The arrival of fall is a felicitous time when Northwest cooks head back to their kitchens to welcome the season's bounty of Dungeness crab and shellfish; game meats, pork and beef; hearty greens; walnuts and hazelnuts; apples and pears.
Our felicitous fall feast begins with Blue Cheese Mussels, a recipe from Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining (Wiley, 2007) that's a signature dish at Voilą! Bistro in Seattle.
Begin by adding one-quarter cup each of good-quality blue cheese (crumbled), heavy cream and dry white wine to a stockpot, along with six tablespoons of chopped white onion and a dash of salt and pepper. Bring just to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and add two pounds of Penn Cove or Mediterranean mussels (scrubbed and debearded). Cover and cook four to six minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to redistribute the mussels. Remove the opened mussels to a bowl and continue cooking two to four minutes, or until all the bivalves open. Arrange the mussels in a large serving bowl and pour on the sauce.
Serve the mussels with Sawtooth Winery 2005 Merlot ($13) from Idaho's Snake River Valley. With big berry aromas and flavors of dark cherries and currants (cassis!) and hints of leather, this supple, long-finishing wine makes a mighty match with the earthy mussels and bold blue-cheese sauce.
Spinach Salad with Warm Apple Vinaigrette and Hazelnuts, adapted from 365 Main-Course Salads (HarperCollins Publishers, 1997), is a hearty second course. Make it by cooking eight slices of bacon until crispy. Pour off all but two tablespoons of the fat from the skillet, add one medium onion (chopped) and cook until slightly softened. Add one-and-one-half cups of apple juice and two tablespoons of cider vinegar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the liquid reduces to one-half cup.
Remove from the heat and whisk in two tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of Dijon mustard. In a large bowl, combine eight cups of torn fresh spinach and two tart apples (diced). Drizzle on the warm dressing and toss until the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the cooked, crumbled bacon and one-quarter cup of chopped, toasted hazelnuts.
Immediately serve the warm salad with Morrison Lane 2005 Cinsault (Walla Walla Valley, $27). Although deep rose-like in color, the wine is medium in body, displaying intense raspberry flavors along with a hint of spice. It will stand up nicely to, but not overwhelm, the bridge ingredients in the salad: bacon, hazelnuts, apples, Dijon mustard.
Verjus-Glazed Pork Chops, a recipe from Hilda Jones - co-proprietor with husband, Earl, of Abacela Vineyards & Winery in southern Oregon's Umpqua Valley - forms our fall feast entree. Begin by dusting four pork chops with panko (Japanese) bread crumbs. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, saute the chops until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Deglaze the pan with three-quarters of a cup of verjus (VEHR-zhoo), a k a verjuice, an acidic juice made from unripe grapes that's similar to lemon juice or vinegar, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the verjus begins to thicken, remove the pan from the heat, pour the glaze over the meat and sprinkle lightly with kosher or sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and chopped flat-leaf parsley.
Serve the chops with Abacela Vineyards & Winery 2006 Dolcetto (Southern Oregon, $20). This hearty wine exhibits a boatload of ripe fruit (berries, plums, dark cherries) in a deep, concentrated style. It's aged in neutral-oak barrels, which allows the character of this Piedmontese grape (whose name translates as "little sweet one") to really shine through.
Our fall feast finishes with Pear Brulee, a recipe from the Pear Harvest Cookbook (Pear Bureau Northwest). Begin by microwaving one-and-one-quarter cups of milk at high (100%) power for two minutes or until heated through. Beat two eggs with three tablespoons sugar, then beat in the milk. Microwave, covered, on high for one-and-one-half minutes. Beat 30 seconds. Microwave on high one minute longer. Beat once more and microwave 30-60 seconds. The mixture will be slightly thickened and foamy. If the mixture looks curdled, beat until smooth. Stir in two tablespoons of orange-flavored liqueur. Refrigerate until chilled.
Meanwhile, brush two Bartlett pears (cored, peeled and sliced) with orange juice. Arrange the slices in four microwave-safe and ovenproof ramekins; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave two dishes on HIGH 5 to 7 minutes or until the pears are tender. Repeat with the remaining dishes. Places dishes on a baking sheet. Spoon the milk mixture around the pears. Sprinkle with six tablespoons raw sugar or packed brown sugar and grated orange peel. Broil until the sugar melts and browns.
Pair the brulee with the irrepressible Domaine Ste. Michelle NV Frizzante (Columbia Valley, $14), a slightly sweet sparkler that will tickle your senses with its pear and candy-apple notes, elegant bubbles and refreshing finish. Frothy Frizzante forms a felicitous finish for any fall feast!
Braiden Rex-Johnson has been writing about Pacific Northwest food and wine for 18 years. She is the author of seven books, including Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining (Wiley, 2007). Read her blog, Northwest Notes, online at NorthwestWiningandDining.com.
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