Cellar Can Blau Montsant 2008

KP and I were intrigued by this lovely bottle, which, though one cannot tell by the photo, has a nice metallic/faux holographic sparkle to it in the white diamonds on the label.

This comes from Montsant, a region of Spain with a reputation for being a "poor man's Priorat". Unlike the wines of Priorat, which usually consist mainly of Grenache, this wine is a blend of Carignan (40%), Syrah(40%), and Grenache(20%). Naturally, the label states that it is Mazuelo, Garnacha and Syrah, but that's the Spanish for you, they like to rename everything to suit their own purposes. The Portuguese are even worse.

Con Blau takes its wine seriously, though. The three varietals are grown in seperate vineyards with different soil characteristics. The Carignan is planted in sandy clay, the Grenache in slate, and the Syrah in chalky soils. This site-specificity creates a highly complex wine in the final blend, with excellent depth and lasting power.

Like any decent Rhone-style blend, this has a lot of nice, round red fruit and integrated, subtle aromas that hint at a deeper complexity. There's definitely a richness and fullness that is often lacking in the more rigid and traditional Rhone blends of France. On the palate there's a ton of lush blueberry and fig, and just a hint of oak and earth to keep things interesting. Nicely structured too, this wine peaks about 10 seconds after you swallow, and keeps going for a very respectable amount of time. Our wine lady used the word "delicious", and I wouldn't shy away from that. Not too shabby for $20, I would definitely pick this up again. I'm gonna say 88-90 points. This is one big, bold, Euro wine that doesn't need a big fatty steak to cut through it's acid. I'm enjoying it all by itself.

The only complain that I have with this bottle is more a complaint of style and philosophy than with the wine itself. This just doesn't taste like Spanish wine to me, and reminds me very much of the Rhone blends I've tasted from California. I prefer a wine (especially an old-world wine) to taste like the place it comes from, to have a sense of place and self. There is very little terroir to speak of in this wine, and I can't help but wander what this vineyard's Old Vine Garnacha tastes like. Overall, though, a very nice effort.

Cheers!

Wine Time: East End Wines

It's time I raved about my favorite new wine store in Austin, East End Wines. Recently opened on East 11th st, this place is stocked full of killer juice at a really reasonable price point.

I've been three times, and have been completely satisfied with everything I bought there. In the words of Matt and Sam, "Everything here rocks."

I gotta agree. Not only do they carry a TON of wines that I've encountered in the past that I loved, with very little emphasis on well-known labels, but almost everything in the store is between $12 and $50, with very very little super-high end. The labels I do recognize from my own dalliances in the wine industry strike me as having been wines that always over-deliver, a sentiment that the proprietors both echoed when discussing their wine buying philosophies.

So here's a few of the wines I picked up while I was in today.

2007 Laurenz and Sophia "Singing" Grüner Veltliner, Austria - $16

I wanted to get something with a little character, and something different, so I grabbed a varietal I rarely drink. This is a still white wine from Austria, and is native to this country. I was impressed by the intense aromatics, with focused tropical fruit (pineapple in particular) and hints of warm baking spices and steely minerals rounding it out. This wine has layers, for sure. On the palate, I get a lot of mild fruit, with soft acids. This is a decidedly dry wine, but there is a lot of fruit here as well. More of a peachy, stonefruit character, though. This really does last, and finishes quite mineralic and stony. I'd give this wine a solid 88-90 points, and definitely recommend for someone who likes Califronia Sauv Blancs or Viogniers as a nice stepping off point into the obscure European varieties.

2007 Edge Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, California - $22


This just screams Napa when you put your nose in the glass. It's got a little heat to it, but not too terribly bad (14.5% alcohol). Deep blueberries and raspberries on the nose, a little spice and a nice, mild oak element. There's concentration, but restraint as well. This cab is surprisingly well balanced, with great structure and just enough tannic grip to keep the flavors on your tongue after the sip is gone. Kinda finishes a little spicy too. Great juice, 91 points.

Flour Tortillas

DAY 1 (Sunday)
Making flour tortillas was an enormous feat for me, due to an extreme aversion I have to my rolling pin, which I did not even buy, and is most likely an artifact from la cocina de mi madre.

I used this recipe, which also comes in a higher fat version that uses lard. I would have liked to have used lard, or even vegetable shortening as I think this is the more traditional method; however, again due to my baking aversion there is a lack this type of ingredient in Kapes' kitchen.

This endeavor was a moderate success. Note that the recipe indicates to add the water slowly. I recommend using a spoon or something to add it in. Pouring directly from a measuring cup, I immediately added too much water, and had to add some flour back in and made a sticky mess of my hands. Eventually, the mixture felt right, and I was able to roll it out. They were a bit thick and slightly drier than I like, but my homemade beans and ground turkey picadillo moistened it up nicely.

