Dinner Tonight
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
 Dan Scordato, owner of Vivace’s, has been in the restaurant business since the 1970’s, first with his family and now sole owner of his renown restaurant. With so many savory dishes on the menu, we asked Dan to choose a couple of his signature dishes and a wine or two to pair.
His first choice is the signature Seafood Soup for two, a tasty, mouthwatering stew of scallops, rock shrimp and salmon based in a red pepper-tomato broth (see our Recipe Book section at www.wineinquirer.com/category/recipes for his recipe.) Dan suggests that you pair this dish with the 2006 W Dreams Jermann Chardonnay.
The second dish is a hearty Osso Buco, veal shank simmered in a red wine sauce over risotto. For this dish, Dan suggests the Gaja Ca’Marcanda Promis, 2006.
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Tags: Vivace's
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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
No sooner does AJ’s (www.ajsfinefoods.com) wrap up their Seafood Extravaganza promotion than they roll out one of my favorites……………ALL steaks at one half the normal price. Reflecting the quality that they are, they go to bat for the lover of these outstanding cuts of beef, whether it be Prime or Choice. The promotion is on through Sunday, March 14th.
The wonderful thing about steaks is that they make themselves amenable to such a varied preparation. You can go with a simple salt and pepper mixture to accents such as garlic, lime, cilantro and if you want a bit more earthy character, thyme and red wine. Before I offer up a few local recipes, this is a good time to discuss the options in choosing and preparing your steak.
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Janos, steak
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Monday, February 22nd, 2010
AJ's recently completed a very successful Seafood Extravanza promotion. I would suggest that you stock up next time around.
One of my favorite fishes is Chilean Sea Bass. This is a full bodied fish, rich in oils, moist and smoothly flavorful. You can cook the fish on a skillet, on the grill or oven bake it. If you intend to cook the fish on the grill, I suggest that you wrap it in foil. Otherwise, some of the fish is likely to stick to the hot grill.
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Sauvignon Blanc, sea bass, Semillon
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
If you're searching for an excuse not to cook tonight, take a trip over to Jax Kitchen on N Oracle (www.jaxkitchen.com).....great food and wines to match. Jax blends the best in upscale cuisine in a relaxed, yet refined atmosphere. Jax, owned by Brian and Sandy Metzger, was voted number one in the 2008 and 2009 Tucson Culinary Festival Margarita contest and one the top five restaurants in Tucson for the 2009 Culinary awards by Tucson Lifestyle Magazine.
Brian suggests that you pair the lump Crab Cake appetizer accented with whipped avocado, citrus sea salt, heirloom cherry tomato and basil relish with the Teira Woods Vineyards 2009 Sonoma Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc. This California wine is priced at $8.50/glass or $32/bottle. For entrees, Brian suggests the Hanger Steak accompanied by a side of "the ultimate" mashed potato, garlicky broccolini and red wine jus. Try the Cabernet Sauvignon Baby Blue, Blue Rock Vineyards, Alexander Valley 2007. By the glass the wine is priced at $13.50 and $52/bottle.
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Tags: Jax Kitchen
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Sunday, February 7th, 2010
This is about as easy a Dinner Tonight as you can prepare. Pick up some Alaskan King Crab legs from any of the markets in town. Even Costco offers these far northern delights from time to time at a great price.
Some consumers, such as my wife, prefer the legs without the "knuckles," that ball of crab meat at the joint of the leg that attached to the the main body of the crab. For me....bring it on........the more crab meat the better. Just place the legs in a large pot, add a little water if you desire, cover and steam for about 15 minutes or until the crab meat is tender. From here, its up to you as to whether you wish a dipping sauce or go it alone. Often, the crabmeat is so sweet that you don't need a dip. There are almost an infinite array of dipping sauce choices: butter based, horseradish-chili, spicy salsa, creamy Dijon, blue cheese and on. We elected to keep it simple, folding in some finely chopped cilantro into melted butter. What a heavenly taste!!
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Tags: Alaskan Crab Legs, Chablis
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Saturday, January 30th, 2010
This northern Indian specialty curry dish is rich, savory yet mild. The curry sauce is creamy in texture and uses buttermilk but can be substituted with yogurt or cream. We placed the dish on a bed of sticky rice. The recipe is courtesy of the William Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking. The dish takes some time to prepare and then cook but it’s worth the wait.
