Chanterelles are here! Chanterelles are here!

June 10, 2018

There are few seasonal arrivals that force me into a spontaneous happy dance in public – fresh figs, southern peaches and CHANTERELLE MUSHROOMS! A prized fungi on par with truffles, chanterelles have been thought impossible to cultivate, only increasing their desirability among fungi lovers the world over. However, a recent development in Oregon seems to be baring fruit – or fungi. A fruity yet earthy, nutty flavor with a healthy dose of heaven, these mushrooms fill my sense memory like a bucket-list bottle of wine. If you’ve never experienced them, find some immediately!

Today, at my local Port Royal Farmer’s Market, I happened upon 2018’s first batch of chanterelles in the lowcountry! After doing a brief and joyous jig, which I immediately regretted, I loaded up my shopping tote. Luckily, the licensed forager and farmer from 3 Sisters Organic Farm in Bluffton, South Carolina spoke my language. Equally delighted with chanterelle season, she helpfully explained the licensing process for mushroom foraging in the lowcountry. The long and the short of it is: I am now hoping to get licensed in August. Visions of Peter Mayle scouring the hillsides with a legendary truffle hunter filled my head and made my mouth water. I’ve wanted to learn the art of mushroom foraging for as long as I can remember and now this may just prove to be a reality. So stay tuned for that.

For now, I’m going to enjoy my golden beauties with a fresh pasta (also from my local farmer’s market – Rio Bertolini’s) and wash it all down with a nice, vintage bottle of white Burgundy.

Ingredients:

  • 6oz fresh chanterelle mushrooms, brushed clean and chopped
  • 4 Tb unsalted butter
  • 1 Tb fresh sage, chopped
  • fresh pasta (I used black pepper fettucini)
  • 4 boneless chicken thighs
  • 2 Tb white wine
  • zest of ¼ lemon
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

First, I added one melted tablespoon of butter, ½ a tablespoon of fresh chopped sage and a sprinkle of lemon zest to a ziploc bag. I salted and peppered my chicken thighs then tossed them in for an hour to marinate. I grilled the chicken about a half hour ahead of time then sliced it thin. I will say, however, that bacon works equally well for this recipe and a bit of the leftover grease is lovely with the butter for cooking your chanterelles. Your choice!

Next, I took a small, damp brush and cleaned the chanterelles. I feel like washing them under water seriously takes away from the divine texture – so I recommend gentle brush cleaning instead. When cooking mushrooms, I ALWAYS take Julia Child’s advice to heart. Your mushrooms should be dry before cooking and you never want to crowd the mushrooms; otherwise they will not brown and achieve the perfect texture. So, I cooked the chanterelles in two batches.

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In the meantime, I prepared the pasta – and remember, fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried pasta. Once it was ready, I drained in a colander, but kept 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid back for the mushroom sauce.

So, my mushrooms dry and clean, I chopped them up then lobbed 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter in the pan. Once the butter started to slightly bubble on medium-low heat, I added the mushrooms, sea salt, freshly cracked pepper as well as the remaining lemon zest and sage to the pan. I allowed the mushrooms to sit on the heat without stirring for a good couple of minutes. Then I tossed the mushrooms and once they were just about ready (about 4 minutes total), turned the heat a touch lower and stirred in the white wine, pasta liquid and the first batch of cooked chanterelles. I allowed the sauce to reduce down a touch while plating the pasta and topping with the chicken. At last, I drizzled the mushroom sauce over the dish and voila!

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For wine pairing, I love a good white Burgundy (chardonnay) with a bit of age. Time will lend a slight nuttiness to the wine that really brings out the extraordinary flavors of the chanterelles. Tonight I opted for a 5-year-old Bourgogne Blanc crafted by Henri Boillot. Although a Bourgogne Blanc is as basic as you can get in Burgundy, this particular wine is more than meets the eye, or the label, at a fraction of the price point for its pedigree. Henri Boillot, fifth-generation Burgundian winemaker, is one of the most sought-after names in the region thanks in part to his meticulous, sustainable farming practices as well as his access to world-class parcels of land. Although the wine is bottled as Bourgogne Blanc, and carries with it the reasonable price tag, most of the fruit is sourced from excellent parcels from the lauded villages of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet; the vines are merely awaiting requisite maturity before their fruit is included in the more expensive, village-level bottlings. In other words, this wine offers serious price-to-quality and is an example well worth seeking out. In any event, you can’t go wrong with a solid white Burgundy when serving this dish.

