Trust This Tip!

Looking for the best coffee in NYC, the freshest fish in New Orleans, a great little hotel in Paris or simply a romantic spot to watch the sunset in Florence? A new edition to swirl and savor, T3 offers a weekly travel, food or wine related tip that you need to know about! These are not paid endorsements but simply tried and true tips for inquisitive minds.

This Weeks Tip!
House Made Artisan Meats – Inspired by old world meat markets, Chef Donald Link with partners Chef Stephen Stryjewski and Chef Warren Stephens, opened the new Cochon Butcher in the Warehouse District of New Orleans. They specialize in house made artisan meats, sausages, and Salumi Expert Kris Doll makes all salumi on premise. The store also offers Cajun specialties from Link’s heritage like Boudin, Andouille, and Tasso. Also available are great wines by the glass and an incredible sandwich menu using the house made meats. Check out this article by the New York Times! Real Cajun Food From Swamp to City!

http://www.cochonbutcher.com/

Rioja Potatoes and Spicy Chorizo

One of the Rioja's most famous dishes contains many of the region's signature ingredients: bell peppers, potatoes and chorizo, simmered in a smoky sauce thickened by the potato starch. You can get locally grown potatoes now at the Crescent City Farmers Market and Butcher (Couchon's new addition) is making their own delicous house-cured Chorizo that you can purchase at retail! Pair it with my "wine of the moment" below, the Lopez de Heredia Vina Cubillo for a traditional Rioja experience!

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2. 1 small onion, finely chopped
3. 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
4. 1 small portobello mushroom, stemmed and cap thinly sliced
5. 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
6. 1 bay leaf
7. 1/2 teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked Spanish paprika available at Whole Foods)
8. Pinch of crushed red pepper
9. 2 cups water
10. 6 ounces dry Spanish Chorizo, sliced 1/4 inch thick
11. Salt


Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and portobello and stir to coat with oil. Add the green pepper, bay leaf, paprika, crushed red pepper and water and bring to a boil.
2. Cook the potatoes over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the chorizo and simmer over moderately low heat until the potatoes are tender, 20 minutes. Season with salt, discard the bay leaf and serve.

Recipe from Food and Wine, October 2007

Wine of the Moment, Lopez de Heredia Vina Cubillo

"La Rioja" has always been a vital part of Spain's history. Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, and finally, medieval Crusaders have all played a part in the area's history. The Romans, however, made wine a part of their culture wherever they traveled, and Rioja was no exception. Ancient sites of Roman wineries still exist in and around the area today.

After the Romans came the Moors, and wine making all but ceased. It wasn't until after the famous "El Cid" liberated Spain, and medieval Christianity brought trade via the Crusaders through the region, that it flourished again. The Benedictine monks of Cluny in Burgundy, known for their viticulture, helped to establish three monasteries in the area. But the real improvements to Rioja's viticulture began around 1780 when the need to prolong wine during transport brought about experimentation with different woods and preservatives. Studies were made of the techniques used by great chateau in Bordeaux.

When phylloxera devastated Bordeaux in the 1870s, the French turned to Spain for disease free root stock. Their influence really took hold in Rioja and many of the region's finest bodegas started production on what we now consider as the great wines of Rioja. Bordeaux winemaking methods at the time involved long aging in barrel, a factor that the Riojans took up enthusiastically. So enthusiastically in fact that to this day there are a number of Bodegas that still make their wine in a surprisingly similar fashion to that of the Bordelais in the later part of the 1800s and this also explains why oak aging is such an important part of Riojan winemaking.

This historic Bodegas was set up by Don Rafeal Lopez de Heredia y Landeta, who was sent by boat from Chile at the age of 14 to collect some inheritance from a deceased uncle in Spain, which led to him winning two Military Crosses by the age of 17, banished to France, and then returning to Spain in the late 1860’s with a group of Bordeaux wine makers to sow the seeds for ’The Supreme Rioja’. (Click here for my entry on the Lopez de Heredia winery)

Vina Cubillo is a Lopez’s answer to Rioja Crianza. Following the style of all their wines, this wine could be labeled a class above - as a reserva - but they keep it a crianza. It compares to most other Rioja wineries’ reservas since the wine is aged 3 years in oak, followed by another 2-3 years in bottle. The resulting wine is fruit forward but with developed, older wine aromas. Berry, tea, vanilla and spice mingle in this supple, traditional-style red. Bright acidity keeps it lively. Orange peel and tobacco notes linger. Try this wine at our tasting on Tuesday!

Trust This Tip!

Looking for the best coffee in NYC, the freshest fish in New Orleans, a great little hotel in Paris or simply a romantic spot to watch the sunset in Florence? A new edition to swirl and savor, T3 offers a weekly travel, food or wine related tip that you need to know about! These are not paid endorsements but simply tried and true tips for inquisitive minds.

This Weeks Tip!

