People often think of Thai food as heavy and intense, the kind of rich, spicy food you’d want simmering on the stove on a cold winter’s night—but not exactly what you’d crave on a sunny day. But there is more to Thai food than the thick curry and greasy stir-fry mainstays of American Thai-restaurant buffets. This summery Thai-inspired menu shows the versatility of Thai flavors with two light and cool dishes, perfectly suited to refresh on even the hottest summer’s day.
The hardest part about cooking Thai food is usually figuring out a balance between salty, sweet, sour and spicy. The recipes below give estimates, but there is no formula—you need to find a blend that works for you. Don’t be afraid to pour and shake using your eye instead of measuring cup. When it comes to chopping veggies, go with however much of each you want to eat. Feel free to experiment and have fun!
Yum Neauh (new-uh)
My most memorable Yum Neauh experience involved a Hmong wedding in the north of Thailand where almost every last part of an entire cow was transformed into a dizzying array of beefy dishes, my favorite being Yum Neauh. The women sat at long picnic tables, peeling bags of garlic, chopping lemongrass and green onions, and pounding chilies for an hour. The meat was seasoned and laid to rest in a marinade, given a little time on the grill, added to a colorful bed of fresh vegetables, and drizzled with a dressing popping a complex and delicious flavor. Enjoy with Airfield’s robust, but easy-drinking Mustang blend.
Dressing:
• 4 Tbsp fish sauce (like salt in baking, fish sauce doesn’t give a fishy or salty flavor but simply helps to enhance other flavors)
• 4 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp chili flakes (more if you like it hot; also consider chopping up 1-2 fresh bird chilies per person)
• 1 Tbsp palm sugar (you can substitute brown sugar)
Salad:
• 1 bag pre-mixed greens
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (use both green & white parts)
• 1 ½ cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 1 bunch mint leaves
• Optional: 1 bunch cilantro leaves
DIRECTIONS
Grill meat to taste using your preferred method. (The meat is typically served quite rare—just charred on the outside, juicy inside.) Once it’s cooked, slice the meat into thin, bite-sized strips. Mix marinade & let the meat rest in it while you prepare the dressing & chop the vegetables. Briefly saute red onions to ease the spice & bring out the sweet notes. Arrange all vegetables in a large bowl or platter, topping with meat. Pour dressing over salad & toss.
Watermelon Soup
This refreshing soup tastes like summer vacation. After all, nothing says summer like cold, pink watermelon, but the Thai flavors add a whole new dimension. Serve with a variety of crunchy garnishes to complement the smooth, cool juice, and the crisp, fruity Rose.
INGREDIENTS
• 2 Tbsp ginger
• About 4 cloves garlic
• 3 stalks of lemongrass (don’t skimp here!)
• 1 shallot
• 1 serrano chile
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 medium watermelon
• 1 cucumber
• Juice of 3 limes
DIRECTIONS
Remove rind and coarsely chop watermelon, reserving a few slices. Puree in food processor, straining puree to get juice. This can be quite messy – be careful not to fill the food processor too full or you’ll end up with juice everywhere. When you’ve obtained all the juice you can, discard solids and grate rind of one lime into the juice. Refrigerate to chill. Dice reserved slices of watermelon and freeze on baking sheet. Mince ginger, garlic, lemongrass, shallot, and serrano chile and saute in oil – preferably Lime Riesling oil from Après Vin, but olive oil will work – until they are soft and golden, roughly five minutes. Add about 2 cups watermelon juice and simmer for five minutes more. Blend this mixture in food processor, then pour into remaining watermelon juice through a strainer, discarding solids. Add lime juice to soup to taste – I prefer about 3 limes. Chill. Serve with diced cucumber and frozen diced watermelon as garnishes. You may want to reserve some of the sauteed red onion made for the Yum Neauh as well. Mint or cilantro sprigs also add a nice touch.
