Columbia Crest: Our House Wine

Just like many restaurants, we have a house wine, or rather a house brand of wine, which is Columbia Crest, the Paterson, Washington winery that makes great wines at exceptional value. I can't remember when we became fans of Columbia Crest, but we've been devoted to the brand for many years. Chris and I had the chance to visit the winery in 2009, which was real treat.

The Columbia Crest winery

Columbia Crest divides its wines into four tiers. At the high end is the Reserve label, which the winery considers its top 1% of wines. Its selection is the most limited and varies, dominated by reds. They occasionally make a Reserve dessert wine. They retail for $30-$75.

There are two mid-tier labels: Horse Heaven Hells or H3, which retails for $15, and the more common Grand Estates line, which retails for $12, but can frequently be found at much lower price. Calvert-Woodley, for example, routinely prices Grand Estates at $8 and sometimes marks it down even lower (I've seen it as low at $6.88). Grand Estates is a real bargain. Even at $12, it tastes more like a wine priced in the $20s, with reds that exhibit rich, bold flavors. There are six varieties of H3 and eight of Grand Estates, including cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay and pinot gris in both. One of the more unusual Grand Estates offering is the Amitage, a red blend of mostly merlot with syrah, cabernet france, cabernet sauvignon and malbec, which sounds like an attempt to make a distinctive meritage (rhymes with "heritage"), an American version of Bordeaux.

On the bottom is the Two Vines brand, of which there are nine types that retail for $8, but like Grand Estates, can routinely be found for less. They aren't bad, but represent a significant drop in complexity from Grand Estates, which is usually only a little higher in price. From a cost/benefit standpoint, I usually find the best value in the Grand Estates line, which rarely disappoints.

We almost always have the Grand Estates merlot and cabernet sauvignon on hand, making them our "house" wines. We've noticed differences from year-to-year: sometimes we like the cab better; sometimes the merlot is king. I generally prefer the years when they do more blending, particularly if there's a higher percent of cabernet franc to add depth.

I decided it would be fun to do a taste test, comparing the merlot and cabernet sauvignon offerings in the three more common tiers: H3, Grand Estates and Two Vines.

Columbia Crest tasting room.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Two Vines, 2009. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Syrah, 2% Merlot, 13.5% alcohol.
Grand Estates, 2009. 87% cabernet sauvignon, 7% merlot, 6% syrah, 13.5% alcohol.
H3, 2009. 88% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc, 3% syrah, 2% malbec, 14.5% alcohol.

The Grand Estates was the standout of the cabs, showing a richer, deeper flavor and more distinctive scent than the Two Vines. The higher alcohol content of the H3 was noticeable and, although we liked it better than the Two Vines, it wasn't as good as the Grand Estates. Both were pretty smooth, with the H3 being a bit spicier.

Merlot

Two Vines, 2009. 13.5% alcohol.
Grand Estates, 2008. 90% merlot, 5% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc, 13.5% alcohol.
H3, 2009. 96% merlot, 3% cabernet sauvignon, 1% malbec, 14.5% alcohol.

For the last 3 years or so, we've been particularly fond of the Grand Estates merlot, while the cab had been our favorite prior to that. So we were surprised to discover that the H3 was our favorite among the merlots. It had a richer aroma and a more refined taste than the other two. The Two Vines was good, but not very distinctive. The Grand Estates was noticeably more assertive than the Two Vines, with a better finish, but fell short of the H3.

Isn't the Columbia River valley beautiful?  I drove past this all the time 15 years ago.

Food (Section) Fight!: Week 20

Food (Section) Fight! is my weekly look at The Washington Post's Food section and The New York Times' Dining section with my verdict on which section had the better content for the week.


It's the battle of the front-page condiments this week as both papers featured stories about DIY barbecue sauce (Post) and Mayonnaise (NYT).

Washington Post

The barbecue sauce contest is now an annual tradition for the Food section, one I follow closely as a keen lover of barbecue sauce. Sadly, lacking a grill of my own, I only get to barbecue when I'm at my family's beach house (even sadder, it's 3,000 miles away), but there are other ways to use barbecue sauce, including oven and slow-cooked recipes. This year the Post divided entries into three divisions: tomato-based, mustard-based and "alternative." Jim Shahin's story remarked that many of the submissions seem to fall in the last category, as contestants further blur the lines as to what constitutes barbecue sauce vs. other types of sauce. While Betty's Best BBQ Sauce (tomato-based) and the Oriental Express Sauce (alternative) both sound good, my favorite is the mustard-based Jannelle's Delectable Sauce.

