Wineshark Home Cooking - 28. Roast Chicken with Potato Straws

Ingredients (for 4):

• Dried bay leaves - 1 g
• Dried rosemary - 20 g
• Dried thyme - 8 g
• Black peppercorns - 1/4 tsp
• Chicken - 1
• Olive oil - 1 tbsp
• Lemon - 1
• Garlic cloves - 2
• White wine - 2 tbsp
• Water - 3 tbsp
• Salt - 5 g
• Potato straws - 300 g

Procedures:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degree Celsius. Use a pair of strong kitchen scissors to snip off the tips of the chicken wings. Cut off the parson's nose.

2. Put the chicken in a roasting tin, season inside and out with salt, then rub with oil. Finely grate lemon zest over the breast and legs.

3. Cut the lemon into pieces and place inside the chicken.

4. Put the bay, rosemary, thyme and peppercorns into a small processor or blender and process to a fine powder.

5. Rub the herb mixture over the chicken and push the unpeeled garlic cloves inside the chicken.

6. Roast the chicken (breast facing down) for 25 minutes.

7. Turn the chicken over and roast for another 35 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

8. Remove the chicken and set aside to rest in a warm place. Return the roasting tin to the hob.

9. Pour in the wine and water, and loosen any sediment with a wooden spoon. Boil the cooking juices, bubbling them down to make a tasty gravy.

10. Carve the chicken into pieces and place on a serving dish.

11. Pour in the gravy over and serve with potato straws.

Wineshark Home Cooking - 27. Peas & Ham

Ingredients (for 4):

• Olive oil - 4 tsp
• Onion thinly sliced - 1
• Cured ham - 4
• Ham fat - 20 g
• Frozen peas - 300 g
• Cinnamon stick - 1
• Sprigs of mint - 2
• Ham stock - 10 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then add the onion and cook gently for 10 minutes until softened.

2. Cut the ham into thin, 3-cm long strips.

3. Chop the ham fat into very small pieces.

4. Add the chopped ham and fat to the onion.

5. Fry gently for 2 minutes, or until the fat has melted and the ham and onion are golden.

6. Stir in the frozen peas and continue to cook for 4 minutes.

7. Add the cinnamon and mint, then cover the pan and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.

8. Pour in the ham stock and simmer for 5 more minutes, covered, until the peas are very tender.

9. Turn off the heat and leave to stand, covered, for 5 minutes. 

10. Remove one-tenth of the peas and process with a handheld blender until creamy.

11. Add this back to the peas to make the sauce creamier.

12. Mix well and season to taste with salt and serve in soup plate.

Chateau Figeac

There is evidence of inhabitation with the construction of a villa by Figeacus, although active viticulture was not apparent. The existence of a medieval construction is likely to be erected by the Lescours family, who owned the rights to the seigneurie prior to passing to the de Cazes family in the 15^th century.

The latter was responsible for replacing the edifice with a new chateau in the end of the 15^th century, before the estate was passed to the de Carle family when Marie de Cazes married one of their sons in 1654. The de Carle family further developed and built the 3-storey chateau that stands as Chateau Figeac today.

Through the 19^th century the vineyards were gradually carved up and sold to meet the debts of the proprietor, widowed Countess de Carle-Trajet. With the downturn of the economy and the Napoleonic blockade, the 175 hectares estate was whittled down, selling off most of the arable land and woodland, but also part of what is today’s Beauregard and La Conseillante.

A sizeable portion was sold to the Ducasse family in 1832 and formed eventually Cheval Blanc. What remaining was eventually sold to the Lebel family in 1838 and then to Gabriel Leveine in 1842. It further changed hands to Fournier family, and then to Henri de Chevremont in 1892

The vineyards were dissected with two portions totaling 37 hectares to Corbiere, retaining half (becoming current La-Tour-Figeac) and selling the rest to an associate called Marais, becoming La-Tour-du-Pin-Figeac. In 1892 it was acquired by Henri de Chevremont and his daughter Henriette. In 1905 Henriette’s son Robert Villepigue took over, and eventually Robert’s sister Ada Elizabeth, who married Antoine Manoncourt, took control.

The next generation, Thierry Manoncourt and his wife Marie-France, took over in 1947 and today the estate remains in the hands of the same family, with their daughter Laure and son-in-law Count Eric d’Aramon who are in charge.

