Are you already on the lookout for some Summer Food & Wine fun? Well look no further, this Summer The Glamorous Gourmet is partnering with Chef Lindsay Autry, Top Chef Texas Finalist and Executive Chef of The Sundy House in Delray Beach, for a Summer Series that is sure to keep your tastebuds humming.
Chef Autry has been hard at work over the past months turning Delray’s historic Sundy House into a true culinary destination. Previously known best for its elaborate Sunday brunches, Autry has transformed the menu into something both remarkable and inviting with her hallmark, Southern-inspired cuisine. What’s more, she is committed to using only the freshest, locally sourced ingredients to create her delightful dishes.
Highlights of her deliciously revamped menu include Burrata with Heirloom Tomatoes, Fried Green Tomatoes and Pepper Jelly; Grilled Ribeye with Braised Wild Mushrooms; and the Boneless Half Chicken with Lemony Orzo, Pepperoncini and Feta. Each dish demonstrates Chef Autry’s mastery of flavor, balance, presentation and commitment to sourcing the freshest and most flavorful ingredients. As for side dishes, her smoky and sweet Brussels Sprouts are a MUST as well as the mouth watering Garden Collards with Crispy Bacon and Apple Cider Gastrique.
As if that wasn’t enough, the delightful desserts of Pastry Chef Sarah Sipe are also not to be missed. Her Grilled Corn Pound Cake with Honey Ice Cream and Blackberry Jam and Ricotta Cheesecake with Jaboticaba Sorbet, Pine Nut Brittle and Salted Caramel are to die for as well as a host of other dessert offerings. Chef Sipe’s creations also incorporate local ingredients including fruit from the Sundy House’s own gardens and honey from local beehives.
In addition to working her magic at Sundy House, Chef Autry can also be found at the center of what’s hot and happening on the culinary scene in Palm Beach County. When not at Sundy House she serves as Resident Chef for Swank Farms Swank Table series, and as Co-Chair for Taste of the Nation Palm Beach which benefits the well-known Share Our Strength organization. Additionally she can be seen demonstrating her culinary techniques on TV with great regularity. I’m honored to be working with her on this Savor the Summer series which promises to be a delicious experience.
Each dinner begins at 7pm with a Bubbly reception followed at 7:30 by a four course tasting menu. Cost is $65 per person plus tax and gratuity. The schedule is as follows:
Friday, June 28th: “The Fabulous Flavors of Summer: Discover Wines Perfect for Pairing with Summer Fare!”
Wednesday, July 24th: “Exploring the South: Enjoy Wines from the South of France Paired with Savory Southern Cuisine!”
Wednesday, August 28th: “To Be Announced”
Reservations are required and to make yours, please call The Sundy House at 561.272.5678 – we hope to see you there!
Cheers,
Last month’s installment of “The Art of Wine & Food” featured one of my favorite topics: wine and cheese! Dubbed an “Homage to Fromage” we focused on wine and cheese pairings perfect for entertaining.
In addition to our three Wine & Cheese Pairing Principles, I also like to follow these three Glamorous Guidelines when entertaining guests at home: 1.) always greet your guests with a sparkling wine, 2.) introduce your guests to a wine that’s a little off the beaten path and/or 3.) treat your guests to a decadent dessert wine.
To me, nothing says “festive” like a glass of bubbly and what better way to greet friends and welcome them into your home? Whether it’s Champagne, Prosecco or Cava, there’s just something about the feel of a flute in your hand and bubbles tickling your nose that are simply smile-inducing. This month we featured the Domaine Carneros Cuvee Brut, 2008, a sparkling wine from California which, at $28 a bottle, proves you don’t have to break the bank with a French Champagne to get your bubbly fix! Located in California, Domaine Carneros actually does have ties to France’s Champagne region: it’s parent company is Champagne Taittinger, one of the most well-known Champagne Houses in the world. Claude Taittinger recognized California’s potential to produce world class sparkling wine and found the perfect place in Carneros. He also hand-selected President and Winemaker, Eileen Crane, and with over thirty years of experience making sparkling wine in the US, she is known today as America’s Doyenne of Sparkling Wine.
Our first Wine & Cheese Pairing Principle of the evening was: “Pair Sparkling Wines with Cheese.” Most people automatically think red wine when pairing wine with cheese but sparkling wines pair deliciously well with many cheeses, especially decadent, creamy ones. The acidity and bubbles of the sparkling wine create a beautiful contrast of texture and also cleanse and refresh the palate after each delicious bite of the cheese. To demonstrate this theory, we enjoyed a Triple-Creme Brie paired with the Domaine Carneros Brut, a fruity blend of 48% Pinot Noir, 41% Chardonnay and 1% Pinot Blanc. In addition to the contrasting textures, the fruitiness and creaminess of the sparkler actually enhanced the saltiness and creaminess of the Brie. What’s not to love about that?
