Pairing wine and cheese

Cheese and wine can be a match made in heaven but it is easy to get it wrong, particularly when you have are serving a range of cheeses. While a mature cheese is bold enough to stand up to say a full bodied new world shiraz, spicy and jammy, a mild goat’s cheese would require something much smoother, like a Cote du Rhone or Central Otago pinot noir.

If you are serving a selection of cheeses your best bet is to choose something light with low tannins so it does not overwhelm the more delicate cheeses. People often think that cheese only goes with red wine but, as highlighted by Bronwen Percival, Buying and QA manager at Neal’s Yard Dairy, “a white wine with a bit of residual is often the best all-round choice.”

Dessert or fortified wines can also be great, again because the sweetness compliments the cheese, where tannins and acidity can clash. Sauternes with blue cheese is a particular favourite of my Dad’s only surpassed by his love of the same with foie gras.

Here are some useful links to help you choose the best wines for the cheeses you have selected:

• Gourmet Sleuth - the most extensive of the guides matching specific cheeses to grape varietals and appellations
• Winemonger – another extensive list offering a ‘grape by grape guide to pairing cheeses with wines from around the world’
• Hello Vino – allows you first to select a category of cheese (hard, semi-hard, soft, semi-soft) and then a type of cheese (e.g. mozzarella, gorgonzola, feta) and then provides a couple of wine suggestions. You can also download the app.
• 2BASnob  – some general rules about cheese and wine pairing with a few suggestions for general pairings
• Artisanal Premium Cheese – a helpful guide to pairing white wines with cheese. Its usefulness is somewhat tainted by the fact that it is a store and, therefore, all cheeses are ones that they sell, but one could easily use it as a basis from which to make generalisations and find substitutes
• About – their article on general cheese and wine pairings is quite basic, but the one on matching dessert wine to cheese is quite helpful

Depending on what is more important to you – the wine or the cheese – you may like to select the wine first and then find a cheese to match it.

Stephanie Alexander's advice on braising and stewing beef

There is nothing worse than getting an hour into the process of making a delicious pie or stew, only to find when you test the meat that it tough and chewy. In her seminal book, The Cook's Companion, Stephanie Alexander offers some advice on avoiding this predicament:

TO BRAISE AND STEW When cutting meat for a braise or stew, follow the natural separations of the meat as far as possible, then cut across individual muscles. Meat that is cut willy-nilly across several different muscles can twist and bend in very strange ways in the cooking pot and can be tough. The connective tissue on such cuts as chuck or blade will melt to tenderness when braised slowly.

Whether a dish is a stew or a braise, the result will be better if it is cooked gently for longer. 

It is much better to buy the meat and cut it yourself rather than buy the cubes of casserole steak you can get from the supermarket, since they are unlikely to have taken this level of care when cutting the meat. If you are worried about cutting the meat yourself, get it from a decent butcher and ask them to cut it for you.

It is also important that you use a heavy-based saucepan which conducts and diffuses heat more evenly. 

Pre-baking and baking blind

An exert from Elizabeth Hodder’s The Book of Old Tarts

The other day Paula left this helpful comment on my shortcrust pastry post:

I noticed that you put egg on your pastry cases - so I followed suit but then had a hilarious time later trying to pick out my ceramic [baking] marbles which had got stuck to the pastry case! So my question is - does the egg make a difference?

I am impressed by Paula's attention to detail. I went through all my posts relating to shortcrust pastry looking for the instructions on egg wash and when I couldn't find them re-read her comment and realised that she had "noticed" (rather than read) that I use egg. How I wondered? Then I noticed; the photo.

As I said in my response to Paula's comment, I have been meaning to post this helpful exert from Elizabeth Hodder’s The Book of Old Tarts for ages, so thanks Paula for giving me the impetus.

In her introduction, Lizzie offers two methods for pre-baking, one using ceramic marbles or baking beans like those Paula refers to and the other which involves simply pricking the base all over with a fork. I use the latter because I think it is quicker, easier and just as effective. Even Lizzie who loves her Elizabeth David clay baking beans admits that it is more efficient.