Of all the premier grand cru classe estates, most are located on the famous limestone cotes around St-Emilion, with just two in the western part of the appellation, Graves-St-Emilion, including Cheval Blanc and Figeac. Of the five gravel mounds there, two bear the vines of Cheval Blanc and three being entirely Figeac.

Beneath the gravel soil there is clay and sand, and the gravel here has a tendency to favour Cabernet over Merlot, so the vineyards are planted with 35% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with the balance being Merlot. The vines average 35 years of age, with a density of 6000 vines per hectare.

The selection of the varieties came as a decision from Thierry Manoncourt who, bottled some of the Figeac wines unblended so he could assess how wines from different varieties mature. The fruit is harvested manually, pressed using hydraulic equipment and vinified in the chai which includes both the original wooden and the new, stainless steel fermenters

The oat vats are open-topped, and the cap is submerged using a grid. The grand vin is Chateau Figeac, which goes into new oak for 20 months. Second year oak is used for the second wine, La Grange Neuve de Figeac.

I have recently tasted the 2008 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has deep ruby color, with a slight garnet rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as cassis, blackberry and plum, pungent spice of licorice, sweet spice of cloves, oak notes of cedar, animal notes of leather and meat, mineral notes of earth and graphite, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.   

Palate

Dry with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture, with medium (+) alcohol and full body. It has medium (+) intensity flavors of black fruit such as cassis, blackberry and plum, oak notes of cedar, pungent spice of licorice, kernel notes of roasted nuts. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality St-Emilion with good intensity on the nose, showing nice complexity and particularly the more cassis than plummy element which is rather unique for the right bank, the wine has a good structure, robust yet elegant, with good acidity supporting the concentrated flavors, and the finish was reasonable. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 2-3 years.

Wineshark Home Cooking - 26. Braised Pig's Feet Provence Style

Ingredients (for 10):

• Pig's feet - 10 lb
• White wine - 200 ml
• Celery diced - 8 oz
• Bay leaves - 2
• Herbs de Provence (or Thyme) - 1 tsp
• Parsley finely - 1/4 cup
• Onion sliced - 1 big one
• Garlic finely - 2 tsp
• Stock - 10 oz
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Black pepper - 10 pieces
• Tomato paste - 4 oz
• Madeira - 2 oz
• Mushroom sliced - 4 oz

Procedures:

1. Clean the pig's feet and marinate using white wine for 1.5 to 2 days

2. Sear the pig's feet to get some color to the skin, then add white wine, celery, onion, herbs, garlic, stock, black pepper corn, salt and tomato paste to braise for about 3-4 hours.

3. Remove the pig's feet and then sieve to take the sauce.

4. Saute the mushroom with the sauce and then add Madeira.

5. Serve with rice or pasta.

Wineshark Home Cooking - 25. Caesar Salad with Parma Ham

Ingredients (for 4):

• Romaine lettuce - 4 oz
• Parma ham - 2 oz
• Extra virgin olive oil - 8 oz
• Wine vinegar - 6 oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 2 oz
• Black pepper finely - 1 tsp
• French mustard - 2 oz
• Garlic finely - 1 tsp
• Crispy bacon - 4 strips
• Egg yolk - 3
• Grated cheese - 6 tsp
• Anchovy fillet - 4
• Parmesan cheese - depends 

Procedures:

1. Put the egg yolk in a large bowl, then add mustard, salt, sugar, black pepper finely, garlic, anchovy. Mix well.

2. Add the olive oil and wine vinegar slowly, whisk well till creamy in texture. Put in fridge till ready to use.

3. Wash the lettuce and drip dry. Then add the salad dressing, crispy bacon, grated cheese and mix well.

4. Fold the Parma ham in a flower shape. 

5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese before serving. 

Chateau Giscours

The history of Chateau Giscours started in 1552 with the record showing the sales of the vineyards, from Gabriel Giraud to Pierre L’Homme. In the 18^th century it was under the Saint Simon family, but was confiscated with the Revolution in 1789 A string of new owners followed, and in 1847, the owner then being Count de Pescatore, built the chateau that still stands today.

The Count was still in charge when the property was ranked a third growth in the 1855 classification, but afterwards it fell into decline with under investment and lack of interest. Only until the arrival of Nicolas Tari, who purchased Giscours after World War II, saved the property from complete ruin and bankruptcy.

Tari first restored the vineyards and re-equipped the cellar, but a few decades later was in financial difficulty and had to sell to Eric Albada Jelgersma, a Dutch businessman. Eric also owns the neighboring Chateau du Tertre and in the last decade improved the wine quality to the path of its more glorious past.

