An adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart from her newest book Baking: From My Home to Yours, the luscious combination of chocolate, caramel and port offers a burst of flavors that delicately melt on your tongue. A silky port ganache conceals a layer of creamy, yet crunchy walnut caramel for a delightful contrast. Rather than use Dorie’s dough, we opted for a chocolate crust to magnify the chocolate intensity. The recipe can be prepared as one large tart, but we prefer the adorable charm of individual tarts. We also recommend serving at room temperature for the most luxurious texture, and within a day or two of being made.

Makes one 9 inch tart or one dozen 3 inch tartlets

Ingredients

For the tart dough:
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1½ cups flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch salt

For the walnut caramel:
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup heavy cream, warmed
Pinch salt
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

For the port ganache:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60-72%)
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
Pinch salt
¼ cup ruby port

Equipment

Stand Mixer
Rolling Pin
Silpat Mat
Tart Molds – either (1) 9-inch pan or (12) 3-inch molds

Preparation

Prepare the tart dough:
Cream the butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until combined. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt, and mix on low speed until just combined, being careful not to overmix the dough. Gather the dough into a ball and form a flat disk onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.

[Chef’s Note: Allowing the freshly made dough to relax and chill before rolling out will ensure easier rolling, as the dough will not be as elastic and stretchy.]

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Roll the dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle or 12 inch circle (depending upon your tart pan shape), about 1/8 inch thick, on a lightly floured surface. If making one large tart, carefully roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer to the pan. Press the dough into the pan, making sure to press all the way to the edges and up the sides, and then trim away any excess dough. If making individual tarts, cut out 12 rounds using a 4 inch round cutter and press them into the molds. Chill the tart shells for an hour, or up to 3 days.

[Chef’s Note: Chilling the shells at this point prevents the dough from tightening and shrinking while baking. If you’ve ever baked a tart or pie shell and had it shrink to lose half of the height, chances are your dough was not well chilled before baking.]

Line the large tart shell with foil or parchment paper and fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights to prevent the center from puffing up. You do not need to do this if you are making the smaller shells. Bake the larger shell for 15 minutes (smaller for 10 minutes), remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5-7 minutes to brown and set the center. Cool completely.

Prepare the walnut caramel:
Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Brush down the sides of the pan with water to remove any sugar granules and prevent crystallization. Cook over medium high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until it turns an amber caramel, about 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and carefully whisk in the butter, then the heavy cream and salt until smooth. Stand back and use extreme caution because the mixture will bubble up and steam. Stir in the walnuts. Remove from heat and allow the caramel to cool slightly. While still warm, pour the caramel into the tart shell (or shells) and let cool until set, about 1 hour.

Prepare the port ganache:
Combine the heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Place the chocolate in a separate bowl, and pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes to melt. Whisk the chocolate until smooth, then add the butter and salt and continue to whisk until entirely melted and incorporated. Add the port and whisk until emulsified and completely smooth.

Pour the ganache over the caramel while still warm and fluid, and let set at room temperature for 2-4 hours before serving.

Service

Each component can be made up to 3 days in advance, but the tarts should be assembled only 1 day in advance or the day of service to maintain freshness and crispness in the shell. Serve at room temperature for best consistency and taste.
Recipe and photo by Monica Glass

Sweet dark cherries simmered in ruby port wine with a hint of star anise and cinnamon is the ideal topping for a perfect ending dessert. Serve over ice cream, as a filling for éclairs, or a spread for cheesecake.

4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup ruby port
¾ cup sugar
1 lb fresh or frozen pitted cherries
1 cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon ground star anise
5 teaspoons cornstarch
5 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Equipment

Small saucepan, cherry pitter (or paring knife), plastic gloves, plastic cutting board

Preparation

Prepare the cherries:
Pit the cherries using a cherry pitter or paring knife. To use a paring knife, cut around the circumference of the cherry, pull the halves apart and remove pit.

[Chef’s note: Cherry juice will stain. Use care when pitting the cherries by using plastic gloves, cutting boards and frequently wiping up juice spills on your counter.]

Make the sauce:
Combine the port wine and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cherries, cinnamon stick and star anise and simmer for 5–10 minutes until the mixture reduces and starts to become syrupy.

[Chef’s note: If using frozen cherries, you might need to simmer a bit longer to defrost the cherries and reduce the resulting water.]

