Monthly Archives: April 2009
Roasted Chicken, Couscous and Abarbanel Beaujolais Villages, Red Fern Cabernet Sauvignon and Red Fern Syrah
This past week we made a bowl of lovely couscous by steaming it over a pot of chicken soup, along with some really nice lemon roasted chicken. The couscous is one of the best I have ever made. Normally I take a box of Niles East Plain Couscous and place it in steam basket above a boiling pot of chicken soup. On an aside, I never imagined I could actually place the couscous in this 
steamer insert. The holes on this thing look so big and the couscous kernels are so small, I thought they would all fall though. But the trick is to wet the holes of the steamer so that the couscous sticks to it, until it cooks fully. Also, as it cooks it puffs up and the next trick is to move the couscous in the steamer around so that you see the holes of the steamer. This allows the steam to move around the steamer insert and create an almost convection like atmosphere in the steamer.
Anyway, this time the pot was so full with soup, that when we placed the insert into the pot, soup leaked into the insert itself. I decided what the heck, I poured the couscous into the insert and sure enough 15 minutes later, the couscous was done. It was by the far the very best couscous I ever made, fluffy and flavored perfectly. The soup was equally enjoyable and the lemon/herb roasted chicken that my wife prepared to accompany the couscous was quite enjoyable as well. I guess experimenting every so often is not so bad.
To pair with the chicken and couscous I looked for a nice light bottle of wine and found a Beaujolais that would go nicely with dinner. A friend swung by before Sabbath started and brought the two Red Fern bottles over to taste, so the notes are included below as well.
The wine notes follow below:
2007 Abarbanel Beaujolais Villages – Score: B
The nose on this light burgundy/ruby colored wine is filled with strong dirt, mineral, and earth notes, along with strawberry, cherry, tarragon and spice. The mouth on this light to medium bodied wine is almost sweet with cherry and strawberry. The mid palate is acidic and bright with slight coffee flavors. The medium long finish is spicy with slight acidity. I highly recommend that you drink up as soon as possible and that once you open the bottle it should be drunk without waiting for it to air out.
2005 Red Fern Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: B+
The nose on this dark garnet colored wine is really nice with cranberry, plum, blackberry, sweet oak, and anise. The mouth of this full bodied wine is mouth coating with soft tannins, plum, cranberry, and cassis. The wine flows into a mid palate of strong acidity, oak, and coffee. The finish is long with more acid, wood, black fruit, and dark chocolate.
2005 Red Fern Syrah – Score: B – B+
The nose on this dark garnet wine colored wine was the best feature of the wine by far, with strong blackberry, cassis, and cherry, oak, and herbs. The mouth was way out of whack, which was a real shame — the acid was not commensurate with the wine’s body and structure. Still, the mouth starts with blackberry and cassis. The mouth flows into a mid palate of way too much acidity and tannin. The finish is average long with more acid and hints of leather and chocolate. I hope this wine settles down to reveal the fruit that lies behind the acid and tannin firewall. Until then, I would say your money is better spent on other Kosher Syrah options.
Baked Gefilte Fish Loaf, Sweet and Sour Brisket, Roasted Root Vegetables, Tzora Cabernet Sauvignon Givat haChalukim, Yarden Merlot, Four Gates Merlot, Yarden Ortal Vineyard Merlot, Galil Mountain Winery Merlot
This past weekend saw us hosting one of our epic Friday night dinners. We had friends and family over and I was really looking forward to tasting the Ortal Merlot, the best Merlot made in Israel by far. We have had it a few times, but not for a couple of years now. We purposely made a triple baked fish, brisket. and roasted vegetables on Wednesday to serve at both meals, and that worked out quite nicely, go there to see the recipes.
The night was supposedly meant to be Merlot night, but when I looked into the cellar, I did not have that much Merlot. So I started with a 2005 Four Gates Merlot M.S.C. (that Benyamin brought over and still available for purchase), and threw in a Cab that I have been holding for too long, and finished with some not so spectacular Merlot bottles. The 2005 Tzora Givat Hachalukim Cabernet was awesome, and one I brought in by hand a few years ago from Israel. Well worth the effort, and one that is not available here – though the 2006 is available and really yummy.
Tzora is one of those wineries that truly appreciate terroir and a winery that is helping to define a flavor to Israeli wines. Major kudos to them, especially after the passing of Ronnie James, the founder of the winery. The first two bottles we had were really great and we thought that we were going to have one of those magical wine evenings. That all came to a screaming halt when we had the two Yarden Merlot(s), which is a real shame. I had been looking forward to tasting them and as you will see, they did not live up to the billing. I can only hope that the Ortal merlot (of which I have a few more), is not dead in my cellar.
