What I’m Drinking

In preparation for our trip to France, I’m attempting to educate myself about French wine. Most casual wine consumers are intimidated by French wine – the unfamiliar language, the difficult pronunciation, and the AOC (appellation d’origine consolee) system can be confusing. Prices tend to be higher as well, and who wants to drop $40-50 on a wine that’s just okay?

Here’s a secret someone taught me: when in doubt, go with a wine imported by Kermit Lynch. I have yet to be disappointed by a Kermit Lynch import. Also, 2009 was a great year for most European wines, so this was a double whammy – a 2009 Bordeaux from the sub-appellation of Lussac St-Emilion, located on the right bank of the Garonne and Dardogne rivers, imported by Kermit Lynch. This particular wine is 95% Merlot grapes and 5% Cabernet Franc. For around $35, you could drink it now (like we did with a lengthy decanting period) or cellar it for a while. I got some hints of balsamic vinegar and blackberry.

Normally Rieslings are wines that I’ll only drink when there’s nothing else available. It seems like most mass-produced Rieslings are cloyingly sweet with no acidity or structure. German Rieslings from the Mosel region have changed my mind. Now I find myself craving Riesling! It doesn’t hurt that we’ve had some nice patio weather lately, and at 8-9% alcohol, these wines don’t leave you feeling loopy.

My favorite so far is this 2012 Dr. Loosen Blue Slate Riesling Kabinett. It exhibts flavors of white peach, some floral characteristics, and a minerality that I’d never tasted before in a Riesling. It’s great as a porch-sipper or with spicy food, and I paid about $23 at our local wine store.

For around $10, you can pick up this Leonard Kreusch Riestling Kabinett, also from the Mosel Riesling. It wasn’t as multi-dimensional or complex as the Dr. Loosen wine, but it still satisfied.

On the beer front, Founders Brewing Company, out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, recently came to Middle Tennessee! I’ve been picking up Founders beers out of state for some time now, rationing their All Day IPA (a session IPA) and Dirty Old Bastard (a Scotch ale) until I could make another trip through Kentucky. No longer! And in celebration of their distribution here, there were several events last week that included a tapping of a keg of their Kentucky Breakfast Stout, an imperial stout brewed with coffee and chocolate and aged in bourbon barrels. Lately it seems like bourbon barreling has jumped the shark, but KBS gets it right. Smooth, rich, but without tasting overly boozy, even at 11.2%, it’s no wonder that Beer Advocate rates it a 100.

It’s pretty limited, so if you see it where you are, get it while you can!

Domaine de Canton Cocktails

A few weeks ago, I was invited to the first dinner in a series hosted by Domaine de Canton in partnership with a local chef and restaurant – Thomas Cook at Prime 108 in the Union Station Hotel. I jumped at the opportunity since I’ve been a fan of Domaine de Canton for several years. The dinner did not disappoint. In addition to cocktails, Canton was also used in the food!

Seared Diver Scallop with fried green tomato, Benton’s bacon, smoked corn succotash, and Domaine de Canton ginger-tomato marmalade.

Although we have a bottle of Canton amongst our liquor collection, I hadn’t visited it in sometime and was reminded just how good it is. The combination of ginger, vanilla, honey, and ginseng added to a base of VSOP and Grande Champagne XO Cognac is complex and delightful. After the dinner, we were gifted with some swag including a recipe book for both cocktails and food. Having exhausted my beer palate during Nashville Craft Beer week, I was in the mood for a cocktail and broke out the shaker and some martini glasses.

First up was the Canton Negroni. Joe isn’t a big fan of Campari as he finds it too bitter. It is definitely an acquired taste. It seems like other countries and cultures have more of a tolerance for bitterness. One of the popular sodas in Kenya was Krest – a bitter lemon soda. This is not an easy-drinking porch-pounder kind of cocktail, but I enjoyed sipping it as I stirred some mushroom risotto. The Canton replaces sweet vermouth in the regular version of the Negroni, and I enjoyed how the sweetness and spiciness of the ginger muted some of the bitterness of the Campari.

Canton Negroni

1 part gin
1 part Campari
1 part Domaine de Canton

Stir and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice.

I knew Joe would be much more partial to a cocktail we had at the dinner – The Gold Rush. We had combined bourbon and Canton in the past. The Gold Rush is similar to a Whiskey Sour with the Canton replacing the simple syrup. This is a drink you could easily toss back.

