2017 Michigan Wine and Small Plates: Camembert and Olive-Stuffed Phyllo

At dinner earlier this week, our family was discussing the eternal question of What Gluten-y Food Do You Miss the Most? The winner, hands-down, was phyllo dough.

There’s no way around this, no GF version of phyllo hanging around somewhere, because the elasticity from the gluten is what makes those lovely paper-thin sheets possible. Yes, I know that phyllo is a genre, not a product, and there are almost certainly some rustic versions that are meant to be rolled thick and could be made GF, but that’s not what I think about when I hear the word “phyllo.” I think of spinach and cheese pies, golden brown and shattering into a million papery bits when you bit into it. I think of my favorite feta rolls, and burning my tongue on the filling because I can’t wait to eat them. I think of baklava. And then I think of baklava some more, and I feel very very sad. And then I cheat and eat a bunch of gluten-containing foods that week, and I feel very very sad in a completely different way. In fact, I’m still feeling that particular kind of sadness a few weeks later, so I’m pretty sure there won’t be any more phyllo in my foreseeable future.

If you don’t have this particular issue, might I suggest these cheese and olive rolls?

The cheese is funky and more strongly flavored than you might think, given its resemblance to Brie, and really holds its own against the olives. I’m not a fan of olives but I’ve come to tolerate them under certain circumstances (all of which involve cheese and wine). Given that this dish is intended to be paired with Syrah, it really needed some serious kick to hold up to the wine; I was pleasantly surprised all the way around, since I usually think of Syrah as something to be paired with red meats.

Don’t let the idea of working with phyllo dough intimidate you. There are two essential factors to your success: (1) Don’t let it dry out. Cover it immediately with the clean towel and recruit a helper to do nothing but move the towel when you need it, if at all possible. Ignore the package advice about using a damp towel, since in my experience all that means is that you’ll get some phyllo stuck to your towel in annoying, gummy patches. (2) Buy your phyllo from a Middle Eastern grocery or similar. There is no point whatsoever in trying to buy it at a regular grocery store; it’s not stored right or turned over quickly enough, and it inevitably is stuck to itself, dried out, and generally a misery to work with. You don’t need that kind of hassle.

If you’ve been following these posts, you won’t be a bit surprised to know this recipe comes from 100 Perfect Pairings by Jill Silverman Hough. In fact, you’ve probably gone out and bought your own version by now. I certainly hope so. Please invite me over when you start cooking from it!

Camembert and Olive-Stuffed Phyllo

8 ounces Camembert cheese, cut into ½-inch dice
1 cup drained, pitted Kalamata olives, chopped (the original recipe calls for black olives but I can’t even. Kalamatas are enough of a stretch for me.)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 stick of butter, melted
1 package of phyllo dough

In a food processor, mix the cheese, olives, eggs, and pepper until combined. Yes, this is going to be downright horrible-looking. Persevere.

Put the phyllo on a work surface and use a very sharp knife to cut the sheets in half. Immediately put a clean kitchen towel over the sheets so they don’t dry out – this happens very quickly and makes it almost impossible to work with the phyllo. If possible, arrange for a kitchen helper to move the towel off the phyllo when you need to get a sheet, which will speed up the process considerably.

Take a single half-sheet of phyllo off the top of the stack and put it in front of you. Place a spoonful of filling along the bottom of the sheet, about an inch or so in from the edge; spread it out in a line rather than a glop. Fold the bottom edge of the phyllo up to cover it and give the roll a half-turn, then fold the left edge over. Give the roll another half-turn and fold the right edge over, then continue rolling until the rest of the sheet is used up. Brush the top edge with a little butter to seal it closed and put the roll on a baking sheet. Brush the top with a little melted butter. Continue with the rest of the filling and phyllo.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot or room temperature.

About the wine: I served this with Chateau Aeronautique 2012 Syrah. As I mentioned earlier, I was a little surprised at how well this held up to a biggish red; the cheese is pretty intense and the huge amount of olives adds a lot of brininess. This particular Syrah is a little fruitier and less tannic than some others I’ve had but I suspect that this particular recipe would hold up just fine if you had a peppery wine that punched you in the face a bit, if you’re into that sort of thing. 

