Drinking with Pete DAC Holiday Wine Tasting

It was a winter night, the full moon was shining down, and a sold-out crowd was ready to hear about Pete’s Holiday Faves from Marczyk Fine Wines. Pete brought 10 wines to taste, and by the end of the night there were some obvious winners.

We started with the Gruet Blanc de Noir sparkling, a sexy grape, and a deal at under $20.

Then on to the X white. Both X wines are big blend fruit bombs from northern CA. “I could drink this every day” was the comment. Under $15 you actually could…

Daisy Hill Sauv Blanc was super light, super fresh.

Secateurs Chenin Blanc, well here’s what one guest had to say:

By now people were chatting, Pete was shouting, but he powered through. It’s hard not to want to catch up with friends at a festive event!

Moving on to the Sottimano Dolcetto d’Alba, a great conversation started about rating wine. Pete hates it. We hate it. Why?

Let’s say you visit a small town in Italy, and they serve you their local wine. And it’s great. Actually, you love it! But if that same wine ended up being rated by Mr. Parker, it would most likely get a low rating, even though it perfectly represents the vernacular “which uses locally available resources and traditions to address local needs”. And if that makes it special to you, then the hell with ratings.

An exciting Colorado wine that we all love love love is the Alfred Eames Syrah. “I would put this up against any other Syrah” Colorado vintners are making huge strides planting grapes that love the high and dry climate, and turning them into wines that can go grape to grape with any other American wine.

The X red blend: “these guys blend this shit right.” ‘Nuff said.

And to close the evening, a very special Madeira from Blandy’s. Maderia is a fortified wine from Portugal. They can be tooth-achingly sweet, or rich and complex, like this one. It is a beautiful way to end an evening.

Many thanks to the DAC for such a fun event! It’s a beautiful club!

Whit’s Picks – 10.11.2011

Whitney is the merchandising guru at Marczyk’s. She touches practically all the Marczyk products, so has lots of time to consider how to use them. Here is her November pick, with recipe! Enjoy.

Picks of the Month:  Kabocha Squash and Niman Ranch Chipotle and Cheddar Sausages

Here in Colorado, the cold weather has arrived!  Our Denver trees are dusted with snow, and the market is abundant with local squash of seemingly endless varieties.  While I tend to like pretty much any kind of squash, I have to admit that Kabocha is my all-time favorite.  If you’ve never tried Kabocha squash, you are really in for a treat.  Also known as the Japanese Pumpkin, the Kabocha is more intense, sweet, and vibrant-colored than regular pumpkins.  The skin of this squash is edible when cooked, but since this soup is pureed it is best to remove it and use for making pumpkin stock.  I used “Sunshine Kabocha” for this recipe (the bright orange-skinned variety) but green Kabocha would work just as well.

Marczyk Fine Foods squash

What you’ll love about this soup is the wonderful flavor contrasts of spicy and sweet.  If you remove the seeds from the chipotles before adding to the soup, you will get a milder, smoky heat.  If you want some sinus-clearing spice, there’s no need to remove the seeds.  It might just be the tastiest cold medicine you’ve ever sipped!  The addition of Yukon gold potatoes gives the soup a more creamy texture and thick body.

This soup also has my new favorite sausage from Niman Ranch, the uncured chipotle cheddar flavor.  There are so many reasons why Niman Ranch is one of our favorite suppliers here at Marczyk’s - from their humanely raised “never-ever” meats (as in, never ever treated with hormones or antibiotics) to their environmentally sustainable farming practices - but the best thing about their meats is really the taste.  These juicy and flavorful chipotle cheddar sausages have little pockets of melted cheese and the wonderful, smoky, spicy taste of chipotle.

Spicy Chipotle-Kabocha Soup
serves 8

1 large Kabocha Squash (about 5 pounds whole, any color)
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced
3 T butter
1/4 cup white wine
4 cloves garlic, minced
about 3 (1/4 of a can) Chipotles in adobo sauce, seeds removed and chopped
2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups of vegetable stock

Salt, to taste

4 Niman Ranch Chipotle Cheddar Sausages, sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Prep the squash:  halve the Kabocha and scrape out the pulp and seeds.  Fill a large, shallow pan with about 2 inches of water.  Place squash halves cut-side down in the pan and place in the oven.  Roast until squash is very soft, about 30 minutes.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter.  Add onions and cook until golden-brown and caramelized, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Deglaze pan with wine and add chipotles and potatoes.  Add stock and bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to allow the soup to simmer.

