The Mathematician, The Butcher and The Artist

“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.’ Salvador Dali

The “Corner Table”, near the wine counter in the Hidden Villa Hostel dining hall on opening night of Eat Retreat was a special place for me to eat. I was meeting new people, drinking wine, and eating grilled lamb. The night was going well.

Photo by Jessie Friedman of Andrew Plotsky, Butcher

The Corner Table of Tina, Kristen, Andrew and I begin to dig a little deeper into food and philosophy, as the Napa Zinfandel I poured lubricated the wheels of thought and conversation. 

At some point, Andrew asks Tina “What does a food stylist do?” (I find the most innocent of questions to be the best). With numerous follow up questions from Andrew in an attempt to define “food stylist” with the specificity and exactness of, well, a skilled butcher cutting up a lamb.

Photo by Heather Irwin of Andrew Plotsky, Butcher

My gut said that defining a food stylist might not have an easy answer. Like asking an abstract painter to define their profession. How does the abstract artist describe their trade or skill? How is a food stylist described and where do I apply for that job?

If someone asks Andrew what he does for a living; the answer is both obvious and practical to both the butcher and the by-stander. Butchers cut up lambs, pigs, and cows into edible cuts of meat for people to consume. The job of Food Stylist probably wasn't around 4000 years ago. 

Tina did her level-best after the initial question salvo from Andrew to describe the challenges of “styling food". At this point, I didn’t know if I should have felt sorry for Andrew or Tina.

I’m a numbers guy, not an artist. I’m logical. I like process. As the by-stander in this question and answer period to define a food stylist, I tend to side with Andrew by asking basic questions, cutting to the bone, if you will, on how to define the process and expose the edible muscle of the food stylist.  

Then Tina said something that helped me (I won’t speak for you Andrew). It was Mathematical. Tina talked about dimensional space. Not only did Tina speak of the dimensional aspect of plating food, but translating color and atmosphere to the 2-dimensional observer. Taking photographs of a 3-dimensional product in the kitchen and translating dimension and depth into a simple, flat picture in a magazine or on the internet.

Eureka!

Arrangement on a plate, light, shadow, and color.

That's physics! All tangible, all mathematical.

So part of the answer on what a food stylist does is mathematical (thank heaven!). But part of it is art. Look no further than to Justice Potter Stewart regarding (food) pornography  “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it.”

I suppose we all know what well styled food porn is these days…we know it when we see it. And no manner of questions or answers will begin to explain what we see. But, I thank you Tina for saying, indirectly, that mathematics has something to do with it. And since I looked at your website when I got back home, your food is styled very well because it makes me, well...hungry. 

Photo Below from Teaspoon Styling, Tina Bell Stamos

My second story is entitled, Ninjas, Knives, and Cameras.

Eat Retreat Digestif

"You have your way. I have my way.

As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way,

it does not exist."

Friedrich Nietzsche

The nature of the Eat Retreat weekend is to combine various personalities, backgrounds, and skills that often work complementary, and at times, incongruently. Retreats by their construction are meant to challenge the participants. Eat Retreat wasn’t meant to be a day spa, filled with relaxation, cucumber water, and 10 hours of sleep. Far from it. 

Photo by Jessie Friedman

Taking part in the conversation, the dialogue, the backdrop of the retreat weekend was important to me. Listening and taking part in the conversations at the dinner table after a few glasses of wine is as important as listening to the silence of a sober crowd just before a chicken head is cut off. Each moment speaks of place, personality and emotional content. 

It’s not my nature to simply gloss over the weekend with superlatives and praise.  Although I will use this conclusion for a bit of levity. I made the Eat Retreat quote wall with reference to that oaked Chardonnay I poured, “That’s Cougar Juice”. Hell Ya over-oaked Chardonnay is Cougar Juice! 

I made some new friends. I watched some real artisans explore their craft. I’m sharing a few stories as I recall them, when I was caught up in the moment, as both participant and spectator. 

My first story is entitled, The Mathematician, The Butcher, and The Artist.

