I love Teatro Zinzanni!

My friend, Elisabeth and I went to Teatro Zinzanni recently and it was precisely the bawdy, glamorous, hilarious spectacle we hoped it would be. The Beaumont and Caswell Together Forever … Again! show features Christine Deaver as Beaumont and Kevin Kent as Caswell, the “oft-married/oft-divorced” couple who run a variety-vaudeville review. As they work through the shows lineup, they switch genders as they change fabulous getups. Beaumont dons Caswell’s mustache and codpiece, or ‘squeaky toy’ as they call it, for a hilarious Italian opera-inspired send-up, and Caswell squeezes into a gown as bride/groom…/bridegroom.

Throughout the show, the two fall in and out of engagement and love, while a series of acts play out under their tent—Les Petits Freres, a trio of clowns/waiters gifted in slapstick and pratfalls; a truly amazing hooper and circus performer, Vita who spins at least 15 glowing hoops at once; mistress of ceremonies and flamboyant blues singer Francine Reed; and trapeze artists Erika and Andrew, who were at once sensual and fascinatingly acrobatic. The Orchestra DeVille was also a great addition to the performance with their perfectly timed sound effects and jazzy arrangements.

One thing repeat showgoers know is to not sit too close to the stage, as there is a distinct chance—you very well may be singled out for one of their bits – as was an unsuspecting, but game young man, who B&C both fall in love with and proceeded to dress as an Italian maid, granting him the appropriate moniker, Panini. The poor bambino – but he was a charming little morsel, and the piece was a hilarious and raunchy. In light of the fact that the vote on domestic partnership rights was coming up in the Washington election, the whole show seemed as much a political nose-thumbing as anything. LOVED it.

Theatre gives people the chance to observe a world that may be totally foreign to them, to sit in the dark and laugh, ponder and be challenged while laughing their collective asses off. I have to hand it to the writers of this show – it pushes the envelope in so many ways that its retro-vaudevillian veneer seems the perfect glitter to let the audiences consider the current gender/sexual orientation/domestic rights issues that confront us every day in personal and political life. Beaumont and Caswell does this with grace and aplomb and not a few snorts. Go if you can—this show is an amazing spectacle and a welcomed tonic for our times.

Teatro ZinZombie! & ZinZanniversary (or whatever!)

I can’t wait for tomorrow’s Teatro ZinZanni Halloween party – a macabre ball that I’m sure will be a crazy collection of Seattle’s craziest. Zombies are BIG this year, so I can hear “Brains!” being the chosen greeting for the evening. My friend Elisabeth and I are going to dig up a bunch of zombie-esque garb and join the fray. I love Halloween – it’s the only so-called holiday that has no major family or cooking component – no pressure! Just fun.

The other cool thing going on over there is the Sunday night show – the 11th anniversary of TZ, I believe. The lovely and talented Ann Wilson will be the chanteuse for the evening. Will she do “These Dreams”? Her voice is MADE for that song. I’m sure it will be an amazing show – to hear her up close and see her have fun with El Vez and all the ZinZanni krewe. It should be one of the most unique shows of the autumn season! $250 donation goes to ZICA, the ZinZanni Institute for Circus Arts – a worthy cause!! www.zinzanniversary.org.

Salmon Safe Wine

More and more farmers, fisher and winemakers are getting involved in the Salmon Safe program to help renew and sustain the health of our salmon streams. Check out this fun video from Salmon Safe – and my article in Seattle magazine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HKvCr9ZOuk

http://www.seattlemag.com/0p192a1623/tasting-notes-salmonsafe-wine/

Come support Quillisascut!

I will be signing my book, Chefs on the Farm, at this event on November 5th!

Lora Lea Misterly, Harley Soltes, myself and Karen Jurgenson at our book signing

The Slow Food Seattle Quillisascut Farm Student Scholarship Fundraiser on Thursday November 5th at FareStart in Seattle

Slow Food Seattle and FareStart invite you to a special dinner on Thursday, November 5th to raise scholarship funds for the 2010 Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm School for the Domestic Art in Rice, Washington.

