Archive for October, 2013
More DC, VA and MD Wine Dinners in Fall of 2013
I’ve loved attending wine dinners in the Washington, D.C. area (Northern Virginia and Maryland too!) for the past 15 years over at TasteDC . I’m sort of a wine dinner specialist – so what exactly does that mean? It basically means that I understand and consume plenty of wine, and the whole concept of creating a dinner around wine and food pairing just seems natural to me – and quite enjoyable!
My baby TasteDC just got hired to promote a series of wine dinners for a very reputable local Spanish restaurant chain – La Tasca Restaurants. I like both their concept and their willingness to use wine dinners and cooking classes as a smart way to extend their brand. Today’s restaurant goer has so many choices, but what will get her attention in the crowded restaurant scene. How about treating going out to eat as an experience for all the senses and not just an excuse to fill the belly? Just from experience, people who attend wine dinners are generally not only Foodies, but they’re also more intelligent, better paid, travel more and appreciate the nuances of pairing food and wine in a multi-course dinner. Sound snooty? Actually, wine dinners can be really fun, and often the banter and conversations are very interesting and entertaining!
Here’s a series of Washington, DC wine dinners, Virginia wine dinners and Maryland wine dinners that TasteDC is promoting/marketing for La Tasca:
4-Course Torres Spanish Wine Dinners,$75 inclusive of food, wine, tax & tip
Various Dates and La Tasca Locations – See Below
Fall Torres Wine Festival Dinners
8 Wines * 4 Course Dinner * Prize Trip to Spain * Flamenco Show
La Tasca — Washington, DC 722 7th Street NW, November 13th, Wednesday (6-9 pm)
La Tasca – Arlington, VA 2900 Wilson Blvd, November 14th, Thursday (6-9 pm)
La Tasca-Baltimore, 201 E Pratt St, November 16th, Saturday (6-9 pm)
La Tasca – Rockville 141 Gibbs St, November 19th, Tuesday (6-9 pm)
La Tasca – Alexandria 607 King St, November 24th, Sunday (6-9 pm)
Fall Torres Wine Festival Dinners
8 Wines | 4 Course Dinner | Prize Trip to Spain | Flamenco Show
An Exciting Evening!
We are thrilled to invite you to join us for an incredible evening, complete with tastings of eight notable wines led by the passionate and amazing folks at Torres Wines. In addition, enjoy a four-course dinner prepared by executive chef Josu Zubikarai, an open bar, an exclusive flamenco performance, and a small gift to take with you. And let’s not forget that, as part of the Torres Wine Festival, all guests will be entered for a chance to win a trip for two to Barcelona, Spain!
Have you ever thought of wine as art? Now is your chance. This is definitely one you don’t want to miss!
When and Where?
We are hosting Torres Wine Dinners at all of our La Tasca locations. Every event will be held from 6-9pm. If events reach capacity, we will add additional dates.
It’s Cocktail (Half) Hour
For the first half hour, from 6–6:30, a choice of sangrias and signature appetizers will be served. During this time we will also introduce our Torres host, who will lead the wine tasting for the evening.
Wine, Anyone? Oh, and Dinner Too
Paella Square Prepared by Chef Josu, dinner will be served over three courses. At moments during dinner, guests will be led through a tasting (and a fascinating history) of some of Spain’s most interesting wines, stretching across various regions and including popular varietals like verdejo and tempranillo. Not a wine connoisseur? No worries, this is a perfect way to learn and get excited about wine.
Dessert will be served following dinner, along with coffee and teas and a featured dessert wine.
Flamenco!
During dessert, watch the passion and the heritage of Spain come to life with a spirited flamenco performance from the most well-known dancers and musicians in the area.
What Else Do I Need To Know?
The cost of the event is $75 per guest and is all-inclusive — the wine tasting, dinner, all beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), dessert, flamenco performance and all taxes and gratuities are covered in the ticket price. Dress is casual and accommodations will be made for guests with any dietary restrictions.
To register for the event, please select one of the event dates shown on the calendar to the right. After selecting a date, scroll down the event details and click on “Book Now”. All guests will be entered for the chance to win a trip for two to Barcelona in 2014. Details on this contest and prize are being finalized, but information will be updated at the link on the right.
Cheers!