The meal was wonderful, and even better was the chance to catch up with my family after the meal, really quite nice. The wine notes follow below, in the order they were drank:
2005 Four Gates Merlot M.S.C. – Score: A-
The nose on this almost black colored wine is packed with blackberry, cherry, plum, eucalyptus, and oak. The nose and body have a fair amount of oak, more than I remembered before, I guess the wine is in a phase where the oak is showing a bit more right now. The fruit is still very forward on this massive and brooding full bodied wine. The mouth starts with more blackberry and raspberry. It flows into a complex mid palate layered with oak, acid, tight tannins, and a nice amount of coffee. The finish is long and luxurious with more black fruit, balancing acidity, and a dollop of espresso.
2005 Tzora Givat Hachalukim Cabernet Sauvignon - Score: A-
This was a fun bottle of Cabernet. The nose on this garnet colored wine is popping with cassis, plum, blackberry, raspberry, oak, and chocolate. The mouth on this full bodied wine is velvety with tight tannins, cassis, plum, and raspberry. The mid palate is popping with acidity, tannin, and oak. It flows into a long, satisfying, and spicy finish with more black fruit, oak, and chocolate.
2003 Yarden Merlot – Score: B
The nose on this garnet to black colored wine, was fresh with cherry, blackberry, and cassis. The mouth on this full bodied wine was over ripe and almost oxidized, much like the Yarden Ortal we had the same night. The wine’s full bodied structure was able to support the oak but was overpowered by the overripe/oxidized fruit. The finish was long with fruit melding nicely with vanilla and herbs.
2001 Yarden Ortal Vineyard Merlot – Score: B+
This wine is meant to be a blockbuster, but something was wrong this night. The wine tasted almost off/oxidized or maybe extra fruity. Either way, it was not a hit. The nose on this wine was absolutely awesome, with big spicy oak, super jammy blackberry, plum, and chocolate. But once we tasted the wine all bets were off, which is a real shame, because it was a huge bodied wine with blackberry and cassis, along with a luscious mouth feel, that was totally thrown off kilter by the over jammy and/or oxidized flavors. The mouth was complex with layers of fruit that flowed into a tannic and acidic core. The finish was pure heaven with chocolate, oak, and tobacco. Real shame.
2005 Galil Mountain Winery Merlot – Score: B+
Nice wine indeed, rich and satisfying, while keeping itself in balance and check, a nice showing. The nose of this black colored wine is screaming with cranberry, raspberry, green pepper, and herbs. The mouth of this full bodied wine is velvety with raspberry and cranberry. The mid palate is bright with complex layers of fruit, acidity and terroir. The finish is long with more fruit, acidity, and herbs. Read the rest of this entry
Baked Gefilte Fish Loaf, Sweet and Sour Brisket, Roasted Root Vegetables, Castello di Cesare Bianco Lazio Toscana, Chateau Graveyron-Carrere Bordeaux, Galil Cabernet, Borgo Reale Chianti Classico, Kadesh Barnea Gilad, Tierra Salvaje Chardonnay
The first night of Passover found us with friends and we had the usual four cups of wine ritual, that makes Passover a wonderful precursor for Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings 
The wines are listed below in the order that they were drunk, also we had quite a few folks, so please do not think I actually need to attend some AA meetings.
Once the first two cups were drunk we started in on the Matzoh (we only use shemurah matzoh), Maror (our custom is to use endives, because they are so easy to clean), and then the meal. Mind you I am really happy with how the meal came out. We started with hard boiled eggs with salt water poured over it. There are many people who are starting to make this simple dish Haute Cuisine, but that is so broken. The reason for the boiled egg is to remind us of the temple’s destruction and how we used to have a Passover Sacrifice, which is oxymoronic.
The meal started with a new dish for us and a major hit on the table – Baked Gefilte Fish Loaf. A friend of ours was kind enough to share the recipe, and I hope she does not mind me sharing it with all of you. It is crazy simple to boot!
Herb Encrusted baked Fish Loaf Recipe
1 loaf of Gefilte Fish
1 onion slices into thin rings
3-4 tsp of a mixture of any Italian Herbs you want (we used Oregano, Parsley, Thyme, and Savory)
2 tbsp of oil
Garlic Powder, Paprika, and Black Pepper
Mix the spices and oil in a bowl and drop the sliced onions into the herb mixture and mix around to coat the onions well. Next drop the loaf into a baking pan and coat it with the garlic, paprika, and pepper. Then drop the onions on top and cook covered for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Then flip the loaf, remove cover and bake until the pan is dry and onions are crispy.
We made three loafs at a time, by simply tripling the recipe and using a large baking pan. The fish was a hit as were the onions. The thing that was awesome was that the fish was permeated with a really cool herb and garlic flavor, not just flavored on top – really cool. We of course served it cold with a nice cold eggplant salad. We make our own, but it is available in small plastic containers at the supermarket as well.
The fish and eggplant went well with the Castello di Cesare and the Tierra Salvaje Chardonnay. After the fish appetizer, we moved on to the main course of Sweet and Sour Brisket and roasted root vegetables. I have described it a few times before, but put simply I braise a whole brisket and ONLY a whole brisket. I have no idea how anyone can braise any other version of a brisket, really. Without the top layer of fat to keep the meat moist, it would turn into shoe leather, which I have been forced to eat from time to time.