2017 Michigan Wine and Small Plates: Balsamic Mushroom Melange

Let’s be clear: Mushrooms and I have a long and adversarial relationship. I’ve never really been a fan. When I was a kid my stepfather would call me “Microsurgeon” based entirely on how meticulously I would pick every single tiny bit of mushroom (and onion, and green pepper, and olive) off my pizza before I would touch it. My anomalous love of Campbell’s  Cream of Mushroom soup aside, I’ve spent most of my adult life avoiding mushrooms in all their various incarnations. Stuffed mushrooms? I’ll pass. Sauteed over a steak? Plain meat is fine. And a grilled Portabello is not just like a burger, fer cryin’ out loud! It’s not the taste so much as the texture, that rubbery slide-off-your-teeth feeling. Which, clearly, only indicates that I was served poorly-prepared mushrooms for far too long, because even mushroom haters can be converted to mushroom meh by this dish (Anna: “Wow, Mom. I didn’t even hate these.”). And if you don't hate mushrooms you'll probably really like right out of the gate, no tentative nibbles required. 

Don’t be daunted by the ingredient list – if you’ve ever made Indian food or baked, odds are good you have most of these on hand. If not, please allow me to take this opportunity to extol the virtues of buying your spices in bulk. Lots of fruit markets and higher-end grocery stores have a bulk spice section and it will save you a ton of money when you only have to buy a tiny amount of something you’re not likely to use often. Ethnic grocery stores are also great for this. Bonus: you’ll go through small amounts of spices much faster, so your spices will generally be fresher when you use them. Double bonus: the proportions here are pretty forgiving so you can fiddle a bit if you run out of something. Triple bonus: this recipe scales up infinitely. You could make a whole container of this mix and have it available whenever you need a delicious side or appetizer or something a little different to top the steak you just pulled off the grill.

Another thing to not be daunted by? The volume of the mushrooms. Believe me, they shrink right down; I was a little concerned that 18 cups of mushrooms was not going to be enough for this entire crowd. But I can also see that most people aren’t going to be nuts enough to make a new recipe for 30 people without testing it out first. Just sayin’.

From the marvelous 100 Perfect Pairings by Jill Silverman Hough. Please, go buy it.

Balsamic Mushroom Melange

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1 pound mixed mushrooms, larger ones cut in half, stems removed from shiitakes (about 8 cups)
3 tablespoons crumbled feta, about 1 ounce (optional, but who wants to skip feta?)
Chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 450.

Combine the olive oil and all the spices in a bowl. Add the mushrooms, tossing to coat evenly. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake about 15 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the feta and parsley.

About the wine: I paired this with Domaine Berrien Cellars 2013 Merlot. Mushrooms and Merlot are a nice pairing – ignore everyone who tries to sell you on Pinot Noir with this, because everyone loves Pinot Noir just a little bit too much. The wine is made in an Old World style, with lots of earthiness and not a lot of fruit, so it’s just right for spice and mushrooms. I spent a long time drinking Merlot that I didn’t really enjoy – I ordered it at restaurants because I was 100% sure I could pronounce it correctly – and this wine is making me rethink my general anti-Merlot stance. 

2017 Michigan Wine and Small Plates: Fig, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Salad

The first time I made this, I had stumbled across an unexpected cache of fresh figs at the grocery store earlier that day. (I am utterly obsessed with fresh figs, and if I am ever persuaded to move to California it will only be so that I can have a fig tree in my yard like Edon Waycott apparently does). And it was just fantastic. Don’t get me wrong - dried figs are perfectly pleasant - but there’s nothing at all like a fresh fig to make me feel that I’m eating something opulent. I also cheated and used a vanilla fig balsamic vinegar that I had hanging out in my cupboard – salad dressings and easy marinades are the best excuse to keep a huge stash of vinegars around. The dressing was just fantastic, and I’m sad that I’ve used all the vinegar and that it was from a booth at an art fair a couple of years ago and I’ll probably never find it again.

