Marjoram horseradish sauce
Category: Jen's kitchenLast night was a grill night—a big punta de ganso steak (outside round), potatoes, zucchini, red onions, and peppers. This cut of meat has so much flavor that we didn’t marinated it, but at the last minute Ed suggested adding some sort of flavorful sauce. What to throw together on such short notice? I happened to have some horseradish in the pantry (which is unusual, as we can only sporadically get horseradish at the big supermarket in Santiago). That became the base of what turned out to be a wonderful little condiment—creamy and sharp, with a big perfume from the marjoram. I used cream to finish the sauce, but sour cream or crème fraîche would also work well. We paired the meal with a 2007 Tarapacá Cabernet Sauvignon (one of Ed’s wines).
Marjoram horseradish sauce for grilled beef
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped chives
2 teaspoons chopped marjoram
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
salt and pepper
Combine all the ingredients into a smooth sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.
Makes about half a cup (we used most of it between the two of us).
White chocolate frosting
Category: Jen's kitchenI was looking for a creamy white chocolate frosting that really tasted of white chocolate, rather than being dominated by the butter. I generally prefer a cream cheese frosting, so I started there and experimented with how to work with the chocolate. I had much better results using a higher quality white chocolate instead of the run-of-the mill brand. We don’t have much selection here (although we get some very good dark chocolate). Even within those limitations, the better quality made a huge difference in the texture and taste.
This recipe makes about four cups of frosting, which is enough to generously frost a two-layer cake. I made a simple square cake, so I had some left over. After about a week in the refrigerator, the texture was still very smooth when I brought the frosting to room temperature for some cupcakes.
White chocolate frosting
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
250 g. (2 sticks) butter, divided
about 400 g. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
300 g. (3 bars) white chocolate
Have the cream cheese, butter, and white chocolate at room temperature.
In the top of a double boiler, melt the white chocolate with half the butter. Set aside.
Beat the cream cheese with the remaining butter until very smooth. Gradually add two to three cups of powdered sugar, tasting for sweetness as you go. Beat until very smooth, stopping to scrape the bowl of the mixer to ensure an even mixture. Add in the melted white chocolate and beat again until very well incorporated. Add the vanilla. Taste for sweetness and add more powdered sugar if desired. (I used a total of 370 grams, or just over 3/4 pound.)
The frosting will be very soft, so you will need to refrigerate it for about 15 minutes until it is firm enough to use. If it becomes too firm (or if you make it in advance), let it rewarm to room temperature before spreading.
Makes about 4 cups.
Progress on the new planting
Category: Cauquenes vineyardWe were down in Cauquenes for New Year’s Eve, camping out in our remote little corner of the planet. We’ve made a lot of progress on the vineyard, with new water tanks and a piping system that enables us to water the new plants. We had an unusually wet spring, with rain every three to four weeks, so we didn’t need to start irrigating until around December 1st. Water is trucked in to the fill the tanks, and then it takes a crew of four about two and a half days to water the plants manually with hoses. It’s not the most efficient system, but it will get us through the season until we can get a more permanent water solution in place. At any rate, we’re planning on dry farming the vineyard once the plants are established, so we’ll only have to water for the first few of years.
The vineyard generally looks good. The tempranillo and petite sirah cuttings had a good success rate, and most of the new plants are leafing out nicely. The syrah, on the other hand, largely did not take. The good news is that the nursery has guaranteed the plants, so we’ll get replacement cuttings to replant those sections this winter. The bad news is that we’ve lost a year of growth, and we will incur considerable costs in replanting.
La pinta
Category: Aconcagua winemakingThe grapes are starting to turn color in our tempranillo vineyard, a phase called la pinta in Spanish or veraison in French. In English, we sort of bastardize the French term and call it “verasion” (still spelled veraison). In addition to taking on color, the grapes also soften at this point and start producing sugar. Some varieties change over faster than others, but tempranillo takes its time, resulting in some stunning photos. Our vineyard is particularly uneven, as some of the vines were stressed more than others last year. We thus have a few plants that still have hard green berries, while on others the clusters are nearly all plump and purple.