Peru and Chile have a contentious relationship. A friend who spent some time in Peru warned me before I went that being from Chile…or having lived in Chile…or having visited Chile…could get me ostracized in Peru. What could inspire this kind of animosity, you ask? Well, several things. But one of the things that really gets Peruvians riled up is Chile’s habit of “borrowing” some of Peru’s tastiest dishes and trying to pass them off as their own.
The Pisco Sour, for example, is practically the national drink of Chile, even with all its wine (most of which is exported). The drink is made from Pisco, a liquor made from the muscat grape and lime juice. In Chile, we saw them everywhere, even at wineries! Chile has tried to lay claim to the drink on the international scene…but the liquor, and the cocktail itself, are both of Peruvian origin.
Then there’s ceviche. Ceviche is essentially the technique of marinading raw or barely cooked seafood in lime juice, adding goodies like garlic, red onion, hot pepper, and cilantro. There are endless variations but they’re pretty much all an amazing explosion of color and flavor. And while it may be true that no one “owns” the technique itself, asking a Chilean and a Peruvian about the origins and ultimate technique for preparing the dish is bound to ignite a conflict.
After a week in Chile, eating ceviche numerous times in both the Peruvian and Chilean styles, we can’t say which is better—we’ll have to take another field research trip before we decide. But we can say we understand a little better why the two nations would have some conflict over claims to food: if we invented such a tasty dish and someone else tried to take the credit, we’d be mad too.
See for yourself with this version, based on an “authentic” Peruvian version… but if you take credit, like Chile does, Peru never has to know.
CEVICHE RECIPE:
STEP 1
Marinade seafood of choice (try white fish fillet, like tilapia; shrimp; octopus) in about 1 and a half cups lime juice. Key limes best approximate the flavor of the version used in South America, but you can use lemon in a pinch. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.
STEP 2
Drain the juice and add:
• A seeded & chopped aji pepper (yellow); if you can’t find aji, try habanero or rocoto (spicy peppers!)
• 2 large red onions sliced into thin, long strips
• 2 chopped cloves of garlic
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste
• About 1 more cup lime juice
STEP 3
Serve over a bed of lettuce with sides like yams, potatoes, or corn. For a wine pairing, try Airfield Estates Thunderbolt (a dry, crisp, refreshing blend of Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon).
February is, we’re told, time for love.Time for romantic, expensive dinners, for doting gifts, for all the pressure that comes with trying to show someone how much you adore them by how much you can plan or spend.What if, instead of the fancy, fussy, forced Valentines Day displays of adoration, we stepped back and had a relaxing, low-key evening actually celebrating and enjoying the people we love?Not because there’s a recession, and we begrudgingly forego the jewelry and champagne toasts, but because there’s something really lovely and deeply satisfying about staying in, cuddling up, feasting on hearty, homey food with a rich glass of wine?
Sounds pretty good to me.If you want your fancy V-day reservations out on the town, you’re certainly welcome to them.But when it comes time to wind down and focus more on the people in your lives than the fanfare, this simple meal hits the spot.
When I first tried the Airfield Zinfandel, all I could think was “smoked eggplant.”The wine has multiple layers, a deeper note that longs to be paired with the earthiness of eggplant or a wintry green like kale, but also a brighter acidity begging to accompany tomatoes.But the smokiness?Where was I going to find the right flavor to complement that?
Mozzarella, turns out.Smoked mozzarella has a beautiful aroma, of hearth and home, just like the meal.It is a bit browned on the outside and has the creaminess of fresh mozzarella but a nuttiness I associate with, say, browned butter or roasted brussel sprouts.Leftovers are joyous on toast in the morning.
The rest of the recipe is a feast of colors and textures, giving the lie to the notion that winter food is bland and bitter.Start with a cheery yellow corn cake, beautiful by the stack.Cover with sauteed fresh kale, dotted with bacon.Finish with a spicy tomato sauce bedecked in smoked mozzarella.Settle in by the fire (or the space heater) with a bottle of Airfield Zin and a loved one or dear friend for an evening of endearing conversation and affection—proving the best things in life are, after all, (just about) free.
