$10 red wines 10ドルの赤ワイン

We have tried quite a few $10 a bottle red wines in the past (from California , Spain, Chile, Argentina, Italy and France) which got high marks (meaning 90 or near it) by wine experts. Every time we were  disappointed (which may be at least partly due to what we look for in a red wine). My sweet spot for red wine or house red wine is between $20-30 a bottle, mostly from California and also Spain and Australia. Our current favorites in this category are “Pessimist” (Petit Sirah, Zinfandel and Syrah  based blend) and “ Cabernet Sauvignon” (both from from DAOU vineyards in Paso Robles), “Black Stallion Cab” (from Napa) and “Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon” (From Clarksburg, CA). 

*We were not sure why this wine is called “Pessimist” initially then we found the following statement on the back label: “a pessimist is never disappointed”, which has some philosophical resonance. 

But, recently, we came across these two $10 red wines through Vivino which are quite good and very drinkable.

In the picture below, the left and center are "Athena Cabernet sauvignon 2019 and 2020" and the right is “Leyth California red” (blend of Petite Syrah and Merlot similar to Pessimist). Both are $10 a bottle and if you buy more than 6 bottles, the shipping is included. I am not sure of current availability, though.

These wines are not flashy but honestly good drinkable wine. We had a chance of vertically tasting 2019 and 2020. We felt 2020 is even better with nice cedary nose.

Chicken spinach curry ほうれん草入りチキンカレー

This is another one of my wife’s curry projects. This is based on a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s  “Quick & Easy Indian Cooking” called Chicken in cilantro, spinach and mustard sauce. Since we did not have fresh cilantro, we omitted it and we added potato based on our belief that potato goes well with almost any curry. We replaced “hot green chili” with Jalapeño pepper. My wife made additional changes as well. This may not be the dish in the book but this tasted very good with a nice creamy sauce.

Ingredients:
3 bay leaves
6 cardamon pods
1 inch stick cinnamon
5 whole cloves
2 or 3 onions chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup greek yogurt
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
2 Jalapeno peppers, deveined, seeded and chopped finely
Package of fresh spinach
3 tablespoons of grainy mustard
4 chicken thighs
Generous handful of cilantro tops (optional)

chicken broth as needed if the sauce gets too thick or starts to scorch

Directions:
Gather together the spices and ingredients (#1 & #2). Combine the yogurt and mustard and set aside. Put the bay leaves through cloves in a pan with hot peanut oil. Fry until the bay leaves start to brown and the spices become fragrant. (Remove the cardamon pods and cloves. The bay leaves and cinnamon can stay because they are big enough not to be eaten by accident.) Add the raisins to the hot oil. (Frying the raisins really transforms them. They puff up and their flavor becomes more intense.) Add the onions and fry until they are soft and slightly brown. Add the jalapeno and ginger and fry a few minutes. Add the yogurt/mustard combination with the salt and cayenne pepper. Mix until the sauce is distributed. Nestle the chicken into the sauce, add the potatoes and makes sure they are all covered in the sauce. Lastly add the spinach (#3). Cover and simmer gently until the spinach has wilted into the sauce. (#4). Gently simmer for about 1 hour until the potatoes and chicken are cooked through. (If the sauce gets too thick or starts to scorch dilute it with some chicken broth.)

This is a really good curry. It was different from the previous curries. The raisins give it a deep fruity flavor which contrasts with and is offset by the vinegary sharpness of the mustard. It results in a really nice kind-of sweet and sour combo. The Yogurt makes the sauce very rich and creamy. The potatoes absorb the flavor of the spices and also add to the creaminess of the sauce. The spinach adds additional texture and a slight bitterness on the tongue. Another great choice for lunch or dinner. 

Octopus leg from D'artagnan ダルタニアンからのスペイン産タコの足

I am fond of octopus and I’m always on the look out for a good and  reliable source. Our Japanese grocery store usually has it but I’m not going there as often as before. Our “tried and true” source is Catalina offshore products has frozen package of octopus for octopus leg from Japan. When I checked this time, however, only whole octopus was available.  We tried several other sources but they are were not always reliable. We recently tried Great-Alaska seafood which sold "Boiled Spanish Octopus". This was not bad and came two legs in a package frozen so it is just the right amount; however, it is a bit too soft/mushy. I made "Yawaraka-ni" やわらか煮 or tender simmered octopus which worked really well. This time, while we were reordering duck breast and lamb loin from D'artagnan we found that they also sell frozen Spanish octopus legs and decide to give it a try. One evening, I thawed one leg and tried it with sumiso dressing (on the right in the picture below) along with some cold chawan-mushi 茶碗蒸し topped with ikura (shrimp, chicken and nameko mushroom are in the chawan-mushi).