Mix the cornstarch and water together to make a slurry, stirring until completely dissolved. Add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce and bring to boil. Reduce the heat, and continue to simmer until the mixture is thick and shiny. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Service

Serve over your favorite ice cream or creamy rice pudding. The sauce can also be spread over cheesecake.

Variations

For a great homemade Cherries Jubilee Ice Cream, bring a quart of good-quality vanilla bean ice cream to room temperature, mix the Cherry Port Sauce with the ice cream and place back into a freezer-safe container. Freeze 24 hours, then serve.

Recipe and photo by Lia Soscia

What better way to have your drink than to eat it for dessert? And with a wiggle this seductive, you can’t resist this pear panna cotta: Cool and creamy, soft and silky, the pear panna cotta is wonderfully delicate, and the covering of port gelée is the perfect flavor accent, intensifying the refreshing dessert. The beauty of panna cotta lies in its ease of preparation and the pure, simple flavor of cream. Since there are so few ingredients, it is important to only use the best and purest.

10-12 servings

Ingredients

For the pear panna cotta:
3 pears (enough to make 1 ½ cups purée)
1 package unflavored gelatin (.25 oz)
2 tablespoons cold water
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
¼ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 cinnamon stick
A pinch of salt

For the port gelée:
2 cups ruby port
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons gelatin
1 ½ tablespoons cold water

For the reduced port sauce (optional):
1 cup ruby port
1 teaspoon sugar

Equipment

Handheld immersion blender or food processor
Fine mesh sieve
Molds or ramekins

Preparation

Prepare the pear panna cotta:
Peel and chop the pears. Place in a small saucepan with a few tablespoons of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the fruit is tender, about 7-10 minutes, and then allow to cool. Using a handheld immersion blender or a food processor, purée the pears until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh sieve and reserve the purée for the panna cotta.

Place the water in a small dish and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let rest for 5 minutes, until the gelatin is dissolved and softened. Combine the heavy cream, milk, pear purée, sugar, vanilla seeds and bean, cinnamon stick and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat to a simmer and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture to the hot cream, stirring until the gelatin dissolves, and then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup with a spout. Divide among ramekins (see Variations for more on ramekins) and refrigerate until chilled and set.

Prepare the port gelée:
Place the water in a small dish and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let it rest for 5 minutes, until the gelatin is dissolved and softened. Bring the port, lemon juice and sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan and continue to simmer for another 3 minutes until just slightly reduced. Remove from the heat and add the softened gelatin to the warm mixture, whisking until the gelatin dissolves. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and allow to cool to room temperature. Gently pour it over the panna cotta in the ramekins (or see Variations for more molding ideas). Refrigerate until chilled and set.

Prepare the port sauce:
Bring the port and the sugar to a low simmer over medium-low heat in a small saucepan and continue to simmer until reduced by half, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Service

To unmold the panna cotta, dip the ramekin or mold into warm water for 5 seconds to release it. Be careful not to have the water too hot or keep it under the water for too long, or the panna cotta may melt. Carefully loosen the edges and gently wiggle the panna cotta out of the mold.

Pour the port sauce into a squeeze bottle to decorate the plates with dots of sauce, or using a paint brush, paint a line of sauce across the plates. Carefully transfer one unmolded panna cotta to each plate. Serve and enjoy!

[Chef’s Note: It’s a good idea to prepare this dessert a day in advance, as you need to allow time for the gelatin to set.]

Variations

This recipe can be adapted for a variety of molds/ramekins and styles. Feel free to layer the panna cotta and gelée by pouring a small amount of panna cotta into the mold and refrigerating until set (about 1 hour), then pouring an equal amount of gelée and refrigerating until set, continuing to repeat the layers. Or to make a panna cotta with a single layer of gelée on top, first pour the gelée into the bottom of the mold, refrigerate until set, and then pour a larger amount of the panna cotta on top of the gelée. Let set and unmold turning upside down so the panna cotta is on the bottom and the gelée is on top. Or pour the panna cotta into a clear glass, let set, and then pour a thin layer of the gelée on top of the panna cotta for an attractive parfait which you can serve directly.

Recipe and photo by Monica Glass

This dish is deceptively simple, and is a great technique for preparing duck breast with any kind of sauce. We think the port pairs so well with the richness of the duck, and who can resist a dish with figs? Serve over a disc of polenta pan-fried in a little hazelnut oil and a simple salad of mixed greens for an exquisite meal.