Best Way to Grow Tomatoes on Your Patio – Looking for a way to have delicious home-grown tomatoes and other fresh vegetables but lack a garden to grow them in? Self-watering container gardening is the way to go! The advantages to container gardening are many; they can be place in small sunny areas, you don’t have to dig up your yard, they are self-watering and some are self-feeding, there is no weeding, they inhibit mold growth as well as the invasion of plant-eating pests, they are more productive and are generally very low maintenance compared to in-ground gardening. You can build your own self watering containers (“Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers” by Edward C. Smith) or purchase pre-fab systems. After much research we settled on the Garden Patch Grow Boxes and picked our first tomatoes yesterday! The photo on the left shows our tomatoes and the right is from their website: agardenpatch.com

Wine of the Moment: 2008 Novellum Chardonnay

Wine making in Languedoc Rouissillon area of southern France was originally the work of Greeks who began cultivation around the 6th century BC. After the Roman conquest viticulture developed quickly, then continued under the Visigoths in the 5th century. As the monasteries of the 9th century grew, so did the hillside vineyards, and today the area is responsible for nearly one-half of France's total wine production.

The soils, baked by the hot Mediterranean sun, are fabulously diverse, with areas of quartz scattered between the more common black schist, limestone and clay. There is infrequent rainfall, and what does fall quickly evaporates from the heat of the sun and the Tramontane, the blustery wind that blows from the northwest on many days of the year. In fact the windblown, arid hillside soils are suitable for little else other than grape vines and the olive trees.

While the area has many AOC designations, some of the real excitement comes from the basic table wines or vin de pays, which can be distinctive, high quality wines, and are the face of the new Roussillon. Young wine-makers are experimenting new techniques with old established grapes, reducing the yield to extract concentrated flinty, mineral wines with a lot of character.

A great example of this are the wines coming from the young and energetic Jean Marc Lafage the producer of one of our other favorite, value priced whites, the Cote Est. The Domaine Lafage Novellum Chardonnay is a custom cuvee from importer Eric Solomon and a hot item in his portfolio. As Robert Parker puts it "Jean-Marc Lafage and Eric Solomon continue to render truly mind-boggling values."

The 2008 vintage adds 30% new French oak to the process with the rest fermented in stainless steel. But one of the things that makes this wine so delicious and unique is that is aged on the lees of Viognier for 3 months giving it peach and stone fruit as well as the more typical apple, pear notes. It is crisp, lively and refreshing and in the store just in time for summer! But get it now because this popular item does not last long on the shelves! $12.99

Seared Salmon With Cilantro Lime Butter

We picked up a piece of salmon yesterday for dinner and were too tired to do anything very creative or time consuming after the past two weekends of Jazz "Festivites". This is simple and delicious as the butter melts into the salmon and infuses it with such an amazing flavor. It literally takes about 10-15 minutes to prepare (depending on thickness of your fish) and I think you'll be really happy with the outcome. The creaminess of the Novellum Chardonnay from the Catalan region of France worked well with the fatty fish and is a joy to drink alone as well. See my wine of the moment for more info.

Serves 4

Ingredients
For the fish:
* 2 lbs salmon fillets (skin on)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* salt and pepper
* pinch of cayenne pepper
* 6 oz. good, rich beer

For the butter:
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
* big handful of fresh cilantro roughly chopped
* 1 lime zested and juiced, reserve 2 tablespoons of juice
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions
1. Whisk together olive oil, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Coat flesh side of fish heavily with oil mixture and set aside while you make the butter.
3. Put the butter in a small mixing bowl and, using a rubber spatula, mix in the cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, salt and cayenne. Spoon the mixture into a small bowl and refrigerate.
4.Get your skillet nice and hot and sear the fish skin side up on high heat until just after fat begins to seep from salmon flesh.
5. Flip the fish and again wait for the fat to seep from the sides. Add the beer and continue to cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Fish should be almost cooked through, and very moist.
6.Plate the fish and garnish with a sprig of cilantro, lime wedge and big spoon of the butter and serve immediately.

DC10 - Codeword: Bread!

Last Wednesday marked the 4th meeting of the DC10 and the evening's belly-filling theme of "bread" as the secret ingredient was a huge success! The night began with a "yeasty" cocktail, a Garden Varietal Black Velvet that combined St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Clavelin Cotes du Jura Sparkling and Fee Bros. Rhubarb bitters. A play on the classic cocktail known for it's velvety texture and dark coloring, it way surprising light and the inclusion of rhubarb bitters made the concoction refreshingly fruity a great match with the home made perfectly spiced Crawfish Bread in honor of Jazz Fest!

Kerry and I had cold appetizer this time and with everything going on at the shop, we had little time to prepare. But I think we pulled it off pretty well and got lots of complements on our Spicy Coconut Fish Cakes with Panko Breadcrumbs Wrapped in Grilled Banana Leaves. They had a sort of egg custard like texture and the exotic flavors of Kaffir lime leaves, cardamom, coconut combined really well with the grilled banana leaves (even though Kerry tried to talk me out of using them!) adding another layer of complexity. Kerry prepared a hot and spicy chili relish and a little Asian cucumber salad to accompany the cakes that we topped with her home grown Daikon Radish Sprouts. We chose a Vouvray from the Loire because we felt we needed something with high acidity to cut through the rich coconut milk and the off-dry musky floral notes of the Domaine Ausbuisiere Cuvee de Silex worked beautifully with the spicy heat of the dish.

