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Saturday, January 19, 2013

Discovering the D. O. C. G. of Valdobbiadene

A sparkling wine from
Valdobbiadene
IT'S been a known fact among friends that I'm a big fan of the "Valdo" prosecco which--until recently--was Todd English Food Hall's house sparkler. The only other place I'd ever seen the wine was at De Lauren Wine & Liquors (332 8th Avenue, Chelsea) which also happens to have the best selection of sparkling wines I'd ever seen at a liquor store (they even have the hard to find Francis Coppola "Sofia" Moneterey County rosé). 

The other night, while at PJ Wine, I came across a bottle of Nino Franco "Rustico" prosecco. I turned the bottle around to examine its back label and discovered it came from the famed Valdobbiadene region of Italy. When I'd noticed the bold text illustrating its (guaranteed) origin, I was reminded of the time when at De Lauren Wine & Liquors I was confused by the two bottles of Valdo--one simply labeled Valdo and another labeled Valdobbiadene.

I soon figured out that Valdo is short for Valdobbiadene,
a D. O. C. wine region in northern Italy

Excited for a long lost taste of 'Valdo' wine, I headed towards the cashier with my bottle of Rustico prosecco in tow. After a short "apéritif hour" at home, I poured two flutefuls of Rustico for David and I to enjoy along with dinner. At first sip, I was surprised by how similar it tasted to the Valdo prosecco I'd enjoyed on so many occasions at Todd English Food Hall. Further research into the wines of Valdobbiadene led me to the reason.

Conegliano Valdobbiadene--a difficult
name for
Prosecco Superiore
ACCORDING to the site prosecco.it, Valdobbiadene's D. O . C. G. zone lies in Veneto... in the hilly strip in the province of Treviso. (I bet Treviso radicchio and these wines would be a match made in Italian heaven!) Prosecco.it also states: It is a wine you will be able to recognize "blind" once you have tasted it... And as confirmed, I did. Valdobbiadene's sparkling wines are often found to be light, with flowery notes (any "sweetness" seems not to come from fruit or sugary tastes). 

But will it be Valdo or Rustico or...

To rest assured when making your choice in selecting this "inimitable wine:" ... the prosecco produced in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene zone became Italy’s 44th D.O.C.G. wine. For Conegliano Valdobbiadene, the "G" of "guaranteed" is much more than a mere letter: it is the recognition for years of painstaking work in order to obtain excellent quality in every phase of production. The individually numbered, salmon-coloured Italian state seal gives every single bottle instant traceability. In this way the consumer can trace the story of that particular wine in a very precise way, because every stage of its production is subject to strict controls.

I'm adding these wines to my shortlist of favorite non-champagne sparklers!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Say It Ain't So

IT'S been a long time since I'd written anything so scathing about a restaurant... This time, instead of naming the place, I'll let you see if you can figure out the guilty establishment on your own.

bone marrow appetizer
--with no utensil small enough to fit into the bones

I was the first to arrive in my party of three and was instructed by the hostess-maître d' to let her know when the rest of my party had arrived. I was fine to have an apéritif from the bar while I waited. When my guests arrived a short while later, we decided to take our table straight away. The hostess-maître d' sat us in the rear room--which I'd never been in before--decorated with antique-looking (but surely not antique) plates on the walls.

It was a special night for my friends and I; we'd not seen each other since the end of last summer, so this was our belated Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year get-together. After asking our server a few questions about the menu, we'd placed our orders. I ordered a purée of cauliflower soup, as my starter, followed by one of the evening's specials: bone marrow appetizer. (I also requested one of their tasty buttermilk-chive biscuits.)

I'd noticed the first flaw in service when a soup spoon was placed in front of my friend, who was sitting adjacent to me, but none before myself. My soup arrived sans its spoon, but another arrived quickly enough. I soon realized that my guests did not order a(nother) starter (I placed an order for a seasonal pickle plate along with our drink orders) and began to hurriedly eat my soup so I wouldn't have to endure feasting while my guests had nothing to consume but their cocktails. (A good server would have asked my guests if they'd like to begin with a starter as well or asked me if I'd like both of my dishes to be brought out at the same time.)

