Tag Archives: Michael Godel

Canoe trip recipes for success

as seen on canada.com

Canoe trip cooking adheres to a less is more, zen-like philosophy. The chef must manage the intensity of absences, the maximization of omissions. The carrying weight of a tripping pack, storage restrictions and spoilage all combine to limit the boundaries of mis en place. Culinary science as outdated rhetorical lunacy, the act of banal heroism. My muse may not be a Jack Tripper Coq-au-Vin but “Lordy, Lordy, Lordy,” cooking outdoors is just plain fun.

The simple and meditative act of back country canoe camping perculiarizes the anthology of Canadian culture. Long before the assembly to dominion it was a summoning that defined our call to being. Today, the courir dans les bois persists as a tug of positable mythic that underlies who and what we are. Cherrywood paddles cutting whirlpools through ambient lakes.  Portage ambling over trails cut out of the forest lined with networking tree root systems and glacially deposited rocks. This base traversing of the landscape, in and out of a canoe, plodding a direct and simple course from points A to B.

Paddling Home

“Living on nuts and berries” once sustained us, we gatherers, fishermen, hunters and farmers. Canoe trip cooking marked an enlightened beginning for many Canadian chefs, a list not the least of which includes me. It was simpler back then. Tripper’s stew, Mac and Cheese, Boil in the Foil. I don’t miss and reminisce on those anti-culinary days. The paradox of modern campfire cooking merges the taste of maple, pine and birch smoke with gastronomical possibilities that leave beef jerky and tuna surprise in the dust. The demotic canoe trip maxim might state “show me a good casserole and I’ll show you a casserole.”

Pancake Breakfast

The key to canoe trip cooking, especially in the heat of the summer, is to keep perishable food cold for as long as possible. Freeze everything that can be frozen the night before departure, transfer to the food barrel and don’t open until dinner. Remove only last in, first out items and re-seal the barrel. The following morning the milk, eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese will all be good to go, straight from the “fridge.”

Green Beans, Feta, Golden Beets and Kale Shoots

Recent years have seen preparations that included Glazed Baby Back Ribs, Smashed Potatoes, Fried Rice, Deep Dish Pizza, Tortellini in Brodo, Grilled Flank Steak and Mushroom Risotto. Night one in July 2012 ventures into some new territory. Vietnamese Phở Bò Tái Nạm, Pan-Fried Halibut, Salad of Green Beans, Golden Beets, Greek Feta and Kale Shoots.

Soup’s On

Pho Bo Tai Nam

Ingredients:

1 package of flat rice noodles
2 lbs. centre cut beef tenderloin
2 litres frozen chicken stock
cheesecloth spice bag filled with cassia (cinnamon bark), fennel seed, whole cayenne chile, coriander seed, star anise, Szechuan peppercorn and clove. tied up with butcher’s string
fresh bean sprouts or baby greenhouse pea shoots
Thai basil (can substitute regular green, Genovese or purple basil)
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Method:

Bring water to a rolling boil for 15 minutes and add rice noodles. Cook for three minutes, strain out the water and coat liberally in canola oil.

Grill Beef Tenderloin over campfire coals until charred and rare. Remove and rest for 20 minutes.

Take out frozen chicken stock from the food barrel, transfer to a stock pot and add one litre water. Drop in a sachet of spices. Bring to a rolling boil over extreme campfire heat and continue to boil for 15 minutes.

Slice beef very thin.

Serve bowls of broth with rice noodles, sliced beef, bean sprouts and Thai basil.

Slicing the Beef

Braised beef, fully cooked and frozen ahead, effectively works protein into night two of a canoe trip. Rump roast, stew beef and short rib can all be reshaped into stew. BBQ sauce glazed boneless short rib acts as esculent partner to rice, beans and pasta. In this case, good-bye baked beans and hello Garam Masala-spiced green lentils. The beef would star in a Khao San Road inspired Khao Soi but tonight it rides along with grilled Veal Knuckers, gluten-free corn pasta, olives, baby carrots and Padano Parmesan.

