And the Oscar goes to...

Francis Ford Coppola, hands down. We have enjoyed his budget red wine, Rosso, for a few years now. Cruising through Goody Goody a few weeks ago, KK was scouting out some new zinfandels. Just a random selection (mostly for the bizarre labeling), I picked up this Director's Cut Zinfandel by Coppola for about $18. The label is a zoetrope (early animation/film style of image series), an homage to his filmmaking.

What an unexpected pleasure it was, even on the first taste. Not too spicy, just right. And lots of fruit. We had it with burgers and sweet potato fries in ginger-curry oil. I think it would be wonderful with Italian food, but it hardly pens it self in to just one ethnic group. It held up very well with beef, and the extra sharp cheddar on the burgers was a fantastic match.

It is a bit past our everyday wine budget, but for a weekend meal, it was spectacular. We will definitely pick up more of these. I believe Coppola also makes a Director's Cut Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet. I can't speak towards those specifically, but this Zinfandel tastes out of the park.

Abacus

This past Saturday night we finally made it to Abacus, a restaurant in downtown Dallas. Shaw had a gift card for it from his co-workers about a year ago and we've tried since then to find the right time to go. For wine dinners, we love to go around 2:00 on a holiday, so we can take as much time as we need for a bottle of wine, and skip dinner's hectic pace. However, when we tried the first time, we discovered they aren't open for lunch, ever. Style cramper. So more time went by and we chose last weekend to give it a try.

This restaurant's menu is prepared by some chef who used to be on Top Chef, but I'm not sure who since we don't have cable and I've only seen that show a handful of times when staying with family. We had heard some great reviews and also some caution; they have a bit of a rushing history between courses. We had checked their menu out months ago online and found it to be a bit adventurous for KK, but we knew their wine list was really good, and KK can find something almost anywhere. I'm just not a fan of quail eggs or buffalo when it costs that much!

At the end of the meal, I can safely say I will spend many attempts trying to recreate some of what we had that night. So yummy! We deliberated over a wine once we saw the menu up close and knew we were both aiming at fish. This viognier from Zaca Mesa was delightful. Really delicious. It started out a bit cold, but tasted pretty good even then; as it warmed up, it got even more enjoyable with plenty of honeysuckle and weight. Such a tasty wine! We looked it up on their website and it seems to be sold out; probably directed mainly at restaurant wine lists, so I'm not sure we can get it locally. We've been pleased with viognier lately, even though our preferences lie towards racy and crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Our first viognier (purchased in a restaurant) was the viognier-like Israeli wine at Amma; while not life-changing, it was very delicious with the food we had. This viognier was fantastic on it's own, and became even more delicious with the food.

And...the food! KK started with a deconstructed Caesar salad (not her usual choice EVER). The romaine hearts were split down the middle and topped with shaved parmiggiano, oven-dried tomato slices and an assertive but not too tangy caesar dressing. Looked cool, tasted even better. I'll be doing it for a family dinner in the future. Shaw chose tiger prawns with a chili-ginger dipping sauce, and just as we expected, it was nothing special. However, on the side was this little bowl of ginger risotto and small veggies which was OUTSTANDING. I think they serve the dish just for that risotto. I'll be working on that one soon. I think it would be spectacular with a glazed piece of fish. Wow. I tried to steal more than my little bite from Shaw's plate, but he is wise to me.

Main courses were both fish, and both delicious. Sean's was the most beautifully white and flaky portion of grilled swordfish. I've never seen it so white; and it was perfectly cooked. Underneath it was some sort of sauce, wilted spinach and other things. I didn't notice it too much as I was devouring mine. I got pan-seared halibut (a bit too seared and dry, but still tasty). Underneath was baby bok choy, slivers of red pepper and a carrot-ginger broth. I was not too ashamed to use the table's bread to sop up the sauce. It was so beautifully balanced and tasty, and I couldn't get it all with my fork, but the bread worked nicely!

Continuing on our splurge, we ordered a sampler of chocolate desserts. Four little piles of chocolate goodness appeared on a rectangular plate, and all of them were delicious. Memorable bites were the brule pudding (very dark and rich!), the five spice chocolate tart. One of them had a sprinkling of sea-salt on it, which made it burst with flavor. There is just something about crunchy salt and chocolate that is unexpectedly fantastic.

