Hello Spanish Table wine friends!
Every year I look forward to the crop of new cookbooks that arrive... Their shiny dust jackets & the excitement of exploring a year's worth of recipes laid out in a bountiful road map make cookbooks one of my favorite holiday gift items. If well written, they are almost guaranteed to live on my nightstand for all of January & take most of my attention on Christmas morning as I peruse their unsplattered pages.
As wine & food do go hand in hand, please do allow me to give a preview of what every cookbook hound will be lusting for this season... A fun departure from the norm for me, & hopefully fun reading for you. Scroll southward if you want to cut to this week's wine picks!
Best, Catherine
TOP FIVE RECOMMENDED COOKBOOKS
The Spanish Table Cookbook by Steve Winston $19.99 -- For every fan of the Spanish Table, this is a collection of ten years worth of stories, recipes & gourmet wisdom all gathered by our intrepid head honcho. Steve writes like he cooks, in conversational bursts of enthusiasm & knowledge for every dish, & most effectively pulls you into the tale he's weaving. Sanlucar French Fries transport you to an afternoon in sherry country, or travel onto the island of Madeira to eat Espeta (Madeiran beef skewers) with a plate of cheese, yogurt & honey. What's truly unique about this cookbook is the way its designed to teach you to think like a Spanish cook, to use what's close at hand & to bring out maximum flavor from a few well-selected ingredients. Steve hands you the keys to throwing a Spanish wine tasting complete with menu suggestions, or seducing your sweetie with an Iberian Valentine's Day dinner & fado music to swoon by... Autographed first editions make a super gift with a paella pan, yellow mortar, cataplana or basic ingredients to stock a gourmet's pantry.
The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen $22.95 -- This is eye candy for cookbook addicts. Von Bremzen's book designers have taken the appeal of Rennie Mackintosh font (which I love) & loaded it up with sidebars of quirky stories like Ferran Adrian Goes to the Supermarket & colorful shots of Spain's cultural landscape, blessedly in paperback despite its fall release. Sure there's basic recipes for Gypsy Pork Stew in the tradition of cocina pobre, but clearly it's the authors repartee with the new wave of chefs that flavors her most tantalizing recipes such as Wild Mushroom Revuelto in an Egg Carton, Roasted Squash Soup with Saffron Ice Cream & Rose Water Gelee with Yogurt & Beet Granita. The author bravely admits that she was trepidacious in serving company some of these wacky combinations but assures you that your guests will give you rave reviews. The best part is she makes it all look fun & do- able and most importantly--enticingly edible! Keeping the home cook in mind, there's no chemistry equipment required to pull off these dishes...
The Food of Northern Spain: Recipes from the Gastronomic Heartland of Spain by Jenny Chandler $35.00 -- Not many people plan travel itineraries around the northern provinces of Spain which are often left unexplored in favor of this sunny climes of the south, but here are 150 delicious examples of why you should! I was immediately enchanted with the new collection of recipes which give an insightful glimpse into the cuisine of Catalunya, the Basque country, Asturias & beautiful Galicia. Terroir plays a major role in the cooking of Spain & there is a timeless quality that has emerged out of the isolation in these areas, a common thread throughout these remote outposts that makes their food utterly refreshing. Maritime culture plays a heavy role to the northwest while to the east, cultural borders blend with a history entwined with the hearths of neighboring France. Discover Corn Cakes with Cabrales Blue Cheese & Honey once a staple in Asturias before the advent of wheat bread or Fillet of Dover Sole with Artichokes, Curly Endive & Nora Pepper Broth from the Mediterranean mecca of Costa Brava. Charming as the regions themselves, this is an artful ode to mountain & sea.
Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America by Jose Andres $35.00 -- A picture is worth a thousand words, or so it seems with Andres' visually theatrical new cookbook. With deceptively simple titles such as Spring Leeks with Mushrooms, one must read between the molecules to achieve the architectural beauty of many of these dishes. The stark simplistic quality of morels, chive blossoms & curiously non-conformist leek sections form an impressionist painting that is the Andres aesthetic. Visually, I felt there to be a kinship with masters chefs of Japan in that there is a zen-like quietness in his creations, visual energy apparent on the plate, & a reverance for nature and seasons hanging in the balance. Check out his new design on Chanterelle Soup with Idiazabal Cheese from the famous El Dorado Petit of Barcelona.
The Cuisines of Spain: Exploring Regional Home Cooking by Teresa Barrencha $40.00 -- Teresa Barrencha was awarded the National Gastronomy Prize for her previous book, The Basque Table, while this time she tackles the whole of Spain in a glorious new hardback. The first quarter might well qualify this 337 pg tome as a coffee table book with gorgeous photos & an intellectual's eye on the gastronomic history of Spain tackled region by region, but the recipes will soon have you in the kitchen! Although now living in Madrid, Barrencha has strong ties with her nation's more rural heartland and her recipes are entrenched with the simple beauty of a still life. A treasury of classics such as Filet Mignon with Cabrales Sauce from the cow country of Asturias, Pumpkin Chestnut Rice with Vegetables & Pork from the rice-growing region of Valencia, and Piquillo Pepper Flan with Hake & Shrimp from the culinary acumen of Rioja.
