Farmstead Cheeses and Wines

Last month we presented a Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux region; this month we present Domaine Ricard Le Petiot, from the Loire Valley, France's other home to great Sauvignon Blancs.  I like SBs from the Touraine (region near Tours in France) very much - especially their tendency to smell like freshly mowed grass.  le Petiot (or tyke/toddler in French) Phas a nice pale green color, and a muscular nose of grass and green apple, with a faint hint of honey. It's rich and incredibly solid on the palate, with tight layers of fruit.


Charles Smith is a Washington wine maker  who makes fun wines with fun names and killer packaging. (He's best known for his "K Syrahs").  Kung Fu Girl Riesling is no exception - the grapes come from a single rocky vineyard in the Columbia Valley comprised of fragmented basalt and caliche soils, resulting in a wine with lush aromatics and tons of flavor. 

On the nose, Kung Fu Girl is bursting with Asian pear, white peach and spring flowers. Apricot, pear, lime, and a pleasant minerality keep this off-dry wine at the perfect level of subtle sweetness.  This wine  is a great wine for a summer picnic!

It's no wonder that Windy Hill Pinot Noir has become the best and fastest selling wine in the shop.  After all, this is single vineyard, sustainably farmed Pinot from the Petaluma Gap region of the Sonoma Coast - for only $10 per bottle!  The wine is from the 2003 vintage, so it's not as bright as let's say, a 2006, but it's chock full of berry-cherry and red fruit-stone fruit flavors, with a touch of bramble, some plush vanilla dn oak.  Add to it a silky, huge mouthfeel, and you've got the best danged $10 pinot you've ever had!

Bernabelava Navaherreros is an biodynamically farmed Garnacha (Grenache) from the Viños de Madrid appellation made by famed Mencia specialist Raul Perez. This wine reminds me of an old school Gigondas - thyme, lavendart, clove, grippy tannins. The wine is fermented in large, upright old wood fermentors with a long maceration and wild yeasts.  The wine's name is derived from Navaherreros, the gateway village to the region ("Navaherreros Road"). The bear is the family's modern-day symbol, originating from the land's Celtic past, with its ancient bears carved from boulders marking forests dedicated to the hunt goddess.

It would probably be illegal for me to say that the most part of the fruit that goes into Lorca Red is declassified Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon, so I won't say that.  We've been just about the only folks to sell this wine for the past year or so, and sadly, we'll be the last, as the winery is shutting down.   This friendly blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and other varietals goes with most foods that red wines go with.  made by Caymus white wine wine maker (Conundrum) Jon Bolta.

Sobon Old Vine Zinfandel is an organically farmed, full throttle Amador County Zin that will keep you coming back for more.  Tastes fresh and jammy, this  fine, fruity Zin is  fruit-forward and dry in blackberries, cherries, raspberries, raisins, mocha and pepper. 

Sobon Estate is a family-owned winery with a 32-year reputation for producing the best possible wines using low-yield viticulture and minimum intervention wine making techniques.


RECIPES
For the White Wine:  Heirloom Tomato Tart in a Parmesan Crust   serves four

Heirloom tomatoes are all over the marketplace and this a beautiful and elegant way to use them. This would make a nice starter for a meal on the patio.   This recipe will make one 9 or 10-inch tart OR five 4 1/2-inch tarts.

• 6 perfect, colorful, medium-sized heirloom tomatoes - washed and sliced 1/6-inch thick
• 1 t. fine-grain sea salt
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted organic butter, well chilled + cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 4-ounce chunk of good fresh Parmesan, microplane-grated (you should end up with about 2 cups loosely packed grated cheese. Save any leftover grated cheese for sprinkling on the crusts when they come out of the oven)
• 2 T. ice cold water
• 2T. best quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup slivered basil
  

Special equipment: tart pan(s), pie weights, paper towels

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Prep the tomatoes:
To avoid a soggy crust later on, you need to rid the tomatoes of some of their liquid. Clear a space on your counter and put down a double layer of absorbent paper towels. Place the tomatoes in a single layer on the paper towels and sprinkle them with about 1 teaspoon fine-grained sea salt. Top the tomatoes with another layer of paper towels and press gently. Let the tomatoes sit here until you are ready to use them.

Make the tart crust(s):
Place both flours, butter, and Parmesan in a food processor and pulse quickly about 25 times. You are looking for a sandy textured blend, punctuated with pea-sized pieces of butter. With a few more pulses, blend in the 2T of ice water. The dough should stick together when your pinch it between two fingers. Pour the dough into the tart pan. Working quickly, press the dough uniformly into the pan by pressing across the bottom and working towards the sides and up to form a rim. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 15 minutes.

