Grapescape's Blog

Big Green Egg

grapescape — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:54:08 +0000

I have been trying to cook a little more but my son still hates sleeping so my efforts have been weak and sporadic. For the 4th of July holiday weekend, I thought it would be Un-American to not roast something over an open fire so I dusted off my medium-sized Big Green Egg and smoked a short rake of pork ribs. All and all, I think they turned out well. I didn’t make my own rub or BBQ sauce which is a bit of a cop-out but some cooking is better than no cook.

Below are some issues that I have recurrently with the Big Green Egg.

Let me start by saying I love the Big Green Egg. It is a great smoker and holds heat for high temperature cooking that a Weber kettle grill can’t match. There is a cool factor with the egg too making it a conversation piece and elicits knowing nods from folks that love to grill.

Part of my problem with the egg is my lack of experience in controlling the oxygen flow to produce stable temperatures. To me, this seems more art than science and I think it will take me years to master it. One can adjust the bottom sliding door or the removable top to control the amount of air that goes into the grill. Adjusting the top is imprecise at best and requires caution if one wants to maintain the structural integrity of said top (I have seen more than one cracked in several places.) The sliding door on the bottom of the egg is easier to use and more precise but I have yet to master it.

My biggest problem with the Big Green Egg is the grilling surface. On the medium grill, it’s just too small. It gets crowded quickly making an ordinarily tricky flipping process (there is a large lip between the grill surface and the top of the lower half of the egg) almost impossible. For a grill that looks very large, the thick ceramic construction takes up much more surface area than one might think. There is little room for anything more than your protein and charcoal. One can buy two sizes larger than the medium grill but they are not cheap.

I love the Big Green Egg but, in all honesty, need to use it more to justify having one. I suppose that is a happy problem to have. Would I recommend it? Yes and no. If a serious grillman is considering it and has been let down by the smoking capabilities of a kettle grill, then this is a great option. If one is looking for an all around grill for casual use, stick with a kettle or gas grill.

2004 Paumanok Dry Riesling

grapescape — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:41:55 +0000

My wife and I made a trip out to Long Island (http://www.liwines.com/) to visit the vineyards shortly after we were married in 2005. I still have a lot of what we brought home in my cellar. Some friends of ours that moved from New York to DC came down to visit so I thought some Long Island wine was an appropriate beverage to wash down the hamburgers and potato salad we threw together for dinner. In keeping with trying out a new reviewing style, I will keep it heavy on the conclusion and light on the description.

2004 Paumanok Dry Riesling

Price: $16

Country of Origin: U.S.A., Long Island, NY

Grapes: Riesling

Color: Greenish gold

Nose: Sweet with some oak

Taste: Surprisingly oaky for a varietal that is usually fermented in stainless steel or none reactive barrels. I think that is likely why I bought it 5 years ago. I’m not a huge fan of oak but thought it was an interesting take on this noble grape.

Overall: Interesting because it’s made in an uncharacteristic style. On the BUY, HOLD, SELL scale, it’s a HOLD.

Loosely, BUY means go out and buy as much as can be found. HOLD means don’t pour what’s on hand down the drain but there is no need to stock up. SELL means that another bottle of wine is available to bring to parties where the host is not well known.

My Summer Drink

grapescape — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:53:06 +0000

As Jim Anchower often says, “It’s been a long time since I rapped at ya.” Between the baby, the CFA, work and trying to get some things done around the house, I have not had much time to eat, drink or do anything interesting enough to write about. Now that summer is here and I am often in need of something on the stronger side to settle my nerves, I’m going to share my favorite drink for summer.

For a while I was a gin and tonic man during the warm months. I enjoy them but drink them more in homage to my grandfather who brought a bottle of Beefeater with him to ensure that he could drink what he liked. When I was a northerner, I dabbled in the brown liquors. I continually try to bolster my palate for Scotch with limited but continued success. I’m still not to the point where I take a sip and smile in general but I’m hoping to get there. If there is something interesting at the liquor store like Rye or some exotic Whiskey, I’ll give it a try. My latest love affair though is geographically appropriate and perhaps the most affordable in the brown liquor aisle. BOURBON.

