Penfolds Launching Top Wines

Article: Penfolds set to launch top wines

Penfolds is set to launch their 2012 Penfolds Icon and Luxury Collection on Thursday, May 3rd.  There are 8 wines ranging over 4 vintages.

According to the article, "most interest will be directed at the release of the 2007 Penfolds Grange, which chief winemaker, Peter Gago, has unsurprisingly singled out as the standout of the collection." 

• 2007 Penfolds Grange from $625
• 2009 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay $130
• 2010 Penfolds Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay $95
• 2008 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz $95
• 2009 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon $250
• 2008 Penfolds Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon $250 (inaugural re-release; modeled on the 1973 release of Bin 169)
• 2009 Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz $175
• 2009 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz $130

Restaurant: Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck

Interior of the Restaurant

Appetizer
Crispy Maine Lobster & Shrimp Eggrolls
with Honey Ten Spice Sauce

Dessert
Sour Cream Apple Crumble
with 50 Bean Ice Cream


Ever since I was a kid, I've loved Reunion Tower -- the lollipop looking building that stands out on the Dallas skyline.  Yes, it was maybe "cheesy" and touristy back in the day, and yes, the floor of the restaurant rotates (and still rotates) -- but it is cheesy no more.  I think the restaurant at the top, Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck, is one of the better restaurants in Dallas.  We've been twice, and it's been memorable both times. 

Not only is the place modern/contemporary and hip, the food and service were spot on too.  I love the environment from the sleek bars to the wine wall to the small details like their Chilewich modern placemats and their chopsticks which are tapered at both ends.

Cocktail
The restaurant is revamping their cocktail list, but the server suggested one that I'm actually craving right now.  It was served in a martini glass and was the perfect, not-too-sweet, fresh cocktail for a spring day.  Ingredients:  vodka, elderflower liqueur, lychee juice, lime juice.  I need to get some lychee juice from the Asian grocery store so I can try making it at home -- it was that good.

Wine
Their wine prices are pretty reasonable, and they give a generous pour that looks more than the typical 6 oz you get at most restaurants.

Appetizer
We had the Crispy Maine Lobster & Shrimp Spring Rolls with a Honey Ten-Spice Sauce.  It was a very lovely and pretty (see photo above) dish, but I probably wouldn't order it again because I've had Chinese Dim Sum that tastes just like it but is less than a 1/3 of the cost.  The sauce had a wonderful sweet, salty and spicy balance.

Entree
I was overwhelmed (in a good way) by the service of our entrees.  Three people came to our table to finish off our entrees by pouring sauces on the plates and then they were poof -- gone.  Their service was seamless.

I had the Steamed Wild King Salmon "Hong Kong Style" with Bok Choy, Ginger and Soy, and it's one of the best seafood dishes I've ever eaten.  The salmon was cooked perfectly and practically melted in my mouth -- it tasted like it was cooked sous-vide in fat when, in fact, it was steamed.  I was so enraptured by the dish that I started eating it right away and didn't take a photo of it.  I guess that means I need to go back!  It inspired me to look for fish recipes cooked "Hong Kong Style" so maybe I'll try one of these soon:
http://projects.eveningedge.com/recipes/hong-kong-style-fish/
http://whattocooktoday.com/hong-kong-style-steamed-fish.html

Dessert
I was full but still wanted dessert.  Might as well go all out!  We ordered their Sour Cream Apple Crumble with 50 [Vanilla] Bean Ice Cream.  Imagine the most flavorful and creamy vanilla ice cream you've ever tasted, and the crumble itself had big chunks of Fuji apple in it with a nice sweet crumble that balanced the tartness of the apple and the sour cream.  It was a pretty large portion; we ate every bite.

I think I may be celebrating my next birthday here with friends. . . too bad my birthday is 9 months away.
http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3917

Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Tacos

Update 4/25/2012

I promised I'd report back on Doritos Locos Tacos after I tried them.  Well, I tried one and it was mediocre.  The taco shell was regular nacho cheese radioactive orange and had the powdered cheese dust taste. . . I mean, it's Doritos!  It didn't, however, add anything to the taco except saltiness.  Even without using the 3 packets of hot sauce that I usually use per taco, I couldn't taste the nacho cheese from the shell.  I just tasted salt.

Apparently, this new innovation has been "enormously successful" according to the company's CFO, and sales rose 6% in the first quarter.