The second time I made this, I used dried figs and followed the recipe for the dressing, and it was still really, really good. I always tend to overdo my salads (throw in more things!) but this basically 4 ingredients and it completely works. The third time I made this, I split the difference – dried figs and the last of my awesome vanilla fig balsamic vinegar. And you know what? It was good that way too.

The lesson here is that there is pretty much no way to make this not good, and you should resist the urge to throw in more vegetables. You should tinker around with different vinegars and make the dressing however you darn well please (salad dressing is literally the only thing I will 100% improvise on, because I have 12 kinds of vinegar and 7 kinds of oil in my pantry and I can). It looks pretty on the plate. It takes about 3 minutes to put together. It feels a little fancy and exotic, especially if you’re using fresh figs. If you have been an arugula hater in the past, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well the sharpness of the greens is tamed by the dressing. You’ll be so happy that you’re eating figs, because it makes you feel like you’re on vacation (possibly this is just me….).

Another great recipe from 100 Perfect Pairings by Jill Silverman Hough, which you should probably buy. 

Fig, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Salad

¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
2 teaspoons honey
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 dried or 6 fresh figs, timed and quartered (if you’re using dried, get the good i.e., expensive organic ones, they’re likely to be a little more tender)
12 cups loosely packed arugula
¾ cup crumbled goat cheese
¾ cup candied pecans

In a small bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients (through pepper), then whisk in the olive oil. (Or throw everything into a mason jar and shake it up really well, because that makes fewer dishes).

Combine the figs with about 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Dress the arugula to taste and divide onto individual plates. Divide the figs among the plates, and garnish with goat cheese and pecans. If you can’t find the pecans at the store and don’t have the time/energy/inclination to make your own, skip them. Or throw some toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds on there, but absolutely resist the urge to add anything else if (ahem) you’re always overdoing the salads.

About the wine: I paired this with 2 Lads 2015 Polar Vortex Rose. This is a blend of Syrah and Riesling, and it was quite a bit drier than the previous vintage while still being really fruit-forward; the watermelon and strawberry notes were a nice contrast to the sharpness of the greens and went well with the sweetness of the figs (because what wouldn’t? Figs are perfect).  I love rose and think it’s a great wine to serve when you don’t know what someone likes, as they can be light enough for the white wine drinkers and tasty enough for the red wine drinkers. Also rose practically screams “spring in here!” and we need a little bit of that. Anyone who thinks that all roses are too sweet has been traumatized by cheap White Zinfandel at some point in their wine-drinking past, and as a good friend you can help them move past this sad episode. They will thank you for it. You’re a good person.  

Cookbook Challenge #3: Sweet and Spicy Beef Noodles

I'm not sure why I decided that the cookbook challenge recipes had to be all new - there are definitely some favorites that I'd like to post, but it feels like cheating. Or maybe it's just my way of justifying a leap back into some cookbooks that I usually find a bit intimidating. Anything by Ming Tsai, for example.

Seriously. How can you resist this man?

I blame Ming for my love of cooking shows. I developed a major celebrity crush after I discovered East Meets West; he's handsome, charming, intelligent, AND a good cook. He told little stories about his family. He was self-deprecating. He made amazing and beautiful food, and then he invited you to sit down and dine with him and talked about his beverage pairings. I was instantly smitten. And once I discovered that he was also an engineer.....! Well, then.

This particular cookbook showed up during the Cookbook Club of the Month era, and it's probably the only one I never considered sending back. I read it cover to cover (yes, I'm a fangirl) and dreamed about having the culinary skills required to pull off *any* of these recipes. It's a bit intimidating. But the few items I've made from it have been outstanding. so I decided to tackle a weeknight recipe, something that Ming (yes. we're on a first-name basis) calls his equivalent of spaghetti and meatballs. I think it's more of an Asian riff on bolognese, a rich, unctuous sauce full of meat that was a fantastic reason to use the GF hoisin sauce I found recently. I can see adding this to the weeknight rotation, or making a big batch and freezing it for a hectic night when I need dinner on the table in 15 minutes - the amount of time it takes to soak rice noodles and chop a few fresh veggies to top it.

From Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking by Ming Tsai

Sweet and Spicy Beef Noodles 

3 tablespoons canola oil
3 Thai bird chiles, finely chopped (we skipped these and opted to add Sriracha to the final dish, in deference to John's general pickiness)
1/4 cup finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red onion, finely diced
2/3 cup hoisin sauce
1 pound ground beef (not too lean)
1/2 cup Shaoxing rice wine
1  cup chicken stock
1 pound rice noodles
1 cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
2 cups mung bean sprouts 

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the chiles (if using), garlic, ginger, beans, and onion and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the hoisin sauce and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add the meat and cook until it browns, about 6 minutes. Add the wine and stock. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thick and saucy, about 45 minutes.

Soak the rice noodles in boiling water until tender. Drain well and toss with the sauce. Pass the vegetables and sprouts on the side to garnish.

2017 Michigan Wine and Small Plates: Edamame Wontons with Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce

My teenage daughter likes to cook. She took a culinary and textile arts class in school last year, and it was a big boost to her confidence to realize that she knows her way around a kitchen better than a lot of her classmates. She subsequently spent a lot of time and energy making huge messes in the kitchen at home perfecting her skills (the 5-minute microwave cake for 1 continues to be a sore point every time I find a chocolate-encrusted bowl underneath the couch).

Call me an optimist. Every time I'm standing over the sink, scraping dried tomato sauce off a pan or scrubbing food coloring off my hands ("It was a very important experiment!) or picking broken glass out of my freezer ("I wanted to see what would happen if I froze it"), I entertain idyllic visions of us side-by-side in the kitchen - probably wearing matching aprons - lovingly creating beautiful meals together.

I know, right? It took me a while to type that, I was laughing so hard. Also my dream kitchen includes a lot more counter space.

But there is a serious upside to all this: she's getting to be a hella sous chef. (She would probably be even better at it if I didn't forget how to use nouns when I'm under pressure; pointing and flapping only goes so far.) And she made 10 dozen wontons with pretty much no help at all from me.

Had I been making these, there would have been many fewer wontons to serve to guests. I would have been fussing back and forth between the table and the kitchen and a bunch of the wrappers would have gotten dried out and thrown away. My back would ache and I'd be all freaked out about the other things that weren't getting done. Possibly the filling would have been served as a dip instead.

Don't let this deter you - making a normal number of these for a normal number of guests is totally reasonable. A lot of my kitchen-related stress comes from the fact that all my events seem to involve quadrupling recipes. Should you choose to do so yourself, I highly recommend recruiting some helpers.

Now my idyllic visions revolve around all the other tedious and time-consuming tasks I can foist off on her. I'm thinking grapeleaves and meatballs and risotto and egg rolls and batches of teeny-tiny little cookies and.....

As with the rest of the event menu, this recipe is taken from 100 Perfect Pairings by Jill Silverman Hough. If you're looking for a GF variation, serve this as a dip with some rice crackers and drizzle the dipping sauce over the top (be sure to use GF soy sauce).

Edamame Wontons with Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce 

2 cups shelled edamame
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
6 tablespoons aji-mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
36 ROUND wonton wrappers
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
Safflower, sunflower, peanut, or other high-heat cooking oil

Set 1/2 cup of the edamame aside. Combine the remaining edamame, lemon juice, cilantro, and 1/4 cup of the aji-mirin in a food processor and process until it forms a chunky paste. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the rest of the edamame and all but 1 teaspoon of the scallions.

Arrange 6 wonton wrappers on a work surface and cover the remaining wrappers with a towel. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the edamame mixture onto the bottom third of the wrapper, moisten the edges with a little water, and fold the wrapper over the filling. Press the edges to seal. Place on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet. Working in batches, fry the wontons until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. (You can also boil them in well-salted water for about 2 minutes).