Once squash is cool enough to handle, peel away the skin, scraping any stubborn bits off with a spoon.  Stir the Kabocha flesh into the soup and continue to simmer, covered, until potatoes are completely soft and the liquid thickens, about 30 minutes.  Using an immersion blender (or a blender or food processor), puree soup until smooth.  Season with salt.  Add sliced sausages and cook another 8 minutes, or until sausage is nice and hot.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

You’ve got to stand for something, right?

You’ve got to stand for something, right? Me? It’s the abolition of the Designated Hitter rule. You? It’s lunch at Marczyk Fine Foods on Colfax. Seriously.

Wisconsin cheeses rock! Hard to believe this small state is setting the standard for artisan cheeses, but they are: they are the only state to require certification for cheese making.  Europeans who moved here generations ago brought their craft, and the number of award-winning cheeses coming out of Wisconsin is amazing. Come try the ones we carry, like the Widmer’s Lagerkase brick cheese (Christopher’s fave) or even the cheese curds! Go to Marczyk’s website for a bread cheese recipe. Bread cheese does not melt when cooked, so you can grill it, heat it, and it holds its shape.

Butcher Fun!

Butcher and fun aren’t usually in the same sentence, but here at Marczyk’s they are! Marczyk butcher Jimmy Cross, aka Jimmy the Butcher, has been busy giving advice and showing off his skills. Last fall, The Museum of Contemporary Art hosted Art Meets Beast, a three day nose-to-tail event featuring butchering, then a feast of the beast. Jimmy did the cutting, and 10 of Denver’s top chefs did the cooking. Check out this fun video MCA put together!

This month, Jimmy is part of a beautiful new book from Williams Sonoma, The Cook and the Butcher, which features recipes and advice for preparing meat. It’s a beauty and would make a great gift.

Next month, an event called Couchon 555 is coming to Denver. Couchon 555 is a one-of-a-kind traveling culinary compition and tasting event - 5 chefs, 5 pigs, five winemakers - to promote sustainable farming of heritage breeds. Mike Anderson made a video for Jimmy’s entry, it is a riot so check it out!

My favorite new cocktail!

Went to a party the other night called 50 Top Denver. It is a groups of Denver chefs that get together every 4 months or so, whip up an elegant, beautiful, mind blowing meal, then are gone like ghosts in the night. 50 Top refers to the number of guests. The locations change with the season (last night we were in Union Station), but one thing is always the same: there’s a cocktail to begin the evening. Last night we enjoyed, and I mean enjoyed, a Sazerac cocktail, thanks to Steuben’s mixoligist Sean Kenyon. The Sazerac is reknown as the first American cocktail, which was in keeping with last night’s “Golden Age of Dining” theme.

2oz Rye Whiskey
1/4oz Absinthe, Leopold Bros are now making this in Denver!
2 sugar cubes
4 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters

Fill one glass with ice to chill.
In a mixing glass muddle the sugar cubes, the bitters and a couple of drops of water. Pour in the Rye and stir.
Dump the ice out of the chilled glass, pour in the absinthe, roll the glass to coat and dump out the excess (I recommend drinking it).
Strain the contents of the mixing glass into the Absinthe rinsed glass. Cut a wide swath of lemon peel, twist it over the cocktail to express the oils, rub the peel around the rim of the glass and drop it into the cocktail.

If that seems like too much work at home…join Sean at Steuben’s for a drink!

Take a look here at the Drinking with Pete 50 Top video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odkHwJ9mzpM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkhzLiWbNqQ

The Land of the Free?

In the U.S. 500,000 people die from smoking each year, 250,000 die from alcohol related causes; the FDA estimates 1 person every 9 years dies from raw milk related causes.  Soft raw-milk cheese is illegal.  Is this really the land of the free?