BBQ Flanken

Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients:

3 lbs. beef short rib, cut “flanken” style”
2 shallots, peeled and sliced in half
4 garlic cloves, sliced in half
2 cups dry red wine
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup BBQ sauce

Method:

The day before the trip, season flanken butchered short rib with salt and pepper.

Braise for two hours in a 375 degree oven covered in red wine, shallot and garlic.

Remove from the jus, cool, discard the bones, then deep freeze wrapped in foil and double-bagged.

Glaze with BBQ sauce and grill over hot coals, two minutes each on all four sides. Slice and serve.

Courtesy of PlatyPreserve

Boxed wines have been the go to beverage to pair with my uptempo, combative and sanguinary campfire cooking. On my next venture into a Canadian nature preserve I plan to bring better wine. On the reliable and heady advice of AM, hereto referred to as my “wine conscience,” this contraption will house a bottle or two of something more than drinkable. I’m not suggesting a classified growth Bordeaux or Barolo here. I’m thinking dry as the desert Italian reds will find their way inside the preservation system.

Argiano NC Non Confunditur 2009 (72397, $24.95) achieves crunge by amalgamating Cabernet Sauvignon (chocolate and berries), Merlot (basil, lead), Syrah (black as night) and Sangiovese (animale grosso) in a Super-Tuscan, spezzatura package. Could paddle without a care to the world and sip this all day while searching for “that confounded bridge.” He sure is a good friend.  90

Mazzei Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 2009 (977629, $25.95) confounds as a juxtaposition of the exquisite and the atavistic. A prince of raspberry purée, “I think I love you.” Yet oak and osseous variation turn the Mazzei into a Black Beret, a strong-willed and big-boned, alpha male animal.  Walk with the Moose.  88

Good to go!

A canoe tripper’s ode to boxed wine

canada.com

At the end of a long day paddling and portaging the lakes and rivers of Algonquin Park, nothing satisfies like a good mug of boxed wine. I know what you’re thinking. Beer? Come on, it’s a canoe trip. Into the pristine, wild interior of Ontario’s greatest nature preserve.  If this isn’t a desideratum that calls for thinking outside the glass, what is?

Portage Sign

Flipping Down

Eric Asimov once reported that to a snob, wine housed in a multilayer, aseptic carton was “…the epitome of déclassé, the vinous equivalent of trailer trash.” Then he noted, “the idea of putting wine in a box, or more accurately, in a bag within a box, is brilliant.” The cartons have been criticized for allowing flavour-destroying oxygen to seep in, when in fact the wine can stay fresh for weeks once it has been opened. Perfect for a canoe trip. Hey, that redneck wine also aids in the removal of  “ladybug taint,” an industry-wide, chemical-bad taste caused by alkyd-methoxypyrazines. Yep, soaked up by the packaging and essentially removed from the wine.

Afternoon Paddle

This lament cries out for the golden era of boxed wine. Where not too long ago a proliferation of quality abounded, locally available brands are now prohibitively limited. Where are you Bandit Cabernet Sauvignon? Who took away my Black Box out of Paso Robles? Why did the Aussies run away; yes you, Hardy’s and Banrock Station.

I did manage to locate four decent cartons to taste on the trip. The consensus number one was the Ciao Sangiovese.

