Travel

The Ham & High: Locally Sourced Ingredients in Montgomery

by liz · Sep 1, 2011

Montgomery Alabama is, as one would expect, full of down home cookin’ and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Being from a central mid-western state myself, I loved the barbecue, mashed potatoes with mounds of butter, baked beans and hot dogs with all the fixin’s. And don’t forget the grits!

But I was very excited to find a new-fangled restaurant in town that uses local produce – sourced from its neighborhood farm just across the street – and a fresh approach to Southern cooking. The Ham & High, in the new Hampstead urban living space (you may have read about it in Food & Wine) changes their menu every day, and serves brunch on Sundays…with grits on the menu.

My brunching partner and I decided to kick it off with cocktails, above. Him: Ham & High Farm-Fresh Bloody Mary. Me: Basil Shrug with gin. Who doesn’t love a garden-to-glass basil drink in a jar? (Get a similar recipe here to make it at home.)

We couldn’t resist ordering something Southern..steak and farm eggs over creamy, cheesy grits. I’ve had a lot of grits in my life and these were perfectly cooked: a delightfully red-necked rendition of risotto.

Next was the French toast Monte Cristo sandwich with maple syrup and strawberry preserves, served with shoestring fries and smoked ketchup, shown above. Gruyère, ham, French toast, syrup and fries? I can’t think of a better heap of grub for one dish.

And to round it out, we had to try the house-made sausage of bacon and jalapeño, which was easily the best thing we ate that Sunday.

But the best thing we did that Sunday was what we did next: head home in the heat and humidity – bellies full, gin settled in – and hit the hay for a long afternoon nap.

If I get the chance to eat my fill in Montgomery again, I’ll be back here for a proper dinner. Right after my afternoon cocktail. And a nap.

Wine Cocktail: White Peachy Bloody Mary

by liz · Aug 27, 2011

In the South, cold drinks are mandatory near the close of each work day…or maybe I should say just somewhere around 3 pm, when the day is at its hottest… and its humidest (and this is what humidity does to your brain in Alabama). This is featured in the new book The New Bloody Mary: More Than 75 Classics, Riffs & Contemporary Recipes for the Modern Bar.

Several factors influenced the ingredients in this particular drink:

I had just driven through North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia with my dad, where ripe peaches were everywhere.
Earlier in the summer, I drank a fabulous tomato-hot pepper-peach-white wine cocktail at Palmina Winery and wanted more.
I had just transported some beautiful cherry tomatoes grown in my friend’s garden from North Carolina.
My personal Alabama chef had left me plenty of cilantro and lime, left over from his lovely grilled salmon dinner and his breakfast frittata (read about brunch in Alabama here).
It was hot. And humid. And nearing the end of the day – ok it was afternoon and that’s good enough.

So, in the high heat and humidity of this Southern afternoon, I had the idea to mix fresh tomato juice, muddled peaches, lime, simple syrup, cilantro and Sauvignon Blanc into one good-lookin’ tall drink of wine. Or do I mean good-lookin’ tall drink of water? The wine or my chef? I forget now, it was so hot.

5.0 from 1 reviews

White Peachy Bloody Mary

Author: Liz Dodder

Recipe type: Drinks

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 2

Artisan cocktails with local ingredients had become popular all over the country, and I had recently tried a fabulous tomato-hot pepper-peach-white wine cocktail. I loved the idea of wine in the drink instead of spirits and I wanted more. That summer, I was visiting family and friends in the South, and had just driven through North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, where ripe peaches were everywhere. My friend also picked some very ripe, beautiful cherry tomatoes from her garden for me to take with me on the drive. It was hot. And humid. And nearing the end of the day – ok it was afternoon and that’s good enough. So I set to work on this drink.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro + more for garnish
8 cherry tomatoes
1 small peach, chopped
Sugar, to taste
Fresh juice of 1 lime
Dry Sauvignon Blanc, chilled

Instructions

Muddle the cilantro, tomatoes, peach and lime juice together with all the juices and sugar.
Pour this mixture through a large strainer into 2 large wine glasses—you want some of the fruit material to go in the glass, but not all the seeds and large skin pieces.
Top with cold Sauvignon Blanc and stir. Add ice and extra chopped cilantro.
Note: You can also add sparkling water or soda to make a bubbly drink.

