Culinary

Left Over Pizza

March 21, 2016 No Comments

Last night we thinking about what to make for dinner and we came up with a home run pizza. We used the left over fig and onion sauce from the Fig and Onion Caramelle we made on Friday as the topping for a pizza using some pizza dough sitting in the refrigerator.

Here is what the pizza looked like after having rolled out the dough, covering it with the fig and onion sauce and adding some bacon and mozzarella cheese.

Fig and Onion Pizza Dressed and Ready For the BBQ

With the BBQ heated to a little over 500°, it cooked for six minutes.

While the pizza was cooking Jo Ann whipped up some haricot vert and shallots that were also in the refrigerator.

Haricot Vert with Shallots

We paired this with a 2013 Calixa Syrah from Monte Xanic, which was an excellent wine for the sweet and salty taste of the pizza. The final result came out great, all from using left overs that we kind of threw together.

Fig and Onion Pizza Fresh Off The BBQ

Day One in Tijuana – Dinner at La Querencia

March 20, 2016 No Comments

As we kicked off a week long adventure of the Valle de Guadalupe. We flew from Pátzcuaro to Tijuana we spent the first evening at the Hilton Place – Tijuana. Other than the credit card machine not working properly at the car rental facility, the trip from home to the hotel was everything you want, no hassles and no problems.

Our first meal in Baja California was going to be at La Querencia and we headed off to find the restaurant. However for some reason Google Maps did not have the correct location and we knew we were close but we could not find the restaurant. So Jo Ann called the restaurant and her is something that I have never ever experienced before, the maître d’ said he would come and find us. Well about two minutes later we were greeted and had a personal guide to get us to the restaurant and to our table. Amazing.

The facilities are nice as you can see below.

La Querencia Candles and Bar area

Stuffed Animal Heads at La Querencia

As typical of Mexican restaurants, we were served a plate of various salsas.

Salsas at La Querencia

We started with two appetizers, the first was Salmon carpaccio. The plate was presented well but we found that the salmon carpaccio was light and delicate. Not too much flavor other than the capers.

Salmon carpaccio at La Querencia

The second appetizer was the Sashimi Querencia. Paper thin slices of sea scallops blanketed with black and white sesame seeds, sesame seed oil and soy sauce. Yum!

Sashimi Querencia at La Querencia

We then had a Mixed Salad with Balsamic. This salad was young escrole leaves bathed in a sprupy balsamic reduction sauce topped with blue cheese crumbles and toasted almonds. It was excellent.

Mixed Salad at La Querencia

For our main courses we decided to share two entrees, the first was the Duck Taco, which consisted of crispy slices of duck confit. It was also excellent.

Duck Breast Taco

The second of our entrees was the Grilled Salmon with Rossoto. The presentation was outstanding and the Rusoto was very tasty but the salmon was slightly overcooked. I really enjoyed the pesto sauce topping the salmon.

Salmon at La Querencia

We finished our meal with a Creme Brûlée. Smoky burnt caramel top with orange zesty topping. Very Yummy.

Creme Brûlée at La Querencia

The wine we shared that evening was from Alximia called Gaia 2013. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tempranillo. It has a deep red color, clear and lots of legs. Started very aromatic like fresh out of the barrel but then softened quickly. After being opened for a while it’s aroma was light fruit and musty. Overall rating for the wine was a 3.0 out of 5.0.

Over all rating for the entire experience was a 4.0 out of 5 with a price tag of $$$.

Tata Mezcaleria + cocina de autor

March 16, 2016 No Comments

Last night Jo Ann and I dined in one of our favorite restaurants in Morelia, Tata Mezcaleria + cocina de autor. We had our usually good meal, which we will show below, but we had a couple of concerns that arose last night that we hope the management will quickly address.

The first item that we noticed was that the music was playing very loud and not at all the type of music you would expect at a restaurant of this quality. When we asked to have the music turned down all they did was to turn the nearest speaker to use away from us. It was not like the restaurant was full and could absorb the loudness, but the restaurant was only about half full mainly with tables of two quietly talking to each other.

The second concern we had was that the wine list has not changed since we first started coming to Tata over 1 ½ years ago. Some of the wines that we use to order last year are no longer available but nothing has been added to replace them nor has the wine list been reprinted. This concerns us about their commitment to maintaining an outstanding carta de vinos. I hope to discuss this with someone soon.

We did order a bottle of Tinto-Anónimo Mescal de Tinto, which was served at the right temperature and was very enjoyable. Tinto-Anónimo is a wine produced with grapes from the Valle de Guadalupe but is blended by Pablo Alonzo Pérez a local wine maker who is now working on another project in Aguascalientes which we hope he will have great success.

We started our meal by sharing two entrees a plate of Taquitos de camarón

Taquitos de camarón

and the Ensalada de lechugas orgánicas

Ensalada de lechugas orgánicas

Both of these entrees were outstanding. Fresh local vegetables in the salad and the Taquitos de camarón were awesome.

We then on to our main courses. Jo Ann started with the Salmón a la plancha which she said was excellent. It must have been as she did not offer to share any of it with me.

Salmón a la plancha

My principal plate was the duck confit, which I have had previously. The duck confit was excellent as was the styling of the plate, however the major disappointment was that the mole sauce and the plate were not warm and this created a very disappointing culinary experience. It was like they warmed the plate and placed the mole long before completing the plate and serving it. Just something that should not happen at a nice restaurant.

Pato confit

We ended our meal with the dessert of Cremes de Xocolate, which was also excellent. The candied orange peals provide a wonderful contrast to the rich chocolate of the dessert.

