Monday, Sep. 01, 2003

Improvisation

By Eric Degerman

Two Northwest chefs jazz up their cooking with the dry notes of a Quails' Gate Riesling

Quails' Gate Estate Winery's 2002 Family Reserve Riesling

Each issue, Wine Press Northwest sends a bottle of Northwest wine to two chefs and asks them to match a recipe to it. In this issue we used Quails' Gate Estate Winery's 2002 Family Reserve Riesling.

This special release, which retails for $23 Canadian, spotlights notes of citrus (lime, lemon) and orchard fruits (apples, pears, peaches), yet Ashley Hooper still managed to finish it in a dry Germanic style.

Red Feather Lounge Boise, Idaho

There can be no doubt that Boise is one of the most happening cities on the Northwest wine scene.

And it's not by happenstance that the Red Feather Lounge, since opening in December 2002, has quickly developed into a stage for corporate chef David Root to showcase his creations alongside those of the Northwest's top winemakers.

"I was very surprised," said Eric Dunham of Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla, Wash. "I hadn't been to Boise or the restaurant before, and the food was pretty amazing. I must do about 100 (winemaker) dinners a year — well, that's exaggerating a bit — but that one definitely stands out for the quality of food and the pairing and the very educated staff."

And then there's the setting for the winemaker dinners, which have included the likes of Chris Camarda (Andrew Will) and Adam Campbell (Elk Cove). The lounge portion of the Red Feather Lounge features a bi-level display case for the wine inventory.

"I can't lie," admits David Krick, owner/proprietor of the Red Feather Lounge and the Bitter Creek Alehouse, the latter established eight years ago next door. "I've been to Aureole's in Vegas at least a dozen times, so we definitely got some ideas from there."

Aureole's features a 42-foot glass wine tower in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino that employs "wine angels" to work the inventory, said to include perhaps the largest selection of Washington wines in the world.

"I wanted our bartenders to get to the wine cellar quickly," Krick said. "As we developed that access, we had to have some room for winemaker dinners, and the cellar basement made it a lot bigger. Because we needed space for access, we put the display case above the basement as well.

"We've got quite a bit of exotic lighting and the acrylic racks are lit blue. The storage temperature is about 62 or 63 degrees. I would like it to be a little cooler, but I also want people to dine down there in the basement."

Both form and function are served. And the combination makes a lasting impression.

"The ambiance is pretty cool with that spiral staircase," Dunham said.

Yet, there's substance to those wine racks, much of it from the Northwest, including some from Idaho winemakers Stephen Meyer (Pend d'Oreille), Brad Pintler (Sawtooth) and Kirby Vickers.

"And they are very supportive of Washington wines and Oregon Pinot Noir," Dunham said. "They have some of the fun products and culty deals from Oregon, California and Washington."

Indeed, Krick and wine manager Jeff Moore would seem to be fanatics about Andrew Will wines. Moore's list includes 25 different bottlings from Camarda.

"Chris just loves us, but I'm not quite sure how we got all those wines," Krick said. "We felt very fortunate to get him to come do a winemaker dinner."

That's where Root's reputation and talents come in to play.

Root, like Krick, graduated from high school in Boise, where he began his culinary career "in a bakery flipping donuts." In time, the trumpet blower gave up one dream as a jazz musician to fulfill another dream as a chef, going on to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 1986. He spent time in New York and Europe before returning home in 1995 to open his own restaurant called Desert Sage.

Krick and Root's friendship started when Desert Sage shared an alley with one of Krick's establishments. "We spent many hours in the alley talking about the restaurant business," Krick said.

When Krick was set to open the Red Feather Lounge, he lured his former cycling buddy, who had left for Santa Fe, N.M., back to Boise.

While at Desert Sage, twice in five years Root was nominated to cook at the James Beard House in New York, and he received acclaim in Bon Appetit as well as ranking among the country's top 10 new chefs in Food and Wine magazine.

"I've always felt that jazz music came out in my food in the improvisation and how I design my food," Root said. "I reach for the senses."

Remarkably, he relies entirely on his nose while evaluating wine.

"I haven't drunk in 18 years," Root said. "I only smell the wine. I found that I can tell if a wine is dry, if it has a long finish or short finish. If you taste the wine, you can lose the aromas."

Krick continues to marvel at Root's sensory evaluations. "He has an incredible ability to pick things out just by smelling them."

And Root came up with a Match Maker for Quails' Gate Estate Winery's 2002 Family Reserve Riesling that incorporates two ingredients that have never been part of this series — lobster and foie gras.

"I used to live in Germany, and found it to be very European in style," Root said. "There's a tiny bit of petrol, but not like some hard-core German wines.

"I think Americans would really like this one," Root added. "It didn't have the sweetness to it, so I figured that it would hold a little spice to it. It has the basic fruitiness of a Riesling, more apricots rather than peaches, but with the timing of the peaches around here in Boise right now, I decided to go with peaches because I thought it would complement the wine. And there's a little bit of grain in the smell, so I chose wild rice."

