Pork Chops and Pinot

Dijon Crusted Pork Chops with Asparagus, Cous Cous, and a salad of Pears, Endive, and Pecans with Pinot Noir: 5/5

2008 Pacifico Sur Pinot Noir : 85/100

2008 Valle Perdido Pinot Noir : 90/100

2008 Mud House Pinot Noir: 92/100

Sorry about the delay in getting this posted. These past two weeks have been very eventful, putting my interviewing skills to the test. Cross your fingers! Anyways, last Thursday I did a horizontal tasting of three Pinot Noirs, all of which were apart of the Bon Vivant Portfolio.

Since all three wines were Pinot Noir, I didn’t have to worry about making three different dishes to pair the wines with, but I wanted to make sure that what I chose would enhance, instead of compete with the wine. Finding an awesome deal on pork chops at Dominick’s, I decided that dijon crusted pork chops with asparagus, cous cous, and a pear and endive salad would provide the right amount flavor to accentuate the wine.

As far as pork chops goes, this recipe is a fail safe. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dijon-Pork-Chops/Detail.aspx Only taking about 45 minutes to make, this would work well to just pop in the oven after you get done with a hard day at work. While this recipe calls for season bread crumbs, I used panko doctored up with some dried parsley, tarragon, salt, pepper, and a little basil. Panko just gets crispier and crunchier in the oven.

Usually when it comes to sides I am all about making things from scratch, but for cous cous, I’ve always liked the Near East boxes. With flavors like garlic and olive oil, and pine nuts and herbs, preparation is a breeze, and the taste is legit.

For the asparagus I just boiled some water and blanched some chopped stalks until they were the slightest bit soft, and then I strained and rinsed with cold water. Usually blanching requires and ice bath to stop the veggies from cooking, but cold tap water works well too.

Inspired by The Cheesecake Factory menu, I decided to make a salad of pears, endives, and glazed pecans in a lemon honey vinaigrette. For those of you who haven’t had endvie before, they can be found near the lettuce and green things, like cilantro. They are kind of like miniature hearts of romaine, but they have a softer consistency, yet hold their shape beautifully. For the salad I chopped the pear into cubes, combined the glazed pecans (I used emeralds pecan pie glazed pecans), and drizzled a little vinaigrette across the leaves. Shelbey, my veggie/vegan friend said it was one of her favorite things I had ever put together. Good doesn’t have to mean complex.

With my mind all over the place from doing interviewing, and thinking about the future, and what steps to take next, the whole meal only took about 50 minutes to make, and then it was time to sit down, relax, and enjoy some wine.

Sitting down to eat, Shelbey, Michael, and I each poured a different glass of wine. Since we are all close, we just decided to pass our glasses in a circle, tasting each of the three wines. If you are doing a tasting party at home and you don’t have a ka-jillion, wine glasses, or don’t feel like washing every dish in the house, you can set up a rinsing station, and tell each guest to rinse their glass before trying another wine.

WIth the smell of honey, and dijon mustard, wafting toward my nose, I was tempted to dig into my plate right away, but with some self control I made sure to inspect the wines.

First up, the Pacifico Sur from Chili. Lifting the glass to my nose I was met with a somewhat ethanol-y burn in my nostrils. After sitting in my glass for a couple of minutes, the ethanol gave way to raspberry and black cherry aromas, but I was hesitant to take a gulp right away. Holding the glass over my plate, the wine shown a ruby translucence, a common characteristic of Pinot Noir. Taking a swig, my palate was coated in a recognizable weight, that sent the sides of my tongue buzzing. After a gulp my throat resonated with an unfortunate burn. I would not classify a burning sensation as a sophisticated finish.

Moving on to the Valle Perdido from Argentina I was struck right away with the darker, richer color of the wine. Taking in the aromas I wasn’t met with any ethanol, but rather a fruit salad of cherries, raspberries, and tropical fruit—much more vibrant that the Pacifico Sur. Taking a gulp, the wine was not as present in my mouth as the Pacifico Sur, but still tickled the tip of my tongue before ending with a slightly fruity finish. Comparing the two, I would definitely choose the Valle Perdido over the Pacifico Sur.

Moving across the ocean into New Zealand, the tasting finished with the Mud House from Marlborough. Much more purple than the other two wines, I swirled my glass, evoking the wine’s aromas. Met with a spicy and fruity aroma, I was able to pick out raspberry and cherry. Taking a mouthful, I was met with a very well structured body that gave way to a lingering taste of cinnamon and cherries.