On the Rocks Or Whiskeython!
On The Rocks: Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival 2013
Washingtonian hosts our second annual whiskey and fine spirits festival, On the Rocks, on October 10, 2013. Guests will enjoy a live band, delectable fare, and sips of premium whiskey, Scotch, malt, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and much more. This high-end tasting costs $65 to attend and will be advertised in Washingtonian and on washingtonian.com, Facebook, and Twitter.
On The Rocks: Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival 2013
Washingtonian hosts our second annual whiskey and fine spirits festival, On the Rocks, on October 10, 2013. Guests will enjoy a live band, delectable fare, and sips of premium whiskey, Scotch, malt, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and much more. This high-end tasting costs $65 to attend and will be advertised in Washingtonian and on washingtonian.com, Facebook, and Twitter.
What
- Unlimited spirits tastings featuring premium whiskey, Scotch, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and more!
- Exquisite cuisine from acclaimed caterer Spilled Milk Catering
- Live music and entertainment from NYX Entertainment
- Collectable ‘On The Rocks’ glasses for all party goers
- Spirits education from specialists in the industry
When
7pm until 10:30pm
Where
The Powerhouse
3255 Grace Street, NW
Washington DC 20007
Spirits
PLATINUM
Catoctin Creek Distilling Company
- Clyde Mays Whiskey
- Don Ciccio & Figli
- Green Hat Gin
- Republic National Distributing
Featuring: Aberlour, Avion Tequila, Absolut, and Jameson Whiskey - Smooth Ambler
Featuring: Boyd and Blair - Whistle Pig Whiskey
Upcoming TasteDC Whiskey Event:
The Single Malt and Scotch Whisky Extravaganza, Wednesday October 30, 2013
It’s All Turkish to Me – My First Cooking Class at Culinaria, Vienna, Virginia
I’ve been wanting to try Culinaria Cooking School in Vienna, Virginia for awhile and decided to try their Intro to Turkish Cuisine cooking class on Wednesday, October 9th, 2013.
Culinaria was founded by long time local cooking instructors Stephen Sands and Pete Snaith who both learned their trade teaching at Bethesda, Marylands’ L’Academie de Cuisine (Pete also had some time at the Culinary Institute of Florence). Our instructor for this event was Stefanie Sacripante who graduated from NYC’s Institute of Culinary Education and worked at various stints including Le Cirque also in NYC – a complete Bio of Culinaria’s Staff is Here. She is of French and Italian descent with a classic mix of New York which definitely gave her street cred a la Anthony Bourdain (she’s way better behaved!).
The Location: Although slightly hidden from the main street, the school is located in the heart of Vienna, VA and has something a bit rare for cooking schools in our area: plenty of parking! Of course I was attending after most businesses were closed, but there is parking in the area as well. The space is actually 2 kitchens: a Demonstration Kitchen for up to 24 students and a Hands-On (Participation) Kitchen for up to 18 people. The space was very pleasant and well laid-out, so definite plus on being spacious and easy to maneuver, prep and cook in.
The Class: This was a Participation class based on traditional Turkish cuisine with 5 dishes:
- Shepherd’s Salad
- Classic Lamb Kofte
- Plain & Perfect Pilav (Rice)
- Turkish Braised Leeks in Olive Oil & Lemon Juice
- Pears Poached in Clove Syrup
We first made the Salad together and then there was explanations of preparation and history of each dish afterwards with well written recipes and then each student prepared one of the dishes. I’ve been to many recreational cooking classes and what I liked most about this one was the instructors’s interesting personal history and story about her mother who was a child in war-torn France during WW II – and because she was of Italian descent, she was not treated very well by her French neighbors!
The Dishes:
The first dish we made at the beginning was the Shepherd’s Salad – very much a traditional Mediterranean style salad with cucumbers, red onion, parsley and tomatoes. This is the first time I had heard of Maras or kirimizi flakes which are a type of dried hot pepper seasoning. The dressing was essentially just lemon and olive oil, so it’s a very refreshing dish – which is especially cooling in hotter climate weather.