CORN CAKES WITH SAUTEED KALE & SPICY TOMATO SAUCE
Corn Cakes:
1 cup flour
¾ cup coarse cornmeal
¼ cup sugar
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¾ cup plain yogurt + ¼ cup water, mixed
3 Tbs melted butter
3 ½ Tsp baking powder
½ Tsp baking soda
½ Tsp salt
2 eggs
Separate eggs, adding yolks to watered down yogurt, sugar and butter.Whip whites until they form soft peaks.Mix dry ingredients, stirring in the wet and folding in egg whites.Depending on the consistency of the yogurt, you may need to add a bit more liquid to get a good consistency for pancakes, though the finished batter should be fairly thick.I used a very thick yogurt then added 1 Tbsp each cream and water to thin it down.
Make corn cakes as you would any other pancakes, although corn cakes should be a bit thicker.A diameter of roughly 4 inches makes for a good single serving.
Makes approximately 6 cakes.Leftover cakes are wonderful with maple syrup or berries for breakfast; batter keeps 4-6 days.
Sauteed Kale
6 cloves garlic, minced
Enough olive oil to fill bottom of pan in thin layer, approximately 6 Tbsp
1 large bunch kale, washed
4 Tbsp diced bacon (hint: cutting frozen bacon width-wise creates conveniently sized pieces and avoids having to separate pieces of bacon)
4 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 red onion, diced
Fold each piece of kale in half, cutting fibrous center stem out with kitchen scissors.Chop leaves into bite-sized pieces.
Saute garlic in olive oil, taking care not to burn.Reserve approximately ½ the oil & ½ the garlic.Add red onion and cook over medium-low heat until onion is softened and gooey, 5-10 minutes.While onion is cooking, toast pine nuts (hint: set timer for 1 minute, shake, set timer for another minute; when nuts turn color, immediately pour into separate bowl or they’ll keep cooking in the pan, even with the heat off).
Add bacon to pan with onions, allowing to just crisp before adding kale, stirring slightly.Cover for 2-3 minutes to allow kale to absorb liquid and soften, then stir gently.Give it a bit more time if they’re still rough or crisp.Leaves should be bright green and just tender, but not mushy.Sprinkle pine nuts on kale.
Tomato Sauce
You may use your favorite pre-made tomato sauce if you want an easy substitute.Alternately, you can search for the ingredients that made my sauce truly special—or come up with a variety of your own based on what’s local and tasty in your area.I started with a big can of diced tomatoes, roughly 2 cups worth.Canned tomatoes are usually made from tomatoes picked at the height of freshness and it isn’t hard to get cans whose only ingredient is—tomatoes.Considering they’re cheap and keep forever, canned tomatoes are about the perfect food.
To this I added about 1/3 cup of a Middle Eastern pepper sauce, available by the jar—spicy with a hint of vinegar, the paste is packed with red peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and chilies.I also added 1/3 cup fried eggplant, also available by the jar.I further added the remaining garlic and oil, leftover from the kale, salt, pepper, and about 2 teaspoons of an Italian seasoning blend (marjoram, thyme, oregano, basil).
Use tongs to top corn cakes with tong-ful of kale.Cover with a ladle full of tomato and dot with pieces of smoked mozzarella.Microwave briefly to assist with the melting (or put briefly under a broiler).
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and now is the time to start planning your menu and selecting wines to complement your feast. The big question – which wine or wines pair best with Thanksgiving Dinner.
To help answer to this question, Airfield Estates conducted a Thanksgiving Day Dress Rehearsal with our winemaker, owner, and cellar crew — pairing a wide range of our wines with turkey & all the trimmings (see video clip for footage). There are so many different tastes, textures and aromas that uniquely present themselves on Thanksgiving day, and we concluded that there was no one single wine that paired best.
