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The Coming of Winter... and Classic Braised Beef Dishes
My favorite season... Winter... is coming again soon enough, and with it I
can make all those slow cooked meals that take hours in the oven and permeat the house with those wonderful smells. No worries about overheating the house, no worries about wasting time minding the stove that could be better spent outside. Four of my favorites are braised beef dishes. A little more complicated than a simple beef pot roast or stew, but really not too much more effort. These classics a - Sauerbraten - Beef Paupiettes/Rouladen - Carbonnades a la Flamande/Beef with Beer and Onions - Boeuf Bourguignon/Beef Burgundy/Beef with Red Wine, Mushrooms and Onions I couldn't quite wait for the cooler weather, so I made my first one of these this season on Friday. It was supposed to be cooler (ended up being in the 70s). But it was raining cats and dogs (we got over 7 inches of rain in two days), and the beef and mushrooms were on sale. And I had my newly acquired (but 40 years old) Descoware (enameled cast iron) buffet casserole I wanted to try out. I made the beef burgundy basically by using the recipe in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". One can always improvise. I used an Australian shiraz instead of one of the French wines suggested in the recipe. Julia Child suggested perhaps substituting a Chianti. I guess I really went out on a limb with the shiraz... but somehow I don't think that was an option she had back in 1961! ;-) It came out great... well worth the effort. If you haven't made these before, I encourage you to do so. They all certainly qualify as "comfort food", and all are great reheated the next day. The sauerbraten and rouladen were dishes my German born father made since I was a kid. He's been gone a couple of years now, but making them sure brings back the memories. The first time I made the rouladen I knew I got the recipe right... as the smell exactly duplicated what I remembered going back over 40 years. I'm glad I bothered to get the recipe from my father before it was too late. And I know it really brightened his day when I told him about actually making it myself the first time. |
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In article <xSF2f.19359$3w.11764@trnddc07>,
"wff_ng_6" > wrote: > sure brings back the memories. The first time I made the rouladen I knew I > got the recipe right... as the smell exactly duplicated what I remembered > going back over 40 years. I'm glad I bothered to get the recipe from my > father before it was too late. And I know it really brightened his day when > I told him about actually making it myself the first time. OK, time to post that recipe! And, after you show me yours, I'll show you mine! |
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"wff_ng_6" > wrote in message news:xSF2f.19359$3w.11764@trnddc07... > My favorite season... Winter... is coming again soon enough, and with it > I > can make all those slow cooked meals . . . . (snip) > - Sauerbraten > - Beef Paupiettes/Rouladen > - Carbonnades a la Flamande/Beef with Beer and Onions > - Boeuf Bourguignon/Beef Burgundy/Beef with Red Wine, Mushrooms and Onions > (snip) > I made the beef burgundy basically by using the recipe in "Mastering the > Art > of French Cooking". One can always improvise. I used an Australian shiraz > instead of one of the French wines suggested in the recipe. Julia Child > suggested perhaps substituting a Chianti. . . . I ALWAYS use a Chianti for this wonderful dish. It was one of the first Julia Child recipes I ever made (over 25 years ago) and is still a favorite! It is an awesome dish. Ya gotta remember to not leave anything out, especially the bacon!! (You can substitute 3 oz. regular bacon for the chunk bacon). I've tried using a burgundy in the beginning - it may have been my choice of wine, but the dish came out rather 'dry' tasting (although moist). So next time I tried Chianti, and the results were incredible! Guests always remark about the amazing smells wafting from my oven when I make this for company. I now get REQUESTS for this dish! And it's not that difficult to make. The only other variances I've made is to use chuck roast (and not the lean cuts she lists), and I sometimes (OK, always) marinate the beef chunks the night before in the wine & some carrots & onions & garlic (ok, also bay leaf & thyme, s & p). The drying & browning are also important steps. If you want to cook a dish that is melt-in-your-mouth beefy goodness, and will make guests know something good is cooking the moment they arrive, this is it. OK, enough praise? Here ya go: For 6 people Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Ingredients: a 6-ounce chunk of bacon a 9 to 10 inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep 1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil a slotted spoon 3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes 1 sliced carrot 1 sliced onion 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 Tbsp flour 3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving, or a Chianti 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon 1 Tbsp tomato paste 2 cloves mashed garlic 1/2 tsp thyme a crumbled bay leaf the blanched bacon rind 18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock 1 lb. quartered fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter parsley sprigs Instructions: Remove rind, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, inch thick and 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry. Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef. Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon. In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of pre-heated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees. Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed. When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat. Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. ('*) Recipe may be completed in advance to this point. For Immediate Serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley. For Later Serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce. Mmmmmm, Van |
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"Dan Abel" > wrote:
> OK, time to post that recipe! And, after you show me yours, I'll show > you mine! Gee, I have to write it down? We've never written it down on paper... it's always been passed on by the spoken word! Or just by watching it being made. First you'll have to put up with a story about the last time my father made it for me a few years ago before he passed away. There were a few complications getting the meat for it. My father was going blind, so could no longer drive to the store to get it himself. I guess he might have taken the bus if I wasn't visiting, but there was another problem. He couldn't see what the butcher was doing, so he wanted me there to be his eyes to make sure the meat was sliced right. But that wasn't the only difficulty! My parents lived in the Miami area, and the neighborhoods were becoming ever more ethnic. My father liked to shop in their markets, often small supermarkets that were once part of big chains, but that they abandoned and that were taken over by newer immigrants. So a lot of the help didn't speak English. Specifically, the butcher. He only spoke Spanish. Neither my father or I speak Spanish... not that it ever stopped us from doing things, including a wild car trip from NJ through Mexico into Belize and Guatemala in a new Peugeot Diesel back in 1974. You can communicate through a lot of pointing, hand motions, using words that are in common, and keeping a smile on your face. In the case of getting the meat for the rouladen, having a copy of the newspaper ad, pointing to it and the meat in the case, using a lot of hand motions to indicate how much of the piece to leave whole and how much to cut into slices, and how thin all worked pretty well. I did feel really dumb there trying to help my father, not really knowing how thin he wanted the slices. The butcher held up the first slice or two for my approval on the thickness, and I nodded in agreement. When we got home and my father felt the thickness and size of the slices in his hands, he was pleased. Now for the recipe. Excuse me if it isn't very specific in terms of amounts, but we've always done it based on the amount of meat we had. Rouladen. - Round, flank, chuck cut into cross grain slices 1/4" or so thick. You want a piece of meat that has a minimum of muscle separations so it tends not to come apart while during pounding, rolling, or cooking. Pound each slice to about 1/8" thick. I like to get the resulting slices as big as possible, perhaps 5" square or so. It depends a lot on the initial size of the chunk of meat before slicing. Unlike my father, I always do the slicing at home, as my local supermarket doesn't really do cut to order. - Sprinkle each slice with salt and pepper. - Spread dijon mustard on each slice. - Lay down a half slice of bacon on each slice. - Spread some finely chopped onion on each slice. - Put either a whole little or lengthwise quarter of a larger dill pickle on each slice. - Roll up each slice and tie with string. - Dredge rolls in flour - Brown rolls in bacon drippings, oil, or other suitable fat. - Take out rolls and brown leftover chopped onion from filling plus another chopped onion. - Return rolls to pan and add enough stock to almost cover. - Heat on stovetop to simmer and cover - Either continue simmering on stovetop or transfer to oven at 300-325 degrees. - Simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours or more until meat is tender. Longer is fine but make sure liquid level doesn't get too low. - When done, the gravy may or may not need thickening. Use normal methods such as reduction, etc. Correct seasoning as necessary. My father always used black button thread and a lot of it to tie the rolls. I'm sure he poisoned us all (due to the dye)! ;-) It was fun as kids trying to find the correct end of the string and unravel it all. Sometimes my younger siblings would need help. I use normal cooking string and a minimum of it by comparison. You can use gadgets such as these rouladen rings to hold the rolls instead of string: http://fantes.com/images/22574meat_prep.jpg