Cape Cod Test Kitchen

Back in October of 2015, five short films were screened in the loft of Main Street Wine and Gourmet in Orleans, Cape Cod.  They were five films out of 24 that were selected from a pool of 330, submitted to the Cape Cod International Film Festival.

One of those films is nominated for an Academy Award:  WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT COSMOS.  It’s a short animated film by Konstantin Bronzit of Russia about two friends vying for a coveted spot on a space-exploration rocket.  The film won Best Animated Short at the 2015 Festival.

“If you have the chance to see this film, please do,” says CCIFF Artistic Director, Phil Rectra.  “And if you’ve ever enjoyed the bond of friendship, you’ll be able to relate.  The story is only fifteen minutes long – there is even no dialogue – but it can have you on the verge of tears.”

“Mr. Bronzit pulls out all the stops on this film.  His mastery of storytelling, humor, pacing and animation detail all adds up to a masterpiece.  I’m not surprised it was nominated for an Oscar.”

The Director has partnered with The New Yorker to make the film available online for anyone who would like to see it.  To watch WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT COSMOS in it’s entirety, click here.

The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor the best films of 2015 and will take place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, CA at 8:30 p.m. EST.

The Cape Cod International Film Festival is an annual competition featuring the best films in any given year, from a pool submitted by filmmakers from around the world.  The event takes place in early October at the Chatham Orpheum Theater and Main Street Wine and Gourmet screening loft.

Here in New England, setting up cheeses in your fridge is pretty simple:  American for grilled cheeses, Cream Cheese for bagels, Mozzarella for pizza, Cheddar for crackers, Jack for burgers,  and Parm for pasta.  Beyond that, you’re looking at occassion-only cheeses:  putting a plate together for a party; having something decadent with crackers or French bread.

But what if you had your own cheese case?  What if you were in Cheese Heaven and could have two-dozen renditions at your disposal to snack on any time of day?  What would you lay out?

You’d think about your taste limitations, you’d think about being advnturous, you’d play with texture, flavor, world cultures and animals.

I grew up in dairy country of Northern New York:  fresh cheese curd, and cheddars ranging from mild to XXXX-treme (aged five years!).  There’s my comfort zone.

But I’m a sucker for creamy texture, so first on the list is a double-cream cow’s-milk brie, like D’Affinois.  Cream added – twice! – during fermentation, if I’m not mistaken.  Decadence.  Pure and simple.  Ramp up the indulgence by gently smearing it on an Effie’s Oatcake.

Down the creamy line are traditional brie, fuzzy-white-mold Brillat-Savarin; and Italian similars, like Robioloa (square shape made with cow and goat milk; round shape made with cow, goat, and sheep milk).  I would definitely add a double-thick round of La Tur from Piedmont, Italy.  Three milks and aged to the point of ooze.

Tangent to another landmark in Oozeville:  from Vermont, Bonne Bouche.  Ash-ripened goat cheese.  You will not be disappointed.  Ripened is as far as you can go with goat cheese.

Prior to that, goat is offered as an aged cheese – see Boucheron.  And going back in time, you have any number of fresh goat cheeses.  Moist, pasty.  Often times you’ll find it used as a palette for pepper, herbs or fruit.  Remove moisture from fresh goat cheese and you get crumbles.

And speaking of crumbling, my attention span is drifting all over the place, so our cheese case is going to have to be stocked in chunks.

You just picked up a fresh wooden cheese board.  Time to put some cheese on it, right?

Whoa.  Wait.  Not so fast.

Take a close look.  If the wood or bamboo is unseasoned, you’re going to want to take a couple steps to make sure your new board 1.  doesn’t warp or crack prematurely, and 2.  end up with spotty oil stains from a wedge of Iowa cheddar.

According to Jerry Roberts, a master woodworker from Cape Cod, all you need is a neutral oil (like walnut), a clean cloth, and a beeswax candle.  Just as with furniture polish, you can moisten the cloth, or add oil directly to the board.  A liberal amount allows the wood to absorb.  Just let the board sit for awhile, then add a second slathering of oil.  And wait.  Then wipe clean.

Use the candle to apply a thin layer of wax to the board – cover all sides.  Buff with a clean cloth, then wax again.  And buff.

What you end up with is a smooth, waterproof, oil-proof surface.

Now, you can present your cheese selection .

