The closing ceremonies

the bottle: Vina Zorzal Graciano 2007 Navarra
the movie: Chariots of Fire, 1981
the meal: Oven-roasted winter root veggies with Spanish chorizo, shallots and braising greens.
I have been meaning to get an Olympics post in here, but last week was challenging due to travel. And the week before, we opted for a Valentine’s post, bypassing other great opportunities in the Chinese New Year(2/14), Presidents' Day(2/15), Mardi Gras(2/16) and Ash Wednesday(2/17), all of which would have made for excellent food-related post opportunities. (All except…er, Ash Wednesday, that is.) Envisioning jiaozi dumplings and sake with Eat Drink Man Woman. Or Crawfish Etoufee, King Cake and Hurricanes with A Streetcar Named Desire. Laissez les bon temps rouler!)

But because the Winter Olympics happen only once every 4 years, we feel it deserves a place in the journal of bottle movie meal. And since we’re closing in on the closing ceremonies, it’s now or never. Sunday will be the official closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games so our menu-movie planning should “dovetail” well with the extinguishing of the flame and a wind-burned, achy-good retrospective. (Sunday also happens to be Purim, so if you want to modify a bit by adding some pastries like hamantash, then please indulge. And it’s even appropriate, considering the movie selection.)


Instead of featuring a more classic and well-loved Winter Olympic-themed movie like Miracle, or a wackier one like Cool Runnings or Blades of Glory, I felt a hankering to pull out an old Summer Olympic-themed favorite that captures what I feel is the essence of the Games in an evocative and timeless way. Chariots of Fire is the wonderful story of two very driven British athletes preparing to compete in the 1924 Summer Olympics, each for different and intense personal reasons. But underlying each athlete’s reason is a shared sense of morality with strong religious underpinnings. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), a young and proud Cambridge Brit, who is also Jewish in pre-war Europe, uses his gift of speed and athleticism to overcome anti-Semitism from those who would question his true Britishness, including the Cambridge institutional elite themselves. Abrahams runs against both the dusty, decaying British Empire, and Eric "The Flying Scotsman" Liddell (Ian Charleson), who is driven equally hard and passionately, but by a devotion to his Christian convictions and the calling of God. Eric sees his gift of speed as a calling, and channels that calling so devotedly that he determines he cannot run in his preliminary heat at the Games that are held on the Sabbath.

What an incredible screenplay this is. The interplay between the religious overtones in the drive of the two different characters is fantastic, but not at all overplayed. There is an unsubtle parallel between each man’s refusal to sacrifice his ideals in spite of the odds or easy way out, but it works because of great acting, underplayed dialogue, beautiful art direction, and of course, the now famous score from Vangelis that lifts the picture to the podium in our hearts.

In today’s world where fame and the culture of the individual drives so much in our media crazed world, it is refreshing to see a look back in time to when more powerful and culturally significant themes played into our sports narratives. And for the fashionistas out there, this movie is notable for its famous beach running scenes which, accompanied by the Vangelis soundtrack, inspired legions of art directors and photographers from Ralph Lauren to Calvin Klein. And not to forget, on the medals front, Chariots of Fire won four Oscars, including Best Picture.

Less Olympic in scope, our menu-planning instead relies on simplicity and the athlete’s best friend: pasta. There’s nothing like a hearty and savory bowl of pasta, brimming with fresh root veggies and crisp braising greens, then sprinkled with a tangy romano or parmesan reggiano. This is a lighter form of wintertime comfort food for me and provides not only the sensory and gustatory fuel for the common cold weather, but the caloric punch necessary to get off the couch and put in a few miles of my own. This recipe is in the kitchen-sink freestyle category, relying on a smorgasborg of bright winter veggies, with emphasis on the root variety, onion or shallot, and some good Spanish chorizo. It’s an oven-roasted medley of dense, sweet earth sugars, and toothy whole wheat pasta, all tossed together in a light fruity olive oil for melding. It’s done in about an hour, so you can prepare it during the curling events and be sitting back down in front of the tube in time for the hockey finals.

