Ragu with Pork Two Ways...and Some Steak Too!

This pork ragu recipe from Food & Wine is a favorite of mine, and I make it a few times every year. I like a meat sauce simmering in the cold weather, and the fresh ricotta topping on this adds a nice touch.

Last night I added a different twist on this recipe that was worth sharing. We were starting to accumulate various odd bits of meat that weren't quite enough for a meal unto itself (unless we all started nibbling like our 4 year old!). Half a pork chop and 1/4 a NY strip steak to be specific. I reduced the ground pork in this recipe to 1/2 pound, and substituted the leftover pork and beef. I diced the leftover meat very small, so it was similar in size to the pieces of ground pork. I added the leftover meat about 30 minutes after the ground pork, so they'd have enough time to get tender and absorb the sauce flavors without getting overdone.

OK, no false modesty here. I got this just right, the leftover meat was nice and tender and added good substance to the sauce. I was able to use up the leftovers, putting them to good use and spending less on the ground pork (not that it's pricey, but this is a time to be counting our dollars, right?).

Wine Pairing: Where to spend the dollar or two you save with this frugal strategy? Might I suggest the 2006 Vignantica Terre Dell Volturno Aglianico ($15), which we served with the meal. Deep purple in the glass, violet bouquet, big cherry taste with a bit of leather. A very good pair for the pork ragu!

Wine Highlights from Thanksgiving Weekend

Of course, family, food and giving thanks are the central elements of Thanksgiving. But if you're into wine, that also has a place on a day that revolves so much around a meal. My preview article indicated Pinot Noir would be the wine I'd feature. That was a star but we had some others worth sharing too.

The first wine opened on Turkey Day was a St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc ($18). I'd tasted a lineup of St. Superys at a tasting dinner this summer; the Sauv Blanc stood out then and was a nice start Thursday. It's got nice balance, good minerality and bit of tartness. Worked well with the appetizers we were nibbling on.

I followed this with a Saumur, a 100% Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. This had a strong grapefruit taste, a bit more tart then I was looking for, especially when I was sipping it with the main course.

My favorite came next--and I think most of the others would agree. The 2005 August Cellars Pinot Noir ($18) from Oregon's Willamette Valley, was well-balanced, with nuanced berry fruit. It created a nice harmonious blend with the different elements on our Thanksgiving table. If you can find this around, I'd definitely suggest a bottle or two for the holiday season!

Yesterday, as the turkey digested, I enjoyed my kind of Black Friday sale. I had a 10% off coupon plus a few wines to pick up from Bin Ends Wine in Braintree. Bin Ends is an innovative shop that resembles a bit the old Filenes Basement, with bottles automatically discounted the longer they sit there. There may be a bit of jostling to grab a choice bottle but not as cutthroat as Filene's was! I left with two Burgundies, several Rhones and other good choices without breaking the bank. And a few bottles will be gifts so I can say I did start my Christmas shopping.

The Bin Ends bottle we opened last night with turkey leftovers was the 2008 Ludovicus ($10). This Spanish red from Terra Alta blends Garnacha, Tempranillo, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. This medium-bodied red has nice fruit and a long finish. If you can find it in the $10 ballpark I'd definitely recommend picking up a few!

The good wine will continue tonight, with a 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape on tap, more on that later!

Post #200: Quick Picks for Thankgsgiving Wine

It's been a busy fall @ work and home, hard to believe Turkey Day is almost upon us. So I must get at least something posted about Thanksgiving Wine--and yes, this makes blog post #200!

The last few years, I've covered a lot of ground in my Thanksgiving Wine Chat columns, including last year's consideration of out-of-the box choices like Cabernet Sauvignon and red Italian blends. My favorite last year from this exploration was the 2006 Clayhouse Adobe Red Paso Robles ($17), an interesting blend of Zin, Syrah, Petite Syrah and Malbec. I've still seen this one around wine shops lately.

But having surveyed the scene a bit in recent years, I think I'll go back to basics this year--for me, that means Pinot Noir will be the featured wine on Thursday.

Pinot is very food friendly and versatile. The fruitiness can pick up the sweet elements on the table and a good bottle typically also has enough body and earthiness to fare well with items like turkey, gravy, and my favorite, the mashed potatoes.

But alas, Pinot is a tough one for the bargain category, so I haven't had a chance lately to do too much sampling for recommendations. I picked out a bottle of the 2005 August Cellars Pinot Noir ($18) from the Willamette Valley; primarily because it seemed like a good price for a bottle from this Oregon Pinot hot-spot. Now if you want a real treat from the same region, grab a bottle of the 2005 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir, which I enjoyed on Father's Day. Only share this one with people who will appreciate it (or leave the price tag on if that's the only way you forked out some real cash for it!). Somewhere in between from the same region would be a bottle from the Willamette Valley Vineyards, which has some good options for reasonable prices.

Though the first bottle I'll open to go with the feast with will be pinot, I'll probably also bring something like a Chenin Blanc for pre-dinner nibbling, and perhaps a Cote du Rhone or zin (still have some Amador County Zin waiting in the cellar--could be a nice choice as it's a bit lighter than some zins).

Not as many bottles to suggest this year as some past; for more ideas consult one of my older posts; or check out Eric Asimov's Six Year's of Wine Wisdom or Good Wine's for Under $20's 2009 picks.

