Creole Cuisine seafood class March 23rd

The theme for this month’s seafood class was Creole Cuisine so I knew I was in for some spice. We started out with oysters (paired with a sparkling wine) that came with a side of tasty jalapeño sauce - a flavorful upgrade from just tossing hot sauce on ‘em.

Next came oysters wrapped in bacon, also known as “angels on horseback”. Not sure why. I wasn’t sure which one was the angel and which one was the horse either. I was thinking maybe it should have been “angels on a piggy”? Anyway, I took the bacon off so as not to ruin the oyster part but everyone else seemed to love the combination. Luckily, my friend Ellen was there to rescue me and took my bacon away!

We finally moved on to some meatier courses after that and I have to admit that I had a hard time picking my favorite from the last three courses.

The etouffee was delicious and had quite a kick and was paired with a refreshing Riesling.

After that we took a spice break with a simple salmon filet. So soft it melted in my mouth! Michael was a little daring and paired it with a pinot noir (a red!) from Australia.

And the last course was Shrimp & Sausage gumbo. The spice was more manageable in this course and it was paired with a strong Chenin Blanc from France.

Comfort Foods and Restaurant Reviews

I finally made it back to a Provisions class with STLwinegirl, Angela Ortmann. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time for classes these days. Whole Foods is no longer hosting my favorite cheese classes so I’ve been really bummed about that. At least Seafood class is coming up next week.

Angela came up with a really interesting menu with the theme of “Comfort Foods” so it was everyone’s favorites…but with a little spin…and paired with wine of course.

We started with Fish Tacos and they were covered in shreaded cheese! This was paired with a 2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. This wine had a screw cap and I learned that how you store the wine is not near as important as one with a cork, but it still doesn’t keep as long since no oxygen can seep in as with a cork. So no aging! But then again, no cork rot either, which has a 10% chance. Anyway, this wine is only harvested at night when it’s cooler so there is less stress on the wine.

My favorite pairing was probably the Breaded, Baked, and Bacon Mac and Cheese. If there had been no bacon, it would have been perfect, but I can’t escape Angela’s class without SOME bacon. This was paired with a 2008 Four Wines “Naked” Chardonnay. Turns out that “Naked” means that it is not stored in oak barrels but stainless steel, which in turn makes the Chardonnay a lot less full or buttery. More of a calm finish.

The next two pairings were chicken and dumplings with 2005 Domaine Alain Michelo Bourgogne from Burgandy and a stuffed meatloaf with a 2006 Estancia Meritage from California. Both were red wines that were too strong for me and the food did hold up against them. The chicken and dumplings were at least thick and creamy but the meatloaf was way too bland for the tannins in the Meritage.

We finished the class with apple pie and caramel with a 2002 Blossom Late Harvest Riesling. Normally I like all Rieslings but this was a “dessert wine” and extremely sweet. For those who REALLY know me, know that I like chocolate sauce on my fruit pies and that would have helped match up against the wine in this case. Definitely too sweet to be drank regularly.
In addition to the “Comfort Foods” class, I have also been to a few great restaurants recently that I highly recommend.

First, I went to SubZero (http://www.subzerovodkabar.com/) in the Central West End, right across from Drunken Fish, which is a little strange location since I’ve only heard about SubZero for their sushi, in addition to their vodka drinks. I thought the sushi was fantastic and I ordered a citrus-flavored vodka drink. I admit that I love “foo-foo” sweet tasting drinks and they had plenty of them! And for vegetarians, they even had no-meat pot stickers.

This past week I went to the Boathouse in Forest Park for the first time and every Thursday from November until April, they host a “shrimp boil” for $16 per person! Each meal comes with soup or salad to start out with (salad was really sweet but I didn’t like the spicy white bean soup flavor) . Then the main course comes out on a huge plate all mixed together: andouille sausage, potato wedges, and GIANT shrimp!! These were the biggest shrimp I have ever eaten. And I couldn’t finish them either. Got to have quite a delicious meal the next day too!

Last weekend I went to Sasha’s Wine bar on Shaw (http://www.sashaswinebar.com/), which is much bigger than the location in Clayton. It was not too crowded at 8pm but really hoppin’ by 10pm. In addition to the extremely large wine list, I was really impressed with their menu, which had quite a few choices for light meals. Of course I was stoked to find SIX different cheese plates to choose from! We ordered the World Tour and the French plate. Everything I had was fantastic!

For my main course, I thought I’d try something different and ordered a Triple Crème Brie, Apple and Mango Chutney crepe. It was delicious. And the chef was nice enough to make a mistake and make us a second one! I hope that was because we bought two bottles of wine…first an Argentinean cabernet and then a Chilean pinot noir. I definitely cannot wait to go back!