As always, bon appétit!

 

Savennières – a White Wine to Fall in Love With

May 19, 2018

 

Over the course of one month, we had packed up the house, took leave of our dear friends in Canada and said a painful, last goodbye to JD, our one-of-a-kind Boston Terrier who had been my soul tie through undergrad, graduate school, my career in Los Angeles, my marriage to Andrew and then our move to northeastern Alberta. He’d survived three Canadian winters right along with us and had taught Pux (our younger Boston) everything he needed to know for the journey ahead. The long drive east across Canada then down into the States was bittersweet yet often filled with humor. At the end of a long day’s drive, we would stack our wine collection, along with our luggage, on the hotel trolley and wheel it to our room in a desperate effort towards climate control. We caught more than one gimlet eye from fellow guests and often just smiled in return, knowing full well we looked like a band of ragtag bootleggers. We made it to Virginia just in time to celebrate the 4th of July – appropriate but unintentionally timed. We were still sleeping on an air mattress to the chagrin of Pux, our-entitled-yet-adorable-Boston, when Andrew’s birthday rolled around a couple of weeks later.

I had started working as a vineyard hand and cellar tech (a bucket list job for me) on the outskirts of the northern Shenandoah (Middleburg AVA for wine). From there, I’d quickly found a charming restaurant with an inspired young chef where I booked a table for Andrew’s birthday celebration. We arrived at the historic Ashby Inn, cradled inside rolling foothills that harkened back to memories of rural Bavaria, and took a seat beneath wisteria vines on the flagstone terrace. After three years of Canadian cuisine, nothing sounded better than their salt-brined fried chicken over corn succotash and the arrival of our order did not disappoint. The wine list was even more impressive and I quickly selected a Chenin Blanc from the tiny French appellation of Savennières. Although I’d come to love Savennières’ unique expression of the varietal in my sommelier studies, the marriage of flavors in this meal was a revelation and it remains one of my favorite pairings to this day. In fact, I’ve paired it with Thomas Keller’s brined fried chicken again and again for wine tastings.

You may be thinking Chenin Blanc? Ugh, sweet wine, but no. It’s true that the more commonly known French village for Chenin Blanc is Vouvray where there as well as the new world (California and South Africa) offer examples of the grape that are off-dry, meaning they have residual sugar and are not fermented completely dry. This is not the case in Savennières where climatic conditions allow the wine to be finished bone-dry, without a hint of residual sugar, while still retaining ample acidity and freshness. The result is one of my favorite white wines out there and somewhat of a guarded secret among sommeliers the world over. Savennières’ racy crisp freshness and mineral verve cuts through the heat (and the fried chicken’s fats) like a hot knife through room-temp butter. The expansive mouthfeel delivers a haunting bounty of roasted yellow apple, apricot, preserved lemon peel and quince, wrapped inside a blanket of wet wool, chamomile, honey comb and aged cheese that leaves you pondering the complex genius behind the liquid nectar with each immensely satisfying sip.

Chenin Blanc has been rooted in the picturesque village of Savennières since around the 9th century and is believed to have been popular as far back as the times of Charlemagne. Comprised of three rolling hills of schist, which gives the wine its unique mineral fingerprint, Savennières is a prime example of the power of terroir, capturing a sense of place that is totally inimitable. If you have yet to fall in love with the Chenin Blanc varietal, this small appellation will redefine your impressions of the grape forever after. Although not all wines are created equal – here are a few of my favorite producers to look for in your quest.

