Chef’s personal recipes for roasted beets and cabernet butter follow, so read on fellow Brigade for the best calorie-free indulgence of the decade.

Bruliam Wines:  Chef, you create such beautiful, flavorful, fresh delicacies at Addison, and it is truly a treat to have you here to answer some questions for our palate-curious, Bruliam Brigade readership.  Thanks for putting prep on the back burner (pretty clever, eh??) to answer some of our toughest foodie questions.

First things first: we all know we won’t get drunk from coq au vin, so what’s the point anyway?  Why is wine an important cooking “ingredient?” 

Chef Bradley:  It creates balance on the palate.

Bruliam Wines:  Of course we’re here to promote pinot, but many recipes call for “a light red wine” or a “full bodied red wine.”  What does that mean?

Chef Bradley:  The light red wines I incorporate in my cuisine are really used to emphasize the acid with the soft tones of fruit.  When my recipes call for full bodied red wine, I look for wines that have robust fruit flavors that I would like to include in the dish. 

Bruliam wines:  Is that the same as the cheap, generic “cooking wine” we see next to the vinegars at Vons?  

Chef Bradley:  Not at all. 

Bruliam Wines:  Help our readers decipher what constitutes a passable cooking wine.  

Chef Bradley:  A good food for thought: “Never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink.” A passable cooking wine is an every day wine. A good food for thought: “Never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink.”

Bruliam Wines:  Tell us a little bit about your cooking philosophy and what most inspires your menu? 

Chef Bradley:  Simplicity and harmony are strong philosophies that inspire my ever changing menu.

Bruliam Wines:  Who taught you to cook?  

Chef Bradley:  My mentor is James Boyce. I worked with him for over seven years.

Bruliam Wines:  Who most influenced your cooking style? 

Chef Bradley:  Alain Passard from the Restaurant L’Arpege in Paris.

Bruliam Wines:  When I pick your brain for cooking advice at home, you always tell me “low and slow.”  Tell our readers about this cooking style. 

Chef Bradley:  This style of cooking is the artisan approach to which I have adapted to over the years.  This low and slow method allows you to control the temperature and texture of each ingredient you are cooking. 

Bruliam Wines:  I have already copy-catted your low and slow roasted beets; they were easy to prepare and delicious.  Can you recap that technique for me here?

Chef Bradley:  See attached beet recipe.  (recipe follows the interview)

Bruliam Wines:  What other foods can home cooks prepare using a similar method? 

Chef Bradley:  Roasted shallots, fennel, or any other type of root vegetable that you particularly enjoy.

Bruliam Wines:  Go ahead and spill your favorite food-pinot noir pairing!  (We just want to copy that too). 

Chef Bradley:  Baked red cherry clafoutis with brown butter ice cream.  I have a huge sweet tooth.

Bruliam Wines:  I bet you knew this one was coming: you’re trapped in purgatory for eternity with an inexhaustible supply of only 5 ingredients.  What are they and why? 

Chef Bradley:  Peanut butter, jelly, bread, Ruffles, and cold milk. 

Bruliam Wines:  Why? 

Chef Bradley:  Because I don’t go more than two days without these.

Bruliam Wines:  What’s your favorite cooking gadget that you just can’t live without?

Chef Bradley:  Vitamix Blender

Bruliam Wines:  What’s your best tip for home cooks who yearn to cook like a pro? 

Chef Bradley:  Clean as you go so you can relax after eating.

Bruliam Wines:  Chef, would you mind sharing your favorite wine-based recipe with our readers?  

Chef Bradley:  Please see attached recipe for cabernet butter.

Bruliam Wines:  Chef Bradley, thank you again for your time.  But I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that I’d rather be eating your food than reading your words!  I hope to see you at Addison very soon and encourage our readers to seek out your spectacular food for their next special occasion meal.

Chef Bradley:  Thank you!

Verbena Roasted Red Beets

Chef William Bradley - Addison Restaurant

(Serves 4 people)

Ingredients:

 4 Aluminum foil 12″ squares

4 large red beets

8 Tbsp. of sea salt

8 Tbsp. of brown sugar

24 verbena leaves

2 Tbsp. lime zest

Extra virgin olive oil

2 cups of arugula

Method:

Verbena Roasted Red Beets

 Using aluminum foil, make four 12″ squares.

In the middle of each square, place one large red beet.

Season each beet with 2 Tbsp. of salt and 2 Tbsp. of brown sugar.

Place 6 verbena leaves on top of each beet.

