The Wine and Food Corner

Wohlner’s Weekly Ad Flyer for Week of Jan. 20^th: Click HERE

This week’s Wohlner’s Deli Dinner Special is Hot Soup du Jour with a dinner roll. Why not pair a bottle of wine with the soup and enjoy it at Wohlner’s. Meet a friend or spouse for dinner and wine. On Facebook this week we hope to post a wine du jour to go with the soup du jour.

Events:

Creole Wine Dinner, Thursday, Jan. 28^th—info is on the ad. Need reservation.

Prime Rib Dinner—Friday, Feb 5^th. Chef Trey perfectly cooks Prime Rib, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, Greek Green Beans, and Dinner Roll. Select a bottle of wine from Wohlner’s Cellar at retail, no corkage fee. Mike is already eyeing a Cab Franc for his meal that night. Invite some friends, I did.

This week’s suggestions inspired by Wohlner’s Ad Flyer Specials

(ad items underlined)

Red Snapper with Citrus Sauce on Cajun Beans and Rice

Blackened Snapper with Cole Slaw

Cajun Blackened Snapper on a bed of spinach with a side of Zatarain’s New Orleans style rice, or Zatarain’s Red Beans and Rice in aisle #3.  There are plenty of blackening spice mixes to choose from in the spice aisle.  Creole Dessert??—that’s easy—Brennan’s Bananas Foster, oh yeah! Bananas Foster is very easy and quick to make, and if you flambé, it’s spectacular—epic baby. A Brennan creation and now World Famous — Bananas sautéed in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and banana liqueur then flamed in rum. Served over vanilla Ice Cream—Recipe. I insist you use Meyer’s Rum(not any another dark rum).  For the full experience us the banana liqueur which makes it better, but if you don’t have the banana liqueur make it anyway, it’s still good.

Bananas Foster Flambé

Bananas Foster Banana Nut Bread

This looks crazy good.   *Recipe at end.

Braised

Braised foods are slow cooked in moisture.  These don’t take too much active time, but they do take a few hours of slow cooking.  They can be made ahead of time and then reheated later, or even the next day. In fact, most slow braised foods taste even better the next day, and it’s easy to skim the excess fat.

Red Wine Braised Oxtail

Braise #1: Oxtails Oxtails Braised in red wine. Unctuous, I’ve always wanted to use the word unctuous; this is finally the appropriate application. Rich. Incredible flavor. They take a while to make, but most of the time is the long slow cooking in the oven. About three joints(please people, I’m talking oxtails here;  we don’t live in Medicino) per person are enough, but, since you took all that time cooking these, make some extra and have a second meal. One tip is to cook well ahead, even the day before, and allow the fat to cool and congeal so it is easy to remove. Don’t remove the layer of translucent brownish gelatin—that’s all flavor, only remove the opaque white fat. Then reheat. Serve on top of mashed Idaho Potatoes or on rustic wide noodles. To drink with this: Burgundy or a burgundy style Oregon Pinot Noir such as Ponzy. Those would be ideal, but most red wine will go well.

My go-to recipe is HERE for the oxtails, I’ve only made the oxtails not the other items in the recipe although they sound good.

Swiss Steak

Braise #2: Swiss Steak This is an economical dish which uses a tough piece of meat and turns it into a superb supper. Again serve on potatoes or wide noodles. The braising liquids make a great sauce. I don’t use a recipe, but if I did I’d use Alton Brown’s Swiss Steak recipe. Alton uses a smoked paprika but we suggest Szeged Hungarian Sweet Paprika, or a Spanish sweet paprika .

Wine Pairing: Merlot or Toasted Head Merlot, or Chianti or Tempernillo

Coq au Vin–Chicken slow braised in Red Wine with Mushrooms

Braise #3: Coq au Vin     Coq au Vin is the classic French slow braised chicken cooked in red wine. Ideally, you use Coq (rooster) but in the U.S. we use chicken. Try using the “Plum Creek Farm Free Range chicken”, or the natural chickens on sale.

Pairing: Burgundy, Pinot, or Merlot.