To me, Bourbon is a delicious combination of the deep, smokey, contemplative nature of Scotch crossed with the sweet, seductive, siren’s song of Rum. It’s got all the flavor with little to none of the pain. Bourbon seems to retain it’s more regional appeal (at least for anything that is a step up from Jim Bean) with a number of small distilleries. This is appealing to me given the general trend towards globalization and monster producers. If all these reasons are not enough to make Bourbon rise on the list of dark booze, find me a bottle of Bourbon that just about anyone can’t afford. Go ahead. Find me one. Can’t do it. For the first time in two years of Bourbon shopping I’ve finally found a $100 bottle. I haven’t tried it and don’t know if I ever will. I have a liquor cabinet full of labels that I really enjoy none of which go for more than half that. To me, that alone is an outstanding selling point especially given a ho-hum bottle of Scotch can easily put a $75 dent in the wallet often to limited effect.

Some of my favorite Bourbons include:

Van Winkle Kopper Kettle Ridgemont

Bourbon is an outstanding spirit to put in that brown liquor rotation. For the summer, to lighten it up, get a tall glass, fill with ice, squeeze in half a lime, fill half way with Ginger Ale and top of with some delicious Bourbon to taste…..Mmmmm, refreshing.

I’m Taking the CFA

grapescape — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:47:59 +0000

I have come around to the fact that I need to round out my resume. Towards that end, I have enrolled in the CFA program. The rigorous study schedule required to successfully complete this program and my son’s propensity for high volume protesting have conspired to hamper both my writing and eating and drinking efforts.

Meal times in my house today are essentially a race against the fussy clock. If we can prepare, consume and clean up after a meal in the short intervals of silence between outbursts of rage, exasperation, boredom or whatever else motivates our little guy to lash out, we consider that a resounding mealtime victory. No more is taste or presentation a concern.

As far as thoughtful contemplation of a fine (or not so fine) glass of wine goes, this has taken a similar backseat. Perhaps I need to initiate a more streamlined system of evaluation to allow for continued wine rambling in a more time efficient manner. In honor of financial analytics and many stock analysts’ rating systems, Buy, Sell, or Hold recommendations can replace lengthy descriptions of flavor profiles and other wine geekery. I will give it a try and see how it works.

My Favorite Lazy Salmon Recipe

grapescape — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:21:54 +0000

Ages ago I heard a program on NPR about crazy and dramatic ways to prepare salmon to make a splash at a dinner party. The two most colorful were as follows: 1) Wrap a piece of salmon in multiple layers of tin foil and season in accordance with the menu. Proceed to place the package securely next to the radiator under the hood of the car and drive for 30-50 minutes depending on speed. Upon arrival, the fish should be cooked to perfection. 2) Wrap the salmon in several layers of tin foil and place the package in a watertight bag. Place the package in the dishwasher for one full cycle. The fish should come up cooked to perfection.

Though I have never tried either preparatory technique, I did pick up my favorite quick and easy way to prepare salmon. In a ziplock bag add the salmon and equal parts of soy sauce and maple syrup. I find a cup of each works best but I seldom measure. Put the bag in the fridge for as long as you have. At least an hour is ideal out to overnight. Remove the fish from the bag and grill, bake, steam…whatever. Grilling or baking produces a slight caramelization of the sugar from the syrup. Any way results in a sweet yet savory piece of fish. From time to time I try to reduce the marinade to a sauce but I have been met with mixed results. Enjoy!

I Joined a Gun Club

grapescape — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:03:55 +0000

After a long and somewhat arduous process, I am finally a full-fledged member of my local gun club. I had no idea joining this sort of club required so much time and dedication but I’m really happy that I’m in and I want to start using the club facilities immediately. This brings me one step closer to getting my first deer this Fall.

When my wife and I first moved South, a friend of mine and I went a few times to this gun club when it was open for public trap shooting. We discussed joining but when I first looked at what was involved, I balked and put it on the back burner. Most of the requirements were not objectionable. Attend two membership meetings over a two month period. Submit a copy of a background check from a recent firearm purchase. Commit to and complete four hours of service around the club. Pay a nominal annual membership fee. This was not as easy as sending in a check but everything asked of perspective members seemed reasonable. The one thing that gave me pause was joining the NRA.