Clos de la Coulée de Serrant

Justly revered as one of the greatest white wines in the world, this single estate is one of only three in France to have their own AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlées), which is quite an honor. The vineyard was first cultivated in 1130 by Cistercian monks and the site continues to live up to its legacy. Today, the old vines are lovingly tended by Nicholas Joly and his daughter. The estate has been farmed biodynamically since 1984 and has been a beacon of the farming practice within France’s winemaking community for decades. Few names conjure this level of well-earned esteem; the pedigree and sheer magic in the bottle is entirely worth the lofty price tag.

With the king of Savennières behind us, we move on to other outstanding producers. While Joly’s wines do require you to open your wallet as wide as it goes, wines of Savennières actually offer a shocking price-to-quality for the most part. Because they are lesser known in the mass US market, many of the greatest examples of Savennières can be fetched without sticker shock. So here are a few:

Château d’Epiré ($23+)

This wine is a bit of a staple here in our house. Imported by one of my wine heroes, Kermit Lynch, Château d’Epiré is one of the oldest domaines in Savennières and it’s been in the Bizard family since the 17th century! Part of their beautiful estate also borders the aforementioned, famed Coulée de Serrant and their vineyards are farmed lutte raisonnée, which means they are treated organically unless an extreme emergency arises. In other words, you’re getting some serious varietal purity as well as reflection of terroir here. For under $25, this world-class wine is a steal, which is why the Greers keep it stocked.  https://shop.kermitlynch.com/product/detail/16FBI01.html

Domaine du Closel ($32+)

What do I love about Domaine du Closel? On top of the magnificent wine, the domaine is the product of some pretty incredible women. Matriarch, Michèle de Jessey not only led the family estate for years, she was the first female to ever take the helm of an AOC (French appellation). Today, her daughter, Evelyne, is at the helm where she has been responsible for the organic and biodynamic conversion in the vineyards, which translates to an almost religious purity in the glass that exemplifies everything we love about Savennières.

Domaine de la Bergerie ($30)

Domaine de la Bergerie is a family operation that organically (seeking certification) farms their parcels a mere stone’s throw away from Nicholas Joly’s legendary La Coulée de Serrant. Their mature vines are grown in sandy schist and volcanic soil, which gives the wine an inimitable mineral fingerprint that speaks of the power of Savennières terroir.

Other producers to keep an eye out for are Thibaud Boudignon, Eric Morgat and Patrick Baudoin.

For a pairing you’ll never forget, give Thomas Keller’s fried chicken from his book Ad Hoc a whirl. As my Dad likes to say, “it’s so good, it’ll make you take back shit you didn’t steal!”

A votre santé!

This Mint Julep makes a Run for the Roses

May 5, 2018

The Kentucky Derby hits the track tomorrow, which ushers in a welcomed excuse to consume copious amounts of Bourbon in the middle of the day without judgment. Our house is hosting a Derby party where Mint Juleps are mandatory and hats will be optional. For the perfect Mint Julep, my Bourbon of choice is Four Roses (aptly named, I might add); while you can spring for the small batch or single barrel, which are lovely, their regular label Bourbon is fantastic for our purposes here. The flawless marriage of honeyed oak and hint of smokiness strikes the ideal chord without overbearing the freshness of the mint. As for mint, spearmint is key.  Infused in simple syrup then poured over crushed ice – the ice must be crushed – it just tastes of springtime. I like to save a decent amount of fresh spearmint to garnish as well. The recipe is simple and the result will have you off to the races in no time.

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I’m making a huge batch, so feel free to dial it down by half or more if need be. Just keep in mind that the simple syrup is equal parts water and sugar.

Ingredients:

  • 1 bottle of Four Roses Bourbon
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 1 bunch of fresh spearmint
  • crushed ice

I’d just like to offer a little hack for those of you who plan to crush your own bags of ice in Ziploc bags as I’ve done in the past. Go to Sonic instead! They sell their perfectly crushed ice for $2.50 a bag. As your hammered ice slips through the thin plastic of your Ziploc and drains all over your countertop, you’ll be wishing you took my advice on this one…I’m speaking from experience here.

