Posts Tagged ‘AJ’s Fine Foods’
Monday, January 3rd, 2011
I was on a food shopping mission at our local Safeway a couple of weeks back to gather up some goods for a dish that my wife was going to prepare, Italian pot roast, from the Williams Sonoma Italian Recipe Book (www.williamsonoma.com). They carry a great line of recipe books from nearly every corner of the cuisine world.
While at the market, I realized that I needed to pick up a few items to accent a salmon dish that I was preparing that evening for dinner. I had stored away a few pieces of wild salmon in the freezer from AJ’s (www.ajsfinefoods.com) and intended to baste the fish with a lemon and citrus sauce accented with finely chopped fresh dill. I figured that sautéed asparagus in a little olive oil, lemon juice and garlic would make a great side. However, I realized that I was missing a key ingredient, a nice crisp and grassy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to pair. These are easy to find at almost any market or wine retailer in town. As I grabbed a Kim Crawford bottle and began to head out (before I incurred any addition damage), I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes fixed on a wine bottle label that was very familiar to me. It was the Pio Cesare Barolo, the vintage a 2005.
We’ve enjoyed this wine in the past and in fact planned to pair it with the upcoming Italian pot roast. Cesare is a five generation estate producing outstanding Piedmont wines such as Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera and Dolcetto since the late 1800’s and is definitely worth the experience. But the shock didn’t end there for seated right next to Pio Cesare was a bottle of Tuscan Tignanello from famed vintner Antinori. These wines are made from mostly the Sangiovese grape blended with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The end result are wines that always full of fresh red and dark fruit, fine tannins and floral elements along with lovely spice. You just can’t go wrong with either of these wines. As curiosity pushed me a little further, I scanned the rest of the shelves for added gems and discovered sparkling wines from Feuillatte, Tattinger and others.
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Williams Sonoma Posted in Blog | Submit Your Comment »
Tuesday, December 28th, 2010
While it’s always a treat to experience a storied wine from a producer such as Guigal, Chapoutier, Antinori, Beaucastel or Beaurenard, to mention just a few, most of us can’t afford to open one of those gems daily (at least I can’t). So it’s always a treat for me when they offer an entry level wine that is truly an everyday treat. Fortunate for us, we have three of these in this edition.
Domaine de Janasse Cotes du Rhone-Villages Terre d’Argile, 2007:
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Chapoutier, Chateau Beaucastel, Cotes du Rhone, Domaine de Beaurenard, Domaine de la Janasse, Falanghina, Guigal Posted in Best Of The Best | Submit Your Comment »
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
While we have finally broken the back of late summer heat (it’s 45 degrees as I write this), my wife cooked up a dish recently that just begged for a Rose. It was homemade tomato soup and a melted cheese sandwich constructed with homemade brioche, a blend of Maytag blue cheese and Manchego and arugula. The pairing was perfect.
Henri de Lanzac Tavel Chateau de Segries, 2009:
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Brunello, Priorat, Riesling, Rose, Total Wines Posted in Best Of The Best | Submit Your Comment »
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
A while back, I stumbled across a dish that’s very easy to prepare and tastes as if it came out the chef’s oven……………It’s Baja chicken. I’ll post the recipe on our Recipe Book section as well.
I picked up a couple of lean chicken breasts from AJ’s (www.ajsfinefoods.com) . You can choose from your favorite food retailer but try choose a breast that has none of the rope like white tendons coursing through it. By the time you tease it out, the integrity of the meat has become overly dissected.
After washing the breast well and patting dry, I gently make a pouch in the middle of the breast. If the breast is too thin, the knife is likely to slice right through the chicken so try to pick a full one. I stuff a couple of teaspoons of cream cheese in the pouch and add some sliced Hatch New Mexico smoke roasted chilies. Make certain to remove the gritty stems. If you can’t find the Hatch chilies, any flavorful ones will do, although the smoked flavor is a definite plus. Fold, as best as you can, the edges of the chicken to close the pouch. Add a little salt and pepper on top of the breast and generously pour some cilantro Caesar dressing over the breast. If you can’t locate the dressing at your local market, AJ’s sells a homemade dressing/marinade.
I cook the dish covered at 425 for about 40 minutes, remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes. What emerges is a rich and creamy chicken dish accented with the smokiness and flavor of the Hatch chili. It reminds me a wine that’s rich and full bodied yet retaining a spine of acidity. Taking a lead from the dish’s flavor profile, I went with a Viognier but a Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Oregon or Alsatian Pinot Gris would work equally well.
