A Literary Culinary Journal
Brian is a Boston-based food photographer and writer. He is the creator of the food blog A Thought For Food, a collection of recipes, personal anecdotes and historical information pertaining to cooking.
His photographs are available for viewing on his photography site, Brian Samuels Photography. Brian’s work has also been featured on Saveur , The Kitchn , Tastespotting, and FoodGawker.
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Brian is a Boston-based food photographer and writer. He is the creator of the food blog A Thought For Food, a collection of recipes, personal anecdotes and historical information pertaining to cooking.
His photographs are available for viewing on his photography site, Brian Samuels Photography. Brian’s work has also been featured on Saveur , The Kitchn , Tastespotting, and FoodGawker.
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From the archives
500 g / 1 lb. of fresh corn, cut off cob, or canned corn, drained
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James Flewellen: Wine & Food Pairing with Classic French Dishes
| Cassoulet | This depends on the choice of meat in the dish. Try a Chianti or another Tuscan wine, with more savoury notes for deeper-flavoured meats. Or a Barbera, or even a youthful claret if there’s more pork than game in the dish.
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| Choucroute garnie | If you stick to local Alsatian wines for this dish you really can’t go wrong. Use the same wine you’ve used in cooking if possible (typically Riesling), or go for a Pinot Gris.
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| Confit de canard (duck confit) (from Southwest, cooked over a fire in its own fat) |
For this rich dish we have two options. One is to stay local and go for a spicy red wine from the south-west of France – a Tannat from Madiran or a Malbec from Cahors. Alternatively a full-bodied, oaked Chardonnay would also work. The acidity of the white wine will cut through the duck fat nicely. Choose a robust wine with enough body to stand up to the rich flavours though – Meursault from Burgundy, or a Californian pretender.
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| Coq au vin | While red Burgundy is the classic pairing for this dish, a claret will also go very well. Choose one with a few years’ bottle age so the savoury developed notes complement the complex herbs in the sauce.
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| Andouillettes (sausage made with chitterlings) |
A tough dish to pair with on account of its strong flavours and somewhat acquired taste! Both reds and whites could work here. Light reds such as Beaujolais or Chinon will do well to complement the dish without dominating it with too much tannin. On the white side, a light, fresh style is best: perhaps Chablis, or the mountain-air notes of an Arbois from the Jura.
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| Escargots de Bourgogne (snails baked in their shells with parsley butter) |
My favourite pairing for escargots in butter is champagne. The acidity helps out with the fat in the butter but the wine does not overpower the delicate flavours of the snail. A Chablis or other unoaked Chardonnay would also work.
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| Quenelle (flour; butter; eggs; milk; and fish, traditionally pike, mixed and poached) |
The wine pairing depends on the fish used in the quenelle, typically pike. A fish quenelle would go very nicely with a Picpoul de Pinet. The lively, clean flavours of this wine complement fish nicely, and there is great acidity to cut through the butter and eggs.
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| Brandade de morue (puréed salt cod) |
Strongly flavoured fish dishes can be hard to find wine companions for. I’d suggest a very dry Alsatian or German Riesling. Being a bit more adventurous, you could also try a white wine from the Rhône – something based on Marsanne or Rousanne.
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| Bouillabaisse (a stew of mixed Mediterranean fish, tomatoes, and herbs) |
For Bouillabaisse you want a wine that keeps pace with the rich flavours of the dish, but doesn’t detract from them. Keeping local, I would go for a Provençal rosé, or possibly a quality white wine from the south of France. If you’re in the mood for reds – try a light-bodied, acidic wine such as a Cabernet Franc from Chinon or a German Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir).
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| Ratatouille (a vegetable stew with olive oil, aubergine, courgette, bell pepper, tomato, onion and garlic) with white fish |
I go Italian when matching wine to tomato-based dishes. Try a juicy Dolcetto, Barbera or Primitivo. You could also go for Primitivo’s Californian cousin: Zinfandel.
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| Duck à l’orange | Pinot Noir is the classic pairing for duck, however I find the orange in this dish doesn’t quite gel with the flavours in Pinot. Try a Grenache-based wine from the Southern Rhône, such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The extra spice in the wine complements the orange.
