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Happy Hour: Kalimotxo

partysugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:18:20 -0700

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Going on the Lamb

YumSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:33:31 -0800

I'm not sure when it happened, but lamb has become one of my favorite meats to eat. I used to be weird about it, thinking it was far too gamy. However, I realized I was wrong. When prepared correctly, lamb can be absolutely delicious and positively tasty.

I've had this recipe for Cardamom-Scented Lamb With Mashed Sweet Potatoes in my to-make file for quite some time, and last night I finally got around to making it. It takes a little bit more time than a Fast & Easy Dinner, but if you're willing, it can definitely be accomplished on a school night. The meat is seared then finished in the oven, and the whole thing is served with a red-wine sauce. To get the recipe, read more.

While perfect on its own, I accompanied mine with the suggested mashed sweet potatoes and some lightly sautéed bok choy.

Cardamom-Scented Lamb With Mashed Sweet Potatoes
From Bon Appétit, December 1999

1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 cups dry red wine
1 cup canned beef broth
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

2 tbsp. shelled cardamom seeds
2 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 lb. racks of lamb, trimmed
2 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 tsp. coarse-grained mustard
salt and pepper for seasoning
Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add tomato paste, garlic, and thyme; sauté 1 minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Add both broths; boil until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 450°F. Toast cardamom seeds in heavy small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Cool. Transfer to spice grinder; grind coarsely. [I used a mortar and pestle.]
Sprinkle lamb with cardamom, salt and pepper.
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add 1 lamb rack; sear until brown, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes. Transfer lamb, meat side up, to baking sheet. Repeat with second lamb rack. [I was actually only using one lamb rack and so I seared it in my heavy oven-proof skillet, moved the lamb out, drained some of the oil - careful it's hot! - and then put the lamb back on the skillet instead of a separate baking sheet.]
Roast until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125°F for medium rare, about 18 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Cut lamb between bones into chops.
While chops are roasting: Bring sauce to simmer. Reduce heat to low. Add butter and mustard; whisk just until butter melts. Season with pepper.
Spoon sauce onto plates.
Top with sweet mashed potatoes and lamb and serve. [I also lightly sautéed thin strips of bok choy, and wrapped them around the plated sauce. Seen in top photo.]

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Cheers To Miner Wines

partysugar — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:03:31 -0700

For my birthday I invited a small group of friends to join me for a wine tasting in Napa. We visited a few wineries, but our favorite was Miner family vineyards. The excellent PR girl had arranged a private tasting and tour, complete with a surprise birthday cake for yours truly! Our guide, the jovial and informative Jaime, began by giving us a sampling of the Miner Sauvignon Blanc and Rosato. Next we moved on to the Sangiovese and the Pinot Noir - both of which were outstanding. However the best wine was the limited edition Benedetto blend series. A smooth and bountiful red, this wine was like heaven in a glass. Jaime lead us through the wine making rooms and into the Miner caves. Nestled in the base of a small mountain, the caves hold thousands of aging barrels of wine. We sampled a 2006 Malbec which they plan on using to make their signature blends. Later he showed us the private cave dining room where we had an impromptu birthday party. If you are planning a trip to wine country, Miner winery is a MUST stop. If you won't be coming to California anytime in the near future seek out these wines at your local wine shop. Miner wines have been served at the White House so I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. To check out the entire gallery of images from my trip there, read more

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After It's Opened: Wine Taste Test

partysugar — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 09:55:41 -0800

A few weeks ago I received a "Dear Party" from DearSugar! Apparently one of her readers, a certain Wino Wendy had written to her inquiring about the shelf life of an opened bottle of wine. Here's what I told her: first consider the type of wine. White wines you store in lower temperature (max of 13c.), whereas red ones you should keep in room temperature (max 18c.). However once opened, all wine begins to change. The oxygen in the air starts this process of change that can only be slowed down if the wine is chilled (it is advised to put even a bottle of opened red wine in the fridge). When you want to drink it, take it out about a half an hour before to allow the wine to come to room temperature. Red will stay drinkable for up to 3 days and white will for another day or so. Whichever wine it is, you need to make sure you seal the bottle tightly, leaving no air inside. There are special corks for it, which should be available at your local wine shop. How long they last will depend on who tastes them - the longer you keep a wine open, the stronger the alcoholic flavor. My best tip - once you've opened a bottle of wine - is to simply drink it all, that way you don't have to worry about leaving it open. To check out my at home science experiment, in which I sample one super old bottle of white wine compared to a just uncorked one, read more

When I last spent the weekend at the vacation house, I was making cassoulet in which white wine was one of the ingredients. I asked my dad to open the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc I had purchased and he pointed out that there were several bottles of opened white wine in the fridge. Now I had not been to the vacation house since November, and neither my mother nor father drink white wine. It could have been leftover from my sister, but the last time she was there was in January. My dad didn't believe that one could notice a serious difference between the tastes of an old and new bottle, so I set up an impromptu blind taste test. In the end, we all could taste a huge difference between the wines, my dad included. The old had a very stale, overly sweet flavor while the new was light and crisp.

Have you ever experimented with variously aged bottles of wine? Please share your stories below!

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