What's Cooking?

[Northern Light]

Tonight's Dinner:

Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper, crusted Pork Tenderloin, pan-seared, then oven-roasted, and fanned out alongside homemade chicken stock braised Basmati rice and steamed Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper; all coated in a pan sauce
of White Wine, Dijon and Dill, (w/garlic, shallot, and caper), reduced and finished w/butter and cream.

 

[Northern Light]

I was in the supermarket today..........and I saw fiddleheads......which told me, it was time for my favourite spring pasta dish.

Fresh Fettuccine with a sauce of morel mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, onion, garlic, homemade chicken stock, fresh thyme, white wine, dijon and a hint of Calabrian chili; made creamy with just a hint of butter and parm to finish; garnished w/fresh parsley and chive.

 

[Jonny5]

Pork shoulder roasts were on sale at Metro for $3/pound.
I cooked it in the oven at 200 degrees overnight, and just took it out now, so about twelve hours until it finally got up to 170 degrees per the thermometre. The meat just falls apart.

But it's going in the fridge now until tomorrow evening when it will be picked apart for sandwiches for some friends coming to watch the Leafs game.
That big piece of skin skin will go back in the oven first under the broiler for a few minutes to get nice and extra crispy. The fat in the pan will cook up some potatoes and onions.

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

Discovered a few long lost cornish hens in the freezer that were taking up too much space. Seasoned them with thyme, oregano, salt and black pepper and into the roasting pan they went along with squash, carrots and sweet potato.

 

[Northern Light]

A variation of an NYT soup recipe I thought was intriguing...

Some folks aren't keen on the very green aesthetic, but I'm here to tell ya, it was delicious.

The original recipe off which I riffed is here: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024184-asparagus-spinach-and-leek-soup

My only major change was to remove the Asparagus. I like asparagus, but two things weighed on me about its inclusion, in reading some of the comments, I found that some thought the asparagus got lost in all the strong flavours and was a bit of a waste in that regard.

The other is that I tend to prefer the thin asparagus, and what I found in the days leading up to this recipe was mostly thicker and woodier stock.

So I omitted that, as I like spice, I did increase the red chili flakes, and I found it needed a bit 'rounding' and added some cumin for that.

On balance, you're looking at Leek, Zucchini, Fennel and Baby Spinach soup, w/garlic, veg. stock, chilis, cumin, fresh parsley, mint, and cilantro; pureed, and fresh Fennel Frawn for garnish.

 

[Northern Light]

Fresh Linguine w/homemade pesto (Green Onion, Garlic, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice, Reggiano (the good Parm); olive oil, flat-leaf parsley and walnuts) with a few Calabrian Chilis for good measure and some fresh parsley as garnish.

 

[Northern Light]

A quick brunch shot from the other day, mostly to showcase the side salad on the plate, the leaves and flowers of which came from my balcony garden:

Bacon, a hash of Potato Rosti (shredded potato) crisped in clarified butter, a side salad of red oak leaf lettuce, radicchio castelfranco, english cucumber, grape tomato, red onion and pansie, tossed in a White Balsamic vinaigrette.

Greens and Pansies are homegrown (and yes, Pansies are edible).

Garden pics in their own thread.

 

[Northern Light]

Classic osso buco with risotto alla milanese tonight (the bone fell off). Sounds fancy, but veal shank slices, if you can find them, are about $4 per person. When Maisie has them, I buy some immediately. But it does take at least a couple of hours to cook. The lavish part was the Amarone! View attachment 485141

Looks exquisite; and I love a good Amarone; however, at prices typically starting in the mid 40s per bottle and going a lot higher, I'm not a buyer very often. At that price
I don't want a good wine that might be an Amarone; I want a great wine; and where the typicity of the varietal sings.

May I ask which one you picked up?

This one was on tasting at LCBO Summerhill yesterday:

Famiglia Farina Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2016

750 mL bottle

www.lcbo.com

It was genuinely good; but at $63.95.........no; $20 cheaper and I would have been a buyer, but good is not good enough at $60+

I tried one other wine while there, it was only $23.95 and it super impressed:

Spanish, Tempranillo, aged 24 months.

Great nose, fulsome palate, nice finish.

 

[Northern Light]

although I haven't tasted many Amarones.

For me, Amarone and a good Old Vine Zinfandel stand out for having a raisin note present in the finished product. You don't want to be overwhelming/cloying, but its quite distinct.

In the case of the former, from the wine making technique, in the case of the latter, a product of varietal type and age of vine as well as in-season pruning.

There's nothing wrong with an otherwise lush Amarone that lacks that characteristic, but you're paying for the technique called appassimento, where you dry the grapes after picking, until they have 40% less liquid and can take as long as 120 days (well on their way to being raisins!) ; that and a longer fermentation period. Those add real costs.

So I look for that in Ammarone, since that's what I'm paying for.....

If I just want a full-bodied mouth feel, there are other rich reds where one can get great product at a lower price point.

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

All this wine discussion before noon! Amarones are quite good but it’s a case of trying to find the great one that won’t hit the wallet too hard. Personally, if not Amarones I usually go for Primitivos and Appassimentos. My go favourites lately have been Eastern European and Greek wines. For a while now a friend and I would pick up random bottles from a certain region and just have it as a taste testing with a meal. It’s a fun way to discover and understand the cultural-regional preferences.