Tightly seal beets by folding up each corner of foil.

Place in 200 degree oven and cook for 1 hour.

After cooking, remove beets from oven and cool to room temperature for an additional hour.

Remove beets from foil and discard verbena leaves.

Gently peel skin from beets using a towel and cut beets into quarters.

Arrangement:

Lay quartered beets on four individual plates.

Sprinkle with sea salt and grated lime zest.

Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a few leaves of arugula.

CABERNET BUTTER (SERVE OVER STEAK FRITES)

Chef William Bradley, Addison Restaurant

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 whole shallots, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon organic pure cane sugar *

1 bottle of delicious Cabernet (your choice)

6 ounces of softened, unsalted French butter *

4 tablespoons finely chopped chives

2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh thyme leaves (do not use dry thyme)

Sea Salt to Taste *

*Can be bought in specialty food stores

Method for Cabernet Reduction:

Place diced shallots in a heavy duty sauce pot.  Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and the whole bottle of Cabernet wine.  Cook over low heat and reduce down to ¾.  After reducing, allow wine reduction to cool to room temperature.  

Method for Cabernet Butter:

In a mixing bowl, add butter, chopped chives, chopped thyme leaves, and wine reduction.  Using a rubber spatula, slowly mix all ingredients together until fully incorporated.  Season with sea salt to taste. 

Chef Notes:

This is a great and easy wine recipe that goes great over steak frites or any grilled protein.  Butter will keep up to a month in the refrigerator.

If you haven’t submitted your Bruliam Brigade picture yet, what are you waiting for?  And if you’ve already sent one in but lost the monthly contest, you need to scrape your ego back up off the floor and send us some new pictures.  We’ll be doing this every month for the foreseeable future, so there are lots of chances to win!

And for those of you who have signed up to receive our e-mails (or are reading this for the first time) and are wondering why you don’t have a Brigade shirt yet, you need to click here and fill out the form to register for the Brigade and receive a free t-shirt.

To vote all you need to do is: (1) click on the bullet next to the person’s name and (2) click the big VOTE button at the bottom of the poll. The poll will instantly update the tally and show you the most current results.  If the system works properly, you will only be able to vote once.  But, you can forward the link or this e-mail to as many people as you want to get them to vote for you.

The poll will only be open for voting until 8am on Tuesday December 2nd so get voting!

If you can’t see the poll or vote properly through the e-mail, please CLICK HERE and you can vote on the website.

MLF, the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid via bacteria, is a process that ups the ante in premium wines.  In fact, most of the wines you drink have probably undergone MLF and you didn’t even know it, since you’re so accustomed to its sweet end-product.  MLF heightens wines’ aromas, increases its complexity, and enhances all of its organoleptic qualities across the board, from creamy, mid-palate weight to fragrant bouquet.  By products of this chemical conversion include spooky names like ethyl lactate which embellishes a wine’s fullness and body and diacetyl, the curious compound responsible for that fat, buttery popcorn aroma in some oaky chards.  After MLF, wines become softer, more approachable, and less aggressive (and no, it cannot be applied to your hyperactive, yippy puppy or terrorizing toddler).  MLF also imparts velvety softness, greater body, and a richer, fuller texture (and no, you can’t apply it to your over processed hair either).  You see, MLF transforms malic acid, imagined as the biting tartness of unripe, green apples, into softer, mellower milk acid (lactic acid).  With MLF, a wine’s overall acidity decreases via direct decarboxylation, so for every molecule of malic acid, one acid group evaporates- poof- with its resultant gustatory pleasures. 

 Now stay with me friends.

 This is the chemical structure that defines carboxylic acid (R-CO₂H):

Malic acid is a DIcarboxylic acid, HO₂C-CH₂-CH(OH)-CO₂H,  containing 2 of those CO₂H guys, one flanking either end of the molecule.  Compare this to lactic acid, a MONOcarboxylic acid, HO₂C- CH(OH)- CH₃, which has only one CO₂H.  (FYI: the other CO₂H had evaporated into the air as carbon dioxide, CO2).  And there it is!  You have literally LOST an acid group, molecule for molecule, transforming a chemical with two CO₂H guys into a chemical with only one CO₂H guy.  So not only do you have fewer “CO₂H guys” overall (less acid) but also you’ve replaced puckery, tart, green apple acid with softer, richer milk acid.  Volia, the magic of chemistry!  (Now don’t you wish you’d stayed awake in that 7^th grade chemistry class instead of throwing spit balls in Amy’s hair?)