David Scheidt, invited to Eat Retreat 2012

Check this out, because we're excited to participate:

Eat Retreat 

Eat Retreat is a weekend workshop dedicated to good food and innovative thinking. Created for leaders in the food community, the objective of this invite-only event is to celebrate a shared joy for food. Attendees selected for their zeal, creativity, and collaborative skills will spend the weekend sharing meals, exchanging ideas, and being inspired. It’s summer camp meets the farmers’ market.  The coordinators and organizers of the event Kathryn Tomajan, Emily Morgan, Nate Keller, Laura Brunow Miner have all been contributing to the foodie / restaurant / sustainable community for a number of years. Check out all the 2012 retreaters here. 

I'm humbled and honored to represent the winery in such a prestigious event! WAY COOL!

Children's Hospital Fund Raiser

My brother and I were very happy to participate in the Children's Hospital Fund Raiser at a well known Animation Studio in Emeryville (they're touchy about security) last Thursday. It's also flattering to have people give us praise for our wines when they're tasting well-known Napa Cabs at the table next to us.

We poured all of our 2009 new releases as well as a barrel sample from 2011. 

We'd personally like to thank everyone involved in the event, ESPECIALLY our event sponsor!

Olive Oil Cake

Italian Olive Oil Cake recipe from the kitchen of David Scheidt, Mastro Scheidt Cellars

Ingredients

3 cups of flour (preferred Vero Lucano from Italy)

4 Eggs

1 Cup of cane sugar

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons

2/3 cup of whole milk

4 tablespoons of Limoncello (preferred Ventura Limoncello)

1 tablespoon baking powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Use 2 tablespoons of olive oil to grease a 9 inch metal cakepan or cast iron skillet.

Combine eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk for about a minute. Add the olive oil and incorporate with whisk. Then add the flour, baking powder, and limoncello to your bowl and incorporate thoroughly with a rubber spatula until the consistency is smooth, roughly 2 minutes of mixing time.

Take cake mixture and add it to you cakepan or cast iron skillet until roughly 2/3 full. There may be left over cake batter. If so, you may use a small ramekin for the excess batter. 

Decrease oven temperature to 325 degrees and place your cake batter filled cakepan or skillet in the oven. Depending upon the heat within your oven (I have a pizza stone in mine), the cake will be finished in roughly 20 - 40 minutes.

In my oven, my cake is done in 20 minutes. 15 minutes on the stone, 5 minutes on the top rack.

Use a wooden toothpick to check your olive oil cake for doneness. I cut my cake in half and spread a zabiglione cream throughout the cake and dusted it with powdered sugar.

Cial’edd in Dialect or Panzanella Salad to others

I love summer. I love tomatoes. I love bread. 

Cial'edd is one of my favorite dishes to assemble. I didn't say cook, because there is nothing to cook. One of the most simple preparations around.

Cut fresh, garden ripe tomatoes. Tear a handful of fresh basil. Use day-old bread and rip it into pieces. Add a hint of salt, a copious amount of olive oil, a dash of red wine vinegar, a few slices of Pecorino and toss the whole thing through. Wait about 10 minutes for the flavors to meld together and serve.

Welcome to summer!

Hostage Sauvignon Blanc and Mastro Scheidt Cabernet Team Up

Only two wines were featured at an exclusive dinner party of 100 guests; Mastro Scheidt Proprietor's Reserve 2007 and Hostage Wines Sauvignon Blanc 2011.

Personally, I was pleased with being able to recommend the Sauvignon Blanc from Hostage. I only met Jeremiah and Elizabeth about a year ago at a blind wine tasting group in Healdsburg. Jeremiah's no-nonsense style of evaluating the wines he was tasting was similar to mine, up-front and blunt. Elizabeth's evaluation was deeper, less given to whim or her "first sip".

So when I finally tasted their 2011 Sauvignon Blanc, my initial reaction was one of delight. This is really tasty! But it was more than that. This is the style and type of Sauvignon Blanc I remember drinking years ago, before we were inundated with Kiwi Blanc. I'd almost forgotten how good a Sauvignon Blanc from California could taste on a 90 degree day. How complementary it could be with food, rather than just a pre-dinner wine.

The Hostage Sauvignon Blanc was an expression of both the up-front, no-nonsense style from Jeremiah and the complexity from Elizabeth.

It got me thinking about Sauvignon Blanc again and that's why I recommend it.

