Sparkling Wine for the New Year

Everywhere around the world people will be celebrating the new year in a way that includes a glass of bubbly. Sparkling wine has the great ability to pair with almost any food and any event. When you are not sure which wine to serve with dinner, reach for the sparkling wine and you cannot go wrong. The wine grapes most commonly used in the production of sparkling wine are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and/or Pinot Meunier. I'm using the term "sparkling wine" and not Champagne because all wine that has bubbles can be called sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine can be called Champagne. Almost all sparkling wine is nonvintage, where multiple vintages are blended together to form a house style wine. To create wine that sparkles, a second fermentation takes place in the bottle triggered by the addition of yeast and sugar. The bottles then go through the process of riddling, where the bottles are periodically turned, and disgorgement, where the dead yeast cells are expelled before the bottles are topped off. This is called the traditional method. You are left with a bottle of sparkling wine. I've had the great opportunity to taste many of the following sparkling wines in a recent wine class taught by Dr. Vino. Here are my recommendations, which I hope will help you in choosing an excellent bottle of bubbly.

Champagne
For the so-called real thing, here is a bottle of Champagne. This Chartogne-Taillet St. Anne brut is fresh and well balanced with the aromas of brioche. It is 50% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Meunier. Brut is a term that means the wine contains less than 15 grams of sugar per liter. Other common terms include extra brut, which is slightly drier than brut; brut zéro, which is the driest; extra dry, which is between dry and sweet; and sec or demi-sec, which is sweet and semi-sweet respectively. This wine is of interest because the estate is family run and the wine is produced on site. Typically small estates sell their grapes to négociants (wine merchants) who produce and bottle the wine for sale under their own name.

American Sparkling Wine
More and more Champagne houses from France are opening vineyards in California. This Roederer Estate Brut, from the House of Louis Roderer in France, which also produces the rapper-favorite Cristal, is made in the Anderson Valley. It is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. Crisp with the flavors of pear and nuts, this sparkling wine is just as good as the real thing. You might even call it American Champagne, a name that many American sparkling-wine producers are still allowed to use.

Crémant
Sparkling wine that is made outside of the Champagne region in France is called Crémant. Some of the regions that specialize in crémant include Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Limoux. This Louis Bouillot Crémant de Bourgogne brut rosé is a wonderful specimen of crémant and rosé with a beautiful salmon color, raspberry aromas, and a dry finish. It is 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, grape varieties most common to Burgundy. Rosé is created by allowing the dark skins of the Pinot Noir grape to come in contact with the juice for a short period of time after pressing.

Cava
The Spanish name for sparkling wine is Cava, grown in areas around Spain but mainly in the Penedès region in Catalonia. Originally called Xampany before the European Union ruled that only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France could be called Champagne, Spanish sparkling wine was rebranded Cava after the tradition of storing the wine in caves. A prime example of an excellent Cava is this Juvé & Camps brut rosé made from Pinot Noir grapes. It features aromas of strawberry along with a crisp acidity and lively bite. It is one of my favorites.

Prosecco
Italian sparkling wines include Asti, made from the Moscato Bianco grape in the Piedmont region and Prosecco, made from the grape of the same name in the Veneto region. Prosecco was popularized by Harry Cipriani of Harry's Bar in Venice, where the Bellini cocktail was created using the sparkling wine and white-peach purée. This Vincenzo Toffoli, as many Prosecco wines, is characterized by crispness and aromas of apple and pear. Prosecco is more often dry than sweet and is either fully sparkling (spumante) or semi-sparkling (frizzante).

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Flourless Walnut Yule Log with Chestnut Filling and Chocolate Buttecream

I've always wanted to make a yule log or Bûche de Noël for Christmas. This year I vowed I would. Here is my updated version of the traditional holiday cake. Instead of the more common génoise made with eggs and sugar beaten over a bain marie, flour, and melted butter, I decided to make a flourless cake. Simply made with sugar, eggs, and ground walnuts, this recipe results in a light and nutty sponge cake. The filling of chestnut purée and a little bit of rum is my favorite kind. And the frosting is a traditional chocolate buttercream.

Hungarian in nature, this recipe is loosely inspired by the logs my great aunt used to make whenever we visited her in Hungary. I think you will find this cake to be highly irresistible. One thing to note: Since the cake is flourless, it does shrink after baking.

Flourless Walnut Sponge Cake

6 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons confectioners sugar, sifted
1-1/4 cups ground walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment paper, and butter again.

