Estrella Damm INEDIT

Ferran Adria, considered by many to be the world's greatest chef, closed down his restaurant El Bulli last year.  So the chance for my wife and I to taste his food went from slim to pretty much non existent.  My wife did come across a bottle of beer at her work that was created by Ferran Adria, the Damm brewmasters, Julia Soler, and El Bulli's sommelier team called Estrella Damm INEDIT.  So for me to taste anything created by him I think I am going to have to settle for his beer.  When I first went online to find it I thought it was going to be very expensive and hard to find.  Turns out I could get it at the Bevmo close by and it is selling for only $9.99 for a 750 ml bottle, not to bad.  We had a small 4th of July barbecue last week and decided to open it up to have with our burgers and hot dogs.  We both enjoyed it.  It is a nice, light, easy drinking beer.  Here are the tasting notes I got off of their website:

Tasting notes: High intensity and aromatic complexity. Its appearance is slightly cloudy. Fruity and floral to the nose, with a yeasty sensation and sweet spices reminiscences. Creamy and fresh texture, soft volume and delicate carbonic. Long aftertaste and pleasant memory.

Made to accompany the festival of flavours modern cuisine offers us. For Sommeliers trying to accomodate different types of flavours has always been a nightmare... now there is a solution!

With its delicate, sophisticated bubbles this beer can take acidic, sweet and sour flavours by the hand. the symphony of flavours in each dish is different, but there can be a common thread capable of unifying them all, for a sense of continuity so there is no need to switch drinks. This beer has a rich and highly adaptable bouquet. In other words a unique personality: smooth yet complex.

If you go to their website you can listen to video's about the beer, read a lot of good info on it, and find out where to get it.  www.estrelladamminedit.com  

Cooking Duck Breast

My wife and I both really enjoy duck.  Last week we agreed that I would show her how to cook duck breast, and she would show me how to bake one of her delicious pies.  Cooking duck breast at home is easy, quick, and very tasty.  

Place duck breasts on cutting board and wipe dry with paper towel.

 Score the duck breast, cutting through the fat, but being careful not to cut into the flesh.

Season with sea salt and pepper.

At home I have a nonstick saute pan, make sure it is big enough so the pan is not crowded.  Place the breasts skin side down over medium heat.

Now season the flesh side with sea salt and pepper.

As the fat renders, drain into a container and save.  Duck fat has great flavor.  We used the reserve fat to cook our asparagus in later on.

 Flip the duck breasts onto their flesh side after the skin is caramelized, having a deep brown color. This usually takes between 8-10 minutes.

Cook the duck breasts for about another 1-2 minutes flesh side down to achieve a medium rear to medium doneness.

Take duck out of pan and place on clean cutting board.

Loosely tent foil over duck breasts to rest, 5-7 minutes.  I had to use this bowl because I forgot to buy foil at the grocery store.  Oops.

Slice duck and you are ready to eat.

Duck is great to eat without any sauce, having a great flavor all on its own.  But duck also goes with many flavor combinations.  For a quick sauce, reduce a 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar to a syrup consistency and drizzle on top.  Hope you enjoy.

2008 Chateau De Lugagnac

After a busy Holiday weekend at work, Sunday night my wife and I decided to have a relaxed night at home. We grilled up some Korean short ribs and asparagus, along with some sides of beans, quinoa, pork rillette, and romesco sauce from her work. We opened up a bottle of the 2008 Chateau De Lugagnac. It is an easy drinking Bordeaux at a great price point. Nice wine with good fruit, spice tones, and structured tannins at a great price point. I bought this at www.klwines.com but also saw it on www.amazon.com for $11.29 per bottle. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Farmer's Market

Have you been to your local Farmer's Market lately?  Now is a great time to go and visit.  With an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables in season, you can eat fresh, seasonal, and local.  My wife and I just visited the San Luis Obispo Thursday night market earlier this week. While there you can have dinner from one of the street food vendors, be entertained by one of the music acts going on, and get your grocery shopping done.  Wherever you are living their is sure to be a Farmer's Market near you.  What is great is that they are all different.  Varying in size and what they offer.  But it is a great way to eat seasonally, healthier, support local business, and maybe even try some new fruits or vegetables.

Neither of us had ever had duck eggs before, so we decided to give them a try.

The berries are great for snacking on, but we bought some to be used in a berry pie my wife is going to bake.

Our collection from the Thursday night market.  

By the time we got home we ended up with duck eggs, kale, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, cilantro, cauliflower, plums, fresh squeezed blood orange juice, asparagus, broccoli, beets, carrots, celery, cabbage, lettuce, and avocados.  We usually don't come home with this much but our refrigerator was pretty bare when we left for the market.  We will use these foods for snacks, sides in dinner entrees, to bake a pie, and will juice a lot of these vegetables as well.  

You might read this and look at these pictures and think that we must be health nuts.  But the truth is that I am hooked on soda's, eat to much fast food, and am about 30 pounds overweight.  My wife eats much healthier than I do, but together we probably eat to much processed food.  Going to the local Farmer's market is a great way to start changing some eating habits, and to get excited about healthy food again.  Whatever your reason is for going to the Market, we hope you enjoy.

