Quick and Easy with Chevre

by briarcliff, July 21, 2009 | Permalink

Quick and Easy with Chevre

By: John Chumbris

I was having a discussion recently about foods I like to always keep on hand in the kitchen for a quick bite (besides staples such as rice, beans, eggs, etc.) and one of my first thoughts was fresh goat cheese or chevre.

Creamy, rich and versatile, fresh chevre is great to have on hand for a quick salad, spread on some bread or crostini or tossed in a pita with any number of things for a quick sandwich. It’s great stuffed in a chicken breast with herbs and baked. It can be worked into breakfast, lunch or dinner. It also has fewer calories, fat and cholesterol than cow’s milk cheeses; more protein; and is easier to digest, often the only choice for those who are lactose intolerant or have allergies to cow’s milk.

Here in Georgia, we are extremely lucky to have some great local goat cheeses available. Sweet Grass Dairy down in Thomasville  Farm-to-Market slideshow and Fromagerie Belle Chevre in Elkmont, Alabama Farm-to-Market slideshow both produce wonderful, award-winning goat cheeses that arrive to the store soon after they are produced. Sweet Grass’ fresh chevre is mild with a luscious, creamy texture while Belle Chevre’s is a bit drier with a fuller yet still mild creamy flavor. Both are highly recommended.

This time of year I like to cut up some fresh strawberries and soak them in some balsamic vinegar with a little lime juice, herbs (I’ve used mint, basil or even rosemary) and a little sugar to balance out the acidity. While they soak, grab baby greens, crumble in some chevre, maybe add some pecans or walnuts for a quick salad. Spoon out the strawberries over the salad while retaining the liquid in the bowl. This will become your dressing. Add about 2-3 times the amount olive oil to the amount of balsamic liquid left over and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. If it’s too tart for your liking, add a little more oil until you get it to where you like and there you have your dressing.

Fresh chevre is great for breakfast on a bagel or toast with fresh fruit, jam or honey. I also like to spread chevre on fresh bread with a sundried tomato pesto or other savory spread for a quick snack. Quick, easy and satisfying!

So, if you haven’t tried these wonderful local cheeses, stop by and experience them this summer. You’ll be glad you did.

Think Pink for Summer!

by briarcliff, June 27, 2009 | Permalink

Think Pink for Summer!

By: John Chumbris

That’s right, I said it. Think Pink! I’m talking about a great summer wine - Rosé. Like many, I once thought all rosés were sweet and fruity like the ever popular, California white zinfandel or the 70’s Portuguese favorites, Lancers and Mateus. While the Portuguese wines have fallen out of favor in the US (you can still see Mateus billboards in Portugal proclaiming, “Drink Pink!”), white zinfandels are going strong. These days though, a wider variety of rosés are available. The increased interest in recent years has made it much easier to find wonderful dry styles and they remain quite affordable, with most $10-$15.

Rosés can run the gamut from dry and elegant to sweet and fruity; they are incredibly food friendly, playing nice with a variety of foods from light summer salads to burgers or ribs from your backyard grill. Rosés are made from red wine grapes - pinot noir, zinfandel, malbec, grenache, syrah, sangiovese and many others - but are treated more like white wines. After the grapes are crushed, the clear juice is left in contact with the skins for a few days rather than weeks, long enough to pick up a bit of color and flavor but a fraction of the time that would result in a red wine. The variety of grape and how long the juice remains in contact with the skins determines the depth of color and flavors they pick up. The result is a wine with many of the characteristics of a white, with the addition of bright red berries flavors such as strawberry, cherry and raspberry.