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| Pot au Feu | A hearty red wine is just the ticket for this meal. I’d go for a Merlot-based Claret from Pomerol in Bordeaux, but wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, or Grenache will also do beautifully. Just avoid something that is too jammy in fruit profile.
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| Blanquette de veau | I can’t go past an Alsatian Riesling for this dish. Dry, austere, acidic – the perfect foil for the cream – and the fruit profile won’t obscure the meat.
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| Sole meunière | This dish cries out for a fruity, crisp, light white wine. My pick would be an Albariño from Galicia in Spain.
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| Tournedos Rossini | My classic pairing for this would be a juicy Left Bank claret. To take a step away from the norm, try a Tempranillo-based wine from Ribera del Duero. Unlike its cousins in Rioja, Ribera wines are more robust and full-bodied – ideal for the steak – and usually avoid the sweet-scented American oak.
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| Foie gras (terrine), served with figs or onion jam |
I’ve tried many things with foie gras and really don’t think you can go past the classic Bordelais pairing of Sauternes. The sweetness in the wine works beautifully with the salt in the terrine and the fruit profile goes well with the figs and onion jam.
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| Steack-frites with Béarnaise sauce | Let’s face it steak and red wine go together like a hand in a glove. If you want to emphasise the pepper in the Béarnaise then go for a peppery Syrah from the Northern Rhône or Shiraz from the Barossa.
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Sign up for Jonell Galloway and James Flewellen’s “Celebrate the Chartres Festival of Lights & Autumnal Equinox with a Food & Wine Tasting Masterclass” in France from September 19 to 22, 2013.
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Dr James Flewellen is The Rambling Epicure wine columnist. James is a biophysicist at the University of Oxford. Originally from New Zealand, James learned his trade in taste through the Oxford Blind Wine Tasting Society, of which he was the President from 2010-2012. During his term, he represented Oxford at many international blind tasting competitions – twice winning the prestigious ‘Top Taster’ Award in the annual Varsity blind tasting match against Cambridge University and captaining winning teams in competitions throughout Europe.
James runs wine education courses in Oxford through the Oxford Wine Academy and is completing the WSET Professional Diploma in Wine and Spirits. He is the founder of The Oxford Wine Blog and co-author of the forthcoming book: The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting.
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A new Food Art exhibition by talented photographer Meeta Khurana Wolff, one of The Rambling Epicure Voices.
Meeta Khurana Wolff is a freelance food photographer, stylist and writer, currently living in the culturally rich city of Weimar in Germany with her German husband and their 8-year-old son, where she enjoys preparing multicultural, home-cooked meals using fresh organic ingredients. When she is not styling, photographing or writing about food, Meeta loves to travel the world, exploring new cultures and capturing it all on camera. The unique mood that Meeta creates in her food photography is also found in her travel, still life and landscape photography.
Born in India, Meeta was brought up in and went on to train in some of the world’s finest hotels, where food was always an important part of her life. Her love for food photography stems from her passion for food itself, and she combines her two greatest enthusiasms on her multifaceted, award-winning blog, What’s For Lunch, Honey? The recipes she develops and creates are documented by her powerful, yet refreshing, food photography and styling.
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Switzerland: Fresh-fruit Marmalade and Meringue RecipeSpontaneous Cuisine, by Jonell Galloway
From the archives
We often think of traditional Swiss meringue as winter food, but it can also be great with summer fruit, such as plums, berries, apricots, etc., either mixed or on their own.
This recipe can also be appropriate to make with children. They will especially love using the pastry sleeve to decorate the marmalade.
Click here for metric recipe converter
Note: If you want it to be smooth like a coulis, run it through a chinois or fine colander or sieve.
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Elements of Wine 5: Tannin
Tannins are compounds found in the grape skin, pips and stem. They are released into wine during the winemaking process that sees the grape juice fermenting in contact with the crushed skins. Skin contact is rare in making white wine, as the aim is to avoid too much leaching of tannin and colour compounds from the skin. Thus, we usually associate tannins with red wines.