Paula also asks whether the egg makes any difference. In answer to this question I replied that the egg is important for 'waterproofing' the case so it doesn't get soggy and that if I were using beans I'd probably put the egg wash on after and then put it back in for 5 mins. I was pleased to see when I revisited Lizzie’s book that this is exactly what she recommends.

Having lined your tart tin with pastry, and after a further rest in the fridge, the next step is critical for avoiding something that can spoil any tart – a soggy bottom. Most pastry cooks have their own ideas on how to avoid soggy bottoms, but there are two main ways:

BAKING ‘BLIND’ – I am addicted to my original 1960s Elizabeth David clay baking beans, and am a great believer in baking ‘blind’. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper or greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Place on a pre-heated baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated hot oven (200C/400F/Gas 6) for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift the beans out with the paper. Prick the pastry base all over using a fork and brush with beaten egg before returning to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes, until it turns a light golden brown.

PRE-BAKING – prick the uncooked pastry shell thoroughly with a fork to release some of the trapped air, brush the base with beaten egg to provide a waterproof coating (you can also use a sweet glaze such as warm, sieved apricot jam) and then cook in a warm oven (180C/350C/Gas 4) for 25 minutes, preferably on a pre-heated baking sheet. This method works perfectly and it has the advantage of involving only one instead of two procedures. I miss my beans, but I am recommending using this second method in this book.

Hodder, E. (2001) The Book of Old Tarts. Headline: London.

To cook rice perfectly...

An exert from Charmaine Soloman’s The Complete Asian Cookbook

There are many theories about how best to cook rice. I must confess that most often I use the microwave, which is both quicker and more reliable, but I would not feel like a proper foodie if I could not do good rice on the stovetop too. Of the many methods I have tried, I think Charmaine Soloman’s produces the best results.

To cook rice perfectly    Though details are given in every rice recipe, here is a general rule regarding proportions of rice and liquid.

Long grain rice: 2 cups water for the first cup of rice, 1 ½ cups of water for each additional cup of rice.

1 cup rice – 2 cups water

2 cups rice – 3 ½ cups water

3 cups rice – 5 cups water

... and so on.

Short or medium grain rice: 1 ½ cups water for the first cup of rice and 1 cup water for each additional cup of rice.

1 cup rice – 1 ½ cups water

2 cups rice – 2 ½ cups water

3 cups rice – 3 ½ cups water

Bring rice and water to a bubbling boil over high heat, then turn heat as low as it will go, cover pan tightly and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover pan and let steam escape for a few minutes before fluffing rice with fork. Transfer rice to serving dish with a slotted metal spoon, for a wooden spoon will crush the grains.

You will notice that long grain rice absorbs considerably more water than short or medium grain, so the two kinds are not interchangeable in recipes.

Soloman, C. (2003) The Complete Asian Cookbook. Rev. 2^nd ed. Sydney: Lansdowne. 

Update on Monday, April 18, 2011 at 10:48PM by Vix

For another great method, take a look at Delia Smith's instructions on her website. Her measurements are much the same, but she first heats oil in the pan and fries the rice for a minute or two before adding the water. This helps to stop sticking - both to the other grains and the bottom of the pan.

'Sweating' vegetables

Sweating vegetables, despite the rather off-putting name is a common (and perfectly hygienic) technique used to cook aromatic vegetables, such as onions, shallots, garlic, and celery. The main difference between this technique and sautéing is that sweating vegetables is done over a very low temperature to extract moisture from the vegetables slowly and avoid browning them, so that they become soft and translucent. It can also be used as a way to cut down on fat content because less oil is required to sweat vegetables.

Method Slice or dice the vegetables as per your recipe. Heat some oil or butter in a pan or saucepan, add the vegetables, stir and cover with a lid. Cook until soft and translucent (approximately 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Here are some other posts on the topic that may be of interest:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2083641_sweat-onions.html

http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/sweat_vegetables.htm