4 servings

Ingredients

4 6-8 ounce boneless duck breasts, skin intact (or 2 larger duck breasts, 8 ounces per person)
Sea salt and freshly ground white peppercorn, to taste

For the port demi-glace:
6 fresh figs, halved (or dried if out of season)
1 teaspoon of whole white peppercorns
½ teaspoon finely minced chervil (or parsley)
1 cup ruby port

Equipment

Stainless steel sauté pan

Preparation

Sear the duck breasts:
Score the skin of the duck breasts lightly in a diamond pattern, being careful not to cut all the way through to the flesh. Sprinkle generously with flakes of sea salt and a few grinds of white peppercorn on the skin side. Heat a large stainless steel sauté pan over medium-high heat until it’s very hot. Lay the duck breasts in the dry pan skin side down, searing until the skin is brown and crispy. When ready, the fat will begin to render from the duck and it will release itself from the pan. Turn the breasts over and sear on the other side until the breasts are cooked to your taste. For medium-rare, leave on the second side for 5-7 minutes. Remove them from the pan and set aside covered with tinfoil while preparing the sauce.

[Chef’s Note: Scoring the duck breasts allows the fat to render out and develop a crispy, caramelized skin. If the sauté pan is not large enough to comfortably fit all the duck breasts at once, use two sauté pans. The duck breasts should register 155-160° F on a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat. Be sure to insert the thermometer between the skin and flesh so as not to pierce the skin. The duck will continue to cook while resting, so be careful not to overcook.]

Prepare the port demi-glace:
While the sauté pan is still hot, add the port, whole white peppercorns, and chervil or parsley to the rendered duck fat and deglaze the pan. Using a whisk, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan, and continue to whisk until the mixture is reduced and emulsified. The sauce is ready when reduced to a glaze. Add the halved fresh figs and gently stir until heated through.

[Chef’s Note: if you are using dried figs, reconstitute them by adding them to the port before it begins to reduce.]

Service
Serve with a green salad and polenta fried in hazelnut oil. Place the polenta on the plate, and lay one duck breast over it, then sauce with the port glaze, adding one or two fig halves to each serving.
Recipe and photo by Kelly Cline

The flavors and fragrances of this champagne are elegant and timeless, with a generous hint of spice, echoing the flavors of a mulled wine. The spiced syrup can be made well in advance, and its flavors will intensify as it rests.

Yields enough syrup for one bottle of champagne or sparkling wine

Ingredients

4 cups apple or white grape juice
1 teaspoon whole cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon crystallized ginger, chopped
½ teaspoon allspice berries, crushed
2 tablespoons orange zest, pith completely removed
¼ of one whole vanilla bean, left intact

1 bottle of dry champagne or sparkling wine
4×4” square of cheesecloth
Kitchen twine

Preparation

Prepare the spice sachet:
Place all of the spices, zest and vanilla bean segment into a sachet made from a double thickness of standard cheesecloth.  Tie it off with kitchen twine.

Prepare the spiced syrup:
In a small sauce pan, heat 4 cups of either the apple or white grape juice over medium-high heat until just beginning to boil.  Place the sachet into the juice, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced by about half (20-30 minutes).  Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.  Remove the sachet, squeezing all the juice from the bundle.  Pour the syrup through a fine mesh sieve into a clean glass container.  Allow to completely cool.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  The syrup will become thicker as it cools.

Service

To serve, add 1 part spiced syrup to 2 parts champagne or sparkling wine.

[Chef’s Note: If you don’t want to fuss with a sachet, simply toss all of the mulling spices into the pan with the juice and proceed with the recipe.  When you strain the syrup, strain it through cheesecloth or a coffee filter to catch the fine sediment of the spices.

When selecting your champagne or sparkling wine, remember that there is a bit of sweet to the spiced syrup.  If you want a dry, elegant cocktail we recommend using a Brut champagne or sparkling wine.  If you intend to use this recipe as an aperitif or as an after-dinner toast, a sweeter, extra-dry champagne may be more to your liking.

Recipe and photo by Kelly Cline

[This is our latest from the TasteBuds blog, where you can find lots of great information from us, Todd and Diane from White on Rice, and Sassy Radish Olga Massov.]

The question I get asked most often is “What wine do I serve with that?”