I think I'll stick with my emergency lunch of Taco Bell 150 calorie Fresca Tacos.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

It's the day we've all been waiting for.  Just kidding.

Tomorrow, March 8th, Taco Bell is debuting their Doritos Locos Tacos nationwide.  The company has partnered with Frito-Lay in reinventing the taco (the taco shell is made of Nacho Cheese Doritos) and believe this will boost their "lingering sales."

I'll try it and will report back. . . .

http://www.tacobell.com/doritoslocostacos

Recipe: Triple Smoke Burger

(Pardon the background -- I was too hungry
to move all of the stuff off the kitchen table)

Update 4/23/12
I just have to post this recipe again since we made this burger recipe last night.  It has the best flavor of any burger I've ever eaten.

----------------------------------------

This was the most amazing burger we've ever made at home.  Talk about flavor.   

• Meat seasoned with paprika and chipotle in adobo
• Bacon (everyone loves bacon!)
• Grilled red onion
• Grilled avocado
• Cilantro
• Tomato
• Lettuce
• Mayo, dijon mustard, chipotle in adobo spread

You have to try this or at the very least . . . try seasoning the meat per the recipe.  It's easy, easy, easy.

Here's the recipe: 
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Triple-Smoke-Burger-365889

Chefs Weigh In: The California Foie Gras Ban

See what Christopher Kostow, Cindy Pawlcyn, Dean Fearing, Thomas Keller, Michael Chiarello, Christopher Cosentino and Russell Jackson are saying about the foie gras ban in California starting in July:  Chefs Weigh In:  The California Foie Gras Ban at Eater.com

Here are my favorite quotes from the article:

Dean Fearing:  "I serve a lot of foie gras in Texas. I have a lot of customers that love foie gras. It's been around for you know 1,000 years since the Egyptians. It's amazing we all the sudden are doing this. I understand, I do. Animal rights, all of that. We might as well stop eating meat all together. I tell ya, if anyone's been to a slaughter house they wouldn't like that. I don't know why they're battling foie.  Production of chickens would make you throw up.  Seeing a slaughterhouse with pigs and cattle will make you throw up too. Pork is now bigger than ever, and pork has a brain. Pigs have brains. It's like wow. I think in my later years I'll be a vegetarian."

Michael Chiarello:  "If we're going to do something healthful for American lets do something that's going to change the lives of millions and millions of Americans and our children. Foie gras is a 1000th of 1 percent of consumption of anyone that consumes anything in America. So if you're going to pick something? This is a stupid place to start.  It's a decision based on agronomics not intelligence.  If we took the amount of attention and money put to this, and applied it to something more significant we'd make a gigantic impact to help Americans."

Casey Thompson:  "It sucks. You can quote me. How about this. Here's a $50 salad. Enjoy your foie gras."

Restaurant in a Gas Station: Chef Point Cafe

We trekked out to Watauga (near Ft. Worth) to dine at a restaurant that has received good reviews and has received quite a bit of press since it's located inside a gas station.  The restaurant is called Chef Point Cafe, and it's inside . . . a Conoco gas station.  I wasn't sure what to expect and will say it exceeded my expectations.

The Place 
I thought there would be maybe 5 tables altogether.  I think there were 25?  When you enter the gas station/convenience store, you immediately see the usual wall of refrigerated drinks but then to the left of it is the hostess stand, a pew (used for seating if there's a wait) and the bar (see the interior photo below).  The convenience store part of the gas station is separated from the restaurant by a partition wall.  The owners call it 'fine dining,' but that's a bit of a misnomer.  The tablecloths are black picnic table vinyl, the plates and utensils are like what you find at Chili's or Friday's, and it has a small-town diner feel.

The Food
DELICIOUS!!!!  I ordered the "Better Than Sex Fried Chicken," and it was the best non-spicy fried chicken I've ever had.  It was fresh, tender, seasoned well, crispy and not at all oily.  While I've had better mashed potatoes and gravy, it was still very good.  The Fish Tacos were lovely as well, having a nice latent spicy kick to them, and it was refreshing to have a non-plain tortilla wrap for the tacos.  The accompanying mixed greens salad on the side was very fresh as well.  I wished I would've saved room for dessert because their Bread Pudding made with a Cognac sauce sounded heavenly.

