Celebrating with Southern Style Spaghetti

Southern Style Spaghetti and 2007 Francis Ford Coppola Shiraz: 5/5

With a busy restaurant comes long, tiring shifts, and as I looked at my schedule for this week, I had no idea when dinner was going to fit in. But alas, on New Years Eve, with a shift during the day, I had the evening free for some food. What’s that? No crazy party charging $45 at the door for a complimentary champagne toast at midnight? No thank you, I had my fare share of tourists this week, I didn’t need to spend New Years with them too.

So as I was debating dinner, I gave Michael a ring on my way home, where he told me he had everything to make his southern style spaghetti, if I just wanted to stop and grab a bottle of wine. Sweet, I didn’t even have to go home and cook.

Now what makes Michael’s spaghetti southern is the smorgasbord of untraditional ingredients. The sauce starts with some sauteed garlic and onion, nothing out of the ordinary. Then comes green pepper, stewing tomatoes, celery, ground hamburger, tomato sauce, spices, and the kicker, ketchup. Once the ingredients are combined the sauce cooks over low heat for 30-40 minutes, and then 10 minutes before serving, mushrooms are added.

The result, a mix between spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, and stew. Is it delicious? Of course. Is it traditional? Not at all. But as Michael will tell you, that is how his MeeMaw (Grandma) used to make it, and that is what he grew up with. So, who am I to say any different.

As I entered the grocery store to get some wine, it looked like a post apocalyptic scene from a zombie movie, most of the shelves were bare, and the remaining customers moved silently and quickly, seeing as the store was closing in a few short minutes. Making my way to the liquor isle I found the entire population of the east side of Chicago, trying to make last minute ‘09 purchases, to help ease the pain of yet another new year. Luckily most people were after hard liquor or bubbly, so I didn’t really have a problem when it came to red wine.

Since Michael’s spaghetti is sweeter rather than savory and garlicky, I wanted to find a red that would compliment, instead of overpower the sauce. If it were a traditional spaghetti sauce, a heavier bodied merlot or cabernet would work just find, but I wanted a nice medium body.

I’ve seen lots Francis Ford Coppola wines in the store before, but after I read another blog ranting about celebrities that choose wineries based on location rather than quality I have always been apprehensive to try any of the Coppola wines. Now price doesn’t always mean quality either, especially when a celebrities name is pasted on the merchandise. Coppola wine are no different. Usually costing $12-$22 in stores, the price screams scam to me. But surveying the isle my eyes rested on a bottle of 2007 Coppola Shiraz, with an alcohol content of 13.5%, meaning the wine would have a nice medium body. The price? $9. Feeling the human walls closing in on me, I thought the wine was an excellent choice, grabbed a bottle of bubbly, and made my way to the check out.

When I got home the house sung of onions, garlic, and herbs. Since I work from late morning to dinner, I am usually left ravenous when I get off of work. So to my stomach, the house smelled like heaven. Michael weaved around the kitchen, adding more ingredients to the pot, while I plopped down on the couch to rest my tired legs.

When it came time to eat, I popped the cork on the bottle, only to discover some seepage. For those of you who don’t know, some problems that come from using cork, and a reason why the Australian and some American wineries are switching to screw tops, is that corked bottles have a greater chance for spoiling. If you have ever ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant the waiter should present you with the cork, this is done so that you can see if the wine has seeped up the cork. If seepage occurs there is a likelihood that the wine has been exposed to air and has spoiled. Seepage can occur from storing the bottle on its side for too long, or using a poor quality cork. The seepage on our cork did not extend all the way to the to the top, but as I poured a glass I was a bit nervous that the wine would be spoiled.

As I soaked in the aroma of the wine, I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. The nose was heavy with black cherry and toasty oak. With a swirl I watched the legs of the wine streak down the side of the glass, just for a moment, indicating a nice medium body. To check the color, I held the glass over my white napkin. With a ruby reddish translucent hue, by the looks of it, the wine was going to pair splendidly.