Unless you are an avid wine connoisseur or collector, it’s a question that can range from slightly intimidating to downright terrifying. However, I come bearing gifts that will transform that fear — and the need to know everything about wine — into something workable so you can serve your guests and enjoy yourself without the panic.

Here’s my secret: I have no idea what wine you should serve with that. And the good news is that I don’t need to, because there are simple-to-use resources built to help you navigate the wine conundrum with ease. Yes, there are some pairings I know from habit, and which reds vs. whites I prefer, but when I’m going for a killer match, I leave that to the experts.

First you want to start with your menu: What are you serving? From there you have something to work with — flavor profiles, dominant flavors and a price range.

From that point, there are three simple methods for creating wine pairings: (1) the hi-tech version; (2) the book version; and (3) the old-school version. Let’s see which works best for you.

The Hi-Tech Version

Apps

If you are a gadget geek, there are three stellar wine apps that will do the pairing work for you:

Hello Vino

Price: Free

Description:

Top-rated by NY Times, NPR, Mashable – Hello Vino will help you in the wine aisle – the free app gives you wine recommendations for meals, occasions, holidays, and by taste preference. NO SNOBS ALLOWED!

Pair It

Price: $4.99

Description:

Pair It! has over 20,000 unique and easy-to-follow pairing suggestions, recipes, and tips. The app was created by renowned wine pairing expert, chef and educator Bruce Riezenman from the Sonoma County Wine Country.

Natalie MacLean Wine Picks & Pairings

Price: Free

Award-winning wine writer Natalie MacLean is known for keeping wine simple, and I love that about her. Her top-rated mobile app (1 of 5 top food and wine apps from The New York Times, Globe & Mail and others) makes it easy for you to find pairings.

Description:

Named 1 of 5 top food and wine apps is the only wine app Apple chose for App Store Essentials in “Food & Wine” and “Date Night”.

Websites

If you don’t have a smart phone, there are some websites that have food and wine pairing widgets to help you:

Real Simple

True to form, this tool keeps things easy and straightforward. With a few clicks, you’ll have a list of varietals to choose from, which you can take to your wine store.

Pour

One of my favorite wine stores in NYC has created a matching tool set up exactly like their store: Start with a specific food, a cuisine or a wine, and they’ll help you match from there. In a few clicks you have wines to choose from for purchase, but you can just as easily take this list to your local wine store.

wine.com

As this is a site to purchase wines and have them shipped (a convenience I love whenever possible), you’ll need to enter your state of residence before using the tool. Choose your main ingredient and accompaniments and receive a list of various wines you can order. Again, you can simply take this list to your wine store.

The Book Version

If you want to do part of the work yourself, get a copy of Karen Page and Andrew Dornenberg’s What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea – Even Water – Based on Expert Advice from America’s Best Sommeliers.

Broken down by flavor components, this incredibly useful book will help you to see that if you’re serving x, wine y is probably a good match for that. It includes regions, varietals, and goes even beyond wine in case you want to serve the perfect…water.

The Old-School Version

If you are fortunate enough to have a knowledgeable local wine merchant, you can quite easily take your menu into the shop and ask for pairing help. I often employ this method, as a wine merchant has made his career of this very subject, and it is worth taking advantage of his knowledge. This leaves me to the food preparation, and saves time, headache, and worry.

Note: Be careful here. I once went in to get a bottle of wine when I was dressed to the nines with my Louis Vuitton bag, and the merchant escorted me right back to the “vault”, where the most expensive wines lived. I stopped him and explained I was looking for a more reasonable price range.

If there is not a wine merchant in your town, you can also try the wine section of higher-end supermarkets (depending upon your location, of course, as this is not always an option), where there will likely be someone to assist you. If you are comfortable doing the pairings yourself, or have one of the wine apps above, some bulk chains such as Costco or Beverages and More actually offer a decent selection of wines.

See how easy it can be? There are experts for a reason, so use their knowledge to your advantage and focus on what’s important: creating a great meal and enjoying it with the people you love.