Butcher Ed’s Grandma Sally’s French Dip Au Jus Sandwiches and Swiss cheese. This Recipe uses Wohlner’s Beef Rump Roast on sale. Ed’s Recipe will be on the blog.  A toasted Rotella Brat Bun or Hoagie would be good.  Or even better, a Wohlner’s baguette dunked in au jus is driving me crazy.   Pairing: Cabernet, Merlot, or beer.

Candied Bacon for Brunch or a Cocktail Party

Wohlner’s Artisanal Bacon candied with Maple Syrup and Brown Sugar

Fresh Blueberries Breakfast Brunch and Dinner

Recipes here

Blueberry Balsamic Pork Chop for Brunch or Dinner

Winter Citrus Salad with Honey Dressing: Breakfast Brunch or Dinner

Mark Bittman, New York Times    Picture: Evan Sung

Wine on Sale: Toasted Head @ $12.99

Toasted Head wines are good quality and sale priced. Normally I am not a fan of Merlot, but I very much like Toasted Head Merlot, so much so I was able to convince Mike to include it at the special price of just $12.99

Svedka Vodka is high quality, distilled 5 times. Unbelievable price of $9.99 plus it’s a whole liter. That’s 33% more than a typical 750ml bottle.

Wohlner’s Wednesday Wine:  WWW.Cannonball.Cab

“For Your Eyes Only”: An Email Reader Only Special :  Cannonball Cab makes a big splash with biga large profile and small price of only $15.99.   But as Billy Mays would have said, “Wait, Mike will sell it you for just $11.99.”  Here’s the story:  Jerry served this wine at last week’s tasting and I got so excited about this wine that Mike gave me the green light to take a whopping $4.00 off–25% off, but only to you–the readers of this email and Wohlner’s Facebook Fans.  This is not an advertised price–it’s for your eyes only. So be sure to tell the check-out clerk that you are a reader with privileges and get it for $11.99.

Cannonball Cabernet Sauvignon: As with many excellent wines Cannonball needs about 30-45 minutes to develop and fully express itself with aromas of fresh dark berries, spice, and pepper with a faint background of vanilla French oak are very much reflected in the mouth.  Here is what I like—dark cherry and sultry smokiness–viscous and long on the tongue. Full and rich with bright acidity, the berry, cherry and spice flavors are boldly presented along with racy, red fruit with vanilla on a layer of cocoa—give it time to evolve into the depths of silky smoky elegance. The finish is classic smoothe, long, delicious. The 30 to 45 minute decant will reward you with cedary notes and a big cannonball-like splash not often found in wines 3 times this price

You can’t go wrong with enjoying Cannonball with a big piece of quality red meat, a great burger, barbeque, short ribs, oxtails, or thin crust pizza.

Become a Facebook Fan of Wohlner’s:  Here

Here is the recipe I promised:

Bananas Foster Banana Bread  Recipe: Yield: 1 loaf –Better make a double recipe!!!

For the Bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 medium bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk

For the Streusel Topping:
1½ cups chopped walnuts
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter

For the Rum Glaze:
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) butter
2 tablespoons water
¼ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup Meyer’s Jamaican Rum (NOTE: the rum is cooked and should dissipate so it’s similar to vanilla in alcohol)

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
2. 2. Combine ingredients for streusel topping in a medium bowl and combine with fingers to create a crumbly topping with the butter evenly distributed. Set aside.
3. 3. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl to combine. Set aside.
4. 4. On medium speed, beat the sugar and vegetable oil to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each until combined. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract; beat to combine. Alternatively add the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat just until the flour is incorporated and finish mixing with a spatula.
5. 5. Spread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the batter. Bake until a thin knife inserted in the center comes out almost clean, about 60 minutes.
6. 6. To make the rum glaze, combine the butter, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
7. 7. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then, using a skewer poke holes all over the top of the loaf. Spoon about ¼ cup of the rum glaze all over the loaf. Let the cake sit for about 5 minutes and then spoon the remaining glaze over it, a little at a time, until it is all absorbed into the bread

ciao bella,
Frank