Year-end update
Category: Aconcagua winemakingThe end of the year is a quiet time in the winery. The 2009 lots all finished malolactic in mid-December—later than usual, but not quite as late as last year. The wines will now age in barrel for another year before bottling, with a move up to Viña San Esteban in March to make room in our cellar for the next harvest. The 2008 Limarí blend has been bottled, while the 2008 Aconcagua is in barrel up at Viña San Esteban, waiting to be bottled in late January. The 2006 is almost sold out, and the 2007 has officially been released and is selling in Santiago.
In the vineyard, we had a good fruit set. We are controlling irrigation, aiming for a balance between keeping the vines healthy without promoting too much vigor so the berries don’t plump up too much. Otherwise, we’re just letting the fruit develop until harvest in late March. The cool spring means the vineyard is about ten days behind it’s usual development, so we’re expecting a late harvest.
My favorite tri-tip marinade
Category: Jen's kitchenDecember is a really busy month around here. The kids start their summer vacation around the 10th, Ben’s birthday is the 14th, and of course there are Christmas preparations to arrange. I also have a lot of translating work this time of year, so I don’t get to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Quick and easy is the cuisine of the day.
For dinner tonight (Christmas Eve!) we’re having a big summer grill, with red and yellow peppers, eggplant, red onions, and a whole tri-tip, which is called punta picana in Chile. I have recently discovered a great organic beef producer—only available in Santiago, but with a little planning I can usually have it on hand. This marinade is really easy, and it makes a delicious sauce to serve with the meat. I can’t remember where I found the recipe (a magazine? it was at least ten years ago), so I can’t give credit where credit is due. I’ve only modified it slightly from the original (namely, I cut the sugar in half—it was way too sweet as published), although I do sometimes substitute merquén powder or Thai chili sauce for the Tobasco.
Bourbon marinade for whole tri-tip steak
1/2 cup bourbon
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/teaspoon Tobasco (or other chili powder or sauce)
Combine the ingredients and let sit for ten minutes to let the sugar dissolve. I use a plastic bag for marinating meats—not green, I know, but it’s one of the few things I use them for and it really is a great way to marinate. Add the tri-tip to the marinade and refrigerate. Marinate for several hours (ideally overnight), turning the meat occasionally to ensure even marinating. When you grill the steak, transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and boil until reduced by half. Serve the sauce with the steak.
Homemade yoghurt
Category: Jen's kitchenI started making my own yoghurt a couple of months ago,. Initially I just wanted to reduce our trash—all those little plastic yoghurt containers seemed so wasteful. But making yoghurt is so easy, and the result is so yummy, that it quickly became part of my routine. I’m now making a batch about once every week or ten days.
I had to play around with the recipe a bit. All the recipes in my cookbooks call for powdered milk, so that the yoghurt is thick enough to eat with a spoon. Unfortunately, that also makes the yoghurt taste like powdered milk. I tried eliminating the powdered milk altogether, but the result was very soupy, which is fine for smoothies, but not for serving with fruit or jam. I eventually settled on a combination of boiling the milk to reduce it (thereby concentrating the proteins) and adding just enough powdered milk to help thicken the yoghurt without spoiling the flavor. Boiling the milk also serves to denature (or unwind) the proteins. My first batch came out really slimy, which happens when the milk proteins aren’t unwound. Also note that since it is the protein content, not the fat, that is important for thickening the yoghurt, you can use either low fat or whole milk. Finally, I always use store-bought yoghurt for the starter, as a homemade batch is more likely to be contaminated with unwanted bacteria.
Homemade yoghurt
2 liters (2 quarts) milk
1/3 cup nonfat powdered milk
2/3 cup (one container) yoghurt (with a live culture)
Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy-bottomed pan, then continue simmering gently for 30 to 45 minutes, being careful not to scorch the milk. You can reduce the milk by as much as a quarter. Remove the milk from the heat and allow it to cool to 44 C (111 F). Blend a little of the milk with the powdered milk to make a paste, then blend in about a cup of milk. Stir in the yoghurt, then add the yoghurt mix into the rest of the milk and stir well to incorporate. Pour into clean jars, wrap the jars in a kitchen towel for insulation, and set them in a warm place to ferment, In the summer, I just set the jars in a sunny spot (safe from the cats!). On cooler days, I set them under the heat lamp on the stove. The yoghurt will set in about six hours. The longer the yoghurt ferments, the more sour it will be, so I often leave it for eight or nine hours (overnight).