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I also tried it with a dry frizzante Rosé (which is slightly sparkling) above, that I got from a visit to Raffaldini Vineyards in North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley. I loved the color of this one, and the small bubbly feel. (You could get this effect in the white version using a little club soda.)

Whichever version or combination you choose to create (get more ideas here), it’s sure to cure all your ills. But it certainly won’t help your grammar.

Brunch in Montgomery, Alabama

Txakolina: Basque Wine with the World’s Best Grilled Food

by liz · Jun 20, 2011

On my recent trip to Spain, I got to eat at the world famous Asador Etxebarri (Anthony Bourdain’s best meal of his life – and mine now too) in the middle of Basque country in Spain. Home of the world’s Grill Master Victor Arguinzoniz, he’s known for cooking with fire over coals and wood, and pairing different foods with the correct type of coal or wood that suits it best. He even makes his own coal.

And the 7-course tasting menu was indeed out of this world!

But one more thing that impressed me was the very accessible wine list. The prices were really reasonable (less than some of the food!), making it easy to order a bottle – not a glass – of local white to go with the many varied seafood dishes and a bottle of Rioja red (made mostly from the Tempranillo grape) to go with the meatier ones. Since lunch would be a 4-hour affair, we had time to take the wine all in.

The white we ordered was a local grape called Txakolina shown above, from Itsas Mendi which means “sea and mountain” in Basque. The Basque make Txakolina in flat and sparkling varieties, and drink it with everyday meals in their homes. This flat Txakolina was lively, a bit lemony and briny. It’s made from a local grape called Hondarrabi Zuri, grown and bottled overlooking the bay near Bilbao. A bit wild and windy, perfect for the Grill Master’s typical meals and seafood dishes.

For the meat dishes, we chose an affordable Rioja 2007 Crianza from Fernández de Piérola. La Rioja is just an hour’s drive or so from here, and remains the locals’ wine of choice for nicer bottles with dinner. What I love about Rioja wine is how the laws about grape quality and specific requirements for time in barrel and in bottle assure the drinker of how the wine will taste. I love the youthfulness of Crianza over Riserva and Gran Riserva for pairing with various meat dishes – it’s a pretty versatile wine. This wine was elegant in the background of the food’s main stage, complementing without being too brash.

Wines were perfect and food was plentiful in our day of eating at Etxebarri. Now all we had left to do was nap.

Michel Guerard: Heaven’s Delight for One More Night

by liz · Jun 4, 2011

As the pleasure of the Baker’s company had already begun its slow, steady decline, the town of Eugénie-les-Bains, in France’s southwest corner, just outside the French Basque region, came just in the nick of time.

This town has long been celebrated for its healing spring waters and tranquil valley setting, and as we coasted into town on a winding road lit golden by the late afternoon sun, I could see why thousands of people have been relaxing, easing their pains, and “taking the water” here for years.

Acclaimed chef Michel Guerard gives folks another reason to make the trek here to improve their health: cuisine minceur, a form of healthy cooking that Guerard invented. It’s basically cooking in a traditional French method, but with lower-calorie or higher-nutrition substitutions. Think fish steamed in a concentrated, fragrant spring vegetable broth instead of pan-fried in bread crumbs with butter. Fresh, light, satisfying and French are the defining words for Guerard’s unique, form-enhancing cuisine.

The town was simply beautiful, with one quiet road leading through the small valley floor. Small rock and sandy paths led off each side of the road into gardens and trees and old stone churches and houses. Water fountains, flowers, lawns of grass and pastel-painted shutters on the windows surrounded us as we pulled into La Maison Rose, the most affordable of Michel’s three lodgings in town, Les Pres d’Eugenie (which, with his two restaurants, seemed to take up one entire side of town).

I felt such relaxation and peace here that I began to drink in long, slow, deep breaths of the fresh spring air, and to feel slightly better about us. Hope was peeking through the French countryside, and we would dine well tonight!

The main house held the gourmet restaurant, while a simple restored farmhouse held Guerard’s rustic restaurant, La Ferme aux Grives — built to look like his childhood home, with food cooked over a fire in a big hearth in the main room like his mother used to cook. We chose the gourmet menu in the white and beige-colored dining room. It was the most beautiful and peaceful dinner setting I had ever seen! I could barely see any other diners for the nooks of tables and gorgeous flowers everywhere, and the waiters excelled in hushed voices and silent steps. Michel himself was also here, with a constant smile and a warm handshake.