By the way, Starbucks has a new pretentious hot chocolate for this season: Salted Toffee Caramel Hot Chocolate. I never get Starbucks drinks, almost as a rule. I run in, get a pound of beans for Shaw, and run out. But this time, there were little samples on a tray in front of me. I couldn't turn it down. One of the most delicious warm beverages I have ever put past my lips. Just in case there is a Starbucks near you.... I'd suggest it.

Squash Season

I'm pushing fall season food real hard in hopes we will actually GET some fall before next summer hits. This recipe from Gourmet capitalizes on squash season, and is one of their more simple recipes. I find their simple ones are their best. I think this was supposed to be a side dish, but I served it over quinoa (miracle food!) and had it for dinner without meat. And, of course, a Sauvignon Blanc. Or did we try a Gru-Vee? There is a new Gewurztrauminer labeled Gru-Vee and it is more economically priced. Not too bad, but not overwhelming, either.

Peeling the squash takes a bit of elbow grease and time, but not too much. It puts a film on your hands that is hard to wash off. If you hold it with a towel, it saves your hands. However, there is a point when you cannot do that, but any bit helps.

Butternut Squash with Shallots and Sage

2 T olive oil
3 shallots, sliced thin or minced, your choice
1 (1 3/4 lb) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced in 1/2 inch cubes (4 c approx)
1/2 c low sodium chicken broth or water
1 T brown sugar
1 T salt
1 t balsamic vinegar
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t finely chopped sage

Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Cook shallots and squash, stirring until shallots are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add broth, brown sugar, sage, and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, pepper and salt to taste. Serve with meat, or over quinoa.

Priorat

I am going to get Shaw to write on this one, but I wanted to put a place holder in here. This was a new Spanish varietal for us. Most Priorats are way too expensive, even for a special wine, at least for us. This one was closer in our budget, around $12-15, and we found it at ?World Market? I think.

Priorat is a region just south of Barcelona, and according to the bottle, the vines grow on steep hillsides of shards of slate. This red is a blend of 50% Grenache and 50% Carinena. The vintner would like to suggest it has dark plums, sweet black cherries, with hints of rosemary, lavendar and mint. I would like to suggest blueberries and lots of "ooh, this is good!".

Anyhoo, we had this one with steak, simply grilled. And this was so yummy. Find and drink!

Dining Room Adolescence

We hung our shelves in the dining room a few weeks ago, and assembled the little bookshelf thing. After getting all the wine bottles up on it, we realized it looks a lot like a bar. I still love it! The picture on the left side between two candle sconces is the front of an Enoteca in Tuscany. This is phase two of three for the dining room. When my Grandmother finishes training for it, she's going to come out here and make my red silk drapes. THEN it will be finished.

Hash This

Number 19 in the Callaway recipe pages is Potato Casserole. I'm actually ashamed looking at it, since I called Mom and asked for it about a year ago and she played dumb. "I don't remember what you're talking about?" "Mom, remember my favorite side dish for Easter? I asked for it all the time?" "I'm sure you'll find something."

And it was here, all along. I actually made it for brunch when my brother was crashing with us while attending a local conference for brainiacs. He didn't remember it, either. (my own private world...)

I actually thought it was a bit too greasy when I made for Dr. Kwisco, so I tried to reduce some things. Like the cheddar. Cheddar can be a bit on the oily side, so I reduced it somewhat. And if I do it again for my own private Easter dinner, I'll probably saute the onion first.

I doubled this for a family dinner this past weekend and it worked fine. Just get a huge bowl to mix it, and thaw the potatoes first.

Potato Casserole

2 lb hashbrown potatoes (frozen, shredded are best, but I remember the southern-style diced ones from my imaginary past)
1/2 c margarine (as IF! Switch this to butter and live longer.)
1/2 chopped onion (sauted if desired)
16 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken (required casserole element- I would have subbed if I could have come up with something)
2 c grated cheddar cheese

Stir all together and put in a 9x13 pan. Top with 1/4 stick of butter melted and mixed with crushed cornflakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until golden on top and bubbly on bottom.

Brain Food, in the Best Way

"They" say blueberries are fantastic fuel for your brain. It boosts your memory skills and fights off alzheimers. I say, it is a great excuse for dessert.

This pie calls for fresh blueberries. Texas blueberries, although not the dance-in-your-mouth Maine berries, aren't too bad when in season. But their price tag is! It is past blueberry season, and I didn't want to pay $20 for a pound of apples for an apple pie (plus mine aren't always dependably pretty), so I decided on a blueberry pie with frozen berries.

