Sushi, Sake & Psychedelics

No, we were not doing acid with our sushi. We were at the Denver Art Museum

for The Psychedelic Experience: Rock Posters from the San Francisco Bay Area, 1965 - 71. It's showing through July 19, and if you have the chance, you should go and see it, especially if you were alive in the sixties. I was born in the mid-sixties, so my memory of the original posters is limited. Although, there was one that I am sure I saw regularly throughout my childhood, but just can't remember where. Doubtful that it was at our house; my parents were definitely not hippies. Was it at my hippie uncle's house? At our summer house in Montauk? Anyway, it, and all the others and the stories that went along with them were simply far-out! Each artist had a different style and the styles changed over the years. What these artists all had in common was lifestyle - life in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, LSD, and music. The posters advertised concerts, many at the Filmore East, for bands such as Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield, Big Brother and the Holding Company and more - even Sha Na Na. The Museum did a wonderful job of combining art, music and story from the time period epitomized by the summer of love. My only complaint was that although the show was put together somewhat chronologically, there were no signs or directions to help the observer take it all in in chronological order.

After 90 minutes of trippy posters, we headed to Izakaya Den in Denver for some sushi, sake and Japanese-influenced small plates. This beautiful restaurant, modeled after the sake houses of Japan, is a culinary delight. Along with delicious sashimi dishes, the chefs dish out a variety of fabulous small plates, such as Pomegranate Braised Bison Short Rib with Crispy Fig Polenta,

Lemongrass Vichyssoise and Duck Confit on Crispy Wontons Served Over Forbidden Rice.

Although the wine list is rather small, the sake list is extensive. It assigns a number on the sweetness scale to each sake, -20 being the sweetest to +10 for the driest. We ordered the Otokoyama, Hokkaido, +10. It was excellent, but I realized that although I like my sake to be relatively dry, I do like a touch of sweetness. I think that a tiny bit of sweetness in sake has the same effect as salt on food. It wakes it up, gives it a little zing. The completely dry sake is, to me, just a touch flat.

It was a great evening - fabulous food and drink, great company, and LSD influenced posters. What's not to love?

Easter Treats

When you were a child, did you ever sing the nursery rhyme:

Hot Cross Buns,
Hot Cross Buns,
One a Penny,

Two a Penny,
Hot Cross Buns

Did you wonder what it was about? Probably not. Hot Cross Buns are spiced yeast rolls traditionally made on Good Friday. They are thought to have originated in England, sometime around the fifteenth century. They are soft, only slightly sweet, and studded with golden raisins or other dried fruit. A white cross of frosting tops each bun. Delicious with a hot cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk for breakfast. You can find a great recipe at King Arthur Flour's blog, Bakers' Banter

I wanted to serve these for Easter breakfast, but being yeast rolls, the buns have several hours of rising time. Not wanting to rise myself at 3:00 in the morning, I started the dough yesterday. I've wanted to experiment with this method for a long time. Cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes and all kinds of yeast breads are great for breakfast, but time-consuming. I've heard several theories on the overnight rise; some say to put the dough in the fridge after the first rise and form the dough in the morning. Others say to completely shape the dough, put it in the baking pan and put it in the fridge without a second rise, letting it rise slowly overnight in the cold. I went with the second method, then took the buns out in the morning, set them on the counter to come to room temperature and then baked them. They came out perfect!

On to Easter dinner. We're making a leg of lamb, although our foodie 5-year-old thinks rabbit stew would be more appropriate! I've got a ton of mint growing in the sun room, so I'm going to make a mint butter, with some tarragon and fresh thyme and oregano thrown in for basting. We'll serve it with sauteed baby carrots (the real ones, not the ones shaped to look like babies).

Then, I'll throw whatever vegetables I have left into a puff pastry, maybe add a little goat cheese, and bake a tart. I think we have a couple of bottles of Pax Syrah in the cellar, though I'm not sure of the vineyard or vintage. But getting down into the cellar is a bit of an effort, so we may have to settle for the Reynolds Family Winery Los Carneros Pinot Noir, 2006. Settle? Life's tough....

Happy Easter!