On to the the adventurous Lavern and Shirley got high marks for their presentation of Les Oeufs en Meurettes, a classic French dish of poached egg in a red wine sauce with sauteed mushrooms and shallots on truffled French bread. Beautifully plated and deliciously elegant the dish was a classic down to it's pairing with the 2006 Domaine Camille Giroud Bourgogne Rouge.

Our hosts went out on a limb and paired their shrimp topped Flat Bread a La Ooh Wah with the powerhouse Paradigm Zin. They pulled it off well as the wonderfully honey, spiced shrimp with rosemary and mint accentuated the herbal spice notes of the Zin. The homemade flat breads were great and the purple slaw seemed to pull everything together with the only complaint being that we were getting too full to eat all of the bread!

Couple 5 did an amazing job with dessert and was it probably my favorite of the night (if I don't count our dish, which I have to admit I really liked...)Their New Orleans Levee Blackberry Gingerbread Cobbler garnished with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Crystallized Ginger accompanied by Basil Haydens Bourbon was divine! With freshly picked blackberries from along the London Avenue canal, and a hint of cinnamon to tie it in with the bourbon it was a perfect end to another amazing DC night!

May brings a simplified "anything goes" picnic theme as Lavern and Shirley are running off to get married next month so they won't be able to attend! But we'll be back up to par in June for our "Wacky Wines" night hosted by the newlyweds!

Trust This Tip!

Looking for the best coffee in NYC, the freshest fish in New Orleans, a great little hotel in Paris or simply a romantic spot to watch the sunset in Florence? A new edition to swirl and savor, T3 offers a weekly travel, food or wine related tip that you need to know about! These are not paid endorsements but simply tried and true tips for inquisitive minds.

This Weeks Tip!
Rue Cler Market, Paris –Parisians shop almost daily for three good reasons: refrigerators are small (tiny kitchens), produce must be fresh, and it's an important social event. Shopping is a chance to hear about the butcher's vacation plans, see photos of the florist's new grandchild, relax over un café, and kiss the cheeks of friends. The vibrant Rue Cler open market in Paris offers an incredible opportunity to experience the fine art of French living with specialty shops to purchase fresh breads, cheeses, chocolates, fruits, vegetables, pastries, charcuterie, wine, flowers and more. Interspersed with wonderful neighborhood cafés and restaurants, the Rue Cler market is just blocks from the Eiffel Tower and the perfect place to assemble your picnic for an afternoon on the lawn of Champ de Mars Park. Here’s a great website with photos and highlights of the Rue Cler Market: www.parismarkets.net

Wine of the Moment: 2008 Domaine des Aubuisières Cuvee Silex

Americans, the creators of White Zinfandel, have become funny about fruity sweeter styled wines and it’s now seen as a social faux pas in many circles to admit to liking your wine in anything other than a bone dry style. Take Vouvray as an example, a wine that is widely available on the international market but whose quaffing and food flattering qualities are rarely appreciated outside of France. Vouvrays are delicious with the fiery foods of Louisiana are a refreshing respite from the hot humid days of summer here in the south.

Vouvray is the name of AOC appellation as well as the village around which it surrounds and it produces delicious wines ranging from the dry and austere to the richest dessert wines, as even excellent sparkling wines. Vouvray is made exclusively from Chenin Blanc, which has been grown in the region since the 4th century.

The siliceous-clay, and limestone-clay soils lie on top of tuffeau, the limestone used to build the many châteaux of the surrounding countryside. The cool climate insures good acidity, which is balanced by the distinctly fruity character of the Chenin Blanc, and the mineral qualities imparted by the soil. Good Vouvray is charming, firm, and delicate, exhibiting a nutty, floral, honeyed character whose rich flavor is balanced by great acidity and bracing minerality. It ranges in style from dry (sec), to sweeter (demi-sec) to it's most complex and age worthy sweet form (moelleux).

Vouvray can age beautifully for decades and has been known to remain in prime condition for more than a century. The wine develops richness and depth over time but will never lose its fresh and fruity character. Sparkling Vouvray shows all the qualities of the still wines but with an even more pronounced flavor of minerals. It is an excellent aperitif, but also an ideal sparkling wine to drink with a meal.

Domaine des Aubuisières has 25 hectares of vines planted with Chenin Blanc around Vouvray, just East of Tours. This wine is mostly fermented and matured in thermo-regulated vats although his more prestigious dry cuvées and all the moelleux wines are aged in oak. After alcoholic fermentation, the dry wines are aged upon their lees with regular stirring to add depth and complexity.

