Chardonnay marks 100th birthday of growth in US

Chardonnay grapes are seen on a cart in a vineyard during a harvest in Klosterneuburg, the neighbouring city north of Vienna Oct 11, 2009. Reuters pic
NEW YORK, Feb 1 Chardonnay, the world's most popular white wine, dates back centuries, but it owes much of its history in the United States to a winemaker who planted the grape in California 100 years ago.

Ernest Wente, of the family-owned Wente Vineyards east of San Francisco, brought cuttings from Montpelier, France in 1912 and planted them in California.

Now, although worldwide there are 34 clones of Chardonnay, most of the Chardonnay produced in California is from the Wente clone.

"Nobody really thought about the great white grape of Burgundy being planted here," said Carolyn Wente, a fourth generation member of the family who heads the winery that was established in 1883.

"Now 75 per cent of all the Chardonnay planted in California is Clone 4 the Wente Clone," she added.

Chardonnay has proven to be a big success for winemakers in Northern California. Up and down the California coast, wineries such as Jordan, La Crema and Matanzas Creek in Sonoma, Parducci in Mendocino and Ortman Family Wines in Paso Robles grow the Wente clone in their vineyards.

Randy Ullom, of Kendall-Jackson wines in Healdsburg, California described it as "the workhorse of Chardonnay. It's everywhere," he said.

Corey Beck, the winemaker for Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, California, agrees.

"(I am) a fan because even in cool regions it tends to ripen evenly and it always has a lot of flavour," he explained.

Carole Meredith, a winemaker and former geneticist at the University of California, Davis said winemakers like Chardonnay because it is a very forgiving grape.

"It's not so much a chameleon as it is versatile," she said.

Chardonna! y is pro duced around the globe, particularly in America, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Its green grapes yield the flinty white wines of Chablis, the nutty aromas found in Chassagne-Montrachet and the biscuity smells of Champagne.

In California and New Zealand the white wine has an aroma of tropical fruits.

Meredith and other researchers used DNA techniques to trace Chardonnay back to its roots in France as a cross between Pinot, a grape probably brought by the Romans, and Gouais blanc, an Eastern European variety considered so mediocre there were attempts to ban it.

Winemakers say that great wines are made in the vineyard and the better the fruit, the better the wine. But with Chardonnay winemakers do not have to rely on nature to make a good wine.

"Chardonnay is very amenable to winemaking techniques," Meredith said. "There are a lot of things one can do in the winery that will change the way it tastes."

Thanks to its array of flavours, its easy growing, high yields and adaptability, winemakers produce millions of bottles of Chardonnay with a wide range of styles and prices.

"It's not that Chardonnay doesn't reflect the vineyard. It's just that you can't immediately attribute what you're tasting to the vineyard," Meredith said. Reuters

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Mini Pretzel Dogs

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I think Id like to write a book about how to make friends, entitled How to Make Friends, the almost fairytale.

Chapter One

Once upon a time there was a lonely girl who had but one friend her snaggle-toothed mother. One day, in the kitchen, she stumbled upon a rare and delicious combination. A combination never before discovered in the land of Lonleyia. Warm, soft, salty dough met with hot dogs.

It was as though rainbows, unicorns, and friendly hobbits had descended upon this special girl. People came from far and wind to sample her new found delicacy and friendships blossomed abound. It was like Springtime. Springtime of friendships.

Even the girls snaggle-toothed mother made a friend of two.

Never again was the lonely girl lonely (or hungry)

The end.

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Yea my next book only has one chapter, one recipe, and about 34 words. No biggie.

So! You have two options here. You can re-read this story and go take a nap OR (and I totally suggest this next option) you could make these pretzel dogs this weekend, serve them with spicy mustard and cold beer, and make (or solidify) friendships of your own.

Choose your own adventure. No bigs.

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Essentially, were wrapping soft dough around hot dogs. Its nothing more complicated than that.