The first Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm School was hosted in August of 2009. The goal of the week was to offer people between the ages of 18 and 29 a chance to live and work on an independently owned farm that produces food in a sustainable manner. Teaching people how food is grown and where it comes from is an investment in a future of sustainable food systems. An educated consumer is an important partner in sustainable food production that is good, clean and fair for all.

To bring a taste of the Quillisascut Farm to the dinner guests in Seattle at FareStart Guest Chef Karen Jurgensen will prepare a three course meal of seasonally available ingredients with wine pairings chosen by Mark Newton, Proprietor and Director of winemaking at the DiStefano Winery. Featured will be the traditional farmstead goat cheeses from the Quillisascut Farm with DiStefano Wines.

Cheese maker and farm owner Lora Lea Misterly and Shannon Borg, wine writer for the Seattle Magazine, will be on hand to sign Chefs on the Farm, the cookbook that they collaborated on with Chef Jurgensen. Chefs on the Farm takes us through a year of farm fresh foods that are grown and eaten in season on the Quillisascut farm. Recipes created by Chef Jurgensen provide delicious inspiration and instruction for the home cook to prepare seasonal meals from the bounty of their own gardens or farmers market stalls. Chefs on the Farm will be available at FareStart. Proceeds will go to the scholarship fund.

A slide show and presentation about the 2009 Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm will be presented by Danny Barksdale, Adriana Rose Taylor-Stanley and Amy Grondin.

What: The Slow Food Seattle Quillisascut Farm Student Scholarship Fundraiser

Where: In the Private Dining Room at FareStart, 7th & Virginia

When: Thursday, November 5th, 6pm to 9pm

Cost: $50 per person plus tax & gratuity – tickets available from Brown Paper Tickets http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/86237

Chef Jurgensen’s Menu for the Slow Food Seattle Quillisascut Farm Student Scholarship Dinner

Quillisascut Cheeses, Breads, Lavosh

2005 Donna Maria (Rhone Blend)

First Course

Bouillabaisse Sip, Tarragon- Hazelnut Pistou

2005 Domenica (Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon Blend)

Second Course

Oxtail, Parsnip Lasagne

Roots in Bagna Cauda

2005 Red Meritage (Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon)

If you have questions about Slow Food, FareStart, the Quillisascut Farm School or the November 5th scholarship fundraising event please feel free to contact Amy Grondin at (206) 295-4931.

Rhone Rangers Ride Again!

Last week’s Rhone Ranger’s event was better than ever. I was delighted to find that a few of my favorites were Washington wines – Jon Martinez, winemaker/owner for Maison Bleue Winery in Prosser (now, with a new tasting room in Woodinville) brought a Viognier that was one of the best, I thought. Peachy, apricot nose, yes, but not too soft on the palate – great acidity and balance. He opened a bottle of Rhone Viognier and was smelling and tasting them side-by-side, and it was strange, but in aroma they were almost identical – stone fruit, a bit of citrus peel, a bit stoney. All the winemakers/representatives should try that next year, bring a bottle of something from the Rhone Valley and taste them together – even if it is just for the curiosity factor. A fun exercise.

Another winery I’m always impressed with is McCrea Cellars. They were pouring a 100 percent Picpoul – which is rarely made as a varietal wine, even in the Rhone region of France. But they finally got enough to make a few cases, and there it is – quite spicy, I thought! But refreshing acidity and soft lime zest and some stone fruit flavors. Ditto with their Grenache Blanc, which in 2007 was the first GB in the state, considering there was only one acre planted in Washington – in the Boushey vineyard. Now, there must be more – anyone? I’ll have to find out. This is a lovely wine, again, fresh stone fruit, a bit of a softer mouthfeel which makes it a good match with grilled shrimp or spicy Asian food, but still a nice glass on its own.

I also liked Cline Cellar’s rose of Mourvedre – really light in color, which I love, with nice strawberry and spice on the nose. Another newer winery I liked was Verge’s Viognier from Dry Creek Valley and Villa Creek (Vee-a), in Paso Robles. Their White, with a blend of 55% Grenache Blanc, 35% Roussanne, and 10% Viogner is lovely and fresh, with a pineapple, peach and stone nose and mouthwatering acidity.

