Wednesday, December 31, 2008

MAY YOU FIND PEACE IN THE NEW YEAR!

Monday, December 29, 2008

A Hearty Zin, Some Jerked Goat and Spiked Carrot Juice

I got one of those dinner invitations the other day, that start me salivating like Pavlov’s dogs, as soon as I hear my friend’s voice on the phone. My girlfriend (friend, not lover) has Jamaican roots. Her voice still carries the island lilt, even though she’s lived in America for many years. She speaks and it reminds me of days spent in the sun, watching the ocean gently lick the white sandy shores of her home. She invited me over for dinner, as payment for sprucing up her resume. She said she’d cook whatever I wanted already knowing what I was going to say before I said it. We had a good laugh about her clairvoyance. We ended with her reminding me as always, to choose the wine, and to surprise her.

I knew I was going to be treated to some jerk goat and rice with a Guiness beer mixed into fresh carrot juice on the side. My favorite of favorite Jamaican food. I had to add a good merlot because it was her favorite and we would drink that while she finished preparation and served. All I had to do was sit, drink, listen and eat. She talks enough for both us.

The surprise that she asked for, would be a hearty California Red Zinfandel, a perfect complement to the sorta spicy meat on the table.

I would go so far as to say that red zin is the California signature wine. However, the grapes are not native to the state. Zinfandel grapes originally came from Italy. The same grapes are used to make both the red and white zinfandel varieties. While white zinfandel is actually pink, the red is almost black in color. It has a spicy taste, kind of peppery and fruity at the same time. It’s a wine that really goes well with burgers and pizza. The price range is big, from pretty cheap to way too expensive. Since it’s red, I guess most people drink it at room temperature. However, my wine mentor, the man who taught me about wines and in fact owned a vineyard in Spain, told me that Zin should be consumed at 65-degrees. That’s warmer than chilled, but cooler than room temp, usually. My old friend kept his wine refrig in the living room within easy reach.

Jerk Goat is an easy prep, but it does take awhile. Sometimes you have to tenderize the meat for a day before cooking. My friend’s recipe follows below for those feeling adventurous. It really is wonderful. She serves the meat with white rice, but you health conscious folks can substitute brown, it’s okay.

The Guiness and carrot juice...well make sure the carrot is freshly juiced. This drink absolutely does not work with canned carrot juice or carrot juice that is more than a half hour past juicing. In Jamaica, it is even sweetened with brown sugar or honey. I like the brown sugar version, but its really not necessary if the carrot juice is fresh. Add a sprig of mint for a kick, if you will.

Jerk Goat Preparation
1 ½ cup onion, finely chopped
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 2tablespoons dried leaves)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground pimiento (allspice)
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 very hot pepper, chopped,
or teaspoon hot pepper oil
1 leg of goat with bone in

Mix or puree together the onions, garlic, soy sauce, and spices to form a paste. Pierce the leg of goat all over and rub the paste all over the meat. Any unused paste (also known as "jerk rub" can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a month for later use). Cover or wrap in foil and refrigerate overnight to allow spices to penetrate meat.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Sear the meat loosely covered with foil in a roasting pan at 400 F for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 F. Roast meat for another hour or two depending on weight until the internal temperature reaches 150 to 160 F. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking
.
If you use a tougher cut such as a neck roast for cooking, plan on a longer cooking time and on marinating the meat in a mixture of beer and lemon juice overnight. Put the jerk rub on it in the morning and then cook in the afternoon. Enjoy!


Salud!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Por two gee say Love

Is the title to one of my favorite Tina Marie songs from back in the day, when La Dona was a fixture at the top of the music charts. She loves all things Portugese and so do I when it comes to wine.

While still in school, I tasted the wines from the Douro region of Portugal. The vineyards there, produce very dry, full bodied, but gentle reds with little oak and not much tannin. Recently, I got in the mood for eggplant, something I don’t eat often, but love it when I do, and that brings me back to why I was thinking of all things Portugese.