If tha t doesnt sound like the best thing to happen all week, I invite you to come back in two days from now.

Ps. I love you.

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Dont be fooled by the twisty and golden brown nature of pretzels theyre actually really simple to make.

It all starts with yeast, warm water, and flour.

At first the dough is shaggy shaggy.

With a little work of the dough hook, it will come together!

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This is the luscious dough before rising.

It should feel light and soft. This will be a tender dough. It will be slightly sticky, but not sticky enough to actually stick to your hands.

Its like a little dough pillow.

If your first instinct is to rest your head on the dough youre on the right track.

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This is real life.

Its juuust dough. Back off, kitten!

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Beautifully risen dough.

Its like magic in a bowl.

My trick?

I leave dough to rise in an OFF gas oven, or on the back burner of my stovetop with the oven left on at 200 degrees F.

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Cut the soft dough into 16 pieces (for 1/2 hot dogs) or 8 pieces (for big ol whole hot dogs).

So light and tender.

But dont eat it yet!

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Rolling the dough into ropes.

Channel your Play-Doh days.

Ropes get rolled 12-inches long for half dogs, and 24-inches for whole dogs. Its science or not at all.

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If this seems like SO MUCH FUN to you I consider us friends.

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Just make sure that the ends are sealed and pressed together.

The next step is boiling!

If the dogs arent sealed up tight they might unravel a bit which is totally not the end of the world, ps.

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Pretzels are boiled in a baking soda and water solution.

The baking soda changes the alkalinity of the outside of the pretzel. Baking soda is what gives pretzels their distinctive chewy crunch and golden color.

Baking soda is what separates these pretzel dogs from bagel dogs and these are most certainly NOT bagel dogs.

Although ! if youre interested in bagel pizza I was too.

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Serve these pretzel dogs to many. Youll need to share. Dont be like me and eat too many.

These pretzel dogs are so warn, tender, and utterly delicious. I promise that these darlings will find you friends, lovers, and stalkers of the feline variety.

ps. Leave Me Alone, Kitten!

Pretzel Dogs

makes 16 pretzel dogs (made from cutting hot dogs in half)

recipe adapted from Alton Brown

Print this Recipe!

1 cups warm water (between 110 and 115 degrees F)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast

22 ounces all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 cups)

2 teaspoons salt

2 ounces butter, melted and cooled

about 14 cups of water

1 cup baking soda

1 large egg, beaten, with a splash of water

salt and pepper for topping

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine warm water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and set aside for 5 minutes. The mixture will begin to foam and froth. If it doesnt, throw the mixture away and start again with new yeast.

Once the yeast and water is frothy, add the flour, salt, and melted butter. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until well combined. Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough until it is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, creating a ball of dough around the dough hook. Beat on medium speed for approximately 4 minutes.

Remove the dough from the bowl. The dough will be soft, pliable, and just a bit sticky! . Thats perfect. Scrape any residue out of the bowl and coat the bowl with a bit of vegetable oil. Place the dough back in the bowl, sprinkle with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and store in a warm place to rise. Allow dough to rise, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Place baking racks in the center and upper third of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and lightly brush the paper with oil. Its important to brush the parchment paper or the pretzels will stick!

Combine water and baking soda in a large pan (8 quart is fine) saucepan and bring to a boil.

While the water comes to a boil, turn the dough out onto a clean, slightly oiled work surface. Divide dough into 8 or 16 pieces, depending on how large youd like your pretzel dogs. 8 pieces of dough for whole hot dogs. 16 pieces of dough if youre doing to slice the hot dogs in half.

Start with the fingers of both hands in the center of the dough, and roll, moving your hands outward as you roll. Roll the dough along the oiled surface until you have about a 24-inch or 12-inch piece of rope (depending on how large your piece of dough was the more dough the longer the rope).

Wrap pretzel around a hot dog, making sure to seal the ends.