My father used to serve the rouladen with mashed potatoes. I serve it with spaetzle instead. Here's a quick recipe for spaetzle. Spaetzle for six. - 2 cups flour - 1/2 tsp salt - big dash nutmeg - big dash pepper (white if you prefer) - 2 eggs slightly beaten - Milk Mix flour, salt, nutmeg, and pepper together. Add slightly beaten eggs. Slowly add milk until of a liquid enough consistency to pass through spaetzle maker. Place spaetzle maker over pot of boiling water. Transfer batter into it and slide back and forth until all of it is in the boiling water. Cook for one minute after water returns to boil. Drain and butter if desired. A sample spaetzle maker of the type I use: http://fantes.com/images/Spaetzle.jpg You can be really flexible on a lot of the details. The essense of this recipe is the beef, bacon, and onions. Those are the primary contributors to the flavor and smells. Other fillings can be used, wine or beer could be used instead of or in addition to the stock, etc. |
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"Van" > wrote:
> I ALWAYS use a Chianti for this wonderful dish. It was one of the first > Julia Child recipes I ever made (over 25 years ago) and is still a > favorite! It is an awesome dish. Ya gotta remember to not leave anything > out, especially the bacon!! (You can substitute 3 oz. regular bacon for > the chunk bacon). Aside from the shiraz wine, I did make another substitution. I used salt pork rather than bacon. I presume the results are similar, in any case it came out very good. I believe that salt pork is only cured with salt but not smoked like bacon. I tend to use salt pork as flavoring in quite a few dishes. I'm still wondering what became of the rind from the salt pork... not a trace of it could be found in the finished product! ;-) > I've tried using a burgundy in the beginning Ever notice the way French wines, even "expensive" ones are tossed around rather casually in that cookbook. I suspect French wine was dramatically cheaper in the USA, relatively speaking, in that era (1950s) compared to today. Everything was different back then... the days of Renault Dauphines and Citroën 2CVs (and the big DS 19s too). |
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Ah, these 4 are among my favorites. Carol
Our life may not always be the party we would have chosen, but while we are here, we may as well dance! |
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On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 02:57:33 GMT, "wff_ng_6"
> wrote: >My favorite season... Winter... is coming again soon enough, and with it I >can make all those slow cooked meals that take hours in the oven and permeat >the house with those wonderful smells. No worries about overheating the >house, no worries about wasting time minding the stove that could be better >spent outside. > >I made the beef burgundy basically by using the recipe in "Mastering the Art >of French Cooking". One can always improvise. I used an Australian shiraz >instead of one of the French wines suggested in the recipe. Julia Child >suggested perhaps substituting a Chianti. I guess I really went out on a >limb with the shiraz.. Not at all. The Australian shiraz was a great choice. You could also have used a New Zealand Syrah (same grape, different name) Well done |
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In article <6uV2f.6768$nz.4818@trnddc03>,
"wff_ng_6" > wrote: > "Dan Abel" > wrote: > > OK, time to post that recipe! And, after you show me yours, I'll show > > you mine! > Now for the recipe. Excuse me if it isn't very specific in terms of amounts, > but we've always done it based on the amount of meat we had. Yeah, it's pretty loose. I'm going to intersperse my comments. We'll see how that works. > Rouladen. > > - Round, flank, chuck cut into cross grain slices 1/4" or so thick. I've always used round. > come apart while during pounding, rolling, or cooking. Pound each slice to > about 1/8" thick. I like to get the resulting slices as big as possible, Never pounded it, and I think I'm too lazy to try it. That's about the thickness we use. > perhaps 5" square or so. It depends a lot on the initial size of the chunk > of meat before slicing. Unlike my father, I always do the slicing at home, > as my local supermarket doesn't really do cut to order. Sometimes the supermarket sells "sandwich steaks", which are round steak obout the size you mentioned. Otherwise, I just grab a big round steak out of the meat case and the butcher slices it for us. They are top round, but often labeled as "London Broil". http://www.foodsubs.com/MeatBeefRound.html These make big rouladen. Each piece of meat is about 5" by 10". > - Sprinkle each slice with salt and pepper. My father does this, but I find the pickle (and maybe the stock) has enough salt. My wife hates pepper, so I add it to my serving at the table. > - Spread dijon mustard on each slice. Had this once. My wife hates mustard also. > - Lay down a half slice of bacon on each slice. My father does this. My brother sometimes adds a slice to the outside of *some* of the rolls, so you can choose "with" or "without". My wife and