Plain Old Vanilla

When I was little, my favorite ice cream flavor was chocolate ... vanilla was too boring and strawberry was just too foreign. Of course this was a long time ago and in Trinidad when those were our only options, except for the local flavor which flavored with coconut and thickened with Birds Custard powder. While there was an abundance of sugar (and eggs) in Trinidad, heavy cream was non-existent and vanilla extract (most likey imitation not pure) was such a luxury that it was reserved for wedding cakes!

As I got older and learned there were more flavors to explore, "31" or so on a monthly basis, I still stuck with some variation of chocolate. Once I started cooking and experimenting with "fancy" desserts that called for pure vanilla extract or vanilla beans, I ate less chocolate ice-cream and more vanilla as I began to discover how complex something as simple as vanilla is.

Did you know ...

• Vanilla was first cultivated in Mexico, in the state that is currently known as Veracruz?
• Most of the world's vanilla comes from Madagascar, Indonesia, Mexico and Tahiti but is also grown in Costa Rica, India, Uganda and Jamaica?
• Vanilla is the only fruit-bearing member of the orchid family and is harvested only once a year?
• Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron due to the intensive manual labor needed to grow the vanilla pods?
• Flowering normally occurs in the spring and must be pollinated within 12 hours of the blossom opening ... all pollination is now done by hand since the only insect capable of doing this is the Melipona bee which is native to Mexico?
  
  

  

Not so ordinary now, huh? And all vanillas don't necessarily taste the same ... each of the major types of vanilla has it's own characteristics and suggested uses, for example:

Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is an overall versatile vanilla with a rich, creamy mellow flavor and velvety overtones. It is ideal for baking and cooking -- sweet or savory. It is perfect in cakes, cookies and pastries. It adds a touch of sweetness to succulent seafood sauces or marinades and cuts the acidity of tangy tomato sauces.

Tahitan Vanilla has fruity, anisic notes that enhance fruit dishes such as cranberry sauce or cherries jubilee. Its delicate flavor is best used in recipes that do not require high heat such as refrigerated and frozen desserts, pastry creams, fruit pies and sauces, smoothies, shakes, puddings and custards.

Mexican Vanilla offers a deep spicy flavor and spices up citrus fruits such as lemons, limes and oranges but can also mellow out the bitterness of dark chocolate. It cuts the acidity and smooths out the heat in spicy tomato-based dishes. Try it in cookies, cakes, frozen desserts, barbecue and spaghetti sauces, and salsas.

Check out Nielsen-Massey's site for more cool info on vanilla!

Eating in South Africa

World Cup fever is still blazing at the office ... people are "working from home" so they can watch the important matches and the discussions about instant replays and bad ref calls get more and more heated every day. I don't mind ... the focus on World Cup reminds me of 9.5 glorious weeks I spent there ... working, meeting new friends, eating and drinking!

Here are some of the traditional food and drink of South Africa ... some of the pictures are mine, some are from the web.

The South African version of a barbecue is the "braai" (used to describe the meal, the process of cooking and the cooking area/tool). South Africans are fanatic about their braais ... within 24 hours I was invited to a braai, some of my co-workers were even showing off pictures of their braais. Most have dedicated areas of their homes set up for their braai ... so they can cook out in winter. One friend even had heated tiles in his braai. This is my friend Christopher (from NYC) getting ready to braai!

Another tradition South African meal is the potjiekos (pronounced poiki) which cooked in this three legged cast iron poiki pot which is either placed at the base of the braai or hung from a hook installed in the braai. The dish is layered, starting with meat, then potatoes and then vegetables. It was very yummy and takes about 2 hours to finish ... which goes by quickly when drinking South African wine!

This is a bunny chow ... no bunnies are ever harmed in the making of this dish. It is a quarter or half of a loaf of bread that is hollowed out and filled with curry (veggie, beef, chicken, mutton, etc). The idea is that you look like a bunny eating it. The one I had did not look this gourmet ... it was from a take out place and was absolutely delicious.

This is another thing South Africans are fanatical about ... biltong ... what we consider beef jerky. Everyone has their own special recipe ...their meat of choice, their spice blend and they method for curing and again. This was not my favorite ... but I tried it several times ... I had to!

I don't remember what this is called but it was good. This was on my last day and I guess they wanted to make sure I wouldn't starve on my long flight home!

There were so many other amazing things I ate in drank during my visit ... like rooibos tea which made me think of hibiscus, and Amarula, a cream liquer that is made from the marula tree ... this tastes a little like Baileys and I often had this for dessert. There were some other stuff that I didn't care for like boerewors, a dried sausage that was in the same category as biltong in my mind and mielies, the local starch that is made into a porridge (yuck)!

Todd's Farewell Tasting

In addition to Mom and I, fourteen of our friends showed up last Thursday night to say good bye to Todd and taste some of Oregon's finest wines.

Before we even tasted the first wine, Todd had us laughing with story from earlier that day ... he was training his replacement, it was her first day and they were riding in her car. Unknown to him, there was a welcoming committee to greet her ... an ant's nest lodged in the crease of the passenger seat. After she freaked out a little and got in her car, she called him with a humane way to get rid of the ants. His car now smells of an organic orange smelling ant repellant and they're hanging out in his Shop-Vac at home. Let's home they stay there!