Cheeseboard Made with Hard Maple, Cherry, Red Oak, Knaya, and Black Walnut – seasoned with Walnut Oil and Beeswax

In mid-October, Main Street Wine and Gourmet hosted a block of short films in their screening loft as part of the 2015 Cape Cod International Film Festival.  What a treat.  First off, visiting director Karen Audette and her husband, Steve, joined the fray to share their nearly-unbelievable short documentary, THE NIKE CHARIOT EARRING.  If you have a chance to see this 15-minute gem, please do so.  It was the crowd favorite of the evening, and ended up winning Best Short Documentary of the entire Festival.

A School Girl’s Obsession: THE NIKE CHARIOT EARRING

Karen (Director) and Steve Audette (Editor), THE NIKE CHARIOT EARRING

Of course, we had snacks and sips to go with the movies:  Bob Shortsleeve provided some A to Z Pinot Gris, there were cans of Farmer Willie’s Ginger Beer, and some sweet & crunchy “Dark and Stormy” caramel corn, thanks to the aforementioned Dawn Finacom.  What a fun night…

Recently, I had the privilege of hosting 13 young professional women for a wine tasting session as part of pre-game festivities for a bachelorette party.  It was held in a loft space at Main Street Wine and Gourmet in Orleans on Cape Cod.  Towards the end of the event, one of the participants blurted out, “Oh, You have Sinskey!”  She could see a large bottle of Abraxas down on the main floor.

“How do you know Sinskey?”

“I live in San Francisco.”

And there you have it.

Robert Sinskey Vineyards (RSV) is an organic vineyard and winery that not only practices “whole farming,” but positions their wines to be paired with food.  In fact, Robert Sinskey, when arriving in Nantucket for the Food and Wine festival two years ago, walked off the plane with a leg of lamb because he wanted to be sure the pairing with his Pinot Noir was perfect.

For most folks, these wines are a nice-to-have; priced around $40.00 a bottle.  But they are an experience.  For $30.00 you can start with the rosé (vin gris) made with pinot noir grapes.

Find a reason to celebrate.

Last Christmas, at a holiday party, I was challenged to take a sip of a wine and tell a group of a dozen or so people what it was.  Having only paid attention to the smells and tastes of wine for two years, I was no expert.  But I found out that with a little improvisation, you can make it appear that you know what you are doing.  When it was over, I felt like a television psychic.  It’s a story for another day.

Last week, I attended a grand tasting at the Chatham Bars Inn hosted by Ruby Wines.  Lori, the illustrious Cape Cod guru for Ruby approached and said before you try anything, go to table six and try the red from Napa.  It’s rare, it’s interesting, and it’s delicious.

Well, she was right.  I took a sip from the Summers vineyard owner, Jim, and it was ripe, round and red.  The grape:  Charbono.  Another ‘lost grape,’ perhaps?  It has resurfaced in Argentina and is being grown in California – but originated in the Savoie region of France.  And yet, to make things even more mystical and confusing, Italians brought the grape to California in the 1800’s (they told everyone it was Barbera).

Now because of limited acreage, Charbono is achieving cult status.  Leading the charge is Summers Estate Vineyards…

Just have to make a quick note here about a recent sip.  Spring on Cape Cod brings the seasonal arrival of Rosé wine.  The makers leave the skins of red grapes in the juice just long enough to give a tint of pink, or a deeper translucent cranberry red.

Rosés are made with a wide variety of red grapes.  Yesterday, I tried the 2014 Mulderbosch from Stellenbosch.  Stellenbosch, South Africa.  It’s perfect for that window between springtime and the heat of summer.  Fuller-bodied than most rosés, it’s got the vibe of sea-salted strawberries.

It’s has Memorial Day weekend written all over it…

I’ve spent years in a hierarchical corporate environment, where people bring in their lunch and label it with a Post-It, defending their property from scavengers and interns.  Well, now I’m in a flat organization, where owners and staff do whatever it takes to make the business run smoothly.  And lunch?  Monday lunch?  Let me share with you how I’m greeted on a Monday by co-worker, Dawn.  Dawn, who went to Johnson & Wales culinary school.