Since this was just a try, I only served three slices with cucumber in sweet vinegar.

Interestingly, the texture of this Spanish octopus is just right and to our liking-slightly chewy, not mushy or as toughly chewy as Japanese style octopus can be. It also tasted fresh. If D'artagnan keeps an inventory of octopus, this is another source. (We really liked the lamb loin we got from them which is a subject of another post.)

Potato mozzarella croquet モッツァレラチーズいりコロッケ

My wife was inspired to make these cheese croquets after viewing a similar dish on Webspoon (Youtube). Of course, ingredients and directions are hard to remember since there appears to be no written recipes for Webspoon. This recipe (as shown on the web site) was mashed potatoes with some starch, salt and grated parmesan cheese added. Mix and make discs, place mozzarella  cheese on one disc and cover it with another to make cheese enclosed by potato and fry it. My wife decided to make this dish and as usual took the web recipe as advisory. For the potatoes, she used her gnocchi recipe. The picture below shows the result; crusty outside, soft creamy potato with melted mozzarella cheese oozing out. This is a good version. As usual, I will ask my wife to take over. 

Ingredients:

16 oz. of mashed potatoes* (3 cups) 
4 oz. of AP flour (3/4 cup)
1 egg
1 tsp. salt

Low-moisture while cow’s milk Mozzarella cheese

*The mashed potatoes are made from russet potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil cooked in the Weber when we cook either pork or chicken. My wife then removes the potato skins, mashes them in a bowl and adds about 1/2 stick of butter, 1/4 cup cream cheese and chives, salt and drippings from barbecued meat. (These are pretty luscious mashed potatoes as is, especially wrapped in crispy chicken skin.)

Directions:
Put the potatoes through a potato ricer to remove any remaining clumps not previously mashed. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until it forms a dough. (Shown in the bowl in #1. You may need to add more flour until the dough forms.) Form a patty and put it on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Put the cheese (also shown in the lower right in #1) on the patty. Take another clump of potato mixture put it on top of the cheese covered patty and seal the edges. After the patties are formed dredge them in flour (#2). Fry the patties in peanut oil (#3) until they are golden brown (#4). 

These are a great way to eat potatoes. The potatoes themselves have great flavor from the cream cheese, butter and barbecue meat drippings. They have a nice crispy outside texture and a soft creamy interior. Also, there is no way to go wrong with the added feature of cheese oozing out. They also crisp up nicely in the toaster oven. 

Carrot soup with shrimp エビ入り人参スープ

 This is an impromptu dish I made one weekend for lunch. We bought a bottle of carrot juice sometime ago with the intension of making the carrot curry shrimp dish. But I did not have a chance to make it and the carrot juice passed “used best by” date by a few weeks. Not to be deterred by a “hypothetical (?)  best by” date wife cautiously tasted it and declared it perfectly good. She suggested using it to make a carrot soup. So, I came up with one based on what we had in the refrigerator.  I added boiled shrimp to the soup and served it with a potato muffin my wife made some time ago.

I made the soup the day before I served it. When I served it I added some cream and warmed it up. My wife suggested adding shrimp which was in line with the carrot shrimp curry we were originally planning to make. This was a perfect suggestion since we had frozen shrimp which was also past its “best by” date. The shrimp was shell-on. I gently poached them shell on in salted water with some sake then removed the shell. I garnished the soup with chives.

This is not following any recipe and I just winged it.


Ingredients:
450ml (15.2oz) bottle of carrot juice
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small cubes/coins
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into small cubes/coins (I added this because I had it and it was passing it’s peak)
2 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped finely
1 cup (or just enough to cover the vegetables) chicken broth
1tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

6 shrimp, poached and shelled (optional)

Directions:
Add the olive oil in a pan on medium flame, add the onion and cook for several minutes or until soft but not browned. Add the carrot, parsnips, potatoes and ginger. Add the chicken broth to just cover the vegetables. Simmer for 30 minutes or more until all the vegetables are soft. Add the carrot juice and cook for a few more minutes. Using either a food processor or immersion blender, process until the soup is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.


Just before serving, add the cream to your liking and warm it up. Add whatever topping and garnish.

This was a good soup especially since I made it not using any recipe. We did not taste the ginger but the taste of parsnips came through. There was enough carrot flavor to tell this was a carrot soup. It went well with the potato muffins and was perfect lunch.

Chicken curry with navy beans ネイビー豆入りチキンカレー

This is another one of my wife’s curry projects. This is a chicken curry based on a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s “Quick and Easy Indian Cooking.” The original recipe calls for lentils but we did not have any. So my wife used canned navy beans. The addition of navy beans really worked adding a creamy texture to the sauce. My wife put just enough “heat” in addition to all the other spices. One of the best curries she made.

