Chenin Blanc

Week 38: Acid – Snow Crab, Grapefruit, & Blood Orange Beurre Blanc Pizza

Leave a comment

This week’s pizza featuring the theme of acid has not only grapefruit and blood orange, but also a splash of champagne vinegar to brighten up the mood.

img_9124

The blood orange and champagne vinegar were used in the beurre blanc that was prepared as the sauce for the pizza.

img_9126

After cooking down the liquid, the shallots were strained from the final sauce before adding butter for richness.

img_9127

A quick lesson in cutting suprèmes from grapefruit was necessary to protect the delicate textures.

img_9128

To further protect the delicate nature of the toppings, the base of this pizza, blood orange beurre blanc, cottage cheese and fromage blanc, was baked in advance so as to allow the crust to cool to a welcoming temperature.

img_9130

Meanwhile, the snowcrab was quickly boiled and shelled for clean segments of meat.

img_9131

The construction mainly took place after the pizza had cooked in the oven. Grapefruit, avocado and snow crab made up the core flavors while poppy seed were added as a final touch.

img_9133

My instinct was to reach for a wine with high acid and a severe dryness to match that of the pizza’s profile. White burgundy worked well enough to match the profile.

img_9134

In the end, Vouvray with a whisper of residual sugar was a natural pairing to help maintain a high level of acid while also counteracting any of the harsh quality with the sweetness inherent in the style.

Advertisement

Week 37: Mystery Ingredients – White Peach, Sweet Corn, Basil & Mascarpone Pizza with a Blackberry Gastrique

Leave a comment

For this week’s challenge, I failed to internalize the instructions properly. Having never seen the two shows cited as examples, Chopped and Master Chef, my mind went to the one “mystery ingredient” show I was familiar with: Iron Chef. Thus, I told my chooser to pick just one ingredient for me to build my flavor profile from. He chose white peaches.

img_8904

When asked why he chose white peaches when I had taken him to a grocery store cherished for their diverse produce section, he responded, “Dragon fruit? Too showy. Star fruit? What the fuck is that anyway? There is no season for love, Victoria, but there is for peaches.” How could I argue with that? Peaches it is.

img_8901

To complement the summery sentiment established in the choice of mystery ingredient, I decided to make a blackberry gastrique, a trick I picked up in a previous challenge pizza, and charred sweet corn.

IMG_8957.JPG

The white corn was a delightfully subtle addition.

img_8903

The whole of the ingredients included a shredded mozzarella base with a couple additions of mascarpone.

img_8905

The pie was finished with chiffonade basil leaves and almond slivers.

img_8906

The choice of wine was not showcasing the same level of sweet summer flavors as the pizza but still offered some refreshing qualities to the experience. Overall, a moderately sweeter style of Chenin Blanc would have been preferred but this pairing wasn’t a complete failure as the whole of the evening was quite enjoyable with many thanks to the tasty components involved.

Week 26: Gelatin – BBQ Pulled Pork & Pineapple Gelatin Morsels

Leave a comment

Inspiration for this week’s gelatin challenge came from the leftover pineapple juice of last week’s creation. The thought process began with a play on a Hawaiian pizza and evolved into a pulled pork sandwich craving that could not be shaken.

IMG_7259

Pork shoulders were purchased and my first attempt at pulled pork began with a flavorful, smoky rub.

IMG_7258

To begin what would inevitably become the long road towards appreciating my slow cooker, I first took to the outdoors to light coals for a Weber grill that’s been aching to celebrate summer with a feast.

IMG_7260

Having never used wood chips for smoking, it’s hard to diagnose and fix any issues when I’m still learning how the grill itself best operates. Within a couple hours, I switched gears and opted for an indoor cooking session with a dusty item in the cabinet: the slow cooker.

IMG_7261

Onions made up the base of a cider vinegar stew the pork was to cook overnight in. The next morning, the onions were strained off and saved for topping later.

IMG_7264

As an anti-ketchup user, I am shocked at how magnificent the flavors of apple cider vinegar and ketchup combine together to create a simple yet perfect Carolinian BBQ sauce. It doesn’t excuse ketchup for being the way that it is, but it does now give it a reason to exist at all.

IMG_7003

Fresh pineapple juice keeps enzymes that are just as detrimental to gelatin as they are to human flesh (yes, that’s right. pineapples are eating you right back). Cooking helps to shut these enzymes down so that the gel can hold their shape.

IMG_7262

Using a combination of gelatin and agar agar, I managed to make gelatin faster than expected. The gel set so quickly I had to start from the beginning to set it in the shape of my choosing.

IMG_7265

Albeit not a very interesting one. I settled for the broken pieces of a thin and flat pineapple topping to debut my gelatin skills.

IMG_7263

BBQ sauce lined the bottom of this pie while pulled pork & onions bulked up the top.

IMG_7266

After a minute of cooling, the pizza was dressed with pineapple gelatin pieces and served with green onions.

IMG_7267

Mulderbosch’s single vineyard Chenin Blanc was able to tease out the softer pineapple notes with some tropical aromas of its own while cutting through the fatty richness of the pork. The combination was pretty incredible.

IMG_7269

Just watch out for that pineapple.

pineapple eats you.gif