown Spanish chef Ferran Adria’ of elBulli restaurant.

It is a hybrid barley-malt lager and Belgian Wheat ale, brewed with a blend of spices and yeast, that is double fermented in the bottle to add weight and complexity; in other words… this is not your typical beer pong, red cup filler. The brewmaster recommends serving it slightly chilled in a white wine glass for it to reach its maximum potential. Since I had not yet tasted the beer, I decided to play it somewhat safe by looking for a classic beer snack to pair it with.

I am a huge fan of wasabi peas whether they’re on their own or buried in a snack mix because they’re crunchy and they have just the right amount of heat that always makes you want to take another sip. I figured that if I pulsed the wasabi peas in the food processor just a little bit they would still keep their crunchy texture and add an enormous punch of flavor to anything.

I decided to use them to encrust a piece of salmon along with some fresh lime zest, which I eventually baked in the oven. Since I was already using some fake peas, I decided to pair the fish with some sauteed snap peas (yes they’re real) and a quick cabbage slaw. In order to cool down the nose burning, horseradish heat I had to make a sauce with a touch of sweetness.

Sticking with  the Japanese theme, I thought about the typical sushi accompaniments… wasabi, ginger, and soy sauce. The base for my sauce was sauteed shallots, fresh ginger, and garlic which I then deglazed with tons of Ponzu vinegar and soy sauce. Ponzu has a strong citrus flavor and the soy is pretty salty so I added some honey and let everything reduce to a sweet, sticky consistency.

The salmon baked for roughly ten minutes until it was pink throughout and the wasabi crust gained a touch of golden brown. I put a pretty good chill on the beer, maybe because I am used to drinking ice cold Bud Light, so at first the aroma didn’t impress me too much. After I let the beer open up in the glass for a while I was completely blown away!

The fruity nose smelled like dried apricots and honey, and the lightly carbonated beer was so rich on my palate. It started off filling my mouth with a creamy texture reminiscent of a fine White Burgundy; flavors of pear, orange, and toasted pine nuts.

The beer then finished smoothly but with a touch of spice that reminded me of a Gewurztraminer. The finish was so memorable and seemed to last forever. I found that all of the characteristics that make wine and food work so well together were equally abundant in this Spanish beer. It seemed to work beautifully with the wasabi-pea encrusted salmon too.

I totally see where the chef and brewmaster were coming from when they created this food-friendly beer. In my opinion, Ferran Adria’ has set a benchmark in the history of craft brewing that I assume other celebrity chefs will soon follow. Look for specialty beers to start popping up on wine lists all over the country and paired with gourmet dishes… not just a bowl of snack mix.