Tannin powder
Tannins act as preservatives in red wines and facilitate the slow bottle ageing process. This sees both flavour and tannin compounds (collectively called phenolic compounds) come together in slow chemical reactions. Flavours and aromas change from primary fruit notes to tertiary savoury ones and tannins clump together to form the sediment you find in aged red wines, simultaneously softening the effect of the tannin on the palate.
When we taste a tannic red wine, we notice a furry, drying, puckering sensation. This is the effect of tannins interacting with the inner surfaces of our cheeks and gums. This has an important role in matching wine with food as tannin compounds bind to proteins in food to form precipitates. Thus goes the conventional wisdom of red meat (high in protein) with red wine (high in tannin).
Phenolic acid in wine
The presence of tannins on the palate is notoriously difficult to describe qualitatively. There’s no standardised vocabulary for exactly how these chemicals interact with our mouths. As a guide, focus on both the quantity and the quality of tannins. They can be plentiful or few, fine or coarse, smooth or rough; grippy, chewy, astringent, supple or even ‘green’ (an expression for tannins originating from unripe grapes). The effect of tannins reminds some people of particular textures – either real or imagined – such as sand or crushed shells. I personally visualise tiny grains interacting with my inner cheeks. These ‘grains’ vary in quantity, size (how penetrating the tannins are) and shape (how rough or smooth they come across).
Sign up for Jonell Galloway and James Flewellen’s “Celebrate the Chartres Festival of Lights & Autumnal Equinox with a Food & Wine Tasting Masterclass” in France from September 19 to 22, 2013.
Dr James Flewellen is a biophysicist at the University of Oxford. James learned his trade in taste through the Oxford Blind Wine Tasting Society, of which he was the President from 2010-2012. During his term, he represented Oxford at many international blind tasting competitions – twice winning the prestigious ‘Top Taster’ Award in the annual Varsity blind tasting match against Cambridge University and captaining winning teams in competitions throughout Europe.
One of James’s goals is to clarify the complex and hard-to-navigate world of wine for both novice and experienced tasters. He applies his scientific training to wine education, illuminating concepts of taste, tannin and terroir in an approachable, entertaining manner. James runs wine education courses in Oxford through the Oxford Wine Academy and is completing the WSET Professional Diploma in Wine and Spirits. He is the regular wine writer for The Rambling Epicure and is the founder of The Oxford Wine Blog. He is also currently co-authoring The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting – a book surveying the wine regions of the world and how to blind taste.
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by Jenn Oliver
Sometimes we need to let go of the world around us, our daily cares, issues that cause stress, and get away for a few days – relax, recollect, and come back ready to face the world with new resolve and vigor. This Summer my husband and I have been doing just that, in a series of short little trips. Last weekend, we went to the top of the world (well, it felt like it to us) to slip away for three beautifully brisk and sunny days in Zermatt. It was majestic, incredible, awe-inspiring, and magical. It was pure escapism as we explored the fantasy-like region around Zermatt and the Matterhorn, and all of our day to day cares floated with the clouds that sailed on past the mountaintops. No worries, no stresses, nothing but pure meditative existence, scenery, and a sense of childlike exploration. What more can one want in a holiday?
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Jonell Galloway leads you through the August farmers market in Switzerland. Take a look at what’s in season!
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Culinary Chemistry: Gluten-Free Recipe Conversions – Strategies for Substitutions
by Jenn Oliver
From the archives
When my husband and I first started cooking gluten-free in our kitchen, we mainly focused on one type of meal — those that were naturally gluten-free.
The naturally gluten-free foods were the easiest to cook from scratch because they required no substitutions at all — risottos, fresh fruit, vegetables, custards & puddings, stir fry, roasted potatoes, homemade “chips”, salads, fresh steamed fish, bean stews, meringues, and even a macaron attempt or two. As a beginner to the gluten-free world nearly five years ago, I was thrilled with how many foods we could make without ever having to worry about an ingredient on a package label that could be harmful to my husband’s health. As long as we cooked from entirely fresh ingredients and avoided anything that came in a package or required flour, we were fine — and what a great variety we had to choose from!