Our gold-medal winning wine this week is this high-performing Graciano from the far south of Navarra in northern Spain which seemed appropriate for the dish. (It won a gold medal in the International Wine Challenge.) The desire was to have a lighter but full-bodied glass with the pasta dish, and the Viña Zorzal Graciano 2007 Navarra fits the bill perfectly. This is a ripe, well-structured and heady pour with a spicy scent that is just a little tart and fruity to counter the spiciness of the sausage. According to my email friends at Garagiste who brought this wine to my attention, it has a “full and deep red fruit character but the desirable yin-yang of low alcohol (much like a Loire red or an old-school Cotes du Rhone vinified in cement).” As a wine of such character, it’s a great match for those of Harold and Eric, and at under $10 it makes the medal easily within reach.

And now back to Shaun White and Kim Yu-Na.

Recipe for pasta
Chop into 1/2-3/4" pieces root veggies like: sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, carrots, turnips, and rutabegas with an onion, cut into eighths, or even better, three or four quartered shallots. (1 each of the larger ones, and 2 to 3 each of the smaller)
Chop a cup of Spanish chorizo into half inch pieces.
Toss with olive oil in a big bowl. Grind sea salt and pepper into the veggie mixture.
Spread out into one layer of a sheet pan so that the veggies are not crowded. Then place into preheated 400 degree oven. Every fifteen minutes pull out the veggies and turn over to brown equally. After half an hour add another sheet pan of large torn pieces of braising greens, also tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper.
After 45 minutes for the root veggies and 15 for the greens, pull out everything and toss with whole wheat pasta. I use Whole Foods 365 brand Penne because it has great tooth and tastes great.
Grate fresh Romano or Parmesan Reggiano over the pasta and serve.

Travelin' timeout

I hope you have been enjoying the Olympics this past week. Unfortunately, we are traveling and unable to make a post this week. Next week, we'll get in our celebratory medals platform posting to honor the Games.

In the meantime, be well.

Love at first bite

the bottle: Hightower Cellars Murray Cuvée Red 2007
the movie: Say Anything, 1989
the meal: Pan-seared duck breast with bittersweet blood orange sauce, pan-fried Brussels Sprouts halves with bacon, red jasmine rice with toasted hazelnuts and parsley, chocolate pot de crème
I chose to forego the fervent draw of the Olympic spirit this week and submit to the powerful youthful allure of true love that Valentine’s Day proffers. And while I’m one who looks slightly askance at the Hallmarkization of Valentine’s Day, the true essence of the day is most definitely worth a bulging red tribute. And so next week, let us roll out the white ribbons and spikes, don our colors and parkas, and follow the flame to glory.

St. Valentine’s Day is named after the Christian martyr, Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 486 AD to celebrate love between two people. In the tradition, lovers express their affection for one another by presenting flowers, confections, and hand-written notes. In Say Anything, Lloyd Dobler uses a boombox.

In one of the sweetest, most innocent moments in modern film, our hero, played by a young and eternally optimistic John Cusack, appears in the driveway of the girl who has reluctantly rebuffed him, and with legs akimbo
and arms unbending, rebelliously blasts the Peter Gabriel song, In Your Eyes, from his portable sound system, as if it were his loudspeaker of love.

This is an honest movie, and Lloyd plays a regular guy acting out a regular life with a regular kind of heart-pounding, unstoppable first true love. It’s the very regular-ness of it all that makes the love bug affliction so trenchant. And Lloyd’s persistence and honesty in the face of odds ultimately wins the day, and the girl. It’s not overbearing in the slightest, so don’t expect a John Hughesean, treaclish teen tale. Cameron Crowe—that's right, for the second week in a row—directs us an unconventional, conventional story about just simply pure love and its undeniable beauty.

In honor of Lloyd and his love Diane(Ione Skye), we present an elegant and assertive, yet simple and sweet, pan-seared and oven-finished duck breast with a bittersweet blood orange sauce. (Miles and mouths away from duck à l'orange!) The words alone can tickle the teeth and tingle the tongue. The duck breast is seared in a hot iron skillet for 7-8 minutes, flipped and put in the oven for another 7-8, and it's done. The bittersweet, blood orange sauce is exquisite and easier that it sounds. The effect of the tart and tangy, sweet and sour sauce dabbled over the moist pink, thickly sliced and crispy-brown-skinned duck breast is as glorious and perfectly-suited as Apolo Ohno on the short rack.

