The Ash Creek Papers

 This recipe is from Charlie Parker… an accomplished California Chef and avid sportsman… or maybe he is an avid chef and an accomplished sportsman?  Regardless.  Suffice it to say that he fishes or hunts (and grows) for much of what he puts on the table.  Can you see me in a duck blind wearing one of those silly hats?  Or foraging in the woods of Litchfield County for non-poisonous and non-hallucinogenic mushrooms? I did my hunting and provisioning at LaBonne’s, Woodbury’s consummate market.

For wine it’s a Santa Cruz Pinot Noir.  As a wine producing zone, Santa Cruz Mountains is gaining fame for producing some great “Burgundy fruit”: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The mountains offer favorable climate and soil conditions… and Vine Hill’s vineyard site dates back to the 19^thCentury.  Of course a good Côte de Nuits Burgundy would do the trick, as would a top flight Alsatian Riesling.  Or if you are in the mood for Italy, I would choose a Nebbiolo based red from the Piedmont.

Vine Hill Estate Pinot Noir ’10 (Santa Cruz Mountains, CA) 
Gold San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
This Pinot Noir shows bright aromas of raspberries, mandarin orange peel & earthy brambles. Silky tannins and luscious flavors of nutmeg and ginger are accented by dark cocoa and vanilla and interact superbly with the wines natural acidity. This is a wine you will love right away but it will improve developing complexity and length with time in the cellar. The wine is everything lovers of Pinots will appreciate.

DUCK BREAST W/WILD MUSHROOMS & ASPARAGUS

Ingredients
6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
A goodly amount of ice
3 olives stuffed with blue cheese
4 duck breasts, boneless, skin on
8 small new potatoes, halved
10 spears of asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1” segments
6 oz mixed wild mushrooms
½ cup chopped red onion
1 large clove of garlic, sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground pepper
Coarse salt

 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 350°F

3. Score the skin of the duck in a crosshatch pattern to release the maximum amount of fat.  Season each breast with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper (much will fall off in the cooking process).  Heat a 10” cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot but hot, not smoking.  Add the duck breasts, skin side down, and cook until the skin is well browned and crisp, about 10 minutes.  Baste the meat side of the breast with some of the released fat a few times during the process.

4. Transfer the duck from the pan to a plate and set aside.  Add the potatoes, cut side down, to the hot fat and transfer the pan to the preheated oven.  Roast until the potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.  Keep the oven at 350°F

5. Return pan to the stovetop over medium heat and stir in the remaining ingredients, re-seasoning with salt and pepper.  Sauté until mushrooms begin to color and all the ingredients are hot, about 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Return the duck breasts, skin side up, to the pan and pour in any juices left on the plate.  Place the skillet in the preheated oven to roast all the ingredients together for 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for a few minutes to allow the duck breasts to rest before serving.

n.b. Scrounging in LaBonne’s wasn’t as successful as planned.  Although I have seen a blended selection of fresh mushrooms before, I had to substitute whole “baby” portabellas for the wild mushrooms in this recipe. No one quacked.  Also, it took longer to get the spuds to “fork tender”, and I attribute that to the size of the potatoes.  Other than that… this has to be the easiest to prepare best recipe I have found to date.

Kalimotxo [KAL-ee-MOH-cho] is a traditional drink from the Basque in Spain.  It is an equal blend of dry red wine and cola, and it was thought to be a great way to camouflage a “rustic” quality red!  That case notwithstanding, the concoction is an excellent base for braising beef short ribs.  I served the short ribs over my favorite pasta, pappardelle.  Choosing a red wine is a natural for the dish… although Ribera del Duero would be consistent with the braising base, I think a Tuscan red would be great, as would something from the Southern Rhône.  I opted for an incredible Blanc de Blancs from one of the small “Growers” in Champagne.  My point?  Something that is overlooked by most American palates, Champagne is one of the finest “food wines” produced.

You can buy Champagne from the familiar houses {you know their names} who produce only 10% of their own fruit and have to source grapes from any (irrespective of quality) vineyard in the appellation to “feed the beast”, or you can pick up a terrific hand crafted Champagne where the grower controls “vine to wine” the Champagne that goes into your glass!

Varnier-Fannière Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV (Champagne, France)
93pts Wine Advocate
Denis Varnier is only the third generation of winemakers at this estate, but grape growing in the Fannière family (Denis’ mother’s side of the family) dates back to 1860. Although the estate is small at just over 4 hectares, Varnier-Fannière’s holdings are impressive, averaging 45 years in age. Denis’ holdings are in three grand cru villages in the northern Côte des Blancs. He has as much land in Cramant as he does in Avize, with a smaller holding in the village of Oiry. His wines are precise and terroir expressive, in the direction of Avize “graphite”, while also being delicious and pleasurable.

Wine Advocate: The NV Brut Grand Cru opens with an intriguing bouquet laced with chalk, gunpowder, white flowers and graphite. A wiry, vibrant Champagne, the Brut Grand Cru walks the tightrope of ripeness, acidity and minerality with notable grace and tons of personality. Hints of lemon, green pear and white peach flesh out as the wine opens up over time. This is a gorgeous and totally intriguing wine. The Brut Grand Cru is 100% Chardonnay, 2009 and 2008 vintages from Cramant, Avize and Oger.

Kalmotxo Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients
6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
3 Blue Cheese stuffed Olives
A goodly amount of ice
¼ Cup Olive Oil
4lbs Short Ribs seasoned with salt & pepper
1¼ cups diced onion
¾ cup each diced carrots & celery
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp each tomato paste & smoked sweet paprika
1 tbsp anchovy paste
1 Bay Leaf¼ Cup Dry Sherry
2 Cups each dry red wine & cola
1 Zest of Orange
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp Sherry Vinegar
2 tsp minced fresh thyme
½ minced orange zest

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 300°

3. Heat ¼ cup oil in large Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add ribs and brown all sides, 8-10 minutes, then transfer to a plate and set aside. Reduce to medium low.

4. Sweat onion, carrot and celery in the drippings until softened, 6-7 minutes.  Add garlic, paprika, tomato paste, anchovy paste and bay leaf; sweat 2 minutes more.

5. Deglaze pot with sherry; cook until almost evaporated, 5 minutes.

6. Stir wine, cola and zest of one orange into pot.  Return ribs to the pot, increase heat to high, bring liquid to a boil, then cover with a tight-fitting lid.  Transfer pot to the oven

7. Braise ribs until fork-tender, about 3½ hours, turning the ribs every hour.  Remove pot from oven.  Transfer ribs to a plate.  Cover ribs to keep warm

8. Strain braising liquid from pot, discarding solids.  Skim and discard fat from surface liquid.  Transfer liquid to skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

9. Whisk together cornstarch and 2 tsp of oil, then whisk into liquid, cook two minutes.

10. Off heat, stir vinegar, thyme and minced zest into sauce.  Place ribs in sauce to reheat, five minutes

 n.b.  I couldn’t  resist trying some Kalimotxo.  Half red wine and Coca Cola? Much better that I was expecting… think Sangria without floating fruit!