Checking out some Vines

A few of the guys got together to see what the rains had done to a small vineyard of Garnacha and to make some guesses about what the harvest might yield on this younger set of vines.

Frittata

Story

In Southern Italy, specifically Puglia where my mother’s family originated, frittata are regularly made as a main course or showcase dish; as eggs are precious in the South and never used in the production of pasta. Frittata usually feature vegetables such as squash, rapini, and turnip tops, all staples of the Puglian diet. Mint, oregano, and chili flakes are often used to brighten the flavors of the frittata. Sticking with the Italian tradition of buying and using local products, I outlined the California suppliers, many of which I know personally. I have “Americanized” this classic by adding Parmigiano Reggiano a cheese not native to Southern Italy or the United States. I could have easily used Fiscalini Cheese from Modesto as a substitute.

David Scheidt's Fritatta featured at TasteBuds Dining Club, Fresno

2 pieces Gleason Ranch Bacon, Bodega, CA (chopped into bits) http://www.gleasonranch.com/

6 Wyeth Acres Farm Eggs, Healdsburg, CA (beaten) http://wyethacres.com/home

2 small Italian Squash from T&D Farms of Madera, CA (sliced into rounds) http://www.tdwilleyfarms.com/

¼ Red Onion from T&D Farms of Madera, CA (minced)

Parmigiano-Reggiano grated with a plane grater (roughly a fluffy cup with enough left over for garnish) A personal note: There is a huge difference using a plane grater on a fresh wheel of Parmigiano and parmesean cheese purchased from a store pre-grated (yes there is a difference in spelling, flavor, and texture). If using pre-grated parmesean, roughly 1/3 of a cup should suffice as a substitute.

Pinch of Red Chili Flake

Salt (about a teaspoon)

Bari olive oil, Reedley, CA (any local oil will do, but Bari still sells in bulk and it’s of good quality to cook with) http://www.barioliveoil.com/

Rendered bacon fat

Two 8 Inch non-stick sauté pans

Directions:

Chop bacon into small slices prior to frying, along the width of the bacon. Cook until crispy. Remove fried bacon pieces and reserve remaining fat.

Place a combination of bacon fat and olive oil (1 tablespoon total), into a non-stick fry pan and allow to heat. Add a pinch of chili flakes to the oil. Add the minced red onion and sauté for 3 minutes on medium heat. (You may add additional olive oil to the pan if the pan becomes dry.) Take the sliced rounds of squash and add them to the sauté pan and toss through the pan to coat the squash with oil, chili flakes and onions. Cook for about 3 minutes on medium heat stirring or tossing occasionally for even cooking.

Combine roughly one cup of freshly grated Parmigiano and the beaten farm eggs to the sauté pan that includes all the other ingredients.

As the eggs begin to set around the circumference of the sauté pan, begin pulling it away from the sides with a rubber spatula to allow the liquid to come in contact with the pan, constantly working around the circumference lifting the edge to allow liquid egg to come in contact with the pan. This requires patience and diligence, but you’re almost finished.

Now the tricky part…it’s time to flip the frittata in order to cook the remaining liquid egg on top. Have the second 8-inch sauté preheated on your stove. Since you are using a non-stick pan, the bottom of your frittata should have become loose, such that you can shake the frittata loose from the pan. In one quick movement, flip the frittata over into the other pre-heated 8-inch sauté pan to complete the cooking process, no more than 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat.

Whichever side looks better, is the side you should place up on the serving plate. Garnish with the remaining cheese and serve either hot or slightly cooled.

Pig Butchering with Nancy, Dino and Rian

A wonderful experience with some great people and hosted by Medlock Ames Winery. It was a real pleasure to participate in breaking down and cooking such a beautiful animal.

Nancy Prebilich of Gleason Ranch supplied the pigs, Dino Bugica of Diavola and Rian Wyeth of Wyeth Acres supplied the technique for butchering.

There was even an after-party, starting at the Alexander Valley Bar with a shot of Rendevous Whiskey and then later at Diavola for some of Dino's cooking and a little more wine. A great day in Healdsburg and Geyserville.

Testing and Blending

It's been a long road to get to this point, but we're coming down to finalizing a few things. Here's a recent session on the 07 Cabernet. Decisions, decisions.

La ricetta delle carteddate (Dolci Natalizi)

The closest word in dialect I found was "cuchidita" and the closest I've heard is "cutadate", however for those that know, this dessert comes from Southern Italy. It's a fried sweet dough dessert that shows up during Christmas time and is glazed with Vin Cotto.

Cutadate also have a real world use for White Zinfandel, adding sweetness to the dough. It's true Mastro Scheidt Family Cellars uses White Zinfandel to cook with...and only to cook with.

3 Cups Flour

1/4 cup white wine or White Zinfandel (some recipes call for Marsala)

1/4 olive oil

Pinch of kosher or sea salt

A little warm water

In order to fry the dough, technically olive oil would have been used, but vegetable oil will do

Vino Cotto (or honey) as a garnish

Mix the ingredients into a dough. Roll them out with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 2 x 5 strips with a ravioli cutter. Deep fry each dough strip till golden brown. Allow each strip to cool before adding Vino Cotto to taste. Some Italians we know add a heaping tablespoon of vino cotto to each strip, but that's a little excessive. Use the Vino Cotto like you would use honey, as it can be sweet.

Tom's BBQ Ribs

Tom not only made the ribs, he made the BBQ as well!

Pretty simple really...

