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Keep it simple, stupid. Over-think things and you're destined always to be paralyzed by indecision. Wining and dining made easy
By Betty Shimabukuro
bshimabukuro@starbulletin.comWe speak here of wine and food; specifically of putting them together in ways that make both taste better. In formal terms, it's called pairing -- an intimidating thing that most people believe is best left to those who can pronounce all those French wine words.
But wine pairing can and should be a simple thing, says Christophe Davis, education director for Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates. "It's just a beverage, for crying out loud. After all, you don't intellectualize when you have a Budweiser ... "
Davis, who travels the country teaching his stripped-down techniques, comes to our town Sunday, to the Hawaii Public Radio fund-raiser, "Hawaii Uncorked: A Celebration of Wines."
The event offers another way to explore pairings: Six chefs will serve dishes at the Grand Tasting, each dish offered with a specific wine. You can evaluate those pairings, then try your own hand at it, choosing from among nearly 200 alternatives.
The focus this year is on cabernet sauvignon, but the wines will cover the spectrum, from light whites of Europe and California to dessert wines from the Crimea, once reserved only for the czars of Russia.
A benefit for Hawaii Public Radio HAWAII UNCORKED
Date: Sunday
Featuring: A Grand Tasting of more than 200 wines (noon to 5 p.m.), silent and live auctions (3 to 5 p.m.), wine seminars (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Place: Sheraton Waikiki Grand Ballroom
Tickets: $65, includes dishes by six chefs, with wine pairings. Additional fees for seminars.
Call: 955-8821
Tasters will be guided around the room, with wines laid out from lightest to heaviest. At most large-scale tastings, you're simply handed a glass and invited to plunge through, sipping willy-nilly until your tongue goes blind. Organizer Richard Field says the "Uncorked" set-up presents a more logical way to sip for fullest appreciation.
If you need more help, make a reservation for Davis' 11 a.m. seminar, described by HPR as "How to achieve culinary epiphany by employing a few simple principles to match wine with food." (It costs $25 extra and only 50 people will get in.)
It seems this is not, as we've been led to believe, rocket science.
Well, yes, science is involved in matters of grape-growing and winemaking, but once the wine is in the bottle, the average Joe just needs to nail a few basics regarding acidity, weight (light vs. heavy), texture and sweetness, Davis says. Joe also needs to get a handle on flavors that contrast vs. those that complement -- either of which work in making a match, providing Joe also understands balance.
OK, this is starting to get complicated again.
Davis says he once explained his basic tenets through the venue of junk food, suggesting buttered popcorn paired with chardonnay. The reasoning: barrel-fermented chardonnay has a rich, buttery flavor, much like the popcorn (complementary), but also fruitiness and acidity that play against the popcorn's saltiness (contrast). In combination: balance.
Simple, Davis says. "Most people are just confused, and it seems the more education they've had the more confused they are."
ANOTHER EXAMPLE: Among the dishes to be presented at the Grand Tasting is a fork-tender veal dish by chef Hiroshi Fukui of L'Uraku.
Following their appearances at "Hawai'i Uncorked," Gary Patzwald and Christophe Davis of Kendall Jackson will present their "Great Estates" red wines at a five-course dinner, 6 p.m. Monday at Sam Choy's Diamond Head. KJ ON DISPLAY
The high-protein menu features duck, lamb chop, venison and beef, plus dessert, with KJ pinot noir, zinfandel, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Cost is $60. Call 732-8645.
Field's choice of a pairing is the 2000 Ca' del Solo Malvasia Bianco. To follow his reasoning, look at the ingredient list in the recipe that follows. Field says the acid and salt in the soy sauce, as well as the sweetness of the mirin call for a fresh, bright wine without oak, but with substance enough to match the fattiness of the meat.
"In this case the wine needs to be both a foil and background."
There again: contrast, complement, balance.
Flour the veal cheek; sear both sides in oil until golden brown. Remove and dip in hot water to remove excess oil.Soy Steamed Veal Cheek
10 pieces veal cheek (4 ounces each, see note)
Flour for dusting
1/4 cup vegetable oil
20 ounces water
4 ounces sake
4 ounces soy sauce
8 ounces mirin
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
5 cloves garlic
2-inch piece ginger, smashed
2 stalks green onion, chopped
>> Succotash:
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
1/2 cup shelled soy beans
1/2 cup carrots, small dice, cooked
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
>> Aioli:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon yellow mustard paste, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to tastePlace in a crock or pan. Pour water, sake, soy sauce and mirin over cheeks and cover with cheesecloth. Place vegetables on top of cheesecloth; cover with another layer of cheesecloth. Wrap crock tightly with plastic wrap, making sure all the vegetables are submerged. Place pan in a larger pot of boiling water and steam 3 to 4 hours, until fork tender. Discard vegetables. Serves 5.
To make succotash: sauté vegetables in butter until crisp-tender; season with salt and pepper.
To make aioli: mix ingredients until well-combined.
Serve veal (2 pieces per serving) atop rice or mashed potatoes, surrounded by succotash and 1/4 cup of strained cooking broth. Garnish with aioli.
Note: veal cheek is a specialty cut that may be difficult to obtain. Substitute veal shank (use five 1-pound pieces with bone) or beef ribeye (about 2-1/2 pounds total, 1-inch thick, cut in 10 pieces).
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste): 710 calories, 23 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 260 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,500 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 82 g protein.*
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