Boston's White Lantern

As I am writing this post my heart is quite heavy. I am still in shock from the Boston Marathon Bombings Monday. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, went to college at Northeastern University and fell in love with Boston before any man had captured my heart. I am a long distance runner and have been a Boston Marathon volunteer for many years while I lived in the city. So yes, I have taken this week's tragedy very personally.

Currently in San Diego, CA I feel slightly helpless, wishing I could be there and in some small way helping to brighten the city's spirits. So for now I thought I would propose a toast to my fair city with one of my favorite beers from Boston's own Samuel Adams.

Samuel Adam's White Lantern* is a white ale brewed with crisp wheat, tangerine & orange peel, coriander and Grains of Paradise. If I were to compare it to a wine I would say it reminds me of Viognier...luscious, floral, citrusy, bright and sunny. As I sip, I wish Boston more sunny days and a speedy recovery as I know the true strength and beauty of this city.

Cheers and my love always to you Boston.


*White Lantern is currently available in Samuel Adam's Spring Thaw Pack*

Divine Hot Cocoa

 

Valentine's Day may be over but my love for chocolate, marshmallows and vodka never ceases! Although it does not get as cold in San Diego as back in the Berkshires in Massachusetts  (where I grew up) there is such a blissful comfort on a chilly evening curling up with a cup of cocoa.

Recently I discovered Van Gogh's Dutch Chocolate Vodka and along came my idea for this version of thee most divine hot cocoa. It's a fairly easy recipe and the only thing to make is your own marshmallows (Ina Garten's are the best!). Store bought will work but homemade are divine! As an added idea, your leftover marshmallows could be used as a garnish for a chocolate martini you might make with the Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka!

Divine Van Gogh Hot Cocoa:

Ingredients:

-2 oz  Van Gogh's Dutch Chocolate Vodka

-8 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk

-your favorite instant hot cocoa

-Ina Garten's Toasted Coconut Marshmallow Recipe

Directions:

-Microwave your almond milk in a mug for 1 minute and 30 seconds 

(or heat on medium low on the stove in a sauce pan)

-Stir in your hot cocoa mix

-Pour in the Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka

-Crown your cocoa with 1-2 ( or 3!) and indulge!

Retreat to the Broken Shed...

Those of us who love vodka probably already have our "go to" brand but I'm always in interested to try others. So, of course when a vodka from New Zealand was brought to my attention I was intrigued.

More intriguing yet is this vodka is made from some of the purest water in the world from the sparsely populated Southern Alps. It is distilled with Whey, which they call milk honey.

It all began in 2009, in a small lake town in the mountains of New Zealand's Southern Alps when Broken Shed Vodka was born to Mark O'Brien, Mark Simmonds and Steve Turner. The name itself comes from its inception in the Broken Shed belonging to Mark O'Brien. These days the Shed is no longer used for crafting and producing their vodka and is now used for tasting events.

First I tried it on the rocks. What impressed me was the true purity in the taste; like a white tea with a kiss of sweetness. It can easily be sipped alone but, as I am lover of martinis I gave it a test taste with a recipe provided to me by Broken Shed...the Broken Basil.

Broken Basil Martini

Ingredients:
2 Parts Broken Shed Vodka
Generous Amount of  Crushed Bail Leaves
1 Full Basil Leaf
1 Part Passion-fruit Juice
1 Part Apple Juice

Directions:
Shake all ingredients in a shaker with crushed ice. Pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with the full basil leaf. Spring isn't here yet, but this cocktail makes you think it isn't far from now!

It is becoming more available in the US and at the $30-35 USD price, for this quality, I am indeed impressed. Get yourself a bottle today!

For the Love of Figs!

Cookbooks! There are so many on the market these days that it really has to be something special to spark my interest. "Plats du Jour; The Girl and the Fig's Journey Through Seasons in Wine Country"  by Sandra Bernstein has not only sparked my interest but captured my heart. In this book Restaurateur Sandra Bernstein and her Executive Chef John Toulze share their love of seasonal French-country cooking mouthwatering recipes, pictures and wine pairings. It also highlights the bountiful ingredients available seasonally in Sonoma Wine Country (where the restaurant The Girl and the Fig is located).  

I recreated two recipes from the book. The first is a simple, and elegant appetizer;  

Goat Cheese and Lavender Honey Toasts (pg 39). It's simply honey simmered with lavender and then whipped together with goat cheese and a little heavy cream and dolloped onto a crustini! For extra flair I added some additional lavender to the plate as well.

 If I were starting a party with this, my pic for a dynamic wine pairing would be a Rose from Sancerre. My favorite is Domaine Vacheron's Rose! It's crisp and light with notes of strawberry, lemon, thyme, and a hint of lavender.

The second recipe from the book is a twist on a French classic dessert; the Clafoutis. Traditionally it is made with cherries and is a cross between a pudding and a cake. As my French friend Ivanne has said, it's so rustic a dessert that growing up she and her Grandmother never even pitted the cherries!  The twist in this recipe is it's a Fig Clafoutis (pg 158) and as figs are in season now I used beautiful fresh ones (although the recipe gives you the dried fig alternative as well.)
One tip that I took from this recipe that is really a good one is to

strain your batter so that it is creamy and smooth going into your dish. This will give your finished product a glorious custard like texture!