When water has come to a boil, gently lower a few pretzel dogs into the boiling water. Boil for 30 seconds. Remove carefully, using a flat, slotted spatula. Place on prepared baking sheet. Brush boiled pretzels with beaten egg, and add coarse sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Bake until deeply golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving warm.

Soft pretzels are best enjoyed the day they are made.

If youre not going to enjoy all your pretzel dogs, double wrap them in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. When ready to serve, transfer out of plastic and into a piece of foil. Wrap well and bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes, or until heated through.


Christmas Day Dessert: Gingerbread tiramisu

Ahh finally, my last Christmas day post. Desserts, everyone's favourite.

I thought of making something different for dessert for Christmas last year, but since my brain was too lazy to think, I ended up making tiramisu again. (Click here for 2010's tiramisu recipe) However, this is not the conventional tiramisu using sponge fingers, instead I substituted it with gingerbread.

That wasn't planned.. I remember I still had a pack of sponge fingers left from a few months ago (it usually comes in a pack of two and I've only used one previously) but on the evening I was going to make the tiramisu, I found that it has sort of disintegrated and unusable! *shock horrors!* It was already 9pm and there was no way I could make it out in time to get a new pack of sponge fingers. At first, I thought of using digestive biscuits, then I remembered that I had gingerbread (we bought a gingerbread house from IKEA but unfortunately it collapsed due to humidity) which I could use to make the tiramisu.

Fortunately for me, it worked out way better than expected.. in fact everyone loved it more than the tiramisu I made last year! I think the gingerbread biscuit smells and taste much more fragrant (and maybe I put in more Bailey's this year ;P). Do give this a try the next time you make a tiramisu. I will definitely be using gingerbread again the next time. (Note: If you're giving this to kids, then omit the Baileys -- only in theirs of course! Always put Baileys for the adults version ;P)

Gingerbread tiramisu


Not your regular tiramisu.. but it works!


Gingerbread Tiramisu
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Makes 6

Ingredients
250g mascarpone cheese
25g icing sugar
150ml strong coffee, cooled to room temperature
250ml double or whipping cream
70ml Baileys (or more if you like)
Gingerbread biscuit (forgot to weigh it but should be 150-200g)
1 tsp vanilla extract / essence
Cocoa powder, for dusting
6 Marks & Spencer animal butter biscuits, to decorate


1. Place mascarpone cheese and icing sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk for 1 minute until the mascarpone has softened.

2. Whip cream until it forms soft peaks. Add 15ml of Baileys and fold into the mascarpone mixture.

3. Place coffee and remaining Baileys in a shallow dish. Break the gingerbread biscuit so that it fits into the glass, then dip into coffee mixture and place in the glass (since the gingerbread is quite thin, you can put two layers).

4. Spoon 2 tbsp of mascarpone mixture into glass and place another two layers of gingerbread biscuit dipped in coffee mixture. Top with a final layer of mascarpone cheese and cover the glasses with cling film. Repeat for 5 other glasses. Chill in the fridge overnight to allow cream to firm up.

5. Before serving, dust with some cocoa powder and top with a biscuit / raspberry or strawberries.

Tiramisu with a twist


Choose your favorite animal

Very delicious..


After tiramisu, we had some Bacardi Gold and more Baileys & milk. Plus a chocolate peanut butter santa each :)

Baileys for me


Sorry Santa!


And this concludes my Christmas Day menu postings. Hope you enjoyed them all. Next up, will be New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year recipes.

Full set of photos can be viewed here.