For those of you who hate your rolling pin as much as I and live in Austin, Texas, there is a a time- and mess-saving solution: Gurrero's tortillas, available in the bread aisle at most HEBs. These flour tortillas feel raw, and when you put them on the skillet they rise up just like a fresh tortilla. Since they taste better than mine at this point, I think I'll keep a bag or two on hand...

DAY 2 (Monday) 

Success! We had greenbelt guests today, and the leftovers were critical. Of course, there were still no Gurreros... So.... Flour tortilla attempt two came to be.

Adding the water slowly was key. I scooped a bit of water with my hand, and worked the dough manually. Slow addition of water also prevents the dough from becoming sticky, which also makes it more amenable to being handled. I also rolled the tortillas out a bit thinner, and worked them into a rounder shape with my fingers. 

As I blog this, I am still receiving praise from my dinner guests and MikeDub. They still are thicker than Gurrerro's, which have been my standard until now. My guests are assuring me this heartier tortilla is how it should be. I'm beginning to agree.. :)

The Thai Temple in Berkeley, CA

Just before my recent visit to Berkeley, I was informed that Sunday brunch at the Thai Temple is unmissable. Not wanting to miss the unmissable, Esther and I headed out the door at a ripe 10 AM on Sunday. And thank goodness we got up on time! Apparently, they begin to run out of food as the day goes on, and that was no surprise to me when I saw the line that had formed by the time we had finished eating our brunch.

The thai temple is... literally... a thai temple. Wat Mongkolratanaram is the name (thank you yelp!) and from what I've gathered, the monks at the temple cook a weekly Sunday brunch. 


They're not allowed to collect money for the food, so you immediately go over to a side tent where you can trade in your money for tokens, which you "donate" for food. You may then join a line for vegetarian cuisine or the separate carnivore cue.


The pineapple and chicken curry brought out the predator in me and I joined the line of meat eaters. Esther mozied to a side line, where she donated her coins for a big bowl of soup.


For five tokens, you receive a big pile of rice and a choice of one dish. For six tokens, you can have two main dish choices, and seven tokens gets you three. I was mostly interested in the pineapple curry, but felt the need to try a beef dish as well. 


As I've left a bit of time between my actual visit to the temple and this blog, I can't remember which beef dish I had, but I recall it being delightfully spicy and tender. The sweet and spicy of the pineapple and chicken curry was well balanced. Esther took a sticky rice dessert to go, which I regret not trying before my journey back to the ATX. She absolutely raves about this treat. 

The seating at the thai temple is long picnic tables, and Esther and I were fortunate to find two adjacent seats at 10:30 AM. Certainly worth getting up on Sunday for, but make sure you do indeed rise early! The thai temple was a charming, unique experience, and will be on the agenda for the next and all subsequent California trips. 

Chilean Sea Bass

First of all, I'd like to let everyone know that the original name for Chilean Sea Bass is Chilean Toothfish. The powers that be decided that name was not appetizing enough for the american palate, so now we eat sea bass, despite the fact that this fish is completely unrelated to the bass fish that you may be familiar with from fishing trips on the river, or whatever.

But what's important is that this fish is freakin' amazing, especially if you give it a nice marinade and a quick sear. So put any ideas of what a "toothfish" might look like out of your head and get ready for some tasty eating.
YOU WILL NEED
1 cup of soy sauce or tamari
1 cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice
4 thick sea bass steaks

In terms of ingredients, I gotta recommend that you start buying better soy sauce. I really dig the unpasteurized soy sauce that is actually full of living bacteria and yeast that is left over from the fermentation process.
Also, don't skimp on your fish. We're going to give this only a really light sear, so quality is essential.

Lay the steaks in a dish and cover with the soy sauce and orange juice. Marinate the fish, covered, on the counter-top for at least an hour, making sure that the mixture has reached room temperature, assuring even cooking. Make sure to flip halfway through if you don't quite cover the fish.

Heat up an oiled cast iron skillet or a stainless steel pan until it's really, really, really hot. It should literally be smoking, regardless of the kind of oil you use. Olive oil smokes at lower temps, so use something a little more stable. A lot of folks swear by animal fats like lard, which have very high smoking points, but I generally just use veggie oil. Peanut and grapeseed oil works very nicely, I'm told.

Remove your fish from the marinade and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Throw the sea bass onto the skillet, searing each side for 2-3 minutes for people who like sushi and 4-5 minutes for people who like canned tuna. But this can vary, based on thickness, so just use your judgement, and DON'T OVERCOOK IT.

Your sea bass should look like mine does up top, namely, freakin' delicious. I did a simple penne pasta and veggie saute and a salad with this.

This fish does best with a nice, dry white wine with some acidity and focused fruit. I recommend an unoaked chardonnay, or a nice viognier or gruner-veltliner.