Reducing your handicap on high-alcohol wines

By Cathy Huyghe   1 comments.

Given the choice between an 11% abv (alcohol-by-volume) wine or one that’s 15.5%, I’m much more likely to go for the one with less alcohol. It’s not that I’m a lightweight – I can handle the alcohol – but more often, it has to do with the sweetness of a non-dessert wine that such high levels of alcohol manage to convey.

Fortified wines — such as sherry, port, and vermouth– are another story, because alcoholic spirits have been intentionally and traditionally added. But I feared that my preference for lower-alcohol wines in general handicapped me when it came to fortified wines.

Take Cognac.

At first, when I took a sip of it, I managed to inhale at exactly the wrong time so the aroma – the highly alcoholic fumes – reached my nose and my palate too soon, interrupting the taste and leaving me with the unappealing impression of a hygienic solvent.

Which was not such a good thing.

So I did what any eager learner would do. I sought out opportunities to inform myself about the subject in question. In this case, “informing myself” meant tasting as many Cognacs as often as possible, and that practice did, in fact, reduce my handicap on high-alcohol wines.

Here was the meat of the “lesson plan,” pieced together over several weeks of tasting with friends, at home, and at public tastings at wine shops around town.

    * Frapin Grande Champagne V.S.
    * Frapin VIP XO
    * Grand Champagne Château Fontpinot

Here was the catch: my handicap (that is, my negative reaction to the high alcohol) lessened in inverse proportion to the price of the bottle in question.

In other words, I liked the more expensive cognacs the best.

Oy.

The VIP XO, for example, at $199.99 per bottle retail, was rich and structured and long on the finish. (Some people call it “masculine” though I have no idea what that means.) It was easy on my nose and very smooth going down without any of the raspy heat of examples I had tasted earlier.

So what was the takeaway? What was the lesson of this experiment?

The lesson, fortunately, is not to buy only very expensive bottles of Cognacs.

The lesson, rather, is to keep tasting, keep learning, keep differentiating, and keep experimenting until something – like the Frapin VIP XO – clicks into place.

It’s an exercise, this “try, try again” thing – otherwise known as reducing your handicap.

I’m game.

Cathy Huyghe writes the WGBH Foodie blog. Read new WGBH Foodie posts every weekday, in which Cathy explores myriad ways and places to experience good food and wine.
 

Finding Champagne in unexpected places

By Cathy Huyghe   0 comments.

There’s a shop on Newbury Street called Fresh that sells skincare products, soaps, and perfumes. It is not a place you’d expect to find the chicest wine tasting in town, but that is exactly what’s happening there tomorrow night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The link between skincare and wine?

At Fresh, it’s called Citron de Vigne. It’s a line of soaps, lotions, and perfumes that were inspired by the Champagne region of France. “Inspired by” means that the soaps and lotions are infused with a citrusy scent. “Inspired by” also means that the perfumes are formulated with a sparkling, effervescent aroma similar to what you’d find from a bottle of Champagne.

That’s where the wine tasting comes in. With a focus on the component grapes of Champagne, that is, specifically pinot noir. Jo-Ann Ross, certified specialist of wine and founder of J Ross Wine, will lead a casual, intimate tasting of wines from Champagne and Burgundy, where the pinot noir grape thrives.

See for yourself how inspiring that grape, those wines, and Citron de Vigne can be. Just check with Fresh for times and other event details.

Cathy Huyghe writes the WGBH Foodie blog. Read new WGBH Foodie posts every weekday, in which Cathy explores myriad ways and places to experience good food and wine.
 

Essen! Jewish Food in the New World kicks off Sunday

By Cathy Huyghe   0 comments.

Western Massachusetts has its share of attractions, both natural and cultural. A fair bit of the cultural attractions are facilitated by an organization called Museums10, a consortium of galleries and museums ranging from the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art to the Smith College Museum of Art to the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Museums10 is on the radar of foodie folks these days for two reasons. The first is called Table for 10: The Art, History, and Science of Food, a months-long festival of cooking classes, demonstrations, lectures, and literary dinners. Most of the events take place this summer and fall — hitting just about all of the institutions involved in Museums10 — and it kicks off this Sunday.