At least an hour ahead of serving, you want to make your simple syrup and infuse it with the mint. Keep a few sprigs of mint aside for garnish. Pour the sugar, water and mint into a pot and bring to a boil. Let the mixture cool then stick it in the fridge. Just before serving, strain the concoction through a sieve or even a coffee filter.

Mound the crushed ice into glasses and pour 2 ounces of Bourbon and 1 ounce of the mint simple syrup over the ice. Garnish with mint and serve. And don’t rush. Think southern – the slow country – the longer the drink marinates in the melted ice, the dreamier the libation becomes.  Oh and a special thanks goes out to my hubby who snagged me these antique mint julep cups for Christmas this year – love you!

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Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets.  Happy Derby Day, y’all!

 

 

Classic Chile Rellenos from Banderas Bay

April 26, 2018

Today’s recipe comes out of a cookbook I have been putting together for my parents. Something of a labor of love, A Taste of Banderas Bay brings together the flavors of the culinary haven that’s been etched in our family’s sense memory over the last couple decades. My parents have been vacationing in the Bay of Banderas for years, but a few years back they decided to find a place to call home in their favorite pocket of the world. Now they own a charmed spot in the village of Punta de Burra just half an hour up the coast from Puerto Vallarta.

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Anytime I visit my family in Mexico, I always find myself in the kitchen, learning beside the expert hands of a generous and talented chef. Many recipes have been culled from Lupe at Villa Estrella Mar, and more recently from Elena, whose autodidactic genius is both inspired and captures the warmth of unparalleled Mexican hospitality.

Chile Rellenos are a recognizable favorite here in the States, but today’s recipe boasts authenticity and details that offer something new and revelatory in their efficiency and simplicity. Although Elena traditionally stuffs her chiles with cheese, I often opt to fill them with her divine poached chicken recipe when serving this dish as an entrée. You may have your own chile rellenos recipe, but I guarantee this authentic guide is a take on the classic that’s well worth a spot in your rotation.

If you’re looking for a wine pairing, I whole-heartedly recommend a French Cabernet Franc from the village of Chinon. This red beauty has the savory gusto to greet this chile-laden dish with utter perfection.

So, without further adieu…Elena’s Chile Rellenos.

Serves three. Feel free to double the recipe for six – these are great as leftovers.

Chicken Filing:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sage
  • 3/4 of a shallot, use 1/4 remaining shallot for the sauce
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled

I like to prep my chicken ahead of everything for ideal timing. Place chicken, along with the remaining ingredients, in a stock pot then just cover the chicken with water. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer on medium-low until the chicken is cooked through. Save the chicken stock for future use and shred the chicken into thin strips.

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The Sauce:

  • 4 tomatoes
  • 4 dried red chiles (hatch red chiles are my favorite, guajillo are also great)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 a shallot, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon sage
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Place tomatoes, garlic cloves, shallot, dried red chiles, cumin, sage, salt and pepper in a pot then add 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the pot. You want to reduce down the water to about half, but you don’t want the liquids to run dry. If need be, add more water as it simmers. Remove from the stovetop and puree in a blender. Pour half this mixture over the shredded chicken and mix until covered evenly. Set the remaining sauce aside to pour over the finished chiles.

The Chiles:

  • 6 poblano chiles
  • 6 eggs
  • oil (Elena uses canola, but I prefer avocado or olive oil)
  • 3 tablespoons of flour (if you’re on keto – almond flour will suffice)

Wash the chiles. Slice them down the middle and carefully remove the seeds but not the stem – you want them to maintain their shape. Dry them then roast under your broiler, on both sides, until the skin begins to blacken. Place the chiles in a plastic bag to sweat for ten minutes. This makes removing the skins so much easier. Thanks, Elena, for such a fantastic hack!

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Pour your oil into a frying pan and get it sputtering hot. Fill the chiles with the chicken mixture and close with a toothpick. Beat the eggs and cover the chiles with the batter then dust with flour. Sear the chiles in the hot oil for about 2 minutes a side. Arrange on a plate then drizzle with the remaining sauce and serve.

Buen Provecho!