Ingredients
• 1⁄4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) canola oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-inch (5-cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2-inch (5-cm) piece cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 11⁄2 cups (12 fl oz/375 ml) chicken broth
• 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) canned tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt
• 2 lb (1 kg) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips 1⁄2 inch (12 mm) wide
• 1⁄2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) buttermilk
• 1⁄2 cup (3 oz/90 g) roasted cashew nuts
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (fresh coriander)
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Tags: Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Viognier, William Sonoma
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Saturday, January 16th, 2010
Inspired by the movie Julia and Julia and my wife and I having resided for many years just a stone’s throw from Julia Child’s Cambridge home, Rosalee, ordered the original Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louise Bertholle and Simone Beck. The book, which used to be in a single large volume is now in a set of two. Armed with proper cookware and ingredients gathered, she set out on preparing Julia’s storied Boeuf Bourguignon. This is as authentic a French dish as you could prepare, a hearty beef stew in red wine with bacon, onions and mushrooms. Rather than recite the recipe here, it is very easy to resource it on line. Searching for Julia Child Boeuf Bourguigon will bring up several sites detailing the recipe.
As you might imagine, this is not one of those throw together, last minute dishes that I so often share in this segment. The preparation is a bit time consuming, requires careful attention and in all, from start to plate ready, takes about 4 and ½ hours time. Trust me when I tell you that the time and effort spent (by my wife) yielded an over the top, savory dish with beefy and bacon aromas that seemed to fill every nook and cranny of the house. This is a dish that’s made for our winter season and coupled with a roaring fire, sets the stage for a cozy evening at home. Best yet, Julia’s recipe is for six. With three at the table, the next serving for three (now freezer bound) will truly make a Dinner Tonight meal. So where did we go for a wine?
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Tags: Boeuf Bourguignon, Bordeaux, Chateau Haut Brion, Julia Child
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Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
While Dinner Tonight has, historically, focused upon relatively simple dinners with wines to pair for a single evening, we decided to take a slightly different approach this time around and offer an alternative dinner strategy made for a weekend or just a few days off. In some way, it fits into the popular term “staycation,” a stay at home vacation. We decided that our weekend dinner dishes and wines would focus upon Europe. Those of you who read the Wine and Food Pairing segment know that I love the concept of regionality when it comes to pairing wine with cuisine.
Saturday evening was a trip to France featuring AJ’s mussels in a white wine sauce followed by Coq au Vin and finished off with Poached Pears with Cream Fraiche Iced Cream. Both are recipes easy to find in any number of cook books but we elected to go with the recipes from the William Sonoma Essentials of French Cooking. They were easy to follow. Then came the “art” of pairing wines with each of the dishes.
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, William Sonoma
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Monday, December 14th, 2009
With Chanukah here, we (alright….my wife) cooked up an amazing dish volunteer to us from Doug Levy at Feast (www.eatatfeast.com). It is his recipe for Brisket. While the dish does take some work (it’s not the usual throw together at home dish), it was so flavorful and tender, that I had to share this with the readers. The great thing is that the frozen leftovers will qualify perfectly for the Dinner Tonight segment….just defrost, add some potatoes and root veggies and you have one heck of an impressive dinner. Here’s a direct link to the recipe from our Recipe Book: http://www.wineinquirer.com/2009/12/feast-on-chanukah-brisket-and-potato-latkes. I would pair this with your choice of a Chianti Classico, Shiraz(Syrah), or Zinfandel.
The second dish comes courtesy of Elle Wine Country Restaurant from owner Jeff Fuld (www.Ellerestaurant.com). Jeff recommends that you try their Salmon Duo appetizer, a house smoked salmon and house cured gravlax with red onions, fried capers and creamy goat cheese with crackers and crostini paired with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Brut from France. For the entrée, try the House Made Italian Sausage, Clams, Mussels, Shrimp and Bay Scallops simmered in tomato-fennel broth around soft polenta and pair with the Cambria “Julia’s Vineyard” Sta Maria Valley Pinot Noir, Ca 2007.
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