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Gewürztraminer Vendange Tardive, Cave de Turckheim

Jos Kleijnen
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Gewürztraminer Vendange Tardive, Cave de Turckheim

Gewürztraminer Vendange Tardive, Cave de Turckheim, 2020, 50cl 13.5% alcohol.

Late-picked Alsace gewürztraminer is a delicious treat. ‘Vendange Tardive’, means ‘late harvest’, which allows the grapes to dry out on the vine, concentrating the juice. It is great on its own, or with foie gras or (duck) paté, but also a good dessert wine to serve with strong or creamy, nutty cheeses; and last but not least with not overly sweet deserts such as rhubarb crumble, or chocolate deserts. This one is not too sweet, so quite versatile. Founded in 1955, the Cave de Turckheim co-operative is based in the pretty village of Turckheim to the north-west of Colmar. Price in the UK around £20.

Appearance

The 2020 has a lemon colour.

Nose

Pronounced aromas of lychee, peach, apricot, citrus peel, tropical fruit, rose and spice.

Palate

On the palate, this full-bodied wine has pronounced, honeyed flavours, reflecting the aromas, medium (-) acidity, medium-sweetness, and a long finish.

Conclusions 

A very good quality wine, delicious now but will also keep for another 5-10 years.

Tasty coleslaw

Richard
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Tasty coleslaw

Easy to make coleslaw with raisins

This is another recipe we make often for my family. Green cabbage is cheap and readily available in your average supermarket. It is also very healthy as it is a source for vitamin C, vitamin K and fibers. All good for your gut health and your body in general especially in winter.

With just four ingredients this is a recipe which basically is a bit of cutting and the rest is tossing it all together. Of course we use our own Belgian mayonnaise in this recipe and you can find the link for that here: https://omgflavor.com/traditional-belgian-mayonnaise/

Here is the recipe:

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Tasty coleslaw

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  • Author: Richard
  • Total Time: 11 minutes
  • Yield: a bowl
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

Tasty coleslaw as sidedish.

Ingredients

Scale
  • half a green cabbage, finely sliced coleslaw
  • some raisins
  • couple of tablespoons mayonnaise
  • Maldon salt

Instructions

  1. Finely slice green cabbage
    1. Use knife
    2. or use kitchen mandolin (Careful with your fingers!!!!)
    3. or use your slicer/food processor
  2. Put the sliced cabbage in a bowl
  3. Add a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise
  4. Add raisins
  5. Add Maldon sea salt flakes

Enjoy!

Notes

  • I did not use weights in the recipe, go by feeling so it is to your own liking
  • Careful with too much mayonnaise, unless you like it of course, I just put enough so every bit of coleslaw has like a little shine to it
  • Add raisin as much as you want
  • Optional: add walnuts!
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 1
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Slice and dice
  • Cuisine: Richard’s family cooking

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Traditional Belgian Mayonnaise

Richard
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Traditional Belgian Mayonnaise

Awesome mayonnaise we dip our fries in 🙂

Belgian mayonnaise is very simple to make, you don’t need any electrical tools and you can do it easily in less than five minutes. Once made it will last for 2 to 3 days in the fridge.

To be called Belgian mayonnaise it must contain

  • at least 80% oil
  • at least 5% egg yolk

For Traditional Belgian mayonnaise it must contain

  • at least 80% oil
  • at least 7.5% egg yolk

And of course there is no sugar in Belgian mayonnaise.

Here is a five minute video on how to make it:

Traditional Belgium Mayonnaise
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Belgium Mayonnaise

Traditional Belgian Mayonnaise

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  • Author: Richard
  • Total Time: 5
  • Yield: 440 ml 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

Easy to make Belgian mayonnaise.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 400 ml sunflower oil
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon Dyon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of pepper

Instructions

  1. Put egg yolks, mustard and vinegar in a large bowl
  2. Whisk till combined
  3. Slowly add sunflower oil while whisking
  4. Bring to taste with salt and pepper

Enjoy!