Not too bad, even with the unpredictable frozen berries. I have no picture, but I can tell you, this is one beautiful pie. The toasty crumb topping, the deepest hyacinth/lavender color on the inside... When it is real blueberry season, it should be criminal not to make this pie. It's even good for breakfast. I got this recipe from a friend who requests it each year for his birthday. He rarely shares it with others, but I got a small piece and demanded the recipe.

Very few pies are good "slicers." This one is an exception. Except for this time. The frozen berries made the first night of it's life typically runny. But all other showings, it cut beautifully. I remember making it with fresh berries where this happened every time. Nothing wrong with messy pie, but beautifully shaped pie pieces can bring tears.

Make this one day.

Blueberry Pie

1 unbaked pie shell (buy it if you must, or rise above and make your own- you'll thank yourself)
1 c sour cream
2 T all-purpose flour
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1 egg- beaten
2 1/2 c fresh blueberries

Combine sour cream, flour, sugar, vanilla, salt and egg until smooth. Fold in berries and pour into pie shell.

Combine the following: 1/2 c sugar, 1 c flour, 8 T butter (softened). Work with your hands or pastry blender until crumbly and sprinkle on top of pie filling. Then sprinkle on cinnamon sugar (or just add some to the crumbly stuff).

Bake 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. Make sure it is done: pie will be dense, not liquid.

Chocolate-Glazed and Totally Edible

This is all we had left to photograph of this cake. I wasn't even going to put it on after the struggle it gave me whilst making it, but here it is, all over the internet.

First off, this recipe is from Gourmet, but I can't remember the month. I ripped it out of the magazine so I could throw it away, and the picture was on the cover. It looked gorgeous, so any photo I would have taken would have been shamefully inadequate. This one just gives your mouth an idea of what's ahead.

Second, this recipe calls for gelatin. I have never worked with gelatin before. And rarely does something mess up while I am making it that I have to start all over. Except for this one. And the other one from the same day. But never before that. I am going on record that this tasted way better than I expected, and I'd do it again but try to avoid working with gelatin. Not enough experience there to earn a merit badge. It's not like making Jell-O, you know.

You need some down-time with this one, like 4 refrigerating hours, or just make it the night before. You also need an 8 inch springform pan; I did it with a 9 inch and it was a bit thin, but tasted fine.

The worst part is processing the hazelnuts, and even that wasn't that bad. You need some extra, more than the 2 T it calls for. Toast them in a pan until their skins split (really split), then dump them on a towel and rub off the skins. Yes, the list of ingredients and directions takes up quite a lot of space, but, gelatin aside, it moved along really quickly.

Chocolate-Glazed Hazelnut Mousse Cake

For Shortbread Base:
2 T hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off
3 T sugar
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 T unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
1/8 t salt

For Mousse:
1 t unflavored gelatin (1/4 oz envelope) OR NOT
3 T cold water
1/2 c Nutella
1/2 c mascarpone (1/4 lb)
1 1/2 c chilled heavy cream
2 T unsweetened cocoa
3 T sugar

For Ganache:
1/4 c plus 1 T heavy cream
3 1/2 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

Make shortbread base: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350 F. Lock the springform pan sides to the base, and line with a round of parchment paper. Pulse hazelnuts and sugar in a food processor till finely chopped, then add flour, butter, cocoa and salt and pulse just until a dough forms.

Press dough evenly in springform pan with your fingers. Prick all over with a fork and bake until just dry to the touch, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Remove sides of pan and carefully slide out the parchment paper from underneath., then reattach the sides of pan around the shortbread base.

Make Mousse (while shortbread is cooling): Sprinkle gelatin over the water in a small saucepan and let stand about 5 minutes until softened. Heat gelatin over low heat, stirring, just until gelatin is melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk in Nutella until combined and remove from heat.

In another bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and Nutella mixture until combined. In a standing mixer, whip the cream, cocoa powder and sugar on low speed until combined, then on high speed until soft peaks form. Whisk a third of this cream into the mascarpone/Nutella mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining cream. Spoon on shortbread base in pan, gently smoothing top, then chill, covered, at least 3 hours.

Make Ganache: Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan and remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and let stand one minute. Stir till combined and smooth. Cool, if necessary, to thicken, but make sure it is still pourable.

Run a warm knife around springform pan sides to loosen the cake, then remove sides and slide cake on a serving plate. Pour ganache over the top, letting it run down the sides.

Note: Cake can be made without glaze and kept chilled up to 2 days. Cake can be glazed 6 hours ahead and chilled, uncovered.