 Why does this impressive creature, Oneococcus, use malic acid anyway?  Why can’t he eat sugar like his BFF Mr. Yeast?  Lactic acid isn’t buttery, is it?  So where’s the butter from?  Hey, didn’t you mention something about acetate up there?  Isn’t that vinegar?  How do I know you won’t screw up your own brew with this MLF garbage?  If you’ve already got wine, why bother?  The answers to these and other enticing chemical quandaries will be addressed in the upcoming weeks.  But fear not fortuitous friends; I’ll be alternating these topics with awesome interview bites from super sommelier Jesse Rodriguez and star chef William Bradley, both of Addison Grand Del Mar.  Stay tuned!

As with any large party, picking the appropriate food and wine can be a major pain.  This year, however, I’m feeling more pressure than usual.  Maybe since I’m now “in the business,” I feel that my wine selections for the party will be more carefully scrutinized.  Maybe it’s because we have more wine drinkers in the office these days and so the standard cabernet/chardonnay selection just ain’t going to cut it anymore.  Or maybe it’s because in this tight economy I feel obligated to get a little more cost-conscious on selections without giving up on quality.  Whatever the reason, it is crunch time on wine selections with the party only four weeks away.

And so it was with much amusement (and just a little bit of envy) that I came across a posting on a NY Times blog about the recent holiday party held by Paulson & Co.  Paulson & Co. made about a zillion dollars last year shorting the subprime housing market and apparently is on track to do quite well again this year (shorting is betting on a price or asset to decrease in value).  So, what did these “master of the universe” types have for their holiday party? All first growth Bordeaux.  Not too bad, right?  You can see the menu below and read the article and see the full menu by clicking here.

For the Sagient team members who follow this blog - sorry, no first growth Bordeaux this year.  What is on tap?  Well, I enjoy torturing the staff a little bit so we’re going to keep the selections (and the location) secret for a while longer.  One thing that I can disclose is our final “wine” selection of the evening.  Nothing like a shot of cheap jet fuel grappa to end the year!

Here’s looking forward to the 2009 holiday party where we’ll hopefully be toasting with some Bruliam pinot noir!

Many thanks to Brigade member Karen R. for this great picture taken with some furry friends at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah.  For you animal lovers out there, we’re told that Best Friends will be the recepient of the $250 prize should Karen win this month’s vote.

If you can’t see the picture, please click here.

Update:  Congrats to Grandma Sylvia on her overwhelming win in the October poll.  We’ll be donating $250 on her behalf to Jewish Family Services of Broward County, FL.

(co-opted from Cooking Light January 2006)

Please scroll down for the video.

Stew is a delicious, satisfying, seasonal specialty that is relatively easy to make.  You can add or change ingredients on the fly - like substituting one root veggie for another (who cares if you use carrots, parsnip, potato, or rutabaga?).  It’s virtually indestructible, simmering for hours over low heat while infusing your kitchen with that heady smell of hearty comfort food and sweating onions.  You can double batches with ease, freezing some for a busy evening or allowing leftovers sit in the fridge for a few days, as the flavors develop even more complexity and harmony.  Use the “low and slow” cooking technique, which entails cooking with low heat for a more prolonged period of time.  Increasing cooking time at lower temperatures helps dissolve and tenderize the muscle tissue of the cheaper, tougher cuts of meat commonly used for soups or braises.  These meats also have a higher fat content that prevents them from becoming dry and tough after hours in the pot.  Look for beef stew meat, leg of lamb, or pork shoulder.  There is no reason to splurge for Kobe beef, New York strip or rack of lamb for simple stews.  Besides wasting money, it spoils the simple, humble grace of great soups.  I assure you that after 2 hours of simmering, your meat will be spoon tender and wonderful.

Below I will detail the 7 easy steps that will transform your life and restore the power to you.  If you envision it, you can be it!  Just kidding.  However, I will simplify and demystify the 7 easy steps that define great stews, so even a novice cook can wow pals and in-laws with a soulful, rich, homemade meal.

 1.  RIGHT PAN & RIGHT MEAT

Choose a Dutch oven or a large, heavy, lidded enamel pan with tall sides, like one of those gorgeous Le Creuset oval braisers, preferably in that creamy spring blue or that golden orange wash (are you listening, Brian?).  A tight fitting lid ensures no liquid escapes during prolonged simmering and that heat stays constant within.  But any heavy-duty soup pot and lid will do.  As I mentioned, ask your butcher which cuts of meat work best in stews.  This particular recipe specifies lamb leg.  Try to cut your meat into roughly equal sized cubes, so it cooks more evenly.  (FYI: The butchers at Homegrown Meats in La Jolla will happily cube the lamb leg for you).