On today’s show I speak with Giovanni Ponchia, lead Enologist for the Soave Consortium. Soave is the most produced white wine in Italy, and hails from the Veneto region in Northeastern Italy. I speak with Giovanni about the Garganega grape, the chalky volcanic soil of the region, and what foods go well with Soave.

www.ilsoave.com

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Gilded Fork. www.gildedfork.com

CMN Video: Food Blogger Playdate: Steak Tasting

Part 2 of our latest Food Blogger Play Date, where we do a blind tasting of Artisanal steaks from Carrie Oliver of www.oliverranch.com. Anu Karwa from Swirl Events brings along some great wines to pair with the beef.

A production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Originally Published April 2009

Port is not for the very young, the vain and the active. It is the comfort of age and the companion of the scholar and the philosopher.
-Evelyn Waugh

Foodstuff: Port Wine

Etymology
Shortened from Oporto, the city in northwest Portugal from which the wine was originally shipped; from o porto “the port.”

Description
Port wine is a fortified wine made from grapes grown in the Douro Valley region of Portugal. (This is one of the greatest wine rivers in the world, as it also feeds the Ribera del Duero wines that come from farther upriver in Spain.) Also known as Vinho do Porto or Porto, this typically sweet wine is one of our favorite ways to end a meal, whether served with dessert or as an indulgence all on its own. In the kitchen, however, port’s richness lends itself well to enhancing sauces to accompany game meats and other savory dishes – and yes, we’ve been experimenting. Though port is most frequently known as a sweet wine, it can also be found in semi-dry or extra dry varieties – it all depends upon the fermentation process.

Port has a heavier consistency than non-fortified wines due to the addition of distilled, clear grape spirits to the wine juices during fermentation. These spirits halt the fermentation process, retaining the wine’s sweetness before all its sugar is converted to alcohol. (Note: Adding the spirits to the wine after fermentation results in a dry fortified wine such as sherry, which comes from Jerez in the Andalusia region of neighboring Spain.)

As with Champagne, there are many imitations of port crafted throughout the world, but under the strict guidelines of the European Union, only Portugal’s product can officially be labeled as port; within Portugal, the wine’s production is overseen by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto. U.S. guidelines also specify that port from Portugal be labeled Porto or Vinho do Porto.

History
We can thank the English for port’s present popularity, as they found it an apt substitute for French wines during the tumultuous 1700s, when they were unable to purchase the grape juices of their wartime enemy. The Methuen Treaty of 1703 reduced import duties on Portuguese wines, enabling English merchants to have their fill of grape-induced reverie. The treaty also paved the way for English entrepreneurs, as can be seen on the Anglican labels of port wines from Sandeman to Taylor Fladgate.

Port was initially fortified to keep it from spoiling during the rough sea voyage from Portugal to France, but at that time its alcohol content was much lower (3% compared with today’s 19-22%). Quality unfortunately varied a great deal, however, prompting the creation of the Companhia Geral dos Vinhos do Alto Douro in 1756 by the Marques do Pombal. The organization was founded to oversee production qualities and prevent fraudulent activities among port producers. Today that duty is overseen by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto.

Types of Port

Tawny Port
Tawny ports are made from fortified red wines aged in oak barrels, a process that exposes them to gradual oxidation and evaporation. As a result, they gradually mellow to a golden-brown color. The tawny develops a nutty, complex flavor, and the resultant wines are blended to achieve the signature style of the winemaker.

To be called Tawny Reserve, the port must be a blend of wines spending at minimum seven years in oak barrels. Tawny “with an indication of age” is a blend of several vintages, with the average years in wood stated on the label. These ports can be labeled 10 year, 20 year, 30 year, and over 40 years.

The cheapest forms of Tawny Port are young wines made from a blend of red and white grapes. Unlike Tawny Reserve and Tawnies with an indication of age, they may have spent little or no time maturing in wood. Tawny ports from a single vintage are called Colheitas (pronounced col-YATE-ah, meaning harvest).

Garrafeira
Garrafeira is an intermediate vintage dated style of Port comprising grapes from a single harvest (therefore it is not a blended port). Garrafeira is the result of some time spent in barrel and the remainder in large glass containers called demijohns.

Ruby Port
Ruby port is the most common type of port, and therefore the cheapest. Unlike Tawny and Garrafeira ports, Rubies are aged for only 3 to 5 years, and are not aged in oak, so they do not develop the oxidization characteristic of tawny port. They are aged in stainless steel tanks after the fermentation process, preserving their bright red or claret color (hence the name). The wine is also fined and cold-filtered to remove sediments and particulates before it is bottled.

