Wineshark Recipe - 60. Coriander with Chicken Rice

Ingredients:

• Coriander finely - 2.5 oz
• Chicken stock - 2 oz
• Chicken leg - 1 lb 8 oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic finely - 1 tsp
• Rice - 10 oz
• Chicken stock - 1 lb

First rinse the coriander leaves thoroughly, and then dry them before putting into a blender with the chicken stock to form a sauce.

Remove the skin of the chicken leg and cut into pieces. Add the seasonings, garlic and some coriander sauce to marinate for about 20 minutes.

Rinse the rice and put in a pot (or rice cooker) then add chicken stock, coriander sauce and salt. Cook for a while and then add the chicken leg. Cook until there is no more stock in the pot but avoid burning the rice, ideal to maintain a moist and soft texture.

Wineshark Recipe - 59. Spinach & Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients for Cauliflower soup:

• Cauliflower - 1 lb
• Butter - 1/2 oz
• Onion sliced - 4 oz
• Chicken stock - 1 lb 8 oz
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Whipping cream - 2 tbsp

First chop the cauliflower into small pieces and clean thoroughly.

Stir fry the onion with butter, then add the cauliflower for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock to cook for another 20 minutes. After cooling, blend the soup.

Re-heat the blended soup and add whipping cream and seasonings.

Ingredients for Spinach soup:

• Spinach - 1 lb
• Pine nuts - 1 tbsp
• Butter - 1/2 oz
• Garlic finely - 1/2 tsp
• Onion sliced - 4 oz
• Chicken stock - 1 lb
• Corn flour - 3 tsp
• Water - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp

Pre-heat the oven and then put the pine nuts in, take it out when it turns slightly brown.

Stir fry the onion with butter, add garlic and then spinach. Pour in the chicken stock and cook for about 10 minutes.

After cooling, blend the soup with the pine nuts. Then re-heat the soup and add the corn flour and water mix. Finally add the seasonings.

When serving, pour the two soups together on the two sides of the bowl.

Wine tour 2012 - day 7

Having to leave Beaune today, we were all busy packing but with my friend having bought a lot of things she had to send some of those by post to avoid severe overweight penalty when returning to HK. As a result David took us to the local post office to check. There was some special wine containers available for shipment, but all were small (good for 2 bottles only) and so we went to a specialty store further away, which fortunately got the necessary polyfoam boxes for her.

After returning to hotel I also bought a bottle of Ramonet Batard-Montrachet to fill up my box. Having bought just 6 bottles in Burgundy was a bit disappointing to me but I had told David to let me know when he got news of some good stuff I could buy.

Checking out with a lot of luggages, we headed back to the post office to ship our goods. It cost me Euro 145 to ship back a box of 6 bottles, which was not cheap. But in order to relieve myself in the coming travel it was a good decision (and by the time we were back the wines were already delivered too).

With all the exercise, we all felt hungry so we went to another Michelin restaurant - Caveau des Arches. Offering good food, the setting of the restaurant is very interesting, underground in the vault of an old fortified bridge of the 16th century.

Then we were back on the road, taking a 3-hour drive to Colmar in Alsace. Very different to Burgundy, Alsace got a totally different feel with the mountains and the much more colorful buildings greeting us. Upon arriving we checked in at Hotel des Tetes, and we were all saying 'wow' on the beautiful mansion.

Located in the heart of Colmar, the hotel was a mansion dating from 1609 and now classified as a historical monument, and actually one of the most famous one in Colmar. The rooms were all nicely decorated and spacious, with also an inner courtyard for breakfast and drinks. Benny actually got the best room with the only balcony, and when we stepped out many tourists waved to us as if we were stars...

Taking a walk around before going for dinner, the color, architecture of buildings, it was such a relaxing and serene experience.

At La Cocotte de Grand-Mere, just a short distance from the hotel, we had our Alastian meal with fresh and seasonal produce, which prepared us for the exciting second part of our journey on the next day.

(to be continued...)

Wine tour 2012 - day 6

After breakfast we went to a cooper, to understand how to make a barrel in which the wines spent the first year. Arriving in St-Romain, we visited a renown barrel manufacturer, who had a small workshop for demonstrating how the barrels were made. The master cooper demonstrated how to prepare the oak staves in the right shape, length and angle, and then putting all those together using just a metal ring to form the barrel shape, without any nail or stubs... it is really an amazing job!

