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!

Wine Bloggers Conference 2012; Destination Oregon!

It's official.....72 days out and the Wine Bloggers Conference is already sold out! I sigh in relief as I am already registered.  I attended last year's conference in Charlottesville, Virginia and was thrilled with the experience so I knew I had to be part of this year's in Portland, Oregon.

I am already a huge fan of Portland and the wines of Oregon but what makes the Wine Bloggers Conferences so great are the excursions into the wine country, the connections you make and the speakers they bring in. The host state really seems to embrace the Conference as well. Speaking of excursions, along with winery visits to Willamette Valley planned within the Conference they also offer pre-conference excursions at an obscenely reasonable rate. I will be partaking in one this year with highlights including visits to SakeOne (Craft Sake Producer), Montinore Winery (a fantastic Certified Biodynamic Winery)  and Hawks View Cellars (boutique winery specializing in terrior-driven Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris).

I am currently the Wine Director/Sommelier for Sol Markets & Bistro in San Diego. My mission there is to find the absolute best of local wines (within 100 miles) and Sustainable, Organic or Biodynamic wines worldwide. Because of this I am really looking forward to the Breakout Sessions during the Conference as one will be focusing specifically on the very topic of Biodynamic, Organic, Natural, and Sustainable Wine.

And finally, someone's writing I absolutely admire will be in attendance and a Keynote Speaker, Rex Pickett. Rex is most well known for his novel "Sideways" and now also has written a sequel to it titled "Vertical" taking Miles and Jack to the Willamette Valley.

Although this year's action packed Conference is sold out, don't lose hope yet! They are inviting interested bloggers to add their names to the Waiting List.  Or are you already registered and looking for a hotel room? Check out The Wine'd Up and see WhichWineCooler.com 's Free Double Tree Portland Hotel Room Contest for the Conference. Good luck and see you there!

Tea Time with French Macarons!

I am indeed a girl who adores her sweets and French ones at that! My absolute favorite treats are French Macarons. They are little meringue pillows made from egg whites and almost always almond flour and filled with anything from butter cream to curds to jams!

Although not the easiest things to create the finished product is always worth the work! My most recent creation is a Chai Tea Macaron with a Cardamon Cream filling and below is my recipe and the method I have found works best for my oven. Keep in mind Macarons are delicate little creatures and timing may vary depending on your own oven.

Ingredients:

For the Chai Tea Shells:

1 Cup Confectionery  Sugar

1/2 Cup Almond Flour (my favorite brand is from Bob's Red Mill)

2 Egg Whites

1 pinch of cream of tartar

5 tbsp Granulate White Sugar

1 tbsp Ground Black Tea

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1/4 tsp Allspice

1/8 tsp Ground Clove Powder

Powdered Gold Dust (available at Michaels)

For the Cardamon Cream Filling:

8 tbsp Softened Salted Butter

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tsp Ground Cardamon (more depending on your taste preference)

3 cups Confectionary Sugar

2-3 tbsp Vanilla Almond Milk

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375.  Prepare two baking sheets both lined with parchment paper. Sift almond flour, confectioners' sugar, salt, tea and spices all together in one bowl and set aside. In your mixing bowl add 1 pinch of cream of tartar to egg whites and whisk until soft peaks form.  Reduce speed and gradually add cane sugar.  Increase speed and beat just until stiff peaks form and egg whites cling to the whisk.

Sift flour mixture over whites. Fold mixture together with a rubber spatula -using short strokes at first -until just combined. Use bigger folds as batter loosens. You will know the batter is ready when it cascades from the spatula like a thick ribbon. Transfer mixture to a piping bag  ( I often just use sandwich bags ).  Pipe 1 or 1 1/2" rounds on the parchment lined baking sheets. Let piped Macarons stand uncovered for 15 minutes to form a crust. Decrease temperature to 325 just before placing the baking sheet in the oven.  Bake pans one at a time for 10 minutes, turning halfway through at 5 minutes.Remove sheet immediately from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet and then carefully move the shells to a cooling rack. Oven temp should be increased to 375 then decreased to 325 just before the 2nd baking sheet goes in. 

To make the cardamon butter cream filling cream softened butter and confectionery sugar in your mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on med-high until light and fluffy. Now add in vanilla extract, ground cardamon and slowly add in almond milk 1 tbsp at a time until desired frosting consistency is met. (You may not use all the almond milk). Now pipe the filling into a piping bag and pipe onto halves of the shells. Be careful not to over fill the shells or squeeze too hard when sandwiching them together as they are ever so delicate.

In a small dish mix edible gold dust and a drop of water, mix and carefully brush across the top of each Macaron and enjoy! 

*The perfect pairing for these little treats is a cup of Earl Grey tea with a touch of milk and honey....or perhaps a glass of Brut Champagne *

