Hello Spanish Table wine friends!

Did you get your jambalaya on this week? While I celebrated Fat Tuesday with Thai food, this past Sunday was spent stirring & stirring & stirring a roux for big pot of gumbo, along with smokey ham hock and collards greens, & cornbread of course! Delicious & inspiring as I have never been to New Orleans and have only occasionally experimented with Cajun & Creole cuisine.

After doing some foodie research today, I learned that there are some major differences between Creole & Cajun recipe origins, although the two food cultures have certainly influenced one another as they evolved. The Creoles tended to be of European descent & were wealthier planters who had access to more exotic spices, aspiring to more of a "grande cuisine." A blend of French, Spanish, Italian, & German descendents made their way to Louisiana where Haitian, African & Native American influence helped to reinvent traditional dishes whose ingredients were hard to come by in the new world. We can thank those Spanish chefs for the invention of jambalaya which of course evolved from what else but paella!

Cajuns were exiled French refugees from Nova Scotia who had no ties to aristocracy so the food on their table was based on what the wilderness provided them & lots of ingenuity. From their black caldrons came simpler one pot dishes that made the most of everything the sea & swamps had to offer. And so it seems a people that have been hard hit by tragedy throughout its history still manage to keep that "joie de vivre" alive, partially by the love invested in their rich culinary culture. Check out our cookbook section for the Los Islenos Cookbook, a treasury of old-time recipes from Spanish Louisiana that has nine different recipes for gumbo & two for fried alligator (!), as well as our large collection of Cuban cookbooks with Creole soul...

Salud! Catherine

CHEESE OF THE WEEK: back by popular request! SAN SIMON Galicia, the ancient land of the Celts, produces some of the best cow's milk cheeses in spain due to the lush green pastures of the northwest. like tetilla, san simon has a unique shape & a wonderfully creamy texture with the added benefit of two weeks of curing over birchwood fires. this chestnut-colored cheese melts beautifully & makes for a delightful dessert cheese.

ENCHILADO DE MARISCOS (SEAFOOD CREOLE) from Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban by Glenn Lingren, Raul Musibay, & Jorge Castillo One thing I really appreciate about a cookbook is a good sense of humor, & that's something these "Three Guys" have in common. Right off the bat, Raul explains that ordering this dish at Taco Bell will not result in a plate of enchiladas, but a bowl of fish stew! Since this week was Mardi Gras, you can prepare this Creole dish with or without the chorizo for those of you observing Lent. For those of us on a budget, you can also hold the lobster & scallops and go for all shrimp. Whatever you do, follow the advice of the Three Guys, "If we're not having fun in the kitchen, we're not doing anything in the kitchen!"

Serves 4 to 6

4 Tbs butter 4 Tbs olive oil 1 cup chopped green pepper 2 1/2 cups chopped white onion 1 cup chopped celery 4 cloves garlic, minced 6 medium ripe Roma tomatoes, peeled & chopped 2 tsp ground cumin 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup tomato juice 1 Tbs lemon juice 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 Spanish chorizo links, casings removed, diced Olive oil for sauteing

1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, & butterflied 4 lobster tails, shell on, chopped in quarters 1 lb scallops 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Melt the butter with the oil in a large sauce pan on medium heat. Add the green pepper, onion, & celery, & saute until the onion & celery are tender. Add the garlic & saute an additional 1 or 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cumin, wine, water, tomato juice, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low & simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile remove the casings from the chorizo & saute in a little olive oil until the oil turns orange. Remove the chorizo, keep the oil & saute the seafood in small batches (don't crowd the pan) until the shrimp are bright, lobster tail chinks are bright pink & the scallops are firm & white.

Keep the seafood warm until you have finished sautéing all of it. Add the seafood to the pan of vegetables & sauces. Stir gently, adjusting seasonings as necessary. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes only to meld the flavors, NO LONGER. You can add the cooked chorizo chunks to the dish, or just snack on them while you're cooking, as we always do! Remove from heat & sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

NEW & NOTABLE

Vilalba Arcs 2005, Terra Alta $8.99 Terra Alta is a region that is rising quickly with a reputation for terroir-driven Grenache-based wines from hardworking cooperatives, much like the province of Aragon where many of our best- selling bargains are from. A Hand Picked selection, you have the winemaking wisdom of importer Dan Kravitz at the helm of the blending process & his experience shines through with cooler Mediterranean fruits with a definite French influence. Black currants backed with spicy intensity & light licorice tannins comparable to sizably more expensive French Syrah's out there. Compliment Arc's fresh meatiness with some country pork ribs or grilled butifarra over white beans & picture yourself at a large wooden table in the rolling hills of Terra Alta...

Gouguenheim Syrah 2005, Mendoza ARG $9.99 We loved Gougenheim's Cabernet from the start, & apparently you did too since it's all sold out... So we took their Syrah for a spin & gave it the green light for great value & new world finesse. A sultry number, I smelled a little peaches (!) on the nose along with sweet cassis & a smoked vanilla finish. Extra-fragrant with candied marionberries & raspberries spread on toast, look not only to Australia but to this southern realm for outstanding Shiraz!

Casa Ferreirinha Esteva 2002, Douro PT $11.99 Casa Ferreirinha is best known for the iconic Barca Velha, the Vega Sicilia of Portugal. I didn't connect the dots immediately, but once I realized who produced this excellent inexpensive Douro wine it sure made a lot of sense why it's so delicious! Named after the aromatic the fragrant gum cistus bush (anyone? anyone?) which flourishes in the best viticultural areas of the Douro Valley, Esteva is a classic. Earthy cherries, floral rockrose, slightly musky with a clean style that's finished off with tangy cigarbox spices & mild tannins. Try this on for size with your next paella!

Castelo de Papa Godello 2005, Valdeorras $12.99 Galicia is full of fabulous Albarino, but until quite recently the grape Godello remained a guarded secret that stayed in Spain. Now we have four different Godello-based wines to offer & they are going to be the next word in Spanish whites. Papa is brought in by Ole Imports who are out to find new projects with a fervor of kids on an Easter egg hunt. This savory white has pineapple & apricot all around the nose with a zesty kick of tartness, but a slightly nutty richness--that's what I love about this grape! And as with anything from Galicia, this will love any fish you pull from the sea, and probably a chicken or two.

COLLECTOR'S CORNER

Sinols Garnatxa de L'Emporda Dolc Natural, Costa Brava $21.99 An exotic new dessert wine made with Catalan Grenache! "Amber-rimmed pink. Energetic and exotic on the nose, showing a wild array of red berry and spice qualities: raspberry, strawberry, fruitcake, molasses, cinnamon, smoky bacon and minerals. Pure and seemingly dry, with excellent lift to the exotic red fruit and smoky spice flavors. Impressively fresh and tangy on the finish, with superb penetration and length. Only 75 cases will be imported." -91 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Niepoort Vintage Port 2003 375 ml, $50.00 New half bottles from a favorite producer in fabulous half bottles! I tasted it, & it is "sexy" as they say... "Dark color. Intense aromas of blackberries, licorice and iodine. Full-bodied and lightly sweet, with wonderfully integrated tannins. Long and caressing, yet wonderfully structured. Sexy. Best after 2015." -95 points, Wine Spectator

Catherine Reynolds Seattle Wine Manager

The Spanish Table 1426 Western Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 (206)682-2827