Lela Wine Dinner - April

Every month, Lela's at the Sheraton in Bloomington, MN, has a wine dinner. Basically, it's an opportunity for their chef, Stewart Woodman, to play.
We've been to a bunch of these now and, with the exception of a very misguided grilled cheese sandwich, the food has always been excellent. Woodman has a really great sense of pairing food with wine, and he's not afraid to be dramatic and interesting. The first one we went to, he served Elk Tenderloin and it was just stunning.

Conveniently, the dinner in April happened to be on my birthday, so it was pretty easy to insist we go. Here is the menu:

So first off, Sea Urchin on Rhubarb Sorbet

This was... interesting. I love Sea Urchin. I like how it's delicate and fatty and sweet and unctuous. This rendition was good, but I feel as though there was a ratio issue. The Rhubarb Sorbet was so cold and tart. I think the flavors worked well together but would have rather had a piece of Sea Urchin with a few blobs of the sorbet. The urchin got lost in the noise.

Next we had Salmon with Tobiko in broth:

This was light, bright and pretty. My Tobiko fell into the broth and I didn't really get to taste it that much, but one of my dinner companions said it was fantastic and I believe her. Delicate, savory, enjoyable. This was a good dish after the sea urchin. It wasn't mind blowing, but it was tasty.

I didn't take a picture of the Lobster Bisque (and honestly until I just looked at the menu to get the order down, I forgot we had it). Woodman's Lobster Bisque is really nice. I've had it before and it's just the right amount of creamy and fishy and meaty. It's a winner every time.

And then, of and then, we had the Berkshire Pork Chop.

This was beyond the star of the show.

It looks unassuming, right? Almost simple? It wasn't. It was absolutely gorgeous. The beurre rouge was great, the puree was lovely, but that green stuff on top? That is a ramp chimichurri. Ramps, if you're not familiar, are wild garlic. They are most commonly found in spring time, and I have never even thought to put them in a chimichurri before. The balance was fantastic. The portk was cooked perfectly, the Emmolo Merlot that paired with this was delightful. Best dish I think I've ever had at one of these dinners.

We had short ribs too.

But they weren't the sumptuous deliciousness of the pork chop, so, you know. That happened.

Now I have to figure out how to get my hands on all the ramps in the world so I can make that sauce.

Swoon

Simple Summer Sangria

Ah the end of May. Here in Nevada the mercury is already over a hundred degrees on many days, and it's time for light fruity cocktails, salads from the garden, and catching up on trashy TV.

My fabulous other half built me a garden this year and it's filled with herbs and radishes and salad greens and zucchini and strawberries. I'm so excited for my tomatoes to come along so I can eat them like apples!

I have to share this Sangria recipe, because it's really delightful and I'm swooning over it. It's perfect for the Summer, and I have a feeling it's going to be a found quite frequently in my fridge. It's also wonderfully simple to make.

I know it sounds odd, but buy cheap wine for this. An inexpensive sweet and fruity red would be perfect. I think the one I used was about $4.50.

Simple Summer Sangria

1 bottle fruity red wine
2 Oranges
1 Lemon
1/3 Cup Triple Sec
A Handful of Mint Leaves

Slice on orange, and then juice the other. Slice the lemon. Place the fruit in a carafe or pitcher with the mint. Pour over the triple sec, then the bottle of wine. Stir. Chill.

Serve over ice, try not to break a wine glass in the process.

Makes 4 glasses.

Red Wine Reduction

 
It's hard to explain this sauce. It's really unusual and quite delicious. It's one of those things that pops into your brain when you're randomly up at night, reading Kafka on the Shore and processing your day.

I've not been sleeping regularly. Yesterday I woke up at 7am. Which sounds fine until I tell you that I work 3pm-12am, I didn't get to sleep until 3am, and yesterday was my day off.

I gave up trying to sleep at 8am and decided to just go ahead and get up and make this sauce since it was in my brain and I had nothing else to then. Yesterday I then proceeded to clean and rearrange almost my entire house. It was a very weird and productive day.

Anyway, the sauce. I wanted to do a red wine reduction that packed a punch and stood up to strong flavors. I had a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, dense and purple and grapey, and that was what I went with.

I had this for dinner over some slow cooked pork rubs, mashed potatoes and peas. The flavor in the ribs that I was going for didn't work out too well but the sauce more than made up for it. It's tart and sweet and dense and rich and delicious all at the same time. Try it on steak, or ribs, or just on mashed potatoes if you're into that kind of thing (which I am, mashed potatoes peas and gravy is still my number one comfort food).

Red Wine Reduction

1 Cup Red Wine (Such as Cabernet Sauvignon)
1/4 Onion, diced (or two shallots)
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
5 Peppercorns
Salt
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add in the onion. Cook until softened and starting to brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the wine, peppercorns, and sugar. Grind in a little salt.

Simmer for about 30 minutes until reduced down to 1/3rd of the original liquid. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Take off the heat and strain. Add in the butter and stir to melt.

Pour over a plate of meat and potatoes. Feel snazzy. Relish in the deep purple color.

Makes 2 servings.