The Gold Rush

1 1/2 parts Domaine de Canton
1 part bourbon
1/2 part fresh lemon juice

Build all ingredients into a mixing glass. Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Optional cherry garnish.

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are my own.

Chocolate Bourbon Bundt Cake

*tap* *tap* *tap* Hello? Is this thing on? Let’s talk about what’s been going on in my kitchen lately… *crickets chirping*

Yep, that’s a whole lot of nothing. What has been going on are papers and sermons and meetings and running and work and social events and a horrible cold and expiring Groupons that have kept me from anything exciting in my kitchen.

And to make matters worse, I’m skipping out on Thanksgiving. The biggest food holiday of the year, and I’m going MIA. I have a week off from classes and work, and Joe has one of his weeks of vacation, so we’re going here:

(source)

Sonoma County. Six nights. Wineries. Hiking. Local food. A little cabin on a vineyard in Healdsburg. Pretending my senior project doesn’t exist. Absolute heaven.

And not cooking Thanksgiving dinner. So I made this cake instead. It has chocolate, butter, sugar, and bourbon. I baked it while listening to the Swingin’ Christmas station on Pandora. That is all that you need to know. Oh, it is also very boozy, so keep it away from the kiddos.

After having a great buttermilk ice cream with a rich chocolate cobbler at Capitol Grille last week, I attempted to make buttermilk ice cream to go along with this, but it didn’t work out as planned. But ice cream is a nice complement to the richness of this cake. And if you aren’t a fan of bourbon? Well then that’s more for me to eat.

Chocolate Bourbon Bundt Cake
source: Erin’s Food Files

Ingredients
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
5 oz. unsweetened chocolate
¼ cup instant espresso powder
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup bourbon, rye, or other whiskey
½ tsp. kosher salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 10-cup-capacity Bundt pan (or two 8- or 9-inch loaf pans).

In a heatproof bowl set over – but not touching – a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate until just smooth, stirring occasionally. Let cool.

Put espresso and cocoa powders in a 2-cup (or larger) glass measuring cup. Add enough boiling water to come up to the 1 cup measuring line. Stir until the powders dissolve. Add the bourbon and salt. Let cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar, and beat until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, baking soda and melted chocolate, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

With the mixer on low speed, beat in a third of the whiskey mixture. When liquid is absorbed, beat in 1 cup flour. Repeat additions, ending with the bourbon mixture. It may seem like there is too much liquid, but don’t worry; it’s okay. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes for a Bundt pan. (Loaf pans will take less time; start checking them after 55 minutes.)

Transfer the cake, still in its pan, to a rack. Unmold after 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving, garnished with confectioners’ sugar, if you like.

Note: This cake tastes even better on the second day, when the intensity of the alcohol mellows a little bit.

Absinthe Ice Cream

There is a bar in Houston called Absinthe. It has no sign, and you really have to know where it is. Even if you know where it is, you will drive past it several times. As one might expect, they specialize in absinthe cocktails, my favorite being Hemingway's Revenge, a combination of creme de cassis, champagne, and absinthe. So when our favorite wine store had a special on absinthe, Joe insisted on getting a bottle. And then David Lebovitz, ice cream deity, made absinthe ice cream. It was like the stars had aligned.

Most people describe absinthe has having a black licorice flavor. That's not false, but this ice cream brings out all of the herb flavors and even a hint of "vegetal bitterness" (I stole that phrase from a mixologist at Patterson House). The chocolate tempers it a bit. If you don't have absinthe, any absinthe-flavored liqueur would be a fine substitute. All you're missing is the wormwood oil. And note that the alcohol doesn't cook off, so be mindful of who you serve this too.

Absinthe Ice Cream
source: David Lebovitz

Ingredients
1 cup (250ml) whole milk

A pinch of salt

2/3 cup (130g) sugar

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream or half-and-half

5 large egg yolks

3-4 tablespoons absinthe

about 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate truffles, or chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan.

2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream or half-and-half into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the cream or half-and-half. Stir over the ice until cool, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Stir in 3 tablespoons of absinthe. Taste, and add another one if desired. 7. Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once churned, stir in the chopped chocolate bits.