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks by hand. In another small bowl, stir together dry ingredients: ground walnuts and baking powder.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, adding sugar a little at a time, until soft peaks form. On low speed, drizzle in egg yolks. Fold in dry ingredients by hand until just combined.

Spread mixture evenly into prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Immediately turn cake out of baking sheet onto a linen towel. Remove parchment paper and flip cake so that bottom is in contact with towel, and roll cake with towel. Set aside for at least 20 minutes, so that cake takes on rolled shape.

Unroll cake and spread evenly with chestnut filling. Roll cake starting from edge of one of the short ends. Wrap in towel and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Unwrap rolled cake and place on an overturned baking sheet with seam-side down. Frost cake with chocolate buttercream, working from top down onto sides; frost the ends as well. Using a fork, create bark-like ridges. Chill for at least 20 minutes.

Dust log with confectioners sugar. Using a hot knife, slice one end at an angle, remove and attach to the top of cake. Use leftover frosting for spot coverage on slice. Transfer log to a serving platter. Yield: 10 to 12 slices.

Chestnut Filling

1 pound chestnuts
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons rum
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Using the point of a sharp paring knife, carefully peel outer shells of chestnuts, leaving inner shells intact.

Add peeled chestnuts to a pot of water with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Make sure chestnuts are covered with 1 to 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about an hour or until chestnuts are knife tender.

Remove and discard inner shells of chestnuts. While still warm, press chestnuts through a sieve or potato ricer. Discard particles remaining in sieve.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar on medium-low speed a little at a time until combined. Add chestnut purée and mix until combined. Add rum, heavy cream, and vanilla; mix until incorporated. Yield: just enough filling for cake.

Chocolate Buttercream

1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 ounces (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped or chips
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Sift together the dry ingredients: sugar and cocoa powder.

On medium-low heat, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in dry ingredients on medium-low speed a little at a time until combined. Add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated. Yield: enough frosting for one log plus a little extra.

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Shortbread Finger Biscuits

One of my favorite treats to have during the holidays is one that I can enjoy with a hot cup of tea. These traditional Scottish shortbread finger biscuits are one of those favorites of mine. I come back to the same recipe year after year, but this time I decided to try something new. Going on a tip from a Scottish woman to use a portion of rice flour for a more tender cookie, I instead decided to use garbanzo bean flour.

I've been meaning to use garbanzo bean flour ever since I purchased a package some time ago. I had intended to use it for making Besan Ladoo, an Indian sweet made from gram flour, which is their name for garbanzo bean or chick pea flour. I haven't had the chance to make that sweet yet, but I took the opportunity to use the flour for the first time. It turned out to be a very good idea. I achieved a much more tender cookie than what I've made in the past. And to gild the lily a bit, I dipped a third of each finger in melted semisweet chocolate and then sprinkled it with chopped pistachios. I must say they turned out great.

Shortbread Finger Biscuits

1-1/3 cups (2 sticks and 6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus 2 tablespoons for pan
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup garbanzo bean flour

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flours a little at a time on low speed, and mix until combined.

Turn out dough into the prepared pan. Using a sheet of plastic wrap, press until dough reaches edges and smooth evenly with a spatula before removing wrap. Using a ruler, measure and cut crosswise every 1 inch and lengthwise every 3 inches, forming 36 1-by-3-inch finger-size biscuits. Score tops with the tines of a fork.

Bake for about 80 minutes or until edges are pale to lightly golden. While still slightly warm, retrace biscuits with a sharp serrated knife. Let cool completely. Shortbread can be stored in a sealed container for up to a month. Yield: 36 biscuits.

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Pumpkin-Banana Mini Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

Cookie-making season is right now. Everywhere you turn: television, magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc., there are recipes for cookies everywhere. But what is a cookie? Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines cookie as a small flat or slightly raised cake. If that is so, than many cookie recipes I know would not fit that definition. But I think a cookie can really be any compact and transportable confection. So, here is a scrumptious take on the cookie: whoopie pies. Originating from New England and Pennsylvania, a whoopie pie is a sandwich of two cake-like cookies with filling in the middle—not unlike the Little Debbie snacks that you get at convenience stores.

