Finger Lakes Wine Tour and Bouillabaisse for Two

First since I can’t expect you to wait for such a wonderful meal, here is the recipe for Bouillabaisse.

Our trip to New York State wine region:

Since we enjoyed our Easter dinner when family came into town earlier in the week, Ted and I had the weekend free.  We decided to enjoy a drive out to the Seneca Lake wine region in the Finger Lakes of New York.  It’s about a 2 hour drive so instead of being rushed to get home for Zoey and Shane, we decided they should come along with us.  A family day out.

Our first stop was Foxrun Winery Cafe since we were starving.  We shared a deliciously crisp and fruity glass of Gewurztraminer before enjoying a quiche, a zucchini pizza on Naan, and small spinach salads.

Next on our list was our favorite of all the Finger Lakes wineries, Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard.

We both did a $5.tasting of 5 selections:

Chardonnay 2013- Old World style with full body and only partial oaking. $17.50 per bottle

Gewurztraminer 2013 – A 90p rating in Wine Enthusiast Magazine 2012 – Grapes from their Josef vineyard, offering an edgy aromatic wine with a touch of floral.  $25. per bottle

Dry Riesling 2014 – 91p in W&S Magazine 2012 and 90p in Wine Enthusiast 2012 – Fermented in small lots from all 3 of the Wiemer vineyards. An elegant and balanced wine. $18.50 per bottle

Semi Dry Riesling 2013 – 94p W&S Magazine and 91p Wine Enthusiast 2012 – A delicate balance of set and natural acidity to bring out the true grape flavor. DELICIOUS, and our favorite. $17.50 per bottle

Pinot Noir 2013 – From the Wiemer Magdalena Vineyard producing a ruby red Pinot, soft and delicate which blossoms to a rich black cherry finish. A fine Pinot Noir.  $29.00 per bottle.

We ended up with 1 case of mixed Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Semi Dry Riesling, and Pinot Noir.

The vineyard has expanded since we last visited and very interesting…

From the winery, we made our way around the lake through Watkins Glen.  The only other stop we made was to a Distillery which we found absolutely fascinating but unfortunately and with regret, I didn’t get photos. We tasted 4 different cordials at the distillery: Maple, Cassis, Cherry, and Raspberry.  The maple was somewhat harsh and tasted more like whiskey until the server added a spot of bitters and sour apple which turned the taste into a real treat.  Our favorite was Cassis, straight up.  The cherry needed a shot of chocolate bitters to make it quite delightful and the raspberry would be a nice finish after a pasta dinner. All good with tweaking and not overly sweet.

The weather didn’t offer bright sunshine on our drive only gusting winds, chilly air, and cloud cover.  The sun actually did show up a couple of times during our drive.  At the end of the day, it was an enjoyable ride with Shane and Zoey and a few wine tastings, we couldn’t have asked for better.

… and so I made Bouillabaisse…

Chef Maria Felicia T. Seva offers an interesting Bouillabaisse recipe in the January 2015 issue of The National Culinary Review.  Naturally I had to try it and put my own two cents into this dish for two on a, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT IN APRIL, snowy weekend.  *Ok, so it’s not snow that is staying around long, at least in our area, but the fact that it is in the air on an Easter weekend is just hard to accept.

Ingredients

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 TBS chopped fine garlic
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped small
• 2 stalks celery, chopped small
• 6 to 7 oz Fish sauce
• 1 1/2 TBS all purpose flour
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 1/4 cup Hermann J. Wiemer Gewurztraminer or, for a different flavor, try brandy.
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Herbs d’Provence
• 4 – 6 shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 white fish fillet (your choice) although I used Barramundi
• 4-6 mussels
• 1 cup calamari rings
• crab legs

For the rouille:  *My rouille did not look reddish is color but more mustard like.

What is Rouille?  From “WiseGeek”

Rouille is a thick sauce often used as a garnish with fish or fish-based soups. From the French word for rust, due to it’s very often reddish brown color when prepared with a traditional recipe.

Two different ways to create rouille. The traditional method is to use a combination of olive oil, chili peppers, and cloves of garlic. Breadcrumbs are added to give it the proper texture. It also might include spices, depending on personal preferences.

The second method uses mayonnaise instead of olive oil. Chili peppers or red pimentos are added to give it the rust color. Garlic is common to this method and no breadcrumbs are added.

• 1 small yellow potato
• 1 capsicum, grilled and skinned – split and remove seeds before puree
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• pinch paprika
• pinch red pepper
• salt to taste
• Multi Grain bread

Puree the potato.  Add the capsicum, tomato paste and garlic. Season with paprika, red pepper, salt and set aside.  Slice the bread when ready to eat, after bouillabaisse is cooked and spread on the potato mixture.

Bouillabaisse

Heat olive oil in large pan.  Sweat the onion and garlic, about 5 minutes over medium-low.

Don’t know how to sweat vegetables?

1. Dice or chop in uniform small pieces.  Mince garlic.
2. Heat pan over medium low heat until hot.
3. Add no more than 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and swirl to coat.
4. When the oil is hot, after about 30 seconds, add the vegetables to the pan along with a just a tad of salt to bring out the water in the veg.
5. Turn the heat up to medium but not to brown.
6. Stir frequently because you don’t want to brown the vegetables and so you  have to keep stirring. 
7. Once the vegetables are soft and onions translucent, in about five minutes, you have sweat the vegetables and can continue.

Add carrot and celery, saute for 5 minutes.  Add fish sauce and flour and tomato paste.  Stir until blended and bubbling.  Add cognac and bring back to a boil to reduce, about 5- 6 minutes.  Add water and boil.  Add fennel and herbs d’provence.  Reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.  Puree mixture in blender.  Cook for about 5 – 6 minutes until all is cooked.

Serve with the side of bread spread with rouille.

Have you ever toured a wine region? We enjoy the Finger Lakes in New York, obviously because they are close to us but also they are small and personable. The California wine regions are Napa, Sonoma are so interesting and have our favorite wines but are so much larger and museum like.

Have you ever made bouillabaisse? 

Joanne