Jordan Estate Tour & Tasting

If I ask you about your favorite wine, you will probably tell me where you enjoyed it and with whom. Perhaps it was at a picnic on a perfectly sunny day, or on a date with the love of your life. Maybe it was at the winery where the wine was made, but probably not. My point is this, wine, like food, is enjoyed in context. It can be very hard for a winery to create a truly memorable experience with wine, but one winery is giving it a shot. 

I'm lucky to have gotten to spend some time at the Jordan winery and to enjoy firsthand the food, wine and hospitality that they are about. I've stayed on their property, had lunch and a full tasting, attended one of their famous halloween parties and gotten to know their talented and creative chef and his wife who heads up hospitality and events. Those experiences have been limited to a privileged few, up till now. And while Jordan uses as many means possible to share the winery experience and lifestyle virtually including photography, videos and even a blog, nothing takes the place of being there. 

The soon-to-be-launched Jordan Winery Estate Tour & Tasting is best described as a fully immersive affair. You start at the winery for a little continental breakfast with fresh fruit grown on the property plus fresh baked goods. 

The first leg of the journey takes you to the garden where you get to see the fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers growing and perhaps enjoy a nibble of something you pick. Across from the garden are a couple of extremely friendly and adorable donkeys and a chicken coop with about a dozen or so chickens, 

Next you'll continue your ride around the estate which is mostly undeveloped and preserved. The estate is 1200 acres including 112 which are used for vineyards and 18 acres with olive trees, gardens, lakes pastures and woods. On the ride you'll likely see some cattle, a mix of Texas longhorn and black angus cross breeds. 

The next stop is at a pretty lake one of two on the property, with a view of  the olive orchard and vineyards. At this point you'll enjoy a selection of  Russian River Chardonnay and two dishes, a fresh escabeche of vegetables and some sushi rice with fruit. The dishes are light but complement the wine in a fresh unexpected way. Dip your bread into olive oil from the estate while feeling the breeze waft through the olive trees. 

And then it's on to a vineyard to see the progress of the vines and grapes. Ask questions, take pictures, pluck a grape and pop it in your mouth; this is where wines are born. 

Finally your journey takes you to a peak, with 360 degree views looking down into the valleys below surrounded by mountain ranges. Another few bites await, some beef likely from the ranch with seasonal vegetables and a selection of cheeses (including a delectable truffled brie from Marin French Cheese), crackers and bread and Jordan's Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I kept imagining what a perfect spot this would be for a proposal or perhaps to celebrate a special anniversary. There is a little treat at the end of the experience, but I think it's best to keep at least one thing a surprise.

The Jordan Winery Estate Tour & Tasting takes several hours and is not cheap at $120 per person, but it has the potential to be quite memorable. Tours run from mid April through mid November, and begin at 10 am, reservations available online. My thanks to Jordan for allowing me a sneak peek!

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Jordan Winery and helped to organize a preview visit for food and wine bloggers, but I was not financially compensated. 

You Will Be My Son Film Review

Sex, greed, perfume, family psychodrama, expensive shoes, murder and wine. Let's just say You Will Be My Son has everything you'd expect from a French film including some very emotional outbursts. It's a bit of a soap opera but the acting is outstanding and the setting during harvest at a vineyard in Saint Emilion is stunning. 

I tend to enjoy films with a food or wine backdrop, and this is no exception. It's a very intriguing story with lots of plot twists, secrets and lies. It's a family story, but has elements of a thriller too. The lead actor Niels Aretrup is compelling as the father, a truly malevolent character, but the two childhood friends and rivals played by Nicolas Bridet and Patrick Chesnais are also excellent as are the rest of the supporting actors. 

The people of Bordeaux have a reputation for being a bit snobby, and the sense of place in society is a major theme in this film. Despite being set in contemporary times, it has the feel of a classic drama, with thorny ethical issues when love, passion and a desire for greatness collide. The film opens in select theaters August 16th, 2013. 