With a sweet tartness, and a strong acidity, the spaghetti rung in my mouth, before giving way to the flavors of tomatoes and herbs. With little crunchy accents, the celery added a homeyness to the sauce. With two large slices of garlic bread to soak up the sauce my first plate left me wanting more.

Together the wine’s body did not over power the sauce, and was able to subdue some of the acidity, with its low level of tannin. The sweetness of the sauce rounded out the flavor profile of the wine, cutting through some harsher bitterness.

As we plopped on the couch and waited for the New Year, Michael and I were full, healthy, and happy. What better way could there be to bring in a new year, than with a man that is just as much in love with you as you are with him. Yet another perfect pair.

Meaty, Meaty Meatloaf

Meatloaf and 2006 Oxford Landing Cabernet and Shriaz Blend: 4/5

American classics—grilled cheese, green bean casserole, pot roast, apple pie. Recipes that came from cupboards and freezers, combinations of miscellaneous odds and ends in a post depression America. In my mind, one recipe screams classic more than any other, a simple combination of ground meat, bread crumbs, some seasoning, and usually ketchup—meatloaf.

Meatloaf, as with many classic american comfort food recipes, is a product of the middle class. Nothing in the dish is rare, exotic, or hard to find. No ingredients are too expensive, and it is able to feed a family of four with some left over. But, classic recipes, usually are lacking in flavor.

Growing up we only had meatloaf a hand full of times. I don’t know if it was my mom’s recipe, or my dad’s distaste for ketchup, but no one really cared for the gelatinous brown mass, blood red, from its tomatoey bath.

But after receiving a call from Michael telling me he got an invitation to go see the Flaming Lips, I wasn’t feeling very motivated to go to the grocery store to make something for myself. So I opened the fridge, the pantry, then the freezer, and then Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, which is now on my christmas list. With a pound of ground beef in the fridge, along with some veggies, ground venison in the freezer, and panko in the pantry, it was looking like meatloaf was for dinner. http://springpadit.com/ketherian/recipe/bittmansmeatloaf

Of all the meatloafs I’ve had in my life, none have included fresh herbs or minced carrot, and they all were basted in ketchup, so I was a little anxious to taste the final product of this recipe. Would it be better than mom’s? To spice mine up a bit, I added some Worcestershire sauce, some various spices from my cupboard, and what they hey, I had it my fridge, so I minced a rib of celery as well.

For you vegetarians out there, meatloaf is not the prettiest thing to watch while it is cooking. As the outside browns, fat is cooked out of the loaf, seeping onto the baking dish, some coagulating around the meat. Maybe that’s why my mom didn’t like to cook meat loaf. While you can cook meat loaf in a loaf pan, it retains it shape, so you can also make a loaf shape on a baking dish, which is what I did.

Since there was no shopping involved in this recipe, I was left pairing with a wine from my collection. I knew I wanted a red wine. Although the ground beef and venison I used were lean, they were still red meat, and were going to need some tannin to cut through all that meatiness. Now a heavier bodied merlot or a cabernet, would probably outweigh the herbs and spices in the meatloaf, and unfortunately most of my red collection is just that. But, continuing my search, I found something promising.

A blend of Cabernet and Shiraz, the 2006 Oxford Landing blend from south Australia, could fit the bill, not the most expensive wine, but I wasn’t making the most expensive meal, so it seemed perfect. With a description of blackberry and plum, and an alcohol content of 13.5%, the blend would have the perfect body to pair with the lean red meat.

To accompany the meatloaf, I decided on a baked sweet potato and some veggies. For those of you who have not had a baked sweet potato, I strongly suggest giving it a shot. In my opinion, sweet potatoes just have more flavor than traditional russets, while still lending themselves to a variety of toppings. While I like mine with sour cream or butter, you can also top them with brown sugar, cinnamon, candied walnuts, or even maple syrup, perfect to warm you up in the winter. Sweet potatoes are also healthier for you. Lower in empty starches, high in beta carotene, vitamin A, C, and B6, its something you can feel good about eating.