Georgian wines are a win for me.

 

[Northern Light]

All this wine discussion before noon!

Drinking them before noon, or even dinner is dubious; but talking about them is just fine! LOL

Amarones are quite good but it’s a case of trying to find the great one that won’t hit the wallet too hard. Personally, if not Amarones I usually go for Primitivos and Appassimentos.

I agree, and would say the same of Old Vin Zins; there are cheaper ones, but they're rarely particularly good; but its far from universal that paying more means getting better.

My go favourites lately have been Eastern European and Greek wines. For a while now a friend and I would pick up random bottles from a certain region and just have it as a taste testing with a meal. It’s a fun way to discover and understand the cultural-regional preferences.

Georgian wines are a win for me.

Name any specific favs pls; I will have a look-see.

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

Name any specific favs pls; I will have a look-see.

I tried a lot of Georgian wines and they tend to be very good overall, at least for my undistinguished tastebuds lol.

Georgian Wines:
-Zangaura Saperavi
-Chateau Nekresi Kindzmarauli
-Teliani Valley Mukuzani
-Rtvelisi Mukuzani Dry Red
-Teliani Valley Alazani Valley
-Kakheti Kindzmarauli
-Ranina Alazani Valley
-Tbilvino Alazani Valley Red
-United Stars Mukuzani Dry
-United Stars Alazanis Valley Off Dry
-Mildiani Kindzmaruli
-Vaziani Mukuzani
-Marani Saperavi
-Alazani Manavis Mtsvane Dry White


Note: A lot of Georgian wines tend to be medium-medium sweet full-body as this is their historical, traditional and cultural styles of wine making. It tends to go well with heavier dishes/meals which are grilled, fatty, stews or has lots of spices. Or you can enjoy them as dessert wines instead of having Port.

Unfortunately I can't think of any Greek wines off the top of my head right now as I haven't been familiar enough with them. But they do have a characteristic which I like and reminds me of the full-body Georgian style wines. Equally good are Macedonian wines as well. There's just something about these Old World style and Black Sea wines that make them enjoyable.

 

[Northern Light]

I tried a lot of Georgian wines and they tend to be very good overall, at least for my undistinguished tastebuds lol.

Georgian Wines:
-Zangaura Saperavi
-Chateau Nekresi Kindzmarauli
-Teliani Valley Mukkuzani
-Rtvelisi Mukuzani Dry Red
-Teliani Valley Alazani Valley
-Kakheti Kindzmarauli
-Ranina Alazani Valley
-Tbilvino Alazani Valley Red
-United Stars Mukuzani Dry
-United Stars Alazanis Valley Off Dry
-Mildiani Kindzmaruli
-Vaziani Mukuzani
-Marani Saperavi
-Alazani Manavis Mtsvane Dry White

Note: A lot of Georgian wines tend to be medium-medium sweet full-body as this is their historical, traditional and cultural styles of wine making. It tends to go well with heavier dishes/meals which are grilled, fatty, stews or has lots of spices. Or you can enjoy them as dessert wines instead of having Port.

Unfortunately I can't thinking of any Greek wines of the top of my head right now as I haven't been familiar enough with them. But they do have a characteristic that I like which reminds me of the full-body Georgian style wines. Equally good are Macedonian wines as well. There's just something about these Old World style and Black Sea wines that make them enjoyable.

Thank you, most educational (seriously) .

I tend to prefer my red wine on the drier side; though full bodied and fruity is just fine.

I will have to see what's what among these.

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

Thank you, most educational (seriously) .

I tend to prefer my read wine on the drier side; though full bodied and fruity is just fine.

I will have to see what's what among these.

You're very welcomed! Not sure if the Summerhill LCBO would carry many if any of these. I've noticed in the last 2 years that their niche offerings has slimmed down and focused towards popular volume buying and brand-recognized shopping customers. Do note that not all the wines are usually placed in the Vintages section, they can be lumped into the Eastern Europe and Miscellaneous sections. Surprisingly I've found that the LCBO at Yonge and Wellesley tend to do far better for these niche wines downtown.

 

[Northern Light]

You're very welcomed! Not sure if the Summerhill LCBO would carry many if any of these. I've noticed in the last 2 years that their niche offerings has slimmed down and focused towards popular volume buying and brand-recognized shopping customers. Do note that not all the wines are usually placed in the Vintages section, they can be lumped into the Eastern Europe and Miscellaneous sections. Personally I've found that the LCBO at Yonge and Wellesley tend to do far better for these niche wines downtown.

The Greek Wine designated specialty store is Danforth near Broadview.

Central Europe is here:

I'm not tracking that far out.............but you can ask for any store to bring in product from any other store at no cost.

****

For those who may be interested, this is the link for the LCBO's 'Destination' stores that focus on particular nationalities of wines:

Destination Collection Store Locations

www.lcbo.com

Also @yrt+viva=1system; you have your settings so that that private messages are blocked. (was going to take some of this out of the thread)