 

Mexican-Style Slaw – when a Side Becomes More than an Afterthought

March 23, 2018

Sometimes sides are merely an afterthought…like a mismatched scarf thrown on last minute when you realize it’s windy and you’re late getting your toddler off to school. Then there are times when that Hermes scarf takes your simple black sheath to a whole other level. Not that I’m calling this Mexican-styled slaw Hermes, but you get the gist.

The other day, Andrew came back from Whole Foods with their Habanero and Green Chile Pork Sausage. You probably already know about my endless affinity for green chiles – if not, now you do. Well, there’s countless things I could have done with these yummy tubes of heaven, but I was craving something clean to offset the hefty weight of the sausage and I decided to craft a slaw to suit. What transpired was a recipe that I will use again and again – on fajitas, with fish tacos, on banana leaf-wrapped sea bass – the list goes on. It’s pure, accidental magic. So…

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Ingredients:

Dressing:

  • 1/8 cup sherry vinegar
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed)
  • 1/2 Tb honey
  • 1/2 t ground cumin
  • 1/4 t rubbed sage
  • 1/2 t sea salt

Slaw:

  • ½ head of cabbage, in thin 1-inch slices
  • 2 roasted poblano peppers (or hatch green chiles if available), in thin 1-inch slices
  • 1 roasted hot Anaheim pepper, in thin 1-inch slices
  • 1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 t cumin seed
  • freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

First, roast the peppers under the broiler in the oven on both sides. When the skin is puckered and starting to blacken in spots, pull them out, slide the skin off then chop. Layer the fresh cabbage strips, peppers, cumin seed, black pepper and cilantro then drizzle with dressing. Let this mixture rest for at least half an hour before serving, if possible.

Enjoy!

A Red Wine that Charms…and other Musings

March 5, 2018

Tucked inside an enchanting wine bar on Charleston’s King Street a couple weekends ago, my husband and I shifted into a lower gear to celebrate our anniversary. My Mom (bless her heart!) stayed back in Beaufort with our son while we packed a bag and hit Highway 17 for a quick getaway to the Holy City. Once a sanctuary of religious tolerance in a period when the Church of England was practically de rigeuer, Charleston earned its moniker for the relative variety of churches that sprouted along Meeting Street. The pint-sized yet picturesque city was also a wet hot center of boozy freedom when the southeast was parched dry, which stands to reason why Charleston is arguably the greatest city in South Carolina for wine – and good wine at that.

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In any case, my man and I had just sat down in our favorite wine haunt, Bin 152, eponymously named for its address on 152 King Street, when I remembered why I loved this joint so much in the first place. Littered with bucket list wines available through Coravin, the menu boasted producers I simply never encounter in South Carolina. Among greats, imported by New York houses, were also myriad offerings from Berkeley-based importer Kermit Lynch. Now, I don’t intend this to be a post only drummed up for the sake of wine geeks, but Kermit Lynch is a name every wine drinker should come to know and inevitably love. So, before I wax on about the nirvana that was reached in a single bottle of wine, let me first tell you a bit about Kermit.

With a $5,000 loan and a blazing passion for old world wine, Kermit Lynch substantially aided and changed the American wine market forever back in 1972. He sought out French artisanal producers who were crafting wine the way their ancestors had – without manipulation – the way nature intended. These wines had – and still have – that gout de terroir (taste of the soil), that inimitable quality that delivers sense of place and purity of fruit all in one sniff or sip. The wines he introduced to the American lexicon were unlike anything we had yet to experience on our shores. No one was bringing these home-grown, family wines to the States. Although there are numerous importers that now feature small, traditional producers, Kermit Lynch was and remains a trailblazer here in America. He’s won multiple James Beard awards along with France’s Legion d’Honneur, but all you really need to remember is this: when you see, “imported by Kermit Lynch,” on a label, buy that wine.

As I perused Bin 152’s list, I came across name after name that made my heart flutter; it was hard to narrow it down, then at last I came to Jean-Paul Thévenet and I knew I had the winner. A red beauty so full of rustic purity, easy charm and inimitable minerality, this complex yet delightful vixen from Morgon made me remember how I had fallen in love with the Gamay varietal in the first place.