My World Famous Whole Brisket Recipe
10 white onions sliced thinly and browned in batches
1 10 or more pound whole brisket
1 can of whole berry cranberry
1 cup of ketchup
20 or more garlic cloves
1 bottle of a nice Cabernet or full bodied Merlot
So Anyway, place the browned onions in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Then take a whole brisket and rub it with garlic powder, black pepper, and tons of paprika on both sides. Next take the cloves and puncture the top of the meat (fat side up) and place a clove in each whole – make sure to NOT puncture the meat all the way through. Finally, place the meat fat side up into the roasting pan, and pour the cranberry and ketchup mixture on the meat and then pour the bottle over the mixture. The liquid should NOT cover more than half of the meat – if it does stop and add no more liquid of any kind. I need to stress this, as the meat exudes tons of liquid and the fat melts on top of that. Anymore and you will have a mess and worse a boiled chunk of meat, which is NOT what is meant by braising meat. Finally roast the meat for 4 or so hours. After it finishes cooking, let it cool over night and then slice it the next day and rebraise before serving for at least another two hours.
The roasted vegetables were pretty simple; toss whatever vegetables you want to roast in a deep pan with oil, garlic, paprika, and cumin. Roast until just puncture soft by a fork.
The wine notes follow below:
2001 Four Gates Merlot M.S.C. - Score: A
The color of this wine is a beautiful deep garnet. The nose on this wine has strong aromas of blackberry, dark plum, cranberry, eucalyptus, and oak. The mouth on this full bodied wine is layered and complex. The mouth is full with blackberry, plum, and raspberry and then layers in mint. The mid palate adds core acidity, eucalyptus and lovely integrated tannins. The finish is long and satisfying with black fruit, chocolate, and vanilla. A wonderful wine – it is at its peak if not a bit over the other side – drink up!!
2005 Kadesh Barnea Gilad (Undisclosed mixture of Merlot/Petit Verdot/Syrah) – Score: B+
The nose on this garnet-brown colored classic Cote’ de Rhone wine blend, is heavy in earth, cranberry, cassis, and oak. The mouth on this balanced medium to full bodied wine follows the nose with cranberry, cassis, and earth. The mid palate is jammy with red fruit, acidity, and nice oak. The finish is smooth, balanced, and long with red fruit and oak. The clear winner of the night, and just as good as when I tasted it in NY.
2002 Chateau Graveyron-Carrere Bordeaux – Score: B
The nose on this ruby/light garnet colored wine was the best part of this wine, with pencil shavings, blackberry, mineral, and oak. The mouth on this astringent medium bodied wine was unbalanced and really not there. The fruit was there, but overpowered by the mineral and musty French flavors. The mid palate had a nice acid core, but the finish was what threw the wine into a tizzy. It needed a ton of air, and even after all that, it was the least appreciated bottle of the night.
2007 Galil Mountain Winery Cabernet – Score: B
The nose on this dark ruby colored wine was also the best feature of this wine, it had lovely notes of blackberry, raspberry, and spice. The mouth on this medium bodies wine was also off and astringent. It may have been the bottle, or the fact that it was shipped to me recently. I will be taste wine again in the future and will repost. The fruit did show, but was overpowered by the acidity and astringency.
2007 Castello di Cesare Bianco Lazio Toscana – Score: B
The nose on this straw colored wine is super crisp with citrus, apple, peach, and lychee. The mouth on this light bodied wine is extra dry, with citrus and green flavors. The mouth is not as crisp and sharp as the nose is and is a letdown, almost flat. The mid palate is citrus with a nice but not so long finish. A bit brighter and fresher than what we tasted in NY.
2008 Tierra Salvaje Chardonnay Estate Bottled – Score: B+
This wine is controversial to say the least. Many people on the table hated it while I really liked it. This is not a democracy; it is more like a benevolent dictatorship. Still, it is important to tell readers that many hated this wine, and that it may not ring true with you. So on to the notes:
The nose on this brilliant golden colored wine with green halos is almost sweet with clear vegetal leanings, bright acidity, spice, green apples, pear, and lychee. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is not sweet at all; rather it is almost bone dry, which is funny given its sweet nose. The mouth is semi rich with green apples, flowers, and dry tea flavors. The mid palate is acidic and dry. The finish is medium long with more apples and nice acidity. This is not a big or complex wine, but a nice dry change of pace and a quite nice quaffing wine, especially given its dirt cheap price.
2007 Borgo Reale Chianti Classico Vespertino – Score: B+
I must start by stating that this wine needs air like Frankenstein needs a new marketing agent! It was the second worst bottle of the night, but I truly felt all it needed was air. Sure enough 24 HOURS later, it was really yummy and tasty. The wine had opened and now the ruby colored wine has a nose filled with cherry, raspberry, and cranberry, along with a nice dollop of chocolate. The mouth of this medium bodied wine follows the nose with more of the same fruit, in a soft mouth that you feel throughout. The mid palate is still bright with acidity, and the finish is long with more bright fruit and chocolate. A really nice showing, it just needs a TON of air or time.