The key to its versatility is matching the style of rosé with the food you are serving. With lighter fare, try the Chateau St Martin de la Garrigue Tradition 2008 Coteaux du Languedoc, a blend of syrah and carignan; or the Chateau Routas Rouviere 2006, a 40/30/30 blend of grenache, syrah and cinsault. These lighter, elegant styles have a nice balance of fruit and crisp acidity. With heartier fare off the grill, go for a richer, more lush style such as the Bastianich Rosato, made from the uncommon Italian refrosco grape. More deeply colored than many, it has a full juiciness that will stand up to bigger flavors while remaining crisp and refreshing. Don’t forget the sparkles also! New Mexico’s Gruet Brut Rosé is a fine example of a fruity yet dry sparkling rosé made in the traditional méthode Champenoise style and a deal at under $20.

With 10-12 rosés on the floor at the moment, you’re sure to find a style that suits your taste. We even have a white zin if that’s what suits you. Serve your rosé well chilled but not ice cold. They are a refreshing antidote to the intense summer heat, so what are you waiting for?

Getting Fresh With Porcinis

by briarcliff, June 21, 2009 | Permalink

Getting fresh with porcinis.

By: John Chumbris

As I was leaving the store yesterday, I saw Tim putting out some amazing looking fresh porcini mushrooms. This immediately made me think of a Tuscan style chicken dish I come back to time and time again but usually have to settle for dried porcinis instead. It’s super easy to make you can make it in one pan (always a plus), versatile (you can vary the ingredients to what’s available), and full of flavor.

I use chicken thighs because they pack the most flavor and juiciness, are forgiving to cook and inexpensive. If you don’t have fresh porcinis available you can always use dried (remember to soak them), another flavorful mushroom or a mix. I usually use shallots, but this time of year, I’d use some wonderful local Vidalia onions instead.  For 4 people you’ll need:

8 chicken thighs, skin on

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large Vidalia onion, peeled & quartered

1-2 large fresh porcini mushrooms, sliced ¼” thick

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken broth

1 sprig Rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper and salt for seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season thighs with salt and black pepper. Heat a large ovenproof pan or cast-iron skillet to medium high heat. Add oil and add chicken thighs, skin side down. Cook until skin is golden brown and crispy and remove.

Drain off excess oil, leaving a tablespoon. Over medium heat, add onions to pan and cook for 2 minutes until slightly yellowed. Add sliced mushrooms and cook for 2 min. Add chicken broth, white wine and tsp salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add rosemary sprig and simmer for 5 minutes.

Return chicken thighs to the pan, skin side up and place pan in oven for 15 minutes or until thighs are cooked through. Note: If you don’t have an ovenproof pan, you can transfer to an oven-proof casserole or finish on the stove top.  When cooked through, remove thighs, discard rosemary, spoon out the porcinis and onions onto plates and place thighs on top. Enjoy with an arugula salad and some crusty bread.

—

I had the opportunity to see an advance screening of Food, Inc. this week and I strongly urge anyone who is concerned or wants to learn more about the American food chain to go see it.  It is a powerful statement for change in all aspects of the food chain, from the farm to the table.  It is sure to spark controversy and discussion; and, will hope fully reach far beyond its core audience. Its high production values and concise pacing should make these issues approachable and accessible to a broader range of people.  Let’s hope so.

Beginning an Adventure

by briarcliff, June 13, 2009 | Permalink

Beginning an Adventure

By: John Chumbris

Food is many things to many people – pleasurable, nourishing, scarce, abundant, adventurous or purely functional. For me, food has been all of those things at one time or another, but most of all, what I value most from food is the experience. Not just the experience of eating and cooking, but also of where you are, whom you are with and a lifetimes of memories that are associated with them. Food is best enjoyed with people.

I was thinking about this recently when a large wine company began a nationwide search for a “wine country lifestyle correspondent.” It’s a pretty sweet six-month gig and a local Atlantan, Hardy Wallace, is in the lead. Looking at the process and videos of the applicants got me thinking about a simple, straightforward answer if asked why I like wine.  I came up with some basic reasons, which can be pretty much applied to most food in general.