The Cuvée de Silex is Bernard Fouquet's entry level dry Vouvray and comes to us from one of our favorite importers, Peter Weygandt. Fouquet is regarded as one of Vouvray’s top producers and Robert Parker’s recently published 7th edition of the Wine Buyer’s Guide lists Bernard as an ‘outstanding’ producer along with Domaine Huet and Philippe Foreau. It comes from three different parcels of grapes, les Perruches, les Girardières and les Chairs Salées. The nose is enticing, a little floral with hints of honey and pears. On the palate, it's fresh with a taste of sherbet lemons - the fruit continues and it finishes with a crisp, balanced acidity. It's absolutely delicious now but will probably taste even better given a little time to develop. It was a great match with the Spicy Fish Cakes I paired it with last week.

Spicy Coconut Fish Cakes in Grilled Banana Leaves

I fell in love with Indian cooking when my niece Rika (pictured right on a recent visit to her homeland) joined our family about 10 years ago. After immersing my self in the cooking styles of many different regions, the one I came to appreciate most was that of southern India where fish is a staple and the foods are a bit lighter than what we are usually exposed to in Indian restaurants.

This recipe is sort of mix between the flavors of Kerala in southern India and Thailand. Banana leaves are used in both regions as are coconut milk, coriander, turmeric and others while the Kaffir lime leaves are distinctly Thai. You can find them at the Hong Kong market on the West Bank or my friend Rachel's backyard! :) While using the banana leaves takes a little extra time, it is well worth the effort. Fortunately, I can walk to the corner and cut them down from trees on the side of our street, but if you can't do that you can put the mixture in a baking dish and bake in the oven.

I am pairing this with a Vouvray from the Loire Valley (see wine of the moment). The acid in this wine is a good match for the rich coconut milk while the off-dry musky, floral notes work beautifully with the spicy heat.

Serves 10

ingredients
-Fresh banana leaves cut into 6"x10" sheets (see "prep" below)
-2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
-2-inch piece of turmeric root, peeled and sliced
-2 Serrano chilies, seeds removed
-Zest of one lemon
-10 shallots
-1 tablespoon ground coriander
-1-1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds
-1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
-1 tablespoon sugar
-1-1/2 teaspoons salt
-2/3 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
-10 kaffir lime leaves or zest of 1 lime
-1/4 cup fresh cilantro
-1-1/2 pounds deboned, filleted drum, haddock, cod, any other white, flaky fish. I used fresh drum from K-Jeans.

Prep Banana Leaves:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
This recipe serves 8-10 so pick 6 big leaves. You'll get 2 sheets per leaf and have a few extra in case one rips. Pick young, wide, broad leaves that are whole, not torn.

First cut lengthwise along the vein separating the two sides. Find the widest part of the leaf, this will be your center and make your cuts 5 inches on either side of the center to make a sheet that is approximately 8"x10".

Carefully wash the leaves leaving them slightly damp and lie them on the racks in the oven. Bake at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. This will make them more pliable and easier to use.

directions
1. Place ginger, turmeric, chilies, lemon, onions, cardamom and coriander in a blender or food processor and puree. Add a little water if needed.
2. Place pureed spices in a skillet or wok and cook 2 minutes, just enough to release spicy flavor. Turn off heat and allow mixture to cool. Stir in coconut milk.
3. Add sugar and salt to mix, and stir.
4. Add the bread crumbs. Stir thoroughly.
5. Remove center vein of kaffir lime leaves and mince finely, or substitute lime zest. Mince the cilantro and add both to spicy coconut mixture.
6. Take raw, deboned fish and put it in the food processor; pulse it quickly to make small chunks. Stir into spicy coconut mixture and mix well.
7. *Spoon about 5 tablespoons of the mixture into center of banana leaves, make rectangular shaped parcels, and secure ends with toothpicks or skewers. Grill over hot coals for 4-5 minutes each side, or until mixture has set and leaves are charred.
*If you don't have banana leaves you can bake in the oven. Pour fish mixture into an 8-inch cake pan. Bake in 350°F oven for 25-30 minutes until edges are golden brown and mixture has set. Cool slightly and cut into squares and serve. To make small, round fish cakes, pour mix about 1-1/2-inches deep into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Open the parcels and enjoy with a nice cold glass of Fouquet Aubuisiere Vouvray!

Trust This Tip!

Looking for the best coffee in NYC, the freshest fish in New Orleans, a great little hotel in Paris or simply a romantic spot to watch the sunset in Florence? A new edition to swirl and savor, T3 offers a weekly travel, food or wine related tip that you need to know about! These are not paid endorsements but simply tried and true tips for inquisitive minds.

This Weeks Tip!
Grass Feed Beef From a Local Farmer – Searching for an alternative to hormone injected, GMO feed meats in the grocery store, Kerry and I sought out the colorful Mr. Justin Pitts last year at the Saturday Crescent City Farmers market in New Orleans. It only took 1 cut of beef to convince us that he was the real deal and he has set the standard to which we judge all beef and pork products we eat! Justin raises a rare heritage breed called Piney Woods Cattle that are descended from Spanish cattle first introduced in the New World in the 1500s. You can find Justin at the Tuesday and Saturday Crescent City Farmers Market with his beef, pork and lamb products as well as his delicious farm fresh eggs.

