The Ash Creek Papers

I was looking for a “tasty utilitarian something.” Something that could work for breakfast/brunch, or as an appetizer during cocktails, or as a first course in a fancy-shmancy dinner. I picked up this recipe for Muffin-tin Mini Quiches from Eating Well and while it lacks a pie crust, it doesn’t lack flavor. And it certainly comes in ideal serving portions for use in all of the serving opportunities noted above. Further, you can make it ahead of time (like I did). After the quiches have cooled and removed from the muffin tin, wrap the quiches individually in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days (or freeze for up to 1 month). To reheat from fridge, remove plastic, wrap in paper towel and microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds. Tonight the quiches will be served before our standing rib roast.

My “go-to” white is Sauvignon Blanc. And for tonight I’ve selected a wine from New Zealand. Loire Valley would also have been a good choice… Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé and Quincy all produce excellent Sauvingon Blancs. Other Loire whites would be great choices, too: Muscadet or Dry Vouvray. Pinot Gris from Alsace or Pinot Blanc from the Alto-Adige are other wines that I love both as aperitifs and to go with the quiches.

Konrad Sauvignon Blanc ’14 (Marlborough, NZ)

A brilliant, pale straw green colour. This is a ripe style of Sauvignon showing elements of passion fruit, mango, melon and stone fruit, as well as subtle yoghurty complexity from a whisker of barrel fermentation. The palate if soft, full and dry taking richness from the excellent fruit weight achieved in the vineyard. Classic Marlborough Sauvignon flavours of tropical fruits and underlaid by a vein of exotic fruits reminiscent of guava and lychee. The extract of the wine fills the mouth while acidity keeps the palate alive through to a clean, dry finish.

Muffin-tin Mini-Quiches

Ingredients

6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1½ cups finely diced red-skinned potatoes
1 cup diced red onion
Salt
8 large eggs
1 cup shredded smoked gruyere cheese
½ cup low-fat milk
½ tsp ground pepper
1½ cups chopped fresh baby spinach

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 325°F.  Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and ¼ tsp salt and cook, stirring ’til the potatoes are just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.
4. Whisk eggs, cheese, milk, pepper, ½ tsp of salt in a large bowl. Stir in spinach and the potato mixture. Divide quiche mixture among the prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake until firm to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from the tin.

n.b.  The smoked gruyere fills in a layer of flavor that could accomplished with diced bacon or ham. And next go ’round I might add ham anyway!

I consider this dish an exercise in trying to shed a childhood nightmare. When I attended Hamden Hall Country Day School, Salisbury Steak was on the hot lunch rotation — meaning I would see it at least once a month (and this was in the day when there was only one option presented on a daily basis for the hot lunch program). And from my perspective everything was wrong about the dish… its appearance on the plate (a brown lump covered in a vile looking brown sauce), its smell and taste? Honestly? I could never make it past the appearance! Granted, that may have been a function of the recipe regardless of who prepared it. Was it prepared in the kitchen or in the bathroom? Even today, in drawing up a memory from my distant past, I gag at the very thought of seeing that lunch!

Time to beat back the demon! OK, so Salisbury “Steak” is essentially a ramped-up burger served with an onion/mushroom brown gravy. And when I look at that dispassionately, it has all the makings of a “comfort food dish” perfect to enjoy on a cold and damp winter Sunday. Add to that, this recipe calls for using a slow-cooker! Prep before noon, watch the football game, ready at dinner time! Serve it with classic sides of peas and mashed potatoes, open up a bottle of “bistro” red and I’m giving it a go!

To the wine choice! First, in general I love Côtes du Rhône for good home cookin’. And second, most Côtes du Rhônes are Grenache based from the Southern Rhône, but Domaine Garon is based in the Northern Rhône and this CDR is predominately Syrah with fruit sourced from the Domaine’s Côte-Rôti vineyard!  Drink modest, and drink well!

