What is good wine anyway?

Living in Spain was the beginning of my affair with red wines... because before I was just a beer drinking fool. I used to drink a few glasses of Rioja every night at the local tapas joint. Rioja is Spain’s most famous red wine region. Tempranillo is the main grape grown there, usually producing a medium bodied wine with cherry and berry flavors that always remind me of those spring nights in Salamanca. When I came back, I was obsessed with just Spanish wines, then switched to wines from France, St. Emillion region (Merlot grapes) and Macon-Villages (Pinot Noir grapes). It wasn’t until about 2 years ago, that I realized I had not tasted anything as amazing as a little Italian wine, named Gaja. http://www.terlatowines.com/wines/italy/gaja/

I was lucky enough to visit Gaja Vineyards in the Piedmont region of Italy and had a private tasting. You have to understand and appreciate that Mr. Angelo Gaja is the ‘god' of wine in Italy. There we had a chance to taste 3 wines. As it decanted for an hour, Stefano (the sommelier) discussed the process in detail, the Gaja family, and the gift of opening up a wine 15 years after it’s original vintage year. I bought a few bottles back and opened one just 3 weeks ago. Only waiting 5 years, but the wine was still extraordinary!

There are many wonderful wines from California. Amongst my many favorites are Silver Oak, Duck Horn, La Crema, Rodney Strong, Chateau St. Jean reserves.

Two weeks ago, I visited Sonoma and in comparison to Napa, so much better! Lots of beauty, hillsides and pastures reminiscent of the country side of Europe and most importantly, the tastings are less expensive with very attentive service. I am definitely not an expert in wine only the beginning stages but am amazed by the process, art, and many facets of what a gorgeous grape can turn into.

Baking is a Science!

One would think that a Food Scientist would be good at baking but one should also know that I am not the true Food Scientist. Maybe it’s the fact that I have never enjoy sweets as much as the common Joe, Mary or Bob. Wait, I do have a new found love for frozen yogurt, especially with rainbow sprinkles or “jimmies” as they call them in some parts of the US. I do love a good Oatmeal cookie, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, heck even Linzer cookies, alright in general cookies. Then there are French tarts, like fresh Blueberry, Strawberry and even an Apple galette in the Fall. How about the old standard Vanilla Ice cream with a Chocolate brownie and hot fudge? Oh, and cupcakes, I just recently discovered Red Velvet, love them. Nevermind then, how can anyone not like sweets?

I decided to make Cupcakes for a friend’s birthday recently and spent days doing research. From reading cupcake blogs to scouring baking books and searching through friend’s recipes, I took a combination of my food science knowledge and just plain street smarts to create a Chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing and various impromptu toppings.

During this cupcake escapade, I learned a few things.

1. The addition of a cup of coffee to any chocolate cake recipe carries it's flavor a long way.

2. Correct oven temperature and calibration is crucial to baking anything.

3. Overmixing has a deep effect on the overall texture of the cake.

4. Remove cupcakes from hot pan immediately or the product will continue cooking.
5. Chocolate butter cream is messy.

The Verdict: Cupcakes turned out to be not so bad, at least for the second time (first time was a disaster, turned out like bricks, due to the above). I used a Chocolate French Buttercream which was not my ideal icing, way too much butter, sad to say. My oven is about 25 degrees F higher, hence, my cupcakes baked a little longer than I wanted. As far as decorating skills, WIP (work in progress)! I think a few more times, I could have the perfect cupcake, for now, I’ll just stick to the savory side of things.

A love for Virginia Tech

V Tech has always had a very special spot in my heart and when I think of the place I always smile. I spent 4 years of my life there that changed my life drastically. I left there with a handful the most loyal and sweet best friends. I love the Hokies, sports, the maroon, orange, and most of all the cute looking bird as our mascot. I hope everyone has a chance to visit Virginia Tech, wedged between the Blue Ridge Mountains with its gorgeous sunsets, colorful fall leaves, and even beautiful snowfalls. The school is surrounded by nothing but sereneness, good people, and a loving community. There are way too many memories to count and I will never forget them. May the school be stronger than ever, RIP to all the victims and more than ever, GO HOKIES!

The Inn of Little Washington

Ever since I was young, I have always heard such great things about this restaurant that lies 1 hour South from Washington, DC, called the Inn of Little Washington. I was finally treated for dinner my last visit home. Tucked away amongst the mountains, streams, and green pastures of Virginia is the little town of Warrenton where the Inn resides. The restaurant is gorgeous, quaint, charming and represents the State of I love so much. We started off with a glass of Champagne, followed by a Duckhorn Goldeneye Pinot Noir (one of my favorites). A beautiful tray of Amuse Bouche started us off right. Amuse bouche is a away to tease the pallet, consisting of 1 or 2 bites, usually like an introduction of the meal by the Chef. Afterwards, 5 courses served that included a cheese plate and dessert. As a take home gift, we were given a lovely box of mignardises. Les Mignardises as they say in French is a typical way to finish a meal. Another name for them are petit fours. They are served even after the dessert with coffee and are usually small bites of sweets. Chocolates, caramels, mini French macaroons, mini cookies, candied lemon peels are just an example of some. I most often prefer the mignardises more than my dessert! Overall, the environment was relaxing which made the meal ever more delicious!

http://www.theinnatlittlewashington.com/restaurant.asp

Food from the Homeland

I am sure you have gathered that I am a Vietnamese American. My parents came over here in 1976 and I was born here 2 years later. The first language I spoke, was Vietnamese and my first utensil, yep, chopsticks. I take Vietnamese food for granted and always insisted that my mother learn to cook American food. Naturally, when I went to Culinary school, I had no interest in learning Asian food since I thought I was the ‘expert’. History tells us that France took over Vietnam in the early 1900’s and my family has always been influenced by their cooking and lifestyle. While most kids in the States grew up on Captain Crunch, I ate Pate, French butter, baguettes, and croissants for breakfast. And there’s nothing better than my first experience with smoked salmon at 9 years old. It was on a perfectly toasted triangular piece of bread with crème fraiche, slivers of red onion, capers, and a squeeze of lemon. I feel extremely lucky that my palette was educated very early.

I guess I have always had this opinion that I do not try to cook Vietnamese food because it just doesn’t taste as good as my moms or the food I eat at the restaurants in Northern VA. Ashamed again to say that living in Southern California I do not eat as much Vietnamese as I should. I think of my mom and just don’t’ have any desire to eat it without her. So, when I go back to VA, it’s Vietnamese food all the time! This weekend I had Pho (Beef or Chicken noodle soup), Banh Mi Ga (Chicken Sandwich, picture above), Gio Banh Mi (one of my favorites, Pork Sausage with French Bread), Goi Cuon (Summer Rolls, picture above).

I am finally beginning to realize that Vietnamese cuisine indeed is complex. With dishes that require rice paper, seriously, has anyone thought about how they mass produce these things, how do they turn rice into thin sheets of paper? Or what about fish sauce? What is the process in that? Then, there is that pork sausage, how does it get that light brown skin on the outside (see picture). And ruoc, the thinly shredded dried chicken, sort of jerky-esque, who came up with that one? As I continue to perfect my style of cooking French, Meditarrean, Italian foods, I get tempted to throw in a little fusion of coconut juice, fish sauce, cilantro, etc. Maybe in a few years, I’ll be able make a perfect bowl of Pho.