Going Greek

A Greek Feast with 2006 Raven’s Wood Cabernet Sauvignon: 5/5

With The Cheesecake Factory final exam coming up at the end of this week, I thought it wise of me to try and get together with one of my training buddies to do some studying. So, as last week came to a close, I asked Rachel, a transplant from northern California, if she would be interested in coming over for dinner and study time. With out hesitation she agreed, and the date was set for Sunday night.

With some opened ended questioning I found out that Rachel’s favorite food was Spanakopita, a Greek pastry stuffed with spinach and feta cheese. So as the hours passed yesterday morning, I began to think of a Greek inspired menu that would include these spinach puffs.

I don’t know what happened, one dish snowballed into another, and another, until I had dreamt up quite an elaborate feast. Since Rachel is also a vegetarian, I wanted to make sure that I included enough sustenance so that the meal did not turn out to be a collection of sides. But after the last vegetarian meal (see Top Chef of Tomorrow), Michael mentioned that, although delicious, veggie meals did not fill the meat void. So, of course, I wanted to include some meat as well.

I started with the Spanakopita, jumped on the computer and found a Rachel Ray recipe, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/spanikopita-recipe/index.html Although the filling sounded delicious, the way she described folding each puff was not traditional. So I found another recipe that included the traditional triangular fold, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spanakopita-107344, completing the recipe.

For Rachel, I thought that pan fried eggplant sounded Mediterranean, and recently while watching The Food Network, I have been seeing tons of Panko (Japanese bread crumbs). So I thought this would be an excellent excuse to combine the two.

Unable to find a recipe, I made my own. I started by slicing the eggplant into 1/4’’ - 1/2’’ thick slices. Then I placed the sliced eggplant on a cookie sheet, sprinkled with coarse ground salt and left to rest for a 1/2 hour. While the slices were resting, I prepared three bowls, one with 1/4 cup of flour, the second with 2 whisked eggs, and a third with 1/2 cup of Panko. After the eggplant had finished resting, I removed the excess salt and water and dipped the slices once into each bowl, coating both sides. When all of the pieces were coated I prepared a large skillet with 1/4 cup of oil over medium heat. After oil was hot, I placed the eggplant into skillet and browned both sides, until crispy.

To top the eggplant I wanted a greek inspired sauce, and what is more greek than Tzatziki. With 4 stars and 30 reviews, I turned to Ina Garten’s recipe, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tzatziki-recipe/index.html. The most common criticism in the reviews pertained to the sauce being to salty. I also didn’t think I would need 2 1/2 cups of Tzatziki, so I halved the recipe, and salt and peppered to taste.

For meat, I wanted something simple, but Greek inspired, so I thought of kabobs. To be adventurous, I just winged a recipe. I started by soaking 7 skewers in water for about 30 minutes. While the skewers were soaking I defrosted 2 chicken breasts just long enough to become pliable, but not completely thawed. I recommend doing this because semi-frozen chicken is easier to chop. I then sliced the chicken breast into 28 equal pieces and put 4 slices on a skewer. After arranging the skewers on a cookie sheet, I drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper, 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped dill, and popped them into a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through.

To finish I wanted to make a pasta side, with some Mediterranean vegetables. So I started by roasting some tomatoes. Michael Chiarello, another Food Network Chef, has a great recipe for roasted tomatoes, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/roasted-tomatoes-recipe/index.html, but I only used 4 roma tomatoes, and quartered each, instead of halved, and added some balsamic vinegar and herbs in addition to the other ingredients.

After the tomatoes I sauteed some chopped baby portabella mushrooms, with the leftover Spanakopita filling, and then added some jarred artichoke hearts, with a splash of olive oil. After boiling a full package of spaghetti I tossed in the tomatoes, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts, and sprinkled about 3oz of feta cheese on top. Finally the Greek feast was complete.

Not specifying a varitel, I asked Rachel to bring a bottle of wine. She brought over a 2006 Raven’s Wood Cabernet Sauvignon. While I was a little apprehensive that a Cabernet might over power the lighter flavors of the dish, I was pleasantly surprised to see an alcohol content of 13.5%, giving this wine a lighter body compared to other Cabernets. With a description of earthy, rich, and dark, the flavors would be left to the drinker. My nose detected notes of plum and black cherry, with a warming toasted oak.

Finally, as we all sat to enjoy our meal, I ranged over the feast that was just a dream hours ago. The creamy cucumber flavor from the Tzatziki cooled the palate as the eggplant provided added flavor and a rough, cruchy texture. The Spanikopita turned out delicate, rich and smooth with little pops of feta and dill. The chicken kabobs, herby and a bit tough, rounded out the meal with a backbone of protein, while the pasta provided pockets of intense roasted tomato, earthy portabella, and rich artichoke flavors.

While part of me thinks a bright white wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc or Gewürztraminer, would have enhanced the meal by cleansing the palate, another part of me thinks that red was the right choice. With rich flavors the Cabernet provided a cohesiveness of the meal, enhancing the herbyness of the chicken, and taming the garlic in the Tzatziki. In another way the wine was able to provide a heaviness that gave a feeling of a complete meal, instead of just a collection of dishes. One could argue either way.

As we digested and talked of television and past restaurant experiences, the ominous cloud of studying moved over the table. Michael excused himself to the bedroom, so he wouldn’t bother us, and Rachel and I, ranged over table numbers, full menu names, and server time charts. When the evening came to a close the verdict was clear, this was another perfect pair.