Domaine Garon “La Part des Vivants” Côtes du Rhône ’22 (Northern Rhône, France)
Domaine Garon owns 5ha of vines in Côte Rôtie divided into 5 different lieu dits: Rochains, Triotes, Lancement, Combard and Mollard. The vineyards are planted to 100% Syrah. Vivants is 70% Syrah, 20% Grenache and 10% Carignan. The wine is aged in older, neutral barrels which helps to avoid oak influence and better serves to round out textures in the wine. It has lovely, concentrated wild berry flavors, dark chocolate, spice and dry herbs. The acidity is ample for a red wine of this nature giving it freshness and allowing this ripe Syrah to dance on your tongue and pair nicely with good food.

Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak

Ingredients

6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
1½ lbs ground beef
1 egg
¼ cup minced onion
¼ cup bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 small sliced onion
6 oz sliced mushrooms
1½ cups beef broth
1 package brown gravy mix
1 tbs ketchup
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tbs corn starch

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. Mix ground beef, minced onion, bread crumbs, garlic, egg, salt and pepper together in a good sized bowl. Form into desired sized patties (5 or 6, depending on preference). Brown patties in skillet.
3. In slow cooker, create a bed of sliced onions & sliced mushrooms on the bottom. Place the browned patties on top.
4. In a bowl mix beef broth, gravy mix, ketchup & mustard and pour over the patties and veggies.
5. Cook on low for 5 hours.
6. Remove patties to a platter. Transfer the sauce to a skillet, whisk in the corn starch over medium-high heat, mix and let cook ‘til it sauce thickens. Return patties back to coat with sauce before serving.
7. Go to town.

n.b. Other wine choices: always “regional” Italy always works: Barbera, Aglianico, Nero d’Avola, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo & Morelino di Scansano. Pinotage from South Africa. Bonarda from Argentina.

It’s wonderful to be relieved of responsibility of preparing a Sunday repast. On an Autumn day, leaves drifting downward in the crisp air, having a man frog on hand to labor in the kitchen is a good thing. And today Richard Parker (my man frog) prepared his famous blend of meat and veggies in a rich broth that just sings Autumnal fare. Sometimes we refer to this dish as game day chow. Why? You put the recipe together just before the 1:00pm football game, put it in the slow-cooker and then focus on the game. Then by the end of the first half of the 4:00pm game, it’s time to take-up napkins and spoons. Time to break off a piece of crusty French bread, take a sip of “drinking” red & tuck in!

The wine? This is a wine that I have used with a previous recipe. Forgive me. I love the wine that much for the informality of tonight’s dinner. Simply put, you can put this wine against any comfort dish and it works. I love Gearbox even better slightly chilled.

Gearbox Sangiovese ’14 (Lodi, CA)

Sangiovese is the great grape of Tuscany, famous for the Chiantis and the world class Brunello that they make. This wine tastes like a stand-out Tuscan red but with more supple fruit, a more friendly supple mouthfeel, still a great food match but with an added silky soft finish. The wine is brimming with red berry fruit, spent a year in neutral oak. The wine is a steal! A great Barbeque red, rich tomato based sauces even great with spicy foods. Dark bing cherries, and raspberries with hints of cinnamon and cloves, and a bit of thyme. Superb fruit on the palate with bright acidity. This wine is an extremely versatile red, the ultimate crowd pleaser.

Richard Parker’s Autumn Soup

Ingredients

6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
1 lb lean ground beef
2 whole carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 whole bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (15oz)
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (15oz)
1 cup ditalini pasta, uncooked
Grated parmesan cheese

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. Put everything except beans, pasta and cheese into a slow cooker
3. Cook on low 7-8 hours, or high 3-4 hours.
4. 30 minutes before the end, add in beans (drained and rinsed) and dry pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Remove bay leaves before serving. Top with grated parmesan.

n.b. Richard calls this “soup”; but truth be told it has the consistency of a thick chili. I used ground bison.  And, no… browning of the meat is unnecessary.  No fears, the dry pasta cooks in the soup. A crusty garlic bread is a terrific side dish.  And if this dish sounds too simple.  It is.  Just don’t tell Richard Parker.  He’s a proud frog and takes his craft seriously.

Richard Parker serves a light refreshment before supper.