Other interesting recipes this week included Joe Yonan's Smoky Cabbage and Udon Slaw, which calls for Grilled Cabbage, and accompanies his article on how to efficiently Grill for One. I've had a hankering for tuna lately, so I may try Stephanie Witt Sedgwick's Nourish recipe, Roasted Red Pepper, Tuna and Bean Salad. For Dinner in Minutes, Bonnie Benwick offers a Kale and Cucumber Salad with Avocado-Tahini Dressing, which may just help use up that jar of tahini sitting in the back of my fridge.

Jane Touzalin reviewed two cookbooks of recipes for pressure cookers, which both sound interesting, although I would have preferred more of a feature story on pressure cookers, including some tips on which ones are the best. Lastly, Tom Sietsema did his first bite on Sixth Engine, a new restaurant in downtown D.C. near Chinatown and Mount Vernon Square that resides in a converted historic firehouse and serves upscale pub fare (it's working its way into my regular lunch rotation).

New York Times

Melissa Clark penned Dining's centerpiece story today on homemade mayonnaise. It's something I've never tried myself but would like to if I can get ahold of some pasteurized eggs. She has some good tips for how to make the emulsion work, such as adding a little bit of water to the egg yolk.

Pete Wells reviewed one of New York's four-star restaurants, Le Bernardin, the seafood restaurant that is the jewel in Chef Eric Ripert's restaurant empire. Wells upheld the restaurant's four-star rating, which it has always enjoyed since its first review in the mid-'80s.

David Tanis writes about his retro recipe for Egg Batter Pan-Fried Flounder with Green Garlic, which he describes as hearkening back to the era when many fine dining restaurants described their cuisine as "continental."

Verdict

The Washington Post. With the delicious annual barbecue sauce and a lot of great grilling-related content, the Food section has outdoor cooks primed and ready for summer.

Score

The New York Times: 11
The Washington Post: 9

Pork Barrel BBQ Downtown D.C. Pop Up

This might turn into a barbecue week, basically by accident, if you can believe it.

Thanks to a tip from Jessica Sidman, Washington City Paper's newly installed Young and Hungry food writer, I got lunch today from the Pork Barrel BBQ pop-up at the downtown D.C. Living Social location (918 F Street NW).

Pork Barrel BBQ is a barbecue restaurant in Alexandria, Va. The pop-up runs just this week everyday through Friday at 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. And they're only serving one thing but it's really good: a barbecue pulled pork sandwich with your choice of sides.

The sandwich is really good, the tender pork has a wonderfully smoky flavor and just a little spice. I like that they put the sauce on the side; it's good, but the meat isn't drenched in it, which is nice. The chewy potato bun provides a nice cushion to the meat. This is probably the best barbecued pork sandwich I've eaten lately.

The setup is a little odd, but it works fine. You order your food from the Living Social lobby area. The people working there were certainly friendly. They run upstairs where your food is prepared and bring it down when it's ready.

For my side, I considered coleslaw or potato salad but opted instead for the more mysterious "Texas Caviar," a black eyed pea salad with red, yellow and green bell pepper, onion and a touch of spice. You also get corn bread, which is so fluffy and sweet it's rather more like corn cake.

For anyone who works downtown and loves barbecue, I definitely recommend a stop this week.

Corny Corn Bread

The corn cookies I made recently were so good, in part from the amazing corn flavor from the freeze-dried corn. If that worked so well in the cookies, I thought why not try it in corn bread?

Turns out, it was good impulse as this corn bread was awesome. Quite corny, so to speak. I worked off of Mark Bittman's corn bread recipe, which is a pretty basic recipe, substituting 1/2 a cup of ground freeze-dried corn for 1/2 cup of the corn meal. Like I did for the cookies, I just ground it in a food processor until it was really fine. I went with a little more sugar too.

Corny Corn Bread
Adapted from Corn Bread by Mark Bittman

1/2 cup ground freeze-dried corn
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup corn meal (finely ground)
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1. Heat oven to 375 F.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Separately, combine egg and buttermilk, add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

3. When oven is hot, put an 8 x 8 inch baking dish in the oven. Remove after a couple minutes when it's hot and add the butter, put back in the oven and let it melt (be careful not to let it burn, as butter will scorch at this temperature).

4. Remove hot pan with melted butter from oven and pour batter into pan. Bake for about 30 minutes until top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool, but serve warm.

