Chianti Classico & Carpaccio

Carpaccio is named for Vittore Carpaccio, the Venetian Renaissance painter known for his use of brilliant reds and whites. Giuseppe Cipriani, owner of Harry’s Bar, invented this dish in 1950, the year of the great Carpaccio exhibition in Venice. It was inspired by the Contessa Amalia Nani Mocenigo, a frequent customer at Harry’s Bar whose doctor had placed her on a diet forbidding cooked meat. (Interesting diet, no?)

Marchese Antinori is produced from the finest grapes grown in the Chianti Classico wine region of Tuscany. Deep ruby red with predominant cherry fruit flavors. It is a full-bodied, rounded, delicious red wine. 90% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and other red grapes. This is hands down one of my favorites, and a good value too.

Thinly sliced raw beef is drizzled with olive oil, garnished with capers and freshly ground pepper, topped with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.

V. Carpaccio, The Marriage of the Virgin, 1504-08, Oil on Canvas

Do you agree with Cipriani, isn’t the raw beef dish reminiscent of the painting?

Yellow for Bri

Organic Mixed Lettuce Salad, Mustard Vinaigrette
Jacques Pepin’s Vinaigrette in a Jar
2 tsp chopped garlic
3 Tbs Dijon-style mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 c red or white wine vinegar
1 c extra virgin olive oil
Put all ingredients in a jar, screw on the lid, and shake very well.
“I make dressing in a jar all the time at home, just like the recipe here. In less than a minute, I have enough for several salads. And if I happen to have a jar of mustard that is almost empty it’s even faster, I just add oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, and shake,” Jacques Pepin. From Jacques & Julia Cooking at Home
Yellow, through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, has come to signify the fight against cancer.
Briana Brownlow is one of 5% of women under the age of 30 diagnosed with breast cancer. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. In August 2007, she started Figs with Bri – a food blog where she shares her creative experiments with wonderful local organic ingredients. A month and a half ago, her worst fears came true. She learned that her cancer has returned and metastasized to her lungs, her lymph nodes and several areas in her bones and is at Stage IV. (from Jugalbundi blog)
The folks at Jugalbundi are hosting a fundraiser to help Bri, a fellow food blogger, with medical expenses. This month the CLICK food photography event theme is YELLOW for Bri.
Godspeed, Bri.

Lychee Martini

Exotic, alluring, and intriguing…

It’s made with vodka and lychee juice or syrup.
This sensual elixir is perfumey,
with a taste reminiscent of rose petals and citrus.
Some recipes call for additional ingredients such as lime juice, sugar, lychee liqueur, or Cointreau but purists simply go for good vodka and lychee.
Have you tried a Lychee Martini?

Eleven Madison Park, New York

Set in a magnificent art deco dining room with soaring ceilings and lush views of historic Madison Square Park, Eleven Madison Park is an elegant restaurant serving Swiss-born Chef Daniel Humm’s modern, pure and market-driven French cuisine.
We just returned from a trip to New York for an extraordinary whirlwind dining weekend. One of the many highlights was Eleven Madison Park restaurant. The ambiance is breathtaking, the food heavenly with a modern approach to classic French flavor combinations, and the service impeccable, professional, and gracious.
Here is a sampler of a few of the fabulous dishes:

Green Market Asparagus
Lynnhaven Chèvre Frais, Soft Boiled Quail Eggs and Nasturtium


Nova Scotia Lobster
Poached with Garden Peas, Oregon Morels and Mint


Grimaud Farms Muscovy Duck
Glazed with Lavender Honey and Spices (for two)

After the Duck is presented to the Table, it is taken back to the kitchen and plated with the breast meat and leg served in two completely different manners.
Chef Humm was quoted, “I want guests to experience delicious and pure flavors, textures and ingredients. But, most importantly, I want them to enjoy their entire meal here and leave with wonderful memories and hopes of returning soon. “

Sure did. See you soon, Chef!

Wine with Dinner


Stony Hill
Napa Valley 1995 Chardonnay
Stony Hill Vineyard has been producing delicious, fruity, non-oaky Chardonnay for over a half century. This wine has been off my radar screen for years. Too bad. This is just the style of Chardonnay that I adore – non-oaky, balanced and elegant.
The 1995 vintage is still fresh and lively, with concentrated fruit, it is complex and graceful, has an attractive minerality with a honeyed character. Love it! It was an extraordinary complement to some of first courses of David Humm’s fresh modern French dishes we enjoyed at Eleven Madison Park restaurant.

Marcassin, Three Sisters Vineyard
Sonoma Coast 2003 Pinot Noir
We had ordered a variety of main courses at Eleven Madison Park including the Lavender Honey & Spiced Duck, Vermont Farm Suckling Pig with Plum Chutney & Five Spice Jus, and Organic Chicken with Oregon Morels & Sauce Vin Jaune. We were very excited to have the opportunity to drink Helen Turley’s world-class Marcassin Pinot Noir with our main course.
Wine writer/critic Robert Parker writes: “The 2003 Pinot Noirs are showy wines, with the 2003 Pinot Noir Three Sisters offering a combination of white chocolate, blueberry, raspberry, a touch of smoke and earth, with good underlying, tart acidity, very seductive aromas and flavors, and a spicy, long finish.” Ooohhh!

Helen Turley, one of the world’s most influential winemakers, talks about Marcassin Pinot Noir:

FYI – Marcassin is French for young wild boar.