  • Prep Time: 2
  • Cook Time: 3
  • Category: Ingredients
  • Method: Mix
  • Cuisine: Belgium

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Mendel Malbec Mendoza Argentina 2018 14.4% alcohol

Jos Kleijnen
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Mendel Malbec Mendoza Argentina 2018 14.4% alcohol

Mendel’s 1928 Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec vineyards are located in Perdriel and Mayor Drummond, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina. They also grow Cabernet Franc, Semillon, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon in their Finca Remota vineyards located in Paraje Altamira, Valle de Uco. The vineyards are located between 900 and 1,150 meters above sea level.

Wiine making of this malbec includes manual berry selection at the sorting table; fermentation and maceration in 80-hectolicter tanks; total maceration time of 25 days. The wine is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. Bottled in November 2019. Bottle-aged for at least 6 months. Price in the UK around £20.

Appearance

Deep intensity, ruby colour.

Nose

Medium intensity, primary aromas of red fruit, cherry and aromas of black fruit, blackcurrant, hint of dried herbs. Secondary aromas include oak aromas, vanilla and hints of cedar.

Palate

Dry, with medium acidity, soft medium tannins, high alcohol and full bodied, medium to pronounced flavour intensity and similar flavour characteristics as on the nose but with more black fruit, blackberry, plum. Also some spiciness, pepper. Long finish.

Conclusions

The Mendel Malbec Mendoza 2018 is a well balanced wine, with a good concentration and a long finish. Some complexity, and overall a very good wine. Should go well with steak. Decant 30 to 60 minutes before drinking. Serve the wine at 16C, and no warmer than 18C. Should keep to 2035.

Caramel and caramelized hazelnuts

Richard
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Caramel and caramelized hazelnuts

For making praliné and brésilienne

What is praliné?

Praliné is a paste made out of 50% sugar and 50% nuts. In this case we are going to use hazelnuts resulting in hazelnut praliné. Hazelnut praliné is used as the worlds most favorite filling in bonbons (French: meaning good good). Other word for bonbon is praline (without the acute accent on the e). Not to be confused with praliné.

What is brésilienne?

Brésilienne is chopped chunks of nuts caramelized. Much used in baking as cake decorations. Or for desserts. I use it to make delicious gelato nocciola, hazelnut ice-cream.

For making praliné and brésilienne the we need to roast hazelnuts, make caramel and cover the hazelnuts with the caramel.

Making caramel

Making caramel and caramelizing nuts is something I only do when I will not be disturbed and can work in concentration. Even the phone will be on silent. I have too many burns on my hands to show for how easy it is to burn yourself. Having tried many techniques, this is the one I prefer because:

  • I can make as much as I want and increase the amounts
  • It is a slow start, helping with the concentration
  • Taste of the caramel is great

So I made a video to show you how I do it.

Here is the recipe

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praline, bresilienne, candied hazelnuts

Caramel and caramelized hazelnuts

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  • Author: Richard
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 500 grams 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

Recipe for caramelizing hazelnuts

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 250 grams sugar
  • 250 grams roasted hazelnuts
  • 1 dessert spoon of lemon
  • pinch of salt (optional)

Instructions

I really recommend to watch the video to see how it works! Be careful not to burn yourself!

Tools needed:

  • Heavy bottomed pan
  • Heat resistant spatula
  • thermometer
  • Silpat or baking sheet on a tray

Phase 1: make caramel (see video)

  1. Start heating your pan on medium heat
  2. Put 1 dessert spoon of
  3. Put a thin layer of sugar in the pan
  4. Wait for the sugar to start melting
  5. Once the first layer of sugar is melted add a second layer
  6. Wait for it to melt, helping it a bit along with your spatula
  7. Keep going until all the sugar is gone and you have a nice caramel
  8. If you did it right, you will have a lightly colored caramel. You can go on heating it till you (almost) have the color you want. But mind you caramelization will not stop immediately so it will end up darker then you might think!
  9. During this process use your thermometer to check that you are not going above 160 degrees Celsius.

