Savor This

Transcript

SAVOR THIS September 2009 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 • A monthly publication of The American Institute of Wine & Food TYLER FLORENCE A new face of The AIWF CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT Dallas/Ft. Worth AIWF MEMBER BENEFITS AIWF NATIONAL PARTNER – LE CORDON BLEU CONTENTS NEWS 3 The AIWF Organization 4 Chef’s Corner featuring Tyler Florence 5 Recipes by Tyler Florence 6 Harvest in Saint-Emilion 10 Chapter Spotlight 12 Days of Taste 13 Chapter Events 14 Beer/Food Pairing: A Primer 15 AIWF Member Benefits The American Institute of Wine & Food would like to welcome you all to the first issue of Savor This, which has been designed to update you on exciting new developments we are working on and implementing to enhance the value of The AIWF membership. Issues will also highlight upcoming events from local AIWF chapters, new AIWF member exclusive benefits, AIWF educational programs, the latest trends in the food and wine industry and much more. ® SAVOR THIS Is a publication in association with The American Institute of Wine & Food Editors Beth Lane Amy J. Williams Please email or call The AIWF National office if you have any comments, questions or would like to join. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you, AIWF National Art Direction & Design Iatesta Design / Chris Iatesta Contributing Writers David A. Bernahl II Rebecca Chapa, CWE, DSW Draft Magazine Beth Lane Deborah McKeever Robin Plotkin Amy Williams The AIWF National Board Lisa A. Lipton, National Chair – San Diego Mary J. Chamberlin, Vice Chair – Monterey Bay Andre R. Jaglom, Esq., Secretary – New York George Linn, Treasurer – NorCal Frank Giaimo, Chapter Council Chair – NorCal Gary Martin, Chapter Council Vice Chair – Dayton Scott J. Hunt, Chapter Council Representative – New York Carolyn J. Margolis, Chapter Council Representative – National Capital D. E. FitzGerald, Chapter Council Representative – Orange County M. Jean Schultz, Chapter Council Representative – Santa Barbara Riva Eichner Kahn, Days of Taste® Chair – Baltimore Deborah McKeever, Membership Chair – Dallas/Ft. Worth Michael Green – New York Allen Susser – South Florida George Temel – South Florida THE AIWF National Office Amy J. Williams, Executive Director Beth Lane, Chapter & Member Administrator David A. Bernahl II, Co-Founder Coastal Luxury Management Robert Weakley, Co-Founder Coastal Luxury Management (831) 250-7739 • (800) 274-2493 toll-free • [email protected] 26364 Carmel Rancho Lane, Suite 201, Carmel, CA 93923 AIWF.ORG PAYING TRIBUTE TO JULIA Many of our AIWF Chapters hosted celebrations to pay tribute to Julia Child, one of AIWF’s Founding Members, in conjunction with the release of the movie Julie & Julia this summer. It’s clear that there’s a lot of excitement about the movie and we want to acknowledge and express our appreciation to all of the venues, event coordinators and attendees of our AIWF Chapter events honoring Julia. SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 1 AIWF NATIONAL PARTNER – COASTAL LUXURY MANAGEMENT SEPTEMBER 26-27, 2009 A 2 - D AY E V E N T C E L E B R AT I N G A G R I C U LT U R E , V I T I C U LT U R E , C H E E S E A N D G O O D T I M E S 50 CHEFS • MORE THAN 100 WINERIES ORGANIC GARDENING SEMINARS • BBQ SEMINARS W I N E TA S T I N G S • C H E E S E TA S T I N G S KID’S INTERACTIVE KITCHEN • DJ MUSIC AND MUCH MORE! W W W. H A R V E S T C A R M E L . C O M RESORT & GOLF CLUB For AIWF Member Discounts login to AIWF Member Home Page or contact Beth Lane at (831) 250-7739 or [email protected] 2 SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 AIWF.ORG THE AIWF ORGANIZATION Founding Members Julia Child Richard H. Graff Robert Mondavi Chapters Atlanta, GA Baltimore, MD Boston, MA Chicago, IL Connecticut Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX Dayton, OH Denver, CO Hilton Head, SC Kansas City, KS Louisville, KY Milwaukee, WI Monterey Bay, CA National Capital Area New Orleans, LA New York Northern California Orange County, CA Pacific Northwest, WA Rhode Island San Diego, CA Santa Barbara, CA San Luis Obispo, CA Sonoran Desert, AZ South Florida, FL Vermont Wichita, KS AIWF.ORG The AIWF Management Team Fellow Friends, Foodies, and Culinary Enthusiasts: Recently our company, Coastal Luxury Management, was honored to take on the role of the National Office for The AIWF. Our new role as a strategic partner and director of The AIWF came out of a unified excitement and passion for the organization’s history, and most Rob Weakley, Beth