Red Feather Lounge, 246 North 8th Street, Boise, ID, 83702, 208-429-6340, www.redfeatherlounge.com

Buttered Poached Maine Lobster with Wild Rice-Cippolini Onion Pancakes, Just picked White Peaches and Hudson Valley Foie Gras

Serves 4 Ingredients: 2 whole Maine lobsters (11⁄2 pounds each) 2 pounds unsalted butter fresh chive sprigs for garnish Directions: - Place lobsters into a sauce pot with 1 1/2 gallons of water. Heat to a simmer and then add the lobsters into the pot. Leave them there for around 4 minutes and then remove them saving the water.

- Remove the tail portion by twisting the tail shell off and then remove the claws the same way. Save the body and replace the claws back into the water for another 3 minutes. Remove and cool.

- When shells are cool, remove the meat from the tail and the claws without breaking the meat.

- Melt butter slowly and while the butter is still melting add the lobster and finish the cooking process till lobster is firm but still tender. Make sure you do not let this part boil or even simmer. To keep the lobster tender you must keep the heat low.

To serve:

-Stack the pancakes (see recipe below) onto the middle of each plate. Place the 1⁄2 tail section onto the pancake and follow with the claw meat.

- Add the cippolini onions that were set aside and three pieces of the peaches that were set aside onto each plate.

- Gently pour the peaches/foie gras sauce over the lobster and around the fruit. Garnish with fresh chive sprigs.

Wild Rice-Cippolini Onion Pancakes

Serves 4

Ingredients: 8 medium cippolini onions, lightly roasted 1 plum tomato, blanched, peeled and small dice 1 clove garlic, minced 3 basil leaves finely sliced 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup cooked wild rice 1⁄2 teaspoon soy sauce 1 whole egg, beaten salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons oil

Directions:

- To roast the onions, toss them in some oil and salt, then bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

- Take four of the roasted cippolini onions and slice in half sideways, reserving the tops to serve at the end.

- Take the four bottoms and small dice then sauté with the tomato, garlic, and the basil in the butter. Remove from the heat and pour into a small mixing bowl.

- Add the rice, soy sauce and beaten egg. Mix well and then season with the salt and the pepper.

- Heat oil in a sauté pan until medium hot and place the rice mix in 16 even piles to shape the pancakes. Flip after 2 minutes and when firm through place on a plate till service.

Just-picked White Peaches and Hudson Valley Foie Gras

Serves 4

Ingredients: 6 oz. foie gras, cut in 1⁄2 inch dice 1 teaspoon minced shallots 2 white peaches, lightly roasted to soften and sliced into 12 wedges (6 per peach) 3 tablespoons Makers Mark bourbon 2 tablespoons reduced apple juice 2 tablespoons lobster stock or 2 tablespoons unsalted chicken broth 1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar 4 ounces cold unsalted butter, diced Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

- Heat a sauté pan hot and add the foie gras. Sear well and let melt, then add the shallots and the peaches.

- Toss together and then flame with the bourbon. Add the juice, rice wine vinegar and the stock, simmer for 30 seconds and let cool slightly.

- When the pan is still medium warm, add the butter and swirl till emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Granny Bogner's, Penticton, British Columbia

They might not have a direct translation for "If it's not broken, don't fix it" in German, but Peter Hebel adopted that business approach four years ago.

That's when Hebel moved back to Canada and took over Granny Bogner's Restaurant in Penticton, British Columbia.

As fate would have it, the German classically trained chef bought the historic home from another German chef — Hans Strobel.

"I've got some items on the menu that Hans had before," Hebel said. "I've never gotten into the trendy food. For some, it's Tex-Mex one year; the next year it's Asian Fusion. I've always kept it basic but good. Penticton is not a cosmopolitan place."

And another constant has been sous chef Binh Dinh.

"He's been with me for five years now, and he was with Hans for 10 years," Hebel said. "He's hard working, and he's a good guy. I'm quite happy to have him around."

Within two years of Hebel's arrival in the Okanagan Valley, critics took notice. Okanagan Life Magazine named Granny Bogner's as both Best European Restaurant and Best Romantic Dining.

And in 2002, Hebel earned Wine Press Northwest's award for Best British Columbia Wine List.

"There are a lot of good winemakers in the valley," Hebel said. "And there's more technology in the wineries now a days, so if you have good grapes and good winemakers, you should have good wines."

Hebel, who spent much of his professional career on cruise liners around the world, didn't know a great deal about B.C. wines or the Okanagan Valley until his arrival. He apprenticed in Germany at Waldhotel Sonnora, a Michelin three-star resort near Cologne.