White Port
White port is made from white grapes, and can be used as the basis for a cocktail, or served on its own. White ports range in style from dry to very sweet, and should always be served cool or cold.

Vintage Port
Vintage port has the smallest production, hence is the most coveted. The most highly prized of Portuguese wines, vintage ports are only made in exceptional years declared as such by the port house. Much as with Champagne, due to the need for highest quality, not all years are declared as vintage years; the decision is made in the spring of the second year following the harvest, when the quality of the wine can be determined. Vintage ports are aged in barrel for a maximum of 2 ½ years before they are bottled, and are usually aged for another 10 to 30 years in bottle before they are at the ideal point for drinking.

Unlike tawnies, vintage ports are only in barrel for a short time, and thus retain their deep colors and fruit structure. Older vintage ports are some of the most expensive wines in the world, because they can continue to improve with the years. (In Portugal, it is considered a great honor to purchase a vintage port from a baby’s birth year, to be drunk when they, like the wine, are mature.)

Serving Port: A Quirky Tradition
Port is commonly served after meals as a dessert wine, while white and tawny ports are typically served as an apéritif.

If you really wish to embrace tradition in serving your glasses of port, the English have (of course) developed a particular standard of etiquette for service, which goes way back to British naval officers.

Traditionally the wine is passed “port to port,” where the host pours a glass for the person seated to his right, then passes the bottle or decanter to his left (his port side). This process continues around the table.

If the port becomes forestalled at some point, it is considered poor form to ask for the decanter directly (and we know how the English feel about poor form). Instead, the thirsty person must ask the person with the bottle: “Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?” (said Bishop was apparently quite stingy). If the keeper of the port is unaware of the ritual (and so replies in the negative), the querent will remark “He’s an awfully nice fellow, but he never remembers to pass the port.”

A technical solution to the potential problem of a guest forgetting their manners and ‘hogging’ the port can be found in a Hogget Decanter which has a rounded bottom, which makes it impossible to put it down until it has been returned to the host, who can rest it in a specially designed wooden stand known as “the Hogget”.

In other old English traditions when port is decanted, commonly at the dining table, the whole bottle should be finished in one sitting by the diners, and the table should not be vacated until this is done (source: Wikipedia).

Best Matches
The sweetness of chocolate is a wonderful complement to port, as are stewed fruits. We love to poach succulent pears in ruby port and serve them with a chocolate raspberry sauce, and we are highly partial to figs poached in ruby port. Game meats and blue veined cheeses such as Stilton or Gorgonzola also go very well with this elixir (port does not go as well with milder cheeses, so take note). Tawny ports go well with almonds and almond desserts, or dishes flavored with caramel.

Our Approach
Naturally we couldn’t resist trying all sorts of port variations, from savory duck and veal dishes to some gorgeous Pastry Princess dessert specialties. See our Test Kitchen Notes blog for some port ruminations by her majesty.

Recipes

Pear Panna Cotta with Port Gelée
Red & White Salad with Candied Pecans in a Port Reduction, Figs and Chèvre
Veal Scallopini with Grapes and Port Wine Reduction
Seared Duck Breast with Figged Port Demi-Glace
Chocolate and Caramel Tart with Port Ganache
Cherry Port Sauce

Resources
To find more port wine facts and history, visit the official site of port, the Instituto dos Vinhos do Duoro e Porto, as well as www.portwine.com, which has notes on everything from harvesting to sipping.

We also found the Culinary Institute of America’s Exploring Wine to be an invaluable resource for all sorts of wine information.

For food and wine pairing advice, we love to reference Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s What to Drink with What You Eat.

Our Pennsylvania Wine adventure concludes with a visit to the charming Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, close to Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York City, and rife with great wineries and picturesque towns.

The wine trail comprises nine family owned wineries in Eastern Pennsylvania. Here we visit Clover Hill, Vynecrest, Blue Mountain and Galen Glen Wineries.

Along with tasting wines, we visited charming towns like Bethlehem and Jim Thorpe, sometimes referred to as “The Switzerland of America”, and “Gateway to the Pocono.s”

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is one of eleven unique wine trails in Pennsylvania. Check out LehighValleyWineTrail.com to learn more. Learn about the other trails at PennsylvaniaWine.com.

You can also get trip ideas for your Pennsylvania getaway at visitPA.com.

Disclosure: This video series is a paid project for our client, the Pennsylvania Winery Association.

