Sam Gugino's SAM COOKS Newsletter - January/February 2005

SAM COOKS
A food, wine and spirits newsletter

By Sam Gugino

Volume 7, Number 1
January/February, 2005

 IN TODAY'S ISSUE: 

• Boutique Chocolate--New companies think small and aim high, with quality at a premium
• COOKING TO BEAT THE CLOCK – PORT OF CALL – with a Recipe for Pork Medallions with Pecans and Brussels Sprouts
• HOW TO GET AUTOGRAPHED COPIES OF MY BOOKS
• WINES OF THE SOUTHERN RHONE
• SAM’S TASTING NOTES – WINE AND COFFEE
• SAM LIVE AND IN PRINT
• ASK SAM - ENGLISH BIRDS, SOFFRITO AND EATING WILD

 Boutique Chocolate

Chocolate confectioners are popping up all over the place these days, much as boutique wineries did in the ‘90s. As with their winemaking brethren, the emphasis of this new wave of chocolatiers is on limited quantities made with high quality ingredients and a great deal of creativity.

And, like many boutique winery owners whose previous careers ranged from car racing to medicine, many of these confectioners weren’t born into the trade. John Doyle studied Italian literature and art history as a prelude to starting Jubilee Chocolates with his wife, Kira. Pete Slosberg was the Pete behind Pete’s Wicked Ale microbrew before he became Cocoa Pete.

These and more chocolatiers are feeding America’s increasing appetite for fine chocolate. “Chocolate has undergone a tremendous uptick in quality,” says Ron Tanner, vice president of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, which sponsors the annual Fancy Food Shows. “As in a lot of categories like wine and cheese, people are not eating as much but they’re eating better quality,” Tanner says. “Instead of Hershey’s Kisses at $3 a pound, they’ll pay $30 a pound for lavender chocolate.” In fact, retail prices for some of the confections I’ve been tasting go as high as $60 a pound and beyond.

While artisanal chocolate candy-making has definitely grown, no one seems to know how much, according to Joan Steurer of Chocolate Marketing, a Beverly Hills, CA food consulting company specializing in chocolate. “There has been a renaissance in the last five years, but so many [confectioners] are under the radar screen,” Steurer says. “Many sell out of their shops, on the Web, even at farmer’s markets.”

The SweetBliss line of chocolates was my favorite among those from several producers, though there were individual standouts aplenty. Ilene Shane created SweetBliss after she got tired of jetting with fashion magnate Ralph Lauren to his numerous residences as his personal chef. Lauren encouraged Shane to pursue confections after she whipped up some butter-crunch candy that floored him.

Shane began with the chocolates she and many of us loved as kids. Then she elevated them to heights we couldn’t fathom when we popped them into our mouths during Saturday matinees. For flavor combinations, Shane says, “I researched back into my past.” But for raw materials, quality is her only concern: “Every ingredient I use is prime.” For her black and white--basically s'mores dressed up for a ball--she creates her own marshmallows, caramel and graham crackers. Instead of enrobing them in cheap milk chocolate, she uses 60 percent cocoa Belgian chocolate. The result is camp food for adults.

Her clusters are golf ball-sized candies with centers that remind me of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors: cherry coconut, strawberry shortcake and, best of all, biscotti. Potato stix are the familiar potato matchsticks made into clusters with a chocolate coating--a couch potato’s dream. The almond butter crunch and pistachio butter crunch, however, are the standouts. Both are nutty, creamy and chocolaty all at once. The pistachio has a special snap and an almost spicelike quality.

John Doyle’s chocolates were inspired by the confections of master chocolatier Larry Burdick in New Hampshire and by Judy Wicks, owner of the White Dog Café, who pioneered the melding of social consciousness and good food in Philadelphia. The result is chocolates with heart and soul. “Our goal is a progressive, socially innovative business,” says Doyle, who has the mint for his mint chocolates grown by students at Drew Elementary School in West Philadelphia. The mint chocolates are ethereal. The mint flavor is clean, fresh and pure and floats across the palate in perfect harmony with the chocolate.

Raspberry chocolates are equally superb. The berries, which John and Kira help pick, come from Green Meadow Farms in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Because they are highly perishable, the berries are frozen as soon as they are picked at their peak. “We could never get this kind of ripeness from California berries,” Doyle says.