Here is a little background on the wine. Paraphrasing a bit from their website, Jeremiah and Elizabeth purchased a unique clone of Sauvignon Blanc, called Sauvignon Musqué, from a vineyard in the Russian River Valley Appellation. This particular clone has to be picked at optimal maturity in order to capture its incredible tropical aromas and flavors. On a cold morning, right before a storm rolled in, we harvested the fruit and put it straight into the press. From there, we racked the juice into neutral French oak barrels to ferment. It remained in barrel until bottling last February. 

www.hostagewines.com

Ricchiuti Family Farms Enzo Olive Oil

From deeply flavored beef cheek ravioli to tuna conserva salad with strong red wine vinegar (we make our own vinegar) to an olive oil cake, we put the Ricchiuti Enzo olive oil through its paces in the Mastro Scheidt kitchens. I purchased my Enzo Olive Oil from Sam's Deli in Fresno. Thanks Nick for carrying the product.

The beef cheeks were one of the first dishes I made with the Enzo. Beef cheeks have a lot of flavor and I seasoned them with probably 30 fresh sage leaves and a full fist of fresh thyme. While I didn’t add any olive oil to the searing process before braising, I used grapeseed oil, I did finish my beef cheek stuffed ravioli with a drizzle of fresh, uncooked Enzo oil. The results were solid. The flavor of the oil is still present and not simply masked as background fat. Part of that result is from not overstuffing the ravioli with meat, but rather allowing the pasta dough to show through and adding olive oil and fresh grana as condiments or complements to the dish. (Pictured:Beef cheek before being stuffed into pasta)

In a dish that is more reliant upon the flavor of the oil, the tuna and white bean salad with pickled red onions, the flavor of the oil needs to be more pronounced and the Enzo shows through with a slightly peppery back palate. The Enzo helped round out the dish, bringing the flavors together. As I did not pepper the dish, I expected the Enzo to give me the black pepper finish, that "bite" one expects from fresh press, extra virgin olive oil. I believe proper cooking is about balance, not a singular, over-the-top flavor showing through. Although parmigiano reggiano by itself is pretty damn good.

A third test was the use of the Enzo in an olive oil cake. I’ve never made olive oil cake before; I’m not a huge baker. However, olive oil cake was pretty straightforward. As long as baking reminds me that making cornbread is technically baking, I can usually handle it. I did have a couple aces up my sleeve, my special Vero Lucaro baking flour and Ventura Limoncello.

 

I used over ¾ cup of olive oil for the recipe. I’m a regular butter user, rather than olive oil so I was a bit worried about the outcome honestly. So rather than eat an entire olive oil cake by myself, I brought it over to my aunt’s house, where my mother, grandmother, and great-aunt could also try the cake. The cake went over as a big success.

I know, I know, having your 100% Italian mother and relatives judge a food product is like stacking the deck. I can assure you that if the product wasn’t prepared right, I would have heard things like, “this is nice Dave”. Since I didn’t hear any talking, only eating and my aunt making more coffee to eat with this sweet olive oil cake, I figured I’d cooked it properly.

 

The only comment I heard was, “This cake is really yellow and rich. How much butter and egg did you use?” So I took that as, olive oil cake doesn’t have an olive or worse yet, greasy flavor. After explaining how much olive oil was put in the cake, my grandma and great-aunt took over the conversation, saying that when they grew up in Fresno (think 1920’s here), their parents used olive oil for all the baking. As long as the olive oil was of “good quality, it should taste good”. So don’t take my word for it, take Grandma and my Aunt’s word for it…they’ve been cooking longer than I have.

And finally in a simple taste test of local oils, Bari (not pictured), 13 Acres, Casa Rosa, and The Ricchiuti Enzo my impromptu panel commented that the Enzo had a broad range of flavor from initially smooth to a peppery finish. The 13 Vines was clearly the most buttery of the oils, while Casa Rosa by far the most peppery.  Bari rated as a solid overall oil, not too strong, not too light; sort of Goldilocks in character.

Taking a product through its paces, like the Enzo from Ricchiuti, was a lot of fun. I am generally using between 3-5 olive oils at one time. I like the flavors, the differences, the seasonal changes. Regional Italian cuisine deserves, it demands, different styles of olive oil. The Central Valley of California just as Italy, has many different local and regional characteristics. From the pure “butter-like” flavor of 13 Acres to the more diverse range of flavors with the Enzo, the oil one uses should complement the dish.

I’m pleased to have the Ricchiuti Family Enzo olive oil in my kitchen at all times…I just need them to sell the old-school 3 liter tin! 