1)     Simplicity – Wine is basically grapes and yeasts. Cheese is basically milk, salt and rennet or other enzymes. Fresh vegetables and good cuts of meat or fish are often best with just salt, pepper and maybe a few other herbs and spices to enhance the natural flavors. From these simple ingredients comes a broad and wonderfully complex world of flavors. If you start with good ingredients, it doesn’t take much to create good food.

2)     Taste –Seems fairly obvious but some people think more about practical and functional reasons than pleasure. This really applies more to food in general than to wine but I enjoy wine and I prefer enjoying meals rather than just eating and drinking. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just honest and good.

3)     Experience – Many of us think about food in the context of our lives, remembering particular wines or meals by where we enjoyed them and who we were with – a friend’s wedding, family holidays, a trip to Tuscany - more so than the specifics. Foods can evoke strong memories and I often find myself picturing various parts of my life through meals. Those experiences are not just of the person holding the glass though; they are also in the glass. The experience of the grapes – the soil the vines were planted in, the temperatures they endured, the amounts of rain and sun they saw, the process the went through to become wine, whether they aged in wood or steel and for how long. All of these experiences influence the results in the glass. Cheese is similar. I am still fascinated with amazing variety that can come from such humble beginnings.

Growing up in D.C. in the 70’s, I loved watching the Frugal Gourmet and it is what started my fascination with food as a kid. The host, Jeff Smith, often talked about the context of food in culture – the family gathering around the table preparing ingredients; food’s role in society and class; the importance various ingredients to the people growing or picking them. I hadn’t really started cooking much yet but it opened up a new world to me through food. As I started eating out on my own, I sought out at that point still exotic cuisines such as Hunan and Szechuan Chinese. Other cuisines soon followed. I traveled the world through a fork and knife (and chopsticks!). When I started cooking, I don’t think I ever cooked one of his recipes, but his merging of food and culture started a journey that has lead me here – to Whole Foods Market Briarcliff and to writing this blog.

This is the start of a weekly adventure into food. Sometimes I will write about specific foods, wines or the people behind them. Sometimes about ideas, techniques or issues. I hope to broaden your food world as the Frugal Gourmet and many, many others since have broadened mine. It’s a world I love to continue exploring. I’m not sure where this will lead from here but it will be fun finding out. See you next week!

Briarcliff Brew News March Edition

by briarcliff, March 4, 2009 | Permalink

Welcome to the March edition of Briarcliff Brew News. We have some great beers available this month as we look towards spring and some warmer weather. A handful of beers are on sale and a nice collection of new beers are on our shelves.

First off, what’s on sale. Right now we have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale six packs. This pale ale is a classic example of a micro-brewed North American pale ale, a very drinkable balance of hops and malt body. If you are looking for something lighter and not as hoppy, but not lacking character, we’ve got Sam Adams Light, which is also on sale. Atlanta’s own Sweetwater Festive Ale is available for a great deal so make sure to get you hands on some of this great seasonal ale before it’s too late. Two new beers that are also on sale are Fordham’s Copperhead Ale and Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout. Copperhead Ale is a medium bodied beer with little hop character and a smooth malty flavor. For something darker, the Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout is a full bodied beer with dark roasty flavors mixed with vanilla and oaky goodness. If you prefer organic beers, Lamar Street Pale Ale is on special this month. This pale ale is brewed exclusively for Whole Foods Market by Goose Island Brewery, an excellent brewery in Chicago! Finally, for those of you looking to celebrate the season a few friends, we have 12 packs of Full Sail Session and Mini Kegs of Heineken on sale. Two easy drinking beers that every beer lover can enjoy!

