With the price of everything on the rise, we’re all tempted to cut back on buying organics and wild seafood, which can put a big dent in the pocketbook.
But there’s a way to still enjoy all of that — and eat it, too.
The key is to choose wisely. That’s the message in my latest posting on the Slow Food Nation blog, which gives tips and advice on eating right in these economically challenging times.
Plenty of duck will be on the menu on Aug. 28 at Sent Sovi in Saratoga when Executive Chef Josiah Slone and Jim Reichardt, founder of Liberty Ducks farm in Sonoma County, team up to host their annual “Duck Man Dinner.”
The four-course menu with paired wines will spotlight Liberty ducks, a variety of Pekin duck that was developed in Denmark. The Sonoma County farm raises them without antibiotics or hormones, and on a diet of mostly corn and other grains.
Price of the dinner is $125. If you can’t make the Aug. 28 dinner when Reichardt is the special guest, you’ll still have an opportunity to enjoy duck when Sent Sovi replaces its regular tasting menu with the duck one, Aug. 29-Aug. 31.
Riesling? Gewurztraminer? Australian Shiraz? When to serve each of those wines with what Asian dishes?
You’ll learn exactly what wines go with what flavor profiles in Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese and other Asian fare in the 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 11 class, “Master Food and Wine Pairing” at Le Colonial restaurant in San Francisco. Yours truly has been helping to put together that class that is part of the three-day weekend “Asian Culinary Forum,” a series of classes, tours, workshops and discussions celebrating the vibrant changes in Asian cuisines around the globe.
Join Edwin Soon, enologist and wine columnist for Time Out Singapore, as he leads you through pairings of varietals with tastes of various classic Asian dishes. Everyone goes home with a copy of his book, “Wine With Asian Food, New Frontiers in Taste” (Tide-Mark Press), which he co-authored with wine teacher Patricia Guy. The class is $85.
To whet your appetite, enjoy this recipe, along with wine pairing recommendations, from the book:
Imperial-Style Grilled Spareribs
Urban Tavern, a stylish gastropub, has opened in downtown San Francisco, the newest project by celebrated Chef Laurent Manrique (of Aqua in San Francisco), and restaurateurs Chris Condy of C&L Partners, and Donna Scala of Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa.
With a unique horse sculpture made of tractor, car and motorcycle parts as its centerpiece, the restaurant serves Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. Meats and seafood (grilled conventionally or cooked on the plancha, a flattop grill), with your choice of sauces served a la carte. Also on the menu is grilled lamb ratatouille sandwich ($16), mussels four different ways ($14 to $16), and beef Daube Catalane (priced for 1, 2, or 4 persons at $23, $42, and $79, respectively).
Journey south to Santa Clara on Sept. 20 for Parcel 104’s sixth annual “Wine and Cheese” dinner. Chefs from around the Bay Area will help prepare the multi-course feast, in which every course will feature a different artisan cheese. Author and cheese expert Laura Werlin will be on hand to answer questions. Price is $145.
Parcel 104’s Executive Chef Robert Sapirman also once again will be the lead chef for the seventh annual March of Dimes Celebrity Chefs & Master Vintners Gala Silicon Valley, Sept. 14 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.
Uncork a bottle of Black Eagle Wines to toast Labor Day in a most apropos way.
Black Eagle Wines is a collection of varietals launched by the field laborers and leaders of the United Farm Workers. It signifies the progress made by the UFW — from its founding by Cesar Chavez to its days of grape boycotts 40 years ago to the pride these days in the harvest and production that respects farm workers’ labor. The grapes for these wines were harvested by workers whose union membership has helped bring better wages and living conditions.