Spanish Wines with Pretty Labels, Great Price!

My neighbor Bob is a retired San Francisco police officer. He enjoys all kinds of alcoholic beverages, including wine. He is fun and my kind of guy and he can tell a lot of interesting stories, but frankly he is not a fine wine connoisseur. He buys wine quite often and has an interesting collection of mostly domestic wines, each with a funny  name or label:  Fat Basterd Chardonnay, Evil (it’s just wrong), Unruly Red,  Beauze Aux (bo-zo), Ménage à Trois, etc.  

I don’t know where he buys these funny-named wines, but every time he finds something new he gives me a bottle, and now I have some of those wines in my closet (um...  wine cellar). I have not opened any of them yet, but they are resting on the shelf next to the prestigious and elegant French wines in my collection that are waiting for a glorious wine tasting event in the near future. And I must select special guests for that, but I haven’t figured out who I should invite.

Anyway, when I saw these cute labels on Spanish wines at Trader Joe’s, I loved them immediately and I purchased the wines without hesitation, not even checking varietal or vintage. Yes, I just bought them as Bob would. I bought a couple bottles of each – one each for my dining table decoration and another for drinking, of course. The first time I tasted them I was not too impressed, but I don’t mind paying for these wines because I really like the labels ... and for the price the taste is not bad! Since then I have been giving them to my secret admirers, and everyone says, “that’s so cute.” They love the bottles, as I do.

These wines are LAGRANJA 360, Cariñena, Denominacion de Origen. From the back label: “LA GRANJA 360 (AKA The Farm 360) winery is located in the North of Spain. La Granja  is there to entertain and bring happiness to all the people. A different wine – 360° turnaround – for different people. “

 Cariñena is one of the oldest protected (DO) wine growing areas in Europe, and is considered the birthplace of the Carignan grape, for which it is named (although it is now mostly planted with Garnacha/Grenache). Worth checking out!

LAGRANJA 360 tempranillo/2011 (large lovely hog on the label) $3.99: “An everyday drinking, soft, round, juicy red wine with ripe raspberry flavours.  A great match for barbeque, roasted meat, grilled vegetables or cheese.”

 It’s not too bad, and I have never found Tempranillo wine this cheap.

LAGRANJA 360 tempranillo/garnacha/2011 (label shows a zebra with its rear half painted in red stripes) $4.99: “Cherry red colour. Plenty of red fruit aromas, full flavour and velvet finish due to 2 months oak aging. A great match with red meats, pizzas or Manchego cheese. “

It is made with 50% Tempranillo and 50% Garnacha. Both grapes are native Spanish varietals. I like it.

 LAGRANJA 360 garnacha/syrah/2011 (this one sports a handsome rooster with a golden egg) $4.99: “Deep dark red colour. Plenty of dark red fruit like blackberry. Full flavour and velvet finish due to 2 months oak aging.  A great match with white meat, spicy Mexican food or tapas.”

It is made with 50% Garnacha and 50% Syrah.  It “lays” on some pretty good body and flavor... great  for burgers and barbequed meat. Many of my young guy friends like it.

Conclusion:  I really admire the wine buyers at Trader Joe’s. They know their wines and always bring us good wine at a great price. Where else can you get decent wine this cheap? Anyway, LAGRANJA wines are definitely worth trying. I am pretty sure you are going to enjoy them; if not, well, at least they make great decorative items for your kitchen.

Here is the whole lineup of La Granja labels: http://www.lagranja360.com/#!La%20Granja%20360%20family/cwc0

Salud!

Chocolate Cake Study -- One Recipe, Two Quite Different Cakes

I have been studying, tasting and experimenting a lot with chocolate and chocolate-containing confections for many years. I enjoy learning about this very popular ingredient, but I must confess that I have never been mad about chocolate (I know... what’s wrong with me?).

Since I was a young child, I have loved chocolate éclairs, pan au chocolat and chocolate ice cream, but never have been obsessed with these things. I normally prefer custard confections such as crème caramel, mille-feuille or baba au rhum with whipped cream. However, I have been making/baking chocolate confections quite often these days, because of increased demand for higher quality chocolate at work, and because every woman I know can’t get enough of it.

The following recipe is straight forward and simple, but the result is very rich and irresistible. I tried two different methods of baking this cake using exactly the same recipe (one using a hot water bath at a lower temperature and the other using just dry baking with a shorter baking time). It results in two very different looks and textures, and even the taste seems different. It was a very interesting experiment.

dry baking

hot water bath baking

This cake used an 8 inch springform pan.

Grandmother’s Creamy Chocolate Cake / Gâteau au Chocolat Grand-Mère

Recipe adapted from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan

For one 8-inch square pan, loaf pan or round (I used an 8 inch springform pan)

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Callebaut's 60% cacao)

¾ cup (150 grams) sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

¼ cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour (or rice flour for gluten-free version)

Fresh berries, whipped cream, crème frâiche, or vanilla ice cream for serving

1.       Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 300° F. Butter the pan and line it with aluminum foil. Have ready a large pan that can hold the cake pan and water (to make a bain-marie).

