Corn and Bacon Soup with Jalapeño Crema Paired with Roussanne
by William James Cellars
1. Set a box grater in a wide, shallow bowl and coarsely grate 6 ears of corn; you should have 2 cups of grated corn. Cut the kernels from the remaining 4 ears; you should have 2 cups of kernels.
2. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the bacon, celery, onion and yellow pepper, cover and cook over low heat, stirring a few times, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the grated corn, the milk and 1 cup of the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer, stirring often, until the soup is thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and the cayenne pepper and keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering. Add the corn kernels to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, stirring a few times, until they are lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Season with salt. Stir the cooked corn kernels into the soup and keep warm.
4. In a blender, whip the remaining » cup of heavy cream to soft peaks, about 20 seconds. Add the sour cream, jalapeño, chopped cilantro and lemon juice and blend until thick. Season with salt and white pepper.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with spoonfuls of jalapeño crema and cilantro leaves and serve at once.
MAKE AHEAD The soup can be refrigerated overnight; reheat gently. The jalapeño crema can be refrigerated for 4 hours.
Nantucket Clambake paired with Charbono Dry Rose
by Pasos Vineyards
In a classic New England clambake, lobsters, clams, corn and potatoes cook in a rock-lined pit. Smoke and steam from hardwood coals and seaweed create incredible briny, sweet-smoky flavors. A terrific weekend activity, it requires some planning. A few key points:
Most public beaches prohibit fires , even if the clambake is on a private beach; ask the local fire, parks and health departments if any permits are required. Keep a fire extinguisher and a large bucket of seawater close by.
Avoid flooding your pit : Plan the clambake for low tide. To ensure the water table is low enough, dig a small, two-feet-deep test hole. If the hole is still dry after an hour, dig your pit.
Be sure to get the right-sized rocks : too small and they'll lose their heat too quickly; too large, and they won't heat through.
Don't use just any seaweed : The pockets of water and air in rockweed create the necessary steam and flavor.
Hold all the ingredients in coolers while you build the pit and fire. ingredients
1. In a large, deep pot, cover the potatoes with cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain well.
2. On a flat beach, dig a 6-by-4-foot pit 2 feet deep. Line the pit with 90 rocks. Dig a 2-foot-wide pit nearby, also 2 feet deep.
3. Using 8 logs, build a bonfire in the large pit. Over the next hour and 45 minutes, add 6 logs to the fire every 15 minutes, building the fire outwards so that it covers the base of the pit. After the first 45 minutes, as the logs turn to coals, add 20 rocks to the fire. When the logs have completely turned to coals, after about 2 hours, shovel the 20 rocks to the sides. Leaving a 1-inch-thick layer of coals atop and between the rocks, shovel the rest of the coals into the smaller pit and extinguish with water.
4. Meanwhile, using a screwdriver, perforate the baking pans, punching holes in the bottoms about every inch.
5. Arrange the lobsters and potatoes together in 6 of the pans. Arrange the clams, chorizo and corn in the 6 remaining pans.
6. Wearing mitts, line the pit with a 1/2-inch-thick layer of rockweed. Arrange the pans on the rockweed in a single layer. Top the pans with a 1-inch-thick layer of rockweed. Fold the tarps in half lengthwise to measure 5 by 8 feet. Stack them on top of the rockweed. Weight down the edges of the top-most tarp with the remaining 10 rocks to trap the steam. Bake for about 1 hour, checking after 45 minutes. The lobsters and potatoes should be done; the clams, corn and chorizo will need another 15 minutes. When cooked, the lobsters will be bright red, the clams open, and the corn and potatoes fork-tender. Serve with melted butter.
NOTES Equipment
Fire extinguisher
1 large bucket
1 or 2 full-size shovels
120 rocks, about the size of grapefruits
50 hardwood logs, each about 2 feet long and 8 inches in diameter
Screwdriver
Twelve 9-by-13-by-1 1/2-inch disposable aluminum baking pans
Heavy-duty oven mitts
25 pounds rockweed
Three 10-by-8-foot canvas tarps, soaked in water
Ligurian Seafood Soup paired with Sangiovese
from Vaquero Cellars
1. Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, cover partially and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the parsley and crushed red pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the orange zest, season with salt and black pepper and remove from the heat.
2. Arrange the halibut fillets in the casserole and season with salt and pepper. Scatter the olives over the fish and top with the shrimp and calamari. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Tuck in the clams and mussels, hinge sides down.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring the clam juice and white wine to a boil. Pour the hot liquid over the seafood. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the mussels and clams open, the shrimp are pink, the calamari is opaque and the halibut is cooked through. Transfer any unopened clams and mussels to the saucepan and add 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the casserole. Cover and simmer until they open, about 3 minutes; discard any that don’t open.
4. Spoon the seafood and broth into bowls and serve right away, passing grilled bread and additional olive oil at the table.
Stay tuned....
more recipes will be added with the
September Wine Club and Newsletter