When many people hear the name Gamay or Beaujolais, they usually think of Beaujolais Nouveau – an insipid youngster that reeks of bubblegum (truly) and lack of depth. This was always my take on Beaujolais until I experienced the transcendent magic of a fine Beaujolais Cru. It changed my life. Beaujolais Crus are represented by ten villages in the appellation, which are south of and technically part of the greater region of Burgundy, but their grape is Gamay, not Pinot Noir. And although I love a great Burgundian Pinot Noir more than just about anything on earth, it comes with a serious price tag, whereas fine Beaujolais Cru – even from producers at the apex of the appellation – is shockingly affordable. In fact, I’m not exaggerating when I say that Beaujolais Cru offers among the greatest price-to-quality in the world of red wine – though not all producers are created equal. When seeking out a Beaujolais Cru, look for Morgon or Fleurie (my favorite villages); if Kermit Lynch is an option as the importer, go for it; and keep an eye out for the names Jean-Paul Thévenet, Guy Breton, Jean Folliard and Marcell Lapierre as well as Jean-Paul Brun and Julien Sunier.

A little history here, Thévenet, Breton, Folliard and Lapierre were lovingly dubbed, “the gang of four,” back when they forged an ambitious movement to turn back the hands of time and started crafting natural wine that bucked the local trend of over-cropped, manipulated, carbonic macerated Beaujolais Nouveau – aka plonk. They farmed biodynamically and organically, eschewing chemicals, in favor of letting nature take its course. They opted for indigenous yeast for fermentation and aged their wines in large, neutral Slovenian oak foudres or cement, which allowed the true nature and minerality of the wines to speak for themselves. Fast forward a handful of decades and many youngsters are following in their footsteps – the result: the world is once again beginning to take notice of Beaujolais. Luckily, the prices are still ridiculously reasonable and the quality has never been higher.

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The sweet nectar of the Gods I quaffed back in Bin 152 was a Beaujolais Cru from Morgon, crafted by Jean-Paul Thévenet. One of the original gang of four, third-generation Jean-Paul has been sharing his wealth of knowledge with his son, Charly. His small five-hectare domaine boasts vines that are between 45 and 110 years old! He keeps his yields low, farms biodynamically, harvests and sorts by hand then ferments with indigenous yeasts his whole clusters – low and slow – in cement. After which the wine is aged on its lees (spent yeasts) in 5-7 year old Burgundian oak, which leaves the wine unmasked by a heavy-handed oak signature. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration, which allows every nuance of terroir as well as varietal purity to speak.

Jean-Paul Thévenet only makes 2,000 cases a year – seeking quality over quantity. So to find this rare gem in our little haunt in Charleston, South Carolina made it all the more enjoyable. Every sip ushered in a wave of appreciation for the man that made the wine, the importer who had the guts to gamble on an unknown and all the trailblazers out there who seek out something pure instead of the sole quest for the almighty dollar. What we experienced was pure beauty and in that moment, away from home and responsibility, my husband and I remembered not only that we loved one another, but that we really still dig each other. To my husband, to Kermit, to Beaujolais Cru, to Charleston and to you for reading – Cheers!

 

Tasting Notes: The tantalizingly pure and perfumed nose charms with aromas of freshly picked wild strawberry, red cherry, pomegranate and raspberry laced with dew-kissed peonies, violets and black tea. The refreshing and vivid wine expands on the palate to deliver even more complex notes of orange zest, cranberry, a hint of grape seed, a touch of tree bark, subtle licorice, white pepper, herbs de Provence and unmistakable granitic minerality that lingers on the palate like a haunting tune that echoes in the mind. Although its energy and depth are there in spades, this wine isn’t heavy handed – it’s refreshing, delightful and has the uncanny ability to disappear before your very eyes.

