Thiên Thanh

Sliding southward out of the mountains, the big V-8 was sucking in sleet and freezing rain faster that gas. Turning off onto an unmarked side road, the sleet finally gave way to snow. The Benz had all it needed – a tank of high-test and cold, dense air. We, on the other hand, were hurting. We needed something to take the edge off – fat. Preferably something super-trans-modified and searingly hot…

So why were we now sitting in the snow, moaning over McDonalds? We were at our edge. The long day behind us had left us reeling. Because after six hours of refined food and more wine than I will typically see in 4 months (I lost count after 16), we needed something to remind us how special what we had experienced was.

Rob and Brent Beecham had graciously invited local food bloggers to a Food and Wine Conclave at their Montaluce Winery, hidden away somewhere outside of Dahlonega – hidden in the sense that I couldn’t find it. Which given that I was pretty sure I was mistakenly invited, I’m thinking the hidden part was intentional…

The stumbling for words began almost as soon as we turned onto the property – as in how the hell am I, who most definitely is not a wine guy, supposed to write about this? Well – I’ll keep it simple. The property, even covered in ice and fog – is beautiful. The winery, a massive Tuscan-style building that also holds Ristorante La Vigne, is impressive, inviting and best of all – comfortable. The people – friendly, warm (and I never use that word) and just truly nice – it’s not often that you meet people that really, sincerely seem happy with what they are doing. The food and wine speak for themselves.

The menu

Chicken Liver Mousse with house made pickles and lavosh

Smoked steelhead trout, boiled peanuts, fennel, Meyer lemon, sweet tea froth

Montaluce Risata, sangiovese rose

Coppa di testa, apple mostarda, cider braise cabbage, apple

Chicken thigh terrine, chicken oyster, cipollini onions, baby carrot, celery leaf

Butternut cup custard, maple gel, oat crumble, buttermilk espuma

Executive Chef Steven Hartman

Chicken livers

Tamis

Too many cameras

Ristorante La Vigne

Wine Bar

Charcuterie leads to celebrity

Winemaker Oliver Asberger

Winery

Montaluce Winery & Estates
501 Hightower Church Road
Dahlonega, GA 30533

OK, so I wasn’t going to post this – I wasn’t even going to photograph it (I don’t photograph most of what I cook or eat). For some reason, a lot of the cooking that I post on this blog are first takes or one-off dishes. But damn it – I do know how to cook. My toque may not have 101 pleats (sorry if you don’t understand that – look it up), but it’s got a serious few and I can put a hurtin’ on some eggs when I feel like it.

Now it’s not like there is anything difficult about a frittata, but as with all things egg, if you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing you can seriously f* it up. And before anyone jumps on my back about frittatas not being brown on top – it’s not burnt. I sprinkle grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top before it goes under the broiler to create a kind of frico crust.

I’ll post a recipe later if anyone’s interested. OK – done with my chest thumping.

***** UPDATED WITH RECIPE *****

OK, enough of you asked, so here you go – it’s really not hard (or exact – just the way I like it).

• 1/4 onion – chopped
• 1/2 medium tomato – chopped & drained
• 1/4 cup mushrooms – chopped
• Chopped fresh basil
• 4 eggs
• Olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3-4 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• salt
• pepper

1. Add olive oil to a pan and cook onion over medium heat until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook a bit longer, followed by tomatoes. Continue cooking until tomatoes are warmed through. Drain any excess oil and liquid and transfer vegetables to a bowl to cool.
2. Beat eggs in a bowl. Add vegetables, basil, salt and pepper and beat together with eggs.
3. Melt butter in a heavy (ovenproof) skillet over medium heat. When butter foams, add egg mixture and immediately turn the heat to low. Let cook slowly until the eggs have set and only the top is runny. This will take about 15 minutes or so.
4. Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano over top and place under broiler for ~1 minute (watch it like a hawk).
5. Loosen the frittata and slide from the pan onto a plate. Cut and serve.

I’m not sure what it is, but sometimes around food I get this distinct feeling that I just don’t know what I’m doing. Sometimes it’s because I’ve been cooking and nothing is working. Other times, I’ll be in a great market and suddenly, nothing looks appealing, familiar or appetizing. Food block - one side of my brain is trying to be creative and inventive – and the reasonable side (the tiny, atrophied side) is saying “shut the hell up and relax” (or “put it on a plate, you’ll enjoy it more…”).

As usual, the best solution is to cook simple food – food that is really, really difficult to screw up. Salsiccia coll’uva (sausage with grapes) is one of those dishes. (Thanks Mark Bittman).

Simply cook Italian sausages (try to get good ones – then let me know where you got them) slowly in a pan – don’t prick them! When they’re done (after about 20 min), prick them to let the fat run into the pan. Remove the sausages. If there’s not at least a tablespoon of fat, add some olive oil. Add seedless grapes and let them cook over medium high heat until they just start to collapse and release their juices. Add a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, return the sausages and you’re done. I challenge you to screw that up.

On the side, roasted asparagus. Trim the woody parts of the stem (peel if necessary). Toss in a baking dish with olive oil and coarse salt. Roast in a 500 degree oven for about 20 minutes, shaking the pan after about 10 minutes. The stalks should have shriveled and begun to brown a bit. Remove from the oven and start the broiler. Top the asparagus with coarse breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and place under the broiler until browned (maybe 1 minute – OK, this you can screw up if you don’t watch it…).