Then it was our turn to try! We were split into two teams and competed with each other to see how made the best barrel. Even though the staves were all prepared for us, it took the three of us together to hold them tightly and I had to hammer it repeatedly, which was quite labor-intensive. After finishing the rough shape, we had to roll to test whether it 'cracks'. It seemed Benny's team had done a better job on that... Haha...

Taking some photos, the master cooper then taught us how to further assemble the barrel with the second ring and toast it, to form the proper shape and then adding the lids. Now we understood why a new French barrel would cost EUR 750. We also got a part of the stave as a souvenir. Really an interesting experience!

Then we headed to Domaine Matrot for a tasting. Located in Meursault, we met the owner Mr. Matrot and he showed us his cellar, which were all stainless steel vats and modern. But then as we went down we saw the traditional underground where he kept his older vintages, which was a deep contrast to the winery. We tasted a few bottles of his Meursault and they were all very good. Maybe it was because of the organic viticulture that he practiced? Unfortunately considering my limited space I did not buy any, but he gave me the contact for their HK agent which I would try to find the wines. 

 

Yesterday we went to the most expensive Pinot Noir parcel, and of course we couldn't miss the most expensive Chardonnay parcel, so we went to Montrachet for another picnic. Stopping in front of Chevalier-Montrachet and overseeing the other grands crus, where the most expensive white burgundy was produced, we had a good time basking under the warm sun to enjoy some wines and snacks.

Feeling hungry we went to another Michelin restaurant for lunch: Pierre & Jean, la cuisine d'en face in St-Romain. The food was so nicely put that one had to admire the skills of the chef not just in the cooking part but also the art of showing a nice presentation. It was another wonderful meal.

We then drove by to take a look at a famous castle in the area: La Rochepot Castle, which was built in the 11th century. Not having much to look inside, we decided to take a few photos on outside only, before proceeding to the plateau on this part of Cote d'Or, which provided a nice view of the villages.

On the way back we stopped by Domaine Buisson to taste some more wines. The current owner Gilles Buisson came to greet us and his colleague, a young pretty lady, explained to us the different wines they made in the area, from Meursault, Volnay, Auxey-Duresses to St-Romain. Personally I like the St-Romain the most though it was not exceptional enough for me to buy any.

In the evening we went for something different, some Japanese style cuisine at Michelin restaurant Sushikai. Considering the location and the difficulty in getting the fresh fish, you could feel the dedication and hardwork of the chef and his team. It was also good to have something different for a change in the last few days in which we had all French cuisine. A quiet and peaceful dinner, at a serene atmosphere from the bamboo corridor and settings, I got a sense of sadness as this was the last night we were spending in Beaune.

(to be continued...)

Wine tour 2012 - day 5

On every Wednesday and Saturday there is a market in Beaune, with the individuals putting up stalls selling their wares. Today before starting our tour we went for a walk in the market, and each of us buying some interesting things as souvenirs. The people were all very friendly and some of us would simply want to spend more time but we had to leave to go for a 'picnic'.

Heading to Cote de Nuits, you can guess we were aiming for the holy grail of Pinot Noir - Romanee Conti. We passed through Aloxe-Corton and Nuits-St-Georges along the way, finally arriving Vosne-Romanee. At the village centre, David showed us where one of the owners of DRC (the de Villaine family) lived. With no sign whatsoever connecting to DRC, it probably had avoided the tourists spotlight.

Walking along, we also stopped in front of the DRC winery. It was very difficult to go in and normally no visitor would be allowed. Just taking a few photos, David pointed out the winemaker to us, who could be seen busy preparing for the coming harvest.

All of these were not our destination, as mentioned it was a 'picnic', and we walked further to the vineyards, passing through the grand cru Romanee-St-Vivant and the really ripe, healthy Pinot Noir grapes, arriving at the Romanee-Conti parcel.

Romanee-Conti is definitely the most famous estate in Burgundy if not the world, with the monopole having about 1.8 hectares. There are another 5 grands crus under DRC in Vosne-Romanee which were all famous too, and another white from Montrachet. I promised myself that I would own a set one day.