I, and my aunt, don't use bacon. > - Spread some finely chopped onion on each slice. Never used chopped. Onions don't cut very well for making rolls, so maybe I'll try this next time. > - Put either a whole little or lengthwise quarter of a larger dill pickle on > each slice. Never tried the whole. I vary the size of the pickle spear based on the size of the meat. Sometimes we put carrot inside also. > - Roll up each slice and tie with string. My aunt does the string thing, and my brother has started to. We always use toothpicks, which makes it harder to brown but is quick and easy. > - Dredge rolls in flour Never done this, but don't know why. This is a very good tip. > - Brown rolls in bacon drippings, oil, or other suitable fat. We use vegetable oil. > - Take out rolls and brown leftover chopped onion from filling plus another > chopped onion. They do need to be cooked in a single layer, which often means two batches. However, we just toss the leftover onion (chopped) in with the rolls when they are mostly browned.. > - Return rolls to pan and add enough stock to almost cover. We sometimes just use water instead of stock. Also, red wine is almost required. A bay leaf is good at this point also. > - Heat on stovetop to simmer and cover > - Either continue simmering on stovetop or transfer to oven at 300-325 > degrees. > - Simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours or more until meat is tender. Longer is fine but > make sure liquid level doesn't get too low. I like three hours. Throw some carrots in the last hour. The rolls shrink, so there's usually room by then. > - When done, the gravy may or may not need thickening. Use normal methods > such as reduction, etc. Correct seasoning as necessary. > My father used to serve the rouladen with mashed potatoes. I serve it with > spaetzle instead. Here's a quick recipe for spaetzle. Mashed potatoes. And homemade crescent rolls. Break open the crescent rolls and dip them into the gravy on your plate. > You can be really flexible on a lot of the details. The essense of this > recipe is the beef, bacon, and onions. I find that the dill is also fairly strong. My mouth is watering. We had these most holidays when I was a kid. My mother and aunt were both German. |
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"Kathy in NZ" > wrote:
> Not at all. The Australian shiraz was a great choice. You could also > have used a New Zealand Syrah (same grape, different name) I did a little research based on what you said. Looks like I used something close to what was specified in the recipe. Syrah (shiraz) is a major grape variety used in Cotes du Rhone, one of the wine types listed! I'd use New Zealand wine except one problem... seems all the bottles from there use screw caps. Where's the romance in that? ;-) After dinner this evening, I was contemplating the meaning of life over a glass of Framboise (raspberry brandy) from Alsace. Then something struck me about the incongruity of my above complaint... the bottle had a plastic "cork"! ;-) More seriously, New Zealand wines are not that common yet around here, at least not compared to a lot of other places like Australia. I'd swear some of the Australian wineries are giving Gallo (our cheap mass market brand) a run for the money! The New Zealand wines I've seen around here tend to be higher quality level than the Australian wines, not something I'd personally use in cooking. I'll reserve it for drinking. The last bottle of New Zealand wine I had was a gewurztraminer. |
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wff_ng_6 wrote:
> I'd use New Zealand wine except one problem... seems all the bottles from > there use screw caps. Where's the romance in that? ;-) Better get used to it. I have heard that a lot of wineries are going to be switching to screw tops for most of their wines. Some say it is the best. A lot of wines now use some sort of plastic stopper. > > More seriously, New Zealand wines are not that common yet around here, at > least not compared to a lot of other places like Australia. I've heard a lot of good reviews about New Zealand whites, but haven't tried any yet. I hope to remedy that soon. |
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"Dan Abel" > wrote:
> My father does this. My brother sometimes adds a slice to the outside > of *some* of the rolls, so you can choose "with" or "without". My wife > and I, and my aunt, don't use bacon. There can be quite a few variations in how these are made. My father said his recipe was how his mother made them. Once I went behind my father's back and asked my aunt (his sister) how she made them. She gave me a somewhat different version and said it was exactly how her mother made them. Somehow things diverge over the years even though people say they are making things exactly how their parents did. I imagine both my father and my aunt slowly lost track of what changes they had made over the years (they were both in their 70s at the time I asked). My grandmother passed away over 30 years ago, so there was plenty of time to lose track of things. > They do need to be cooked in a single layer, which often means two > batches. However, we just toss the leftover onion (chopped) in with the > rolls when they are mostly browned.. I've actually been doing my browning in a separate frying pan on most of these dishes rather than in the dutch oven I use for the simmering step in the oven. A couple of reasons for that. The "dutch oven" I use is actually an old French porcelain enameled cast iron oval oven. I like the size of this one as it is easier to handle (maybe 4 quarts). I put the rouladen in two layers, as it really doesn't matter for the simmering step. For the browning I am using a big #10 cast iron frying pan, and depending what I am doing even that might require multiple batches for browning. That pan has a bigger bottom than the dutch oven and is easier to get into with the low sides. Plus it is not enameled, so I can heat it up real hot without worrying about damaging the porcelain enamel. And because it was my father's frying pan... and might even be my grandmother's. I imagine it's at least 50 years old. It's certainly been a while since pans used those size numbers (on American cast iron). I'll have to try some of your suggestions, and then my version of my grandmother's recipe will diverge even further! ;-) |
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On Wed 12 Oct 2005 08:21:10p, wff_ng_6 wrote in rec.food.cooking:
> "Dan Abel" > wrote: >> My father does this. My brother sometimes adds a slice to the outside >> of *some* of the rolls, so you can choose "with" or "without". My wife >> and I, and my aunt, don't use bacon. > > There can be quite a few variations in how these are made. My father > said his recipe was how his mother made them. Once I went behind my > father's back and asked my aunt (his sister) how she made them. She gave > me a somewhat different version and said it was exactly how her mother > made them. Somehow things diverge over the years even though people say > they are making things exactly how their parents did. I imagine both my > father and my aunt slowly lost track of what changes they had made over > the years (they were both in their 70s at the time I asked). My > grandmother passed away over 30 years ago, so there was plenty of time > to lose track of things. > >> They do need to be cooked in a single layer, which often means two >> batches. However, we just toss the leftover onion (chopped) in with >> the rolls when they are mostly browned.. > > I've actually been doing my browning in a separate frying pan on most of > these dishes rather than in the dutch oven I use for the simmering step > in the oven. A couple of reasons for that. The "dutch oven" I use is > actually an old French porcelain enameled cast iron oval oven. I like > the size of this one as it is easier to handle (maybe 4 quarts). I put > the rouladen in two layers, as it really doesn't matter for the > simmering step. For the browning I am using a big #10 cast iron frying > pan, and depending what I am doing even that might require multiple > batches for browning. That pan has a bigger bottom than the dutch oven > and is easier to get into with the low sides. Plus it is not enameled, > so I can heat it up real hot without worrying about damaging the > porcelain enamel. And because it was my father's frying pan... and might > even be my grandmother's. I imagine it's at least 50 years old. It's > certainly been a while since pans used those size numbers (on American > cast iron). > > I'll have to try some of your suggestions, and then my version of my > grandmother's recipe will diverge even further! ;-) I couldn't find the recipe being discussed, must be off my server. Does this include the traditional pickle slice/spear rolled up inside? -- Wayne Boatwright *¿* _____________________________ http://tinypic.com/eikz78.jpg Meet Mr. Bailey |
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In article >,
Wayne Boatwright > wrote: > On Wed 12 Oct 2005 08:21:10p, wff_ng_6 wrote in rec.food.cooking: > > > "Dan Abel" > wrote: > >> My father does this. My brother sometimes adds a slice to the outside > >> of *some* of the rolls, so you can choose "with" or "without". My wife > >> and I, and my aunt, don't use bacon. > > > > There can be quite a few variations in how these are made. My father > > said his recipe was how his mother made them. Once I went behind my > I couldn't find the recipe being discussed, must be off my server. Does > this include the traditional pickle slice/spear rolled up inside? Maybe it hasn't made it to your server yet? I switched servers recently, and stuff has been really out of order. This thread just started Monday, and the original recipe was posted Tuesday. My reply was posted late this afternoon (Wednesday). If you don't see it soon, I'd be happy to Email the thread to you. My Email address in the FROM line is valid. And yes, we both put in the pickle. Wouldn't be the same without it! :-) |
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On Wed 12 Oct 2005 08:44:24p, Dan Abel wrote in rec.food.cooking:
