Notes from a few Travels

This overheard in a Murray’s Bagels on 23rd st and 8th Ave.
An unremarkable New Yorker in glasses and a backpack asked for one of the men working behind the counter, out to the side– “I was in here yesterday and stormed out, impatient – I think it was you...was it you?” Some response that I can’t quite catch comes...along the lines of “You certainly were in a hurry”. “So it was you. I came back – I have to tell you – I’m sorry – I hadn’t had any coffee, I was feeling in a big rush, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have acted that way; I’m sorry.” (This was, if it matters, a clearly mid-range certainly at least somewhat well-off white guy – the man who had been behind the counter was Latino) . Again something I couldn’t quite make out – must have been a protestation – something in the style ‘I’m sure you had your reasons, it’s OK, I understand’– some such thing – because it triggered the response “No, I really had no right to act that way, and I apologise”. He was thanked for his apology, hands were shaken with some warmth, and the man with backpack went on his way. I nodded approvingly as he went – wanting to thank him for being brave enough – or taking the care to go back and set something right – but was a bit too bashful to raise my voice. So, I nodded and smiled, and then a young woman to my right – dressed in such a fashion that I would have taken her for the usual self-indulgent apathetic type –speaking perhaps to me in response to my movement, perhaps on her own, to the room general, said simply “That just made my day”. Then she went on about buying her large Latte, I my 1/2 dozen bagels to take back, and we all went on our way. I found myself wondering if this would have happened a year ago, or if, because the language of our public discourse has changed somewhat – because we have been stirred to remember the value of something beyond simply getting ahead – that words such as we, us and our have been used unashamedly by someone in a position of prominence and influence. I certainly hope so, because it would show the real possibility of an improvement in the quality of our daily social interaction. A nice thought.

HOT STUFF - Tasting of Mar 28

Cambas Mantinia 07 – Everybody who has ever had occasion to drink Greek wine raise their hand. Good. Now, if it was Retsina, put your hand down. Now look around the room. No, Mr. Papadopolopoulos, there isn’t a prize for being the only one left. Makes the point, though, don’t it? That was me too, by the way, until this wine came around. No radical flavour evolutions, just lipsmacking, and zesty – limes squeezed on some fleshier fruit...honeydew?

Ermita de Nieve Rueda Blanco 2007– This is bigger stuff – and riper, at this point in it’s life. Verdejo is something of a more fragrant, less herbal cousin to Sauvignon. This wine, when it showed up, was a twangily tight cable of citrusy acidity. Now, with just a bit of time in bottle, it has rounded out to something a little more...odalisque-esque – and definitively riper. Full on musky melons, or ripe white fleshed peaches – something a bit sultry.

Argyros Santorini White 06– Basically, Fascinating. Or, bewildering. Manages to combine a minerally toothsomeness with the rounded lush quality one might expect from ripe, mature...Chablis? But then there is that slightly fusel element in its’ aroma – something like newly wet pavement from the beginnings of a rain shower on a warm day. That’s the particularly Greek part.

Terras do Monforte 05 - Rich, Ripe, Round and (R)earthy. I quite like this wine. Really quite a lot actually - but with its deep richness of fruit taken together with a rather..salacious twist of farmy earthiness, it edges dangerously close to being – lurid. It’s the fruit – typically, wines of this style – from the Languedoc, say, are dryer, so all that earthy, freshly turned compost action is more in a framework one might expect. In Portugal; especially here in the south, the weather and the grape varieties give such a degree of ripeness, that it can sometimes feel like eating a plum while standing in front of the cow pen. Did I mention that I like the wine?

Gravedad Toro Joven 2005– This is the first of a trio of – to me – very interesting Spanish wines, all derived from the very same grape - Tempranillo. Toro is famous for the production of massive, dark, weighty wines. Wines that won the density/price arms race that has been tearing through the international wine world. This fellow is, to some contrast, an abstainer. While it is pretty much impossible to make a light wine in Toro, but it is a wine whose primary purpose is not HEFT. Rather, I find it pleasingly red-fruited – plummy, but not ripe purple plums – more the crisp red ones – the wine still with sufficient substance to wrap around one on a chilling day, but barely influenced by the draping robe of vanilla-ey oak. Sunny, in other words.