Lane, Amy Williams, David Alan Bernahl II importantly, its future potential. We have a shared vision for the opportunity that exists within The AIWF, to once again become one of the most recognized and respected culinary organizations in the country. Utilizing the tremendously rich history of The AIWF, hard work, and a national effort from our robust and diverse mix of chapters and members, we should accomplish our goals. As the year goes on, we look forward to sharing with you our ideas for the organization. We also look forward to hearing your ideas on how we can work together to strengthen the brand of The AIWF, increase membership values and benefits, increase member loyalty, create new national campaigns and initiatives, and refocus the organization and brand as whole. Your partnership and input is critical to the long-term success of this organization. We are humbled and honored to be working with such a storied group of food and wine enthusiasts and culinary professionals from around the country. We too, hope to bring new relationships and assets to our partnership that will only advance the enjoyment of our memberships and our charitable impact in our communities and nationwide. There should be a tremendous amount of pride for what each of you have accomplished over the years. We find ourselves in a time where our creativity and hard work will be imperative to growing this great organization to the next level. We look forward to being a part of this journey with each of you, as your partner. Very Truly Yours, Coastal Luxury Management (CLM) Team www.CoastalLuxuryManagement.com SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 3 CHEF’S CORNER moving on to become executive chef at Cafeteria. As the buzz about the charismatic young chef’s food picked up steam, a fresh new television network took notice and the rest, as they say, is history. After 12 plus years as a franchise star of the Food Network, Florence has taken his food and his wit across the globe, finely tuning what is regarded as one of America’s most important culinary voices. He has starred in such series as How to Boil Water, a cooking show for novices, Food 911, his hugely popular “recipe rescue” show, as well as his signature series, Tyler’s Ultimate. Florence has also hosted numerous other Food Network shows and specials, including Planet Food, All American Festivals and My Country, My Kitchen. Not to be limited to Food Network, Tyler is a regular guest on the TODAY Show, CNN, The View, The Tonight Show, Oprah, Access Hollywood, Extra, Good Morning America and more. The American Institute of Wine & Food is pleased to announce and welcome Tyler Florence as one of the new Ambassadors of The AIWF. For the past fifteen years, Chef Tyler Florence (www.tylerflorence.com) has delighted the masses by sharing the sights, sounds and flavors of his unique culinary vision to fans around the world. After graduating from the prestigious culinary program at Johnson and Wales University, Florence tackled the Big Apple where he helmed multiple acclaimed restaurants and established himself as a one of New York City’s finest young stars. In New York, he honed his culinary skills under the tutelage of some of the city's premier chefs, including Charlie Palmer at Aureole, Marta Pulini at Mad 61 and Rick Laakonen, ultimately 4 SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 Tyler recently released two new top-selling cookbooks – Stirring The Pot, and Dinner at my Place (Meredith Books) in addition to his three previous books- Tyler’s Ultimate, Eat This Book, and Real Kitchen (Clarkson Potter). In 2009, Tyler launched his signature lines of steel-clad cookware and titanium cutlery on Home Shopping Network and at major retailers across the United States, including Macy’s, for whom Tyler is a member of the prestigious Macy’s Culinary Council. In July of 2008, Tyler opened his first kitchen retail shop, The Tyler Florence Shop, in Mill Valley, just outside of San Francisco, California. Tyler lives in Mill Valley, California with his wife Tolan, and has two sons Miles, age 13, Hayden, 2, and a little girl, Dorothy, 1. AIWF.ORG AMERICAN PROVENCE CHICKEN WITH LEMON, GARLIC AND FRESH BAY LEAVES LEMON ROASTED FINGERLING POTATOES Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence Yield: serves 4-6; Time: 30 minutes Yield: serves 4-6; Time: 45 minutes 2 lb fingerling potatoes 1/2 Meyer lemons, cut into quarter wedges 1 sprig of rosemary, leaves only 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves only Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper extra-virgin olive oil 1 large free range, organic chicken 1 lemon, cut in half 1 head of garlic, cut through the equator 1 branches of fresh bay leaves 1/2 bunch of fresh thyme Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence American Provence Spice Mix: 2 teaspoons smoked salt 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon cracked toasted fennel seed 1/2 teaspoon cracked toasted coriander seed 2 tablespoons onion powder 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons sugar 1 tablepoon herbs de provence mix (lavender, savory, toasted fennel, dried rosemary, thyme) Wash and split finger potatoes lengthwise. Toss in olive oil together with rosemary, thyme and lemon wedges in a flat roasting tray. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper then roast under the rotisserie chicken for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Stir occasionally to coat in chicken drippings and cook evenly. Season one more time with salt and pepper before serving. Begin by making the spice mix. Toast peppercorns, coriander seeds and fennel seeds in a pan over mediumhigh heat until fragrant about 4-5 minutes. Crush peppercorns, fennel seeds and coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle until you have a fine but still slightly textured mixture. Add smoked salt, herbs de provence, sugar, onion and garlic powder and crush once more until fully combined. Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence Clean chicken and season cavity well with plenty of the spice mix. Stuff cavity with lemon, garlic, thyme and bay leaf then tie bird up with kitchen twine and skewer on the rotisserie rod. Rub outside with olive oil and season with more of the spice mix. Wrap in plastic and marinate overnight. Roast on a rotisserie for 45 minutes until golden brown and juices run clear. Cook lemon roasted potatoes under the chicken in a roasting pan - placed so it can catch the chicken drippings as it cooks (recipe follows). WILTED BUTTER LETTUCE, FRESH GARDEN PEAS, AND BUERRE BLANC Yield: serves 4; Time: 25 minutes Buerre blanc: 1 cup dry white wine 1 shallot, finely chopped 6 whole black peppercorns 1 bay leaf 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut up into cubes Kosher salt Make buerre blanc: add white wine, shallot, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt to a saucepan and simmer until it is syrupy and just coats the bottom of the pan. Add butter cubes, a little at a time whilst stirring with a whisk to thicken the sauce and give it a shine. Give it a final season with salt and pepper to taste. 1 large head of butter lettuce 1 cup fresh garden peas, blanched in salted water Cut off the root of the butter lettuce and separate the leaves. Place the leaves in a large mixing bowl with blanched peas then dress with warm buerre blanc and toss so the leaves wilt a little. To serve the complete dish, break down the chicken into 10 pieces. Add chicken and potatoes to the bibb lettuce salad gently toss to toss together to combine. Finish with a drizzle of buerre blanc. AIWF.ORG SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 5 HARVEST IN SAINT-EMILION By Rebecca Chapa, CWE, DWS Wine and. Spirits Educator, Writer, Diploma Wine and Spirits, Certified Sommelier, Certified Wine Educator Harvest celebrations abound in wine regions around the world, but no where are they full of as much history and pomp as in France. In 2008 I had the ability to visit one personally, the 60th Jurade de Saint-Emilion and Ban des Vendanges or Harvest Proclamation in Bordeaux. 6 SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 AIWF.ORG While California wine regions normally enjoy warm and sunny harvests, Bordeaux doesn’t have the benefit of consistently temperate harvests, so harvest anticipation creates excitement and at times angst. Maybe that is why the celebration and ritual is taken so seriously. From the creation of the berries ceremonies follow the entire grape growing cycle are omnipresent throughout France due to the incredible history of grape growing. The area of Saint-Emilion and its neighboring communes of Pomerol and Fronsac are located in France’s southwest in the Bordeaux region. These communes, or villages, on the right bank of the Gironde estuary are not as well known to most as those on the left bank and herein lies some of the charm of the area. This wine region is known for the incredible quality of its wines but also for the amazing scenery, culture and cuisine. The vineyard area was certified in 