2.       Put the butter in a heavy, medium saucepan, then add the chocolate and sugar.  Place the pan over medium-low heat and, stirring almost constantly, heat until the butter, chocolate and sugar are melted and well blended. Remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for 3 minutes.

3.       One by one, stir eggs into the chocolate mixture using a whisk. Sift the flour over the mixture and stir it in as well. Rap the batter on the counter to deflate any air bubbles, then pour into the prepared pan.

4.       Put the cake pan into the larger pan, fill the large pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan, and slip the combo into the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cake is set on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out streaky but not wet. Lift the cake pan out of the water bath and place it on a rack to cool to room temperature. Chill the cake at least 1 hour before unmolding.

5.       When cake is cold, gently turn it over onto a serving platter, lift off the pan, and carefully remove the foil. The cake is meant to be served upside down, with its sleeker side showing. It can be served cold or at room temperature with a scoop of whipped cream, crème fraiche, or ice cream, or topped with fresh berries.

Storing: The cake can be kept tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Wrapped airtight, it can be frozen for a month.

Nutrition per serving (1/12 of cake), not including berries or cream toppings:

310 calories, 24 g fat (15 saturated), 100 mg cholesterol, 26 g sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein, 10% Daily Value for iron ("good source"). Nutrition data by Palate Works.

 

I personally prefer both the texture and taste using the dry-baking method (350 F for about 25 minutes), as used for the above-pictured heart-shaped cake. But many tasters (my lucky friends and neighbors) say, "There is no question the steam-baked one is much more tasty and far superior." As a matter of fact, this cake using the hot water bath cooking method is like eating chocolate butter. Let me know what you think!

French Shortbread Cookies and my story of Pâtisserie Lerch

Some years ago in September, when summer tourists were gone and the air was getting cooler in Paris, I went there to visit a friend and gave myself a grand tour of dozens of great well-known patisseries, chocolatiers and boulangeries.

Every day for a week I bicycled all over Paris to taste the world’s great pastries and breads. Paris is pretty flat, so bicycling is the perfect mode of transportation. No worries about traffic, parking or the many narrow one-way streets, plus you can stop whenever you want for a cup of tea, take a short break to enjoy picture-perfect scenery and more easily make new discoveries.

Most of the shops are concentrated near the center of the city, on either side of the Seine River.

Some of them are old and classic, some are young and modern, and some are gorgeous and grand in scale, but they are all in Paris, which means everything is perfectly, harmoniously melted into one great city. Think about the huge glass, modern pyramid of the Louvre Museum surrounded by centuries-old buildings. Paris is the only city in the world that can create such artistic dynamics. The French are very good at that.

Each day I visited 4-5 shops, and bought as much as I could eat or carry to enjoy later in the day or even share with strangers. I often bought way too much. Every moment was a great pleasure, of course, but I work in food for a living, so it was my business and educational duty – I had absolutely no guilt doing it.

Frankly, I am more of a wine and cheese person than a lover of sweets, but I never got tired of tasting and enjoying endless varieties of delicious, hand-crafted baked creations that week.

Pastry and bread are great throughout France, but Paris is very special. You can find almost anything you can imagine in Paris, and not only at famous shops. There are many excellent small pâtesseries and boulangeries in every neighborhood.

My first visit was to one of the oldest shops in Paris, Stohrer on Livery Street near Les Halles.

I loved their famous puits d’amours, or “wells of love” – small round puff pastries filled with vanilla cream and caramel. The baba au rhum were so delicious; Criolo, layers of chocolate, mousse, biscuit and almond cake, was to die for.

The classic and elegant Laduree on rue Royal near Madeleine, with their dark wood paneled tea

room, brought me back to the late 19th century, and their beautiful classic French pastries and famous macarons in the display case are irresistible. I also enjoyed a cup of tea and tea sandwiches at the upstairs cafe... heaven!

The most gorgeous and grand-scale of the pâtesseries is Lenotre. Dalloyau is famous for its

gateau opera. The former head chocolate maker from La Maison du Chocolat, Michel Chaudun, has his own high-end collection of shops, as does Jean-Paul Hevin, former pastry chef at the Nikko Hotel and winner of many pastry awards/competitions in the ‘70s and ‘80s. 

Then there’s the small but very wonderful neighborhood pâtisserie Gérard Mulot in the 6th arrondissement – I loved their rectangular-shaped brioche pastry filled with pastry cream and small chocolate chips. Marcel Haupois’s creations are simple yet classic, and very delicious. The shop was located on rue des Deux-Ponts, on The Ile Saint-Louis (island in the middle of the Seine) and is a solitary but splendid store, and Marcel is truly an artisan. Berthillon is also located in Ile Saint-Louis. Their ice cream was excellent, especially the chocolate.

The renowned boulangeries of Max Poilâne, Maison Kayser and Jean-LucPoujauran on the Left Bank and Ganachaud in the 20th arrondissement baked not only great bread, but the pastry was equally delicious.