Being from New Jersey and ultimately emigrating South from New York City, I had heard nothing particularly flattering about the NRA. It seemed like a group of irrational gun fanatics to me. Part of me felt that NRA membership would put me on some “list” that would come back to haunt me in the future. However, membership in the NRA was a requirement to obtain membership in my gun club so after a year of hemming and hawing and confirming this was the most convenient way to shoot shotgun sports and targets, I bit the bullet and joined.

My reaction to being a member so far: I’m impressed with the organization despite the fact that I do not agree with some of their politics. They are a finely tuned, grassroots, machine that protects their interests fiercely. I am amazed at how passionately and completely they can mobilize their membership to action when they feel threatened by “anti-gun” legislation. In a largely apathetic society, I think this is something to note. Like any organization with an axe to grind, some of its members tend towards the extreme but, if my gun club is any representation of the membership at large, it’s a bunch of hard-working, interesting people who like to shoot.

With that ideological hurdle surmounted, I went about getting the rest of the requirements completed in January. After three months of paperwork, meetings and yard work, I am a full member and can use all of the excellent club facilities. They have skeet, trap and wobble fields, an indoor pistol and small-caliber rifle range, and outdoor pistol and rifle ranges out to 300 yards. It’s a great place and so far I have enjoyed my interactions with all the members I have met. I can’t wait to hit the ranges to zero in my deer rifle for the upcoming hunting season.

Five Weeks and Counting

grapescape — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:32:38 +0000

We are heading towards the magical six-week mark of parenthood. From what my wife and I have read, everything is going to get better from here. Our son will start to sleep more regularly, smile at us, look at us and start shaving. Part of me is skeptical of these developmental lines in the sand but I guess “they” know much more than I do and certainly have much more experience.

My culinary exploits have been all but none existent and my wine drinking has served more for nerve soothing than thoughtful contemplation of flavor profiles and expressions of vinifera from different parts of the world. I am hoping that, come Friday when the six-week barrier is smashed, I will have the time and inclination to cook a respectable meal and wash it down with something worthy of note. I have my doubts.

Wine Drinking for New Fathers

grapescape — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:58:01 +0000

As I mentioned in my last post, I am a shiny new dad. My son turns three weeks old on Friday. Most of what I was told leading up to his birth from experienced, salty parents has rung true. “It’s amazing!” ”Get some sleep, you’ll need it.” “Your life will change forever…” My head has stopped spinning and is just revolving now. We are still sleep deprived and there are certainly moments of frustration if not desperation but we are getting “used to” this life as much as one can.

One thing that I have noticed about living virtually every moment of my life at the beck and call of someone who doesn’t speak English is that my eating and drinking habits have changed. These were, just weeks ago, my most favorite things to do. Today, I don’t give them much thought and devote as little time to them as possible. We have started cooking again but speed and clean-up are as important as taste. I have been having the occasional glass of wine but have not taken the time to note much more than “good” or “bad.” I suspect this will change as we become more comfortable and our son becomes easier to live with but this new outlook on one of my passions has been interesting to experience. Weeks ago a great bottle of wine or a perfect meal would move me to write a flowery review or blast out emails to friends, now, I’m not sure if a ’82 Latour would do more than produce a “Not bad.” from me. Yet another thing no one mentions about being a parent…

My First

grapescape — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:02:53 +0000

I have not written in several days but with good reason. My wife and I had our first child!!! We welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby boy into our family. We are exhausted and ecstatic. To celebrate, we had a bottle of Dom Perignon 1996 in the hospital. I did not take notes but it was the sweetest champagne I had ever tasted…

2004 Barboursville Vineyards Sangiovese Reserve

grapescape — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:18:12 +0000

2004 Barboursville Vineyards Sangiovese Reserve

Price: $22

Country of Origin: U.S.A., Virginia

Grapes: Sangiovese

Color: Darkish purple. Not completely opaque

Nose: Dark fruit, raspberry, tart cherry with some musky Earth. There are notes of chocolate, raisins and fruit cake. It is deep, rich and nicely layered

Taste: Thin and a little flabby. There is not a lot of structure and it falls a little flat. There is some dark fruit but it falls short of really developing into much.

Overall: Disappointing especially given how becoming the nose was. It was not a complete disaster but there is better wine at this price point.