For your perusal:

https://www.kermitlynch.com

https://www.bin152.com

 

 

A Love Letter to Winter Vegetables

February 10, 2018

Seasonal eating has been chic for a while now and the glorious farm-to-fork movement across the United States has only reinforced the old-made-new trend all the more en vogue. Years back, when I was living in Los Angeles, the craze was already deeply embedded in the haute cuisine of the state – thanks in no small part to retro pioneers like Alice Waters and her NorCal set. I thought I had an appreciation for such things when I lived there. But let’s be honest, living in a city where the perfect specimen of food from around the globe was available practically 365 days a year and nearly any hour of the day made eating seasonally more of a whim than a way of life. And although I reveled in the state’s bounty of fresh produce and the availability of any type of organic produce imaginable, a sense of place never materialized in the cuisine the way it has in the small towns I’ve lived in across the US and Canada. Los Angeles is truly akin to Hemingway’s Moveable Feast – I changed cuisine there like my undergarments.

All that changed when I moved to Cold Lake, Alberta. Practically at the end of the road north, produce was shipped up to us at such a distance that it was mealy, near tasteless and only faintly resemblant of the original majesty of its virtue and freshness. Eating seasonally became paramount to anyone with even a hint of a palate. What sounds like a desperate desert of a culinary environment, and it was for the first year, turned into something of a blessing. I began to look forward to the onset of each season and the harvest of a particular fruit or vegetable. I began to live by the seasons with almost religious fervor. And in doing so, I experienced a gastronomic explosion that I never could have imagined and a greater appreciation for the joy of each changing season.

While the winters were LONG, I came to relish the pop of the jar I had canned…the joy of a hearty stew that warmed the bones and a love for the rewards of hunting season.

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So here we are in the midst of a Lowcountry winter. The fruit is desperately sad for someone who shares my irreconcilable disdain for apples. Nevertheless, the vegetables of winter are some of my favorites. Watermelon radishes! Rainbow carrots! Crisp, bright fennel! What a bounty! Our Port Royal Farmers Market is open year round and is such a treasure! There are several vendors who I love – particularly the mushroom man who delivers premium chanterelles for $6 a pint during their season! But this Saturday I stopped by Adam’s Farm tent where I can always find local produce at its most fresh and pure. Dedicated to sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices, their produce is as beautiful as it is delicious. On this particular trip, I snagged some watermelon radishes, golden and candy cane beets as well as kale. I had an idea for lunch in mind and the results were even more sensational than the sensory expectations I had conjured up in my head. I grabbed some bacon from a local rancher and cruised home to the sounds of Bowie’s Suffragette City with a giddy grin on my face.

 

I threw on a record, poured a cup of coffee and set to work on a warm winter vegetable salad that would knock my family’s socks off. Even my two year old, who normally turns up his nose at salad, gobbled this bowl of beauty up in record time.

Warm Winter Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 pint of watermelon radishes
  • 1 pint of assorted beets (golden and candy cane – although red will do the trick)
  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1 clementine, zest and juiced
  • 2 teaspoons dried lavender
  • 1 teaspoon cornflower
  • 6 strips bacon, cut in lardons
  • 1 ½ teaspoon salt salt (I used fleur de sel)
  • freshly cracked pepper to taste
  • olive oil

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First, clean and scrub your beets and radishes then quarter them with the skins on. Line two ovenware dishes (I use old school corning ware with lids) with foil and drizzle olive oil in the bottom. Place the beets in one dish and the radishes in the other. Grind ½ teaspoon of lavender, sprinkle ½ a teaspoon of salt and 1/3 of your Clementine zest over each dish then drizzle with olive oil. Cover the radishes and beets with foil and then place the lid on top. Cook in the oven at 425 until a fork glides – the radishes will be ready a good 20+ minutes before the beets. Take the radishes out when they’re cooked. Then, when the beets are ready, uncover both of the dishes and broil on high for 3 minutes.