After Slosberg sold his beer company in 1998, he traveled extensively in Belgium, where he was impressed by the quality of chocolate. Before he knew it, he was at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., learning how to make chocolate candy. “I was trying to create a new chocolate category between Hershey’s and Godiva,” Slosberg says. “I wanted more intense chocolate flavor, even for milk chocolate, but not with any bitterness.” Each of the four Cocoa Pete’s chocolate bars consists of three molded mounds of filled chocolate stuck together. Of the four, I liked Berry Berry Dangerous best. Made from organic strawberries, it has a deep strawberry flavor and a long finish.

Jeff Shepherd thought that the best way to make great fruit-filled candies was to grow the fruit himself. At Lillie Belle Farms in Oregon’s Rogue Valley, Shepherd raises organic red and gold raspberries, blueberries and Marionberries. His molded chocolate, in the shape of a butterfly, has one of the most concentrated raspberry centers of any chocolate I’ve ever tasted. It even has the seeds. His scallop-shaped blueberry-filled chocolate isn’t far behind.

Food as fashion was abundantly evident when I visited Vosges Haut-Chocolat’s shop in New York. The chic and austere SoHo showroom was done in white and shades of purple, with a marble eating table surrounded by stools covered in white leather. On the wall flashed a film that showcased the works of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudí, whose flamboyant creations inspired Vosges’ Gaudí collection for the month of August. “We market ourselves as fashion chocolate. So much goes into each chocolate. It’s like a dress--one of a kind,” says store manager, Natalie Markoff, whose sister Katrina created Vosges. Fashion doesn’t come cheap, either. The 1-ounce Vosges Sophie bars cost $6.50.

One of the Gaudí items was a nicely balanced mix of white chocolate infused with saffron, then rolled in large, multicolored sugar crystals for crunch. The September Collection Vincent Gallo was named for the actor and director, a friend of Katrina’s, and focuses on Italian ingredients. The intriguing truffle bearing his name mingles sweet and savory with dark chocolate enveloping Italian Taleggio cheese and walnuts.

Though Katrina likes to use bold flavors, she always employs them with a deft touch. For example, while the Red Fire Bar has chile peppers and cinnamon, neither overwhelms the dark chocolate. Ditto for the Naga Bar, made with curry and coconut, and the Black Pearl, made with ginger and wasabi. But just to show she hasn’t lost her Midwestern roots, Katrina makes a dynamite toffee with all-American ingredients including Indiana butter and Wisconsin cream.

The upgrading of America’s chocolate palate hasn’t gone unnoticed among European chocolate makers. Chantal Coady, author of several chocolate books, has made her Rococo chocolates in England since 1983, but they weren’t available in the United States until recently. Coady, who uses chocolate blended from beans from Grenada, points out that some innovative ingredients actually go back centuries. “With our artisan bars we are trying to find exciting flavor combinations, which are also well-balanced,” she wrote in an email exchange. “Many have a historic precedent. The use of herbs and spices with chocolate goes back to the Mayans and Aztecs.”

I loved the Rococo sea salt artisan bar, an intriguing taste of chocolate and caramel mingled with a salty tang that seems to accentuate the other flavors. Fruit hits you first in the orange and geranium bar, but then the floral qualities of the geranium linger on the palate. Cardamom treads a delicate balance, remaining exotic while not appearing heavy or overbearing.

Artisanal chocolate confectioners such as Coady and Markoff have pushed the edges of the chocolate envelope by infusing it with surprising flavors. That in itself might not be remarkable, but the use of high quality chocolate and dedication to taste rather than novelty is what sets these producers apart. Wasabi and chocolate? Who knew?

How to Get It

• Cocoa Pete’s Chocolate Adventures, Campbell, Calif., (866) 275-4738; www.cocoapetes.com
• Jubilee Chocolates, Philadelphia, (800) 747-4808, www.jubileechocolates.com
• Lillie Belle Farms, Jacksonville, Ore., (541) 899-9037, www.lilliebellefarms.com
• Rococo Chocolates, London, England, www.rococochocolates.com, (also available at selected Saks Fifth Avenue Stores)
• SweetBliss Chocolates, New York,  www.sweetbliss.com, 212 - 842- 2773 (for retail locations)
• Vosges Haut-Chocolat, Chicago, (888) 301-9866, www.vosgeschocolate.com

This Tastes column first appeared in the November 15, 2003 issue of Wine Spectator.

