Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond » Wine

An Evening at Modus With Margrit Mondavi

Peter Minakis — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:59:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending an evening with Margrit Mondavi and the just one-month young Modus Ristorante. Margrit Mondavi is the widow of Napa Valley wine pioneer Robert Mondavi. Modus Ristorante is owned by Sam Genkov who you may remember from Restaurant Makeover (“I’m watching you”) where his Bravi restaurant near St. Lawrence Market got a renovation.

Margrit Mondavi

This event came about when Sam was vacationing in Napa Valley and when he met Margrit, he offered to dedicate a private dining room to the memory of Robert Mondavi when Modus opened. Sam delivered, Margrit showed up and the evening was filled with making new acquaintences, sipping on Mondavi wines paired with a steady stream of hors d’oeuvre, a trio playing classical music with the elegant Modus Ristorante as the backdrop to this well-organized event.

This evening was cool and wet with Autumn leaves blowing down York Street, where Modus is located (SW corner of King) I checked my coat and umbrella in a spacious but discreet coatcheck room and soon after began to mingle, take photos and alternate between Mondavi wines and hors d’oeuvre. I first became familiar with the Mondavi family back in the mid-nineties when I left the financial field to run a cigar store during that whole “cigar boom” at wrapped together cigars, wine and other spirits. The Mondavi family was already entrenched in the wine business and they quickly gained a reputation for making premium hand-rolled cigars.

Napa Valley. 2002

My curiosity in attending this event was compounded by my visit to the San Francisco area (and Napa Valley) in the Spring of 2002. For those that have been to the San Francisco area – you’ll agree that this region is one of the most beautiful and most bountiful in the world with the Pacific Ocean nearby and the San Francisco Bay offering an array of local fish and seafood and the surrounding lands offering a locavores wet dream of fruits, vegetables all year ’round.

The area around San Francisco is truly blessed and it’s immensely beautiful. The two wine regions associated with area are Sonoma and Napa and to get to these valleys, one has to drive north and out of the city, passing over the Golden Gate Bridge and soon after you pass the gorgeous and ‘one of a kind’ seaside town of Sausalito. Remember that tune by Diesel?

After Sausalito you drive further north through Sonoma then you’ll soon be in Napa Valley - where the Mondavi Winery is located. If you go (when you go) to San Francisco you must dedicate at least one day to seeing Napa Valley, hopping from one winery to another. Napa Valley runs north-south with wineries hugging the main road that runs through the valley. There’s a train and for those that don’t want to drive – you can rent a limo and go visit Napa without getting behind the wheel.

love the big open kitchen at Modus

After we noshed on the small bites we were ushered into the Mondavi room where Margrit Mondavi was introduced by the Vincor President Eric Morham and soon after listened to Mrs. Mondavi as she related how the Mondavi winery got its start and a little bit about the beauty and ‘feel’ of Napa. Mark de Vere Mondavi’s Master of Wine soon after introduced the wines that were paired with the creations of Chef Bruce Woods.

The first course of our sit down was a pan-roasted diver scallop with cauliflower purée and pepperonata which was served with the Mondavi Fume Blanc.

The next course was a ravioli of Foie Gras, chestnut and sweet potato with a Porcini-truffle cream sauce. Mondavi’s Chardonnay Reserve 2008 is not too oakey and the slight acidity of in the wine came forward.

Our third course led off the first of three reds, this one being the Mondavi Pinot Noir 2009, paired with a duck prosciutto and fig chutney, caramelized onion and Port reduction.

The Mondavi winery is located in Oakville, Napa and we now sipped on the Oakville Cabernery Sauvignon 2008. This course was exquisite, my fave of the courses with a pairing of roasted venison loin with smoked bacon and sour cherries.

The last course was a house made cocoa cavatelli pasta with some braised oxtail and a sweet, fruit and light tannin Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2008.

Modus Ristorante is located on the SW corner of King and York Streets in downtown Toronto and Mondavi Wines are available at your nearest LCBO stores.

Special thanks to Enterprise Canada for the invite, Sam Genkov and the staff at Modus, Margrit Mondavi and Mark de Vere from Mondavi wines.