Ibero Tinto 04– This might be the one where I stick a foot in it . I have always enjoyed this wine – Tempranillo from the interior of the south, three months only in barrel – always showing some of that slightly stiff-necked Spanish austerity that makes drinking the wine a bit like reading Borges. At this point, however, the wine quite sings – everything seems in perfect balance, the end of the wine continues, like a seemingly endless horizon – I love it. I gave it to a friend, aria-ing in ecstatic manner over it’s perfection, and was met upon their return with distinct...indifference. Those of you on my side get a prize after the show

Argyros Santorini Red 05 - This wine exhibits the rather magical combination of sun-baked earth, prunes and – old leather (?) that is typical of southern Italy in general, and the wines of Taurino, a deeply held favourite, in specific. Hopefully none of you remember the page-long paean to Cosimo Taurino that burdened an earlier installation of tasting notes. Let’s leave it that this wine is a dead ringer, and therefore, much loved.

Senoria de Valdhermoso Tinto Roble - Shows the deeper, broader character of hot-place Tempranillo – in spades, once it has breathed adequately. The particularly satisfying element of the wine is the cedary cigar box...thing, which emerges as it breathes. Burgos, which this calls home, lies fairly far to the south of Toro – in the concentrated heat of the Douro river valley – which cuts across north/central Spain, through Portugal – to the Atlantic – at Porto. Cool, right? Something about the territory makes for typically dustier, less all-about-the fruit wines than the other.

Cambas Mavrodaphne of Patras– Waddaya say – close your eyes, it’s fancy, old LBV port. Open them again, it’s from – Greece? Mavro, in Greek, is - dark – the grape, Mavrodaphne is the dark, eyes of Daphne. Basically, it’s a port-like substance of sufficient quality to either fool, or please any stuffy 19th century British empire builder, without having to engage all the native-exploitation normally required to gather the necessary funds to afford it.

Next Tasting Time

To lend succour in these deceptively spring-seeming days, we offer a tasting of warming wines from a series of places where it is by this time, unabashedly HOT.

The lineup will include wines from 

Greece (Santorini, Attica and Achaia)

Spain (Toro - even sounds warm, Cuenca [Castilla] and perhaps elsewhere)

Portugal (Somewheres - Estremadura, likely)

All to be hosted by the inimitable Hago (Mike, to his Mum) Harrington, The least Wicked of the Wicked Wines Fellows

Funtimes to Kick Off at 2 PM Sat Mar 28

Be There or Be Elsewhere

Recently Eaten in the Canary Islands

Mojo Sauce

This shows up most frequently on top of the wrinkled potatoes tapas plate (Papas Arrugadas) at all bars and restaurants on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The potatoes are boiled in well-salted water – which is supposed to give the appearance. So far, I find it just makes them a little bit salty...which is nice, so no problem. Sometimes they would arrive dusted with salt – as if they had been rolled in a plate of salt while wet – like a chocolate truffle in cocoa powder. The first time we saw these – sitting in an appealing earthenware dish on the countertop of a bar/restaurant in the interior, we enquired what they were with evident interest – the potatoes are small, so they looked from a distance like meatballs, or some cookie/cake, or perhaps truffles or something. Our interest was met with such approval that we were handed one each – and a very, very salty potato it was indeed. With no utensils to make smaller pieces, no plate to shuffle the food around on (or under) made for a bit of a chore to muscle through – since, holding a cooked potato with the fingers, it is always about to fall apart, it makes it necessary to consume the thing in three slightly gaggy bites. Fortunately for me, another pal, whose Spanish is one half step behind mine asked what the exotic item actually was, I got to hand mine off to him – and under the watchful eye of the barkeep, he was left to consume it – with theatrics of enjoyment.

So the sauce, that would have made the whole thing work out, can be approximated quite closely in aabout five minutes flat with the aid of a Cuisinart.

Grab one or two jars of the roasted red peppers

1 or 2 cloves of garlic (you could give these a quick chop, but not necessary)

bit of white wine vinegar (1 Tbsp?)

a few dollops of olive oil, though I am not certain that goes in the real thing

a few sprinkles of cumin and coriander, ground

about a teaspoon of whole cumin seeds

whir away, and salt as you wish.