The Service
The service we received exceeded the service we get at many fine dining establishments.  Our server was amazing -- he was very friendly and polite, seemed like he thoroughly enjoyed his job, checked on us just enough without being annoying, knew ALL 9 specials exceptionally well (they rolled off his tongue, and he didn't bore us by listing every single ingredient in the dish), and brought everything (water, drinks, food, the check) to us promptly.  I told him he was the best server we've had in years.

If you're in Ft. Worth, check out the restaurant.  I'd highly recommend it and will definitely be going back. 

http://www.chefpointcafe.org/

The Exterior of the Gas Station

The Interior of the Gas Station / Restaurant
(a partition separates the convenience store
from the restaurant)

Better Than Sex Fried Chicken
(that's the name of the dish)
Old-fashioned buttermilk marinated, tender crispy fried chicken,
served with homemade mashed potatoes and country gravy

Fish Tacos
Blackened tilapia wrapped in a flour tortilla with cole slaw
and Cajun mayo, served with a garden salad

10 Crazy Vodka Flavors

1. Bacon (Bakon Vodka)
2. Frosting (Cupcake Vodka)
3. Smoked Salmon (Alaska Distillery)
4. Chili Peppers (Absolut Vodka)
5. Fluffed Marshmallow (Smirnoff Vodka)
6. Scorpion (Skorppio Vodka)
7. Cucumber (Square One Organic Spirits)
8. Cookie Dough (Pinnacle Vodka)
9. Peanut Butter & Jelly (Van Gogh Vodka)
10. Rose (Sputnik Vodka)

See the slideshow on CNBC:  http://www.cnbc.com/id/47075311/

The scorpion one grosses me out.  Some other interesting vodkas I've tasted are tomato, bubble gum and root beer.  The only interesting vodkas we have in our house is Pinnacle's Whipped Cream Vodka which is pretty delicious as well as Three Olives' Espresso Vodka.  Maybe I should try mixing them.

Yogurtland New Flavor; Soft-Serve Beer

We haven't been cooking anything too interesting this week, but stay tuned . . . because I want to cook up a storm this weekend!

In the meantime, here is more new product news:

In celebration of Yogurtland's 6th birthday, they are celebrating by introducing a new flavor this weekend -- Birthday Cupcake Batter.  I love Yogurtland so much.  25 calories per ounce, non-fat, yummy goodness that has calcium and live & active cultures.  (Note:  I don't work for the company.)

http://www.yogurt-land.com/flavors/?f=1302

I heard about this on the radio the other day.  Sounds intriguing.  Inventors at Kirin have created a frozen foam that is dispensed on top of beer like soft-serve ice cream.  The foam actually serves a purpose, insulating the beer (keeping it cold longer)!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/soft-serve-beer_n_1416464.html



Recipe: Roasted Corn with Manchego & Lime

This easy and delicious side dish (p.62 in Bon Appetit, Aug 2011) could also be used as a corn salsa/topping for tacos or a salad.  Our jalapeno wasn't hot at all, so I might use a serrano next time.

Just realized that the recipe is from Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ABC Kitchen in New York:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Corn-with-Manchego-Lime-366724

Red Wine May Block Fat Cell Formation

First, the study about people who eat chocolate being thinner, and now red wine. . . !

Red Wine May Block Fat Cell Formation
Turns out, resveratrol keeps baby fat cells from maturing

Source: The Daily Meal
By Jessica Chou
Apr 4, 2012

In the lastest wave of red wine health news, a study from Purdue University may explain the phenomenon of thin French women who always drink wine (if the book didn't do it for you).

Researcher Kee-Hong Kim, an assistant professor in food science at Purdue, led a study that showed red wine could potentially inhibit the formation of fat cells.

How it works? Resveratrol, the often-exalted "health" compound in wine, turns into piceatannol when consumed, which in turn effectively stops fat cells from maturing.  Kim found that piceatannol would bind to the receptors of immature fat cells during the first stage of adipogenesis, or fat cell formation, thus blocking the cell's ability to mature. This could delay the formation of the fat cell, or stop it completely.

While they need to study the compound some more, "piceatannol could contribute to lowering body fat gain," Kim told us. "You could lower an accumulation of body fat cells."  Furthermore, it could potentially lead to gradual weight loss. When an old fat cells dies, Kim says, "they don't get replaced [because of the piceatannol], or they will get replaced with lower numbers."

