The Ash Creek Papers

Come the colder weather I am always on the hunt for meat-based comfort dishes.  Stew? Sure.  But, I was looking for something different.  And I found and insanely flavorful iteration of stew that surprisingly lacks the common veggie component.  To wit… potatoes, carrots and celery… gone!  Horrors!  Also, the recipe eliminates the pain-in-the-tail-flour-the-meat prep stage. {SPOILER ALERT} I am a fan of dropping nuisance prep steps.  Words about the “side dish”.  Words won’t suffice!  This popover is off-the-charts delicious!  Regards the name:  Dutch Baby.  My research suggests that the name is a blur of “Deutsch”; and the basic recipe was for a German (Deutsch)Pancake.  And the dish could be made sweet or savory.  Here, clearly the savory version is in play.

For wine… I wanted a full flavorful wine that could “handle” the richness of the stew.  As someone who prefers country styles of wine from France and Italy, there is still a part of me that loves the atypical blends that our Cali producers assemble.  There is a marvelous disregard for adhering to bottling law that prescribes what grapes can be used in Bordeaux, for example.  Or the Rhône.  Sequum Mixt is a magical blend of varietals that flout European appellation dictates!  And that has to put a smile on your face!

Sequum MIXT’13 (Napa, CA)
Most of the fruit for MIXT is from the 1½-acre Kidd Ranch in Napa Valley. This 32-year-old, dry farmed vineyard is located on the valley floor within St. Helena. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts: the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, and Petite Sirah confirms this axiom. Discover how the grapes’ separate identities become uniquely integrated once MIXT or thoroughly co-mingled. This is a hearty coming-together of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah. It dances in baked plum and raisins as a tartness of cherry and savory dried herb counterbalances the ripeness and sizable tannin.

Coffee & Wine Beef Stew

Ingredients
6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
2½lb Chuck roast cut into 1” pieces
1 Cup Beef Stock
3 Cups of Coffee
1½ Cups sliced baby bella mushrooms (can be more)
1 medium onion sliced
⅔ Cup Dry red wine
3 tbs Olive Oil
2 tsp diced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup frozen peas

Directions
1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size.  Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming.  Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!

2. Season beef with salt and pepper.

3. Heat oil in dutch oven on high.  When the oil is at high temp, brown beef on all sides.  Do not overcrowd the dutch oven, cook in batches as necessary.

4. Remove beef from the dutch oven, reserving any fat in the oven.

5. Reduce heat to medium. Sauté onions, mushrooms and garlic in the dutch oven ‘til onions and mushrooms are reduced.  Add coffee, beef stock and wine to the vegetables and stir. Add beef & juices.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to low.

6. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. Add frozen peas, mix well & serve.

Garlic-Rosemary Dutch Baby

Ingredients
3 eggs
¾ Cup flour
¾ Cup milk
1 tsp Kosher Salt
6 thinly sliced garlic cloves
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
6 tbsp butter

Directions
1. Set oven to 425°
2. Whisk together 3 eggs, flour, milk & kosher salt. Let sit for 5 minutes
3. In cast iron skillet on blazing high, melt butter, sauté garlic and chopped rosemary.  About 1 minute
4. Add egg batter to skillet, sprinkle with more chopped rosemary.
5. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until puffed and golden
6. Thank me, when you get the chance.  Personal checks, also welcomed!!

n.b.  Resist the temptation to scarf down the “Dutch Baby” solo.  Or take pause before grabbing for an extra slice when others at the table are engaged in mindless and distracting conversation.

Once again I have taken a recipe from the pages of Delish’s cookbook. Ease of prep and assembly count very high in my book. And this recipe rates 8 out of 10. Then the dish has to win at the table. This take on stuffed chicken breast is 9 out of 10. I took a point off because my photo (at right) is not as good as photo in the cookbook. So, one point off! As you can see, I’m a bit of a poor sport. The editors also note that this recipe can be modified in any number of ways. Instead of straight veggie, put in slices of ham, swiss cheese or whatever comes to mind! I served this chicken with a rice pilaf and the combination worked very well. A weeknight dish as we pivot into Spring! And could there be a better way to signal the arrival of the season than by popping the cork on a French Rosé? Slightly chilled, the Sainte-Croix “dances” with the Primavera Chicken Breast! Other wines that would work: Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Chenin Blanc, Greco di Tufo; OR a light red like Beaujolais Villages or a Grenache-based blend.

Château Sainte-Croix Charmeur Rosé ’18 (Provence, France)

Château Sainte-Croix Charmeur is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault and 20% Syrah sourced from a 15ha vineyard where the age of vines range from 30–40 yrs old. Yields are controlled to 55 hectoliters/hectare. Only biodynamic and sustainable viticulture is performed at the vineyards. The vines go through green harvests (snipping back immature buds to control clusters on the vine) and canopy management to control sun exposure. All harvesting is done at night to take advantage of the diurnal shifts and obtain better acid/sugar levels which is key when producing clean, crisp, balanced Provençal rosés. The word Charmeur, “charming” in English, is the perfect way to describe this top cuvée from Château Sainte-Croix. The wine offers hints of light strawberry and red raspberry cream on the nose, a soft fresh mouth-feel, with vibrant acidity and subtle minerality in the backend making it the perfect accompaniment for summer salads, grilled light fish dishes, fresh seafood or as an aperitif.

Primavera Stuffed Chicken Breast

Ingredients

6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly
Pratt Dry Vermouth
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds)
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly cut into half moons
3 medium tomatoes, halved and thinly sliced into half moons
2 yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Freshly chopped parsley

Directions

1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size.  Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming.  Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!
2. Preheat oven to 400° F.
3. Make slits in each chicken breast, being careful not to cut thru completely, and stuff with zucchini,tomatoes, bell peppers and red onion.
4. Drizzle with oil and season with Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with mozzarella.
5. Bake until chicken is cooked thru, and no longer pink inside. About 25 minutes.
6. Garnish with parsley before serving.

n.b. I used yellow and green squash. And orange bell pepper. There is a high degree of flexibility in this recipe, which is another reason to love it!