North African Appetite: A Private Dinner at Red Stick Spice Co.

by Paige Johannessen

Jay Ducote along with Commander in Chef of Gov't Taco, Aimee Tortorich, hosted another sold out four course dinner at Red Stick Spice Company in August. Using Red Stick Co.'s high quality spices and oils, they took guests on a culinary adventure through North African cuisine.

The room was set up beautifully, including a gorgeous display of spices laid out for the guests to fawn at. Now that we have had a few repeat customers to our pop up dinners at Red Stick Spice Co. they know the drill and are arriving before we can even pour the first glass of wine. This gives them time to shop around the store and watch as Chef Aimee Tortorich put the finishing touches on a few of her dishes. 

photo by Red Stick Spice Co.

To start the evening off we had plates of warm lamb meatballs served over a delicate but full flavored mint yogurt dipping sauce. The lamb was soft and juicy and the flavors set off by the mint prepared the guests for a savory evening. To compliment this earthy appetizer were glasses of Jay D's Blanc Du Bois for our guests to sip on. 

Once everyone had a chance to try the lamb and grab a glass of wine or two, it was time to be seated. Jay started off the dinner service with a brief introduction  and then the plates starting rolling out! For the first course, a procession of carrots roasted with oranges and dates, garnished with chickpeas and crumbled pistachios came marching out to the guests. This warm and robust dish paired nicely with a spicy glass of Pinot Noir.

photo by Red Stick Spice Co.

Next, for the main course was the beef short rib tagine. This crowd favorite was visibly tender and the aroma of ginger and fig wafted from the plates. The short rib was served with a delicate scoop of couscous, and garnished with peanuts. To compliment the subtle fruit notes of this dish was a full glass of Syrah for all to enjoy.

Last but certainly not least came the most artistic and sweet dish of the night. Chef arranged small sculptures of milk bastilla, a thin cinnamon dusted pastry layered into stacks and drizzled with a custard like cream. Hidden between the layers of crunchy pastry were cloves and apricots, and crunchy pine nuts were sprinkled on top to finish it off. 

Blair prepared a warm rougaroux spiked cocoa with homemade marshmallows from Counter Space BR to be served with this decadent dessert. 

photo by Red Stick Spice Co.

Once again, we were thrilled to see a room full of empty plates and satisfied taste buds. We can not wait to be back at Red Stick Spice Co. this month for a special TWO night seating of our Modern Italian Mangia four course dinner on September 26th and 27th. Join us before it sells out!

Martinique Bistro is a Gem in the Big Easy

Smoked Salmon Starter at Martinique Bistro

Every now and then I have a culinary experience at a restaurant which blows me away. With so many options in New Orleans for world-class cuisine, I've been equally impressed and disappointed over the course of time. It takes a unique combination of tradition and innovation to truly impress me these days. Not to say that I don't like almost everything that I get to eat. I most certainly consider myself to be a food and beverage enthusiast rather than a critic, but I mean to really impress me, it takes something special. To stand out to the point that I'll tell my closest friends that they have to eat somewhere. To meet a chef that reminds me about why the term culinary arts truly is an art, and why a master of kitchen magic is every bit an artist as someone whose medium is canvas or lyrics. Martinique Bistro on Magazine Street in New Orleans had that kind of impact on me. Sitting five blocks away from Audubon Park, it is a quaint gem with an outdoor seating area that is sure to bustle in the fall and an inside dining room small enough to shake everyone's hand from the center table. I got a spot with Aimee Abernathy next to a window overlooking Magazine. Chef Eric Labouchere greeted our table and told us to enjoy the ride as he prepared to unleash a flurry of his finest creations on the summer menu at us.

Double Thyme at Martinique Bistro

Manager Jennifer Sherrod started me off with a Double Thyme to go with a couple starters before our main courses started flowing. The Double Thyme blended High West Double Rye whiskey, Meletti Amaro, Rothman and Winter Apricot, Lilet Blanc, and thyme. I do love a good, well balanced whiskey cocktail, and the Double Thyme worked perfectly to whet my appetite and prepare me for the ensuing gorge.

Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho with Cucumber-Lime Granita

Our meal began with the smoked salmon, a reimagined crostini dish on housemade brioche with vidalia onion, hard boiled Louisiana quail egg, flying fish roe, and caper aioli. The visually stunning dish put together expected flavors with a modern focus to create a couple fantastic bites of scrumptious salmon. At the same time chef sent out a cup of chilled watermelon gazpacho with Louisiana blue crab and a scoop of cucumber-lime granita. The cold appetizer beautifully blended the fruit flavors and it all worked well with the crab at the bottom. During a hot New Orleans summer, this is a go-to dish for a refreshing starter!

Socca

Our tasting menu kicked in with the Socca. A trio of chickpea crepes were garnished with chili oil and topped separately with field pea hummus, heirloom squash ratatouille, and feta. The creative pancakes were delicious savory bites that served as vessels for multiple mediterranean flavors. Next up came a fish dish featuring loup de mer or European seabass. The sauteed fish sat atop butter poached chanterelles and some tender greens. The mushrooms and fish played off each other in the red wine and butter sauce. The taste danced on my tongue as I took bite after bite. It truly is one of the best, more refined seafood dishes that I've had in awhile. It had nothing too complex. Nothing molecular happened to any element of the dish. It simply featured great products, simply prepared, seasoned wonderfully, and combined on plate to make a beautiful arrangement of complementary flavors. I want to cook like that.  