“Picnik Show“

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© 2011, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

Mussels With Fennel & White Wine Sauce

Peter Minakis — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:04:14 +0000

A short while ago I wrote about having lunch at one of Toronto’s great new places to eat seafood – Diana’s in Scarborough. As sexy as it was having a Lobster Club House sandwich, the real star of that lunch were the steamed mussels in a white wine and fennel sauce. Tremendous. I asked our waiter for more bread for dunking into the sauce with mild wine undertones balanced with the aroma and flavour of fennel and paired with a delicate sweetness of the mussels themselves and the touch of cream that made the sauce into something of a thinned out mussel chowder.

When I first tried to pay homage to this dish I used your usual mussels but the flavour wasn’t the same as at Diana’s: that sweetness was missing and the usual mussels were small in comparison with the mussels used at Diana’s Gallo Mussels. These mussels are cultivated in the West Coast and to look at the shells, they look like any other mussel to the naked one. Once they are steamed and open-up, you see the Gallo mussels are unique, they are huge, succulent, sweet and frankly the most delicious mussels I’ve ever eaten.

Gallo Mussels are the same genus as Galician Mussels but the European ones are a protected name and hence the name difference. I’m sure you could pull-off this dish with the usual live mussels but I urge you to try Gallo mussels just once. You may not want to eat any other type of mussel (I don’t). This is one of the easiest dishes to prepare, half the work being done preparing the mussels and the other half cooking them up.

The ingredients list is short but all of high quality: Gallo mussels, sweet red onions and in-season fennel, Riesling wine from the Reif Winery from nearby Niagara wine country and a splash of Reif’s First Growth Riesling, a sweet wine that’s not as sweet as an ice wine with a lemony, tart finish. The finishing touches to the dish are some cream and fresh herbs, some fennel fronds to accent the anise flavours and chopped fresh parsley to balance the the flavours.

Mussels With Fennel & White Wine Sauce

( for two)

1 1/2 lbs. of Gallo mussels

1/2 stick of unsalted butter

1/2 cup diced red onions

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup sliced fennel

1/4 cup Riesling white wine

1 Tbsp. First Growth TBA Reif Estate Riesling (or other white sweet wine)

2-3 Tbsp. heavy cream

1 Tbsp. fennel fronds or fresh tarragon

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Choose mussels that are closed, feel heavy and if slightly opened, tap them to see if they are alive and close shut. Get your mussels home as soon as you can, pull the beards off them and scrub the shells. Rinse well and place in a bowl and place in your fridge for up to one day. Thirty minutes before you are about to cook your mussels, place them in a bowl with water and sprinkle with some flour or cornmeal. Allow the mussels about 20 minutes to spit any sand that may remain in the mussels (the sand clings to the flour) then rinse once more.
Place a medium-sized pot on your stovetop over medium heat and once the butter has melted add the onions, fennel and garlic and simmer for about 5 minutes or until vegetables have softened and translucent. Turn the heat up to high, add the mussels, wine and cover. Allow the mussels to steam for 6-7 minutes or until they have opened (discard any that haven’t opened).
Add the cream, a splash of the ice wine, the chopped fennel fronds and parsley and shake the pot back & forth for a minute to warm through and amalgamate into the sauce. Transfer to a serving bowl with lots of crusty bread to mop-up the sauce and enjoy with a chilled Riesling.

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Greek Summer Sangria

Peter Minakis — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:38:05 +0000

How’s your summer been so far? Mine’s been wonderful…spending time with good friends and I’ve also met some wonderful new people…added into the friendship fold I have! I’m heading off to Greece tomorrow for my annual summer vacation, seeing family, friends and likely to make more new friends.

I’m not sure where I’m going this year for side trips or new places I haven’t visited yet. Greece is having another difficult year and I’m not sure if my friends will be taking any vacations apart from their summer homes. I may visit an island or two…Aegean or Ionic or one of each? I may just stay local and tour parts of northern Greece that I’ve yet to visit. I may take another side trip to Constantinople (Istanbul)…a city that still mesmerizes me and one that I enjoy exploring.

A visit to Greece’s capital, Athens, is likely as there are lots of friends to visit and there’s always some fabulous eating to be done there. I’m not sure where this year’s Greek summer will take me but I will be eating and drinking and I’m taking this recipe for Greek Sangria with me. Sangria is a chilled concoction of wine, fruit, soda, sugar or a simple syrup with some fruit and booze to balance the sweeteners.

The syrup I use to make my Greek Summer Sangria is the focus of my recipe – the one that gives this one the edge over other recipes and the reason I was asked to make/bring this sangria over and over and over again to parties, barbecues and gatherings. You see, when you’re mixing a sangria, you’re looking to cut the tannins and make it into a summer, fruit-forward drink that’s light enough to drink all afternoon yet there’s enough booze in there to add to your summer “glow”.