1999 by UNESCO as a world heritage site due to the incredible history of winemaking and grape growing that dates back to Roman times and grew to dominate the landscape in the Middle Ages. Many of the buildings in the area date to the 11th century. The history of the Jurade itself, initially a governing body for the region, dates back to July 1199. I will spare you the tedious details, but the present tradition of the Jurade dates to 1948. Today the group is made up of 49 “Jurats” from Saint-Emilion and 12 “Jurats” from Lussac SaintEmilion and Puisseguin Saint-Emilion, satellite appellations. The group promotes the region and its wines throughout the world. Each year at the ceremony in September the group inducts new honorary members as ambassadors of the region and blesses the harvest. The small town fills with visitors on hand to share the festivities. Events include celebratory dinners, parties and an incredible fireworks show that included streams of fire and light pouring down the town’s ramparts. AIWF.ORG The wines of Saint-Emilion and its neighboring villages are distinctly different than those in the rest of Bordeaux. Here on the right bank the soils are heavier and less rocky made up predominantly of clays and limestone. Merlot finds a comfortable home here due to the higher water holding capacity of the soils. Typically the wines of Bordeaux have been blends, a great way for growers to hedge their bets at harvest and ensure that they have some grapes to harvest at all. The climate can be fickle, for example spring frosts or rain during harvest, and having multiple cultivars helps. Cabernet Sauvignon prefers the more gravelly soils of the left bank, as a later ripening grape it needs the additional heat from the rocky soils and prefers the well-drained sites. As a result of these small but important differences the wines of the left bank are usually Cabernet Sauvignon dominated while those from Saint-Emilion focus on higher proportions of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Despite this fact, the wines can be incredibly concentrated, densely colored, complex and interesting. If given the chance, Saint-Emilion is a great wine region to visit due to the plethora of other cultural opportunities that abound. The medieval architecture and stone buildings make you feel like you have stepped into another time. Many of the original structures are still standing like the massive monolithic church carved out of one huge limestone boulder and underground catacombs are worth a visit. Caves carved into (or out of) the limestone plateau stretch for miles. These historic cellars twist and turn and many lead all the way into the town from neighboring vineyards. Although it is too dangerous to walk into town this way, many vineyard visits include tours of their underground passages where wines can be stored in ideal conditions, cool temperature and high humidity. Navigating the city’s above ground passages by foot takes care, especially if you have had a few glasses of wine with lunch. It is amazing SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 7 to see the town’s older generation expertly ramble through the treacherous routes. The cobbles are ancient and weathered smooth and slick, and the streets in places so steep that I found myself removing my shoes and going barefoot while clinging to guiderails. While you may see some impressive Chateaux or Estates, one of the most exciting things about Saint-Emilion is the small producers. With over 800 winegrowers there are many boutique producers making great wines at reasonable prices. the left bank of Bordeaux you may be familiar with premier cru, deuxieme cru and so on, resulting from a classification of vineyards conducted in 1855. That particular classification has not changed since! In Saint-Emilion they classify the producers, or chateaux, every ten years. Their system is currently undergoing some revisions, but the idea is to provide a reputable system that takes into account changes over time to the quality of wines produced. On the wine label you may see Grand Crus Classe or Premier Grand Cru Classe, the top echelon which is further divided into A and B levels. Until they get their latest revision sorted out the important thing to note is that if you see something like Grand Cru on a label of wine from Saint-Emilion that means it is a better than average. Do not overlook some of the smaller producers though, your best bet is to ask your local retailer or sommelier for guidance. What to look for on the label: The appellations: Saint-Emilion and SaintEmilion Grand Cru, Montagne Saint-Emilion, Lussac Saint-Emilion, Puisseguin Saint-Emilion, Saint-Georges Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Lalande de Pomerol, Fronsac, Canon Fronsac Producers to look for: Chateau Junayme (Fronsac) www.vignoblesdeconinck.fr And if you can’t make it in person you can toast the harvest just the same. Wines from SaintEmilion are widely available and are really at home with food. Ideal for rich dishes, but not overpowering or overly flashy they can meld with a wide gamut of cuisine. Their inviting flavors of red and black fruits matches perfectly a day with a bit of chill in the air. One thing to note about wines from Saint-Emilion is the classification system. If you have heard of the system used on 8 SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 Chateau Tournefeuille (Lalande de Pomerol) www.chateau-tournefeuille.com Chateau de Bel Air (Lalande de Pomerol) Chateau Cheval Blanc (Saint-Emilion) www.chateau-chevalblanc.com Chateau Ripeau (Saint-Emilion) www.chateauripeau.com Chateau Franc Mayne www.relaisfrancmayne.com AIWF.ORG Chateau Lyonnat (Lussac Saint-Emilion) www.chateaulyonnat.com and Macarons, two delicious local treats. Clos Fourtet (Saint-Emilion) www.closfourtet.com place du Marche du Bois 33330 Saint Emilion Chateau Haut-Bonneau (Montagne SaintEmilion) www.chateau-haut-bonneau.com [email protected] Restaurant: Logis de La Cadene Restaurant 3, 05 57 24 71 40 www.logisdelacadene.com Chateau Guibot la Fourvieille (Puisseguin Saint-Emilion) www.vignobleshenribourlon.com Guest House: Le Relais de Franc Mayne Chateau Canon (Chateau Canon) www.chateaucanon.com Swimming Pool, 9 Rooms, Underground Quarries If you visit: Consider transportation in advance, there is only ONE taxi in the entire area. Seriously, I know from experience! He does like to sleep at night if he has an airport pickup the next morning so keep that in mind! www.taxi-st-emilion.com Robert Faustin Taxi No 1 [email protected]; Natural water, www.relaisfrancmayne.com Resources: Tourist Office of Saint-Emilion Jurisdiction 33 (0)5 57 55 28 28 www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com www.bordeaux-tourisme.com www.franceguide.com Be sure to pick up some Caneles de Bordeaux AIWF.ORG SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 9 CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT Dallas/Fort Worth The First Place team! Michael Flynn (left) and Eric Brandt at the AIWF D/FW Chapter Wine and Food Pairing contest in conjunction with KRLD Restaurant Week. The Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter has over 177 memberships and over 300 members. They have found success by having 3-4 events a month, 4 sessions of 5 weekly cooking classes per year, a Caesar Salad fundraiser which draws near 1000 people, and their Days of Taste® program that runs twice per year totaling 16 days. They have a great scholarship committee and will fund two scholarships this year at $2,500 each to the Wine Professional and Executive Chef of the restaurant that wins the contest for “Best Wine and Food Pairing” of KRLD Restaurant Week. Why do they work so hard for this organization? Because this is their hobby! That is what they love to do. They continually contribute their time and talents towards keeping the Chapter strong and alive. It may sound like they have a smooth running machine but all this hard work and energy took years to create. They searched in their local communities for members that had a desire and interest in AIWF and they looked for people that would positively contribute to the organization. This is valuable information if any of your chapters that are having a hard time finding dedicated members or having a hard time planning events. People are always interested in helping out organizations, it’s just your job to go out and find them. Debbie McKeever, Chapter Chairman of Dallas/Ft. Worth said, “We consider our chapter a community within a community and as far as we are concerned, there can’t be enough of us.” If you are ever in Dallas, look them up and watch out! They might just convince you to stay and be a member. As all of this may sound really exciting you may wonder, how does all of this happen? It is currently taking a Chapter Board of 23 members that are great at organization and planning. They have timelines and processes for most everything. It takes a great team of people including a full program committee of approximately 20 people and many more wonderful dedicated volunteers that love AIWF and believe in its mission. The AIWF D/FW Chapter Annual Caesar Salad Competition. 