But in the late 20^th century Giscours was reported to have made some very dubious winemaking practices which were outlawed by the appellation regulations. The scandal came to light in 1998, with a set of invoices for the purchase of oak chips was discovered, leading to the discovery that Giscours had been using that to impart oak flavor to the second wine. The cellar master Jean-Michel Ferrandez was charged and fined a significant amount.

The vineyards are spread over four gravel outcrops in Margaux, with a poor quality, slightly sandy, pebbly soils. The estate is about 400 hectares in size, with 80 hectares under vine at 10000 vines per hectare. A significant amount is old vines, with 25% over 40 years, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon at 53%, Merlot at 42% and the remainder being Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

In summer it sees leaf thinning and green harvesting to improve quality of the fruit. Manually harvest, destem and ferment plot by plot, the yields are typically less than 50 hl/ha. There is temperature control fermentation, followed by maceration and malolactic, then the wine goes into oak barrels for up to 18 months.

Regular racking is done, with the wine eventually fined but not filtered before bottling. The grand vin is Chateau Giscours of which 25000 cases are produced, and the second wine La Sirene de Giscours of 10000 cases.  

There are a number of lesser wines from lesser terroirs, including Chateau Dutheil and Chateau Houringe, both of Haut-Medoc cru bourgeois. A 40 hectare plot adjacent to Giscours but outside Margaux appellation is bottled under La Haut Medoc de Giscours.

I have recently tasted the 2005 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has deep ruby color, with garnet rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of cassis, blackberry and plum, red fruit of ripe raspberry, oak notes of cedar, pungent spice of licorice, maturity notes of savory and sweet tobacco, kernel notes of toasted almond. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture, medium alcohol, and medium (+) body, with medium intensity flavors of black fruit of blackberry, plum and dark cherries, red fruit of ripe cherries, oak notes of cedar, pungent spice of licorice, maturity notes of tobacco. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Margaux with good intense nose showing complex characters, this wine has the typical Margaux elegance and fragrance, and considering the vintage a bit surprising on the palate as one would expect a higher concentration. Nevertheless it is balanced, with solid structure, though the complexity would be a bit disappointing due to the high expectation. The finish is quite long and although it is ready to drink now, it can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years. 

Wineshark Home Cooking - 24. Provencal-flavored Sardine Tartes Fines

Ingredients (for 4):

• Fresh sardines - 4
• Olive oil - 20 ml
• Lemon - 1
• Herbs de Provence - 1 tsp
• Sea salt - dashes
• Freshly ground pepper - dashes
• Flour - 150 g
• Water - 60 ml
• Butter - 100 g
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Tomato - 400 g
• Shallot - 1
• Olive oil - 20 ml
• Garlic cloves - 1
• Herbs de Provence - 1 tsp
• Sea salt - dashes
• Freshly ground pepper - dashes

Procedures:

1. Clean and fillet the sardines.

2. Season the fillets with sea salt and ground pepper. Marinate them in the olive oil, lemon juice, and herbs de Provence for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

3. Sift the flour and salt together and make a well in the centre. Add the water. 

4. Work rapidly to combine the ingredients into a smooth dough, and chill for about 20 minutes.

5. Bring the butter to the same consistency as the dough mixture. Roll out the dough mixture to form a cross shape, leaving the centre thicker than the four other parts.

6. Place the butter in the centre of the dough and wrap it with the four other sections so that it is completely enclosed.

7. Roll out the dough to form a rectangle whose length is three times greater than its width. Fold it in three, rotate it a quarter-turn and repeat the procedure five times, chilling it for 20 minutes after you have rolled it out and folded twice.

8. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. 

9. Cut out four ovals about 14-15cm long. Prick them with a fork and bake for 15 minutes.

10. Peel the tomatoes. 

11. Cut the tomatoes in two between the stem and squeeze the halves in the palm to eliminate the seeds and dice the flesh.

12. Finely chop the shallot and sweat it in the olive oil.

13. Add the diced tomatoes. 

14. Remove the shoot from the garlic cloves and chop them. Add the cloves with the herbs de Provence to the tomatoes.

15. Allow the mixture to stew gently over low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

16. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the puff pastry ovals.

17. Drain the sardine fillets and arrange them over the chopped tomatoes. Garnish with a lemon wedge.