Bake the tart crust:
Pull the tarts out of the refrigerator and poke each a few times with the tongs of a fork. Cover the tart with a square of aluminum foil and fill generously with pie weights. Place on a baking sheet and slide the tart onto the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, pull the shell out of the oven and very gently peel back and remove the tinfoil containing the pie weights. Place the uncovered tart back in the oven, weight free, and allow to cook for another 10 minutes, or until it is a deep golden brown in color. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little shredded Parmesan (this will act as another barrier to the tomato liquid). Let cool to room temperature before filling.

Assembling the tart:

Just before serving, arrange tomato slices in a concentric pattern inside the tart shell. Drizzle with your best quality extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with the slivered basil. Serve at room temperature.

For the Red Wines: 
Veal Sorrentino  Serves 2
Italian cooking is full of delicious preparations for veal such as this dish combining veal with fried eggplant and mozzarella. This dish works well with chicken breast pounded thin if you want to avoid veal. enjoy this old style dish with the Lorca red or the Windy Hill Pinot.

• 2 eggs
• 1-1/4 cups olive oil
• 4 slices of eggplant
• flour, spread on a plate for dredging
• bread crumbs, spread on a plate
• 4 veal scallopini, cut from the top round, thinly sliced and pounded
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 4 slices of prosciutto
• 4 slices of mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup sherry wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Lightly beat the eggs in a deep dish, using a fork or a whisk.

2. Heat 1 cup of the olive oil in a medium saute pan over high heat. Dredge slices of eggplant in flour, then dip in the egg coating both sides. Turn the eggplant in the bread crumbs pressing firmly on each side. Place eggplant in oil and cook until browned on both sides. Remove eggplant and place on paper towels

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. Heat remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Dredge both sides of the scallopini in flour, shake off excess flour, then place into the pan. Saute the veal until lightly browned on both sides, drain oil and return to heat.

5. Add the 2 tablespoons of butter. On each slice of veal place one slice of prosciutto, one slice of eggplant, a little marinara sauce, then one slice of mozzarella.

6. Add sherry wine and broth, then place a drop of marinara on top of each slice of mozzarella, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes then place pan in oven.

7. Cook in oven until the mozzarella is melted.

8. Remove pan from the oven and transfer the scallopini to a warm plate. If the juices in the pan are thin and runny, turn the heat up to high and reduce them, scraping loose with a wooden spoon any cooking residue from the bottom and sides of the pan, until it has the density of sauce. Pour sauce over scallopini and serve.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Lamb Essence   serves six-eight

Lamb racks conjure in my mind something fancy, French, and expensive. I made rack of lamb for years in the restaurant business before I realized that it is actually very easy to prepare. Season, roast, rest, eat. A good meat thermometer is all you need to get a nice medium rare. Even without a sauce, lamb rack is very tasty and is made even more when washed down with a nice red wine like the Sobon Zinfandel.

• 4 12oz Lamb racks
• 3 tbs olive oil
• ½ cup Parsley, chopped
• 1 Tbs of rosemary, chopped fine
• 1 tbs thyme leaves, chopped fine
• 1 ½ tbs dried lavender flowers,
• 4 cloves garlic chopped fine
• 2 quarts veal stock
• 1 cup Côtes du Rhône
• 1 tsp  fennel seeds

Method - Herb Marinade:
Mix together the parsley, rosemary, thyme, lavender and garlic.

Method - To Prepare the Meat:
With a sharp knife French the loins and reserve meat for sauce. Trim the loins of all fat and connective tissue. Coat lightly with the parsley mixture. Let marinate for a three hours.

Method - Lamb Essence:
Cut the meat reserved from the Frenched lamb loins into 3/4 inch dice. In a heavy sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil. Add the lamb trimmings. Coat with oil mixture and cook until very well browned. Drain off all fat. Return to the pan. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of red wine and reduce over medium heat to a glaze. Add the fennel seeds and 1 cup of stock repeating three more times until all the stock is gone, and a thick glaze is obtained. Strain into a small saucepan. This may be done the night before. You may whisk in a few tablespoons of butter and add additional herbs.

To Cook the Lamb:
In a sauté pan heated over medium heat, place 2 tablespoon of oil. Sear the lamb for two minutes on each side. Place in a 400 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. The meat should be firm to the touch, with an internal temperature of 125 - 135 degrees. Remove from the oven. Salt and pepper to taste and let it rest for 5 minutes. Carve and arrange on the plate. Spoon hot lamb essence over the meat and serve.