Arroyo Grande Meat Company

Are you looking for a specialty cut of beef?  Maybe interested in learning more about where your food comes from?  Or just want to get a high quality product to cook at home?  Then I would suggest visiting your local butcher shop.  These days it is getting hard to find a butcher shop, but here on the Central Coast we are very fortunate to have the Arroyo Grande Meat Company.  They have a very friendly, knowledgeable staff that is more than willing to help you find the cut of meat you are looking for. They have a great selection of products ranging from high quality beef, poultry, game meats, house made sausages, seafood, pork, and even local grass fed beef.  If you haven't tried grass fed beef I would definitely recommend it.  It has a long list of health benefits compared to grain fed beef.  If you are interested in learning more about grass fed beef check out www.eatwild.com or www.americangrassfedbeef.com.  

If you don't see what you are looking for in the front counter, ask if they have it in the back.  They have also done special orders for me in the past. 

The refrigerator is full of their house made sausages, ground meats, burger patties, seafood, and more.

If you haven't been yet to the Meat Company I would definitely recommend it, I don't think you will be disappointed.  Finding a butcher nearby wherever you live and developing a relationship with the people who supply you with great food, while also supporting local business, is a great thing.  

Community Supported Agriculture

My wife and I joined a local CSA (community supported agriculture) almost a year ago.  We joined up with Babe Farms, we get a bi-weekly box of fruits and vegetables for $20.  There are many benefits with getting involved with your local CSA.  You are supporting local farmers in your community, you are getting the freshest produce possible, it is healthy, and it exposes you to different seasonal ingredients that you may not have cooked with before.  Each box of produce we get comes with a newsletter with a list of what's in our box, and suggestions and recipes on how to you use our fresh ingredients.  If you are interested in finding participating farms near you, checkout www.localharvest.org.  If you are in the Central Coast area and are interested in using Babe Farms, you can reach them at (805) 925-4144.

Our box this week included beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, fennel, leaf lettuces, parsley root, purple and yellow beans, and strawberries.  

Cookout Side Dishes

With summer finally here, thought we would share three side dishes to go along with your summer barbecues and family get together's.  Stove top pinto beans, penne pasta salad, and roasted garlic potatoes.  These side dishes are easy to prepare and will go great with barbecue chicken, tri-tip, or anything you want to put on the grill this summer.  First up is the stove top pinto beans.

STOVE TOP PINTO BEANS

INGREDIENTS

·         1 pound bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

·         5 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 yellow onions, diced

·         1 ¼ pounds pinto beans

·         1 tbsp mustard powder

·         1 tbsp paprika

·         1 tbsp chili powder

·         1 tbsp onion powder

·         1tbsp garlic powder

·         ½ tsp cayenne

·         2 tbsp kosher salt

·         1 tbsp ground pepper

·         ¼ cup brown sugar

·         ¼ cup molasses

·         1 bay leaf

·         1 – 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

DIRECTIONS

1.       Put beans in large stockpot, cover with water by 2 inches and soak overnight.  Drain and rinse.

2.       In a large sauté pan set over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring often, until fat has rendered and bacon is crispy.  Reserve fat.  Place cooked bacon on paper towel lined tray to drain.  Set aside.

3.       In a stock pot over medium high heat add reserved bacon fat.  When the bacon fat is hot add the diced onion and minced garlic.  Cook, stirring often, until the onions start to soften, about 7-8 minutes.

4.       Add mustard powder, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and molasses.  Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring everything together.

5.       Add pinto beans,  fill the stockpot with water till just covering the beans.  Add the tomatoes and bay leaf.

6.       Turn the heat to high and bring to a simmer, lower heat and let simmer uncovered for 1 hour and fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make sure to use enough water so the beans stay submerged while they soak.

All ready to eat.  Feel free to experiment with different spices and quantities.  Enjoy.

Next up is our penne pasta salad.  You can make this the day ahead or day of your barbecue.

PENNE PASTA SALAD

INGREDIENTS

·         2 pounds penne pasta

·         4 bell peppers, assorted colors, small dice

·         4 cloves garlic, minced

·         4 ounces olive oil

·         2 ounces red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

·         4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

·         1 bunch parsley, chopped

·         Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.       In a large stockpot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.  Add a couple pinches of salt and a little drizzle of olive oil to the boiling water.  Add pasta, boil 9 minutes.  Drain in colander and pour cold water over pasta to stop cooking.  Put cooled pasta in a large bowl or large platter and set aside.

2.       Whisk together oil and vinegar in a small bowl and toss with the pasta.  Add bell peppers, garlic, feta cheese,  and parsley to the pasta and toss.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve at room temperature.

yNow onto the roasted garlic potatoes.

ROASTED RED POTATOES

  INGREDIENTS

·         5 pounds  red potatoes

·         10 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

·         ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

·         1 tbsp Italian seasoning (could also use fresh parsley or thyme instead of seasoning)

·         Salt and pepper to taste

  DIRECTIONS

1.       Heat oven to 400 degree F. 

2.       Peel potatoes and cut into 8 parts.  Put potatoes into large bowl with olive oil and toss to coat all the potatoes.  Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.  Pour onto a sheet pan and roast in oven for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring potatoes around about every 10 minutes.  Potatoes are done when easily pierced with a fork.