The Lightning (a Rhone style white blend) paired wonderfully with the turkey, while the Mustang (a Rhone style red blend) was excellent with the wild mushroom stuffing, the Foot-Stomped Syrah Rosé paired great with the spinach, pear, & pecan salad, and the crispness of the Unoaked Chardonnay cut through the buttery sweet potato biscuits quite nicely. Overall, the cellar crew selected the Lightning as their top choice.
For your Thanksgiving dinner, we recommend that you do the same. Try selecting a handful of different wines to complement the various components of your meal. By doing this, it also helps cater to the various palates of your dinner guests.
On a cold rainy day, chaotic & busy, full of demands on your time (when you didn’t get much sleep to start with), doesn’t the thought of a soaking in a nice hot, aromatic bath sound wonderful?Perhaps a broth perfumed with orange juice, hearty fall vegetables encircling beef short ribs?What kind of bath did you think I meant? I am talking about braising!
Braising is a busy cook’s bff—for those of you without a teenager in your life, that’s best friend forever.Braising is, at its heart, simmering tough—but flavorful and cheap!—cuts of meat in an even more flavorful liquid.Over time (about three hours) the meat soaks up the flavors from the broth and loosens up until its downright silky.Not that anyone you know has this problem, but hypothetically if you were trying to get someone to eat their vegetables, braising works for that too:the veggies soaking with the meat take on such a rich, luscious texture and flavor you’ll hardly recognize them as healthy.
Braising basics:Arrange large cuts of meat and even, bite sized pieces of vegetables in a pan or heavy pot, just big enough to snugly hold it all.Pour in the liquid so it covers 1/3 to ½ the meat.While the pan is braising keep the liquid at a simmer.If the liquid gets too low during the cooking process, add a little more.Allow it to cook until the meat is ridiculously tender, about three hours, until you can stick a fork into the thickest part with ease.
For a final hurrah, remove the liquid from the pot and reduce in a sauce pan to make a glaze, which you, host(ess) extraordinaire, will sanguinely spoon over generous servings of braised beef, truthfully demurring as you pass plates around, “It was nothing.”
Lightning Braised Beef, adapted from Spice, by Anna Sorton
Usually when you think of a wine for beef, you think red:bright and acidic to cut fat in steak, deep and velvety for a cozy stew.It may come as a surprise, then, that the secret ingredient in this rich and tangy fall braising liquid is none other than Airfield Estates Lightning (50% Viognier, 25% Roussanne, 20% Chardonnay, 5% Marsanne), a refreshing white with the most lovely floral notes.
1. Combine the following to make the braising liquid:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup Lightning
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons tamarind paste dissolved into ½ cup hot water
½ cup brown sugar
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2. Arrange in pan:
3-4 pounds beef seasoned with salt; preferred cuts include short ribs, chuck, brisket, bottom round or blade roast
1 large chopped onion
1 chopped onion
2 chopped potatoes
1 chopped apple
2 bay leaves
Optional:
Layer pan with kale, chard or another dark leafy green; these vegetables become amazingly silky and smooth during the braising process.
Feel free to substitute other vegetables in or out from the base as well; onions, carrots and potatoes are a classic, but the only real limit is your imagination (and what you happen to have laying around in the fridge in need of a second life).For example, I like the way sweet potatoes play off the sweet and tangy braising sauce.
3. Cover the pan tightly with foil and place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.Braise 3-4 hours, removing when meat nearly falls apart when poked with a fork.
4. Remove the liquid-strain or use a baster.Chill until cool so fat rises to the top, then remove the fat.
5. Pour sauce into a shallow saute pan over medium heat, bringing to a boil and reducing until sauce forms a glaze.Serve over meat and vegetables.
Serving Notes:This makes such a rich sauce, I like to serve it with a mild grain that can really soak it up- couscous, quinoa, or rice, seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and lemon zest.
For a bright and eye-popping side dish that perfectly complements Lightning, try this simple dish:Boil cleaned, trimmed wax beans cut in 1 inch pieces in water until just tender, then immediately plunge into cold water.Strain water and toss with olive oil and lemon juice.Chop bacon and heat up in saute pan, adding frozen peas and beans.Season with salt, pepper, and lemon zest.Grate parmesan cheese over beans as they’re served.