Our next course began in synchronization with another flaw in the service--this time, from the runner. To my friend, Jessica, I'd recommended ordering the Tuscan kale salad--the best kale salad I'd ever eaten. With swift and efficient movement, our runner placed Jessica's salad before her along with two buttermilk-chive biscuits--one in front of Jessica and one before myself. A good three to four minutes had passed before anything else had arrived (and there was no mention along the lines of, The other entrées will be right out).

I didn't dare touch my biscuit (although I certainly was tempted to) since Johnathan, sitting across from me, was yet to receive so much as a scrap of fodder. When the remaining dishes finally arrived, mine aroused another protest within myself. Unbeknownst to me at the time of ordering, the bone marrow special comes with toast. Now do you think that our server might have asked if I'd like my biscuit along with my soup or along with the dish that already comes with another form of bread? He did not. And by the time I'd gotten around to eating the biscuit, it was--as I knew it would be--cold. I don't completely fault our server though. Because only a good server would have thought to have done this.

My final disappointment scoff of the evening came when we'd received our bill. For my dessert, I ordered a slice of rum cake. I do enjoy my rum cake heavily "watered"; so when I placed my order I also asked our server if he could bring along a "bit of rum on the side" (like they do at Benoit), so I could add more to the cake if needed. (Historically, I haven't been a fan of this restaurant's desserts, but I decided to give their rum cake a try.) I was somewhat surprised when a full serving of rum was brought to the table, in a rocks glass, but protest I did not. But when I'd noticed on the bill that the "side of rum" cost nearly twice as much as the price of my dessert, I nearly laughed. (Again, I don't hold this against our server... but a good server would simply have gone to the bartender and asked for a scant pourful--on the house.)

this is one way to do it. (at Benoit)
see that little pitcher on the side?

Our server still received his 20% gratuity, but I don't think I'll be patronizing this establishment again. Sad... because it was one of my favorite places in Chelsea.

Friday, January 4, 2013

The Nine Lives of my Lobster Stock Soup!

lobster shells→ lobster stock→ shrimp soup

WHEN David returned home from visiting his family over Christmas break, he returned home with what turned out to be quite a nasty cold! I decided to make him a soup using the saved lobster shells from the lobster dinner I'd made for us the previous week.

I added these beautifully-colored "confetti"
potatoes to the finished lobster stock

I searched online for lobster stock recipes and was faced with several--of which, some, included puréeing the lobster shells in a food processor. Seemed a bit too complex for me. Luckily, I found this very simple lobster stock recipe on the New York Times' website which required no ingredients that I didn't already have at home in my kitchen (although I did go out to purchase a fine sieve). 

I allowed the lobster stock to simmer for three hours before I began its seasoning and adding additional ingredients to make it into a soup. At the grocer's, I picked out nearly a dozen firm and fresh-smelling jumbo shrimp along with some tomatoes and potatoes. I boiled the shrimp--along with the potatoes--in plain water with a single bay leaf, a few sprigs of parsley and a few short turns of the pepper mill added. Once the water came to a boil, I removed the shrimp and began peeling them (after cooled under running water) while I let the potatoes cook for a bit longer. 

Next I added canned, peeled tomatoes to the stock (along with some of their juice) and roughly mashed most of them--right in the pot--with a potato masher. Removing the finished potatoes from their cooking liquid, I added them to the stock along with the peeled (but tail on) shrimp. I'd thought the soup was pretty good, but I didn't know it was to get better...

New Year's Eve seafood soup

After thinking about it... the soup could have been much improved if I had reduced the stock (and not overcooked the potatoes). For its second run, I decided to take the entire contents of the original soup (David and I had eaten all the shrimp) and purée it in a blender before reducing it. I also boiled a new batch of potatoes--paying careful attention to their cooking time--along with a new batch of shrimp. This time, the soup was much better! 

I was also able to retain the integrity of the potatoes
by not overcooking them

For the third and final run of the "seafood soup," I employed a can of escargots that I happened upon at Dean & Deluca in SoHo.

still cheaper than eating out

The soup--depleted of its shrimp, and reduced to its maximum--required no more than simply adding the escargots and heating (covered) on the stovetop.

et  voilà!

The seafood soup with escargots was absolutely delicious, and I found this variation to be the most French of all. I'd wondered how the broth seemed (even more) improved since I'd done nothing this time to alter it. Perhaps a day or two of simply "sitting" had something to do with it. Last night, David and I finished the lot of the soup when he mentioned it reminding him of a really good turtle soup. What a compliment for the cook! May I call myself, cook... yet?