Boxed Wines

Three Thieves Bandit Pinot Grigio (622019, 1L, $12.95) is made by California’s Trinchero from regions “not specified.” Pallid complexion, almost achromatic, like cheap Soave. Cheesy, effluence of a Petawawa tributary, Joycian “corpse of milk” aroma but rescued by coquettish, juicy fruit, Courtney Jaye flavour. Makes for a decent aperitif chilled straight out of the food barrel. When it comes to box wine,  “the bottom of the barrel ain’t bad when you make it feel like home.” Eaten alive by the Phở Bò Tái Nạm and the Halibut.  82

Ciao Bianco Pinot Grigio Carton (669200, 1L, $11.95) out of Italy’s Veneto region is the forward-thinking work of Cantine Luigi Sgarzi. Lambent, ochroid and organic, green head-water lake hued. Intensely dry and spartan for the varietal. Snappish yellow plum anointed with tarragon to support corn pasta, black olives, peas and carrots. 84

Pasta with Ciao Sangiovese

Ciao Sangiovese Organic Carton (29090, 1L, $11.95) puts overripe fruit and maximum colour extraction to good use. Moderate heft, renascent Tuscan red fruit of a Chumbawamba, straw flask era. Sincere, sugarplum, anarcho-rocker Sangiovese for straightforward campsite consumption. A friend to red sauce and to Padano Parmesan.  Ciao Bella.  86

French Rabbit Cabernet Sauvignon Carton (621680, $12.95) is contentious and inchoate of composition like oil poured over troubled water. That said, it’s an easy quaff. Fructifying enough to consume with nary an ill effect. Tiny molecules of mint, mineral and wild blueberry. The least interesting of the four but sneaks in under the wire for back country needs.  81

Moose Skull on Little Trout Lake

Good to go!

The Wine Diaries: Your weekend wines

ilumus photography, Fotolia.com

Read this at canada.com

Another stellar weekend is heading this way. My goal each week is to provide the wine equivalent of an operatic recasting, a retooling, a restocking, whether it be for deck, yard or on the water. A few good reds are here for BBQ compliment but let’s face it. This is the summer of whites baby!

Related: Recent release notes

The grape: Vermentino

The history: From grapes grown in Gallura on the northern coast, the producer Sella & Mosca is to Sardinia as Antinori is to Tuscany

The lowdown: Versatile and food-friendly,Vermentino combines dry, salty sea air with rocks, minerals and acidity. Gotta love southern Italian whites

The food match: Seared Sea Scallops with lime zest, lemon juice and orange segments

Sella & Mosca Monteoro Vermentino Di Gallura Superiore 2011 (203422, $15.95) is fresh as a crustacean pulled from salty, Mediterranean waters. Vermentino of Sardinia is to white as Tavel of Provence is to Rose. Scented by sweet citrus, marzipan, Gin and Tonic.  88

The grape: Riesling

The history: Originates in Germany’s Rhine and thanks to the Duke of Lorraine, came to Alsace in 1477

The lowdown: Recent thought has pegged Alsatian Rieslings as “sweetened up” but as a rule I find the entry-level ones to be some of the the driest. They certainly lack the petrolic character akin to their German brethren

The food match: Pan-fried Whitefish with citrus beurre blanc and toasted almonds

Domaine Ehrhart-Pfohl Riesling 2010 (282186, $13.95) summons chalky virility from the Saxon stone mason’s hands and yet stages tropical sweatshop scents of guava, apricot and quince. The confusion is quieted by a near, neo-cabbalistic call to baking Mittelwihr, mandelbroit order. Wants to be Viognier but knows its place. Underappreciated if a bit rakish Alsatian.  87

The grape: Friulano

The history: From Friuli-Venezia Giulia in northeast Italy. The project of restauranteur Joe Bastianich and Mother Lidia, the Food Network cooking star

The lowdown: A varietal of unctuous, orchard fruit behaviour, saline like southern whites but of fuller mind and body

The Food Match: Frico Morbido, grated cheese and swiss chard fritters

Bastianich Adriatico Friulano 2010 (277467, $18.95) brings Friuli by the Adriatic to the world. Like Lidia and son Joe, a pastiche and piece of work. Peach, pear and apricot marmellata. Tiger Lilly length, stalky and saftig.  88

The grape: Tempranillo

The history: The great and totemic wine of Spain, most famous for Rioja and Ribera del Duero