Piney Woods Cattle

Wine of the Week: El Ganador Malbec

2006 El Ganador Malbec
Malbec seems to have taken over the wine world as the most popular grape variety. Argentine Malbec, in particular, continues to fascinate the palate of not only the casual wine consumer but also the lifelong wine aficionado. From its humble beginnings as both a Bordeaux blending variety and a mainstay contributor to the rare wines of France’s Cahors region, Malbec has come into its own as the premier variety for top quality Argentine red wines.

The relationship between Argentina and Malbec dates to 1868 when French agricultural engineer Michel Pouget first imported the variety to South America. In the 1980’s, many vine growers took part in an effort to remove Malbec from the vineyards of Argentina, and it was only in the 1990’s that the variety achieved popularity in export markets. Needless to say, today Malbec is thriving in Argentina and is one of our most popular varietals at Swirl!

Bodega Tiza’s El Ganador Malbec is made from fruit sourced from the property’s vineyards in the Lujan de Cuyo sub-region of Mendoza. 10% of this production is aged for six months in new French oak and then allowed to rest for an additional six months in bottle prior to release. The resulting wine features a fresh, chunky personality brimming with bright red fruit aromas and flavors. An exceptional value, El Ganador is a stand out in the $10 Malbec category!

A Juicy Justin Pitts Burger Paired with El Gandor Malbec

We are hooked on the grass feed meat and pork products we purchase from the colorful Mr. Justin Pitts at the Crescent City Farmers Market. So how does Justin's ground beef differ from that you buy at Whole foods or another grocer? The first thing you notice is the color, it is a deep rich red and it has a completely different texture. Also, because of the leanness of the meat it cooks incredibly fast, so cut your cooking time down to at least half of what you would normally grill a burger. And the flavor is out of this world!

This is the way we prepare them at home and my mouth waters every time I even think about eating one of these burgers. I'm pairing it with one of my favorite grilling wines, Argentinian Malbec. Our friend Matt Lirette just started his own wholesale wine distributorship and this is one of the little gems we have purchased from him. The El Ganador Malbec is simply an amazing, value priced wine that is perfect with grilled food or simply sipping in the backyard as you watch someone else do the work! Click here for my post on the wine: El Ganador Malbec.

Preparing the grill: Ok, I think you've figured out by now that we are pretty picky about food preparation so you shouldn't be surprised that we don't use a gas grill. The flavors and aromas imparted by real wood charcoal (available at Wholefoods and most grocers) are irreplaceable and we wouldn't even think of using toxic lighter fluid. We use an eco-friendly chimney starter to get the coals going and a cheap charcoal grill I bought at Home Depot years ago for about $50. Never used a chimney starter? Here's a great little you-tube video to show you how: charcoal chimney starter.

Makes 6 of the most delicious burgers ever!

Ingredients:
-2lbs. Justin Pitts ground beef
-salt and pepper
-pinch of pepperoncino (red pepper flakes)
-6 "Food for Life" brand, sprouted grain English muffins
-1 cup grated Australian Aged Cheddar Cheese
-2 large Heirloom tomatoes, sliced and seasoned w/salt and pepper
-organic baby romaine lettuce
-2 red onions sliced thickly
-olive oil
-condiments options; organic mayonnaise, pesto, ketchup, mustard

Directions
-Pour yourself a glass of the El Ganador Malbec and prepare your charcoal chimney.
-While coals are heating in the chimney, combine beef, salt and pepper with a pinch of pepperoncino and mix with your hands. Shape into 6 good sized patties and set aside.
-Take sliced onions and coat with olive and season with a little salt and pepper.
-Top off your glass of Malbec and go out to the grill.
-Once the coals have been spread into the bottom of the grill and the grate is hot, put on the onions. As the onions begin to get tender, add the beef patties. Be very careful with your grill time. We like our burgers rare and cook them for only a minute to a minute and a half per side. Add the cheese when you flip them.
-As the burgers reach the desired wellness, move them to the side of the grill. Spread a bit of olive oil on the English muffins and grill quickly until you see the grate marks on the bread.
-Remove onions, burgers and muffins from grill and top with sliced tomatoes, lettuce and your favorite condiments. We're especially fond of a little pesto as a sandwich spread...

-Pour another glass of Malbec, sit out on your patio and enjoy the best burger ever!!

Trust This Tip!

Looking for the best coffee in NYC, the freshest fish in New Orleans, a great little hotel in Paris or simply a romantic spot to watch the sunset in Florence? A new edition to swirl and savor, T3 offers a weekly travel, food or wine related tip that you need to know about! Discovered during our travels and culinary adventures, these are not paid endorsements but simply tried and true tips for inquisitive minds.


This Week's Tip!
The Best Coffee Beans on the Planet! - We are coffee fanatics and have been roasting our own at home for years thanks to our friend Steve Murphy who introduced us to home roasting. Why do we do it? For the same reason people choose to bake bread at home, to make their own jams and jellies, to can their own vegetables and the brew their own ales and beers. It feels better. There’s something soul-fulfilling in making it yourself. It is pretty simple to do, takes about 10 minutes of your time and once you have the hang of it, nothing, and I mean nothing, tastes as good as coffee just off the roaster.