Final tip--there are plenty of wine options out there that work nicely with Thanksgiving. If you're not sure, grab a few different bottles, and see what you like best! Enjoy!

Avocado Oil Chimichurri Sauce for Steak

You may have already noticed me praising this sauce, so I had to share. The basic recipe was included in the package of Wines of Chile for the recent live tasting, developed by Virgin Lands Avocado Oil. This chimichurri was intended to be a match for the big flavors of Carmenere we were sampling, and I'd say they got it spot on. This is the first chimichurri I'd tried, and my first time using avocado oil, and I was quite pleased with the combination. Below is their recipe with notes on substitutions I made:

1/2 cup extra virgin avocado oil
1/4 cup tarragon vinegar (I used basic vinegar plus 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 to 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp chopped thyme
2 tbsp chopped oregano (I used 1 tsp dried marjoram)
salt & pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced

Mix the herbs, pepper flakes and garlic in a small bowl. Add the vinegar, then whisk in the avocado oil. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Let the chimichurri sit for up to 4 hours before using to let the flavors meld.

They called for grilling hangar steak. It may be grilling season in Chile but not here in the Boston area. So I roasted a NY strip steak instead. My basic method for that is to spread a bit of olive oil then salt & pepper on both sides of the steak, let stand at room temp for about 20 minutes. Then I sear the steak stovetop in a skillet on medium high 1-2 minutes per side, then put in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Check for doneness (medium rare my goal), remove and let rest loosely tented with aluminum.

After the steak rests, slice it thin across the grain. Serve the slices with a generous topping of the chimichurri, placing extra sauce at the table (goes nicely on baked potatoes too).

And of course, serve with a nice Chilean Carmenere!

Discovering Bordeaux's Lost Grape; A Wines of Chile Tasting

Last month, I delved into the world of live wines tasting on Twitter (#ttl), with a tasting of German Rieslings. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted about participating in a Wines of Chile tasting focusing on the "lost grape", Carmenere. I've only sampled this signature grape of Chile, and was interested in trying more, especially given its interesting story. Carmenere was originally a blending grape in Bordeaux, but virtually disappeared from Europe. It later reappeared among Chilean Merlot vines, and the country's wine makers soon found that the grape was well-suited to Chile. It is now Chile's signature grape.

Sampling eight bottles based on Carmenere gave an appreciation for the range of styles and tastes it can produce. Generally, though, I'd describe as a full-bodied red somewhere between a Merlot and Cabernet Saugvignon; or as one of the tastings hosts commented "Cabernet in silk pajamas". I personally found I enjoyed the wines the most that blended in small amounts of other varietals. Overall, I found these wines to be good values well-suited to pairing with red meat, sausages and other full-flavored foods.

During the live tasting, wine bloggers around the country went through a progression of 8 wines, and shared their comments on Twitter (#winesofchile if you want to see the comment feed). Here's a summary of my notes:

2008 Santa Carolina Reserva Carmenere ($10) The lead-off wine is 100% Carmenere from the Rapel Valley. (there's a good overview of Chilean wine regions here) I detected spice on the nose, and found it a bit woody on the first taste. But it quickly opened up nicely and showed blackberry fruit and good structure. This was one of the more popular ones among our group of tasters, especially when they found out it retails for $10--they wanted to know where to buy it!

2007 Odfjell Armador Carmenere ($13) Another 100% Carmenere, my first word to describe it was "chewy", bouquet of a summer forest. This wasn't as popular as the first, "a bit dull" was mentioned by a few tasters.

2007 Viu Manent Carmenere ($14) This was perhaps my favorite of the 100% Carmeneres we tried. I tasted more peppery spice and blackberry fruit in this, reminding me of a good zin. Another taster called it a "magnified version of the Santa Carolina". From the Colchagua Valley.

2007 Cono Sur Vision Carmenere ($15) Here we got into blends, with 9% Cab and 6% Syrah joining the Carmenere. Sporting a musky bouquet, the Cab taste was very distinct despite the small proportion. Another taster noted the plumminess; another got chocolate and hazelnut.

2008 Vina La Rosa Capitana Carmenere ($18) This 100% Carmenere had a big heady bouquet, was a bit tight at first. But after a little breathing, it opened up nicely, showing violet tones with a silky mouthfeel. A bold wine from Cachapoal Valley.

2007 Ventisquero Grey Carmenere ($25) Another blend with 7.5% of both Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Maipo Valley. A big wine, I liked it fairly well but others found it a bit overpowering.

2007 Terra Andina Altos Carmenere ($19) This Central Valley wine is 70% Carmenere with 30% Carignan, which I like in Southern French red blends. This had violet on the nose, very fruit forward with lush cherry flavors. Definitely one of my favorites from the tasting, a good value.

2004 Carmen Wine Maker's Reserve Red ($44) This was an interesting blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carmenere (listed as Grande Vidure), 20% Petite Syrah and 10% Merlot. The Carmen is a wonderful wine, definitely on my "wines of the year" list. Deep brick red in the glass, subtle earthy bouquet. Fruit forward, taste of cherry and a bit of coffee. A well-structured wine, good for pairing with steak. From the Maipo Valley.

I must say before this tasting I was most likely to pick up a Chilean wine on the lower end of the price scale. But this certainly gave me a sense that Chile can produce some great values higher up the price ladder as well, and they are likely to be found on our table more often!

Full disclosure: These wines were sent as a free sample as part of my participation in the Wines of Chile live tasting.