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COOKING TO BEAT THE CLOCK:
Port of Call

Wines, liqueurs, and spirits are an important part of the Cooking to Beat the Clock pantry. They provide lots of flavor with no fat. The rule for using any alcoholic beverage in cooking is quite simple: Never use anything you wouldn’t drink by itself. That leaves out those dreadful cooking wines sold in supermarkets, which contain salt and preservatives. However, if you don’t want to open a bottle of white wine for just a half cup or so, use dry vermouth. Once it is opened, keep it in the refrigerator. Because vermouth is fortified to a higher proof than white wine, it lasts much longer, two months or more vs. two weeks for the wine. Sherry has the same durability and brandy even more so, and without refrigeration.

In this recipe I use Port, a sweet fortified wine that also keeps nicely under refrigeration once opened. You don’t need anything fancy, just a solid, everyday ruby Port, one that has lots of fresh fruit character. Ruby Port is different from tawny Port, which is aged longer in wood and has flavors of nuts, toffee, and dried fruit. Port goes nicely with pork, but it can also be used with other meats like lamb or venison. Dijon mustard helps to balance the sweetness somewhat. And by the way, mustard is a very important pantry item for 15-minute meals too. Use it for dressings and as a coating for sautéed chicken breasts and roasted salmon fillets.

Pork Medallions with Port Sauce and Pecan Brussels sprouts

• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

• Two pork tenderloins, 12 ounces each

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Two 10-ounce containers Brussels sprouts

• 1/3 cup Port wine

• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard

• 1/3 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken stock

• 1/3 cup pecans

• 2 tablespoons butter

1) Put the oil in a large heavy skillet or sauté pan (preferably nonstick) over medium heat. Beginning at the thick end, cut each of the tenderloins crosswise into 2-inch wide pieces, except for the last piece on each tenderloin where it narrows. This piece will be longer and flatter. Fold this piece in half and secure it with a toothpick so it is approximately the same thickness as the others. Press the cut side of the other pieces somewhat flat with the heel of your hand. Season with salt and pepper. Add all the pork to the skillet. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for 4 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, turn on the hot water tap. Put 2 teaspoons salt and 3 cups hot tap water in a large saucepan. Cover and put over high heat. Trim the bottoms of the Brussels sprouts, remove any withered or yellowed outer leaves, and halve unless small. Put the Brussels sprouts into the saucepan as soon as the water comes to a boil. Cover and cook for 7 minutes, or just until the Brussels sprouts are tender enough to be easily pierced by the tip of a knife.

3) Meanwhile, turn the pork over, lower the heat to medium and cook for 4 minutes. The meat should still have a bare hint of pink inside. While the meat cooks, mix the Port, mustard, and chicken stock in a small bowl. Coarsely chop the pecans.

4) Add the Port mixture to the skillet. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Then uncover and remove all the pork to a platter. Stir the sauce to mix well and let the sauce reduce just until lightly thickened. Then pour the sauce over the pork

5) While the sauce thickens, drain the Brussels sprouts in a colander. Put the butter and pecans in the saucepan and put the pan over medium-high heat. Add the Brussels sprouts and stir gently for 1 minute. Pour the Brussels sprouts into a bowl and serve with the pork.

Serves 4

 HOW TO GET AUTOGRAPHED COPIES OF MY BOOKS

For my readers only, I will provide autographed copies of "Cooking to Beat the Clock: Delicious, Inspired Meals in 15 Minutes" (Named one of the 10 Best Cookbooks of the Year by Amazon.com) and "Low-Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock" (Nominated by the International Association of Culinary Professionals as Best Book of the Year in the Health and Special Diet Category). The cost is $15 and $17 respectively. There are NO shipping costs for books shipped within the USA.  Here's how to order:

To order on line with your credit card, go to

http://www.samcooks.com/store.htm. During the order process, you'll see a "comments" box. If you'd like me to personalize an autograph, you can put the information here.

If you'd like to pay by CHECK, follow these instructions:

1.  Checks can be sent to Sam Gugino, 35 W.  Highland Ave. Philadelphia, PA Street, 19118.

2. Tell me clearly which book(s) you are ordering ("Cooking to Beat the Clock" or "Low Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock.")

3. Print clearly the name(s) of the person(s) to whom the book(s) should be dedicated. Feel free to add some detail, if you think it'll help me personalize the dedication.