You can buy an inexpensive home roaster and the green beans to get started at www.sweetmarias.com. They have a great site and are very helpful when you need advice. But be careful, because once you try it, there’s no turning back!

Fava Bean and Shrimp Salad Paired with Donnafugata Anthilia

This week's recipe for Fava Beans and Shrimp is one of many contributed by market shoppers for the new Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook. In its dried form, the fava bean is blessed on St. Joseph’s Day and kept in the wallets of New Orleanians all year round to help “keep the money” there. Here, fresh fava beans are served with shrimp for a distinctly Sicilian-style New Orleans dish. I'm serving it with one of our favorite Sicilian whites, the Donnafugata Anthilia. See information on the wine below.

For more recipes using fresh local ingredients go to crescentcityfarmersmarket.org. You can also order the wonderful Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook there as well.

Ingredients

* 1 pound fresh fava beans
* 1/2 pound small green beans
* 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled
* 2 heads fennel
* 1/2 cup chicken broth
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 1/2 lemon
* 1 large tomato, finely diced (for garnish)
* Fennel fronds (for garnish)

Sauce

* 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon capers
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Shell fava beans and discard the pods. Cook beans in boiling water until tender, then drain and place in an ice-water bath.

String the green beans if needed and cook in the same manner.

Poach shrimp in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Remove tops and any brown outside pieces from the fennel. Cut fennel into thin slices lengthwise. Place in a large pan with broth, wine, lemon, and enough water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

To prepare sauce: In blender container, combine basil, oil, vinegar, capers, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.

To serve, divide fennel equally among four plates. Arrange shrimp and beans on top of fennel. Scatter diced tomato around the plates and then drizzle some of the dressing over each plate. Garnish with fennel fronds.

Serves 4 as salad, 2 as entreé

Serve with 2007 Donnafugata Anthilia

This cool Sicilian white is a store favorite made with indigenous varietals of composed of 50% Ansonica (Insolia) and 50% Catarratto, and has summer written all over it.

The nose is full of crisp peach and a hint of lemon. Sit on your porch and a few tasty sips will bring out really nice peach-apricot flavors with a crisp and tart finish that reminiscent a of a Granny Smith apple - a perfect accompaniment to this Sicilian inspired salad!

Anthilia is the name, given in the Roman period, to the city of Entella on the crest of the Rocca. Anthilia is also the name of a wine that is identified with the ancient territory where it originates. It is the first wine to have been conceived at Donnafugata and it remains today a special favorite with many fans, including me!

The Slow Food Movement in a Snail Shell

To the uninitiated, the exact meaning of the Slow Food movement can be a bit elusive. Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.

Slow Food burst into being in 1986 as a protest to McDonald's establishing its first outpost in Rome's historic Piazza di Spagna. The prospect of the golden arches among the city's baroque facades was too much for Carlo Petrini (pictured below), a journalist and gastronome from the Piedmont region of Italy.

Petrini and fellow founder Folco Portinari wrote a manifesto to champion slow food as an antidote to the "fast life" and "fast food" that have drastically altered cultures worldwide over the last 100 years. As Portinari wrote, "Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food." The Slow Food Manifesto was signed on November 9, 1989 at the Opera Comique in Paris and was endorsed by delegates from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and Venezuela.

The gist of the manifesto and the movement is to cook, eat and live slower. This is done by avoiding mass-manufactured products and preserving local and regional foods and traditions and especially focusing on the cultural cuisine and the associated food, plants and seeds, domestic animals and framing within a region.

Slow Food has over 100,000 members that are involved in over 1,000 convivia - local chapters - worldwide. Membership dollars fund a host of programs dedicated to educating through school and campus based initiatives, promote local and regional foods, safeguard biodiversity and connect people around the country with their food and the people who grow it.

Feeling moved by the Slow Food movement? Derrick Schneider, author of the food blog Obsession with Food and a Slow Food member for years, had a few suggestions for those hoping to slow down.

1. Become a regular at the farmers' market.
Local growers have the freshest ingredients you can buy and are a great source of information. As Schneider puts it, "Don't feel shy about asking how to cook something or how it grew." Farmers and food artisans are usually happy to educate their customers about the products they grow and create.

2. Get a cookbook to guide and inspire your changing habits.
Getting used to buying whatever looks best (as opposed to the specific ingredients needed for a particular recipe) can be a challenge, but a good cookbook can help you plan meals and menus around the treasures you find at the farmers' market.

3. Be willing to look around for high-quality food.
Depending on where you live, a wide variety of products, from cheeses and wines to grains and sweeteners may be available. Contact your local Slow Food chapter to find sources for hard-to-find products, or ask around. You may be surprised by the variety of high-quality food that's out there once you start looking.