My Greek Summer Sangria uses those bottles of wine that I received as gifts and yes, perhaps they aren’t my preferred choices but I also wouldn’t regift them. So, into the bucket went some screw-top red, one sliced peach and one sliced orange, a couple of cans of ginger ale, and syrup to sweeten the mixture. I was about to make a simple syrup by boiling water and sugar but I remembered that I had a jar of syrup leftover from when I made Baklava ice cream and I took a chance and poured the syrup into the sangria. AMAZING!

The sangria takes on some of the cinnamon and cloves that infused the syrup and the sangria has just enough sweetness to please the ladies yet there’s still enough booze (thanks to the Metaxa brandy) to make it popular with the dudes as well. I’ve laid out a recipe per one bottle of wine but I recommend making a batch with 3 bottles of wine and tripling the recipe. After last night’s barbecue, the next batch of sangria make have to be made with 6 bottles!

Greek Summer Sangria

For the syrup

2 cups of water

1 cup sugar

2-3 strips of lemon or orange peel

1 cinnamon stick

4-5 whole cloves

1/2 cup honey

Sangria Mix

1-750 ml bottle of red wine

1/2 cup Metaxa brandy

1 ripe peach, sliced

1 orange, sliced

2 cans of ginger ale (or 7-UP/Sprite)

1 cup of syrup

To make the syrup, first add the water, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel in to a small pot and bring to a boil. Then lower to a simmer and boil for another 6 minutes. Take off the heat and add the honey and allow to cool. Remove rind, cinnamon and cloves.
Add your wine, sliced fruit, ginger ale and brandy and stir. Add the syrup in increments, stir and make as sweet as you wish. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.
To serve, place some ice in each glass and pour the sangria.

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The One Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Peter Minakis — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:37:34 +0000

One aspect of the kitchen that I’ve really never enjoyed is washing pots, pans – doing the dishes. Sometimes it can’t be avoided and other times I might even forego making something that requires alot of clean-up…depends on my mood I suppose. Sometimes I also crave a dish but I don’t want the huge clean-up associated with this dish and such is the case with Chicken (or veal) Parmesan.

The classic Italian-American dish consists of pounding chicken fillets into thin paillards, seasoning them then dredging in flour, beaten eggs then a breadcrumb mixture. The chicken then gets fried (browned) on both sides then transferred to a baking vessel with the tomato sauce, cheese (s) and finished in the oven. Oh, a pot of water is also placed on the stove-top to boil the accompanying pasta for the dish.

The old-school Chicken Parmesan requires you to use and clean a cutting board/work surface, three bowls for your dunking station (flour, eggs, breadcrumbs), a large skillet and a baking dish to finish the entrée. That’s a lot of washing for a dish that’s really simple. Today we’re going to simplify the cooking process without compromising the flavour too much. Yes, the old school Chicken Parmesan is still tastier but this version is both healthier, less clean-up and still a delicious and presentable meal for the “busy” mom who still has to put dinner on the table.

The One Skillet Chicken Parmesan

(serves 4)

4 chicken breasts or thighs (boneless)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. dried Greek oregano

1 tsp. finely chopped fresh basil

1 tsp. rosemary, finely chopped

olive oil for frying

3 cups of canned plum tomatoes, hand-crushed

1 cup of fresh basil leaves, hand-torn or chopped

1 medium onion, diced

5-6 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 cups of grated Mozzarella cheese

grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1 500gr. package of dry spaghetti