Politics, Food and Confusion

Have you gotten one, or maybe several e-mails asking you to sign a petition to stop HR 875, the "Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009"? If you read foodie or political blogs, you've probably read about the controversy surrounding this bill. When I first heard about the bill, it sounded good to me. It would create a Food Safety Administration, which would take on the food safety issues now under the jurisdiction of the Food & Drug Administration, allowing the FDA to concentrate solely on drug safety, a big enough job by its self. This new agency would have authority to order recalls of tainted food, which, surprisingly, the FDA does not have. It can only suggest recalls. The bill includes new safety regulations for food production facilities, requires more safety inspections and requires such facilities to register with the agency and comply with inspections (there is no charge for registering.) Check out http://foodandwaterwatch.org/food/foodsafety/background-on-h-r-875/?searchterm=875
for a recap of what HR 875 actually does and does not do.

Then along comes an e-mail from http://LeaveMyFoodAlone.org telling me that this bill will essentially regulate small farmers right out of business! Telling me to imagine life without farmers' markets & roadside farm stands! Stating "Americans would be forced to eat only corporately manufactured, chemically treated, hermetically sealed irradiated fruits and vegetables." Would I sign a petition against it? Where's my pen? Then, being the good lawyer's daughter that I am, I remembered that I am never to sign anything without researching it fully.

I started with Marion Nestle's blog, www.foodpolitics.com. She is the author of several books on the food industry, including Food Politics and What to Eat. I think she's brilliant and recommend that everyone read her work. She gives a few links, and I also did some google-ing to get some more information. My research, by no means exhaustive, found nothing that backs up the claims stated on the anti-HR 875 petition. So, I'm baffled by why this petition exists, since its claims appear to be unfounded. What is the real reason that some people don't want this bill to pass? Certainly they are not for contaminated food? Pro-Salmonella? I'm not being sarcastic, (well, maybe a little); I really would like someone to give me the real reasons why some people are so against this bill that they'll say anything to stop it. Maybe if I knew these reasons, I'd agree with them.

Italian Epiphany

Have you ever had a wine epiphany? It's a moment when you are tasting or drinking wine and suddenly all the stars in your palate, mind and emotions align. Epiphanies rarely happen in a classroom-style tasting, or in a sales meeting, when 30 or so wines are forced upon you in less than an hour. They often happen while tasting at a winery or in a vineyard, sometimes during an amazing meal, and most often in the company of people you enjoy. I clearly remember my Burgundy epiphany. It was about ten years ago at a wine dinner hosted by Jacques Seysses, of Domaine Dujac, at the Little Nell, in Aspen. The food was great, the company was fun and fascinating, and the wines were simply singing. Suddenly, I got it. I understood why people lose their minds (and their life savings) for great Burgundies.

I had an Italian wine epiphany last week. I was dining at Barolo Grill, in Denver, with my co-workers (whose company I enjoy immensely), and our Italian wine importer. We started with the Ca' Rugate Monte Fiorentine Soave Classico, 2007, a single vineyard wine that has received the Tre Bicchieri award, the most prestigious Italian wine award, for the past four vintages. If you think Bolla when you hear Soave, well, as my Italian relatives would say, "Fugghetaboutit!" This wine has intensity, body, depth and was delightful with my Hamachi Crudo con Calamari appetizer. We tasted several reds from regions as diverse as Abruzzo, Campania and Piedmonte, all wonderful. My epiphany began to really kick in with the Moroder Rosso Conero 2006, a wine made from the Montepulciano grape from a small region in Marche. Maybe it was because I had it in my glass as the entrees were served. It paired perfectly with my Gnocchi Verde con Agnello, spinach gnocchi with braised lamb shank and broccoli rabe. The wine was dark and complex; it made every bite of food taste better and the meal made ever sip of the wine taste better. That, my friends, is what food & wine pairing is all about! Then, we moved on to the Barolo. Barolo, I think I can safely say, is the Italian wine that probably hands out the most epiphanies. When you talk to Italian wine fanatics, you find that almost without exception, they are in love with Barolo. It had been coming all night, but while drinking the Andrea Oberto Barolo 2004 at the end of my meal, once again, I got it. Oh yeah, I got it.

If You give a Man a Bottle of Wine....

I've been asked by several people to do a blog recommending wines that are good values. Not surprising, with the economy such as it is. I certainly don't mind recommending specific wines, but what I'd like to do today is go with the old Chinese proverb, "If you give a man a fish....," and suggest some easy ways for you to find your own values. With a few simple guidelines and the courage to leave your comfort zone, you can drink delicious wine every night, without spending more than $15 a bottle. Ready?