4. Sit down and share meals with others.
Enjoying food in the company of loved ones is an important part of the Slow Food philosophy. As Schneider suggests, "Sit down with your family--or even your roommates--at the dinner table and enjoy each other's company. Open a bottle of wine or beer and just take a moment to slow down and appreciate your life. Eat slowly and have a conversation."

If the Slow philosophy piques your interest, please join Jeff Roberts, author of The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese, on Wednesday for a free Slow Food New Orleans event at St. James Cheese Company. This evenings “American” themed festivities will include small plates by local chef Bart Bell, samplings of sustainable and organic California wines by Swirl Wines, accompanied by artisan American cheeses from St. James Cheese Company and beer by Kirk Coco of NOLA brewing.

We’ll have a Slow Food information and membership table set up if you are interested in joining or you can go to www.slowfoodusa.org. Call Swirl, 504.304.0635 or St. James Cheese, 504.899.4737 for more information. St. James Cheese is located at 5004 Prytania Street

Chipotle Pepper Chili Paired with De Martino Carmenere

This chili has a few wacky ingredients but those are what make it such a perfect match with the De Martino Carmenere from Chile! It's simple, but I did use freshly ground spices and you may want to adjust the chipotle chilies to your taste, because this is hot!

SERVES 6 -8

Ingredients

* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 2 onions, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 lb lean ground beef
* 3/4 lb beef sirloin, cubed
* 2 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 (12 ounce bottle) Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale
* 1 cup strong coffee
* 1 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon cumin
* 1 tablespoon cocoa
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 1 teaspoon cayenne
* 1 teaspoon coriander
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans
* 1 (7 ounce) can chipotle chili in adobo, seeds removed and diced with sauce

Garnish Options: fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, diced red onions, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil.
2. Cook onions, garlic and meat until brown over medium heat.
3. Add tomatoes, beer, coffee, tomato paste and beef broth.
4. Add spices Stir in 2 cans of kidney beans and peppers.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 hours

Serve with 2006 De Martino Legado Carmenere

This once neglected grape from France's Bordeaux region, first planted in Chile in the 19th Century, has become a red-hot variety. Until about 15 years ago the Chileans thought is was a strain of Merlot, but it's popularity is on the rise and it may one day reach the fame of Malbec, its other cousin from Bordeaux.

Chile is more known for producing explosive Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but Carmenere (pronounced "carm-men-EHR") has become a signature grape. Major centers for Carmenere production are the Colchagua, Curico and Maule valleys in Chile's central region.

The DeMartino family has been producing wine in Chile's famous Maipo Valley for almost 70 years. The strength of DeMartino wines is in the fruit— resulting in big, rich, extracted flavors that are made in limited production on the family estate using only the ripest hand-picked fruit.

Sweet, red fruit aromas along with rich chocolate and cherry notes with beautiful intense red color, on the palate it has soft, lush tannins but good body.

We'll be featuring this wine in our "South American Treasures" on Tuesday, April 7th.

Trust This Tip!

Looking for the best coffee in NYC, the freshest fish in New Orleans, a great little hotel in Paris or simply a romantic spot to watch the sunset in Florence? A new edition to swirl and savor, T3 offers a weekly travel, food or wine related tip that you need to know about! Discovered during our travels, these are not paid endorsements but simply tried and true tips for inquisitive minds .

This Weeks Tip!
Tuscan Villa Casa Cornacchi – Nestled in the hills of Chianti, Casa Cornacchi is the perfect place to lose your self in Tuscan countryside. While a bit difficult to find, once you are there you will never want to leave! Located north east of Sienna it is an ideal spot from which to explore the Tuscan hill towns or to simply relax in the impeccably restored 16th century villa with the intoxicating views of the Ambra Valley. It is an amazingly beautiful place. Check it out at www.cornacchi.com

Vinitaly: Il Mondo che Amiamo

Taking place in Verona for five days, it is Italy’s most important wine fair and presents an overview of the most prestigious wine-growing and wine-making traditions as well as everything else involved in the world of wine: technical tastings, food & wine pairings and innovative cuisine.

This year’s event is Vinitaly’s 43rd edition, and has been unapologetically subtitled “Il Mondo che Amiamo” or “The World We Love”. And as a true lover of all things Italian, Swirl is celebrating the start of Vinitaly in Verona with a seated tasting on Thursday that will cover the map of Italy with wine and cheeses from 7 different regions represented in this educational and delicious event! Italian Wine Specialist Antonio Molesini and Richard Sutton of St. James Cheese will be joining us to help define the regional significance of each of each of these truly distinct Italian products.

Here is a little background information on a few of the things that we will be highlighting on the wonderful evening.

Burrata Cheese
Burrata is one of the most sought after cheeses in the world today and restaurants and consumers have gone burrata crazy! From the Puglia region of Italy, the heel of the boot, came this incredibly deliciously creamy cheese created in the 1920s in the town of Andria, about two-thirds of the way up from the heel to the spur. The Bianchini family made it on their farm. It was a local product, and remained the delight of the townspeople only, for thirty years. It became known in other parts of Italy only as recently as the '60s and '70s and burrata probably didn't reach American shores until the 1990s, and it certainly didn't become trendy on restaurant menus until a few years ago.