Don’t let on how easy it is.

I find it interesting, the North African spices – The Canary Islands are essentially Spanish islands on what should by all rights be either independant or African turf – so one of the items held up as a most typical island dish is a sauce made up of both Spanish and North African parts – funny.

Aside from on top of the potatoes, the sauce is used for many things – I would imagine it going well on grilled or broiled fish (haddock?) and grilled or roast chicken perhaps, though that is just a factor of the everything goes with chicken phenomenon. I saw much more eating of pig, sheep and goat there than chicken.

Eats

I have recently been deriving tremendous satisfaction throwing things in heavy pots (Le Creuset, cast iron, a clay tagine that I bought once), sticking them on the wood stove and seeing what happens. There is a definite pleasure to be found beyond the satisfaction of the relatively minor savings in not firing up the stove. When it is deathly cold out, it feels like cooking the way you would in a Norwegian shepherds’ cabin or playing castaway when you were a kid. Of course, you wouldn’t have caught me dead eating lentils no matter how tough-guy survivalist it felt. More on that in a moment. So, I recommend it to you warmly, if you have the facilities. It also feels appropriately economical for the beginning of the year – and in particular since the things one tends to cook in this fashion – lesser cuts of meat, soup, stew, beans are all cheaper ways of eating.

So, thus far, the items which have proven particularly successful are;

French Lentils (due to early childhood trauma, the regular ones make me squirm)

Fry up chopped carrot, onion, celery (if you have it) in the bottom of the pan add the rinsed lentils, some stock, and whatever dregs of wine you have available. Sprigs of thyme or rosemary are also good.
Once cooked, these are tremendously useful to have handy. Add oil and red wine vinegar to make salad (also very good as warmed salad, or thrown on top of lettuce for light dinner with cheese and unavailable good bread), serve with a few sausages braised in them (very French peasanty) or fry up a bunch of onions and toss together with the lentils and cooked rice (very...Lebanese?) (certainly very good).
Drink something moderate, rustic and French with that (or the Turkish red with the Lebanese version)

Chick Peas.

Word is, one is expected to soak the little buggers prior to cooking, though I have just thrown them in water and stuck them on the stove with no lingering ill effects. It is possible that they retain texture, shape and social standing better with soaking, however. If one likes, the throw boiling water on top and let sit for an hour quick soak is very effective. Either way, then in the heavy pot and on the stove with them. Very good with olive oil and a bit of herb – perhaps warm (quite Italian – as a side dish). Mash up with parsley and a bit of cumin and fritter for felafel (something I never imagined doing, but have seen done to great success)
Can also be used to make a very nice and satisfying thick soup – sauté up onion chopped (could be one red and one white) carrot and celery in a pan with sufficient amounts of olive oil. Add tbs tomato paste and 3/4ths of the cooked chick peas and run them around till warmed. Put through a food processor, return to the pan (this could be done on the stove again) and add chickpea cooking liquid or water until decently soupy, add remaining chickpeas and fry up some sage or rosemary in oil in a pan to put on top. Very satisfying. The actual recipe for this advocates putting smashed garlic, a few bay leaves and sage in the pot when originally cooking the chickpeas. – if you had done this, great.
The same basic game plan can be very well executed with those white cannellini beans – very much more delicate in flavour than the chick-peas. Cannelini are also great warm with oil alongside shrimp – in a warm sort of salad.

Tunesian Chicken Thingy

Brown trimmed chicken thighs in the bottom of a Dutch oven, take ‘em out from the fray and sauté up onion and garlic in the pan, re-introduce chicken, add approx teaspoon each of powdered ginger and cumin, less of turmeric and a stick of . Add a approx two cups of chick peas (either from can or nice ones you cleverly did in the manner suggested earlier) and some liquid (ckicken or veg stock, cooking liquid from the chickpeas if you did that, something) and plonk the whole affair on the woodstove for an hour or two. Guaranteed to please. This goes very nicely with some rice (basmati if possible) – if feeling extravagant, throw bit of cinnamon stick, slivered orange peel and pistachio in some butter real quick and stir into the rice when finished.

Stay Tuned for Chapter 2 – things to drink that taste right with the lingering taste of woodsmoke on ones' clothes.