Phase 2: caramelize the hazelnuts (see video)

  1. Slowly add the roasted hazelnuts
  2. Use your spatula to carefully cover the hazelnuts
  3. Add more hazelnuts, and try to keep the heat constant
  4. Check with your thermometer you don’t go too high
  5. Once done, use oven mitt to hold the pan and pour the caramelize hazelnuts on a silpat or baking tray covered with baking paper
  6. Let cool and divide in chunks

Phase 3: making Brésilienne

  1. use knife and cutting board to cut the caramelized hazelnuts in small pieces
  2. put in your food processor and pulse till you have the wanted size
  3. use a sieve to get rid of the smallest bits. I discard the ‘flour’, as it is not much, but this step will give a cleaner brésilienne

Store in airtight container or jars.

Phase 4: making Praliné

  1. use knife and cutting board to cut the caramelized hazelnuts in small pieces
  2. put in your food processor and let it do its work until you get a paste like peanut butter.

Store in airtight containers or jars. It will last for at least 6 month!

Enjoy!

 

Notes

  1. Use your thermometer to keep the heat below 175 degrees Celsius. I try to keep it at 160 degrees Celsius or lower, but not lower than 140.
  2. You cannot just change hazelnuts for something else like almonds or macadamia nuts if you want to make a different praliné. This is because of the fat content of the nuts and it will give a very different result.
  3. The lemon juice helps with the caramel not sticking so much to the sides of the pan. You only need a little.
  4. Salt can be added in the grinding phase when you are making the brésilienne or the praliné.
  5. This will last a long time when stored dry: at least 6 months, so better to make a bit more 🙂
  6. This is actually easier with bigger volumes.
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Category: Ingredients
  • Method: Caramlizing
  • Cuisine: Belgian

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Xinomavro Naoussa, Dalamára 2020

Jos Kleijnen
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Xinomavro Naoussa, Dalamára 2020

14% alcohol

Dalamara’s vineyards are located in the North of Greece, in the hills of Macedonia. The main grape in the Naoussa region is Xinomavro. Xino means “sour” and mavro means “black”. The organic winery is run by Kostis, a sixth-generation vigneron. Xinomavro is often compared to Nebbiolo (Barolo) and Pinot Noir (Burgundy) in style.

Appearance The 2020 Dalamara has a quite pale, light ruby colour.

Nose It offers all the Xinomavro aromas with fresh strawberries, red cherry, raspberry and sundried tomato on the nose as well as forest fruits and cinnamon.

Palate On the palate, in addition to the fruits, allspice, black olive, mint, thyme, alongside cedar wood and earth notes. There are structured xinomavro tannins and high acidity, which promise good ageing potential. The finish is long with plum and chocolate sensations.

Conclusions  A top quality wine which is widely available, and though at an increasing price year on year it is still tremendous value for money at around a GBP 25 level. Buy as much as you can and enjoy now or keep for at least another 10 years, over which it should develop more mature flavours.

Rustenberg, John X Merriman, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Jos Kleijnen
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0
Rustenberg, John X Merriman, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with small amounts of Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. Aged in oak for 20 months. Screwcap closure. Is widely available. Price in the UK £12-15. Drinks well with a wide range of foods such as meats, cheese, or just on its own.

This tasting note of April 2023 is based on the 2017 wine, but it has a very good and consistent quality across vintages. These wines can be drunk immediately, but are also suitable for ageing up to 15 years. The wine is still nice on days two and three after opening.

Appearance

Deep intensity, ruby colour.

Nose

Developing wine of medium intensity, aromas of black fruit, blackberry, black currant, black cherries, green bell pepper. Secondary aromas include tobacco and wood.

Palate

Dry, with medium (+) acidity, soft medium tannins, high alcohol and medium (+) body, medium (+) flavour intensity and similar flavour characteristics as on the nose. Also some tertiary earth and meaty game sensation. Long finish.

Conclusions

Good balance, the oak ageing comes through but is very pleasant. Good concentration and a long finish. Overall the Rustenberg John X Merriman is a very good wine, at a highly attractive price. Can drink now, but suitable for ageing.