To carry forth the theme of pretty in pink and perfectly dreamy, I marry the duck with a soft and ethereal red jasmine rice (I use an amazing product from Alter-Eco) studded with toasted crunchy hazelnuts, and flecked with parsley. Then, pan-fried Brussels Sprouts halves with salty bacon provide an earthen and toothy counterpoint. The final plate is a wondrous palette of colors and textures that soars alongside Lloyd’s raw, exposed heart. It’s all just delicious.

Of course we can't get away without chocolate tonight. No way around it. And these easy, luxurious little pots de crème are the perfect finish to this elegant meal. They are a dense and rich, pudding-y pleasure that melts in your mouth like a spoonful of liquid truffles. A dab of fresh whipped cream acts as the subtle crown to the ivory throne. Zest a little blood orange on top and grab a spoon.

Our goblet tonight will carry an irresistable red emblazoned with an even more irresistible label—that’s right, man’s second best friend. The Hightower Cellars Murray Cuvée Red 2007 is named after winemakers Tim and Kelly Hightower’s “best friend,” their yellow lab, Murray. The blend is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon and 31% Merlot, from Alder Ridge in Horse Heaven Hills, and Walla Walla Valley. This deep, purplish ruby red glass plays its fruity cherry, blueberry and cassis aromas well off of the succulent gamey duck and vibrant citrus flavors. The accents of light toasty oak and vanilla are a great baseline for the sweet, supple jasmine and hazelnuts. It is a beautiful and juicy valentine for your special evening, and even more special person. So raise a glass to Saint Valentine and Lloyd Dobler, for tonight they remind us of what it means to be in love.

Recipes can be found here:

Pan-seared duck breast with bittersweet blood orange sauce.
For the duck breasts: http://bit.ly/aNw9Pd
For the bittersweet blood orange sauce: http://bit.ly/dxvgtN
Pan-fried Brussels Sprouts halves with bacon: Cook some bacon slivers until crisp in an iron skillet. Add halved Brussels with a tbsp of olive oil and a little butter. Cook over medium heat until browned. Add a little chicken stock for moisture if you like and cook until tender but still crunchy.

Red jasmine rice with toasted hazelnuts and parsley: http://www.foodfit.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=510
(Add toasted hazelnuts a few minutes before the end and toss with parsley.)

Chocolate pot de crème: http://bit.ly/dBEjV7

(Add whip and orange zest.)

Sports, Delicious Sports!

the bottle: 2007 De Lisio Quarterback McLaren Vale

the movie: Jerry Maguire

the meal: Lamb ragù over pappardelle, mixed greens with citrus dressing, avocado, red onion, parmesan and clementines, molasses chocolate chip cookies

At this same time every year, we gather around the flickering warmth of our television sets with friends and food to celebrate that classic American institution: the Super Bowl ad. We chortle, we chafe, we guffaw and we gape, and sometimes, just sometimes, we even tune out. Or watch the game.

So let us stay in the deep rich red veins of last week’s themes of money and meat, but swap the shady shenanigans of politics for the prime purity of sports. And come to think of it, what could be a better fit?
We chose Jerry McGuire for this special occasion because of the utter humor that director Cameron Crowe, and actors Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding bring to the screen in the name of authenticity in sports. Sure, we all know that the game is gamed and that even our heroes are heretical, but we still hold on to some quiet voice somewhere deep inside of us that believes in our better selves, and this movie serves it up in edible style. It’s neither rammed down our throats, nor spun into syrupy heights, but rather, becomes a masterly manipulation through Cruise’s sheer charm and conviction. (He won an Oscar.) The point of this movie is not to slam on money in sports but to remind us that nothing is worth doing if we aren’t true to ourselves in the process. This might sound glib, but Crowe uses humor and great actors to deliver the message with class. Cruise’s transformation is real and his effect on Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr., in another Oscar-winning performance) is believable. At its most basic level, the movie is about money and sports, but at its core is a story of hope, redemption, love, and discovering the meaning of life.
Crowe uses dialogue extremely effectively in developing the characters, but the one-liners in Jerry McGuire steal the show. In a favorite, Jerry makes a feverish and desperate sales pitch to Tidwell, his last remaining client, “I will not rest until I have you holding a Coke, wearing your own shoe, playing a Sega game featuring you, while singing your own song in a new commercial, starring you, broadcast during the Super Bowl, in a game that you are winning, and I will not sleep until that happens. I'll give you fifteen minutes to call me back."