While we cruised through seven wines, Todd had us cracking up with his unique brand of humor "Todd-ims". Here are a few that I wrote down in context of the conversations:

He's moving to Willamette Valley, which when properly pronounced rhymes with "damn it". It's also the home of "no flash, no trash" wines.

When opening one of the wines he warned us "this one will smack you around a little bit" and he described another as tasting like "wet forest floor".

He had only good things to say of the wine makers ... one was described as "a complete and utter wine dork" and another was "a pinot noir bad a$$".
As usual, the wines were good and the food was yummy but the company was the best. Here's a link of some of the photos from the tasting: http://www.gourmetontherun.com/images/Todd_s_Farewell_Tasting.pdf

We have a new rep and when asked about him and what's he's like, Todd said "he'll say stupid things too!"

Vegging Out

Our "Vegging Out" class started with a trip to the Davidson Farmer's market early yesterday morning. With a cup of coffee in hand and no menu in mind, Tracey, Emily and I did a brief walk through to get the lay of the land and survey our options.

Our first purchase was squash blossoms ... something none of us ever had but read much about. Then we picked up some fresh leeks and young garlic from the same farmer. We went over to the other end of the market and bought elongated beets, a couple pounds of patriotic potatoes (red, white and blue) and some mild onions. Our last stop was for hierloom tomatoes. Our menu was sketched out and we headed to the Fresh Market in Cornelius for the rest of our ingredients.

There we selected a loaf of rosemary focaccia bread, mushrooms, a vanilla poundcake, strawberries and chicken cutlets.

Now our menu was set ... bruschetta and roasted garlic with focaccia, frittata, chicken picatta, roasted potatoes, stuffed squash blossoms .... and for the grand finale ... chocolate bowls filled with poundcake, vanilla bean ice cream and flambed strawberries.

Our second course was an artichoke and leek frittata. I modified a recipe I found on-line at Williams Sonoma. It was yummy ... unlike other frittatas I've made, this one was cooked mostly on the stove top and then broiled at the end to add color to the top.

For the entree, we stuffed the squash blossoms with a sauteed mushrooms, panko bread crumbs, Parmesan and herbs. Tracey roasted the patriotic potatoes with the elongated beets, onions and herbs from her garden. I made chicken picatta but left out the lemon juice and capers since I thought it would clash with the Malbec we were drinking.

For dessert, we made chocolate bowls and filled them with the pound cake and ice cream. Then I sauteed the strawberries with Grand Marnier, lit it on fire and ladled the warm mixture into the bowls ... the heat from the strawberries melted the chocolate making it one, big, oozing chocolaty bite of goodness!

Here's a link to more photos: http://www.gourmetontherun.com/images/Vegging_OUt.pdf

World Cup Fever!

For months now the guys at work have been talking about World Cup ... I take that back ... it's been at least a couple of years that they've been scheming on how to get tickets and have been arguing if the stadiums and the country would be ready for the games.

As the official start gets closer, the conversations are longer and more frequent. Today at lunch, they were discussing which team is the favorite to win, and more importantly about the players that made the Brazilain squad.

Since I had nothing to contribute about the players and the game, I pulled the only piece of World Cup information I had readily available ... what Food and Wine Magazine suggests you drink to support your favorite team.

Here's a link to the article: http://foodandwine.com/articles/world-cup-wine-party

I have to say ... based on their suggestions, it's hard to support a favorite team.

Mother's Day Brunch

Mother's Day along with Easter and Valentines Day make up the holy trinity of eating out holidays. Rather than brave the crowds, we did brunch at home.

First course: warm cranberry scones (Mom likes them with butter, Debbie likes them plain and I like a little strawberry jam).


Second course: stuffed French toast (with ham and cheddar) and sauteed apples.

Only coffee and tea this morning. Saving the champagne for later!

Happy Mother's Day!

Todd's Visit to France

Our April wine tasting was all about Todd's first visit to France in late March. This tasting was like the others in that we had a lot of fun and drank some great wine (1 sparkling, 4 whites and 1 lonley red). However, it a first for us in two ways ... we had 24 attendees (plus Mom, Todd and I) ... a record for us and we had an audio-visual presentation ... Todd shared some of this photos with us.

As usual, Todd has several one-liners (we call these "Toddisms") and lots of great stories to tell. Since I was drinking too (and had very little to eat), I will do my best to recap some of the highlights of the evening and his trip.

Todd and his GF Margaret in Sancerre

Toddism: "It takes a lot of beer to make good wine"

Todd estimated he gained 5 lbs on this trip. I think this has something to do with it ... a restaurant that served over 100 savory crepes plus another 40 or so dessert crepes. Yep, he ate the whole thing!

Toddism: "Rolling up in our European Mini-Van"

Seems the guy second from the right is a real wine stud ... 28 years old and owns his own vineyard. Too bad he's married with a couple of kids.

So while the other guy is a wine-stud, this is the Man's Man of wine. He has his own vineyard and chateau with a courtyard and a big dog laying in the courtyard.

Le Cav

Members of the Natter family ... who were awesome hosts and shared some of their oldest wines with Todd and his group.

Nice hat!

Rocks that are native to the Loire Valley

Bad Habits!

P.S. None of the wines we tasted were date wines! ;-)