Croutons

Richard
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0
Croutons

Delicious homemade croutons

Every day I bake sourdough bread. Two of them. I am almost two years in my sourdough journey and as a craftsman I must say making sourdough bread is a real craft and hard to do. Of course sometimes I fail completely!

When the dough is under or over proofed, I end up with bread we really do not want to eat. But it would be shape to throw it away. Even with nice sourdough bread, the kids often do not want to eat the sides of the bread and they are usually left over on the cutting board.

So what to do? I really hate throwing any food away. It grieves my soul to throw food away. For old bread, or bread you don’t want to eat, making croutons is a great solution.

The recipe below is versatile and everyone can do it. It is very easy as it involves just cutting the bread in cubes or pieces any size you want and then mixing them with a generous amount of olive oil and any herbs and spices you would like.

So here are some flavor combinations:

  • Oregano, maldon salt, fresh pressed garlic
  • Switch oregano for thyme or rosemary
  • Cardamon, ginger and garlic powder
  • Black pepper and salt
  • Sweet chili powder and ginger

You can even go sweet if you want: try cane sugar and cinnamon croutons for example. You can change the olive oil with something more neutral like sunflower oil.

The variations are endless and they will all taste great.

So here is the super simple recipe.

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Croutons

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  • Author: Richard
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: a lot
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Description

Delicious home made croutons from your old bread left overs.

Ingredients

  • Old bread
  • Olive oil
  • Fresh pressed garlic, as much as you like, to your taste
  • Salt
  • Oregano

Instructions

  1. Cut the old bread into cubes.
  2. Set your oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 Fahrenheit) to pre heat.
  3. Sprinkle with olive oil.
  4. Add the herbs, salt and so, to your liking.
  5. Mix well (i use my hands).
  6. (the croutons should not be soggy, but a little moist).
  8. Put them on a baking tray or grid lined with baking paper.
  10. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
  11. You see I used a grid, so I don’t have to turn the croutons half way. But if you use a tray, turn them over once halfway through baking.
  12. All done.
  14. Enjoy!
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Category: Ingredients
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Italian

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Venison meatballs

Richard
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Venison meatballs

Awesome meatballs with cardamom, cloves and black pepper!

I love meatballs. In any form. Usually I make them with pork meat. But now venison meatballs are on the menu. So I managed to have 700 grams of minced deer meat in the fridge and I wanted to make something really new with that. For me, living in Norway it is easy to get game meat. We have deer, moose, reindeer. These beautiful animals roam the forest and I regularly see a deer in my garden.

I must say the quality of the meat here is fabulous and the prices are really very decent. I buy it a local store who gets it from a butcher living in the countryside. The meat is pure and honest. No antibiotics or other nasty things in it. God provides here!

This recipe is a (luckily very successful) tryout, I had no idea whether they were good or not. You have to experiment sometimes and see what comes out. Chances are that you ruin some good ingredients but in my experience that hardly ever happens.

Using ingredients that are readily available. And a variety of techniques. As half my family are on a gluten free diet these venison meatballs are made oats. And I love cardamom, so I had to try with freshly ground cardamom.

The combination of cardamom, black pepper and cloves give a very deep taste. Almost dark, fitting to the red deer mince I had. I can still taste them now almost an hour after eating the last one as the kids gobbled them up in no time.

And whether to make a sauce or use these more as a snack with some , but after tasting I must say they are quite special. So I decided to quickly make a mustard-mayonnaise.

These meatballs are not just meat. There is carrot, onion, garlic in there. Together with the homemade mustard-mayonnaise they make a delicious juicy snack. Combine with a glass of port or a deep red Bordeaux wine. I guess some cheese would also go well with this.

Go make them and let me know if you like them as much as we do.

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Venison meatballs

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  • Author: Richard
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 40 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

Scrumptious meatballs for a snack or with a drink. Made with minced meat from Norwegian deer and spiced with cardamom, a huge favorite here in Scandinavia.