I liked the wine pairings offered for this dessert a lot. They suggested either a domestic JC Cellars Late Harvest, Marsanne, Ripken Vineyards from Lodi California or M. Chapoutier Rasteau, Cotes du Rhone from France. Now I must find both to try with the recipe!

I must go now as I have a beautiful dessert to dig into and as I don't have either of the suggested pairings on hand I'll opt for a little glass of Orange Columbo (it's meant to be an aperitif, but rules are meant to be broken!) instead that I fell in love with on my last trip to Provence. It offers notes of orange blossom, orange peel and a little herbal bitter taste on the finish which I love!

If you are someone who loves to cook with what is seasonal and fresh and love the flavors of Sonoma Wine Country and French country style cooking I can not recommend this cookbook enough...and did I mention....there are cocktail recipes too!?

Sante!

These are a few of my favorite things....

Whether you are a fan of Valentine's Day or not I always look at it as a day to take the time to tell those closest to you how much you love and care for them; significant others, family and friends. And of course a day to look forward to wines, chocolates and good food!

With that in mind I thought I would pick a few of my favorite things that I think are unique and delightful treats for your sweet.

As far as I am concerned chocolate must be had and my absolute favorite chocolatier is Woodhouse Chocolates located in St. Helena in Napa Valley. As we eat with our eyes first, before you have entered their store you know you are in for a feast for your eyes as well as your taste buds. It appears as if you are stepping into a glorious jewel box with glass cases full of decadent truffles and chocolates. My favorite must haves from their jewel case are the Pistachio, and the Thai Ginger chocolates. Other musts I collect every time I visit (and are also available to order online) are the Dark Chocolate Caramels with Fleur de Sel and their Milk Chocolate with Golden Grahams Bar!

Now that your chocolates have been collected... onto the wine! Imagine you are in the Napa Valley as you sip on Swanson Vineyards' Instant Napa Cabernet Sauvingon that celebrates Swanson's 25th Anniversary. This wine is comprised of carefully selected fruit from small blocks of premium Cabernet Sauvingon, Merlot and Petite Verdot from all across the Valley. Silk cascades across your tongue as you experience cassis, black cherries and espresso finishing with a delightful tug of tannin. Prefer a white wine? I adore their Viognier with it's crisp acidity and no need for a bouquet of flowers if you have this wine (although it never hurts)! It's floral notes of honeysuckle and orange blossom are simply intoxicating! (food pairing hint...Viognier pairs heavenly with black truffle risotto!)

Chocolates and wine collected...now it's time to snuggle up with a good book. As it is Valentine's Day one of my new favorite finds is La Figa Visions of Food and Form . This book (available on Amazon) is a collection of 20 recipes and sensual photography by Matt Freeman where the models are wearing nothing but edible creations from the James Beard Award Winning Chef Tiberio Simone. Browse the beautiful pages of the vibrantly captured living art, divine recipes (Drunken Figs is my favorite!) and see where the night takes you!

"For me the sensuality of food closely resembles the pleasures of sex. From the first bite of a meal, the body is catapulted into rapture through the last climactic bite. A delicious morsel is as sweet as the first kiss" - Chef Tiberio Simone

"Yellow bag pasta" the best there is...

....in my opinion, and that of many of my friends! When my husband and I first went to Italy to visit his Dad I was introduced to Martelli's heavenly pastas. What is so special about them you may ask...the only thing I can say is that this pasta is "meaty" (although not literally of course!) Maybe a better word would be "hearty"? This pasta really holds any sauce tossed with it. The Martelli family (only the family works in the factory!) sells their pasta out of a town named Lari right near Pisa and they only offer four types; Spaghetti , Spaghettini, Penne and Maccheroni di Toscan. Their intense process for making their pasta allows for it to be very porous and absorbs sauce extremely well.

The only thing is their pasta is very hard to find here in the US! I have yet to find it here in San Diego. The only place I have found it is at an amazing gourmet food and wine store in Great Barrington in MA called Lock-Stock and Barrel. May I only suggest if you ever do come across a yellow bag of this pasta....buy it! For more information on Martelli's pastas check out their website: www.martelli.info/

I have included the recipe I have come up with that is close to the way I first had the spaghetti in Italy.

Ingredients:
1 bag of Martelli spaghetti(or another brand if you can't find Martelli)
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small can/freshly diced tomatoes
1 small diced onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp capers (drained)
3 or 4 leaves fresh basil hand torn
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan over medium (to low) heat add oil and saute diced onion until translucent (about 5 minutes depending on your stove), add garlic and saute for only about 30 seconds to a minute (it can burn quickly!). Now add the diced tomatoes and capers and simmer for about ten minutes. Once the spaghetti is cooked al dente pour it in with the sauce and cook for a minute or two. Toss in the fresh basil, parmigiano reggiano and salt and pepper to taste. (Remember parmigiano is salty so keep that in mind when adding more seasoning!)

Enjoy this simple and elegant dish with a glass of one of my favorites:
Swanson Sangiovese