I've adapted a recipe from Baked by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito of Baked bakery in Red Hook, Brooklyn, to make this scaled-down version. With a half can of pumpkin purée left over from Thanksgiving and some very ripe bananas, I thought a pumpkin-banana combination would work especially well for whoopie pies. The result was a supremely moist cake that has the flavor of gingerbread. This version is perfect for sharing at any holiday celebration since each whoopie pie is a little more than bite size.

Pumpkin-Banana Mini Whoopie Pies

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with oven-safe parchment paper or Silpats.

In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and all the spices.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat together the sugar, salt, egg, oil, pumpkin, banana, and vanilla until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl now and then, until the mixture is smooth.

Use a small releasable ice cream scoop to drop rounded spoons of the batter evenly onto the baking sheets. Bake until pies are set, about 12 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. Yield: 40 mini pie halves.

Cream Cheese Filling

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the confectioners sugar a little at a time. Mix until incorporated. Increase the speed, continuing to mix until light and fluffy. Yield: enough filling for 20 mini pies.

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Top 10 Best Food Books of the Year

With gift-giving season in full swing, here is my top ten list of favorite books from this past year. Any of these books would make a great gift for the cookbook collector, foodie, or gastronomer that you know. But if you rather buy one of these books as a gift for yourself, why not bake something special to give away? What is your favorite cookbook this year?

The Tenth Muse

This book from Judith Jones, the godmother of American cookery, has to be one of my most favorite books of the year. I first reviewed The Tenth Muse (Knopf, $14.95) when it was released in hardcover last year. You can read it here. I also had the opportunity to meet Jones at her book reading at the James Beard House; what a pleasure it was to meet her. This memoir of sorts truly gives the reader a look inside Jones's journey in the world of food from a novice cook living in Paris to the cookbook editor who discovered Julia Child. The Tenth Muse is filled with beautiful anecdotes from a woman brimming with colorful stories. For Jones, cooking is not just for eating, because as the French say, cooking is an art. Jones's passion leaps from the page, showing us her pleasure and dedication in editing cookbooks. With recipes in the back that complement Jones's adventures, the book is the perfect gift for someone interested in making a life in any facet of the food industry.

In Defense of Food

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." That's the motto that Michael Pollan goes by in his book In Defense of Food (Penguin, $21.95). It's really a motto that everyone should follow. Since the 1950s processed convenience food—the kind you open, heat, and eat—has led us down a dark path of lethargy, bad eating habits, and a multitude of health problems. Unfortunately, as Pollan shows us, we continue to dig our own graves by continuing to eat food-like substances even today without paying attention to the consequences. The health of America is suffering and it's about time to change that—Michael Pollan shows us how to change it in our personal lives as well as how it can be changed in a much larger way. If you haven't read Pollan's article to the "farmer in chief" in the New York Times, it is an amazing call to our new leader for the bettering of America's food and health policy, it is available here.

Wine Politics

The politics of wine is a subject that I now can wield after reading Wine Politics (University of California Press, $27.50). Tyler Colman, a.k.a. Dr. Vino of the award-winning blog DrVino.com, answers the questions many wine drinkers have asked and continue to ask about French and American wine: Why is French wine so expensive? Why are French wine labels so hard to understand? Why are so many American wines from California? I reviewed this book this past summer after hearing Dr. Colman speak at the James Beard House. You can read it here. I also recently had the pleasure of taking his "How to Become a Wine Expert" wine-tasting course at New York University and sponsored by the James Beard Foundation. The course covers the themes of this book as well as offering a hedonistic amount of wines for tasting. I highly recommend taking his course, but reading the book is not a bad second option either. If you or someone you know is stumped by wine and wants to learn more about the subject, this book is the one to get. I have learned so much wine knowledge from the book that I now feel I can meet minds with wine sellers and sommeliers. By the way, Colman has another book just out, A Year of Wine.

How to Cook Everything

How to Cook Everything (Wiley, $35), the newly expanded and anniversary edition of Mark Bittman's book published ten years earlier, really is the cookbook for everyone. It features a slew of new recipes, better section-to-section organization, more technique descriptions, new illustrations, and a helpful index for essential recipes, among many other improvements. Bittman brings the best of all worlds into this tome, from his many years of expertise from writing The Minimalist column for the New York Times to his extensive travels as shown in his PBS programs. This book is not only a valuable addition to anyone with an established cookbook collection but also it is the perfect gift for anyone who is just beginning to learn cooking basics and craves to gain a foundational culinary knowledge from one of the best teachers.