Which brings us to the second reason foodie folks are paying attention. Essen! Jewish Food in the New World opens this Sunday, May 16, at the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst. The exhibit explores the idea that kitchen pots and grocery shelves chronicle the tale of the American Jewish experience from the early 20th century to today.

The full schedule of events also includes a series of paintings of jam-filled doughnuts and a public art project that transforms a traditional mobile food cart into a visual and culinary moveable feast.

Cathy Huyghe writes for the WGBH Daily Dish blog. Read new WGBH Daily Dish posts every weekday, where you can explore myriad ways and places to experience good food and wine.
 

Warm Chicken Breast Spinach Salad with Champagne-Lychee Vinaigrette
By Ming Tsai

0 comments.

Serves 4

Ingredients
3 large naturally raised chicken breasts, julienned
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, sliced
1 pint sliced button mushrooms
1/4 cup fresh lychees, halved
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup Champagne
Juice of 1 lemon
Organic baby spinach
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Canola oil, for cooking
Crusty bread, for serving

Directions
In a large saute pan over medium heat coated lightly with canola oil, add chicken, season and saute until cooked through, about 4-6 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate. Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil to pan and add shallots and mushrooms, season and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Add lychees and Dijon mustard, deglaze with Champagne and reduce by 75%. Whisk in remaining olive oil, add lemon juice and chicken, and check for flavor. Pour contents of pan over spinach in a heat-proof bowl. Toss salad, garnish with freshly ground pepper and serve with crusty bread.
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Chef Ming Tsai is the host and executive producer of public television series Simply Ming. Each week, Simply Ming brings mouthwatering recipes inspired by the combination of East and West into homes across the nation.

Molasses-Tapioca Pudding
By Ming Tsai

0 comments.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1/3 cup tapioca (small pearls)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 small pinch of kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup whipped cream
2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
Toasted coconut for garnish

Directions
Soak tapioca pearls in milk for about 1-2 hours. In a non-reactive saucepot over medium-high heat, combine the tapioca with milk, coconut milk, salt, molasses, and brown sugar.

Cook, stirring constantly, for 5-7 minutes until mixture coats the back of a spoon. Tapioca will become clear and have no resistance when biting through a pearl. Put mixture over an ice bath and stir. When cooled, fold in whipped cream and serve in martini glasses. Garnish top with toasted coconut.
___________________________________________________________
Ming Tsai is the host and executive producer of public television series Simply Ming. Each week, Simply Ming brings mouthwatering recipes inspired by the combination of East and West into homes across the country.

Tomatoes and Panzanella
By Lidia Bastianich

0 comments.

They're red. They're round. They’re juicy and delicious, and you’ve just got to have them! Tomato-time is here!

I know you know how to make a great tomato salad, but how about a panzanella? No, it’s not a dance. It’s a great, yet simple, Tuscan tomato-bread salad. It’s a great way to use day-old bread and save yourself a little dough!

Ingredients
Tomatoes
Day-old crusty bread
Cucumber
Red onion
A few fresh basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Directions
Cut your juicy tomatoes and day-old, crusty bread into 1-inch cubes.  Add some sliced cucumbers and sliced red onions, and top with shreds of ripped basil leaves. Dress with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar, add some salt and pepper to taste, and toss all together well.

Let it steep for 30 minutes and you’ve got yourself a great salad that will compliment any summer dish – grilled chicken, fish, meat, or even on its own with a piece of cheese will do.

And do as I do!
Pair your panzanella with a refreshing glass of Bastianich Rosato. Not only do the colors go beautifully together, but the bright acidity and berry flavors in the wine pair perfectly with the tomatoes.
___________________________________________________________
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich was born in Pola, Istria, on the northeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. She is a cookbook author, restaurateur, and TV chef extraordinaire. Watch Lidia’s Italy Saturdays at 1:30pm on WGBH 2 or Sundays at 4pm on WGBH 44."

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