 

2007 Mastro Scheidt Double Barrel Cabernet SOLD OUT!

Thanks to everyone who purchased our 2007 Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon aka The Black Label. The wine sold out in roughly 6 months, so we're really happy about that.

Rest assured, we have the next vintage just about ready to release. The next Double Barrel offering will be coming from Lencioni Vineyard (they're next to Ridge's Lytton Springs Vineyard in Healdsburg). The flavor is intense blackberry fruit with a nice balance of tannin and mouthfeel.

In addition, we're down to about 15 cases of our Proprietor's Reserve aka The Red Label from Doug Rafanelli Vineyard. You won't see Rafanelli's vineyard again until the 2011 release. I've tasted through the 2011's and the flavors are developing nicely. We blended new French and American oak in the 2011 along with our standard barreling program of neutral oak.

Thanks again for your support.

Pigs & Pinot 2012, Healdsburg

One of the premier, if not THE premier event in Healdsburg, is Charlie Palmer's Pigs & Pinot. Local chefs and several guest chefs participate in the event each year. I was fortunate enough to attend this year and brought home some of the food in pictures.

Scopa's Bruschetta

Zin Restaurant and Jeff Mall's Ham

Diavola and Dino Bugica's Blood Sausage

Portland Wine Country

Over a month ago, I was up in Portland, Oregon. A couple highlights of the trip included Cana's Feast and Archery Summit.

The Archery Summit tasting was fantastic. In addition to the wines included in the picture, we tasted some library wines as well. The 2000 Red Hills Estate showed the longevity of this fabulous Oregon estate. After a full day of drinking Pinot, the Archery Summit wines really stood out as, dare I say, the best.

Another standout was Cana's Feast. I've spoken about Cana's before, specifically their Chinato. I haven't checked luggage domestically for 10 years. I checked 3 bottles back home to California. It's that good.

Fresno State Enology Society

I'd like to express my appreciation to the Enology Department, the students, and the Enology Society for hosting me at CSU, Fresno. It was a pleasure to participate as a wine maker and alumni. On a personal note, I'd like to thank Kerry Fitzgerald for setting everything up for me and the personal tour around the Enology Department.

I've attached a few pictures from the evening both here in the blog post and in our Gallery on the website. Thanks to Cousin Marco for taking pictures at the event and T.L. for showing his support and our new Mastro Scheidt Hats (ask me if you want one, they come in different colors).

D.Scheidt Backyard Garden 2012

Let's get something clear...I hate yard work.

Mowing the lawn, raking leaves, raking the other neighbor's leaves and pine needles pretty much all sucks. The smell of freshly cut grass does nothing for me because I can't smell it over the lawn mower exhaust to begin with. If I want to smell freshly cut grass, I'll open a bottle of Sav Blanc.

However, I'm willing to put in good labor for fruit. Makes sense, I make wine. So I'm willing to put in whatever effort it takes to have great tomatoes all summer long. I'm reasonably hard-core about NOT buying tomatoes in December or any other month in California other than the summer months. Canned tomatoes are just fine for sauces and stews in the winter anyway.

So planting 18 tomato plants this season, along with 4 basil plants, should allow me to get my fix in for the season. For those that care, I have included a diagram of the plantings as well as a picture of the garden area. The other two trees on the right are Apricot and Orange. The Apricot tree has bloomed and I will take measures to eliminate any bird/critter threats to my plants and trees.

David Scheidt to speak at Fresno State Enology Society

Talk about great!

I will be the featured speaker and pouring wine at the CSU, Fresno Enology Society on Thursday, March 15 at 6:30pm in the main Enology Building. I'll be pouring my current line-up of 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon's and SOON TO BE RELEASED 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon's. It's open to the public for $10, so drop in if you want to get a sneak peak on an upcoming release.

It's sort of funny (and a bit strange) that 20 years ago I graduated from CSU, Fresno with a degree in Finance and I'm being asked to speak about wine. But maybe it's not so strange. While chemistry is obviously a big part of winemaking, so is the business of winemaking. 

Since I was first asked to speak, I've had a hard time deciding what it is I'm going to speak about. Sure, we'll try all the wines and I'll answer questions about the wine technicals, but making wine to me was only part of why Mastro Scheidt Cellars was formed. It's such an honor to speak, luckily I have a couple weeks to think about.

Go Dogs!