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Tags: AJ, AJ's Fine Foods, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Viognier Posted in Fine Dining | Submit Your Comment »
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Bodegas Aalto Ribera del Duero, 2004:
Made entirely from the Tinto Fino grape, thought to be an older clone of the Tempranillo, this is a very well structured wine with muscle at the core from notes of bacon, leather and 15% alcohol, surrounded by beautifully smooth tannins which linger at the end. Distinct notes of blackberry, blueberry, plum and chocolate simply enrich the delight of the wine. While the wine was delicious now, it can easily be laid down and enjoyed from time to time over the next 5-10 years. You won’t find this in Tucson, but that shouldn’t stop you from searching elsewhere…..runs ~$60. Pair this wine with a Paella of chicken. Also works with perfection with rabbit. (If you want to go one better, think about the 2004 Aalto PS….a magnificent expression of deep dark berry, velvety smooth chocolate, spice and minerality with sweet tannins that glide into a long finish………….~$110 but gives you the best of what a Ribera del Duero can offer and a good decade still ahead of it).
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Barossa Valley, Malbec, Picpoul, Ribera del Duero Posted in Best Of The Best | Submit Your Comment »
Friday, June 18th, 2010
I have not been a big Merlot fan over the last several years, probably because so many tasted the same to me and the pricing was a bit overdone. Then recently, I enjoyed a couple of Italian Merlots that reacquainted me with how rich and multi-dimensional the varietal can be. With that in mind, I scoured the Tucson landscape for those that I felt were either top wines or good values for the money. Surprisedly, I came away with some worthy candidates and those were very reasonably priced.
One new addition to assist you. We are adding an asterisk * to those wines that are good quality for the $$.
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Merlot, Pastiche, Rumrunner, The New Beverage House, Total Wine Posted in Wine Finder Value Wine | Submit Your Comment »
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
AJ's Honey Lime Salmon Kabobs
1 to 1-½ lb. Alska salmon fillets or steaks, skinned and bones removed
½ cup vegetable oil
juice of one large lime
2 tsp. grated lime zest
2 tbsp. each honey and fresh chopped cilantro
1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
½ tsp. each salt and pepper
1 each red and green bell pepper, cut in 1-½ inch squares
12 large mushrooms
1 medium onion, cut in 1-½ inch chunks
1 zucchini, cut in ½ inch slices
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Salmon Posted in Recipes | Submit Your Comment »
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
AJ's Champagne Poached Alaskan Salmon
4 Alaska salmon steaks or fillets (6-8 oz. each), skin and bones removed
2 cups champagne
¼ cup fresh lime juice
4 slices red onion
1 tbsp. capers, optional
4 sprigs fresh tarragon
½ cup honey Dijon mustard
1-½tsp. fresh tarragon, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Salmon Posted in Recipes | Submit Your Comment »
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
We were in the mood for a hearty, slow cooked dinner last night, one of those dishes that fills the kitchen with savory, earthy aromas. My wife settled on chicken cacciatore. Once she uttered the words, my palate knew exactly where to go……….Chianti.
We picked up a whole 4 lb chicken from AJ’s and had them separate out the thigh, breast and legs. After cleaning off the pieces, she padded them dry and added just touch of olive oil followed by Chardonnay salt and pepper seasoning. To a large frying pan, she added lemon juice, garlic and thyme and a bit of butter over medium heat. When the mixture was hot, she added in the chicken, turning frequently until brown. The chicken was removed to a separate plate, leaving behind some chicken fat in the pan. She poured off most of the fat, leaving just a bit for sautéing a large yellow onion, thinly sliced. From there, she added in small portabello mushrooms (you can add as much as you like……..the more you add, the more “earthy” the dish becomes……we went with about a pound). After the mushrooms had softened a bit, she added in a standard 28 oz can of whole plum (Roma) tomatoes and a half to three quarters of a cup of chicken broth. She raised the heat to high bringing the mixture to a boil and deglazing the pan, scraping up the darkened brown bits at the bottom of the pan.
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Tags: AJ's Fine Foods, Chianti, Chicken Cacciatore, Total Wines Posted in Fine Dining | Submit Your Comment »
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