Summer Wines and Summer Snacks

July 21, 2006

I am writing from hot and humid Sandusky, Ohio, where I’m with some of my other favorite Top Chefs (Andrea, Miguel, Lee Anne, Harold, Candice and Stephen). We’re here to support The Culinary Vegetable Institute and Veggie U both based in Milan, Ohio.

The purpose of our visit is to help raise money for Veggie U along with about 25 other fantastic chefs from around the country. I will elaborate more on the event and how things ended up in a Top Chef cook-off between our group at CVI’s 2006 Food and Wine Festival. My next blog will include some fun snippets from the Ohio trip as well as my New Orleans trip as a guest chef at http://www.talesofthecocktail.com.

Okay now let’s talk about this week’s topic at hand, Summer Wines and Summer Snacks.

As we enter into August, now is a great time to enjoy some of the wonderful Rosé’ wines that are out there for us to savor and enjoy. While in France, I had the great opportunity to explore this wine at several of the restaurants in both Cannes and St. Tropez. I was always somewhat skeptical of Rosé wines because they always reminded me of Blush and White Zinfandel which we would drink from a box in those crazy days of college.

But fear not, Rosé is your friend -- not foe -- and is such a refreshing wine to enjoy at a summer BBQ, get-togethers or Sunday luncheon. The delicate flavors really allow you to enjoy the food and not feel over powered by your wine.

France is not the only region producing these wines; you can also find wineries in Northern California offering some options. What is great about some of the French and local Rosé’s is their affordability. You can actually find a decent Rosé from France for around $12-25 a bottle, the same pricing applies to some of the local wines. So be adventurous and in this case, go French.

But if all my babble about French wines and Rosé holds no interest for you, then I have some other options. It has been a very hot and humid summer here in Southern California. I also know that many of you are experiencing a heat wave of your own.

To beat the heat, I have been truly enjoying some of the wonderful whites that are also food friendly, affordable and quite tasty. Other varietals that work well this summer include: Pinot Grigio (Italian), Pinot Gris (same grape but found in Oregon and other regions that produce good pinot noir), Sauvignon Blanc (California, New Zealand, Australia and beyond), and let’s not forget our good friend Champagne (France, again) or Cava, sparkling wine (Spain, US or other regions).

I am not going to try to give everyone some major wine education but to simply suggest some wines that you may or may have not tried or forgotten during the year. I will however, provide you with some web resources to research more about some of these fine white wines or even places for you to shop online (based on your region or local laws regarding alcohol delivery). With these sites, you can roam free and learn shop and explore at your leisure.

Here are some sites worth taking a look at:

http://www.wine.com
http://www.drinkwine.com
http://www.wines.com
http://www.vino.com
http://www.800wine.com
http://www.bevmo.com

Of course, there are thousands of other sites out there but try some of these and see what you can learn about the beauty of some of the lighter white wines out there along with the hot ticket from France, Rosé.

Now what would a great list of summer wines be worth if you didn’t have some nice light summer dishes to pair them with. I have put together three quick and easy recipes that you can make at home this summer with friends and family or even for yourself. You could even make all 3 dishes if you felt like it and have your luncheon all wrapped up.

My first recipe is for a Simple Salad with Fresh Blueberry Vinaigrette:

The Salad: Ingredients (should make about 4-6 good sized salads)

One bag of Euro greens, mixed greens or mesclun (please no iceberg here, no flavor and no nutritional value)

8 oz toasted or candied pecans

8 oz Gorgonzola or your favorite bleu cheese

8 oz dried tart cherries or cranberries

The Vinaigrette: Ingredients

One small clamshell of fresh blueberries (about 6-8 oz)

One cup of fresh squeezed orange, mango or pomegranate juice

¾ cup of raspberry vinegar

Juice from one lime

2 Tbsp of your favorite honey

1 Tbsp of hazelnut, walnut or pistachio oil (using a nut oil keeps it lighter and better tasting, I would stay away from sesame oil, it’s a little too bold for this)

pinch of black pepper

pinch of kosher salt

Method:
Using a hand blender, tabletop blender, or food processor, mix the blueberries by themselves. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend everything together and taste for seasoning, adjust salt and pepper. You can make it tangier with the use of more raspberry vinegar, if that’s how you like it.

Mix all of your salad ingredients in a large bowl for buffet and dress with as much vinaigrette as needed or make individual salads and dress for service. Have fun with it and … Enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato Caprese

Ingredients (should serve about 6-8 guests as a small starter portion)

2 lbs of heirloom tomatoes (or the freshest tomatoes you can get from your local farmer’s market, this salad is all about the tomatoes, so please get some good ones)

1 lb of fresh mozzarella (packed in water); you can use regular mozzarella if you can’t find the fresh stuff

6 oz goat cheese

1 pkg fresh basil (2 oz or a bunch of basil that provides you a good 20-30 leaves)

Extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

black pepper

Method:
Slice your tomatoes about ¼ to ½ inch thick based on the actual size. Slice your mozzarella into the same thickness as your tomato. Break up the goat cheese into little tiny pieces; you will use these for garnish. Pull off your basil leaves and set aside, don’t use the brown or ugly ones.

Set out your tomatoes on a sheet pan or large plate and season each slice with salt, pepper and a splash of extra virgin olive oil (EVO). For assembly on your serving platter or individual guest plate, set down a slice of seasoned tomato, a couple of basil leaves (based on leaf size and tomato). Try to have the basil leave stick out beyond the edge of the tomato, then place a piece of mozzarella cheese and then another piece of seasoned tomato. Then put more basil leaves, another layer of mozzarella, etc.

Make sure to finish with seasoned tomato on the top level. I typically only stack them 2-3 layers high, otherwise they may come crashing down. You can make a stack of 2 on each guest plate or make a large platter with several for buffet style service. Then garnish with the little pieces of goat cheese, sprinkle some additional salt and pepper on the plate and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil to make the plate look rustic and handmade.

Grilled Salmon

Ingredients:

9 oz salmon filet

Extra virgin olive oil (to brush on the fish and the grill)

1 Tbls. Kosher salt (1/2 tbls each side of fish)

2 tsp. Black pepper (1 tsp. each side of fish)

1 tsp. sugar (1/2 tsp. each side of fish)

Method:

Heat Grill to hot and then turn down to medium-high (otherwise you will have burnt salmon). Brush fish lightly with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and sugar on both sides of the fish. Make sure that you can see that the fish looks seasoned, use more if in doubt. Brush some olive oil onto the grill and cook the salmon for about 2-3 minutes on each side with the lid closed (if using an outdoor grill). This should cook the salmon to a nice medium rare. Add 1-2 additional minutes each side to cook to medium or greater.

Remove from the grill and let the fish rest briefly before service. Remember that the fish will continue cooking when removed from the grill, so be careful, and also remember that you can always cook something more if it is not to your liking but you cannot save an overcooked fish.

You could actually serve the heirloom caprese to start off your meal and serve the grilled salmon atop the Simple Salad if you like the sound of it, because the flavors would work nicely together. Or serve all 3 dishes separately; it’s your choice.

So enjoy yourself this summer and try out some new wines and try out some of my fun and lite summer recipes for your next BBQ and remember what I always say, “Cook what you feel like eating.” Bye for now.

For more recipes, shopping and updates on what’s happening with me, go to http://www.chefdavemartin.com or you can email me directly at chefdavemartin@yahoo.com