Tea Cocktails! Barnes & Watson Heads to the World Tea Expo

Recently I was asked by Danielle Custer, GM of Taste Restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum and consultant for Barnes & Watson tea company to sit in and give my opinion on some new cocktails she was developing for Barnes & Watson, a Seattle tea company. What a fun afternoon – these cocktails were like nothing else i’ve tasted – the delicate and intense flavors of tea and Asian fruits had use wondering why tea hasn’t been more of a staple in mixology.

Tea in cocktails? Well, according to the London Times, the amazing range of flavors and aromas in tea are finding their way into all sorts of recipes, not to mention cocktails. Guided by Custer and Barnes & Watson owner and tea educator (and vice chair of the Specialty Tea Institute) Ken Rudee, we tried several different cocktails, all contenders for the B&N entry into the cocktail category at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas on May 1.

First was “Iron Buddha and the Flower” a delicate combination of Maraska (marischino cherry liqueur, not juice!), meyer lemon juice, yuzu juice (an Asian citrus juice) and ti quan yin (a chamomile infused light tea). It had a golden color, and smelled of hay and green tea, wet wood after a fire and artichoke, with a soft lemony, vanilla flavor.

Next was the Pu-er Pisco Sour, made with Pu-er tea, and a dot of angostura bitters. Very earthy but delicate!

The Cinnamon Oolong Lychee-tini had both gin and vodka, a bit of cinnamon and very aromatic and flavorful lychee juice.

Another favorite was the Golden Tip Assam Presse (after Presbyterian), with bourbon, soda, ginger, lemon and Assam tea. The bourbon was strong, but the tea added intense earthy aromas and softened the bourbon bite.

Lastly, here’s Danielle’s great recipe for the Cherry Earl Grey Mojito – a great summer cocktail and a fascinating twist on a basic Mojito. Try it out and raise a glass to Ken – as he heads out to shake up the tea world!

Cherry Earl Grey Mojito

Some say this surprising version is an improvement on the classic… with the addition of earl grey tea infused tart cherries and earl grey tea infused rum combined with classic fresh mint and lime, this becomes an automatic favorite. Don’t forget to nibble on a few cherries while savoring this fun and slightly addictive cocktail… Tell us what you think… did we improve on a classic?

2 heaping tablespoons earl grey infused dry tart cherries

12 mint leaves

¾ ounce organic simple syrup

1 ounce early grey infused Bacardi rum (silver)

1 ounce fresh lime juice

crushed ice

soda

Muddle cherries, mint & syrup in a pint glass.

Add rum, lime and top w/ crushed ice.

Give mixture a quick shake and pour all ingredients into a rocks glass, top with soda and serve with a straw.

Earl Grey infused rum:

Cold infuse ½ ounce or 10 grams Earl Grey tea with ½ (750ml) bottle of light rum.

Stir to combine and allow to steep for at least 2 hours before use (or indefinitely…)

Strain before using.

Note – the tea will never become bitter when cold infusing.

Earl Grey infused tart cherries:

Place 1 cup tart cherries in a container. Pour earl grey concentrate over the cherries until they are covered. Allow the sherries to steep at least 2 hours or longer.

* Enjoy the infused cherries in cocktails, over vanilla ice-cream or as a condiment with extra sharp cheddar cheese…

Earl Grey Concentrate:

Place ½ ounce of Earl Grey tea into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add boiling water to the 2 cup mark. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain, cool and store refrigerated for use.

Organic simple syrup:

Combine equal parts organic cane sugar and water in a small saucepan. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Reserve.

No Crackers! Suffer!—The delightful George Riedel demos his glasses

I was lucky enough last week to be a prisoner, uh, I mean pupil, of the famous 10th generation glassmaker George Riedel for a two hour tasting demo of his Sommelier Series of glassware. Three glasses—the flat wide Montrachet Chardonnay coupe, the buxom Bourgogne Grand Cru Pinot Noir glass with “acidity spoiler”, and the classic Bordeaux Grand Cru, Cabernet/Merlot glass.

There’s always a control sample in these things, so he also included a basic red wine glass from the restaurant we were at, and another “joker”—a plastic cup. All for a reason.