Eggplant, which is basically a middle eastern food, goes wonderfully well with the wines of Portugal. At the time, I was in the mood for baba ghanoush, maybe some falafel, and simmered grape leaves, with a little feta cheese and a nice wine.

Now in my college days I would have settled for Mateus or Lancer’s....both pretty good and more importantly, cheap. I was on a student’s budget back then. But now, I would drop maybe $ 25-30.00 and buy a reserve Quinta de Roriz or possibly a Vinho Alvarinho if I wanted white, and I usually do. So I would probably buy both. Vinho Alvarinho should be chilled. It is soft blended grape wine that tastes like nuts and fruit. Kind of sweet, but not too sweet. The Quinta can be served at room temperature. There are less costly wines from this country. You just need to scout them out at your local wine store. I mention these two, because I like them.

My baba ghanoush, I would make from scratch or If I’m feeling lazy or rushed, then I bop out to my local grocery, to the appetizer bar where you can find, feta, or baba, or tabbouleh or hummus, and buy by the ounce. But it’s cheaper to buy the eggplant and make it yourself, trust me. Pick up some pita bread, too. You need it for scooping up the baba ghanoush.

First thing, pop the cork on your wine of choice, so you can sip while cooking. Turn on the oven to about 350-degrees. In Europe, eggplant is called aubergine, by the way. Put the aubergine in a greased shallow pan or baking dish and roast until it is soft, probably about 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven. Put it in a bowl of cold water, then peel off the skin. Add the spices at this point. I usually use garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and tahini, if I happen to have it on hand. If I happen to be cooking for others, then I add finely diced onion and tomato. Blend it well in a blender. I used to use a fork because I couldn’t afford expensive mixing utensils. I was also taught to cook by my grandparents and they didn’t the expensive tools either. I still do things the hard way, but make it easy on yourself, if you have a blender or food processor, use it.

Now it’s best to refrigerate the mixture for a couple of hours before you eat. When you do serve, put the baba ghanoush on a plate, drizzle olive oil all over. Put the pita slices on the side. If you need meat, broil a chicken breast and serve alongside. Enjoy!

Salud!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Barefoot Wine, Football and Turkey Sandwiches

Okay, so I'm in Kroger looking for a cheap bottle of wine to go with my after thanksgiving turkey sandwich, and I stumbled across a display offering Barefoot wines for 5.99 a bottle. The display offered a cabernet, a merlot, a chardonay, and a riesling. I like clean looking, creative labels and I'd seen Barefoot wine before. It's always priced right (cheap). But I've always placed it in my "adult kool aide" category. The bottle, while nice to look at, reminds me of Boones Farm Apple wine, that 2. 50 per bottle wine that comes in many colors and flavors and goes down like soda pop.

The difference being that Barefoot is not carbonated like Boones Farm. And don't knock Boones Farm, it got me through college. I was good for days on a slice of Poppa Dino's pepperoni pizza and Boones Farm Strawberry wine. Way back then, BFW cost 1.99 per bottle.

I purchased the riesling, took it home to chill. White wines are best when cold. I'm sure you've heard that reds are best at room temperature. Well, back in the old country, room temperature was probably right around 54-degrees, pretty chilly for what we consider room temp. So if you're feeling adventurous, chill your red one time and see if you like it...

But back to leftovers and Barefoot.

I've changed my next day turkey sandwich. It used to be miracle whip on white bread with white turkey, cut diagonally.

Now that I'm a grown up, it's miracle whip on dark german rye bread with dark turkey meat. I cut across or diagonally, doesn't matter. When I was a kid, I thought the diagonal cut meant you were a grown up.

I guess I should put some lettuce or veggies on it, but then that would be breaking tradition. You can add whatever you like to the basic turkey sandwich.

Now for the drink...just as I suspected....soda with no carbonation. The taste was clean, nothing complex...hints of fruit....sweet...okay for a day after thanksgiving afternoon of watching football.

I'm going to go back and try the reds, the price is more than right, and I'm always adventurous.


Salud!