The lowdown: A small case production (1,200 bottles) by a tidy northern Spanish producer. First tasting was from an oxidized bottle. This second specimen shone

The food match: Jamon, Chorizo and Manchego

Fernández De Piérola Reserva 2004 (270579, $25.95) lenses purity of Tempranillo colour, looking through a glass lightly. Svelte to knock back with cold-pressed and dressed virgin tapas. Early evening blossom fragrance meets beet, mushroom and cinnamon. Woodsmoke mingling with sugar near-caramelized in the black kettle.  88

Niagara

Charles Baker Picone Vineyard Riesling (241182, $35.20) from the unique terroir of the Vinemount Ridge of Niagara is an outrageous and gregarious flirt.  Strewn notes of citrus, nuts, apples and magnesium. All out there right now. Like lemon in a wound. Go big or go home. Drink up.  89

Closson Chase S. Kocsis Vineyard Chardonnay 2009 (184291, $34.95) seems anti-Beamsville because of a gooseberry-marmalade character.  Rather unlike any of the other CC SV’s. Sun-swelled apricot and pineapple, candied, baked.  87

Ravine Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 (173377, $24.00) while sourced from down on the peninsula’s floor maintains the throaty Louis fruit this Niagara producer has developed a reputation for. Gravelly, deep and soft, like a pelt carpet. The strong-armed apple of your eye. “So I said to myself,” what a wonderful Chardonnay.  88

Australia

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Riesling 2010 (528216, $17.95) is a first love, a same time next year type of wine. “Thelonious my old friend” built from tree fruit and their blossoms. Cruising, cool, misty acidity to welcome a midnight, seafood supper.  88

New Zealand

Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay 2008 (640383, $34.95) extends the North Island vineyard’s reputation as top niche producer. Smell and taste replay of match lit, smouldering herb. Tuff gong with terrific persistence. High toned, polished and on the Zion Train.  89

Italy

Tramin Pinot Grigio 2011 (627059, $15.95) venerable and virtuous gives Alto Adige PG its due. Walks tenuously and carries a stainless steel stick. Bang on entry into the niche, inoffensive and whitefish driven of a simple preparation.   86

Attems Pinot Grigio 2011 (707950, $19.95) does the Friuli with less floral Viognier/Muscatel, more vibrant citrus and Amaretto than the Tramin. Costs more too.  87

California

Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2010 (215210, $59.95) I’m hoping will not find me “in my ragged company” because I’d love to “kill off the hours” with this impeccably groomed and pretty white.  With steamed lobsters at a table among the wildflowers. Just don’t bring me dead ones.  90

Mazzocco Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2009 (287193, $24.95) shows no shortage or ripe, red licorice and fortified, port fruit. Smells like a fruit basket in the sun. Brief acquiescence and then a recrudence of brambles and berries. Sassy and jazzy. CVR**, DCV Zin.  89

IVR* – Vintage Direct Intrigue-to-value ratio

CVR**– Vintage Direct Curiosity-to-value ratio

Good to go!


A wine tour de France

FI:AF

canada.com

The Tour de France is a 22-day, grueling test of endurance. Tasting through 22 French wines may not be the sporting equivalent, but someone’s got to do it. The Tour travels and circumnavigates a path through many of France’s storied wine regions; Bordeaux, Champagne, Burgundy, Rhône and Languedoc. The wine tour goes deeper, making stops in lesser known regions like Savoie and Jura. Here are 11 notes with 11 days to go.