For the uninitiated, the cheese looks, at first glance, like a ball of fresh mozzarella with a tiny topknot. But cut into it and the center, a tangy core of cream and stracciatella ("little rags") of mozzarella curds, oozes onto the plate. Made in the Apuglia and flown to the U.S., it can be hard to find, and has a short shelf life. Sweet, creamy, lusciously and delicately textured it is irresistible. And if you do find one, grab it immediately, find some crusty bread and tomatoes, and head back for lunch, dinner or a snack. It is to die for, really.

Prosecco
Prosecco has been growing rapidly in popularity and this distinctly Italian product has become one of the most appreciated international sparkling wines. If you drive north from Venice you'll discover Valdobbiadene and Conegliano, the most wonderful yet little-known wine growing regions in the world. This is the home of prosecco, a grape variety native to Veneto. Prosecco is used to make white wines in different styles, sparkling or still. Mixed with peach nectar, it enlivens the classic Venetian cocktail, called a Bellini. Prosecco is an excellent match with a diversity of food, including cheese, risotto and fresh fish and it is even the basis for much of the grappa produced in the region. As the Venetians say: "No matter where you are in the Veneto, everything goes well with prosecco."

Aneri is a new Prosecco to Swirl that we have brought in exclusively for this tasting. A Veronese label known for quality, it is a leading name in the world of winemaking and is acknowledged internationally: the Aneri prosecco has in fact been part of exclusive toasts around the world, from the pre-dinner drinks offered to the heads of state at the G8 summit in 2001, to the signing of the European Constitution in 2004, from the dinners with Putin and the White House and even the toast to Barack Obama for his historic victory in the recent presidential elections. A delightful and elegant wine with floral notes and hints of almonds, it is perfect for any occasion!

Robila Cheese
While the lovingly tended vine-clad hillsides of the Langhe in Piedmont are world famous for their Barolo and Barbaresco wines, they are also home to the firm, creamy and wonderfully fragrant Robiola cheese. It varies considerably from one producer to the next, depending on family recipe, local custom and available milk. Made throughout the Piedmont and Lombardy regions, robiola may include goat's, sheep's or cow's milk, or any combination thereof. Even the one DOP (denominazione di origine protetta, or name-protected) robiola -- Robiola di Roccaverano -- allows for cow's milk, although traditionalists use only goat's and sheep's milk.

Under the thin rind is a smooth, supple, cream-colored paste with a lushness that can be attributed to the high-fat sheep's milk. The flavors are simple, direct and delicate with a faint mushroom aroma and deliciously silky texture. When eaten at the proper time of ripeness it literally melts in your mouth and is absolutely divine!

Nero D'Avola
My infatuation with Sicily has been growing daily as I research wineries for our upcoming wine and culinary tour of this beautiful island. A label that we have carried on a consistent basis is Principi Butera and it has developed many fans for its affordable red and white wines from indigenous varietals. In the 2009 Gambero Rosso Italian wine guide, 17 Sicilian wineries were given the highest award of Tre Bicchieri and the 2005 Principi Butera Deliella was one of them.

Located in Southern Sicily midway between the temples of Agrigento and the Baroque towns of Modica and Ragusa, Butera produces great wines that demonstrate the full expression of the Sicilian terroir. Deliella is 100% Nero D'Avola showing a lot of depth with ripe currants and a hint of vanilla on the nose and palate. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a dense, balanced and lingering finish. This is a special wine that I am really looking forward to sharing with everyone on Thursday! Delicious.

So if all of this has your mouth watering (as it does mine!), reserve a spot for our Vinitaly tasting on Thursday as we taste 7 new wines and cheeses with Antonio and Richard. This is amazing stuff, I promise!

And for a little more temptation here's a recipe with burrata cheese as the main event! Serve it with a cold glass of Aneri prosecco and you will make a major impression. See posting below and check out another blogger who loves Italian cooking prouditaliancook for great recipes and photos such as the burrata one above!

Bruschetta with Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes and Burrata

Ingredients

3 large heirloom tomatoes, halved
Sea salt, preferably gray salt, and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
6 slices lightly toasted ciabatta bread (available at Swirl or La Boulangerie)
Burrata Cheese
Fresh basil ribbons
Aged Balsamic vinegar (optional)

Directions

Preheat the broiler. Arrange the tomato halves cut side up and close together on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and the garlic. Spoon a little over each tomato half, stirring the mixture as you go.

Broil until the tomatoes are soft and shriveled but still retain some moisture, 15 to 20 minutes. Timing will depend on how large, meaty and juicy the tomatoes are. Let cool completely.

Take your toasted ciabatta bread and put a scoop of burrata cheese on it. Top it with one of the tomato halves and drizzle with a little more high quality olive oil and a touch of aged balsamic vinegar. Garnish with a few ribbons of fresh basil.
Close your eyes and enjoy a taste of heaven!

Serves 6

Photo Courtesy of prouditaliancook.blogspot.com