Our Pennsylvania Wine adventure continues with a jaunt along the Susquehanna Heartland Wine Trail, which offers a perfect getaway for people who want to combine wine tasting with outdoor activities like hiking, biking and boating.

The wine trail comprises seven wineries in Central Pennsylvania, just north of the state’s capital in Harrisburg.

Along with tasting wines, we visited charming towns like Lewistown, Mifflinburg, Selinsgrove and Lewisburg, which are all a short driving distance from State College, PA, home of Penn State University.

The Susquehanna Heartland Wine Trail is one of eleven unique wine trails in Pennsylvania. Check out pawinetrail.com to learn more. Learn about the other trails at PennsylvaniaWine.com.

You can also get trip ideas for your Pennsylvania getaway at visitPA.com.

Disclosure: This video series is a paid project for our client, the Pennsylvania Winery Association.

If you’ve been paying attention on Facebook or Twitter (because we’re the center of your universe), you might have noticed that Chef Mark and I spent a lot of time in Pennsylvania recently. We’re now delighted to share with you Part I of our project, for which we shot a video series for the Pennsylvania Winery Association, featuring 4 of their 11 wine trails throughout the state. Did you know they had wine trails? Now you do.

We started at the farthest point west, on the shores of Lake Erie, which is home to the largest grape-growing region in the U.S. outside of California. Also known as a region for growing Concord grapes, used in jellies and grape juice, the winemakers there have worked tirelessly to show they can grow wine grapes, including specialty hybrids from Europe that are producing some great wines.

We’ll let the winemakers tell you themselves.

The Lake Erie Wine Trail is one of eleven unique wine trails in Pennsylvania. Check out LakeErieWineTrail.org to learn more. Learn about the other trails at PennsylvaniaWine.com.

You can also get trip ideas for your Pennsylvania getaway at visitPA.com.

Disclosure: This video series is a paid project for our client, the Pennsylvania Winery Association.

Chef Karyn Hobfoll and I attended an Italian wine tasting this week. We tasted Chianti, Prosecco and Amarone. They were spectacular. Chef Karyn tells us a bit about Italian regions, production styles and her favorites. We also touch on what’s happening around school in our classes. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next week.

ReMARKable Palate #240: More Spanish Wines from Alimentaria

Today, it’s more from my trip to Barcelona for the Alimentaria Show. First, I speak with Sonia Anglada Verges from Freixenet, the largest producer of Cava in the world. Then, it’s Ricardo Arambarri Perez from Vintae.com, which has wines form all over Spain. Finally, we speak with an American importer, Andrew Booth, from The Spanish Table, who was there to discover new products for the American Market.

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Ryan Opaz interviews Nico James, a wine importer and distributor in Barcelona. Nico is a British/Caribbean expat living in Spain who imports German, Alsatian and Austrian wines into Spain. Ryan caught up with Nico at the Alimentaria Fair in Barcelona at the end of March. Here, Nico speaks about how he’s using the internet and his video blog to educate consumers, producers, and other importers about his wines and about the wine business in general.

NicoJames.es

We’ll be adding these English-language shows from Vinus and Catavino to our CMN lineup from time to time, and we’re pleased to welcome them as a content provider. They’ll have plenty of coverage of the upcoming European Wine Blogger’s Conference (EWBC) in Vienna, Austria, this coming October 22-24th, 2010.

Travel & accommodations provided by INCAVI. Blogger trip organized and administered by www.catavino.net.

Vinus.tv is a Spanish wine video site run by Eduardo Benito of winescreen.com, which normally produces all it’s content in Spanish. Catavino.net partners with Vinus.tv to produce videos in English at Wine events of interest to an English-Speaking audience. Well, since Chef Mark interviewed Ryan and Gabriella Opaz from Catavino for the ReMARKable Palate Podcast, turnabout is fair play!

We’ll be adding these English-language shows from Vinus and Catavino to our CMN lineup from time to time, and we’re pleased to welcome them as a content provider. They’ll have plenty of coverage of the upcoming European Wine Blogger’s Conference (EWBC) in Vienna, Austria, this coming October 22-24th, 2010.

We’ll be adding several other videos from Vinus to give a slightly different perspective to the coverage Chef Mark is doing about the visit to Catalunya. Bienvenidos!

Travel & accommodations provided by INCAVI. Blogger trip organized and administered by www.catavino.net.

