Handley Cellars Gewurztraminer 2005

Tom made Jamaican Curry Goat last night and I was a bit stumped as to what wine to serve with it. I browsed through our wine inventory and found the Handley Gewurtraminer. I'd had this wine before and absolutely loved it, so I knew it would be a good pairing. What an understatement. It was an awesome pairing! The wine smelled like a garden of roses and tasted of lychee and citrus. It had good acidity, bright and vibrant and it stood up very well to the spicy food.

Jamaica-style Curry Goat

1 1/2 pound fresh goat meat
1 cup red wine
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2-4 Tbsp Jamaica Curry Powder
1 tsp thyme
12 allspice crushed
fresh-ground black pepper
sea salt
water
potatoes

Cut the goat into 1-2 inch chunks as bones allow. In a large skillet, sear the goat in goose fat over high heat until brown. Lower heat to medium and add 1 Tbsp curry powder, red pepper and onion. Saute until onion is clear but not brown then add garlic and stir for a minute or two. Raise heat and add wine and stir for a minute or two. Add a cup of water, the rest of the curry powder, the allspice, some black pepper and the thyme. Cover and simmer (low to med-low heat) until the goat is tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Check it often and add water if it looks dry. Turn the meat over occasionally, too. Cut up the potatoes and add them (and a little more water) for the last 30 minutes on medium heat.

When you add the potatoes, the sauce should be a bit watery and should cover the potatoes. When done, the sauce should be thick, so if it's still watery, simmer it uncovered until it's the right consistency. Add salt, black pepper and more curry powder (if needed) to taste.

Sherry Chicken Recipe

This recipe is based on a dish from my favorite restaurant, who last year featured cuisines from different countries. It was far and away the most delicious of the different dishes!

Fry in a hot skillet in melted butter 1 lb cut up chicken (we used boneless thighs) until done. Add ground black pepper and salt to taste. Add 4 oz baby spinach leaves, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 4 strands saffron and a touch of garlic powder. When spinach is almost wilted, move everything to side of pan and splash some sherry (we used an Amantillado) in center of pan, turn heat down. Stir all up, add 4 or 5 oz heavy cream and 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 1/2 - 3 oz). Stir until sauce thickens and serve over rice.

Next time we'll try it with fresh grated Manchego cheese instead of Parmesan.

Loaves of Happiness

photo © Linda Blakely 2007

This is probably my favorite bread that Tom makes: Bular Bread. It makes me swoon when it's baking, it fills the house with such fantastic aromas!

Ingredients

3 cups milk
1 T salt
3 T instant yeast
2 t ground cardamom
2 T vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
7 - 8 cups flour

Mix together 5 cups of the flour with the salt, sugar, cardamom and yeast. Set aside. Warm the milk to 110F in microwave and add the oil and beaten egg. Mix in flour mixture one cup at a time until it can be kneaded. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a smooth dough. Let rise covered in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch down dough. Form into loaves, buns or (my favorite) you can divide dough in half, roll halves out flat, cover with cinnamon sugar and roll up jellyroll style and slice into 1/4" slices.

Preheat oven to 350F. After loaves, buns or dessert rolls have risen (about 30 - 45 minutes) bake until light brown.

A wonderful dinner tonight

So Tom and I picked up some gorgeous looking pork tenderloins at BJ's for an awesome price: only $12.00 for 4. They're usually around $9 or $10 for just two!

I was surfing the interwebs today looking for a recipe and found one that I used, but modified. I didn't even measure, I just eyeballed it and guesstimated. All measurements below are approximate.

2 healthy sized pork tenderloins
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t salt
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix all dry ingredients together well. Slather tenderloins with olive oil and place on a rack on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Coat oiled tenderloins with dry mixture, using all of the mixture and pressing it into the tenderloins. Roast at 325 until pork reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Cool for about 10 - 15 minutes and slice into 1/2" thick slices.

We had this with a spicy rice and paired it with Montes Purple Angel Carmenere. WOW. It was pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself :-D

Tom's Ditto Bread

photo © Linda Blakely 2007

3 packages yeast
1/2 t sugar
3 cups water
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 T cornmeal
3 cups whole wheat flour
7 - 8 cups flour
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup molasses
6 T butter
3 T sesame seeds
2 eggs
1 T salt

Mix yeast with 3/4 cup warm water and sugar. Set aside. Boil 3 cups water and pour in a bowl. Add molasses, butter, brown sugar, cornmeal, salt and sesame seeds. When cooled, add yeast mix. Beat eggs stiffly and add to mixture. Mix in whole wheat flour one cup at a time. Begin adding rest of flour one cup at a time, decreasing amount added as dough stiffens. Knead in remaining flour. Lightly grease large bowl. Place dough in the bowl and turn it over to grease both sides. Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in bulk. Punch down, divide into thirds and place in greased loaf pans. Allow to rise 30 - 45 minutes covered. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake loaves uncovered for 35 - 45 minutes.