4.  Send a check to Sam Gugino.  For "Low Fat...," it's $17/book. For "Cooking...," it's $15/book.

5. If the books are to be shipped outside the US, email me at Books@SamCooks.com to find out what shipping costs are. 

6. Make sure that your name, your postal address (where I'll mail the books) and your email address (in case I have any questions) are included.

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Southern Rhone Wines

While Bordeaux is France’s most prestigious wine region and the largest producer of AOC wines—Appellation d’Origine Controlee, the government’s limited guarantee of quality—it doesn’t have the same appeal as the Rhone, France’s second largest AOC region. Rhone wines, write Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy in French Wine for Dummies, “offer an animalistic sort of pleasure” and “put us in touch with our primitive selves” the way no Bordeaux wine can.

“There is always an aggressive spiciness and sanguine character to the wines,” says Joe Spellman of Paterno Wines International, which imports the outstanding Rhone wines of M. Chapoutier. “Rhone wines don’t have the class factor Bordeaux wines have.”

The 125-mile Rhone Valley wine region, which follows the Rhone River from Vienne to just below Avignon, is actually two distinct regions, the North and South. The South, which is the focus of this column, is much larger and produces about 90 percent of the wine in the entire Rhone. It also includes Wine Spectator’s 2002 wine of the year, the 1999 Guigal Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Tapping the Guigal wine was also symbolic, according to Thomas Cozanet of Brotte SA, a leading exporter of southern Rhone wines. “It is a recognition of the progress we have made in the last five to 10 years,” he says.

The southern Rhone begins around Montelimar. As it continues south, the terrain changes from steep hillsides to land that is flatter and more wide open. Soil gives way to smooth stones (especially in Chateauneuf-du-Pape) that provide good drainage and retain the higher heat in the South, which can give wines intense ripeness and high levels of alcohol. The stones also protect vines from the howling Mistral winds, which help keep the region dry and the grapes disease-resistant. In The Wines of the Rhone Valley and Provence Robert Parker writes that he can smell the aroma of the ubiquitous Provencal herbs in the wines of the southern Rhone.

In addition to terrain and weather, the South differs from the North in the grapes used. While Syrah is the primary grape in the North, it is one of some 20 employed in the South. (Red wines far outnumber whites in the southern Rhone.)

Spellman characterizes the wines of the South as having red fruit flavors of raspberries and strawberries with notes of black and white pepper versus the black fruits and smoked meat qualities of the Northern Rhone. This is best exemplified in Grenache, the most common red grape in the South, which makes delicious, if not magnificent, wines when yields are kept low. Other common red varietals include the richly colored, fruity Mourvedre, and the aromatic Cinsault.

Because so many varietals are grown in the South, most southern Rhone wines are blends. Thus, writes Parker, “It is no wonder that the type and style of each producer’s wine in the southern Rhone can vary enormously depending on the percentage of a particular grape used in the blend.” It also depends on how wines are aged, from the use of traditional large oak vats to the increasing utilization of small oak barriques, especially for Syrah and Mourvedre.

The ultimate blended wine is Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which can use up to 13 varieties including some whites. Chateau de Beaucastel, whose 1989 Chateauneuf-du-Pape was also a Wine Spectator wine of the year, is one of the few wineries that use all 13 varieties. Most use fewer than half that number. The esteemed Chateau Rayas uses only Grenache.

Traditionally made Chateauneuf-du-Pape is tannic and full-bodied, designed to age a few decades or more. But lighter, less pricey styles are being made for earlier drinking. Though under 10 percent of the wines in Chateauneuf-du Pape are white—from six varietals such as Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Roussanne—that number is gradually increasing.

Other top Chateauneuf-du-Pape producers include: Louis Bernard, Jean-Luc Colombo, Paul Coulon & Fils, Chateau Fortia, Lancon Pere & Fils, Chateau Mont-Redon, Chateau La Nerthe, Caves des Papes, and Domaine du Vieux-Telegraphe.

The huge Cotes du Rhone appellation provides some of the best wine values in the world, with many costing less than $12. These are comforting wines to enjoy on a chilly winter evening with a hearty stew or roast chicken. Cotes du Rhone wines must contain at least 40 percent Grenache.

Cotes du Rhone-Villages is a step up from Cotes du Rhone. Production is considerably smaller than in Cotes du Rhone. Yields are lower and there are fewer allowable grape varieties. Grenache can provide up to 65 percent of a blend with Syrah and Mourvedre providing most of the rest.