But it didn’t take long before my husband would say, “You know, I really miss pizza,” or “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a thick creamy gravy to go on mashed potatoes sometime?” It was inevitable, really, that shunning all things flour-related was bound to cause waxing nostalgia for the meals we no longer ate. While it was great to get our feet wet by starting with the easy gluten-free meals that didn’t require any substitutions or extra thought, it seemed wrong to deprive ourselves completely of other foods that we enjoyed.
I set out on a mission of sorts to figure out how to convert our favorite foods to gluten free, where I found a veritable “Wild West” frontier land when it came to recipes — myriad flour blends and formulas either in packages on grocery store shelves or listed in books, none of which explained how they came to be or why they worked, often calling for expensive and elusive ingredients. It all seemed like some esoteric recipe voodoo.
I decided instead to create my own blends, first categorizing the various alternative flours and ingredients by texture and coarseness, and then quickly realizing that while those aspects do play a role in the end product, the key factor was in fact not the texture, but the starch, protein, and fat content, as these are the things that determine most how a flour will behave in a recipe. I can’t say I get a perfect product every single time on the first try, but the turning point in my success was when I started looking into exactly what I was replacing with my gluten-free flour blends.
Sometimes it really is the gluten that needs to be emulated, such as in a bread recipe, where the developed network of gluten in conventional breads actively works to trap the air pockets made by the yeast, allowing the bread to rise. Techniques for mimicking this include adding other leavening agents to help account for the fact that some of the air will indeed escape before the bread is done, or adding binding agents to help trap the air that is formed — and maybe even a combination of both of these techniques.
Often this is why one sees gluten-free recipes that include extra eggs, or gelling agents like ground flax or chia seeds, manufactured gums, or incorporation of starches into the GF blend, such as tapioca or arrowroot. Once we understand why these ingredients exist in a gluten-free recipe, we can better judge how to make substitutions to fit our needs – for example, don’t have ground chia seeds? Maybe adding an egg in its place will do the trick. The bread fell flat a bit and was too dense? We now have options. We consider the properties of the ingredients we are using, and this information can be used as tools for determining how to logically go about changing our recipes to improve them.
Other recipes that conventionally use flour don’t actually care about the gluten at all. Take, for example, a roux, essentially made up of a flour and a fat that are cooked together and then used as a thickening agent in soups and stews, such as gumbo. In the case of roux, there’s no elasticity needed, and no air to be trapped – all we are looking for is thickening, which occurs thanks to the starch components within wheat flour. This is great news for gluten-free cooks; there are lots of starchy gluten-free ingredients at our disposal that we can use to replace conventional wheat flour!
All-purpose wheat flour contains, along with gluten, a fair amount of starch. So to create a 1:1 substitution (by weight of course), one would just need to come up with a gluten-free flour blend that is also mostly (but not all) starch. This can be done either by using flours with similar starch content to wheat flour, or by supplementing the GF blend with a pure starch (cornstarch, tapioca, arrowroot, potato, glutinous rice flour, etc.). Each type of starch differs slightly in its chemistry, but for the most part they all have gelling and viscosity properties – i.e. they help food thicken and stick together. In something like our roux example, it’s not going to matter a whole lot what kind of starches we use, because the only aspect of the starch we are calling upon in this case is its thickening power.
Obviously, for baking, things get a little more complicated, but I’m convinced the overall strategy remains the same. The first thing I ask myself when converting a recipe is, “what in conventional wheat flour is doing the work? What traits do I need to make sure I replace with my gluten-free mix?” And then we can use our knowledge about the various gluten-free ingredients available to reproduce those properties. Actually, I think once one gets a bit more comfortable with gluten-free substitutions, there is even more freedom and more possibilities for “customizing” than when working with conventional all-purpose wheat flour. This is because one has the ability to pick and choose from amongst so many great ingredients — not just for certain properties, but also for flavors. For example, I often incorporate chestnut flour, because I just love the earthy rustic qualities it lends to baked goods.
Gluten-free substitutions don’t have to involve some mysterious wizardry in order to have success. Sometimes it’s just a bit of recipe tweaking, and other times, a little knowledge about the science behind why a recipe works goes a long way.
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Meet Jonell Galloway, a freelance writer and editor specialized in French cuisine. 
A new Food Art exhibition by talented photographer 