First, it was the Chardonnay, the 06 Januik Elerding VIneyard from Washington. “Think of the glass as a place to let the wine to fill a space with its aromas.” In other words, don’t fill your glass too full. We had to smell, first, of course, and note the lovely floral white flowers in the aroma, and banana, but also golden apple. When we taste, it has bright fruit and acidity, “nervous on your palate,” he says. Yes, I get it! Rich, but integrated oak. I was surprised, since these wines do have a tendency to smell pretty oaky.

Then we poured the white into the restaurant glass, and it definitely had a stronger mineral, salt component and a bitter finish. Then, into the plastic glass, where it had absolutely no smell, as the straight-sided glass captures none of the aroma, “diluting the concentration of aroma,” says George, “until they are below our ability to smell them.”

George is an almost sixty (“I’ll be able to ride the train in Austria for half price when I turn sixty!”), and exceptionally well-dressed, and even more exceptionally well-mannered, with the slightest of Austrian accents. Charming, as it were.

“We have two types of senses,” he says. “The official—sight and hearing—that can be measured through a benchmark.” You have 20/20 vision, you have a 20% hearing loss in one ear. Measurable.

“The other senses are private. We can only attempt to explain them to each other—what we taste, what we smell and what we touch. Sensual.”

George gets serious. “I am going to complicate your wine life,” he says, and talks about the life of the wine being a combination of many things, a story from the aroma through to the taste and to the finish, “an echo of the wine,” which he finds of ultimate importance.

We move on to the Lachini 03 Pinot Noir from Oregon in the big round Bourgogne glass, which supposedly captures the delicate aromas of this “prima donna” of a wine. The little flip-lip at the top helps keep the acidity under control, and the shape of the glass pours it in a little arrow straight to your mid palate, so as not to get too much tannin in the back or sides of your mouth. “The shape of the glass determines the intensity of the aroma,” he says.

Again, we move the wine from glass to glass, noting the smooth red berry and earthy minerality in the big glass, the green, almost cabbage-like aromas in the Chardonnay glass, (“You can almost LISTEN to how the grass grows on your tongue!” he says), and in the Bordeaux glass, the pinot is “a disaster!” according to George. I have to say I agree.

Someone reaches for a cracker.

“No crackers!” he says. “Suffer!”

The crowd, a combination of well-off Bellevue-ites (well, they were two weeks ago, anyway), a few young, hot sommeliers and a few poor writers who expect little and get a free dinner once in a while, are not used to suffering.

“How can I complicate your wine life if you are not suffering?”

Trudat.

So we move on to the Cab, a 2001 Caymus Cabernet. Napa at its best, a noseful of dust and bramble. In this glass it smells like picking black raspberries on a perfect summer day. “And now,” says, George. “We are going to destroy this wine!”

And we do. We put it into the Chardonnay glass, very similar to most nice red wine glasses we all have in our kitchens. A big round coupe. But George says we need straight sides for these big red wines, to let more of the tannins and acidity out so it mellows them. In this glass, the Cabernet is flat, with gripping tannins and higher acidity. Weird, but true.

Someone asks, “So can I just start buying cheaper wine and drink them in these glasses and they’ll taste more expensive?” “Good question,” says George. “No.”

The crowd laughs. He goes on to explain that a bad wine will taste mediocre in a good glass, but a nice wine will be even better, and who doesn’t want to bring a wine to its full potential? It has been waiting in the bottle all that time for you, after all.

Okanagan Days

As I’m writing this on a Sunday morning, I’m watching the neighborhood’s three-legged cat hobble around a construction site next door. He gives me hope—that even though I’m a procrastinator and often don’t post when I know I want to, that I’m still hobbling around nonetheless! I’m out there searching for mice even though I might not catch them! That said, here is the post I should have posted two weeks ago right after I came back from my trip to Okanagan, B.C., Canada. Here it is!

We finally have summer—the days are dry and even what you might call hot. I’m off on my friend Danielle’s annual birthday wine tasting trip—two years ago we went to Willamette Valley, and last year we went to Chelan. This year, the four of us ladies, of various ages and positions in life, agreed wholeheartedly on B.C.’s Okanagan region, just north of central Washington.