• Stay away from California. In the world of wines, California wines, especially good ones, tend to be pricey. While there are plenty of cheap wines from the Golden State, you may have to drink a lot of mediocre ones before finding a great value.
• Read shelf-talkers. Those little pieces of paper hanging from the shelves under the bottles can give you a wealth of information on wines. One thing to watch for: make sure the vintage described on the shelf-talker matches the vintage on the bottle. Occasionally it doesn't; if a previous vintage got a better review than the current one, the shelf talker matching the better review sometimes mysteriously stays up. Whether this is deliberate deception or simple laziness on the retailer's part is up for debate.
• Get to know your wine merchant. Don't be afraid to ask for recommendations. A knowledgeable retailer can help you find just what you are looking for.
• SPAIN - SPAIN - SPAIN. Shall I say it again? Spain. Spanish wines, are, in my opinion, the best bang-for-your-buck wines available. Try a Verdejo from Rueda if you're a Sauvignon Blanc drinker, a Garnacha from Calatayud if you like Syrah, or a Tempranillo from Carinena for an all-around red. Have a Garnacha Rosado on a hot summer day for a yummy porch-pounder. Look for the little-known Mencia from Bierzo in fine wine shops.
• Try Argentina, and table wines from Portugal. Lots of great values come from these countries as well.
• Be cautious when shopping Australia. While oceans of inexpensive wines come from down-under, many are mediocre or worse. Remember, no matter how cheap something is, it is not a value if it's just plain bad. You can get great values from Australia, as long as you do your homework.
• Buy wines rated 85 - 89 points. Getting a score of 90 or above is license to jack up a wine's price by at least 20%. You can find great values just under that mark.
• Be a little bit wine-geeky. Really, it's OK. Take notes when you taste, write down ones you like, ask your friends what they like.

Now, get to your local wine shop!!

P.S. If you're not familiar with the aforementioned Chinese proverb, it is, "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime." Now, you are ready to find wine values for a lifetime!

I'm Back!

Hello Dear Readers!

Apologies for the long absence. As most of you who read my blog know, I'm now back in the wine business. And it seems that the number one rule of blogging is that, if you write about anything that involves your job, you WILL get into trouble. So, what's a blogger to do? Can I poke fun at the wine industry when I'm part of it? Can I review the wines that I sell? Sounds like a conflict of interest. Can I write about my couple of days selling with Steve Reynolds, one of the coolest, nicest guys in Napa? Maybe. Can I write about food? Print recipes? Yoga? Sure.

The answer is, I don't know exactly what I'm going to write about or what direction this blog will take. Maybe I can write about the wines I sell; after all, it's not like I'd say anything negative! But the truth is, I've missed my blog and I want to keep writing it. Although I must say, in the absence of blogging, my novel has been coming along quite nicely. But, that's another story! So, expect more regular posts - subscribe if you haven't yet. I can't tell you what they will entail, but hopefully, you will find them interesting.

Cheers!

Alexa B.

To Share or Not To Share

Happy New Year! As the holiday season winds down and New Years resolutions kick in, many wine lovers are closing their cellar doors (temporarily), drinking less or at least less of the good stuff. Which brings me to an age-old question, asked by wine lovers young and old...Do you share your good bottles with your non-wine-geeky friends? And for an esoteric twist on the question...Should you?
I've asked several wine-loving friends this question, and have gotten varied answers. Many say, no, save the good stuff for those who will really appreciate it. Some say, yes, if wine is your passion, share it with those you love; they may never again have the chance to taste Perrier-Jouet Fleur Rose or ZD Abacus. You may even have a budding aficionado in your group, and it could be that special glass that he or she gets from you, that starts a life-long love of wine!
My favorite answer came from one of my favorite people. I asked my friend Tammy for her opinion on Christmas eve. She responded by asking what time our party started. Then she went on to suggest that we open that bottle of Domaine Carneros Le Reve fifteen minutes before the start of the party. "If anyone happens to arrive on time, they'll get a wonderful treat, if not..."

Thanks to everyone for reading my blog in 2008! Look for more in '09!