The sun was setting and a warm breeze wafted in. I felt positively serene and agreeable to any story to come from the Baker’s mouth tonight. The wine certainly helped. And the first course was a mushroom soup, with a “cloud” and truffles on top, see above. Sigh.

Then steamed lobster with butter and herbs, plus duck breast and foie gras with a trio of citrus sauces. So delicious! And so light!

And, of course, his signature local fish with fresh spring vegetables and a fresh, savory consommé.

And the cheese course: gooey French cheeses are the best antidote to anything that ails you, including affairs of the heart.

The desserts were the best: this was a lemon soufflé with a brûlée top. Gorgeous on the plate and heaven in the mouth.

I love rhubarb (reminds me of both my Kansan grandmothers) and our menu happened to have a Festival of Rhubarb listed! What luck, to enjoy a plate of rhubarb tarts and pastries along with a baked bread pudding with rich, creamy rhubarb ice cream. It was a dream.

I was thankful and full and resigned. This elegant dinner would be our last real pleasure — our last act of kindness and love — and I would always remember it with a smile and a long, deep breath.

The Best Meal I Ever Ate: Etxebarri, the Grill Master & the Baker

by liz · Jun 1, 2011

I’d heard and read so much about Etxebarri from Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations (he also said it was the best meal of his life) to Chez Pim’s journey there, it was a must on my recent eating/drinking tour of northern Spain. Like Pim, I was grateful to get to eat at various starry restaurants on this trip, but this place doesn’t even have 1 star – quite possibly because the folks at the Michelen guide couldn’t find it.

Etxebarri is notoriously hard to find. The Baker and I had explicit directions in our guide book, which were as good as any, but didn’t show any distances or what the “turns” actually looked like. We also had a British GPS, but Jane/Gayle was a little crazy (as we drove on the freeway, going the correct way, she would suddenly direct us to take off onto the Spanish fields alongside). And, we had Pim’s post open on our laptop as well. And it actually took all 3 devices to get us to the tiny town of Axpe, right on time, after allowing double the driving time to allow for the Baker’s slow driving, and for getting lost.

Although the town was only 15 minutes from a bustling suburban area near San Sebastian, it felt as remote as Heidi’s mountains. A small cluster of stone buildings, sheep grazing in the mountain fields full of wildflowers, and mama sheep with babes in front of every small farm along the way had us wondering if we were in the right place.

And then we saw it! The typical Basque facade shown above looked over a tiny village square, awaiting our arrival, to fill our bellies with chef Victor Arguinzoniz’s grilled masterpieces until late in the afternoon. He is known for cooking with fire (like the Baker), over coals and wood, and for pairing different foods with the correct type of coal or wood that suits it best. He even makes his own coal to get the best pairing! This was going to be good.

First things first, we ordered a bottle of white wine called Txakolina to go with the seafood we would eat first on the tasting menu.

Then the amuse bouche arrived: Arguinzoniz’s famous house-made chorizo shown above and fire-baked bread.

The first course was handmade goat butter on grilled bread, topped with setas, spring mushrooms from the local hills, and charcoal salt.

Second course shown above was goose barnacles, something I’d never eaten before. We had to peel off a gray layer of interlocking fibers resembling fabric, which squirted orange ocean-flavored juice onto our table and eyeglasses, exposing the delicious neck of the crustacean.

Next up was grilled Palamós prawns, the best-tasting and largest prawns in the area. And the most beautiful I might add.

The next course was again something I’d never eaten: sea cucumber, shown above. These sea animals are related to sea urchin and starfish, but look a bit more like a slug. It tasted, however, more like a scallop, but meatier and tastier. This one was grilled and served with baby fava beans and a fava flower.

I was unprepared for the next dish to be the best of the day, grilled baby octopus served on a bed of onion confit and charcoal paste. Sweet and smoky and tender and so pretty too.

A classic Spanish dish, grilled anchovy, was next. This was perfectly cooked, barely seasoned and served with an arugula salad, shown above.

Next was grilled fresh chorizo on a polenta cake. This was seared; not cooked! It was really really good. We also ordered a Rioja Crianza to go with this and the next meat dish.

And finally, a glorious piece of grilled beef on the bone shown above. For a girl from Oklahoma, this was a fitting climax to the meal and also perfectly cooked.