Luckily, you don't have to drink yourself silly to stay thin (although why ever not?). Piceatannol is also present in fruits like red grape seeds and skin, blueberries, and passion fruit, with passion fruit containing the highest amount of the compound. In the meantime, Kim is looking to do more concrete research on the effect of piceatannol on the human body.

Recipe: Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookie

The perfect savory & sweet cookie

If you like savory and sweet desserts, you would absolutely love this.  It's one of our favorite cookie recipes ever.  They're not hard to make but take some time and a bunch of ingredients (depending on what you want to add in).  This time, I used the following as my mix-ins:

• chocolate chips
• butterscotch chips
• pretzels
• potato chips
• cocoa crispies

Next time . . .  I think I'm going to add granola and also nuts.  The mix of ingredients sounds weird, but believe me, it's good.

A couple of notes:  It is crucial to 1) mix the ingredients for 10 minutes as noted in the recipe and 2) refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before baking.

Enjoy!

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/02/momofuku_milk_bars_compost_cookie_recipe.html

Happy Easter!

Check out this Easter candy slideshow of candy that's too cute, fun or beautiful to eat! 
http://www.refinery29.com/beautiful-easter-candy/slideshow#slide-1

Can I get the Sea Salt Caramel Easter Egg ($47.92) that's on slide 7?

James Bond drinking Heineken???

James Bond Switches from Vodka Martinis to Heineken
(Belfast Telegraph 4/4/12)

007 Fans Angered at Bond Drinking Beer.
(The Celebrity Cafe 4/4/12)

As a Bond fan, I'm also not happy that he will be drinking Heineken(???) in the next film instead of his signature vodka martini that made him look so suave.

In the news: Domino's and Red Mango

Domino's in Japan is offering $50 pizzas with toppings like snow crab and shrimp gratin, heirloom breed pork with Bordeaux sauce, beef stew, shrimp with bechamel sauce and even foie gras.  Apparently, sales are up and diners are buying these pizzas. . .  (Time Moneyland 4/5/12)

Red Mango is rolling out a new 'Classics' line that includes the following flavors:  Cake Batter, Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Cookie Cream, Strawberry Milkshake and Sugarcane Cola.  The Sugarcane Cola flavor sounds intriguing.  (Fast Casual 4/5/12) 

Burger Eyeshadow

Check out this Burger King ad from the Netherlands.



Paccheri and Cheese with Peas and Mint

We made this recipe (Bon Appetit - March 2012, p. 93) for dinner this evening.  I added hot Italian sausage to it, and it turned out great.  In reading the recipe, I thought it sounded interesting because it includes arugula, peas, parsley, mint, fontina, parmesan and ricotta.  The mint and arugula give a ho-hum dish some complexity and good flavor.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/reviews/Paccheri-and-Cheese-with-Peas-and-Mint-394697?cached=F&savedReview=true

Iron Chef Foodie Friends Competition 1: Chipotle

Last night, we got together with 3 other couples for our first "Iron Chef" competition.  The ingredient: chipotle. 

Unlike the Iron Chef show on TV, we decided on the ingredient together and were able to prep & cook in advance.  (We had selected our course out of a hat also in advance.)

We made the Orange Chipotle Risotto and Chipotle Shrimp (the risotto was super interesting, having orange juice, saffron, chipotle, asiago cheese and parsley), but my favorite dish of the night was the Spicy, Smoky S'mores Bars.

The winner was chipotle ribs and beer can chicken -- delcious!  Lots of food, wine and fun had by all!!!

The next ingredient challenge is tomatillo.  We will be making the appetizer course which should be easy, but I'm wondering what the dessert and beverage will be?!

Appetizer
Chipotle Shrimp Cocktail &
Chipotle Guacamole w/Pineapple

Bonus Appetizer:
Potatoes w/Bacon and Cheese
with a Chipotle Ranch Dip

Entree:
Chipotle Beer Can Chicken

Entree:
Chipotle Rubbed Ribs (one w/a dry rub and one with a sauce)
Chipotle Beer Can Chicken

Entree:
Orange Chipotle Risotto
w/Chipotle Shrimp

Dessert
Spicy Smoky S'mores Bars

Here are 2 of the recipes:

http://www.food.com/recipe/orange-chipotle-risotto-in-rice-cooker-or-stove-top-290612

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-thornton/spicy-smoky-smores-bars-recipe/index.html