JORDAN VINEYARD; WINERY AWARDS $8,000 IN CASH PRIZES TO L.A. ARTISTS

JORDAN VINEYARD; WINERY AWARDS $8,000 IN CASH PRIZES TO L.A. ARTISTS Sonoma winery’s 40th anniversary art competition attracts nearly 200 guests and 50 artists WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA (April 16, 2012) – In honor of its 40th anniversary, Jordan Vineyard & Winery awarded $8,000 in cash prizes to Southern California artists as part of the iconic winery's 4 on 4 Top 40 Art Competition exhibition event on April 11, which was organized by Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) and drew nearly 200 local wine lovers, artists, and epicures to trendy Hadid Gallery for an elegant evening of blending wine, food and art. Part of a coast-to-coast, four-city initiative to marry the distinct flavors of metropolitan cities with the essence of Jordan wines and Sonoma wine country, the 4 on 4 Los Angeles Art Competition culminated in a one-night-only public exhibition and Jordan wine tasting presenting more than 40 entries, featuring works some of LA’s most exciting artists, including James Mathers, Justine Harari, Mattia Biagi, Kristi Lippire, Lindsey Nobel, Suzanne Adelman, Mark Dean Veca, Matt Wardell and many more. A panel of expert judges—Carol Stakenas, director of LACE; noted critic and LA Canvas art editor Shana Nys Dambrot; Kat Odell, editor of LA Eater; David Gadd, managing editor of The Tasting Panel; renowned restaurateur Piero Selvaggio of Valentino Restaurant Group; Chef Joseph Miller of Joe’s Restaurant and Bar Pintxo; and Timothy Williams, artist and gallerist at Black Cat Gallery—selected the top three works of art that met the competition criteria. Guests mingled through the exhibition while sipping Jordan 2009 Chardonnay and 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon complemented by hors d’oeuvres from Bar Pintxo. Carol Stakenas, the director of LACE, noted, “We were so excited to organize this competition with the LA art community, giving artists a fantastic opportunity that brought together the Los Angeles art scene and fine wine communities.” The grand award winner of 4 on 4 Los Angeles was I Left My Heart In Jordan by Agne Jomantaite, a student at Occidental College, where Jordan Winery CEO John Jordan, ironically, did his undergraduate work. She is a noted artist on campus, has had work published and received several citations for her art. Jomantaite will receive a check for $5,000, and her work of art will be transformed into a limited-edition lithograph for Jordan’s loyal Southern California fan base. First runner-up honors went to Mark Dean Veca’s The Elegant Fantasy of Jordan Chateau. Veca has exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan at institutions such as the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, the Brooklyn Museum, the Bronx Museum of the Arts and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. His work has been reviewed in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Artforum, Art in America, Art Review, Juxtapoz and Flash Art. Veca will be presented a check in the amount of $2,000. Kristie Lippire’s Unique Treasures of LA and Wine Country took home the second-runner up prize of $1,000. The Honolulu native has shown at ACE Gallery, the Riverside Art Museum, Pasadena’s Armory Center for the Arts, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, the Orange County Museum of Art and elsewhere. Patrons got to vote as well, each selecting a single favorite work of art in the 4 on 4 Los Angeles exhibit. The People’s Choice went to My Love by Ivanova Kremena. Kremena describes her winning piece as “integrating the image of the movie industry, which is an emblem in LA. I used the film roll showing Jordan's history, combined with the 40 year celebration, represented by the explosion from the end of the bottle.” The three winning works from 4 on 4 Los Angeles will be on display at a private Jordan Winery 40th anniversary celebration for restaurateurs, retailers and media to be held in West Hollywood on April 23.

Photos from the 4 on 4 Art Competition event at the Hadid Gallery are available for download from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4on4art/sets/72157629455758124/. An online gallery of all 4 on 4 Los Angeles Art Competition entries is viewable at http://www.flickr.com/photos/4on4art/sets/72157628433204607/. For more information about the 4 on 4 Los Angeles Art Competition, please visit http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2012/01/los-angeles-artists-help-us-celebrate-40-years/. For more information about the 4 on 4 Art Competition, please visit http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2012/01/jordan-celebrates-40th-anniversary-with-4on4-art-competition/. ABOUT JORDAN VINEYARD & WINERY Inspired by the masterful wine, food and hospitality of France, Tom and Sally Jordan followed their hearts from Colorado to California’s Bourgeoning wine country in 1972. That spring, they signed the deed on their first piece of land in Alexander Valley on the very same day their son, John, was born. They quickly planted their first vineyard with a vision for creating a singular Cabernet Sauvignon that could rival the finest wines of Bordeaux. When the first vintage of Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon debuted, it was an immediate success due to its elegance and early approachability, as well as its affinity for food. The Jordan family has spent the last four decades quietly building a reputation for relentless quality, graceful ageability and remarkable consistency vintage after vintage. For more information, visit http://www.jordanwinery.com. Facebook.com/jordanwinery @jordanwinery

ABOUT LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS LACE both champions and challenges the art of our time by fostering artists who innovate, explore, and risk. We move within and beyond our four walls to provide opportunities for diverse publics to engage deeply with contemporary art. In doing so, we further dialogue and participation between and among artists and those audiences. For more information, please visit http://welcometolace.org. @welcometoLACE http://www.facebook.com/welcometoLACE

Fabulous and Forty; Jordan Celebrates

This year May will hold an extra special significance to one of my favorite wineries; Jordan Winery and it's family. Forty years ago on May 25th Tom and Sally Jordan signed the deed on their first piece of land in Alexander Valley which was to be Jordan Winery. That same day their son, John, was born.

In celebration of this 40th anniversary and John's 40th birthday Jordan Winery has a spectacular year of events and competitions in the works.
Some highlights include:

4 on 4 Top 40 Art Competition that challenges local artists in Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Dallas to create a work of art work that marries the elegance of Jordan with their city's style and flavor.

Trivia and Contests Follow Jordan's Facebook and Twitter pages and participate in fun trivia quizzes and contests with fantastic prizes!

Videos Join the Jordan Family and Winemaker Rob Davis as they share special memories and moments monthly

Jordan Seeking Jordan Share your special Jordan moment with the family and John will select his favorite to feature each month.

Or celebrate by visiting the winery for a tasting and tour (advance reservations are required) of their gorgeous property. No plans to travel? Order a bottle (or more!) from their online Jordan Shop of their elegant and lively 2009 Chardonnay (perfection with roast chicken) or their age worthy and sophisticated 2007 Cabernet Sauvingon (a juicy lamb burger plays well with this wine!) and toast to Jordan for being fabulous and forty!