Battle of the tarts

It takes two

I have always been fascinated with the art of proper pairing of food and alcohol, and recently I have come across 2 very helpful online sources of sorting out the recurring ignorant confusion.

Of course you can find many books on the subject, but unless you have the time to read them, they may end up sitting on your coffee table and not help you solve your dinner's drink issues.

I think having such a book is essential, and an excellent such guide is "What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers" by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.

However, as I said, this is about the ease of browsing through this information quickly online.

I loved the two following websites: http://www.nataliemaclean.com/ and http://www.winedinetv.com/cheese-pairing.

Natalie Maclean

Natalie Maclean is a sommelier, wine judge, wine and food writer with a vast knowledge of wines and how to pair them. Her website is a source for all things wine. You can find wine reviews by price or grape, or food pairing, articles and recipes.

Natalie has created this very helpful Wine and Food Matcher application on her website that allows you to choose red or white and pair it with any food you may have in mind.

There is enough choice to let you play around and explore potential pairings and at the same time teaches you about the similarities of foods through their accompaniments.

This has even been made into an iPhone and now Blackberry application which you can download for $2.99 that will allow you to be a wine connesoir anywhere you are

I like to consider how to create combinations of foods in a dish, according to how they all fit with the wine of choice, or realize that a proposed combination might make a tasty dish, but when wine is added, it might come short and lose its interactivity of flavors.

WineDineTV

WineDineTV, another destination for wine information, wineries and makes, has also provided us with an application that pairs wines with food, but this one is specialized to cheeses. Personally I love wine and cheese but I am of the opinion that if you are to host a wine and cheese night, then you might as well do your homework and provide guests with an educated offering.

This website allows you to choose your beverage, between whites, reds, beer and spirits and their subcategories, making it easy to make a choice. With its simplicity and the basic feel it has, it refines your search enough, without limiting your choices.

To me, these websites are a starting point, a first step to exploring and reading up on what sparked your interest, and I hope you find them helpful enough.

LM

Craigie on Main

My friends took me to Craigie on Main, all the rave in Boston lately, for a most wonderful birthday dinner. Needless to say I Was Happy!!

Thinly sliced yellow-tail sashimi on avocado, with sweet red onion and shiso miso.


Duck two-ways, roasted and confit roulade
Fresh fruits with yodurt ice cream and peach soda foam.

Berries and shortbread

Corn bread with house made ice cream.

If you don't know Craigie on Main, and you love in Boston, shame on you.

Parsley Salmon and Asparagus

I love salmon. Love, love, love. When I was young and I hated eating any fish, salmon was the exception to the rule. I secretly adored it. Now, it no longer is a secret. The only problem with salmon is, it is heavy. Salmon is a very fatty fish and has to be cooked in smaller quantities, or else you will be really full and feel it sitting in your stomach.

It is because of this heaviness that you also have to give some thought on what you are serving it with. In my opinion, a light veggie mix that complements the fish, without overpowering it is best. My choice is asparagus and watercress salad, however you have a large choice of greens.

What i would try to avoid is legumes which may be excellent coupled with white fish, such as zucchini, but too much with the pink salmon.

There are many ways to season and cook the fish, put today I used parsley, lime and shallots.

Parsley has a strong aroma and flavor, but lime and shallots with some EVOO allow the parsley to blossom in your palate.

Ingredients
1/2 pound salmon fillet, skinned
1/2 cup parsley chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 shallot diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 lime juice
1 lime's zest
8-10 asparagus stalks




1. In a pan add all the ingredients except the salmon and asparagus and simmer for a minute

2. Place the salmon in the hot pan and let it cook on each side for 2-3 minutes

Rasberry-Coconut Smoothie

For breakfast I always have a fresh fruit smoothie. My favorite is raspberry, coconut.

I juice 1 cup fresh raspberries, 1 cup coconut juice and 1/2 cup water.

The best way to start my day.

LM

Purple Salad

I always prefer a home cooked meal at work, rather than restaurant/take out bought.

Though, it takes planning on your part, to pack enough food to not leave you hungry still, or be too heavy.

What I like to do, to make sure I strike this balance is prepare food and then serve it on a bed of spinach that will hep fill me up, while not changing the dish or adding to the calories. A great thing about salads is that you may use all the leftover veggies to create a new meal and avoid waste in your kitchen.

My Purple Salad is the prime example of an office lunch salad that is both healthy and filling.

As it happens, i had many sorts of veggies left over from, but each not enough to make a side on its own and here is the result.

1/2 cup quinoa

2 beets diced

2 ounces smoked salmon cut is thin slices or squares

chopped cooked asparagus

1/2 avocado

1 1/2 cup spinach

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon EVOO and a tablespoon balsamic vinegar

the juices from the vegetables are already enough flavor for the spinach and you don't need any more dressing

2. lay out the spinach on your plate and place the veg mix in the center

The quinoa and the salmon are sources of protein and fiber, so this 1 plate is packed with nutritious ingredients and fairly balanced.

Enjoy

LM

Frozen lemon mousse and lemon meringue topping

A few days ago my roommate Jaclyn and I watched the Martha Stewart video on how to make a frozen lemon mousse and I thought, "I absolutely have to make that!" Though I have to say, I very rarely make deserts and it was a challenge but I took a crack at it.

So, I went out and got the necessary ingredients:

Frozen Lemon Mousse
2 cups fresh lemon juice
8 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cup heavy cream

An all necessary sifter
A spring form (Martha Stewart's is the best!)

1. In a pot, over medium heat I mixed the lemon juice, butter, eggs and sugar. I mixed and stirred till the mixture boiled and bubbles appeared. (approx. 10 mins)

2. I put the mixture in a glass bowl (through the sifter), sitting in a bowl that is itself sitting on ice water, cover with a plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours

(now you have successfully prepared lemon curd, which you can use as jam spread or on top of melted cheese, or goat cheese...but I digress)

3. In a bowl whisk the heavy cream till it becomes creamy and sticks to your whisk instead of falling off of it. Once it reaches this consistency you can add the lemon curd and fold over until the curd and cream are fully combined and there is no white or yellow.

This new mixture can be placed in the springform and left in the freezer for at least 4 hours, but I left it in for 6 to be sure...



Candied Lemon Zest

1. Peel a lemon and cut very thin stripes of the zest, making sure you only have the yellow part and not the white spongy pat of the lemon peel. Put the strips in a bowl and add boiling water, leave for 20 minutes and drain.

2. In a small pot over medium heat add 3/4 cup water, 1 1/2 cup sugar and the lemon peels. Cook for 12 minutes and then cover the pot and leave for at least 6-8 hours.


Now, Martha's way of serving this mousse is on a layer of lemon curd and syrup topped with whipped creme fresh and candied lemon zest. However, since this desert was following fish and I am not a huge fan of creme fraiche I made my own variation of toppings.

The thing is I love lemon pie, it is a real family favorite, and I wanted to get close to a lemon pie, but with a frozen base an dno pie crust. One of the great variations of the lemon pie is the meringue on top of it.

Lemon Meringue Topping
Since I had the 8 egg whites left from the eggs used for the lemon curd, I added 3/4 cup of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of sugar and beat the eggs.

I then poured the meringue in a foil pie pan and put in the oven (preheat at 250F) and let it bake for 35 minutes.


Once the mousse has been frozen and taken out of the freezer I topped it with the lemon meringue and dipped my knife in warm water to cut through the mousse easily and served with the candied lemon zest.

It took a while, but the result is most rewarding.

LM