But... a tiny, rustic shop called Pâtisserie-Boulangerie Alsacienne Lerch on rue Cardinal-Lemoine, a quiet street just a block from the Seine on the left bank in the 5th touched my coeur deeply. I had heard about this shop and its artisan chef/owner André Lerch and his wife,

Madame Dénise. However when I arrived at the shop, I was a bit surprised by the simple, rustic storefront and tiny interior. 

It was around late morning... I parked my bike just in front and entered the shop. A white-haired old man in a white chef jacket welcomed me immediately with a friendly smile, and his wife

Madame Dénise greeted me from behind the pastry display case. The inside of the shop was decorated simply but neatly in a style typical of their home province of Alsace. It felt very homey and comfortable. I was the only customer at the time. I didn’t speak French and they didn’t speak English, but they tried very nicely to answer  my questions, and gave generous samples of their goods... it was such a joy.

André was a well-known and regarded pastry chef in Paris, but he was just like a nice old man in the neighborhood. I was a bit ashamed, because I was dressed too casually (shorts and t-shirt) to be talking to a great Parisian chef. I purchased croissants, madeleines, apple tart, raspberry tart, small kugelhopf, pain d’Epice, cheese cake, onion tart... I can’t really remember. And they started to worry about how I would carry everything while riding a bike. I told them I would get a taxi. I ate (or at least tasted) quite a few things right in the shop, and after every bite I would show a big thumbs up, upon which Monsieur and Madame Lerch would break into big smiles. 

It was such a wonderful experience, one that I will never forget. They were so modest and kind. And just when I was leaving they gave me some cookies in a paper bag – some very delicious, small “sables,” soft, light and delicate. I sampled them on the Pont de la Tournelle looking down the Seine with the tour boats going by and Norte Dame right in front of me. I had been thinking that my first stop for my next trip to Paris would be to visit Pâtisserie Lerch again, but I heard he and his wife closed the shop more than a few years ago, and nobody knows where they are. 

Note: Pâtisserie Lerch was just across the street from the legendary 3-star restaurant Tour d‘Argent. I learned later that M. Lerch’s pastries had many famous fans, including former French presidents, singer Georges Moustaki, actress Catherine Deneuve, and well-known café and restaurant owners, besides a faithful coterie of neighbors in the Latin Quarter (Left Bank).

Lemon Butter Cookies -- Sablés

Recipe adapted from Pâtisserie Lerch from Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops by Dorie Greenspan.

Prep time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Yield: Makes about 50 cookies 

Cookies don't get simpler or more satisfying than sablés, the basic butter cookie of France. They are homey, simple cookies that are sometimes flavored not at all (the better to show off their wholesome all-butter goodness) and sometimes given a spot of flavor, subtle or bold. At old-fashioned Pâtisserie Lerch, M. Lerch, whose affection for cookies is evident, generously flavors his sables with lemon zest and coats their edges with sugar so they emerge from the oven with a touch of sparkle.

Because the dough is made with confectioners sugar, the cookies are softer and more tender than most butter cookies, but because they are rolled into logs and sliced-and-baked, they are easier to make than many of their buttery brethren.

There are just two things you must remember when you make these sablés, tips M. Lerch passed along to me. First, be gentle when you mix in the flour. Tender cookies depend on a tender touch, so you don't want to rough up the flour and activate the gluten. Second, give the logs of dough a nice long rest in the refrigerator. Refrigerating the dough relaxes the gluten and also helps the cookies hold their shape during slicing and baking.

Ingredients

2 sticks (8 ounces; 230 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup (70 grams) confectioners sugar, sifted

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Grated zest of 1 to 1 1/2 lemons (to taste)

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

Approximately 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar, for coating

Instructions

1. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until it is smooth. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat again until the mixture is smooth and silky. Beat in 1 of the egg yolks, followed by the salt, vanilla, and grated lemon zest. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, beating just until it disappears. It is better to under beat than overbeat at this point; if the flour isn't fully incorporated, that's OK—just blend in whatever remaining flour needs blending with a rubber spatula. Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and divide it in half. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

2. Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log that is about 1 to 1 1/4 inches (2.5 to 3.2 cm) thick. (Get the thickness right, and the length you end up with will be fine and should be about 10-11 inch long.) Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for 2 hours. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

3. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. While the oven is preheating, work on the sugar coating: Whisk the remaining egg yolk in a small bowl until it is smooth and liquid enough to use as a glaze. Spread the sugar out on a piece of wax paper. Remove the logs of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap them, and brush them lightly with a little egg yolk. Roll the logs in the sugar, pressing the sugar gently to get it to stick if necessary, then, using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies about 1/4 inch (7 mm) thick. (You can make these thicker if you'd like; just bake them longer.) Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) space between them.

5. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are set but not browned. (It's fine if the yolk-brushed edges brown a smidgen.) Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

Keeping: Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature. Because the sugar coating will melt, these cookies are not suitable for freezing.

Chocolate Sables: I used 1/4 cup Valrhona's unsweetened cocoa powder instead of lemon zest.