Related – more wine recommendations

French wines to look for now

Alsace

Pfaffenheim Cuvée Bacchus Gewurztraminer 2010 (VINTAGES 996017, $19.95. SAQ 197228, $19.70) looks to wine a stage with its progressive and ambulatory nature like the “Cannibal,” Eddy Merckx. At once steely but also possessed of a creamy, recriminatory lycheeness. A Gewurztraminer island in a sea of mediocrity, less bitter, less off-dry. A comeuppance of residual sweetness and forward thinking expression.  88

Champagne

Henriot Souverain Brut Champagne (959643, $56.95) operates as opulent, bombastic bubbles. Conspiratorial instigator, non-traditionalist and anti-establishment. Cassius to Caesar and to Frazier. Agitated rope-a-doper laden with tropical citrus and guava to belie yeast, smoked nuts, clay and toast. The mousse is persistent if relegated to the ring’s perimeter and the cheap seats of the Colosseum.  Tasted twice.  89

Burgundy

Louis Picamelot Brut Cremant De Bourgogne (161919, $17.95) is continental breakfast at the round table where dry toast cuts a linear radius through pious citrus, namely lemon and grapefruit. A strong-armed, knightly representative for the anthology of the Burgundian bubbles culture. A polarizing character, the lance of the lot.  87

Pascal Marchand Meursault 2010 (285866, $57.95) would make for an intriguing tête-à-tête comparison to the Tawse Quarry Road from Moray’s other guy, peer Paul Pender. Marchand’s Chardonnay is multi-layered, zesty and intense. Pear and hazelnut stand out but so too does oatmeal, in an elemental, periodic way. Which leads ne’er the cheerleader MV to comment, “egg salad sandwich.”  White Burgundy with regard to the atom.  90

Domaine Gille Côtes De Nuits-Villages 2009 (210864, $28.95) is cheap talk and wine, for Burgundy that is. Clean, pure Pinot fruit, black raspberry scent. On the border of simple, elegant, well-priced Villages. Will give you the best of its love.  88

Rhône

E. Guigal Gigondas 2009 (331900, $29.95) fully elicits hedonism from southern France with rakish Guigal typicity. Blueberries baked in an Ortolan pie with essence of Molasses. Bold, brass Bassline of tannic tenderness.   89

Jura

Jean Bourdy Cotes De Jura White 2007 (286427, $24.95) is most unusual Chardonnay. “Nothing in the world smells like this son.” Tis kind to call it an “oxidative” style but truth be in the pudding. Yerba tea, malt and peat each have their moment. Scottish as if Kilgore retired to the Hebridic isle.  86

Savoie

Domaine Edmond Jacquin Altesse Rousette Savoie 2010 (277335, $17.95) is a Big Mig, a jazzy, rarely seen release that trills citrus and spice in a breezy, casual way. Altesse, also called Roussette, seems to me a superior, physiological varietal. Federer workmanlike approach, a rider like Indurain, wins fans for athletic greatness and for acting effortlessly like itself.  88

Jean Perrier & Fils Cuvée Prestige Mondeuse Vin De Savoie 2010 (272112, $14.95) visually reminds me of Portugal’s Bastardo grape and by a nose. There is sour cherry, cranberry and refreshing citrus vitality as if Viognier were supporting Syrah. Perhaps like Pliny’s “vine of least repute” but there is an acme of elegance.  87

Bordeaux

Château Haut-Vigneau 2009 (29678, $25.95) opens the door to the ’09 Bordeaux party with a Tao, raison d’être and talisman’s affordable summoning via the Left Bank’s Pessac-Léognan. Candied coffee, black cherry and tobacco, radish red. Solid PL and worth storing three away for now and to the decade’s end.  89

Midi

Château Du Donjon Grande Tradition Minervois 2009 (275578, $12.95) speaks directly of its mineral, Minervois roots. Brillat-Savarin might say this about the Donjon. “Tell me what you drink and I’ll tell you who you are.” The Châteauneuf-du-Pape aspiration of Kirsch with Daube is only deterred in the slightest by an aspersion of cherries steeped in quinine, but of a good kind. A “badger” of a red, fighting like Bernard Hinault and his two black eyes.  87

IVR* – Vintage Direct Intrigue-to-value ratio

CVR* – Vintage Direct Curiosity-to-value ratio

Good to go!