Cremoso de Xocolate

We will return but if the concerns we raised are not properly addressed we may have to rethink about our commitment to returning to Tata Mezcaleria + cocina de autor.

Tata Mezcaleria + cocina de autor

Bartolomé de las Casas No. 511, Centro Histórico, Morelia Michoacán.

www.tatazezcaleria.com

Culinary y Vino Conquistadors Conquer Turkey

March 14, 2016 No Comments

This past Sunday we had our monthly meeting of the Culinary y Vino Conquistadors at Eileen and Luis’ home. The focus of this month’s gathering was to prepare recipes of Turkish origin, focusing mainly on two blogs “Almost Turkish Recipes” and “Ozlem’s Turkish Table”

As anticipated the event was an outstanding success and all of the recipes were delicious!

This was our menu for Sunday, 13th March:

Jo Ann & Jon:

Black Olive Bread

Black Olive Cake

Zucchini Moussaka with Garbanzo Beans

Jennifer:

Vegetarian Dolma (stuffed peppers).

Vegetarian Dolma (Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers)

Joel & Brenda:

Turkish Potato Salad

Deidre & Jason:

Fasulye Pilaki (White Beans cooked in Olive Oil with Vegetables)

Eileen & Luis:

Turkistani Pilaf (Lamb, Carrots, Basmati Rice)

Cacik (Yoghurt, Dip with Cucumber and Garlic)

Cacik (Yoghurt Dip with Cucumber & Garlic)

Rita & Ellis:

Baklava

The conversation seemed to quiet down once the meal was served.

Before Dinner Starts Everyone Catching Up

The pond area at Eileen and Luis’ house

¡Searching for Culinary and Vino Adventures in la Valle de Guadalupe!

March 4, 2016 No Comments

For the next week we will be exploring the Valle de Guadalupe searching out new wineries and restaurants throughout the Valle as well as in Tijuana. Our research of the area shows that it has totally blossomed into a major culinary and wine mecca that any true foodie needs to experience.

We will be starting our first day in Tijuana as our flight does not arrive until late in the afternoon. It has been almost 40 years since I last visited Tijuana and I know it is going to have changed traumatically.

We hope you will enjoy following our culinary adventures as we explore this wonderful area of México and that you will be able to come to experience it in your near future.

Flying from Morelia to Tijuana

Cleaning and Polishing Stemware

February 7, 2016 No Comments

Great video from Maximilian Riedel on Tips for Cleaning Wine Stemware.

I have broken too many great wine glasses trying to get them cleaned and this finally showed me what I was doing wrong.

Spaghetti Pie with Pecorino and Black Pepper

February 7, 2016 No Comments

Spaghetti pie with pecorino and black pepper with grilled vegetables. YUM!

Last night we had an excellent spaghetti pie with pecorino and black pepper (recipe here) which was very favorable and provides great weekend leftovers that can be easily reheated.

Spaghetti pie with pecorino and black pepper with grilled vegetables. YUM!

spaghetti pie with pecorino and black pepper

Even Juliette and Jake were anxious to clean up the left overs!

Jake can not stand still

Juliette waiting to clean up the plates

Salad or Pizza?

January 6, 2016 No Comments

Last night we could not decide whether we should have a salad of freshly picked Arugula or some type of pizza. We then decided why not have both.

The end result was an arugula salad on top of a white cheese pizza. Awesome and very tasteful.

The Arugula and rest of the salad

The Prosciutto Ready for the Cheese Pizza

Cheese Pizza with the Prosciutto

Arugula Salad on a White Cheese Pizza

When in México, Improvise

January 1, 2016 No Comments

To ring in the new year last night Jo Ann and I wanted to recreate one of our old favorites that we have not had for ages, Veal Chops with Roasted Shallots, Arugula, and Polenta. This excellent meal is from Bon Appétit and it has been years since we have made it.

Part of the problem is that we can not find veal here in Morelia or Pátzcuaro so this was going to require us to improvise for the meal.

First we decided that the best meat alternative we could choose over a veal chop was a very marbled rib eye steak. We grilled this on the BBQ and achieved a mouth watering tasty main course.

For the shallots and arugula Jo Ann was able to go out to her garden and hand pick fresh shallots and arugula. Then we made the potenta from scratch and roasted the walnuts which added a great flavor to the meal.

Bottom line, you can’t always get the culinary items that you can in the US or in Europe, but if you are creative and willing to do a lot from scratch, you can enjoy just about any meal that you want.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

The final plated meal

Rib Eye Steak, Roasted Shallots, Arugula, and Polenta

One of our favorite wines from the Valle de Guadalupe

Roasted Shallots and other vegetables.

Breaking Conventions

December 31, 2015 No Comments

Jo Ann and I have always tried to break the mold when we plan our weekly meals. Whose to say that an evenings meal must be completely French or Northern Italian? I am guessing this is how the whole fusion concept evolved. To just give you a few examples, two nights ao we had a fairly light dinner of BBQ salmon, a wonderful Mediterranean rice pilaf paired with a full bodied yet inexpensive Malbec. Now I would classify our BBQ salmon as a standard American recipe as it is only seasoned with olive oil and pepper. However the rice pilaf is really a standard Mediterranean fare. Then pairing this meal with a full bodied Malbec, I don’t think this would fit anyone’s definition of a “traditional” meal.

Last night we continued to break convention as we had an excellent Sopa Tarasca with some excellent asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto which was then grilled on the BBQ. These two recipes were then paired with an inexpensive Grenache from Spain, which is typically paired with gamier birds or country stews.