I drove out, they flew, and I was the designated rental car. Our first day, we visited three wineries and a goat cheese maker, a full day for five hours. Lunch at Quail’s Gate, then to the famous, fabulous Mission Hill. tried Chardonnay and Ice Wine, but mostly drank in the view and the architecture. This place is known as the most beautiful winery in the area, and I’d have to agree. It’s Mondavi-ized the area, created a destination for people to ooh and ahh over, and then go taste the wines at the smaller, more boutique or mom-n-pop wineries.

We also went on a trek to find the Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisan farm and shop, off in the hinterlands of Kelowna’s alpine hills along the shores of Lake Okanagan. They featured over a dozen styles of goat cheese with lovely names like Misty, Blue Velvet and Heavenly—and they were—from fresh yogurt cheese to ash-covered soft-ripened cheese, to smoked cheese to hard, tangy cheeses to a fantastic blue. I bought two Moonlights, a soft-ripened cheese similar to Mt. Townsend Creamery’s amazing Cirrus. Then to Cedar Creek Winery just down the road.

The next day, we visited the Naramata Bench, some miles south of Kelowna along the shores of Okanagan Lake. We visited Poplar Grove, Nichol, Kettle Valley (with their crazy Gewurztraminer slushy, great idea but there was nowhere near enough wine in it, just sugar icee with a splash. Then to Elephant Island Fruit Winery, one of the best tastings we had. All their wines are fruit wines, and before you get all snobby on me, you have to realize these wines are their own animal, and each is unique. The pear wine was light, fresh and dry, with a nose of jarlsburg and smoke, to me at least! The perfect thing with a goat cheese salad and an afternoon on a sunny porch. There are also wines from Fuji apples, crabapples, raspberries and their wonderful non-vintage Stellaport made from dark red Stella cherries, fermented and aged in French oak in an 8-year solera system. This wonderful wine had a nose of baking spice and mocha, and dark cherry, of course, with coffee, balsamico and prune on the palate. Would be fantastic with fondue!

We had lunch at the gorgeous little Heritage Inn, an old renovated hotel with a good restaurant. At lunch we opened a bottle of Joie’s 2007 A Noble Blend and loved it. Joie’s winemaking couple, Michael Dinn and Heidi Noble, have a small cooking school and winery (not open to the public) just up the road. This wine has a nose of lime zest with a bit of fresh tropical fruit, pineapple, and zesty acidity, great balance. We were so impressed with the wine that Monique called them right from the lunch table and asked if we could come by. Michael said sure! he’d be happy to show us around, so we trotted off to the winery and met he and Heidi and their lovely little farm. We ended up leaving with three half bottles of wine from their afternoon test tasting, and arms full of pears from their little orchard.

There’s so much more to say about this trip, but other wines I liked were Le Vieux Pin (we had lots of laughs trying to prounounce that – it’s Le (as in book) Vee-yeuu (as in book) Pa nh (nasally n!) how do you write that phonetically, I don’t know, but the wines were fabulous. Also visited their other new winery, LaStella, which was gorgeous, you MUST go there! More on that later. Also Blue Mountain sparkling wine and pinot blanc and pinot gris.

And Nk’Mip (INK-a-meep) which was big and resorty and disappointing as far as wine goes, but looked like a great place for family vacations.

More later!

Old-school organic in a new-school recyclable bag-in-a-box

Bill Powers and his organic Chardonnay

On a recent trip to the Tri-Cities wine region (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco for you non-Washingtonians) I had a chance to visit four vastly different wineries. One was one of the oldest wineries in the state—Powers (and Badger Mountain, their organic brand) on the hills above a Richland suburb, literally—we had to drive through suburban neighborhood to get to the tasting room and vineyard. I took a short truck ride with owner Bill Powers (now in his 80s) up to see the Chardonnay vines and have a sip of the Powers 2007 Chardonnay – a clean, crisp organic wine, full of fresh green apple and citrus flavors.