Paired with the pork chops and salad, the effect carried an overall light quality with it. The Pinot Noir’s were able to enhance the fruity, lemony flavors in the salad, while bringing out the anise flavor of the tarragon in the panko crust. Between Mike, Shelbey, and I, we decided that the Mud House was our favorite, followed by Valle Perdido, and then Pacifico Sur. For these three bottles, I guess price did mean quality. Feeling the buzz, conversation flowed as freely as the wine, and we all decided it was another perfect pair.

Paula Deen's Solution for a Dinner Dilemma

Beef Stroganoff + 2007 Big House Red: 5/5

After a long day at work, the last thing anyone wants to do is think of what to make for dinner, go to the grocery store, and then come back to slave over a stove. Well of course there are slow cooker recipes, fast food, or going out to eat, but what if you want something homemade, and you want it now?

My recommendation, pal up with a food network friend. On the website, www.foodnetwork.com, you can spend a couple minutes with your favorite T.V. personality— Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, or my personal favorite, Paula Deen. In a few short minutes you will be well on your way to a dinner divine.

So after a full day of conference room hall monitoring (sounds glamourous, right?) I turned to my friend Paula for some dinner decisiveness. Her suggestion, Beef Stroganoff. Now when it comes to online recipes, read reviews. If there is something wrong with the recipe, usually some suggestions will pop up, the rating will be poor, or reviewers will use lots of exclamation points. This, !!!!!!! usually = bad.

For my dinner decision, Paula Deen’s Beef Stroganoff had five stars and 127 comments and reviews, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/beef-stroganoff-recipe/index.html, so I felt pretty confident that Michael and I were in for a treat.

My mom tried making beef stroganoff when I was younger, probably 10 years old. I can remember coming to our golden wheat wooden table to a plate of concrete over noodles. My dog, rubbing his snotty nose across the screen, pacing in an anxious walk, staring at my plate. Fit for a dog, I thought.

“What is this mom?” I asked, grabbing my fork and scrapping through the gray stuff to get to the noodles.

“It’s beef stroganoff, you’ve never had it. You’ll like it.” There was an unsure tone in her voice. She looked around the table at my brother, my dad, and me, seeing our contorted faces and unsure approval.

I can’t really remember if it was good or not, but I remember I didn’t like it. I couldn’t get over the dirty meat sauce, the smell of onions, and the slimy texture of the mushrooms. To this day, the dish hadn’t really ranked high on my list.

Then came Paula. After I sauteed the beef in butter and olive oil and used the drippings for the onions and mushrooms, I was immediately reminded of burgers with caramelized onions and mushrooms. When I added the soups, the smell of simmering beef with creamy mushrooms coated me from head to toe, suddenly stroganoff wasn’t sounding so bad.

To find a wine I did some further research online, www.vinessetoday.com had a couple of suggestions. While beef calls for red wine, cream base sauces crave white. On the other hand, the dish’s complexity calls for a complex wine. Solution? A blend, such as a Syrah-Grenache. Blending wines provides complexity and depth to accompany multiple flavors, in this case, a rich and creamy sauce and fatty beef.

Michael and I stumbled upon an interesting wine called Big House Red, a 2007 blend of Viz Syrah, Tannet, Tempranillo, Petite Sirah, Touriga, Malbec, Aglianico, Nero d’Avola, Mourvédre, Grenache, Petite Verdot, and Montepulciano. If that wasn’t complex enough for the dish, I don’t know what would be.

As I sunk my fork into the first bite, my mouth watered. The grayish-brown sauce, looked much more appetizing than my 10 year old memory. Coating my palate, the rich buttery noodles, tip toed around the bits of beef, onion, and mushrooms, as the sauce provided a glue to hold everything together. The sour cream gave the dish an unexpected zip, while the creamy mushroom soup provided depth, and succulent flavor. A truly complex dish. Would the wine be up for the challenge?

With a strong smell of jam and toasted oak, the nose was upfront and strong. Revealing subtle tannins, a swirl of the wine lightly coated the sides of the glass. After checking the deep magenta color, I let the wine coat my palate. With a lighter body, and higher alcohol concentration, the wine is definitely dangerous. Over all, the wine had a medium body, and didn’t linger long at the finish.

Together, both the stroganoff and the wine provided the perfect balance of tannin, fruit, beef, and cream. With each fork full and swig of the wine, my palate was overcome with a flavor ambush. The saltiness of the dish played well with the acidity of the wine, and the jammy smells of the wine brought out the subtly in the beef.

Luckily for me, I was exhausted, so after just a glass of wine, I was ready for bed, but that didn’t stop Michael and I from having a little more stroganoff. Luckily this wasn’t a repeat of childhood. Now, for me, stroganoff means delicious. Thank you Paula Deen for another perfect pair.