2.  SAUTE AROMATICS

Aromatics include stuff like onions, leeks, garlic, and shallots.  Use any combination to create a base flavor for your stew.  Allow the onions to turn golden brown and carmelize a little.  You should have brown bits stuck to the bottom of your pan.  These sticky pieces of food create big flavors later on.  Once you’ve browned the onions, remove them from the pan so you can start on your meat.

 3.  DREDGE IN FLOUR

I like to use seasoned flour with salt and pepper.  Dredge the meat cubes in flour and then shake off the extra.  The flour helps create a tasty, crispy brown crust on the meat that seals the juice inside.  The admixture of flour fluff and melted fat also creates a roux of sorts that helps thicken your final product.

4.  BROWN YOUR MEAT

Heat your oil and then add your meat in batches.  Please don’t crowd the meat.  You must ensure your meat cubes have enough space around them to adequately brown up on all sides.  Remember, you’re just searing the outside of the meat; it is still totally raw in the middle (so don’t sample it just yet).  Aim to get a nice layer of brown yummy bits on the bottom of your pan.  You need these for flavor.

5.  DEGLAZE

Add your liquid (traditionally wine or broth) and scrape the bottom of your pan as you pour, and the broth comes to a boil.  The browned bits, called a “fond,” should release fairly easily.  This is the best part.

6.  LOW & SLOW

Cover and simmer your stew.  Simmering is not boiling or vigorously percolating or even chugging along.  Simmer means bubble- pause- bubble- bubble- pause.  It is a perambulating stroll, not a sprint.  Your meat needs time.  Believe me, if you go from raw chunks to cooked through in 20 minutes, your meat will be rubber.  So relax.  Have a glass of wine or read a book.  Hang out.

7.  ADD VEG LAST

So you can’t really “simmer” carrots for 3 hours.  You’ll have grey, tasteless, texture-less mush.  So unless you’re going for puree, add veggies last.  They only need 20 or 30 minutes, depending on their size.  That way you’ll confidently identify a carrot cube from the potato wedge with each bite.

Feel free to change up this recipe or pair it with another wine varietal altogether.  The Middle Eastern-inspired flavors of the pomegranate molasses sing out for allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, and even a pinch of clove.  Experiment, and add other spices for fun.  You can also toss in golden raisins, dates or dried fig.  It’s all good.  Drop me a line and let me know how your stew turned out and the wine you chose as its partner.  I’d love to know.  A Bruliam Kitchens Production follows below.  If you can’t see the video, please click here.

From Cooking Light January 2007

Ingredients

Cooking spray

2  cups  chopped red onion

6  garlic cloves, minced

1/3  cup  all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)

2  pounds  boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces

1  tablespoon  olive oil

1  teaspoon  salt, divided

2  tablespoons  pomegranate molasses

2  (14-ounce) cans less-sodium beef broth

2  cups  (1/4-inch) slices carrot

1  (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained

2  tablespoons  chopped fresh mint

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

4  cups  hot cooked couscous

Preparation

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Spoon onion mixture into a large bowl.

Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge lamb in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of lamb mixture; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned lamb to onion mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining lamb mixture and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Add pomegranate molasses and broth to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Stir in lamb mixture. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until lamb is just tender.

Stir in carrot and chickpeas. Simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes or until lamb is very tender. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, mint, and pepper. Serve over couscous.

Many thanks to Brigade member Dave R. for this picture in the wilds of northeast Ohio with the native Vitis Argentifolia (Silver Leaf Grapevine).  Dave discovered Bruliam from our Doctor’s Crush video on YouTube.  Dave has a passion for the woods near his home and the grapes that grow wildly there.  He has yet to make any wine from the grapes but hopefully we can inspire him to give it a shot if the wildlife doesn’t beat him to the grapes!!  You can see one of Dave’s videos about the native grape vines in Ohio by clicking here.  If you can’t view the picture, please click here.