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In the meantime, cook the bacon lardons (¼ inch x 1 inch) in a skillet then set aside on a paper towel. While the beets and radishes are broiling, quickly sautee the kale in a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle a teaspoon of lavender, ½ teaspoon of sea salt and the remaining clementine zest over your kale. This should only cook for about two minutes. The last 30 seconds, drizzle the juice from the clementine over the kale and toss. Arrange the kale in salad bowls, top with beets, radishes and bacon then garnish with the cornflower and serve.

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If you’re looking for a wine to uplift this savory lunch, opt for an Austrian Grüner Veltliner. The bright crisp notes of fresh herbs and radishes in this refreshing yet complex white wine will bring this dish to a whole other level! If you’re unfamiliar with Grüner Veltliner, it’s a varietal you really should seek out. It has an inimitable flavor profile but will suit your craving for a crisp Sauvignon Blanc with effortless ease. It’s also one of the best white wines in the world in terms of price-to-quality. If you have options when you’re out shopping, look for “Kamptal,” “Kremstal,” or “Wachau,” on the label – nestled along the great Danube River on dizzingly steep slopes, these three are the greatest villages in Austria for the varietal.

And as always – bon appétit!

Provençal charm on Mexico’s Bay of Banderas

January 24, 2018

Gazing up the steep hills along Highway 200, about 45 minutes northwest of Puerto Vallarta, the picturesque, tile-roofed villas and undulating terrain is enough to convince the stoutest Francophile they’re cruising along France’s Cote d’Azur. A charming pocket of Jalisco, Mexico, this stretch of Banderas Bay, is a hidden gem that’s yet to be overdeveloped. The gifted local artisans and serious gastronomes offer a slice of Mexico that is simply unparalleled in the larger, resort-filled cities.

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My folks have a house in the small community of Punta de Burro where we revel in the chance to unwind and bask in the warm, moderate climate during the winter months. Although we spend ample time lounging on the beach and playing in the surf, a highlight of every getaway is inevitably the Sunday Market in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. An overabundance of bespoke goods, farm-to-table food and fresh produce, this market rivals even the most lauded markets of Provence. Vendors from all over western Mexico vie for a spot to showcase their wares. The organizers maintain meticulous standards and only allow vendors that offer original, hand-crafted products – no reselling allowed. Fashion designers feature their own creations, weavers bring blankets they’ve dyed and woven personally, coffee roasters bring their sustainably-farmed beans down from the mountains and the food stands send your olfactory senses into a state of sheer nirvana.

 

 

The venue is no less impressive with a location along the La Cruz Marina that now includes the local fish market where the freshest fish on Banderas Bay is sold to locals as well as restaurants. But my favorite aspect of the market has to be the vendors. A varied array of talents, the people behind these products are true artisans and are more than happy to chat about their craft or share anything that strikes you about this special corner of Mexico.

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Just a few of my favorite vedors:

Siruela es Ropa de Autor

Siruela’s hand-crafted garments are so light and whimsical, you’ll feel like you’re floating inside of them. Organic materials, crafted in Mexico, in their small, quaint workshop, these dresses feel like a modern-day cross between Stevie Knicks and Zelda Fitzgerald. The designer, a pint-sized Mexican beauty, is as enchanting as her dresses and is a genuine auteur – or autor. http://instagram.com/siruelaropadeautor

 

El Fortin de San Sebastian Coffee

Sustainably farmed in the mountains around the town of San Sebastian, El Fortin’s beans are roasted in-house and deliver a pure, aromatic delight that rivals personal favorites like Intelligensia and Savannah’s Perk. If you miss the Sunday Market, they also have a café in Sayulita that is well worth seeking out.

 

Sana Spice

Ukranian-born, Oksana Oliinyk, aka – the spice connoisseur, offers an array of beautifully packaged spices that will send any gourmand’s heart aflutter. While she offers guajillo chiles, epazote and a host of locally grown, organic herbs and spices, Oksana’s thoughtful selection also includes high-end offerings from around the world including exotic sea salts, coneflower, Iranian Saffron and Ukrainian chives – just to name a handful. Her breadth of wisdom is not limited merely to the culinary arts but includes a near-encyclopedic knowledge of medicinal properties of each herb and spice as well.

https://www.instagram.com/oksana_max/