Kofte is a take on the “meatball”, the ultimate comfort food for pretty much every European or Middle Eastern cuisine! The meat used is lamb which strongly suggests Turkey’s Middle-Eastern routes, but also it’s Greek influence. Day-old bread which is dried out is soaked in water, squeezed out and then crumbled into a mixture of ground lamb, grated onion, a little egg, minced parsley, cumin salt and Kirmizi spice. The latter 2 spices suggest Middle Eastern cooking, especially the cumin. The secret of this dish is to roll the ball of meat in your hands and slightly compress into an egg shape – then cook the whole mixture in ghee (clarified butter) or just melted unsalted butter – only about 3 minutes per side, these cook pretty fast! The moistened/squeezed bread added to the meat I’ve seen in many Italian recipes for meatballs, but Italians generally use a mix of meats other than lamb like beef/pork/veal, so there’s another regional difference. One of the best explanations I’ve ever heard for why different cultures use different animal meats is that the terrain and vegetation of a place determines the animal (and in the case of pork, often the religious views as well!) – hilly/rocky regions have a better time raising goats, lamb and sheep, more open areas with more open grass sources tend towards beef and veal. The sauce for this is normally some yogurt mixed with some spices – meaty/warm vs. cooling/creamy is such a great contrast, this was my favorite dish of the evening – and so simple!
Plain & Perfect Pilav (Rice)
Don’t make fun of me – I have a really hard time making rice that doesn’t stick together! Yes, I soak the rice 3 or 4 times, but I guess I overcook it or maybe..I don’t fluff it at the right time! I’m not sure, but this recipe for rice came out perfect. Something unusual was that after rinsing, the rice was put into almost boiling water to pre-cook it and after that cooled down, it was drained and sauteed in butter for a few minutes. Also, the rice was cooked afterward for about 12 minutes at a low simmer with the top tightly on – I’m going to play with each part of this until I get my rice right..practice, practice, practice!
Turkish Braised Leeks in Olive Oil & Lemon Juice
Leeks can be a real pain to prepare – they get so much dirt and sand between their leaves and it’s hard to get out. Chef Stefanie showed us a few tricks: after cutting off the root end, she cut cross-wise into about 1-inch disks and then we “telescoped” them by pushing out the centers into cold water and thus rinsing the dirt in cold water. Also the rings keep the integrity of the dish under the slow braising so they aren’t stringy messes. Add some chopped carrots and a tablespoon of uncooked rice into a heavy pan, and simmer in olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add salt, a little sugar and a little over a cup of water and let simmer on medium for about 20 or 30 minutes until soft. Finish with some lemon juice and maybe a sprinkle of salt and a very simple dish is complete.
This is a dish very similar to a Spanish dish where pears are poached in red wine and sugar – so I guess all through the Mediterranean something like this is prepared. It’s very simple: take pears that are rather firm (these were actually a bit ripe, but the dish worked anyway – it’s pretty forgiving), cut them in half and core and stem a bit and put them into a hot solution of a 2:1 ratio of water to sugar with some sliced lemon and a few cloves, and basically cook until the pears are soft, take out the pears and reduce until it becomes a syrup. I was thinking a little rosewater could have been used instead of the cloves, or maybe cinnamon. Chef Stephanie had some home-made pear sorbet she had made and paired the 2 together – a pear and pear comparison dessert – delicious! Ohh, and we took some of the Greek yogurt and put this on the reduced pairs instead of the Kofte – yogurt has that wonderful cooling/creamy influence and of course tastes great against sweet.
Culinaria is run by cooking class veterans and has a really choice cooking school set-up with room to grow. They also have an extensive offering of a broad range of cooking classes based on skill or special interest. In my opinion, they have a very good niche in the NoVA/DC area in that they are very close to Tysons Corner and tons of corporate event planners, but also they are centered in a relatively high-income demographic area (especially if Oakton nearby is considered). Once they get their wine programs going again – a short-term hiccup at best from what I understand – they will really have the interests of NoVA food enthusiasts and their dollars as well. I definitely intend on attending more of their classes and weekend events are probably where a DC guy like me is more likely to spend the most time – I hate driving to VA at rush hour during the week!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Some Upcoming Culinaria Cooking Classes on the TasteDC Calendar:
- Latin Caribbean Classics: Jerk Chicken, Saturday, October 12th, 2013
- Basic Techniques: Pork, Thursday, October 24th, 2013
- Advanced Pasta Making Techniques, Friday, November 8th, 2013