Enology Department Website

Allesina Barolo Salumi

I've been down in Bakersfield more in the last few weeks than I have in the last few years. Good thing too, there's some good quality food in the the Southern San Joaquin Valley.

Luigi's Deli has been providing high-quality products to the people of Bakersfield for over a century. One of many products they carry is Allesina Salumi from San Luis Obispo. 

After my drive back to Fresno, I sliced right into this little jewel. The smell of the outside is classic salumi, a bit gamey, moldy, yeasty...old world, old school. The inside has a wonderful combination of flavor of fat, meat and spice. All balanced. Really wonderful product.

I've been eating Creminelli products recently and they are equally as good. But the real test will be to eat them side-by-side. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Just Outstanding IPA

The Kern River Brewing Company has a nice little operation up in the hills outside of Bakersfield. 

I was lucky, and I do say lucky, enough to purchase some of their beer at Imbibe a Bakersfield fine wine, beer and spirits store. Legend has it, Kern River beer sells out in a matter of hours upon delivery.

As I'm an IPA fan, I took a few pints home with me and decided to treat both myself and the beer to a proper sandwich and one of my favorites, The Reuben. I'd say the beer and the sandwich were Just Outstanding.

8 Guests, 8 Courses, 8 Wines

It was such a pleasure to get into the kitchen with Chef Tommy Chavez again. It was a fun night, but certainly not an easy one. Everything was cooked to order and from scratch. I even baked fresh fennel bread for the event. Chef Tommy and I were challenged by the glass cook top (not induction), but it was 10 times easier to clean up after than a gas range. Otherwise, things moved quickly and smoothly.

Long-time friend John Marihart made sure our eight special guests always had their glasses filled, their plates cleared, stemware polished and of course, gave the kitchen feedback on how the evening was progressing. Special thanks to Falina Marihart for taking all the pictures that night, cleaning dishes, utencils, stemware, and tasting all of our food before it was sent out. Non-stop for everyone and everyone did their part to make sure our guests had a great evening.

For your viewing pleasure, we've attached a slide show below, a brief history of the evening in the kitchen.

We would like to thank everyone who was a part of a wonderful night of food, wine, and celebration. Here's the menu and the wines for the event (And yes, I favored some Dry Creek Valley reds that night, but I'm biased). The Gruet, the only non-California wine, was served because one of our guests has a special connection to New Mexico. I have links to all of the wines and the wineries in the menu below, just hover over the wine for the link.

CRAB CAKES

CREOLE MUSTARD BUTTER SAUCE, DRESSED GREENS

Gruet, New Mexico Blanc de Noirs NV

 

 ESCARGOT MAITRE’ D

GARLIC HERB BUTTER, GRILLED CROSTINI

Caymus 2010 Conundrum White

 

 BLACKENED BEEF

WHITE GRITS, TOMATILLO SALSA, FRESH LIME, CILANTRO

Caymus 2009 Conundrum Red

 

SPINACH SALAD

CANDIED PECANS, GOAT CHEESE, STRAWBERRIES, RUM VINAIGRETTE

Pine Ridge 2010 Chenin Blanc/Viognier

 

HAND-MADE RAVIOLI

RICOTTA, PROSCUITTO, PINE NUTS, GRANA, OLIVE OIL/BUTTER

Lago di Merlo 2009 Dry Creek Valley Sangiovese

 

CREOLE BBQ SALMON

SWEET POTATO PUREE, HOUSE MADE CREOLE BBQ SAUCE, GREEN BEANS

A. Rafanelli 2004 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

 

FILET DIANE

COGNAC MUSHROOM SAUCE, BACON ROASTED POTATOES, CREAMED SPINACH

Mastro Scheidt 2007 Proprietor’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

 

TOMMY’S SIGNATURE BREAD PUDDING

WARM PRALINE SAUCE, BOURBON WHIPPED CREAM

Windwalker 2001 Orange Muscat

 

 

General Spice Blend

I know a lot of hard-core foodies will tell you to throw out your pre-ground spices every 6-months or change them all out with the coming of daily light savings time or something.

Whatever.

I recently took several forgotten about spice racks from 2 family members and consolidated everything from dried marjoram to ground sage into one big container of General Spice Mix #1 Med/Ital/Greekish combination.

No one seemed to complain when I seasoned and then grilled chicken on the BBQ with this concoction.