10 SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 AIWF.ORG DAYS OF TASTE® In this age of fast and frozen foods, we want to teach school children about real food-where it is grown and how it is produced-so they can develop an understanding and appreciation of how good, fresh food is supposed to taste. —Julia Child In a society where more than twenty percent of the population is officially classified: “obese”, a program designed to teach school children the values of good nutrition and about the sources of the foods they eat should seem to be a logical part of our public education curriculum. But aside from loosely coordinated courses such as Home Economics and cooking classes in the public schools of many states, The American Institute of Wine & Food is one of a few conducting such a program on a national level. The AIWF program is aptly named Days of Taste®. Sponsored by The AIWF since 1994, local chapters across the U.S. join with chefs, farmers, teachers and parents to collaborate in bringing food exploration to elementary school classrooms in communities across the nation. The discoverybased program teaches children where produce is grown, offers the opportunity to compare various taste sensations and flavors through sampling, and allows the children to create a healthy and tasty dish with the guidance of chefs and food professionals. Our focus and main objectives are to build a food and nutrition vocabulary, understand that locally grown ingredients are the freshest, and gain the experience to contrast flavors and develop taste memories. Each chapter develops its own unique program, but they all share the common thread of encouraging children to appreciate the taste of good, fresh, local food. The education and AIWF.ORG experiences gained from this program will remain with them into adulthood. This is vital for the future of our nation’s children, for our organization, and for preparing better adult consumers. We’re not just nourishing our youth – we’re nurturing The AIWF members and leaders of tomorrow. For more information or to donate to The AIWF’s Days of Taste® programs, please contact the National Days of Taste® Chair Riva Eichner Kahn at [email protected]. Days of Taste® Dallas By Robin Plotkin, D/FW Chapter Days of Taste® Chair To think that the same exact recipe-created 4 times a week, 4 weeks out the year for over 10 years-would yield such tremendously different results every single time is baffling to some. To the volunteers who spend their time with the Days of Taste® program of the Dallas/Ft. Worth chapter of AIWF, its what the kids sign up for-year after year after year. To the kids who participate in the Dallas/Ft. Worth chapter of Days of Taste®, it’s all in a morning’s work. And, like any good culinarian, the kids want to offer you their best product. SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 11 The recipe is a part of the Dallas Days of Taste® Program. Kids made Harvest Salad with whole wheat pasta with farmer’s market fresh veggies and a low fat buttermilk salad dressing, fruit salads, green salads, homemade bread and skim milk. Because they are allowed to self select the ingredients that go into the salads, they come out tasting different each and every time. This is something that the program encourages, says Robin Plotkin, a registered dietitian and the Dallas/Ft. Worth Days of Taste® Program Director. “The more the kids have the chance to create their own food, the more enthusiasm and sense of pride they have for what they have created. We literally see their self esteem rise from the time they walk in the door to the time they leave.” partner with the program, consistently provides her services, along with 10-20 staff members from the Gaylord to act as volunteers for the day at the market. She leads them through an investigation of the taste buds using her experiences as a chef and as someone who respects food. Teaching the kids to look, listen, smell and taste the food is a unique experience for the majority of these kids. Bondy says “Seeing the light bulb go off when they actually ‘taste’ salty, sweet, bitter and sour is reason enough to work with this program”. Ms. Maner is one of those volunteers and she provides a unique perspective on flavor and taste to the children by providing them with their own basil plants to plant and bring home for their families to enjoy. Because fresh herbs are an ingredient in the Harvest Salad that the children make at the market, the