> In article >, > Wayne Boatwright > wrote: > >> On Wed 12 Oct 2005 08:21:10p, wff_ng_6 wrote in rec.food.cooking: >> >> > "Dan Abel" > wrote: >> >> My father does this. My brother sometimes adds a slice to the outside >> >> of *some* of the rolls, so you can choose "with" or "without". My wife >> >> and I, and my aunt, don't use bacon. >> > >> > There can be quite a few variations in how these are made. My father >> > said his recipe was how his mother made them. Once I went behind my > >> I couldn't find the recipe being discussed, must be off my server. Does >> this include the traditional pickle slice/spear rolled up inside? > > Maybe it hasn't made it to your server yet? I switched servers > recently, and stuff has been really out of order. This thread just > started Monday, and the original recipe was posted Tuesday. My reply > was posted late this afternoon (Wednesday). > > If you don't see it soon, I'd be happy to Email the thread to you. My > Email address in the FROM line is valid. > > And yes, we both put in the pickle. Wouldn't be the same without it! > >:-) Thank you, Dan. I'll keep looking, but if it doesn't show up I'll probably take you up on your offer. I've never made rouladen, but I used to order it often at a German restaurant where I used to live. Now, if I'm to have it, I'll have to make it myself. :-) -- Wayne Boatwright *¿* _____________________________ http://tinypic.com/eikz78.jpg Meet Mr. Bailey |
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The Coming of Winter... and Classic Braised Beef Dishes
On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 02:53:54 GMT, "wff_ng_6"
> wrote: >"Kathy in NZ" > wrote: >> Not at all. The Australian shiraz was a great choice. You could also >> have used a New Zealand Syrah (same grape, different name) > >I did a little research based on what you said. Looks like I used something >close to what was specified in the recipe. Syrah (shiraz) is a major grape >variety used in Cotes du Rhone, one of the wine types listed! > >I'd use New Zealand wine except one problem... seems all the bottles from >there use screw caps. Where's the romance in that? ;-) > I am sick of corked or dubious wine. Over the years, I've struck so many bottles with corks that seem to be doubtful that I now prefer to buy screw caps only. However, that's not to say screw caps don't have their own problems, but I strike fewer dubious wines that way. |
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The Coming of Winter... and Classic Braised Beef Dishes
"Kathy in NZ" > wrote:
> I am sick of corked or dubious wine. Over the years, I've struck so > many bottles with corks that seem to be doubtful that I now prefer to > buy screw caps only. However, that's not to say screw caps don't have > their own problems, but I strike fewer dubious wines that way. Based sort of on your recommendation, I picked up a couple of bottles of New Zealand wine yesterday. Not for cooking, but for drinking. And guess what... they had normal corks! ;-) The two I got were from Nobilo, one a 2004 Merlot and the other a 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. I'll see how they are in coming days. I guess it was just the power of (your) suggestion... I looked at the rack where this one little liquor store keeps the more unusual wines... in terms of origins. Very close to the New Zealand wines were ones from South Africa, Turkey, and Georgia (as in the former Soviet republic). Regarding screw tops, perhaps in New Zealand they don't carry the immense "baggage" that they do in the USA. Here for the longest time the first cut as to whether a wine was "serious" or not was whether it had a screw top or a cork. Screw tops were were associated with wines like Boones Farm, which was almost a rite of passage when I was growing up. You certainly don't want to be bothered with corks in your underage drinking! ;-) |
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The Coming of Winter... and Classic Braised Beef Dishes
On Sat, 15 Oct 2005 16:08:24 GMT, "wff_ng_6"
> wrote: >"Kathy in NZ" > wrote: >> I am sick of corked or dubious wine. Over the years, I've struck so >> many bottles with corks that seem to be doubtful that I now prefer to >> buy screw caps only. However, that's not to say screw caps don't have >> their own problems, but I strike fewer dubious wines that way. > >Based sort of on your recommendation, I picked up a couple of bottles of New >Zealand wine yesterday. Not for cooking, but for drinking. And guess what... >they had normal corks! ;-) > >The two I got were from Nobilo, one a 2004 Merlot and the other a 2005 >Sauvignon Blanc. I'll see how they are in coming days. > I am flattered that you went out and bought two NZ wines. I do hope you enjoy them. Many of our wineries still use corks, but a growing number are switching to screw caps. If you come across Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc or Mud House Sauvignon Blanc, they're two of my favourites. As an aside, when you take along a screw cap bottle of wine to a restaurant, they still charge corkage! To be fair, you are using their glasses and depriving them of the markup on their wine. Kathy |
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The Coming of Winter... and Classic Braised Beef Dishes
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