Light fire with wood and paper, charcoal is for rookies. Get the fire on one side of the grill or spread the embers evenly across the rack and set to the lowest setting. As the heat decreases, raise the embers closer to the meat. You want the meat to cook slowly and not "grill", you want it to BBQ. These ribs will take about 3 hours to cook total grill time, but know your grill.

Dry season your ribs with your favorite seasonings, I just use salt, pepper, and garlic powder to start. About mid-way through cooking, begin applying BBQ sauce. You can use a commercial sauce to get started and then add hot sauce, soy sauce and Worchester as I do. Your ribs should come out good.

T.L Scheidt

Judy's Thumb Prints

Here is one recipe developed by Judy Mastro Scheidt for Thumb Print cookies.

1/2 Cup Butter or Margerine

1/4 Cup brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sifted white flour plus "a little"

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, usually walnuts

Fruit Preserves for filling the "Thumb Print"

After mixing the above ingredients together, roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll each dough ball in the crushed nut mixture and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5 minutes in a pre-heated 375 degree oven and remove to make your "thumb print" with the back of a wooden spoon as the dough is hot. Then place the partially cooked dough back into the oven for roughly 8 minutes. Remove your "Thumb Prints" to cool and fill the indented area with your favorite fruit preserves.

Italian Gravy

 Judy Mastro Scheidt’s Recipe for Italian Gravy

Recipe:

½ pound (usually 2 links) Italian Sausage links – do not cut (any medium hot made of pork, chicken or turkey, not sweet sausage and no dried sausage. Fresh only and pork sausage is the best.)

2 cups of chopped pear tomatoes (canned are fine, just make sure they’re packed in their own juice and not with basil and oregano)

32 ounces of tomato sauce. No flavors or funny jars of Prego or Ragu. Plain old sauce. (Canned)

3 garlic cloves, minced. More if you like garlic.

1 onion (white or yellow), fine chopped, not really minced.

1 cup red wine (cabernet, merlot, or zinfandel is fine. I use jug wine usually. It’s more in the spirit of the dish. How many Italians in Bari had a bottle of good Cabernet? Drink the Cabernet at dinner.)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon each of dried parsley and oregano (I get confused whether it’s Greek or Spanish oregano, but I’m pretty sure it’s Greek. It smells the most like thyme.)

5 tablespoons olive oil. (Some will say you need extra virgin oil, I say bull. I have 6 different grades of oil in my kitchen from different olives and regions. Use bulk olive oil from producers like Star or Bertolli for this dish. Save the good stuff for dipping, salads, and use as a condiment after the pasta is cooked to bring out flavor.)

Optional:

Blending with a hand blender the roughly chopped onions, garlic and tomatoes after cooking to smooth out you gravy. Some people don’t like some of the chunkiness of the sauce.

Any additional meat products you wish to include. Meatballs and Braccioletone (rolled round steak with garlic and parsley) come to mind. This sauce is best with sauage, meatballs, and braccioletone.

Some people like to use sugar for balance considering the wine and the amount of tomato, but I don’t find it necessary. This is by no means meant to be a sweet sauce or a marinara.

Instruction:

In a heavy gauge, deep stainless pot, heat some olive oil. Put your sausages in to brown. If the pan is on high heat, reduce to medium while browning. Watch your heat. Be careful not to break the casing on the sausage. It’s not a sin if you do, but it’s something to brag about if you don’t. Remove the sausage after browning. Drain any excess fat.

Add a bit a fresh olive oil to the pot. Add your onion and allow to wilt down. Add parsley, oregano, and let the onions cook. After the onions have a little color, add you chopped tomato and garlic. Add a little salt and pepper. You should always salt and pepper throughout the cooking process. A little here and there is helpful. Return the stove to a high heat and let cook to evaporate the water. Stay close to pot, sometimes evaporation happens fast. Make sure the tomatoes don’t brown or start to stick.

When almost all of the water from the tomatoes has evaporated, add your cup of wine. Stir it through your sauce and let reduce by half. Probably five minutes. Then add the can of tomato sauce and reintroduce your sausage (and other meat products) to the gravy.

Bring the gravy up to a boil. When it starts to bubble, reduce the heat to very low and cover, leaving just a crack for excess moisture to escape (nobody wants watery gravy). Let it cook for about 3 hours (depending on the heat of your stove) or until the gravy is very thick and a deep burgundy color. Stir occasionally. The truth is you could cook this for 5 hours if you have a lot of meat products in there and depending on how much gravy you are cooking. Taste the sauce at the one hour period to see if it could use additional, salt, pepper, dried parsley, or oregano. It depends on your taste. Taste it again at the two hour period.

A warning. The bottom of the pot is prone to sticking and being burnt. Do not scrape. You will have bitter gravy if you do. It shouldn’t burn if you watch your temperature during the early stages of cooking. You will have some additional clean-up after, but it’s worth it.

You can freeze the sauce if you want, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Just have 8 people over for dinner and drink a lot of wine. You’ll finish the gravy. If you don’t, heat up the gravy and put it over your eggs in the morning. That’s Italian to.

Vin Cotto (Cooked Wine)

A Southern Italian condiment and used heavily in the family for cutaddate. I use it also for stews. A couple tablespoons to a beef or lamb stew enriches the sauce and adds sweetness and acid.

Vin Cotto takes a couple things to make, a lot of grape juice or unfermented wine and a really big stock pot. The stock pot you see here was about half full of juice and reduced into two 375 ml glass bottles like the one pictured here. The result is a viscous, sweet and sour syrup of family currency. Only those that are thought highly off or helped produce the offering are even allowed to sample it.