Make a lot, as they will be gone in no time.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the meat balls:

  • 700 grams venison
  • 1 big carrot
  • 1 big onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 egg
  • plenty of oats
  • 2 table spoons of white vinegar

Spice mix:

  • 6 cardamoms
  • 3 cloves
  • 12 whole black peppercorns
  • 10 grams salt

Instructions

  1. Prepare the spice mix in a mortar and pestle. I take out the shells of the cardamoms and only use the inner seeds.
  2. Cut the onion and carrot into small pieces. Cut the garlic very fine.
  3. Put onion, carrot and garlic with some olive oil in a pan and gently cook them until soft.
  5. Use an immersion blender to grind the soft onions, carrots and garlic to a paste.
  7. Now take a big bowl and put in the meat, egg, vinegar and plenty of oats.
  9. Mix by hand.
  10. Put the meat ball mix in a food processor and give it a few pulses (I use my Magimix XL for this) till you get the consistency as seen in the picture.
  12. Prepare a baking tray and line it with parchment paper.
  13. Set the oven to pre-heat to 170 degrees Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit.
  14. Now it is time to get your hands dirty. The meat mix will feel light and sticky. If you feel it is too soft add more oats or some bread crumbs or cornstarch. You can wet your hands with a little water to avoid the balls sticking too much
  15. Make the meatballs and put them on the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
  17. Bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes. Check one and cut it in half to see whether they are all done on the inside. If not, give them a few more minutes.
  19. Serve hot or cold with home made mustard mayonnaise
  20. Håper det smaker!
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Category: Snacks
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: World

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Amaretti

Richard
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Amaretti

Delicious Italian almond cookies

These almond cookies, or amaretti in Italian, are delicious and also gluten and lactose free. This means that I can eat them, Yummy!

They are traditional amaretti, easy and fun to make. The hardest thing is probably is getting the egg whites. My kids can do this and I am sure with this recipe my 13 year old daughter Iris is going to have a try and be successful.

Amaro, meaning bitter is the origin of the these amaretti: little bitter ones. These use to be flavored with bitter almonds. Bitter almonds contain hydrocyanic acid, or organic cyanide. Even a few of them can kill. So nowadays we flavor them with almond essence or almond extract. The latter being the best one to use as it is not an artificial almond taste and contain actual almond oil.

Depending on how you prefer them you can bake them between 13 to 20 minutes. I do prefer the softer ones for enjoying them just like that. But if I wanted to used them for example in an almond cookie Bavarian Cream I would bake them longer till completely dry and crispy because I would grind them in a food processor to little bits before using them in the cream.

Here is the recipe for these delicious amaretti:

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Amaretti, Italian almond cookies, gluten free and lactose free

Amaretti

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  • Author: Richard
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 40 Amaretti 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

Easy to make delicious almond cookies.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 egg whites
  • 400 grams almond flower
  • 240 grams of sugar
  • bowl with icing sugar to roll the dough balls in
  • pinch of salt
  • 10 ml almond extract (half up to full little bottle)

Instructions

  1. Separate the eggs, we are only using the egg whites.
  3. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl a little.
  4. Add the almond extract to the egg whites and mix well.
  5. Mix the sugar with the almond flour well.
  6. Add the sugar with almond flour mix to the egg whites.
  7. Mix well with hands or use a rubber scraper
  8. Amaretti dough, almond flour dough
  9. Cool the dough in your fridge for at least an hour, but skip if you don’t have the time
  10. Make little balls and roll them in a bowl with icing sugar so they are covered nicely
  12. Here you go 🙂
  14. Put the balls on a baking tray
  16. Use two fingers to press each ball into a cookie shape
  18. Preheat your oven till 180 Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit
  19. Bake your cookies anywhere from 13 to 20 minutes depending on you taste. 13 minutes leaves them more moist, 20 minutes gives them more crunch.
  20. Here is the end result
  21. Amaretti, Almond cookies, Italian almond cookies
  22. They should keep well at least 10 days if stored in an airtight container. They never last that long in our family of five.
  23. Buon appetito!

Notes

You can add a little Amaretto di Saronno if you like liquor. In case you want a lot of that, just add same relative amount almond flour and sugar.

Adding lemon zest with limoncello will turn these in a groovy fresh variety.

  • Prep Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Italian

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