Baked

Baked (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $29.95), probably one of the most anticipated books of the year, comes from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito of Baked bakery in Red Hook, Brooklyn. After working so hard to set up a bakery, Matt and Renato quickly reaped their benefits by shooting to fame when they were featured by Oprah in her magazine and Martha Stewart on her morning show. I too heard about them through all the buzz. On my first visit to the bakery, I was taken by their modern yet throwback baked goods. I was also lucky enough to have lived right down the street from the bakery last year just for a short time. I have them to thank for my go-to brownie recipe, available here. Everybody loves Baked brownies—and now we can all make brownies and cakes, cupcakes, squares, pies, and many more goods from home, thanks to these guys for sharing their recipes in this must-buy baking book.

Jamie at Home

Jamie Oliver’s books are always a hit. With his many popular television series, books, and American morning show appearances, the cheeky British chef has become a mainstay in America—I’m surprised he doesn’t yet live here. His cookery books—to use the British term—feature easy, simple, and delicious recipes that are perfect for family gatherings where simple home cooking is appreciated above fancy food. Jamie at Home (Hyperion, $37.50) is just that book and more. It is all about cooking at home, using what you have on hand and what you can grow at home. Every summer my family plants a large garden full of our favorite vegetables. Because of this, we can enjoy our homegrown treasures throughout the summer and even the entire year (with canning). Jamie shows us how we can utilize our gardens to make wonderful meals at home with new recipes, colorful photographs, and how-to gardening information. This book is perfect for the home-cook and gardener (or soon-to-be gardener).

The Food You Crave

Ellie Krieger, registered dietitian and host of her Food Network show Healthy Appetite, gives us The Food You Crave (Taunton, $28), a book of more than just recipes for food cravings: it is a book about food that is healthy too. Food that gives pleasure doesn't always have to be heavy comfort food high in calories. Featuring nutrition panels for each recipe along with information-laden pages that debunk myths and set straight the facts, this book is the perfect manual for maintaining a healthy lifestyle while not forgoing good, flavorful food. Not only for the health-conscious cook, this book is perfect for when you're ready to shed those extra holiday pounds, and you've made the most common New Year's resolution to do so—then you'll want to buy this book for yourself.

Made in Spain

If you haven't seen the PBS series Made in Spain, you should start watching. In the series José Andrés, one of America's most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs, and protégé of Ferran Adrià, travels throughout Spain, showing his country's glorious beauty and mouth-watering cuisine. His radiating excitement makes it such a pleasure to watch his show. With the series, Andrés brings culinary Spain into the American living room and with this companion book (Clarkson Potter, $35), he offers accessible recipes that highlight the many flavors of Spain. The book is divided into sections by specialties from the different regions of Spain and there are photos to accompany each and every recipe. A perfect complement to the series, this book opens a window into Andrés' world of simple and elegant Spanish cuisine.


A Day at elBulli

Any serious foodie would kill to spend a day at elBulli, but because it's almost impossible to gain a reservation to this restaurant, which is only open six months out of the year, this book will allow you to spend an entire workday at the restaurant. From before opening to after closing, this is the behind-the-scenes look at one of the most famous restaurants in the world. I've put this restaurant on my list of places to visit before I die. With extensive color photographs, a full tasting menu of thirty recipes, and an almost hour-by-hour account of one day in the inner sanctum of this restaurant cum laboratory, A Day at elBulli (Phaidon, $49.95) is the definitive book for fans and restaurant aficionados.

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook

Soon after this book was released, I ordered it, prompted by Michael Ruhlman's review, available here. At first I was hesitant on buying The Big Fat Duck Cookbook (Bloomsbury, $250), thinking it would turn out to be a lame duck, but once it was in my hands, I was entranced. Heston Blumenthal, the famed chef and owner of the three-star Michelin restaurant The Fat Duck in England, is a scientist in the kitchen, who continually invents new concoctions that blow the mind. I first saw him on Martha Stewart’s morning show, where he did an experiment on taste versus flavor and made ice cream with dry ice. I was thoroughly impressed from seeing his creativeness and down-to-earth demeanor—unusual for a chef of his caliber. This book is gargantuan and beautiful—it is filled with the most unusual illustrations, not to be found in any other cookbook. Split between his history and fifty recipes, each with thorough explication, The Big Fat Duck Cookbook renders a trip like no other. Reading and simply leafing through this tome is like exploring with Alice in Wonderland. If you are willing to make the splurge, this book would make any experimental cook more than happy this holiday.

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