The first of two desserts came next: fresh sheep’s cheese ice cream with a wild fruit infusion. This ice cream tasted like the strongest, sharpest sheep cheese..you know, the one that smells a bit like the Zoo? It was stinky and heavenly, and the wild fruit infusion played the perfect complement. I got to eat two portions since the pungency was too much for the Baker (he can dish it out, but can’t take it).

The last course was a Basque cake, torrija de pan y nuez (a cross between French toast and tres leches cake, if you can imagine that) served with smoked milk ice cream, shown above. This ice cream tasted like a vanilla, creamy campfire!

As the late afternoon started to wink at us through the trees, our happy bellies wanted nothing more than to take a long nap into the night. So, coffee was in order for the Baker and me, along with lovely muffin pastries, to make it to our next bedding destination after this four-hour indulgence in the Spanish mountains.

A perfect meal for a perfect day in Spain by the world’s Master of the Grill, Victor Arguinzoniz. Can’t wait to come back!

Jamón, Octopus & Garlic Fish: Cantabria Restaurant

by liz · Apr 4, 2011

Staying in Cantabria, Spain has its benefits: it’s a 30-minute drive to the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, it has luscious green countryside dotted with caves containing early human paintings, and it’s unspoilt by foreign tourists – meaning it still has some really great, secret Cantabria restaurants.

One of them is La Lonja in the fishing/port town of Santoña. It’s right on the edge of the port and you can’t miss it – the whole building looks like a ship. The bar and restaurant are on the ground floor, overlooking the waters from whence your dinner came…and mere hours before!

Since this is a seafood restaurant right on the fishing pier, I am committed to having octopus and fresh fish, but not before I start with some jamón ibérico, or pata negra. One of my missions on this trip had suddenly become eating jamón ibérico at every meal, or at the very least, every day. I was not disappointed by this cured meat made from the black Iberian pig indigenous to Spain, partido a cuchillo, or hand-cut by knife the artisinal way. No slicers here.

The Pulpo a la brasa, octopus from the grill, was perfectly cooked and served with chili oil, potatoes and peppers. It had such a soft texture, with a lovely fire-grill taste on the outside.

Next was besugo (sea bream or snapper) from the grill, cooked with olive oil, white wine and garlic. Filleted at the table and served simply on its own.

All washed down with a crisp white Ribera del Asón from the local province, Voto. This simple non-appellation blend of Albariño and Chardonnay was a perfect complement to a perfect starry night at the unspoilt, and yes perfect, edge of Spain.

Asador Tinto in Rioja Spain: Pata Negra Makes Getting Older Easier

by liz · Apr 1, 2011

So here I am, having a birthday that has been hailed as the new 30. I’m single and childless and gainfully employed. So far, I’m not convinced.

Luckily, I had a new beau who just happened to be a wonderful baker — and believe me, a woman’s heart definitely can be won over with beautifully baked levain bread. We decided the best way to celebrate this birthday was an eating/drinking tour in Europe…specifically Rioja, Spain, Basque country and Bordeaux. France & Spain here we come!

My first nibble/birthday treat on foreign soil from the Baker was to be classic French macarons at the Paris airport between flights. A perfect start. Then arriving in Madrid, driving to our inn in Rioja: an old royal palace, Hospedería Señorío de Briñas…amazing. And a sparkling Spanish cava toast in the room on arrival? Lovely touch!

Now to find dinner. Most places in our little town of Briñas were already closed, so we were recommended Asador Tinto in Haro: close by, loved by locals, quiet. We headed there immediately.

Turns out it was a favorite of all kinds of city workers on break this time of night. Ambulances, police cars and empty buses were parked outside, and their drivers were inside, feasting on pata negra and Rioja wine, the Spanish version of donuts and coffee. We took a table in the modern warehouse-esque interior.

First – birthday wine! A Crianza: ruby-colored, smooth with hints of cherry and fennel. This is why you come to Rioja.

Second — birthday pork! Jamón ibérico, or pata negra, or the finest ham in the world: the first of many plates of pata on this trip.

Third — birthday lambs’ feet (gelatinous, sticky and slimy all at the same time) and then birthday steak (perfect for a girl from Oklahoma!) with fries and pimentos.

And then this Spanish truck stop produced a final birthday treat – Sorbete de Limón con Cava, or lemon sorbet topped with cava, with a birthday sparkler.

Well maybe it wasn’t the final treat. I still had the room at the inn and the Baker.

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