Dover Canyon Winery

How to Smoke a Duck: Viognier-Saffron Smoked Duck

The Fourth of July is a quiet day for wine touring . . . people are usually heading to the beach or the lake with kids and grandparents in tow, so Dan and I made our first cooperative smoked duck.  I have used the Weber smoker before to smoke duck, and I have a total of four smoked ducks under my belt (literally).  But this was Dan's first time to be involved in the process since the Trinidad Turkey.  Although it turned into a Chinese circus ("You're in charge!" he kept saying.  "But I totally disagree with the way you are doing this.") the duck survived in all its smoky, juicy radiance.

Our cooperative recipe goes something like this . . .

Baby, you can light my fire!

With the approach of warm weather, blue skies, spring bulbs and lambs, our thoughts turn to grilling. It’s time to dust off the barbecue and uncover the patio furniture. Here are our top ten tips for enjoying hearty meals hot off the grill.

It all boils down to how do I get it started? and when is it done? Everything in between should be simple and fun. Dan and I prepare appetizers on the grill for hundreds of people on wine festival weekends. For the most part, we’ve had great success, except when I set fire to the barbecue itself (a feat Dan didn’t think possible), or the time our friends decided to use walnut firewood to start a twelve-hour barbecue fire, good for dinner and breakfast.

We use a Weber kettle-style barbecue, because we like the intense heat produced by coals, as well as even heating when the lid is closed. Our 26" Weber can get up to 600° very quickly with the lid closed. We don’t actually grill at that temperature, in our saner moments, but we can grill on cold, windy evenings while we’re working on the crush pad, without losing heat to wind and frigid outdoor temperatures. We also have a gas grill, which is a great backup for busy grill evenings, but we’ve found that in cold, windy conditions gas flames just cannot keep the grill hot enough, even with the lid closed. Gas emitters clog with grease and ash, and since we grill often, that’s extremely inconvenient. So we stick with our trusty Weber, piling coals in the middle for a nice hot center, and leaving the edges open for radiant heat, or piling them to one side if we’re going to rotisserie. We can also use moistened wood chips and herbs in a coal barbecue.

Here are our ten simple steps for successful and enjoyable grilling:

A Viognier Valentine: 2001 "The Terraces" Dessert Viognier

Many people decline to sample a dessert wine.  "Oh no," they say, "I don't like dessert wines."

"Oh," we say.  "Well, we are offering tastes of our white chocolate and macadamia nut brownies with our 2001 Dessert Viognier."  And then we hold up the golden-white morsels on a glass plate of deep blue. 

It's amazing what people will do for a brownie . . .

In our tasting room, we are currently offering tastes of our 2001 Dessert Viognier, "The Terraces".  This light dessert viognier was picked in September of 2001 and features aromas of banana, pear and lemon candy followed by flavors of pear tart, vanilla and nutmeg.  The fruit is from Chequera Vineyard's steep, terraced hillside, which produced under 1 ton per acre in 2001.  Bottle age has mellowed the original exotic fruit into a luscious sweet, bottled in a slender 350 ml bottle.

We developed this recipe specifically for The Terraces, but I'm sure these golden brownies will work with other dessert whites and even late harvest zins or port-style wines. 

So this is our Valentine to you.  Please feel free to copy and share our recipe for these scrumptious blond dessert brownies . . .

Prospecting for Oil: Pasolivo

In the third installment from our private October fundraiser--a weekend food and wine tour featuring private tours at Tablas Creek, Cayucos Abalone Farm, Saxum, L'Aventure, and a finale dinner at Villa Creek, we visit Willow Creek Olive Ranch, home of Pasolivo olive oil. I am seriously addicted to their orange and tangerine oils, made with oils pressed from citrus rinds and blended with olive oil. They also offer an estate olive oil, a California blend, a low production kalamata oil, and lemon and lime olive oils. Pasolivo was featured in Gourmet magazine, and sells almost all their oils via their private club and tasting room.   

We met with owner Josh Yaguda (in the red shirt), who gave us a very entertaining tour and private tasting. The olives are picked by hand, and because they ripen late (generally late October or early November) as winter storms approach, the picking is done quickly. So rocks, leaves and other matter come in with the olives. The olives are poured into this chute and passed under the blue vacuum hood, which sucks up any light debris like drying leaves, twigs and fine dirt. Rocks and other matter are removed by hand or shaken out as the olives pass through the chute.

The olives are then placed in the “press,” which isn’t really a press but a complicated centrifuge. First, the olives and the pits are macerated into a chunky must. If I remember correctly, a little super-heated water is added to loosen the must. The centrifugal action of the press slowly (very, verrry slowly) pulls the oil from the must and deposits it in a long, low covered pan. Josh lifted the lid of the pan and showed us where this first pressing is deposited. The oil is still murky and unfiltered, almost like mud. At this point, it is called dirty oil. From there, the oil is moved to a vertical centrifuge where it is processed again to remove gross impurities. Josh is standing next to a dismantled secondary centrifuge. From there, the oil goes into a tank, and then, over the next few months, it is patiently racked and returned, just like wine.

Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy: Prawn Gazpacho

This is a great item for winery and concert picnics. It keeps well, travels well, and if you bring extra bowls and spoons, you’ll make lots of new friends.

My original recipe was published by Bon Appetit in their April 1992 issue, then again in their 20-Minute Special Edition issue, and included again in the 1992 hardbound collector’s edition. The recipe was altered by the editors to be more like a traditional gazpacho, including the incorporation of four cups of tomato juice. But this is the original crunchy, high garlic, fresh-from-the-garden, many-prawns version . . .

Lavender Lamb Rub and Wasabi Lamb Rub

Due to popular request, here are our tips for grilling "lambsicles" and preparing the two salt-based rubs we used on our lamb during the Paso Robles Wine Festival weekend.  Thank you to everyone who raved on the lamb and emailed us with requests for the recipes.  To tell the truth, I just sort of assemble the rubs by sight, texture and taste, but I went back to the kitchen and re-created the recipes tonight, only I took notes this time . . .

Sundried Tomato Catsup and Viognier-French Tarragon Mustard

March.  Budding trees, blooming bulbs, lambs (soon to be leg, of), and warm spring nights.  Time to dust off the grill and practice putting those cross-hatch grill marks on your fattest, juiciest burgers.

Serve up your juicy burgers with a tray of sliced sweet onions, sliced avocados, strips of colorful grilled sweet pepper, petit greens, chipotle mayonnaise, sundried tomato catsup, and Viognier-French tarragon mustard. 

To get you started, here are my recipes for homemade Sundried Tomato Catsup and Viognier-French Tarragon Mustard.  For more information on making homemade condiments--catsups, aioli, and mustard--visit the free eGCI course Basic Condiments, hosted by myself and Andie Paysinger at the eGullet Society of Culinary Arts & Letters.  There is also a Q&A thread for asking questions and getting help with your condiment projects.

Cranberry-Tequila Salsa

Whether you are serving lamb, duck, or a traditional turkey for Thanksgiving, you might enjoy this spicy, crunchy Tequila and ginger spiked cranberry salsa with your choice of meats.  Enjoy, and have a Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Dover Canyon!

• 1/4 cup Tequila
• 2 yellow Hungarian wax peppers, seeds removed, diced
• 1/3 fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed with a garlic press
• 2  12 oz. cans whole cranberry sauce
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Serves 6-8

Combine the Tequila, diced Hungarian wax peppers, grated ginger root and garlic in a small bowl. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes or more. The Tequila will quickly extract flavor from the other ingredients and add a faint nutty aroma. Combine the cranberry sauce, onions and cilantro, then stir in the Tequila mixture. Serve as a condiment with red meats.

From: Fresh from Dover Canyon, Easy and Elegant Recipes from Dover Canyon Winery

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Booksamillion

Bouillabaisse with Saffron and Leeks

The life of a winery couple can be odd.  This morning, for instance, against all published weather predictions, it is raining.  So I'm still lying in bed at 7 am listening to the rain, with my dog snoring softly in my ear.  She sleeps at the foot of the bed until dawn, and then she  does this G.I.Joe-style creep up to the pillow and sneaks her chin onto it.  It's a game we've played since she was a puppy--I pretend to be asleep and not notice.  Dan has been up for an hour.  Even though there is little he can do today, he is still infused with the early morning habits of crush.  At 7 am he walks into the bedroom with a full glass of 2005 Cujo Zinfandel and asks me to take a sniff. 

"What? At seven in the morning?  What are you doing with a glass of red wine?" I protest.  "I woke up thinking about the next zin blend," he responds.  "I got this from the winery for my calibration sample."  Obediently I sit up and sniff the wine and give him a sleepy nod of approval.  Ten minutes later he's back with a pot of chicken and ham hock broth that has set up during the night.   "Look at this!"  he exclaims, jiggling it.  "It's like Jello!"  "Yes," I respond, "it's the collagen from the bones.  Nice.  Now go away."  I pull the blankets over my head, determined to sleep in a little longer.  "Isn't collagen good for your joints?" he asks.  "Hey, what if I put more ham hocks in this, and then some lentils?  Would that be good?" 

I have to admit, it's a nice way to wake up on a rainy Saturday morning.  By the time I tottered out in my sleepwear--navy Big Dog boxers, long-sleeved navy T, and tan Uggs, the house smells of simmering hamhocks and Dan has built a crackling fire, our first of the winter season.