We started out our Catalunya explorations the day before the start of Alimentaria with a visit to one of the largest wine producers anywhere, Freixenet. This is without a doubt the largest winery I’ve ever toured, and as the largest producer of Cava in Catalunya, they have quite a bit of demand to keep up with.

Freixenet is famous around the world for it’s Cordon Negro and Carta Nevada brands, which are mass market affordable cavas. Their yearly New Years ads featuring movie stars and musical acts are well known in Europe, and the familiar black bottle of the Cordon Negro can be found all over the States.

But Freixenet owns many wineries all over Spain and other parts of the world, producing a wide range of still and sparling wines. If you’ve traveled in the Sonoma Carneros region of California, you may be familiar with the Gloria Ferrer Winery, which is owned by Freixenet. The Ferrer family founded Freixenet, and continues to hold a stake to this day.

For lunch we tasted 6 different wines from their lineup, including a Rosé Cava made from Pinot Noir, an Albariño made in Rias Baixas, a Rosé from neighboring Montsant, A new wine, Oroya, made especially for sushi by a Japanese winemaker in Spain (composed of Airen, Macabeo and Moscatel grapes), and a 100% Malvasia Cava. The Malvasia is a dessert Cava with fruity notes, and a hint of maple and buttery pastry.

After lunch, we had a tour of their facility, with sections of the winery dating from 1914, and 4 subterranean levels where we got to see the ENORMOUS capacity of the facility, which produces 200 million bottles a year. The facility is so large, they take you around in a little “Cava Train” like at Hershey or a ride at Disneyland! Our guide was very knowledgable and quite charming. Here’s the video of the afternoon visit:

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Travel & accommodations provided by INCAVI. Blogger trip organized and administered by www.catavino.net.

While in Barcelona for Alimentaria last week, I met with Gemma Urgell, a journalist, writer and PR rep for Catalan wines and food products. In addition to representing some really cool folks who are working on a project to produce black truffles commercially in Catalunya (which will generate truffles as well as protect the natural eco-system), Gemma is co-founder of NuestraCausa, a citizen movement that aims to increase citizen’s voice in policy decisions in Catalunya. She interviewed me on camera for her #talkingabout project, which features people talking about their passions, jobs, dreams, and projects to change the world. It looks like I was just spouting off for 5 minutes, but in reality Gemma edited this down from a 20 minute conversation we had in both English and Spanish. She just kept the parts of me talking in English about the use of Social Media to discuss food and wine, and how wineries can better use the web.

#talkingabout – Chef Mark Tafoya from redall on Vimeo.

I’ll have much more content from this trip, not only the discussion of social media, but our regular food and wine focused content about my discoveries in Catalunya & Barcelona’s La Boqueria market. For now, you can find great roundups of the week from Catavino.net, which has a great feed gathering all the content created by the participating bloggers during the course of the week and ongoingly:

Alimentaria “Live” feed from Catavino

Audio Podcast: ReMARKable Palate #238: Barcelona & Social Media with Catavino.net

Disclosure: Travel and accommodations provided by INCAVI. Blogger trip organized and administered by Catavino.net

ReMARKable Palate #238: Barcelona & Social Media with Catavino.net

I’ve just returned from Barcelona, Spain, where I was a guest of Ryan And Gabriella Opaz from Catavino.net, as we explored the Alimentaria fair, the Empordas wine region, and the food sights of Barcelona. Here we discuss the week, and how they are changing the Spanish wine world by using Social Media. www.catavino.net

Travel and accommodations provided by INCAVI.

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Chef Mark is running amok in Spain this week with our friends Ryan and Gabriella Opaz from Catavino, and though internet connections are always challenging while we’re on the road, this time I can help from the domestic side!

Focused in Calatonia (or Catalunya), the northeastern corner of Spain, the group has been touring various wineries including Freixenet, the largest cava producer in the world. They are also attending the Alimentaria festival in Barcelona, and from what I can see, having some marvelous meals. (Last night’s Twitter stream featured plenty of sex on a plate.)

Chef Mark has posted some Facebook albums, so take a peek for yourself:

Tour of Freixenet

Dinner at 5 Centits (5 Senses — oh my yes)

Tapas and Tasting

I’ll continue to post updates as Chef Mark sends them, but in the interim you can follow him on Twitter.