“Hey, guess what I did over the weekend?   Saturday, I took a boneless pork shoulder and brined it in cider vinegar, water and salt – overnight.  Then Sunday, poured off the liquid and added a bottle of Sam Adams Boston lager, a cut-up onion, brown sugar, cumin, mustard powder, garlic, oregano, regular chili powder and chipotle chili powder.  Crock-potted it for ten hours, pulled it with a fork, and tossed some Bone Suckin’ in there, and now it’s ready for a poppy-seed bulky with a schmear of mayo.  All we have to do is find a nice coleslaw – not a wappy-assed coleslaw, but a decent coleslaw.  And some chips.”

How am I supposed to focus on work when a three-star sandwich is waiting for me at the lunchtime hour?

Got it.  I’m going to focus on what to drink with it.  The leading candidate is a pink Chinon Cab Franc, compliments of Cynthia Hurley.

Do you hear that?  It’s the sound of my stomach growling.

If you see a feathered friend on the label of a bottle of wine from Washington State, chances it’s an Owen Roe, by winemaker David O’Reilly.  There’s the Lenore Syrah, Rook Red Blend, and The Keeper Cab Franc.  All are delicious in their own way, but recently I had an extraordinary white wine called Ravenna – a dry Riesling.

Riesling is an unmistakable grape when it comes to wine.  Very aromatic, floral, what I like to call “perfumey.”

The 2013 Corvidae Ravenna Rielsling is dry and has flavors and characteristics that come together to create a complete experience when tasting.  It’s three-dimensional.  When you take a sip, there’s stuff happening to the left, to the right – and in front of you.  Many wines taste like a color:  dark red fruit, green grass.  The Ravenna has a rare multitude of colors, from green pear to orange peach to yellow pineapple to white jasmin.  All while the tip of your tongue tingles from the acidity in the wine.

I proclaim this the Official White Wine of the Summer of 2015.

Here on Cape Cod, folks who appreciate good wine are spreading the word about it.  To the point where there is none on the shelves at the local shops.  If you can find it, chill it and try it.  It’s fantastic on its own, or with complimentary food, like smoked ham, goat cheese – or even a beet salad.  It’s the 2013 Corvidae Ravenna Riesling by Owen Roe Wines.  $10 – $15 on the shelf, depending on where you shop.

It’s memorable, wonderful, and stands out in a crowd.

Day 1, Minute 1:  In an attempt to try a new grape from an unfamiliar wine region, I recently popped open a bottle of 2012 Dark Lady Pinotage from South Africa ($20).  Just like I used to think curry was a spice berry that grew on the curry bush, I assumed “Pinotage” was a wine made from a blend of red grapes.  But setting the record straight:  Pinotage is a grape, created in 1925 by combining Pinot Noir and Cinsault.  South Africa is the undisputed champion of wines made from Pinotage.

Into the stemless glass it went, and as is customary, a full sniff to gather up aromas.  I kid you not:  the overwhelming scent wafting up from the glass was that of a freshly opened package of Oscar Mayer hot dogs.  I re-sniffed five times to confirm and yes:  processed pork product.  I love hot dogs and baloney, so didn’t find the smell off-putting.  I was more in awe of the fact that there was nothing in front of me other than a glass of red wine.

Those folks who have had the opportunity to taste wine know that it’s not uncommon to sniff-sniff and assault the olfactory receptors with blasts of model airplane glue, rotten eggs, and Goodyear tire.  Swirl it, give it air, and those grody elements disappear.  This was my first experience with pig – and I’ll divulge now that the initial smell of head cheese evolved into the taste of smoked prosciutto by the time I had a chance to take a sip.

Anyone who tells you that “all wine tastes the same” hasn’t made the effort.  Next to the Dark Lady was a newly-opened bottle of 2013 Cycle Buff Beauty Shiraz ($17, 10% Malbec).  Like the bikini-clad woman on the label, this wine was young and lean, but had plentiful soggy ripe red fruit to completely contrast the swine in the other glass.

Day 2, Minute 1:  I let the Dark Lady sit on the counter overnight, unpumped.  Plenty of time for the pimento loaf scent molecules to dissipate.  15 hours later, what lay in my grip was a refined, gently-smoky, light-bodied wine. Subtle tannins that found their place in the center of my mouth. And get this:  upon re-tasting, there was a subtle flavor of Cherry Blow Pop – or the coating of a candy apple.  Really quite delicious – and a far cry from the freshly-opened boar effect.  One could argue that this wine reveals many dimensions over the course of a day.

Now, if only I had some duck frisee salad to go with the rest of the bottle…