Powers has been growing grapes here since 1977, and has been organic almost that long. He says he was putting all these chemicals on the vines, and his boys were doing the work. He didn’t want the kids to do it, so he was doing it and not liking having to use these chemicals – so on a trip to California, he talked to some hippie grapegrowers who were farming organically, and they encouraged him to do the same, and so he did. And still, he’s one of the few certified-organic vineyards in the state. He does, as other organic farmers do as well, use sulphur to combat powdery mildew on the vines, about once a week for a certain period during the vine’s growth – this year was very humid and perfect for the evil fungus to grow. And then of course, sulfites are added to the wine to preserve it – pretty much every winery does this, or we’d be opening a lot of bad bottles. But Powers (Bill and his son Greg, the winemaker for Powers & Badger Mountain) and Mickey Dunne, part owner of Badger Mountain, have found a solution for their “no sulfites added” organic wine – bag in the box! It keeps oxygen away from the wine, and therefore keeps it completely fresh for up to 30 days! This is so common in Europe that I’ve heard box wine is almost 50 percent of the market. Here, it is growing, but still only about 10-12 percent. I hope that will increase as people put higher quality wines in completely recyclable boxes.

Rhone Rangers Roam Seattle

The Rhone Rangers – a membership group of winemakers who produce Rhone-style wines —seem to have developed a following and a great way of educating the public. Originally created by Randall Grahm when he was head wine dude at Bonny Doon, it has morphed and changed, but I still enjoy the annual tastings when the Rangers roll into town. This year, 39 wineries set up booths at Bell Harbor and it was an education making the rounds.

By making the rounds, I mean tasting every white wine in the room, and a few reds if I could get to them. When I go to a tasting, there’s no way you can tasting everything, so I usually go with a plan, according to what is being poured. Here’s my thought pattern, however convoluted

1. Get the big picture – what is the point to the tasting? All Washington? All pinot noir? in this case, all Rhone varietals?

2. Have a plan: If it’s a pinot noir tasting, I usually try a few whites from the region, just to get a sense of the ripeness level that I’ll encounter with the reds, and to prime the pump, so to speak. In this case, the list of very interesting, and mostly obscure Rhone whites were on my mind, and I wanted to clearly compare the differences in single varietal whites vs. blends, etc. In this case, viognier leads the pack, usually on its own, then blends of roussanne, marsanne, grenache blanc (which I discovered I really enjoy for its high acidity, and green apple – even apple Jolly Rancher – flavors) as well as bourboulenc, clairette blanc, muscat blanc a petits grains, picardin, picpoul and ugni blanc. Of the latter list, picpoul was represented, but I didn’t see the others in blends.

3. Spit! You’d be completely toasted if you didn’t.

4. Talk to the winemakers/marketing guys/gals. It is easier to remember what you like if you know something about the terroir, landscape, blend, etc. Sometimes they rattle off percentages of grapes in the blend, which I’m not really interested in – I want to know what the soil and climate and elevation, etc. is like. I usually ask – Tell me about where this wine is grown… and they are usually very willing to talk about the place – a fun way to picture the region and have a geology and geography lesson at the same time. It is kind of a neumonic device for me to picture the place with the wine made there.

5. Take a few notes in your own code, and remember the good ones! My favorites from this tasting were Paso Robles’ Adalaida Cellars White Blend of grenache blanc and roussanne – very minerally with that candied green apple taste that still had killer acidity and a slightly soft mouthfeel with peach and apricot flavors – an interestingly balanced combo of acid, fruit, soft and sharp. Love it!

Other wines I tasted -

Cass Winery Viognier – Paso Robles, mineral and mint!

Cline Cellars Viognier – Sonoma/Carneros, white peach, herbal notes with crisp white peach, not too ripe!

McCrea Cellars Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Viognier – love this producer! Fruity but lean with a lean, herbal – lavendar even – note, but also soft lemon and peachiness that is characteristic of Viognier. The difference here is that everything is in balance and delicacy and elegance are the goal.

Sawtooth from Nampa Idaho! Their Snake River Valley Viognier shows that this area has promise! A lean, mineral wine with white blossom and peach aroma, high acidity. A very refreshing wine!

So check out these Rhone-style wines – great for summer!