February St. Louis Cellars

Last Tuesday I went to St. Louis Cellars (http://www.saintlouiscellars.com/) for their monthly wine tasting and I was happy to see Angie Ortmann/STLWinegirl (http://www.stlwinegirl.com) there as well. It turns out that she will be teaching classes at the NEXT Cellars wine tasting on Wednesday, March 3rd.

This tasting was a little disappointing from the quality of their previous food offerings since they only served appetizers such as two kinds of cheese, strawberries, chips and salsa, pita bread and hummus, bread slices, and chocolate brownies. All of the food went very quickly and the chocolate brownies were a big hit.

They also moved the serving station to behind one of the kitchen counters and there was quite a bit more traffic altogether.

I was running an hour late so I did my best to catch up with my friends in tastings. It’s hard to get a fair taste in when you’re rushed and the snacks don’t hold up to the wine. The white wines were a little bland but the Salvatore Principe Prosecco sparkling wine from Italy was light and delicious. Only cost $17.99.

I actually skipped one of the reds, the Cab (gasp!), to skip ahead to the dessert wine, which was Chocovine from Holland. They were selling it for $13.99 but I found it in Schnucks for $9.99. I think it tasted like a chocolate milkshake with a hint of red wine!

STLWinegirl and Provisions cheese class

After months of begging Angie, she finally created a cheese pairing class for me at Provisions. Angie really outdid herself because not only did she provide a small plate of the raw cheeses, she also had Chef Scott Phillips come up with a dish with a cooked version of the cheese.

In addition to the pairings, Angie also provided some cheese facts for us:

--China is the only major country that does not produce any cheese.

--The U.S. is the largest producer of cheese but most of it is sold domestically.

--This was also the first class where there was no bacon! Hehehe

1st Pairing:Saint Andre Triple Crème

featured in a puff pastry with a caramelized onion and fig compote Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco

The first pairing was one of my favorites because I tend to prefer lighter wines and cheeses. Triple crèmes just melt in your mouth like butter. I learned that a “double crème” must be 60% milkfat and a “triple crème” must be 75% milkfat.

2nd Pairing:Mt. Vkos Feta

featured in a torta with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes & pine nuts 2008 Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc

The feta was paired with the sharp Sauvignon Blanc because the cheese has a high salt contain which helps to cut the acidity of the wine. Much like putting salt around the rim of a margarita.

3rd Pairing:Fontina Cremalpina

featured in a stuffed Italian meatball with a rustic marinara sauce

2008 Damilano Barbera d'Asti, Italy

The fontina had a very mild taste and this went well with the Barbera, which I find to be a mild red, one of the few reds that I like, for that reason.

4th Pairing:Aged Manchego

featured on top a polenta "flatbread" with chorizo

2007 Atteca Old Vines Grenacha, Spain

The aging of a manchego makes the cheese a little sharper, so it stood up pretty well to the Grenacha.

5th Pairing:

Bleu d'Auvergne featured in honey "blue" cheesecake with shortbread crust & candied pecansGraham's "Six Grapes" Reserve Porto

Another great pairing was the "blue" cheesecake with the port. It really pulled the best flavor of the blue cheese and was strong enough to match up to the port. Probably the best non-chocolate cheesecake I have ever had.

Unfortunately, Friday's Wine Merchant cheese class is sold out so it may be awhile before the next class....

Sort of new cheese class

There was a new instructor for cheese class this month at Whole Foods and the theme was “Spain”. I definitely was spoiled with Mike and Dave because they pre-cut all the cheeses and gave everyone their own plate ahead of time. Then a specific cheese was paired with a specific wine. So it was a little harder to pay attention to the instructor with all the fidgeting going on. At least the cheese trays contained a nice variety of olives, grapes, and nuts which is always an extra treat at Whole Foods.

Still, I had a lot of confidence in the instructor because it was the same person who helped me pick out a primo Scotch for my Uncle’s birthday present. I was really impressed with all her knowledge and once again I learned a lot.

Italy and France are the top two producers of wines and Spain comes in third. While Spain has the largest area of the three for growing grapes, their dryer climate produces a lower yield. Also, the Spanish government only started to allow irrigation in 1996.

Of course we started with a Cava sparkling wine paired with goat cheese, and of course there was a Manchego for the second pairing. But it was nothing but reds after that, which I learned is because Spain is more known for their reds, especially Rioja.

My favorite pairing was a red Rivola with a cheese called Mahon. I think the cheese is what made the wine taste so good but the wine was nice and mild.

My least favorite was the dessert pairing of sherry and blue cheese. But you all knew that already didn’t you? Hehe Yet, I did learn that “port” is fortified during the fermentation process to make it sweeter while “sherry” is fortified after the fermentation process to make it dryer.

Two classes next week...STLWineGirl's cheese class at Provisions and another cheese class at Wine Merchant in Clayton.