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Newsletter for August 2004 Your source for what’s cooking at OBW
25 South Indian Alley Winchester VA, 22601 540-662-1455 |
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New Traffic Pattern on Indian Alley Wine Dinners: July, August, and September Recipes: Porcini Cream and Gazpacho |
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New Traffic Pattern on Indian Alley
This week (August 2nd week) Shenandoah Gas is reworking the gas line at the intersection of Indian Alley and Boscawen Street, just north of the restaurant. While the intersection is blocked, traffic is two-way between Wolfe Street and Wilkins Shoe Center. It’s really not a problem, but be careful. You might consider parking in the lot at the end of Wolfe Street and walking the 40 yards to the restaurant.
Summer Holiday August 17th-21st
I’m going someplace far enough away that I will not be tempted to come to work. I need to go eat somebody else’s cooking and recharge my batteries. My wife is joining me; my kids need to see Grandma!
July: Willowcroft Farm Vineyards
On July 20th, Amy and Lew Parker of Willowcroft Farm Vineyards discussed their wines during a 4-course wine dinner featuring their 2003 Vidal Blanc, 2002 Chardonnay Reserve, 2001 Cabernet Franc, and 2003 Traminette.
August 11: Chrysalis Vineyards
On Wednesday August 11th at 7pm, we’ll be featuring the wines of Chrysalis Vineyards from just east of Middleburg. Owner and Norton evangelist Jenni McCloud will be at the restaurant to show off her Mariposa rosé, Viognier, Chardonnay, Norton, and Petit Manseng. I will design a 5-course menu around these wines. The cost is $75 per person, including all food, wine, taxes, and gratuity. Seating, as always, is limited to 24 guests by reservation only. Reserve now; this dinner will fill quickly.
September: Rappahannock Cellars
Up next in September, we’ll be featuring the wines of Rappahannock Cellars from just south of Front Royal. Our wine list features Rappahannock’s Seyval Blanc. Details in next month’s newsletter.
One of the great surprises of my trip to Vintage Virginia was the great strides forward that Williamsburg Winery has made in recent years. Their reserve wine program is solid and I have great hopes that it will continue to improve under the hand of new winemaker Matthew Meyer, who has already made great leaps forward. We have two Williamsburg wines on our list, the very excellent Trianon Cabernet Franc and the Raspberry Merlot fortified dessert wine.
In just a few short weeks on our list, the Raspberry Merlot has climbed to the top of our dessert wine sales and it is no wonder why. Although it sips well, it pairs extremely well with chocolate, especially the new three layer chocolate cake, frosted with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate ganache. The wine is very well balanced with fresh fruit and pleasing acidity to keep it from being cloying.
Winemakers have often looked down on fruit wines as being something less worthy than grape wine and Matthew is no exception:
“Historically there is nothing really to say. People have been making fruit wines for centuries. Our fruit wine probably came about purely to satisfy the market demands. I initially didn't want to make any as I was being snobbish. I have always thought of fruit wines as being second rate. I accept the knowledge that I am being snobbish and a wine elitist, but there you have it. It wasn't until I was at Jaleo's in Washington DC and the manager brought me a fruit wine from Spain. The bottle did not say Raspberry merlot or anything similar, but one could discern what it was. In fact it was very nice. The palette was clean and not overpowering. I decided then that if I was going to have to make a fruit wine I could try to make a similar style. Voila...we have the new raspberry merlot which I believe is an easy drinking fruit wine with complexity and softness.
This month, fish. We serve two of my favorite fish as frequently as we can find them. Because neither is highly sought by the commercial fleets, both Cobia and Wahoo are fairly rare in the market and consequently are not well known. Both have sweet, white flaky flesh that really should not be masked by strong sauces. Both are best grilled in my opinion, and that is how we serve them at the restaurant. Neither will stand long cooking and it is best to undercook both slightly.