"There were 30 seats and 10 chefs," Hebel recalled. "This was 10 years or so ago, but dinner was 150 marks or $200 a person. It was a very interesting part of my cooking career."

His resumé also includes Swiss ski resorts, a stint in Egypt, caterings that involved flights to New York City, and a job in the Maritimes. Later came a year at the Post Hotel in Lake Louise, Alberta.

"It's pretty cold in the winter there, so I looked around Edmonton and didn't find anything that I wanted, so I went back to Germany," Hebel said.

While back home, he came across Strobel's ad in a German restaurant newspaper.

"I was working in Cologne and looking for my own place," Hebel said. "There was a restaurant at home, but I didn't want to take it over."

As it turned out, Strobel and Hebel could relate to each other. Strobel also started out cooking at home before working on cruise ships.

"After our second visit, he tells me his story and I tell him mine," Hebel said. "It is the same story except that he's 30 years older than me."

Sadly, it was the health of Hans' wife, Angela, that prompted the sale of Granny Bogner's. In 1976, they bought the house, which was built in 1915. By 1977, their renovations were complete and they opened it as a restaurant named after Hans' grandmother, who owned a hotel in the Black Forest where Hans began his career.

"We're really good friends," Hebel said. "He's still stops over and keeps an eye on the outside garden, and we've taken a couple of trips together."

Typically, they've done that in January as Hebel continues Strobel's tradition of closing Granny Bogner's for the month. And Hebel, 36, recently included Sundays as a day when the restaurant isn't open, much to the disappointment of U.S. wine tourists looking for a fabulous meal to cap the weekend before heading south across the border.

"I have to find something (as a hobby)," Hebel said. "I don't have much time for any social life. I like to just drive around to the wineries. I'm not a sporting guy. I should start doing something, but when you work that late, you don't want to wake up early and go to the gym. I just want to sit down and have a glass of wine."

It's gotten easier and more rewarding for Hebel to find enjoyable wines "just within a 10-minute radius," he said. "All the wines on the list are ones that I like. There's not one wine I wouldn't order myself."

And he doesn't discriminate. "You need some of the big wineries on the list, Mission Hill and Burrowing Owl, because people know their name and they are selling," Hebel said. "But I try to support the small guys — like La Frenz and Red Rooster — because they are producing good wines. Scherzinger makes good Gewürztraminer, and Blue Mountain has one of the best Pinot Noirs in the valley. It just shows that you don't have to be VQA (a member of the province's Vintners Quality Alliance) to be good, even though some of the tourists who come in say, 'It's got to be VQA to be good.' "

Among the wineries represented at Granny Bogner's is Quails' Gate, which is on quite a roll. (See Recent Releases, which start on Page 74.) We selected the Family Reserve Riesling 2002, which comes from 30-year-old vines and was produced in the tradition of German Auslese wines. It's a dry Riesling, logging in at zero on Canada's sweetness code.

"In Germany, our Rieslings we keep them really dry," Hebel said. "That's the way they should be, but then nobody in North America would buy it. They are a little sweeter in North America to please the customers, almost like a Gewürztraminer."

The dryness of this wine, however, led Hebel to grilled halibut that incorporates the Riesling into his mango/papaya salsa.

"It was a great wine," Hebel said. "I really enjoyed it."

Granny Bogner's Restaurant, 302 Eckhardt Ave. W, Penticton, B.C. 250-493-2711. www.grannybogners.com.

Grilled Halibut with Quails' Gate Riesling, Mango & Papaya Salsa on a Bed of Sweet Mashed Potato and Fresh Garden Vegetables

Serves 4

Ingredients: 4 6-oz. halibut fillets 2 tablespoons lime juice lemon pepper salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste Directions:

- Season halibut with lime juice, lemon pepper, salt and fresh ground pepper.

- Cook on grill until medium rare.

- Serve with Mango & Papaya Salsa, Mashed Sweet Potato and Fresh Garden Vegetables (see recipes below).

Mango & Papaya Salsa Serves 4 Ingredients: 1⁄2 mango 1⁄2 papaya 1⁄4 red pepper 1⁄4 green pepper 1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped 1 lime, squeezed into juice 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar Tabasco Sauce, a few dashes 1⁄4 cup Quails' Gate Riesling salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

- Dice mango and papaya into small cubes.

- Chop red and green peppers.

- Mix above ingredients and add cilantro, lime juice, Tabasco sauce, and wine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mashed sweet potato

Serves 4

Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes 2 Russet potatoes 1⁄2 cup milk 4 tablespoons butter 1 pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

- Peel potatoes and boil, then mash together.

- Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

- Add some butter and milk at end to taste.

Fresh Garden Vegetables

Serves 4

Ingredients: fresh vegetables butter salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

- Choose fresh garden type vegetables.

- Blanche the vegetables and sauté in butter. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

- Arrange nicely on the plate.

Eric Degerman is Wine Press Northwest's associate editor.

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