take home message is loud and clear. Fat, salt and sugar are not needed to create flavor. Think about using fresh basil to create flavor and wake up the taste buds! The Dallas/Ft. Worth program runs for 8 days in the spring and the fall. Over 250 volunteers are utilized throughout the program. For more information about the program, please contact Robin Plotkin at [email protected] or go to www.aiwf.org/dallasftworth. The chefs. The growers. The producers. The dietitians. The teachers. The sponsors and supporters. The school officials and last but not least, the kids are the components that create the Days of Taste® program. Held at the Dallas Farmer’s Market, the Dallas program teaches 800 Dallas Independent School District kids per year about how food gets from the farm to the table. Chef Joanne Bondy of the Gaylord Texan Resort and Hotel partnered with Ann Maner, a horticulturist also from the Gaylord Texan to teach the 4th and 5th graders about taste buds, flavor, cooking, and more. Chef Bondy, a long time 12 SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 AIWF.ORG CHAPTER EVENTS SEPTEMBER 12 For more information on chapter events, please click “Local Chapters” at www.aiwf.org. Baltimore – Black Ankle Winery Kansas City – Pinot Wine Dinner at Café Sebastienne 16 San Diego – An Evening with Frank Bruni, Restaurant Critic , New York TImes Santa Barbara – Annual Picnic 5-8pm, (members & guests) 21 Baltimore – Meet Cheftestant Jesse Sandlin, (members & guests) Dallas/Ft. Worth – Reception & Days of Taste® Fundraiser Dinner at Local, 6:30pm Wichita – Zoobilee 13 Orange County – Sol Cucina, 6pm, (members & guests) 25 Northern California – 8th Annual Slurp n’Burp Oysters, 4pm, (members & guests) Wichita – Old Cowtown Wine Mosey 14 15 Atlanta – French Wine Seminar & Tasting Tutorial, 6:30pm San Diego – Exploring Noble Red Varietals 26 Northern California – Dinner with authorFrank Bruni, 6:30pm, (members & guests) Chicago – Tour of Rick Bayless’ Garden & Lunch at Frontera Grill New York – Hidden and Cheap Eating in Manhattan Colorado – A late Summer Evening at the Squeaky Bean 27 New York – Got Cognac? An Evening with Pierre Ferrand Artisanal Cognac Kansas City – Greater Kansas City Chefs Assn. Culinary Benefit Dinner 28 Milwaukee – Chez Jacques, 6-9:30pm SAN DIEGO BAY WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL November 18 - 22, 2009 An action packed week of festivities for your inner foodie and wine lover! AIWF Members receive a 15% discount on tickets to Reserve & New Release Tasting, Grand Event VIP, Grand Event General Admission, Grand Event Early Entry, All Classes and Wine Rave. You won't want to miss the five-day wine and food extravaganza in sunny California featuring 170 world-class wineries and spirit producers, 70 of San Diego’s award-winning fine dining restaurants, gourmet foods, celebrity chefs, wine dinners, cooking classes, wine tasting classes, reserve tasting with silent auction to benefit AIWF culinary and enology scholarships, Grand Tasting, and The AIWF Celebrity Chef Scholarship Luncheon and Live Auction. See you in sunny California! Visit the festival website at www.worldofwineevenfts.com for full event details! Log onto The AIWF Member Home page for your AIWF discount code. Please enter this code on the “Buy Tickets” page where it says Passcode/Promotional Code when ordering tickets at www.worldofwineevents.com. San Diego AIWF also wants to assist and welcome you. Let us know if you are coming by emailing [email protected] or call 619 297-0951. AIWF.ORG SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 13 BEER/FOOD PAIRING: A PRIMER By Christopher Staten, DRAFT Magazine Chef Todd Ginsberg, formerly of TAP, an Atlanta gastropub, and current executive chef at sister restaurant TROIS, has been pairing beer with food professionally since 2003. No stranger to a gastropub kitchen – he still helps TAP’s team of chefs devise beer pairings – Chef Ginsberg lays down the basics of how to pair your favorite drink and entrée. Most difficult to pair? When dining out, do you pick the beer or entrée first? I’d probably choose the beer first, because that’s a variable that you can take out of the equation. You’ll know the beer, whereas maybe you don’t know a certain dish or the spice level of it. There are a lot of variables you don’t know about what you’re going to eat. The best way to approach a pairing? I want fatty foods with beer, I want spicy foods with beer, and I want salty foods with beer. A lot of this leans toward a clean, crisp beer for me. Your favorite pairing? I take these Georgia fresh peaches that are really, really ripe and roll them in a countrycured ham. Hitachino’s Nest White Ale has a lot of acidity to it and a lot of lemon notes that really complement the peaches, and the smokiness of the ham really brings everything together. Most versatile beer? Light, crisp, clean beers along the line of pilsners. You can go in almost any direction, whether it be Thai food, Indian, Chinese, or a pancake with applesauce and sour cream. 