As the loaf made its way out of the oven, sweet smells of parsley, onion, and celery swept the space around me. On multiple occasions now, Michael and I’s neighbors have stopped us on the way to the elevator, and asked if we were the ones doing all of the good smelling cooking. What can I say? I am thinking of buying a dry erase board for our door and post the evening’s pairing.

Staring at the mass of meat, I studied the specks of green and orange. It just looked better than my mom’s. Worried that the loaf would crumble under the weight of my knife I started my first slice. To my surprise everything held together, and was cooked completely through. Examining the cross section, the various specks of other ingredients were perfectly suspended throughout the loaf like little flavor pockets waiting to be popped.

Swirling and sniffing, the wine smelled very oaky and acidic, but after a second swirl I could pick out some blackberry notes. Having aged a couple of years, the wine was darker in color, and had noticeable legs, but did not coat the glass like syrup. Upon first taste, I was over powered by the strong acidity, burning my throat on the way down. I began to worry that the meatloaf didn’t stand a chance.

Segmenting a small bite, I brought the meatloaf to my mouth. I was overpowered by the rich herby flavor of the parsley, with fresh compliments of carrot and celery. Even with wine on my palate the bold zest of the meatloaf was able to withstand the acidity of the wine. With the sweet flavor of the sweet potato, and the cruchiness of steamed veggies, I was in a 1950s dining room, complete with mom in pearls.

As I sat alone at my dining room table, I made the realization that food is best when shared. Not only is it the wine and food being paired, it’s also the company. But solitude aside, it was a perfect pair.

The First Duo

First of all I would like to extend a welcome to the blogspot community. Thank you for dabbling through my blog. In this blog you will find reviews, recipes, and recommendations that will shed a little light onto the daunting yet delectable world of food and wine. A combination of creative non-fiction and research, with a sprinkle of sass, will provide my point of view on pairings, both suggested and sought after, to harmonize the entire spectrum of food and wine.

***Disclaimer***

I do not claim to know everything. Being 22 years old, I have just begun my food and wine education. Through the help of websites, magazine articles, books, and sommeliers, I hope to share my findings and epiphanies. I will always be open to both criticism and correction.

So without further ado, lets talk about our first duo.

Yesterday morning, I pondered the evening’s meal over french toast and bacon. My boyfriend, Michael, suggested soup, seeing as yesterday was the first morning where there was that almost audible chill of fall whipping off the Lake Michigan. Perfect weather for a down home, classic meal. One hour, one trip to the grocery store, and one crock pot later, we had decided on pot roast, instead of soup (primarily because we found a roast on sale at the grocery store).

If you have never made a roast before the recipe is quite simple, especially if you have a crock pot.

Ingredients:

1 roast

16 sm. red skinned potatoes

1 bag of baby carrots,

1 onion chopped

1 1/2 cups of mushrooms

1 lipton onion soup mix

2 cups of water

Directions:

In the crock pot, pour in 2 cups of water. Next, layer potatoes, roast, onion soup mix, onion, and carrots, in that order. The soup mix should almost be a rub for the roast. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Add mushrooms after 4-5 hours.

Seriously, that’s it. So for those of you who “don’t know how to cook”, I know we all know someone, this recipe is for you. Or if you are like some of my friends who choose not to have the gas in their apartment turned on, because they don’t want to pay a gas bill when they only use the stove maybe 1 a month, invest in a crock pot, so you have something to serve, when say, your parents come to visit.

Six hours or so went by and the smell of cooking carrots, onions, and braising beef, sparked a salivation from mouth to stomach, but dinner was still a few hours away. To pass the time I went to the liquor store to find a bottle of wine that would pair with our pot of pot roast.