Trim your chicken of any fat and rinse and pat-dry. Place your chicken in between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with the flat side of a meat pounder/tenderizer (or use a heavy pot) to flatten the meat into thin paillards. If the pieces are now too big, you may cut them into smaller portions.
Add your cornmeal and flour into a large plate/platter and add the dried oregano, basil and rosemary and mix thoroughly with a fork. Brush both sides of your chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Dredge both sides of chicken in the flour mixture until well-coated and reserve.
Place a large skillet on your stove-top over medium-high heat and when hot, add some olive oil and place your chicken in the hot oil and fry on both side for about 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden. Remove and place on paper-lined towel and reserve.
Drain the oil used for frying and replace with a 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil turn the heat to medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and allow to sweat for about 6 minutes. Now add the plum tomatoes and white wine and bring up to a boil. Season with some salt and pepper and reduce to a simmer. Place your chicken gently into the sauce and cover with the lid (slightly ajar) and simmer for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the chicken is fork-tender.
In the meantime, place a pot of water on your stove-top and bring to a boil. Add a good amount of salt plus your spaghetti and cook according to package instructions (time your pasta to be ready when the chicken is done).
When the sauce is thick and chicken is fork-tender, uncover and place some basil leaves on each portion of chicken and top each piece with a good amount of grated Mozzarella. Lower the heat to low and cover the chicken until the cheese has melted.
Remove the chicken from the skillet and keep warm. Place the boiled spaghetti into the skillet along with the chopped fresh basil and toss. Add some grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and divide and serve your Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti. Top with some more grated cheese and serve with a seasonal salad and pair with a Yellow Tail Shiraz-Granache.

“Skillet Chicken Parmesan“

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If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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Kicking-off Spring at Malena

Peter Minakis — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:22:39 +0000

I recently was invited for a preview/tasting of Malena’s Spring menu. The name Malena was inspired by the movie (starring Monica Belluci) and the cuisine is reflective of the ingredients that surround the Ionian Sea. The Ionian is the body of water that lies between Italy and Greece and hence the concept of the two partners who own Malena: of Italian and Greek descent.

The food at Malena offers an interpretation of the cuisines of Greece and southern Italy using fish from the Mediterranean, local purveyors and offered in an environment that’s homey (century-old home), immaculate service and able to cater to intimate dinners or groups up to 40.

The evening began up the street from Malena at the sister restaurant, L’Unita for cocktails accompanied by an array of house-made charcuterie mixed in with some offerings from local purveyors.

On this evening, it was my pleasure to bring along my friend Diane Kochilas (chef, Greek cookbook author, columnist), who was in Toronto and I was eager to show her some of Toronto’s vibrant restaurant and entertainment scene. It was also wonderful to see my other friend, chef and TV personality Christine Cushing in attendance and I immediately introduced the two ladies to each other. They immediately hit it off and the evening was off to a great start!

Diane Kochilas and Christine Cushing

The first item to arrive on our table was the slab of Greek Feta cheese and an array of olives with grilled bread.

The chef introduced a deconstructed Caesar Salad if you will. Vinegar-cured sardines topped with some lettuce, crisp pancetta and a garlic cream.

One of my favourite ingredients from the Mediterranean is sea urchin. Malena gets its sea urchin from B.C. and this crostino with avocado and sea urchin transported me back to a beachside taverna.

Another fave ingredient enjoyed all around the Mediterranean basin is octopus. This octopus was braised then grilled and paired here with root vegetable fregola, Greek yogurt & oranage agro-dolce.

Call it anything you want – it’s fried seafood and a huge platter of fried calamari, prawns, halibut cheeks and even fried gigantes beans!

Our server asked us to choose one of the four main course on offer. Seeing as how I was seated with Christine & Diane, we strategically ordered different dishes so as to sample more of the entrees. Diane ordered the seared branzino (lavraki in Greek) fillet with fennel, rapini and a white anchovy vinaigrette.

There also was a Berkshire pork chop on offer and I believe only one person out of many seated at the table ordered it. It seems many are opting for lighter fare. Myself, I ordered the sheep’s milk gnudi (ricotta gnocchi) with braised rabbit and crisp parsnip. The gnudi were tremendous – light and delicious!

Christine ordered a whole sea bream (tsipoura) that was grilled to perfection and served with tomato-braised gigantes beans, braised horta and Tzatziki.

Throughout the evening, we were drinking Sigalas Assyrtiko from the jewel of the Mediterranean, Santorini. Malena’s sommelier Zinta Steprens was also on hand and it was wonderful to chat with her and see that she was so passionate – especially when it comes to Greek wines.

Up next was dessert: a trio of desserts! We were served a glass of Moscato sweet wine from Limnos and out came the cannoli, Greek Loukoumades and wonderfully refreshing lemon meringue tarts in phyllo cups.

cannoli

Loukoumades are a fried yeast dough topped with syrup/honey and nuts

lemon meringue phyllo tarts

L’Unità
134 Avenue Road, Toronto
www.lunita.ca
Twitter: @lunita_enoteca

Maléna
120 Avenue Road, Toronto
www.malena120.ca
Twitter: @malena120

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