Ingredients: (shown below with little easter bunny to commemorate the season)
6 tbs. Oil
3 bay leaves
5 whole cloves
6 cardamon pods
1 cinnamon stick about 2 inches long

2 or 3 onions diced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1/2 tsp. Turmeric
2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp. Lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
12 cherry tomatoes
1 can of white navy beans
6 oz. Green beans cut into 1 inch lengths
4 chicken thighs

Directions:

Put the ingredients from the oil to the cinnamon stick in a frying pan and heat until the bay leaves turn dark and the other spices bloom and become fragrant. Remove all the whole spices except for the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. (These can stay because they are easy to spot and there’s no chance someone might eat them by accident.) Add the onions to the spiced oil and cook until they start to brown slightly. Add the garlic and cook (careful not to burn). Next add the turmeric through lemon juice and cook until they bloom and become fragrant. Then  add and bloom the next spices—cumin seeds though cayenne pepper. Add the green beans, navy beans and tomatoes. Stir them into the sauce. Add the chicken and turn it over until coated in the sauce. Nestle into the sauce leaving it skin side down. Cover and cook gently on simmer for about 30 minutes. Then turn the chicken over and coat with the sauce. Continue cooking until the chicken is done about another 30 minutes for a total of 1 hour cooking. 

This was truly one of the best curries my wife has made. The beans absorbed the spice flavor and partially dissolved into the creamy sauce with some left whole to add a texture element. The spices provided layers and depth of flavor. The cayenne added just the right amount of zing to provide an interest that slowly built on the tongue. The chicken was flavorful and tender. This will become a regular in our repertoire. 

Hot cross buns 2022 ホットクロスバン 2022

It has been customary every year when Easter approaches, for my wife to make hot cross buns  (mostly without the sugar frosting cross, because the buns are sweet enough without it). This year was no exception. This year the recipe came from the heavy hard covered cookbook called “Bouchon Bakery Cookbook”. To me, this one looked like the most complicated recipe for hot cross buns I’ve seen my wife make over the years. Nonetheless it tasted very good and had a very nice texture.

This recipe calls for a lot of butter and multiple foldings. You can sort of see the multi-layering on the curt surface.

Ingredients: (#1)
Flour 372 g (2 1/2 cups)
Yeast 8 g (2 3/8 tsp)
Sugar 44 g (3 tbs. + 2 tsp)
Salt 9 g (1 1/2 tsp.)
Eggs 186 g (2 eggs)
Whole milk 63 g (1/4 cup)
Butter 167 g (5.8 oz) cut into small cubes
Raisins 122 g (3/4 cup)
Dried cranberries 61 g (1/2 cup)
1 tsp. Vanilla

Ingredients doubled:
Flour 744 g
Yeast 16 g (4 3/4 tsp)
Sugar 88 g (7 tbs. + 1 tsp)
Salt 18 g (3 tsp.)
Eggs 372 g (4 eggs)
Whole milk 126 g (1/2 cup)
Butter 334 g (11 oz) cut into small cubes Raisins 244 g (1 1/2 cups)
Dried cranberries 122 g (1 cup)
2 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:
Combine the fruit in a bowl and pour 2 cups of boiling water over it. Let sit for 5 minutes then drain and pat dry with paper towel. Set aside. Add all the other ingredients but the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix until a paste-like dough forms. Add the butter a piece at a time and incorporate into the dough. (At this point it will look like that will never happen since there seems to be more butter than flour mixture to incorporate it into.) When all the butter is incorporated mix on speed 2 for 7 to 10 minutes. Pat the dough into a rectangle and spread the fruit evenly over it (#2). Fold the dough into thirds as an envelope fold. Press the dough out into a rectangle again. Turn the dough 180 degrees and do another envelope fold. Press into a rectangle, turn and fold again (#3). Pat into a loaf and place in a lightly oiled bowl turning to coat with the oil and placing it seam side down (#4). Cover and put in proofing box at 75 degrees and let rise for 45 minutes. Remove from bowl and repeat 2 more folds. Return to bowl to rise another 45 minutes. Remove from bowl and divide into 12 equal portions, (24 equal portions for doubled recipe). Roll the divided portions into bun shape and place evenly spaced on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (Next time I will just cut into squares. This will require less working of the dough and make the number of folds more evident in the final product). Cover the pan and let rise until rolls are touching each other. Coat with egg wash and bake in 350 degree oven for 18 to 22 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.

These were indeed fairly complicated muffins. The hardest part was incorporating all the butter. At one point it looked like it wouldn’t happen. But it did. The muffins themselves are luxurious. The texture is dense but very soft. The numerous foldings made very fine layers. They were sweet but not too sweet. (They would have been sweeter if we had added the icing). The fruit adds another texture and a slight vanilla flavor. These are really quite something and worth the effort.