Now your local grocery store will probably have a pretty good selection of wine, ranging in price, for you to choose from. But if you are like me, just beginning to learn about the intricacies of wine, and feel like a crawfish in a sea of lobsters, maybe a wine or liquor store is the place for you. That way, if you do get lost in the range of rieslings or the multitude of merlots, you can actually talk to someone well versed in wine. *hopefully*

Last night I went to Uncork It, on the corner of Illinois St. and McClurg Ct (across from the AMC River North), where they offer an exponentially greater selection of wines and beers than Dominick's down the street. Now, a book I have been enjoying, He said Beer. She said Wine. by Sam Calagione and Marnie Old, suggested pairing pot roast with a Pio Cesare Barolo, from Barolo Italy, because of its high acidity, alcohol content, and tannic quality, which would tame the rich braised flavor of the pot roast. But this gem costs $53.99 in the stores, which with Chicago’s new liquor tax, would be close to $60, and I was not looking to spend that much on bottle to pair with our “on sale” roast.

So I began to meander, an aimless type of meandering, until I stumbled upon a man dressed in a maroon apron, with a mustache that screamed “I’m knowledgeable”. When I found him he was helping an older lady pick out a riesling, I listened in and he seemed to have a pleasant tone in his voice, as he was describing the range of rieslings they offered. After he finished, I approached the man, who grew surprisingly taller the closer I got, and described my dilemma. While I should not have assumed anything, I was expecting the man to treat me the same way he did the lady, but instead I learned a valuable lesson. For a 22 year old to ask about a specific wine, using phrases like “high tannin”, and “full bodied”, the response is, sometimes, going to be met with hostility. For we live in America, and there are pre-conceptions we all carry with us, one being, that a early 20’s male cares more about getting drunk than the actual quality of the alcohol. Now, I know many early 20-somethings that this holds true for, but that does not mean I am one of them. If this, and I am sure it will, happens again, I will take it in stride, knowing that soon I will have the knowledge to talk even the finest intricacies with these wanna-be sommeliers.

Putting my offense aside, the man pointed me to the aisle I had originally found the Pio Cesare in. Next to this wine was a Nebbiolo D’Alba from La morra Italy. Which, if you look at the map, Barolo, Italy is in the same region as La Morra, and as I found out when I got home, Nebbiolo is the same grape that makes Barolo wine. The tall Colonel Mustard looking man, told me that the two wines would have a very similar flavor profile, the only difference, about 30 dollars in price. So in the end, I got what I wanted, but had to put up with some prejudice getting it. Will I go back to Uncork it? Probably, but each time I am sure I will have more knowledge than the last.

As I passed through the front door of my apartment, the roast greeted me like a dog happy to see his master. I un-corked the wine, let it breathe, plated the pot roast, tender enough to be eaten with a fork, and sat across the table form my boyfriend, our faces cast in amber light.

The pairing was everything I was hoping it would be. The Nebbiolo D’Alba had notes of black cherry and oak, which struck the nose more and more as the wine settled. Exemplified through the translucent maroon color, there was evidence of a longer skin-juice contact. Each swirl coated the bowl of the wine glass, showcasing the wine’s full body. Upon my first tasting, I was caught off guard by the high level of tannin in the wine, but pairing with my first bite, the tannin was able to cut through the fattiness of the roast, and provide complexity to the potatoes and carrots. Seized by the wine’s high acidity, the salty flavors from the onion soup mix “au jus” left the palate cleansed for each new bite. As the meal progressed neither the wine or the meat seemed to loose flavor, each bite was as new and exciting as the first.

By the end of our meal, we were both stuffed, and a little tipsy, having polished off the bottle. As we washed the dishes, and refrigerated the left-overs, the city seemed to glow from our 23rd floor view. Was it the Signature Room of the Hancock Building? Probably not, but sometimes a quiet evening in, shared with someone you love, is better than all that glitz anyways.