Of the 95 communes or villages encompassed by Cotes du Rhone-Villages, 16 can be identified on the label. These village-named wines are usually of the highest quality in the appellation. Villages to seek out include Vinsobres, Rasteau, Chusclan, Cairanne, and Laudun.

Spellman thinks Cairanne will get its own appellation one day as Gigondas did in 1971. After Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, which may contain up to 85 percent Grenache, offers the best southern Rhone red wines for aging. Vacqueyras is another former Cotes du Rhone Villages wine that received its own appellation. It is less well-known and thus often represents a good value.

Lirac and Tavel are best known for rosé wines, though Lirac makes a good deal of full-bodied red wine. Two dessert wines of note in the region are Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, made with the aromatic Muscat grape, and the less common Rasteau, made from Grenache.

Four new appellations to look out for in the southern Rhone are Coteaux du Tricastin, Costiere de Nimes, Cotes du Ventoux, and Cotes du Luberon. These newcomers represent a whopping 22 percent of the area’s total production and thus the potential for some good values.

According to Wine Spectator, nine of the last 15 southern Rhone vintages were either rated very good (1994, 1995, 1999, 2001), outstanding (1988, 2000) or classic (1989, 1990, 1998). The 2002 vintage was the worst since 1993. While many regions unused to heat waves did not know how to handle the blistering summer of 2003, for the southern Rhone it was business as usual. The 2003 vintage is “tremendous, very ripe and dense,” says Francois Dauvergne, CEO of Louis Bernard.

This wine column first appeared in the January 2004 issue of Specialty Food magazine.

 SAM’S TASTING NOTES

 SAM LIVE AND IN PRINT

From February 27 to March 2, I’ll be part of The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley along with the likes of Jerry Shriver from USA Today and Frank Prial of The New York Times. The symposium is a resource for professional writers, editors, agents and those emerging in the field. If you are interested in attending, contact symposium director Antonia Allegra at 707-963-0777 or toni@antoniaallegra.com.

On Monday, April 11, at 6:30 pm, I will be giving a cooking class based on  Cooking to Beat the Clock at The Cooking Cottage at Cedar Spring Farms in Bucks County, Pa. For information and reservations call 215-453-8186.

On Wednesday, April 13 at 10:30 am, I’ll be moderating a panel on journalism and book contacts at the annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals in Dallas, TX. For information, go to the IACP web site, www.iacp.com.

My Tastes column in the January/February issue of Wine Spectator is on chili, the all-American dish that has as many variations as there are Americans. The March 31 issue is a new look at cheddar cheese. Are American cheddar makers catching up with their English counterparts?

My wine column in the January issue of Specialty Food Magazine is on Petite Sirah, a much misunderstood and underappreciated grape.

You can also see my wine columns on MSNBC.COM (Go to wine.msn.com)

 ASK SAM

TURKEYLESS CHRISTMAS

Q: Hello, Sam.  Can you help me?  Before turkeys, which bird was usually found on Britons’ Christmas tables ? –Mick

A: Hello, Mick. According to once source I found, "In Medieval England, peacocks and swans were eaten only by the rich at Christmas but boar's head was the main course. In the 18th century, turkey, along with beef, slowly replaced the boar's head as most people's Christmas meal in Britain." Another source suggested, “From the time of the ancient Egyptians, goose was the main course of Winter Solstice feasts. Henry VIII of England is credited with replacing goose with turkey, which is more meaty & flavorful."    Regards, Sam

SOFRITO: IT'S NOT A CORN CHIP

Q: I'd like to know how one uses Sofrito...and to wish you and yours a very happy healthy eating new year.  Bob.

A: Dear Bob, In Italian cooking, a soffrito is a sautéed mixture of vegetables such onion, garlic, and celery and is used to flavor sauces and soups. In Spanish cooking, a sofrito (only one "f") is similar but more of a sauce and usually contains tomato. Regards, Sam

FOR THE BIRDS

Q: Sam, Here in the SF Bay Area, finding free range birds is easy, you could probably buy one in 7-11. But where does one go in Delray Beach, FL? Thanks in advance,
Blaine

Copyright 2005. Cooking to Beat the Clock is a registered trademark and may not be used without the written permission of Sam Gugino.