Loup de Mer with Beurre Rouge and Butter Poached Chanterelles

The meat course excited me from the moment I sat down in Martinique Bistro and laid my eyes on the menu. A boneless new zealand lamb loin with cucumber and sweet onion pickles, israeli couscous, meyer lemon-watercress aioli, and tomato-sherry vinegar demi-glace awaited my taste buds. Anybody that reads enough Bite and Booze knows that I detest pickles. They are my arch-nemesis of food. But here, I almost, sorta, maybe looked forward to them. I certainly admired the choices that went into the flavor combination on the dish. There was a lot happening on one plate and I didn't want anything to overpower the lamb, but that didn't happen. The medium rare lamb loin took on the medley of gastronomy and came out a winner because of it. The dish had a certain tang to it for sure due to the vinegar in the pickles and demi as well as the lemon in the aioli and the garnishing tomatoes. Still, it worked. Every bite of lamb and couscous with accoutrement felt like middle eastern flavored fireworks exploding on my tongue. Bravo, chef. Bravo.

Boneless New Zealand Lamb at Martinique Bistro

Of course, with this much goodness, there had to be dessert. I wouldn't dare ruin an epic meal like this without giving it the proper ending that it deserves. Chef sent out a couple sorbets and a couple ice creams to kick off the sweet tooth rally. I don't actually remember what they all were, but I do recall that the ice cream on the far right below is a chanterelle mushroom ice cream. If that doesn't sound good to you, well, you'd be wrong. The earthiness of the mushrooms made love to the rich creaminess and sugar in the ice cream to create a truly unique and amazing dessert. Chef Labouchere had one last trick up his sleeve. He presented Aimee and I with a blueberry cornmeal tart complete with blueberry curd and lavender chantilly. Another splendid dish, this dessert hit right on the money balancing the natural sweetness from the berries with the nearly savory cornmeal crust.

Blueberry Cornmeal Tart

My experience at Martinique Bistro came to an end but I know for sure that I'll be back. This uptown eatery impressed me immensely. I know they'll have a fall seasonal menu coming out soon, so your chances to try any of these dishes may be limited to only the next couple weeks. I'll have to make sure I get back there once the new menu is out. I can't wait to see what Chef Labouchere comes up with next.

Algeria - The 2010 FIFA World Cup Bites and Boozes

Algeria

Algeria is yet another African team in this year's World Cup. The Muslim nation on north coast of Africa borders many countries, the Mediterranean Sea, and contains a significant portion of the Sahara Desert. By land mass, Algeria is the 11th largest country in the world, and they have a population of 35.7 million. Today they square off against the U. S. of A. in a match where the winner has a chance of advancing and loser is guaranteed to go home. This is what the World Cup is all about. Pull those belts tight boys, it's time to rumble! Today Bite and Booze eats the Algerians!

Couscous, the national dish, is often mistaken as a grain itself, rather than pasta. The pasta dough is a mixture of water and coarse, grainy semolina wheat particles. The dough is then crumbled through a sieve to create tiny pellets. Algerians prefer lamb, chicken, or fish to be placed on a bed of warm couscous, along with cooked vegetables such as carrots, chickpeas, and tomatoes, and spicy stews. In Algeria it is also served, sometimes at the end of a meal or just by itself, as a delicacy called "seffa". The couscous is usually steamed several times until it is very fluffy and pale in color. It is then sprinkled with almonds, cinnamon and sugar. Traditionally, this dessert will be served with milk perfumed with orange flower water, or it can be served plain with buttermilk in a bowl as a cold light soup for supper.

Mechoui , a roasted whole lamb cooked on an outdoor spit, is usually prepared when a large group of people gathers together. The animal is seasoned with herb butter so the skin is crispy and the meat inside is tender and juicy. Bread and various dried fruits and vegetables, including dates (whose trees can thrive in the country's Sahara desert), often accompany mechoui. There really is nothing quite like eating whole spit-roasted animals. I wish it more customary in the United States than it is. Maybe I can start a trend!

Being a rather strict Muslim nation, Algeria is not home to an abundant drinking culture. Still, there is no mistaking the Algerian impact on wine. While not a significant force on the world's wine market today, Algeria has played an important role in the history of wine. Algeria's viticulturalhistory dates back to its settlement by the Phoenicians and continued under Algeria's rule by
the Roman empire. Just prior to the Algerian War of Independence, Algerian wine (along with the production of Morocco and Tunisia) accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total international wine trade. With as much land under vine as the countries of Germany and South Africa, Algeria continues to maintain a wine industry with over 70 wineries in operation. During the peak of Algerian wine production, the main grapes of the region was Carignan, Cinsaut and Alicante Bouschet. Despite not having Pinot noir or otherwise resembling Burgundian wine, blends of these grapes were often labeled as burgundy. In recent times, Clairette and Ugni blanc have become the dominate grape varieties with some smaller plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Mouvedre and Syrah. Algerian wines are characterized by their overripe fruit, high alcohol and lowacidity. The grapes often go through a short fermentation process and are bottled after little to no oak aging.

For info about Algerian Beer, visit the BR Beer Scene.

Thanks and Credits:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/2310576464_48a269fd2e.jpg
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Algeria.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_wine
http://www.algeria-us.org/econcom/SAMPLES%20OF%20FAMOUS%20ALGERIAN%20WINESFRONTPAGE.htm