I adopted this from an old Gourmet cooking magazine, which in turn adopted it from the house chef of a guest house in Marrakech, Morocco. It may sound exotic, but it is more or less a pot roast with a twist. It doesn’t really require any special ingredients and couldn’t be easier. It is especially perfect to make the day before and have ready when you get home; the flavor deepens overnight. North Africa, here we come!
Into a big stew pot toss:
Lamb shoulder chops (Shoulder chops are a cheap cut of lamb that tenderizes and falls off the bone as it cooks slowly; use one chop per person eating; the ingredients noted below are based on 6)
2 red onions, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cinnamon sticks
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tsps ginger
2 Tsps tumeric
2 Tsps ground cloves (or 1 Tbsp whole cloves, smashed by putting in closed plastic baggie & pounding with the blunt end of a knife)
(The amount of spices is just a suggestion; if you prefer, or don’t, one of these spices, you can adjust the combination to suit your liking–or just experiment!)
Meanwhile, toast 1 pinch of saffron threads on a dry skillet for about a minute on low heat, until fragrant; remove heat and add 2/3 cup Airfields Gewurztraminer. Let stand for another minute, then add to pot. Add water until lamb is just covered. Let simmer for 1 1/2 hours, partially covered.
Stir in:
1/4 cup honey
1 1/4 cup prunes
1 1/4 cup apricots
1/2 cup raisins (I prefer golden)
Feel free to experiment by adding other dried fruit; for example, I have also enjoyed this with figs!
Let simmer another 45 minutes or so, until the sauce is thickened (but still saucy) and the meat is tender.
Meanwhile, toast 3 Tbsp sesame seeds in a dry skillet til golden. Repeat with a handful of blanched almond slivers (about 1/2 cup).
Serve over couscous, sprinkled with sesame seeds and almond slivers.
• 8 Flat Iron Steaks
• Teriyaki Sauce
• 1 cup Ground Espresso Beans
• Salt
• Pepper
Pre-heat the barbecue. Rub steaks with espresso beans, salt, and pepper. Grill steak to desired temperature. Brush steak with teriyaki sauce on both sides, grill 1 minute on each side. Let rest 4-5 minutes before serving.
Pre-heat barbecue to high. Spray the tuna steaks with cooking spray and season w/ salt and pepper. Grill for 3 minutes on both sides & pull from grill, should be cooked medium to medium rare. Cut tuna in slices and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with wasabi and soy sauce for dipping.
Pairs well with Airfield Estates Unoaked Chardonnay.
• 32 pieces of Asparagus (snapped & cleaned) • 1 Tbs. Thyme
• ½ cup Balsamic • Pinch of Salt
• 1 Tbs. Garlic Powder • Pinch of Pepper
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
Combine all ingredients in a zip-lock bag, shake, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Place asparagus on a hot grill, and turn every 2 minutes for 8 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Pairs well with Airfield Estates Thunderbolt (a blend of Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon).
Learn to make delicious Grilled Pineapple Mojitos! They can serve as a delicious appetizer or refreshing dessert. This was the first course at Airfield Estates 2009 Grilled Food & Wine Seminar.
GRILLED PINEAPPLE MOJITOS
(Serves 8 people)
• 1 Fresh Pineapple (cut in long wedges)
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 Lime (Zest)
• 8 Mint Leaves (cut in small pieces)
• ½ cup Pinot Gris
Pre-heat barbecue and mix the sugar, lime zest, and mint in a small plate or bowl for dipping. Lay the pineapple flat side down, grill for 5-6 minutes on one side. Pull pineapple off grill and cut in to pieces. Dip the pineapple in the Pinot Gris, then dip in sugar mixture. Great for a nice hot day.
The recipe is complements of Chef Roger Hazzard from Bon Vino’s Bistro in Sunnyside, WA.