Cobia. (Rachycentron canadum) A sleek, torpedo-shaped, strikingly colored dark over light predator that feeds often on crabs and shrimp, cobia is found all along the Atlantic seaboard as it migrates. Because they occur in small groups, they are not often targeted by commercial fishermen. Cobia is a very sweet fleshed, white, flaky fish that reminds me somewhat of wahoo. (Read more…)
Wahoo. (Acanthocybium solandri) A tropical predatory fish with worldwide distribution and a mackerel-like slender shape, wahoo is fairly rare in our market because it reaches Cape Hatteras, the northern limit of its range, only during the summer months. Wahoo do not school as do other scombrids, and thus are not readily taken by commercial fleets. Wahoo is a sweet tasting white flaky fish. It can be cooked any number of ways, but I prefer it grilled to better appreciate its wonderful flavor. (Read more…)
This month, two recipes at the request of guests. First, I had a request at the Willowcroft Wine Dinner to publish the recipe for the Porcini Cream that I put on the Caramelized Scallops. Second, a guest asked for the gazpacho recipe in Roasted Rockfish on Gazpacho.
Porcini Cream
1 c dried porcini 3 c warm water 3 c heavy cream salt and white pepper to taste
In a small bowl, cover the dried porcini in the warm water and let rehydrate until soft, about 15 minutes. Remove the porcini from the water and squeeze any remaining water back into the bowl. Reserve the porcini for another use. Pour the water through a coffee filter into a sauce pan. Reduce water until ½ cup remains. Add heavy cream and reduce by half. Season to taste. Yields 2 cups of porcini cream.
Gazpacho
Here is the recipe that we use, more or less, at the restaurant for our gazpacho. I say more or less because each batch of tomatoes is different and wants different seasoning. Use your taste buds and judgment. This recipe makes about a gallon; you might want to scale it down.
½ baguette, crusts removed, soaked in water, squeezed dry 3 quarts of tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced 2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped ½ yellow onion, chopped 1-2 T garlic, minced 1 c extra virgin olive oil 3 c water 4 T sherry vinegar (or to taste) salt, pepper, sugar, and Tabasco to taste
[edited August 2006] Many customers ask me where to buy good quality fish. I definitely do not trust any of the supermarkets in this area and would not buy fish from any of them. Fortunately, there are three other sources for fish.
And this month, a new feature in the newsletter. Each week I get emails asking me about various cooking techniques and/or using ingredients. Every month in the newsletter, I will publish one or two interesting topics. Feel free to send email if there is some technique or ingredient that you need help with.
I’ve roasted peppers lots of ways and they all work pretty well. If you’re doing a single pepper, you can spear it on a fork (or use tongs) and put it in the flame of a gas burner—just lay it on the burner. When it blackens, rotate it and continue until all the skin is charred. Place the pepper in a plastic or paper bag, close the bag and let it steam for 10 minutes. Remove from the bag, slip the skin with your fingers or a paring knife, then slice open the pepper and remove the stem and seeds. If it is a spicy pepper, you might want to wear gloves. We do; we learned the hard way. Capsaicins in the eye or elsewhere J are no fun.
For larger amounts of peppers, we throw them on the grill and rotate them as they char. Or, we place them on a sheet pan under the salamander or broiler and rotate them.
Thank you! July was our biggest month ever with big crowds almost every night. I appreciate your patience with us as we go through our growing pains.
Ostrich. We have ostrich on the menu now. For those of you on South Beach or Atkins, a 3oz serving has 2g of fat and 22g of protein. It’s another very lean red meat that we treat just like beef or bison. It should remain on the menu for about another week.
Outlook. Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! Now’s the time to order Insalata Caprese and Bruschetta. Corn, beans, squash, and eggplants are prime right now and will continue through frost. Peppers are still a couple weeks out. Cobia continue fairly strong as they migrate along the coast. Beef and veal prices are still out of sight; pork is a great value. Blackberries are coming on strong now and stone fruit is excellent. Melons are just starting.
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Copyright © 2004 Shenandoah Food and Beverage Holdings, LLC |
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