Halibut with Spring Vegetables

Ramps are one of the more unusual vegetables found at farmers markets this time of year. Sometimes called "wild leeks," ramps' bulbs look like scallions but they have red stems and more delicate leaves. They're prized for their flavor, stronger than scallions and almost garlicky.

I've been looking for ramps at farmers markets for awhile. Recently, I finally I found some, although they came with a condition: the seller insisted I also buy her mushrooms. Fine by me, as I was sure the two would go together nicely. In fact, I found this recipe, which also calls for asparagus, and anchors the sautéed vegetables in a pea puree. Any type of mushrooms should work. I used the crimini from the farmers market and added some shiitakes from Whole Foods.

I took the recipe in a slightly different direction though, using it as an accompaniment for fish. I chose halibut for its mild flavor, which would complement the vegetables, but allow their flavors to remain the stars of the dish. I was inspired by Christine Cooks' simple recipe for roasting halibut with lemon slices.

Halibut with Spring Vegetables
Inspired by Greenmarket Recipes' Asparagus and Ramps with Crimini, Shiitake, Oyster Mushrooms and Pea Sauce 

Serves two

3/4 lb. halibut fillet
Olive oil spray
Salt and pepper
1/2 lemon, sliced into 4 slices, about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 tbsp. butter, melted
8 asparagus stalks, trimmed by bending off tough ends, and sliced into 2-inch pieces
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 lb. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch of ramps, roots removed and bulbs separated from greens

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Rinse the fish fillet and pat dry. Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with olive oil. Place fish in pan skin-side down. Spray flesh side with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, and place lemon slices on top of fish. Roast 18-20 minutes until cooked through. Divide fillet in half.

2. Heat a medium saucepan half filled with salted water until boiling. Add peas and cook about 2 to 3 minutes, until tender but still green. Remove peas from pan and place in a bowl of ice water. To puree the peas there are two options: 1) place peas in a food processor with melted butter and a couple tablespoons of salted water (use the water the peas were cooked in) or 2) use an immersion blender to puree the peas with the butter and a couple tablespoons of salted water. You'll probably need to transfer them to a narrower container for the immersion blender to work well.

3. Heat a large saucepan half filled with salted water. Add asparagus and cook for 4 minutes. Remove asparagus and place in ice water to cool.

4. Heat 1 tbsp. olive in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced crimini mushrooms and cook until browned. Remove from pan and then sauté the shiitake mushrooms (sauté mushrooms separately to avoid over-crowding the pan). Remove from pan once browned.

5. Coarsely chop the ramp bulbs, and add to frying pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil. Saute until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Chop the ramp greens. Add the cooked asparagus and mushrooms to pan along with the ramp greens and cook another couple minutes to reheat the vegetables and wilt the greens.

6. Divide the pea puree in two and spoon onto plates. Top with half a halibut fillet and top that with the ramp-mushroom-asparagus mixture.

Cocktail: Spicy Ginger-Mint Fizz

This is a cocktail that came about from leftovers. I had some mint in the fridge and some jalapeño syrup from another cocktail (I'll write about it sometime this summer). The idea was to make something simple and refreshing.

Spicy Ginger-Mint Fizz

8 mint leaves
1/2 jalapeño syrup*
1 oz. citrus vodka
1 oz. ginger liqueur
1/2 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. club soda

1. Add mint leaves and syrup to the metal cup of a Boston shaker and muddle. Add ice, vodka, ginger liqueur and lemon juice and shake. Strain into collins glass with ice and top with club soda.

*To make jalapeño syrup, cut up 1 jalapeño pepper, add to saucepan with ¾ cup water and ¾ cup sugar, bring to a boil, boil 2 minutes, remove from heat and steep for 20-30 minutes, strain and store in refrigerator.

Arugula and Strawberry Salad

This year's unseasonably warm east coast winter means strawberries are ready earlier than usual. The ones I picked up recently were plump and sweet, a perfect counter to the peppery, bitter arugula from the same stall. I rounded out the flavors by toasting some walnuts and shaving a block of Parmigiano-Reggiano. And I think a good quality balsamic vinegar complements strawberry perfectly. This makes a nice lunch salad to accompany a sandwich or bowl of soup.


Arugula and Strawberry Salad


8 ripe strawberries, sliced
4-5 cups arugula, large leaves torn
1/3 cup walnuts
1/4 cup freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

1. Slice the strawberries. Combine in a large bowl with arugula. Toast walnuts in a small frying pan over medium-low heat until fragrant. Set aside to cool before adding to salad. Using a vegetable peeler, shave thin pieces of Parmesan into bowl.

2. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss vinaigrette with salad.