From The Sea

Last night Noel went to her mother's house to visit her grandmother and help set up her best friend Samij's baby shower. The only good part of spending the night away from my wife is I get to eat what ever I want for dinner. Noel hates seafood. I know she's from New England how can that happen? It happens a lot and it always confuses me. Since she doesn't like seafood I very rarely get to eat it, let a lone cook it. After a quick trip to Russo's yesterday I had the great idea to find a nice fish market in the area. Yelp sent me to New Deal Fish Market in East Cambridge. This place had everything, and I was kind of overwhelmed. The guy behind the counter could see how overwhelmed I was. He came over and gave me great advice. I always get salmon, even this time I almost got salmon. I told him how I get to eat very little fish and that I would love to have something a little different. I came upon a Red Fish an ocean perch. It's the kind of fish they sell with the head still on. He told me it was a local white fish and to broil it with a little oil, salt, pepper and hit it with lemon when it comes out of the oven. It was a little small so I also got a dozen little neck clams. Thanks to Noel's friend Samij I now know how to shuck clams.

When I started looking up ideas for a sauce to go with the clams. I found one at foodnetwork.com, a Cucumber Mignonette Sauce. So easy to make, just mix a cup of white rice wine vinegar with minced garlic, half cucumber minced, grated ginger, fresh ground pepper and cilantro leafs. You need to let it chill for at least one hour and up to a full day. Have you ever been by yourself and still said out loud "WOW"? I did after trying this sauce. The flavors of the sauce with the salty raw clam went perfect together. I could have ended my meal there and been happy.
But I didn't have to I still had the ocean perch. The guy told me to rub a little olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and broil for eight minutes. I've been buying a scallion infused oil at Russo's that helps give a faint hint of flavor that I thought would go great with a white fish. The fish was outstanding!! I ate everything down to the bone. I even got all Anthony Bourdain and ate the checks and the meat from the rest of the head. I flirted with the idea of eating the eye balls but at the last minute decided it was a little gross. I am adventurous, I've eaten a pig's eye at a pig roast but that eye looked more like a escargot. The fish's eye looked like an eye. While at Russo's I bought a Chayote squash. It's from Mexico and kinda has an appleish flavor to it. I like but again it's not Noel's thing. I found a really cool recipe at allrecipes.com. Cut the squash into 5ths, cook it in oil, sugar, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, minced garlic and red wine vinegar. (I even made my own red wine vinegar it's easy 1 part red wine to 3 parts white vinegar.) This was a meal that I will not ever forget about. I love fish and this was like a meal you may get at Legals Seafood!!

The wine was a no brainier. Last year I had a work with with the wine maker at Red Newt Winery in the Finger Lakes in New York. I was the last work with that week so he left me with two extra bottles of wine he had. Last night I finally opened the Reserve Dry Riesling. The first time I tried the wine it shocked my palate. I have tried dry rieslings in the past, some have been "dry", others the acid is so out of whack it almost hurts your teeth. This wine is perfectly dry. The acid is strong but fair, and the fruit is so joyful. It's a tart ripe lemon, orange peel and apricot, with strong minerality that just went fantastic with the food. This wine could go great with a large range of foods, deserts, or just by itself.       

Ham and Riesling a Match Made in Hog Heaven

Years ago in a Wine Spectator article I read something that would change my world. It was an article about holiday food and wine pairings around Easter. The author of the article said a good way to excite grandma's boring ham was to serve it with a Riesling. Now every time I have ham I get a hankering for Riesling. When Noel and I decided to get a ham steak at Russo's, I knew I had to have it with the bottle of Red Newt Circle Riesling that Dave the winemaker left with me.

I didn't want to make the same boring ham steak so I found a Dijon Balsamic Vinegar glaze online. It was easy to make. 1/4 cup brown sugar, two tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar, one and half tablespoon Dijon Mustard (I like to use the grainy mustard) and a tablespoon of agave nector. I took it and brushed it over the ham steak and started the rice pilaf. When the rice only had ten minutes left I cooked the ham in a skillet over medium heat for five minutes a side. When I flipped the ham steak I started the asparagus sauteing in butter. When they aspargus was done I salted it with a grey sea salt herb blend I have from Beacon Hill Wine and Gourmet in Melrose and when the ham was done I brushed it with the remaining glaze. This meal came out great!!! Even Noel who can be at times a picky eater really liked this meal. So easy to make and tastes like something you may get at your favorite restaurant.

The Riesling I picked to open tonight is from the winery Red Newt Cellars in the Finger Lakes region of New York. I recently had a drive along with the winemaker and owner Dave Whiting. This was my second chance to work with the man behind the brand. He has a real passion for the Finger Lakes and loves Rieslings!! This is Red Newt's 13th vintage and Dave's 23rd vintage as a winemaker. Red Newt is a winery not a vineyard, they source their grapes from local framers in the area so they can focus all their attention to the wine making. They make many different varietals but specialize in Riesling, ranging from dry to sweet, they're Dry Riesling Reserve is the driest Riesling I have ever had. The Circle Riesling is a great everyday style Riesling. It's more of a medium sweet wine with loads of bright, crisp fruit that is balanced by vibrant peach and apricot, and hints of white grapefruit. This is a wine that could age a few years in the bottle, but is still ready to drink NOW!! It went really well with the ham, especially the glaze. If you ever find yourself in the Finger Lakes stop by the winery for a visit, David's wife is the chef for the onsite Bistro. Noel and I are planning a trip this summer!!