14 SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 I have a hard time pairing porters that are bitter. There’re just not a whole lot of things you can do with that except try to kind of overpower the beer with the food. Is there a wrong way to do it? The only wrong thing you can do is to not try it. You’ve got to give it a shot; try an off-thewall pairing with a certain beer you want to try -- you have to do it at least once. Wine can be a bit pretentious, whereas beer... it’s beer. It’s something the common person can relate to and feel at home with. And if you screw up a dinner, it only costs you a few bucks as opposed to 40 or 50 dollars. It’s a lot more approachable. DRAFT Magazine is the foremost authority in the world of craft beer and we bring you the best in beer. Exploring the Top Beers with Reviews, Food Pairings, 200 Best Bars, Travel to Beer Towns, Gear, Sports, the Beer Drinker's Lifestyle, and more!!! Draft Magazine is extending AIWF Members an exclusive offer of 58% off newsstand price for a one year subscription. To take advantage of this offer and other AIWF member benefits, members can login at www.aiwf.org. AIWF.ORG AIWF MEMBER BENEFITS Here you will find information on special benefits you receive for being a member of AIWF. An overview listing of all our benefits with links to description pages can be found on The AIWF Member Home page by logging in at www.aiwf.org. For assistance with member login, please contact AIWF National at (800) 274-2493 or email: [email protected]. The following are structured for The AIWF Member, and can only be obtained by a person with a current membership. Some of the philanthropic benefits: • Days of Taste® – The benefit of being part of a National Institute whose mission is to reach out to thousands of children each year. Our focus and main objectives are to build a food and nutrition vocabulary, understand that locally grown ingredients are the freshest, and gain the experience to contrast flavors and develop taste memories. • Scholarships – AIWF awarded more than $110,000 in culinary and enology scholarships in 2008 to students in full-time or continuing education accredited programs. Additionally, AIWF members will receive discounts on the following products and services: • Magazine Subscriptions: Save up to 50% on subscriptions to the following publications by using the subscription order form: Appellation, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Cook's Illustrated, Draft Magazine, Gourmet, Home, Petit Propos Culinaires, Restaurant Wine, Santé, Saveur, Shields Hood's Wine Notes, Travel & Leisure, Guide to Cooking Schools, The Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Gastronomica and Santé, The Magazine for Restaurant Professionals. • Avis Rental Car Discount • Open or renew an AIWF MasterCard account and MBNA will make a donation The AIWF! • Event discounts on Harvest: Farm-to-Table (Carmel, CA) and San Diego Wine & Food Festival • KitchenAid’s VIP Program for AIWF Membership – The program offers special pricing on an unprecedented selection of KitchenAid products. You may choose from a variety of KitchenAid countertop appliances, cookware, bakeware, culinary tools and gadgets at a significant savings year round. Shopping is easy through our on-line password protected AIWF VIP on-line store. ([FO XVL YH 9, 3 SU L FL QJ I RU  $, :) PHPEHU V 'L V FRXQW V  DQG ZKRO HV DO H SU L FL QJ RQ .L W FKHQ$L G  FRXQW HU W RS DQG KRXV HZDU HV  SU RGXFW V   To Take Advantage this offer and other AIWF 6 L PS O \  GL U HF W  \ RXU  EU Rof ZV H U  W R  ZZZ N L W F KHQDL G Y L S F RP DL ZI  Member Benefits, 3 D V V ZRU G   DL ZI  members can login at www.aiwf.org 6 DY H XS W R  RQ V HO HF W  L W HPV Watch for announcements of NEW Member Benefits in AIWF’s Monthly Member eNewsletter. AIWF.ORG SAVOR THIS • SEPTEMBER 2009 15 To learn more about The American Institute of Wine & Food or to join our Organization, please visit www.aiwf.org (831) 250-7739 • (800) 274-2493 toll-free • [email protected] 26364 Carmel Rancho Lane, Suite 201, Carmel, CA 93923