Month: December 2020

Turkey Leg Confit … Paired with a Robust Zinfandel

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Pairing: Turkey Leg Confit Paired with a 2015 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel 

Food: Confit is most often made with duck , usually the leg quarters. Thanksgiving this year was just the two of us (thanks to the pandemic). Last year we had made a turkey roulade which left us with a couple of uncooked legs in the freezer. Well … why not make turkey leg confit? This linked video is excellent in describing the technique for making this most satisfying dish. We made it the exact same way, but used only sage, thyme, salt and pepper for the seasoning. A delicious way to help celebrate this wonderful holiday giving thanks for all our blessings.

Turkey Leg Confit served with vegetables from our garden.

Wine: The Dry Creek Valley wine region in Sonoma County is home to some of the finest Zinfandel in California. Indeed the case could be made that this area produces the best anywhere. As we have stated elsewhere on this site, Zinfandel was the first wine we really fell in love with, and twenty years later it remains a favorite, frequently served on special occasions . For years, we have viewed Zinfandel as the quintessential American wine perfect for celebrating American holidays. However, DNA testing in the 1990’s at UC Davis ascertained that the Zinfandel grape is identical to the Italian grape, Primitivo. Hmmmm …

And, to further muddy the waters, we know that the Primitivo grape is genetically the same as the Croatian grape Crljenak Kastelanski. So, did the Zinfandel grapes in California originate in Italy or Croatia? Yet another mystery … what are the origins of the name Zinfandel? What we do know is that it is a wonderful wine, with complex fruit and spice flavors that pair beautifully with so many foods. And Ridge Vineyards produce some of the very best Zinfandel, single-vineyard wines (e.g., Lytton Springs) being their signature product.

2015 Ridge Lytton Springs – 74% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignane, 2% Mourvedre

Tasting Notes: Dark garnet in color. A bouquet of blackberry, black currant, and black cherry. On the palate one gets layers of earth, black currant, spice, and cedar. A pleasant deep “woodsy” taste balanced nicely with the black fruit flavors. The depth of flavors in the wine complements well the richness of the confit. Really nice.

Other Wines That Pair Well with Turkey Confit: Pinot Noir (New Zealand), Cahors (SW France), Saint-Emilion (Bordeaux), Malbec (Argentina)

Other Food That Pairs Well with Zinfandel: Roasted Duck and Lamb, Grilled Beef, Sausage, Lasagna

View the Dry Creek Valley Region:  Dry Creek Valley

A Source:  www. klwines.com

Magret aux Pommeau (Duck Breast with Apple Glaze) … Extraordinary with Cote Rotie

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Pairing:  Magret de Canard au Pommeau (Breast of Duck with an Apple Glaze) Paired with a 2011 Saint Cosme Cote-Rotie

Food: Turkey, ham, prime rib … they get all the attention during the holiday season. In our opinion, duck is an under-appreciated, phenomenally tasty meat that can be prepared in many delicious ways. How about just a simple roast duck? That’s what we’ve made for years. Lately, we’ve doing duck confit, my wife’s favorite that we frequently have on her birthday. A recent purchase of a hefty duck we cut up into pieces, the full leg sections were turned into confit (currently sleeping peacefully in their jars of duck fat).

The breasts got the royal treatment in Magret de Canard au Pommeau. Susan Hermann Loomis, in her cookbook, Cooking at Home on Rue Tatin, has a very nice recipe for Duck Breast with Apple Sherry. She describes Pommeau to be like a sherry, but Pommeau is a regional speciality in Normandy made from two parts fresh apple cider to one part Calvados (apple brandy) then aged in barrels for a year or more. Besides cooking with it, we also enjoy it as an aperitif or a beverage to accompany the meal. For this dish, the pommeau is combined with a little apple cider vinegar then reduced to a glaze consistency.

Magret au Pommeau with Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus

Wine: Cote Rotie is the northern most appellation of the Rhone Valley wine region of southern France. The Syrah wine produced in this region is world class … muscular yet elegant. You can sense the restrained power of the wine (whoa … watch out … getting a little fancy-speak there!). Although this red wine is primarily made from red Syrah grapes, the wine frequently contains up to 20 percent of the white variety, Viognier. Chateau de Saint Cosme is a wine estate steeped in history, dating all the way back to 1416. The winery’s extensive portfolio of offerings includes wines from both the northern and southern sections of the Rhone Valley. A very impressive list featuring some of the most fabled wines in France.

Tasting Notes: A pretty garnet red. The nose evokes luxurious leather with touches of bramble fruit. The taste … amazing … earthy with a lovely combination of blackberry, black raspberry, cloves, cinnamon, and cedar. Perhaps even some unami flavor, too. The duck’s deep rich flavor is moderated just a bit by the mild apple of the glaze. That richness could overwhelm a lesser wine. The power of the Cote-Rotie matches well the rich flavor of the duck. This is what pairing food and wine is all about. Perfect.

Other Wines That Pair Well with Breast of Duck: Gewürztraminer (Alsace), Zinfandel (California), Pinot Noir (New Zealand), Chateauneuf-du-Pape (France)

Other Food That Pairs Well with Cote-Rotie: Roast Lamb, Mushrooms, Ham, Venison, Rabbit

View the Cote-Rotie Vineyards: Cote-Rotie

A Source:  www. klwines.com