With a more generous and fanciful spirit, “a sense of place” is also a metaphor for the bewitching way a great wine transports us into the intimate recesses of our own imagination.  Nowhere has this been better played than in the recent WSJ article entitled “The Lamb-Chop Test.”  There John and Dottie taste tested 10 wine-shop recommended wines alongside simple broiled lamb chops, divining the best pairings of the day.  Beyond which wine “beat” another, the most alluring part of their prose was hearing those lovebirds detail the sappy, nostalgic places they imagined they’d been sipping their stuff.  They write (without irony), “The dinner had an altered feel depending on which wine we were tasting.  With Consilience Syrah, we were sitting around a fire on a beautiful night; with Gorrondona from Spain, the meal took us to a friendly provincial restaurant; with a 1999 Rioja, we were at a very fancy, white-tablecloth place.”  Obviously all crazy, wine-obsessed nuts share a passion for poetic hyperbole, lest you think my camping-flashback nausea was all in jest.

Today, in a humbler offering than a world class, white-tablecloth meal, I thought I’d share a personal, favorite wine-food pairing of mine: Lamb Stew with Chickpeas and Pomegranate Molasses with Tor Kenward’s Rock Syrah.  When I first tasted this particular syrah, at fancy white-tablecloth Addison Grand Del Mar, I was incontestably certain that it would pair magnificently with my (what cheeky impudence- it’s a Cooking Light recipe!) lamb stew.  The bold wine, equal parts juicy, ripe red fruit and peppery earthiness, would transform a hearty, braised, meat stew into something really special.  Plus the pomegranate molasses had a piquant fruity kick that could cut though the heaviness of this big wine.  And so, with a half bottle between us, a hot bowl of steamy lamb stew, and the persistent tinkling of Bob the Builder’s theme song in the background, Brian and I drifted off to the most romantic, magical place of all: that precious moment of quiet and calm in our very own House of Preschool Horrors.  Of course it was over almost instantaneously, first when Kid #1 pestered us for a sip of ”daddy’s water” followed by Kid #2 screaming to fast forward through the part with Muck and the porcupines. 

Please understand, this is not an endorsement to rush to your computer right this minute to buy the very same vintage of that very same wine (although it’s one we love).  Instead I challenge you to cook something satisfying and delicious tonight and pair it with whatever is in your cabinet right now.  Who knows where it will transport you?  And if you’re a little buzzed, you may find the bottle speaking or singing to you or even directly “saying to the lamb, ‘Get on my shoulders, little buddy, and I’ll carry you.’ ” Thanks John and Dottie; you’re always an inspiration.

Next week I will share the aforementioned recipe along with some simple techniques for mastering awesome, super-duper stew.

That doesn’t mean we agree on everything, however.  Kerith, for example, believes it is her God-given duty to max out the credit card every year at the Nordstrom anniversary sale.  I, on the other hand, know for a fact that watching football on Sundays is protected under the U.S. constitution.  We’ve argued and debated these points ad nauseam and ultimately reached a delicate détente (i.e., she gets to go crazy at the sale while I get to do chores on Sundays).

But when we launched this site our primary goal was to make sure that both of our voices were given equal weight.  And so, I feel compelled to weigh in with a defense of our grapes from the Anderson Valley. 

Few of our previous posts have generated as much feedback as Kerith’s post on Monday about the smoke taint problem.  Many of the responses sided with Kerith’s hatred of camping or anything outdoorsy (and apparently “sh*t in a box” is a very powerful image for some of you).  But all included hushed condolences about the “loss” of our Anderson Valley grapes.  With all of the calls and e-mails we received, I almost felt compelled to tear my shirt, cover the mirrors, break out the low chairs, and start sitting shiv’ah.

So let me be clear - our Anderson Valley pinot is not dead.  In my opinion, it’s not even on life support.  The taint problem is almost universal this year in the Anderson Valley from the fires that burned over the summer (you can read about the problem by clicking here).  Does our wine have some smoke taint?  Yes.  Is it oppressive in the free run we barreled?  No.  Will it clear up over the next few months?  I believe so.  When we tasted the fermented juice it had great balance, weight, and fruit.  If the smoke recedes even a little bit I think we’re going to have a great wine. 

That said, Kerith and I are committed to sell only wine that we love ourselves, and we won’t pull any punches if the end product is not up to snuff.  But, I’m in the wine-glass-half-full camp and think that we’ll be just fine. 

So please, while we appreciate all of the offers to drop food by the house, really, it’ll be OK (unless someone out there makes a mean brisket - in which case you’re always welcome).

From 95 to 5, Bruliam has supporters of all ages.  Thanks to Brigade-in-Training member JE (and his parents) for this picture taken while apple picking in Oak Glen, CA.  Now that’s he got some farming experience, maybe we’ll get him to work crush next year?

If you can’t see the picture, please click here.