When entertaining at home, I also like to introduce guests to a new wine or one I suspect they haven’t tried before. To demonstrate my point, we served the Clos de Nouys Vouvray Sec, 2009, a wine made from 100% Chenin Blanc done in a “sec” or dry style. The delicious Chenin Blanc grape is indigenous to France and has thrived in the Loire Valley since the 9th century. It was first believed to have been cultivated at the Abbey of Glanfeuil in Anjou. It was transported in 1445 to the Squire of Chenonceau at Mount Chenin where the grape derived its name. Clos de Nouys is a 25 acre estate located in the Vouvray appellation of the Loire and consists of vines averaging 35 years old. This is one of the oldest wine-making estates in the AOC area: its wines were served on the Normandie transatlantic liner in 1936 and its vineyards were listed among the best sites on 1907 geological maps.
Wine & Cheese Pairing Principle #2 of our evening was “Pair Wine and Cheese with Similar Flavors.” Chenin Blanc is known for its high levels of acidity and minerality so in keeping with our principle I paired the Clos de Nouys Vouvray Sec with a tangy, fresh goat cheese. The bright acidity in the wine mirrored the acidity and tangy flavors in the goat cheese creating a delicious synergy.
My third personal entertaining guideline is perhaps my favorite: treat your guests to a dessert wine! When entertaining at home many people forget about dessert wines. They may think it’s “wrong” or even “uncool” to like sweet wine of any kind which couldn’t be further from the truth! To demonstrate this paring, we sampled the Fonseca Ruby Port, NV a tasty introductory level Port with fruity notes of cherries and black currants. Port is actually a fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in northern Portugal using five main grapes: Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesca and Touriga Nacional. As the still wine is fermenting, a neutral grape spirit (aguardente) is added to prematurely halt the fermentation process which leaves residual sugar in the wine and boosts alcohol content.
In order to demonstrate Wine & Cheese Pairing Principle #3: “Pair Cheese with Dessert Wine” we sampled a classic pairing: Port & Stilton. The reason this pairing works so well is because the sweetness of a dessert wine enhances the saltiness of the cheese which creates a mouth-watering synergy even though the two things individually have somewhat opposite flavors. If you are a fan of Kettle Corn, popcorn that has both salty and sweet flavors, you understand how the combination of salty and sweet can be so incredibly delicious!
A big thank you to Republic National Distributing Company for sponsoring our “Homage to Fromage” at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale. All wines are available through The Wine Atelier. Hope you can join us later this month for “Sultry Summer Sippers” featuring wines that are perfect for enjoying during the Summer months. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.moafl.org or call Gail Vilone at 954.262.0249. Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
An official Happy New Year to everyone and I hope your 2013 is off to a fabulous start! I’ve been hard at work on my new website which I am very happy to introduce to you right now. I hope you find it useful in enhancing your adventures in food and wine in 2013 and beyond.
In keeping with the spirit of the New Year, January is all about starting fresh and setting goals for the year ahead. If one of your goals for 2013 is to explore the world of food and wine, you’re in luck – The Glamorous Gourmet and The Wine Atelier have you covered! A couple features of the new website include:
1.) Weekly Wine Picks: as the name implies each week I’ll be featuring a selection of wines based on a common theme. Whether it’s a specific region, season or featured producer the focus will first and foremost be on learning about what’s in your glass, where it’s from, who made it and how it got there!
2.) The Wine Atelier Wine Club: Explore the world of wine from the comfort of your own home with The Wine Atelier Wine Club! Every month, two personally hand-selected bottles will show up on your doorstep with detailed information on the wine region, producer, grape variety and suggested food and wine pairings. All you need is your corkscrew, glass and a sense of adventure!
3.) Weekly Wine Facts: Do vinous terms like “Sommelier,” “Vendages Tardive,” and “Pouilly-Fuissé” get you tongue tied? Well, not for long, my fellow wine lovers! Each week I’ll feature a new wine term complete with proper pronunciation and definition to further demystify the world of wine and keep you one step ahead of those pesky wine snobs.
4.) Food & Wine Pairings: For those of you who enjoy pairing food and wine, I’ll be featuring recipes and pairing suggestions to help you create than magical synergy of 1 + 1 = 3. Whether it’s “Fast & Fabulous” recipes for everyday enjoyment or “Menus for Entertaining” there’s wine pairings at every price point to suit your budget as well as your occasion.
5.) Special Events: Do you enjoy socializing with other wine lovers? Whether it’s “The Art of Wine and Food” at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, the upcoming Boca Bacchanal or The 2nd Annual Country Club Chef Showdown I’ve got lots of fun wine loving events on my calendar for 2013. Check back often for updates!
Cheers,
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