You might have noticed by now that we’re never going to play it too safe or straight here, so we’ll skip the chip-and-dip-with-steaming-pot-of-chili crudité classic but still tip the helmet by riffing on the iconic chili centerpiece. Part of the tradition that we love is the day-long, stove-top simmer with its slow bubble and pop, filling the house with savory, earthy aromas, so we chose a lamb ragù to play the hero substitute. If you haven’t ever belabored a long, slow simmered ragù, this weekend is the time to start. Don’t worry, the belaboring part takes the form of an occasional stir with a wooden spoon, and three hours later, presto!, you feel like a true Italian nonna.

The key play in a ragù, which is basically a thick sauce of minced vegetables, tomato paste, meat and wine, is the browning part at the start. So get down with the brown. Don’t be afraid to let the minced veggies cook into a browned mush before adding the ground lamb. Then, let this brown down even more. Add the tomato paste and wine and cook it all down by half, add some water and then leave it for the rest of the afternoon. It will get more and more intense as the day wears on, and the alchemy of the brown will lift you into the outer limits of flavor. You’ll discover an intense depth with unctuous layers of earth, dark tomato and lamb, fused together in each bite. Serve it whenever you get hungry amid your sports day line-up, be it Jerry and Rod, or New Orleans and Indianapolis. I serve it on top of a local, fresh and fat egg-y pappardelle from Cucina Fresca in Seattle. Just pour a hefty serving of the melded, meaty ragù over the fresh steaming noodles, sprinkle on some shaved parmesan and freshly chopped parsley for a bit of salty green counter, then drizzle some deep strong olive oil on top to add a finishing touch.

A zesty salad of mixed greens or arugula, tossed in a light citrus-y dressing, with creamy avocado, thinly sliced red onion, clementine sections and more shaved parmesan makes for the perfect match to the bold rich pasta sauce. It’s a great finisher, like Rod Tidwell with the winning catch, to cap a winning meal.

The wine was easy. We drafted the 2007 Quarterback from McLaren Vale. It’s a delicious Aussie red named for the 4 varieties of grape blended in approximately equal proportions. This is blending done well, which is no small feat. The soft Grenache and Merlot do an excellent job at balancing the more tannic Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon and form a strong alliance of rich balanced flavors. This compact and sturdy balanced fruit bombette is a slam dunk with the lamb ragu, and at $15, it a great deal. If you can order more than a bottle, it will age quite nicely—or at least until next year’s big game.

Another reason I felt this wine was so good for this week’s theme is the out-front bold marketing job the label does to promote it. The label itself cues the yard markers of the football field, and the sales materials—hats, jerseys, etc.—all play into the essence of the gridiron. I even saw a branded pigskin sitting atop the case display at point-of-sale in the wine shop. Go McLaren! Go Vale! Swirl in the Mouth and You’ll Prevail!

For dessert, one or two of the best-all-time chocolate chip cookies is all you need. Pull these out of the oven, and the crowd goes beserk! Sara’s special trick is to add some molasses—a tablespoon or two—use less flour, by about a quarter cup, and use really good chocolate. It makes a crispy, chewy cookie with lots of hot molten chocolate in every bite. Mmmm. Another glass of cold milk, please, sir. So get your game on, in whatever form it takes. And enjoy this funny, delicious, heart and soul warming evening with your most sports obsessed, or not, friends.

Recipes can be found here:

Lamb ragù(scroll down to second recipe): http://nyti.ms/by1Gdt

Mixed greens with citrus dressing, avocado, red onion, parmesan and clementines: http://bit.ly/cPJWen

(Substitute orange for clementine and add shaved parmesan.)

Molasses chocolate chip cookies: http://nyti.ms/b7UDF6

Reduce flour portion by 1/4 cup.

Replace three tbsp sugar for 3 tbsp molasses.