To make the dipping sauce: Combine the soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and remaining 2 tablespoons of aji-mirin. Serve in individual small bowls and garnish with the reserved scallions.

About the wine: I served this with Bel Lago 2015 Riesling, which is a personal favorite. People tend to think that Riesling is too sweet, but there are plenty of dry and off-dry Rieslings out there as well. This particular one is a Goldilocks wine - not too dry, not too sweet, with lots of green apple and stone fruit on the palate and nice minerality in the finish. It brings out that little touch of sweetness in the dipping sauce; the acidity cuts through the richness of the sesame oil; and it's light enough that it doesn't overwhelm the edamame.

2017 Michigan Wine and Small Plates: Smoked Trout Salad on Pumpernickel Toasts

For the third year in a row, I hosted a Michigan wine and small plates pairing at church. There’s always a few points leading up to the event when I decide I’m completely crazy and need to stop volunteering to do things like this. But it is, in fact, related to what I do for a living, and it’s fun (in a sick, labor-intensive way). One of these years I’m going to get a bunch of great pictures and you can see it in process. This is not that year. So here’s the menu instead:

Smoked mackerel salad on pumpernickel toast paired with Domaine Berrien Cellars 2015 Polar Vortex White

Edamame wontons in a soy-ginger dipping sauce with Bel Lago Winery 2015 Riesling

Goat cheese, fig and arugula salad with 2 Lads Winery 2015 Polar Vortex Rose

Balsamic mushroom melange with Domaine Berrien Cellars 2013 Merlot

Camembert and olive-stuffed phyllo with ChateauAeronautique Winery 2012 Syrah

Blood orange, ricotta, and almond cake with ChateauAeronautique Winery 2012 Late Harvest Riesling

I’d love to pretend that I am some kind of food-and-wine genius and could figure out these pairings by myself, but as usual I’ve turned to Jill Silverman Hough’s 100 Perfect Pairings. I’ve made a huge number of recipes from this book over the last couple of years and she has never once steered me wrong; the food is fantastic and the pairings are spot-on. I found wines from the store I work at that fit the bill – oh, what a hardship! – and followed her excellent recipes and recruited some helpers, but I feel like she really did most of the work here.  As with previous events, I learned a lot, and I’m looking forward to being able to grab a recipe and instantly know an inspired wine pairing to amaze and impress my friends.

Smoked trout salad with pumpernickel toasts

Yes, I know I said mackerel. A funny thing happened on the way to the seafood store….. Both versions are excellent. Hough also recommends using smoked salmon, which would doubtless be completely delicious and also open the door to some other wine pairings. Don’t make this more than a couple of hours before you’re ready to serve it; it takes on a distinctly fishy flavor once it sits for bit. For the GF folks, this is also delicious on crackers or in cucumber cups.

1 oz. watercress (about 1 ½ cups)(you can substitute arugula as well)
1 lemon
4 oz. smoked trout (or mackerel or salmon), skin removed, flaked
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ - ½ tsp prepared horseradish
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
16 thin slices of pumpernickel or dark rye bread, toasted

Chop half the watercress or arugula and put in a medium bowl. Set the rest aside for garnishing.

Zest and juice the lemon; you should have about 1 tsp of zest and 2 tbsp of juice. Add the zest and juice to bowl, then add the fish, cream cheese, horseradish, and pepper. Mix well and season to taste (when I made this with the trout, the lemon zest was a little overpowering. It’s always easier to add than take away!)

Taste with your wine and adjust the lemon or pepper if needed. Spread on the toasts and garnish with additional watercress. 

About the wine: Michigan had a couple of years of really terrible weather; the extreme cold from the polar vortex killed off a lot of vines and resulted in some very small harvests. This led to some creative blending of the smaller amounts of fruit - in this case, Viognier, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. This particular wine has been something of a rock star, particularly among the Sauvignon Blanc drinkers and those who think they don't like blends. It has floral and citrus notes with pear, peach, and melon notes, and the acidity really balances out the richness of the smoked fish and cream cheese.