Next up, we’ve got the beers that are new to our shelves here at Whole Foods Market Briarcliff.  We have a variety of Otter Creek Brewing beers on our shelves. They include the Vermont Lager, Copper Ale, Stovepipe Porter, and Winter Ale. Come in and try something new from this great craft brewery. Otter Creek Brewing also brews the Wolaver line of organic beers including an Oatmeal Stout and Brown Ale. Glad to have these fine brews in Atlanta! From Abita Brewing we’ve added their Andygator and Abbey Ale. Both of these brews come in 22oz bottles and are “big” beers, as they ring in at 8% alcohol. Come in and grab one (or both) to go with some cheese and find a comfy seat to enjoy! Speaking of big beers, we have Duck Rabbit’s Seasonal Barleywine Ale, which boast all the characteristics of a big beer, huge maltiness and alcohol warmth, beware! Smutty Nose Brewing Company has also made it to Atlanta. Smutty Nose brews award winning ales and now we’ve got ‘em. Try the Smutty Nose Robust Porter, Old Dog Brown Ale, or IPA, and if you can’t decide, pick up a variety sampler 12 packs! Finally we have two new brews from Sierra Nevada. Sierra Nevada released an ESB and an IPA. The ESB is their Early Spring Brew, an American hopped version of the classic ESB style. Our friends at Sierra Nevada also released Torpedo IPA, wonderfully hopped up American pale ale, give it a try!

That’s all for now folks. Remember to check out our mix-a-six shelf as it is always changing with beers from all genres. Also, we’ll be having specials on randomly selected beers for one, maybe two weeks at a time. You never know what it will be, but it will surely be a great deal on a great tasting beer. If you want to catch us in person please feel free to stop by the cheese counter or you can attend our March Beer Tasting on Thursday, March 12^th where we’ll be pouring our St. Patrick’s Day favorites (sign up at customer service). Either way we look forward to seeing you soon!

Willy C and Dr. Jones

Briarcliff Brew News

by briarcliff, January 23, 2009 | Permalink

Greetings from your very own Willy C and Dr. Jones, known to some as Whole Foods Market Briarcliff’s’ very own Specialty Team Members, Andrew Cattell and Milton Jones. Our goal in writing this Brew News Blog is to let you know what beers are new to the shelf, on the horizon, and what we are just plain excited about.

The Holiday Season may be winding down but Milton’s got a long list of beers that are guaranteed to keep you warm and in good spirits. Starting with the local brews, we have huge bottles of Sweetwater Festive, capped in red wax. Terrapin also shares a seasonal brew, Big Hoppy Monster, and it is exactly that. From HeBrew we have the Rejewvenator in 22oz bottles brewed with fig concentrate; we paired it up with brie and it was perfect. Sierra Nevada has two seasonal favorites, Celebration and Harvest Ale. The Harvest Ale has limited availability and is brewed with fresh wet hops right after they are picked so please make sure to grab one! Another limited release we have in stock is Redhook Double Black Stout. This is an imperial stout brewed with coffee and only 30 cases came into the state, somehow Milton got his hands on them, but they are going fast. Speaking of stouts, we have Dogfish Head’s Chicory Stout, a very smooth and drinkable stout. If you like dark beer, you will be glad to hear that we are carrying all four of the regular brews from Duck Rabbit. This includes their Porter, Amber, Brown, and Milk Stout- a truly great beer from North Carolina. From the mountains of Colorado we have Great Divide’s Hibernation Ale, Breckenridge Christmas Ale, and Left Hand Snowbound, which are smooth drinking, well spiced ales. The 34^th installment of the Anchor Christmas Ale is still around and a bit different each year, which adds to the fun of drinking it. Finally from Belgium, Golden Carolus Noel, an artful offering for the holiday times from this classic Belgian brewery. Oh, almost forgot, we’ve also welcomed Yuengling into the state and we’ve got the Black and Tan, the Lager, and the Lager Light, all great beers from America’s Oldest Brewery.

So that’s a quick take of what we’ve got available in the beer cooler right now. We are always up for talking beer, and with so much new product entering the store we have a lot to chat about so drop us a line or visit us in the store. And don’t forget beer pairs well with desserts. Just try Brooklyn’s Chocolate Stout with a favorite after dinner treat and you’ll know what we are talking about.

Cheers!

Willy C. and Dr. Jones