Sea Urchin Spaghetti Recipe

Sea urchin or uni is rich and creamy. It tastes very briny and yet sweet. Emulsified with some extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, it makes a wonderful sauce for pasta. The type of pasta you use is up to you of course, but isn't it gorgeous on squid ink pasta? I love the look and flavor of squid ink pasta. It's such a treat! I got mine from Mattarello, a fresh pasta company run by John Pauley and his wife Anna.

I was a fan of John's pasta back when he was still cooking at Rex Cafe around the corner from my house. Now he sells his pasta at pop ups, generally at either Gourmet and More on Franklin or Biondivino wine shop on Green Street. His squid ink pasta is so good you can enjoy it with just a simple olive oil, garlic and white wine sauce with a little bit of chili flakes or parsley. He also sells lasagna, tortellini and some different shapes and styles of pasta, all made by hand.

This pasta is really a showstopper. I'd recommend serving it for a special occasion or dinner party. I adapted the recipe from one by Sara Jenkins I found in La Cucina Italiana, "spaghetti ai ricci di mare" but I simplified it a bit and didn't use any garlic.

Note: Another option is to make the sauce and top the pasta with another type of seafood instead of just more sea urchin. It's delicious with sautéed scallops or shrimp.


Sea Urchin Spaghetti
Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course

Ingredients

About 4 ounces fresh sea urchin, divided
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound fresh pasta preferably squid ink spaghetti
2 Tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tablespoon finely chopped chives

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Combine 2 1/2  ounces sea urchin and lemon juice in the blender, purée until smooth. With blender running, add oil in a slow and steady stream until you have a thick emulsified sauce, the texture of mayonnaise. Transfer the sauce and parsley to a large bowl.

Cook pasta until just al dente. Drain and place in the bowl with sauce and parsley, and toss together. Let pasta sit just until it absorbs some of the sauce, about 1 minute, then season with salt to taste. Portion pasta onto serving plates. Top with remaining uni and garnish with chives.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: My thanks to Whole Foods for providing a sample of sea urchin for this recipe. 

More posts

Links to recent posts I've written for 7x7, Recipe.com and Epicurious...

A Sneak Peek at the SF Street Food Festival

The Smitten Ice Cream Expansion

Salmon Leftover= Super Simple Meals











Tomatoes Mozzarella...and Peaches? 











Eating Mexican Mangoes











Pierogi in Cleveland

Zucchini Chips Recipe

Zucchini is a favorite of gardeners because it's so impressive. It grows quickly and sometimes to staggering sizes. It's not my favorite for cooking with, because it's fairly bland and watery. I do appreciate that it adds great moisture to cakes and muffins as well as soups. I just find it doesn't add much in terms of flavor.

But I have recently discovered my new favorite way to enjoy zucchini! Yes, enjoy it! Because what's more enjoyable that potato chips? This recipe is the zucchini equivalent of potato chips. Ok they aren't as hearty as potato chips and I wouldn't use them for dipping, but they are very crisp and tasty. Thin slices of zucchini slowly cook, dehydrate and then crisp up in the oven. The results are very crisp thin chips, that have a mild flavor, similar to toasted pumpkin seeds. That makes sense, since both are squash. You may be surprised at how much the zucchini shrinks in the oven. The slices in the photo were next to each other when I put them in.

I have a Breville SmartOven, it's a toaster/convection oven that I absolutely love. I can only crisp up one pan of zucchini chips at a time, but in my efficient little oven they are done fairly quickly. Looking online and speaking with my recipe testers aka parents, it seems other ovens can take significantly longer to make the magic happen. But as with any recipe that uses an oven, your results may vary. Feel free to make several batches at a time, they disappear quickly!



Zucchini Chips

1 medium zucchini, about 6 ounces
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 pinch kosher salt, about 1/8 teaspoon

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Slice the zucchini thinly, put not paper thin, using a mandolin if possible. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Place the zucchini on the mat and toss lightly with the oil then place each piece of zucchini so it is barely touching the piece next to it. Sprinkle lightly with salt and bake until crisp. Time will vary depending upon the type of oven you have and the size of the slices. It may take anywhere from 1 1/2 - 3 hours so check them frequently and remove chips as they become fully crisp.

Enjoy!