Best,
Catherine
AMY’S CHORIZO BREAD PUDDING from The Spanish Table Cookbook by Steve Winston
"At their Seattle restaurant Eva, The Spanish Table’s ex-wine manager, James Hondros, and his wife, Amy, do a version of Migas elevating it to Chorizo Bread Pudding by adding eggs, butter and cream which they serve with Amontillado Sherry Braised Rabbit. When asked if he has favorite recipes from the meals he ate during his childhood summers on visits to his ancestral mountain village in Greece, James likes to grumble that, “All little old ladies in black are not born cooks.” This is a country dish completely citified but it works so well it has been on the menu since the day Eva opened." --Steve Winston l Loaf of crusty bread, cut into cubes 2 cups Cream (you could use half milk) 3 Eggs 2 tablespoons Butter 1 Medium yellow onion, diced ¼ pound Semi-cured Chorizo, diced ½ teaspoon Salt ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Preheat Oven to 350º. Butter a casserole dish.
In a sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat. Sauté the onion, but do not brown. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and cream. Add the bread and toss to coat. When the onion softens, add the chorizo and toss. Stir the onions and chorizo into the bread and cream mixture. Add salt and pepper. Pour into the prepared casserole and bake until custard is set and the top is slightly brown
NEW & NOTABLE:
WHITES Oro de Castilla Verdejo 2004, Rueda $11.99
It's hard to find a bad wine from Rueda, what with their bargain pricing & snappy attitude. When a customer says that they want a wine that's fresh & crisp, I think Verdejo. Oro de Castilla has been my favorite new white from the region from the moment I tasted it. Why? It is a textbook example of what makes this region so great--lean focused citrus fruit with a leaning toward a little peach & banana. Rich & oily at the onset but crisp at the finish with a tingly taste that electrifies your palate. I'm hooked! Poured by the glass at Andaluca...
Don Olegario Albarino 2004, Rias Baixas $19.99
Albarino's are my kind of winter white, or as I often say, white wines for red wine drinkers. That's because they are so full of body & fragrance with a lovely acidity that makes them a star at the dinner table or an elegant charmer with seafood hors d'oeuvres. The 2004 vintage is producing some dazzlingly bright Albarino's & Don Olegario greets your senses with pomelo zest & a suggestion of herbal seagrasses. Lively with mineral notes, there's a tropical dash of banana & lots of citrus meringue lift with a salty finish of the surf. Seduce your holiday guests with a glass of Albarino & Canapes of Lobster & Allioli from Little Foods of the Mediterranean by Clifford A. Wright.
REDS
Ramos-Pinto Adriano Estate Bottled Red 2003, Douro $10.99
A tribute to Ramos-Pinto's founder, Adriano carries the artistic spirit of its namesake. Ramos-Pinto is probably one of the most recognized brands of port thanks to Adriano's extensive art collection & this new table wine bears their signature logo--cupid connecting two dandies with lips pursed to share a kiss of port. Well, enough about the label already! The grapes are the four classic varietals of the Douro & as stated all estate-grown as well as foot-trodden in the ancient way. A bowlful of berry fruit on the nose with succulent plums & daring spices. Supple & very accessible, this is a great introduction to Portuguese wine that would go with everything from sausage & mushroom pizza to Azorean beef stew.
DESSERT
Dow Colheita 1982 Tawny Port $58.00
Mmmm... This is a curl-up by the fireplace wine, as warm as a flannel robe & a pair of fleece slippers. Nutmeg, buttery toffee & mulling spices and a citrusy zing that will make your season bright. W hat feels especially special about this single-vintage tawny port is the great mouthfeel & a rich texture that sets it apart in its class. Treat yourself to a sip of this with a good Sunday afternoon game of Scrabble.
COLLECTOR'S CORNER
Valsacro Cosecha 2001, Rioja $38.00
I am so excited to have this wine here! On my very first wine trip to Spain through the Spanish Table, we toured Bodegas Valsacro, a family winery at the forefront of modernization. As we watched the winemaker extract barrel samples for us, we spit (at least some of us) our samples directly onto the floor. One of the wines was Valsacro Dioro, a wine that we were told had already been given an outrageous score of 96 pts by one Mr. Parker who had tasted it before release. The other was Valsacro 2001 which I personally preferred & wrote a big WOW! in my tasting notes. So here are my notes verbatim: tremendous nose, raspberry, tobacco, rich, sweet fruits, glycerin, vanilla, smooth & round, chewy. Parker advises to drink 2006-2015. From one of the most impressive wineries in Rioja & a stellar vintage.
Catherine Reynolds Seattle Wine Manager
The Spanish Table 1427 Western Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 (206)682-2827