Taking enough photos, it was time to drink some wines. It would be too expensive to open a DRC here and we settled for something more manageable, a Francois Larmarche Vosne-Romanee and a Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Bressandes. With some fresh bread, we had a wonderful time enjoying the scenary and weather.

After that we went to Chateau du Clos de Vougeot which had been making wines as early as the 12th century by the monks. Looking at the huge barrels and wine presses, one could imagine how in the old days the wines were made. This is where the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin had their event also, which hopefully I could also join sometime in future.

Moving along we passed through Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-St-Denis to arrive at Gevrey-Chambertin, to meet Pierre and Marie Naigeon in their estate for lunch and tasting. Marie was the one who helped me organize this tour in Burgundy, and through her connections we were able to get a lot of exclusive visits. We proceeded to go down to the cellar, which was maintained at the natural way to preserve the eco-system there, providing an ideal environment for the maturation of the wines. It was also where we were having our lunch.

Pierre was very friendly and explained the winemaking process to us, and we also tasted the new wines from barrels of all his impressive range of wines, covering 6 grands crus, 8 premiers crus and 8 villages. Pierre is a true believer of terroir and the traditional practices and in my opinion the wines also showed clearly the different characters. A very valuable experience!

Over lunch we had good chat about wine and tasted 6 bottles of their wine, which were all very good. The production was small and with insufficient to service all customers, it was never seen in HK too. I bought two bottles to bring back home and they were a good bargain: a 2009 Bonnes-Mares at EUR 86 and a 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers VV at EUR 83. If only I have more room...

Leaving Pierre and Marie we headed to try something different - aperitif. In Burgundy it is also renown for producing good fruit, like blackcurrant, raspberry, peach and so on. Taking these fruit people made liqueur and we went to an award-winning producer Gilles Joannet to look at how he made them. It was interesting to see how the fresh fruit was soaked in high alcohol to extract the flavors, and for tax purposes he had to keep the used pulp for audit.

Of course we needed to taste them, with Benny and myself tasting all the 10 liqueur. At 20% alcohol level, even a small portion could get you dizzy, but since we were all well-trained now it was not an issue. I bought a set of three: Creme de Cassis, Framboise and Peche de Vigne. Anxious to make my own Kir when I am back to HK!

Returning to Beaune, we had dinner at a Michelin restaurant Loiseau des Vignes. This restaurant was located in the old part of Hotel Cep, with beautifully restored high-ceilinged rooms where we could see the ancient stones. The food was fantastic and again bringing another happy memory for me to bring back home.

(to be continued...)

Wineshark Recipe - 58 Curry Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• Chicken wings - 2 lb
• Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
• Onion sliced - 8 oz
• Curry powder - 1 tbsp
• Ground cumin - 1 tsp
• Chili powder - 1 tsp
• Saffron - a little bit
• Garlic finely - 1 tsp
• Coconut milk - 1 can
• Corn starch - 1/2 tbsp
• Chicken stock - 10 oz
• Avoset - 3 oz
• Banana sliced - 2
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1.5 tsp

First defrost the chicken wings and then dry them, add the salt and a bit of cooking oil to marinate.

Stir fry the onion until it smells good, then add curry powder, chili powder, cumin and saffron, to continue to cook for a short while.

Add the chicken wings (you can panfry the wings with garlic finely first), and then chicken stock, coconut milk, avoset, corn starch (mixed with water), banana, lemon juice and seasonings. Alternatively (preferred) will be to not panfry the wings but add it straight to the sauce, but then cover the pot for a while to cook it, which will make the wings more tender.

Best serve with rice.

Wineshark Recipe - 57 Chicken Minestrone

Ingredients:

• Chicken stock - 2 lb
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Onion diced - 4 oz
• Carrot diced - 4 oz
• Celery diced - 2 oz
• Cooked chicken - 4 oz
• Macaroni - 2 oz
• Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
• Oregano - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Black pepper finely - 1/4 tsp

First use the butter to stir fry the diced vegetables, then add tomato paste.

Add chicken stock and macaroni to cook for about 15 min.

Finally add the seasonings.