All about Sea Urchins

Recently I had sea urchin served on a bed of softly scrambled eggs with brioche toast at MKT (a new restaurant in the Four Seasons in San Francisco). It was probably the sweetest tasting sea urchin I had ever eaten. The waiter told me it came from the North Coast, near Mendocino (I've also had sea urchin from Hokkaido, Santa Barbara and in Morocco). Sea urchin is a delicacy that you might know from sushi bars where it's called uni. But it's also used in other cuisines. In Italian it's called ricci di mare, in Spanish it's erizo de mar. The color of the edible part is usually a murky orange, although sometimes it's dark yellow or almost red.

The edible part of the sea urchin is not the roe, although that's typically how it's described. The five large lobes are gonads. They can be eaten raw or cooked, but the texture is best raw. Pureed, they make a luscious sauce that does not need to be cooked. Sea urchin gonads look like little tongues and their texture is buttery and creamy. Sea urchin has a briny flavor that's hard to describe. It can be a bit sweet or a little bit salty, it has funky earthy kind of taste. It's something you either love or hate.

You can buy sea urchins live in the shell or in a tray. I've always bought it at a Japanese market, but Whole Foods stores in San Francisco have just started carrying "California Gold" quality and whole fresh California red sea urchin caught between Fort Bragg and Mendocino. California Gold, was formerly known as Grade A and according to the California Sea Urchin Commission, it's described as "bright gold, yellow or orange color; firm buttery texture; fresh salty ocean scent; and with a sweet buttery taste. Uni sections are large and complete intact pieces. This is exceptionally high-grade uni for use in top quality sushi."

As far as nutrition goes, sea urchin is fairly low in fat, but is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, protein and zinc. It's harvested completely sustainably, with no by catch, since it's hand collected by divers.

 If you buy it in the shell, you can break it open either with shears or spoons. You don't need a recipe to enjoy sea urchin, you can eat it fresh out of the shell with just a squeeze of lemon, but here are some ideas if you feel like experimenting:

* On top of or in scrambled eggs

* As a simple pasta sauce

* In a souffle

* Ceviche style 

* In soup

* On bruschetta

* In risotto

* On pizza

* In a compound butter

* With ramps or chives and linguine

* Carbonara style with bottarga


More Pacific Urchin Harvesters recipes 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Whole Foods for providing me with some sea urchins. Recipes coming soon! 

Rabarcello: Drinks on Friday

Recently on Facebook I asked for recommendations for favorite rhubarb dishes. I was surprised at how many people despise it. As previously mentioned, in my rhubarb compote recipe post, I love it. And I wrote a rhubarb post for 7x7 on some great places around town with innovative rhubarb creations. 

While 7x7 is a local publication, my post caught the attention of these rather handsome fellows in Amsterdam who make Mister Kitchen's Rabarcello, a Dutch spirit that is not yet available in the US. And they offered to send me a bottle. So I might be the only person in all of America to have some Dutch rhubarb liqueur! If not, please don't ruin the dream. It's only available in Holland, Belgium and the UK for now. It was created by food writers and product developers, and inspired by pink rhubarb lemonade (which also sounds lovely). Checking out their website I found out about a restaurant promotion called Rhubarb Week that featured rhubarb drinks and dishes. Heaven! 

If you've ever cooked rhubarb, you know it gives off the most beautiful pink syrup. That is the color of Rabarcello. It's something you can drink straight, on ice or it can be mixed. It is recommended with any kind of sparkling wine. It can be paired with other white spirits like vodka or gin, but I'm not a bartender so I'm just enjoying it very simply. It's 18% alcohol which is less than 40% proof and is made without any additives or preservatives so should be kept in the refrigerator and only lasts a few weeks. 

So what does it taste like? The very essence of rhubarb. It's bright, tangy and sweet, but not cloying and with a dry finish. It's rather refreshing. It has the floral quality of cooked rhubarb too. I've never had any other rhubarb liqueur, so I can't really compare it to anything else other than to say, it has a luscious viscosity and is a perfectly delightful and delicious thing to drink chilled on a sunny day. Here's hoping that Mister Kitchen's gets approval to sell it in the US soon.