RM32.80++ Shabu Shabu Buffet @ Nagomi, Menara Hap Seng

I am sure you know the problem with steamboat buffets. The ingredients are often not fresh and the soup is usually laden with ajinomoto. Luckily Nagomi decided to serve Shabu Shabu buffet and despite being 50% more expensive than the average steamboat buffet restaurants, the price is justified because the expected quality is there.

tiger-prawns

For RM32.80++ per adult (exclusive of drinks, green tea is RM3) you get to choose from over 80 types of ingredients to swish in the dashi hot pot. Well, thats what they claim. I did not count but the spread certainly did not look like it consisted of anything near to 80 choices lol. Among all, we enjoyed the tiger prawns the most. Although they were frozen, they were still fresh, tasted sweet and the shells could be peeled off easily after being cooked.


seafood

Other seafood included slipper lobster, oyster, bamboo clams, clams and fish slices. Like the tiger prawns, these were also frozen but still managed to taste fresh and good. One exception would be the clams, some were found to be a bit sandy.
I read from the other blogs that live yabbies (freshwater crayfish), pomfrets, crabs are available too but I didnt see them anywhere. Taken off the spread maybe? And of course there are also the processed stuff like meat balls, fish cakes etc but those are pretty much left untouched by the patrons. I didnt bother too.

shabu-shabu

Quality broth and dipping sauce aside, the key to delicious Shabu Shabu lies in the vegetables you put in the broth before you even start cooking the meat and seafood. It is always good to include generous amount of Japanese leek, lettuce and mushrooms to sweeten the broth as it cooks. You could try to compare the broths taste before and after you place the vegetables, you shall find the difference is quite significant.

salmon-sashimi

The other reason I came to Nagomi is for the Salmon sashimi, which is served from 8pm to 9pm only during dinner session. Unlimited, if you are wondering. Alas, the salmon was not as fresh as I expected and had a slightly gristly texture. Still acceptable for buffet standards, nonetheless.

maki

A variety of Maki is also available but my advice is, dont waste your stomach space on them and just focus on the shabu shabu. For desserts, there are jellies, local fruits like watermelon and honeydew and soft serve ice cream from a self-service vending machine.

nagomi-shabu-shabu

After including the miscellanous charges (tax, service charge, green tea) the meal worked out to about RM41.50 per pax. Not exactly cheap, but no regrets because we were satisfied with the food, which was good in overall. Hopefully the shabu shabu! buffet promotion will stay on longer, so I get to return again to sapu the tiger prawns.

Nagomi Japanese Restaurant
Suite 1-19, 1st Floor, The Podium,
Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P. Ramlee, 50250 KL
GPS Coordinates: N3 09.165 E101 42.442
Tel: 603-2141 6332

Shabu Shabu Buffet available for dinner daily (including weekends and public holidays), lunch only on weekdays
Adults RM32.80++, Children 5-12 years old RM18.80++
Reserve ahead to avoid disappointments

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Titiwangsa Sao Kong Chow 2012

Restoran CH here we come againThe occasion was the Sao Kong Chow for the Titiwangsa's group of friends and this has been a custom wepracticedever since we met. In fact this was my first Sao Kong Chow for this year just that I have no chance to post it earlier. My apology to my Titiwangsa friends.
The Lou Sang to start off the night...

Ready to Lou........and go! ..... we utter many good words for the coming Dragon so that we are blessed with good fortunes in what! ever th ings we do in our lives.Don't worry about the mess, the messier the better.....The four seasons like most Chinese dinners in the entire universe.A delicious steam grouper fish in plain soy sauce.Shark's fins I know many will disapprove this food in the name of cruelty of shark finning. But I believe this awareness is building up and soon more people will avoid shark fin in their menu.A special request for this roast pork and an added on dish delicacy for the night.! Steam ka mpong (village) chicken with crunchy Kai Lan vegetable in soy sauce was awesome.Yeaw Seng Kok de organiser.Relax bro... you will win the next round and thanks for the bottle.
Cheers!!! and happy ushering for a good Dragon Year.

An evening of croaking & karaoke in the city of Kuala Lumpur.

The singing went on and on...... everyone was happy as the fellowship continues to sail on.

SHL's turn to belt out a song or two.For those tired of croaking were @ a nook.Roses among the manythorns.Poco-poco time as the resident singers continue to sing for the evening.There were enough whisky for the night and thanks to the contributors and also Yeaw for organising this wonderful dinner.