Cooking With Wine

As soon as my grubby little paw grabbed the bottle of Curveball Spinning White Mad Max had stashed into his box of treats, I knew precisely what dish I wanted to make: Spaghetti Carbonara. Carbonara is one of the world's most perfect dishes, combining eggs, pork, cheese, pepper, and starch into an elegant sauce. Fact: carbonara is the only pasta dish in the world which can double as breakfast.

The composition of the Spinning White is an interesting one. At 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Gewurztraminer there is a nice acidic kick but also this white plays very nicely with spicy foods. This wine is also made by Paul Hoffman. You can find it for under $20 at Cork & Bottle, Mondo, and Rum House.

A fattier chardonnay might be many peoples first choice with a dish like carbonara. I prefer something that can handle spice a bit better, which this wine can. The reason is that black pepper can lose a lot of its spicy and aromatic characters when you cook it above a certain temperature or cook it for long periods of time. With carbonara, you aren't doing much more than warming than pepper, so be prepared for a simple battery to your sinuses, if you make it correctly.

Note: The beauty of carbonara lies in its simplicity. Do not try to muck this up with North African Wild Hyssop or Guatemalan Coffee reductions. And if you do, please don't write in about it.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Like roast chicken, I almost never make carbonara the same way twice. One time I might use fettucine, another time one egg and one extra yolk, the third time I mix the bacon into the sauce first, etc... But always, the same 5 ingredients: pasta, eggs, cheese, pork, and black pepper. Normally, I substitute bacon and Parmesan for the traditional guanciale and Pecorino Romano and you can too.

Cut bacon strips into quarter inch rectangles. Fry until crisp then place on a paper napkin lined plate to drain. One package spaghetti, boil in heavily salted water. As you can see, you do not need a doctorate in culinary arts for this dish.

While, pasta is boiling crack an egg into a deep bowl. Grate roughly a half cup of Parmesan over the egg. Whisk. Now take a pepper mill and crank it twenty times. Whisk again. Few more cranks and you should be ready to go.

Once cooked, drain the pasta but reserve a smidge of the starchy, salted water. Add the pasta and the water into the bowl and mix rapidly. The warm pasta will melt the cheese, warm the eggs, and awaken the pepper, essentially playing the role of the Uniter. Once combined, mount on plates and top with bacon, more cheese, and a crack or two of pepper.

Cooking with Wine

Can't stop cooking pork. Won't stop cooking pork. This week's mashup with Mad Max paired simple smoked ribs with the knockout good 2009 Headbanger Zinfandel made by Paul Hoffman. Hoffman, that guy above standing next to the con artist formerly known as Bloggle, makes a variety of wines that are approachable, affordable quaffers. This deep, dark, and delicious zin has lots of juicy acidity. Aromas of fresh baked berry pie, rose petals, and cinnamon give way to cherry cola, cedar, and cocoa.  It sells for under $20 (a steal since you asked me) and you can find it at Mondo, Brigtsen's, Ruffino, Theo's, and Whole Foods.

Zinfandel naturally sets off an alarm for pasta all' Amatriciana. That rich, smoky, bacony, spicy sauce that is marinara's hotter cousin that you got to second base with on that one summer night. Or at least that you told your friends you did. But we are trying to cut back on carbs on the home front so the next most logical thing was barbecue ribs. Not only did it work, it did what wine and food pairings are supposed to do, namely compliment each other. The spice and smoke from the ribs was matched by the heft and acidity of the wine. Coincidentally, in that photo Hoffman is holding a bottle of said wine. #1 wine related commentator Meghan ought to be stoked.

Headbanging Baby Back Ribs

1 Rack of Baby Back Ribs
Rub of your choice but the one I make has lots of spicy, smoked Hungarian paprika, dried lemon peel, salt, brown sugar, oregano, cayenne, garlic and onion powder.
Smoke
Time

Remove the insane in the membrane from the back of the baby backs. Sprinkle rub liberally over both sides of ribs and massage it into the meat. Let sit at room temperature for an hour or so. Meanwhile get a smoker or charcoal grill ready. I like to smoke at 250 degrees for about two hours. You can use whatever wood you like, but I find pecan to be the proverbial bomb, as the kids used to say.

After two hours, place rack on foil, douse with apple juice or even apple cider vinegar, and wrap in foil. Back on the grill for another hour. If you have some of that bbq sauce from last week's rambling post, use it. But you won't need much.

Winesday

Rene: A very smooth, well balanced white wine similar to a white burgundy, but different. I get some very slight oak, which makes the wine seem heavier in the mouth. I get a touch of stone fruit- apricots mainly. Nothing overbearing though. Something makes me want veal with mushrooms. Maybe veal marsala or alfredo from a place like Vincent's. Or the porcini crusted veal tenderloin at Stella! could work very well here.

Peter: The first two words that come to mind are straw and spice. Flat on the tongue. Not overly oaky, but it tastes of high alcohol. Need a dish with substance to hold up as a pairing. A nice roasted chicken would do - Mondo does a good one. Or a filet of sauteed snapper, skin on, from Cafe Atchafalaya.

Joe the Wine Guy: What you have here is a 2006 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay. In the glass, the wine has an inviting dark straw hue and then opens with rich creme caramel, butterscotch, and fresh vanilla bean aromas later revealing baked apple and nutty characters. Flavors of white peach and caramel with a touch of honey lead to a lingering creamy finish. Lobster bisque would be perfect or poached fish or even pasta with a cream sauce. This wine is available at Antoine's and Ruth's Chris and retails for $49.99.

Mondo Mia

Growing up in Lakeview, we always strived to support our neighborhood businesses, especially the restaurants. But for some reason, no restaurant could ever seem to succeed in the end-cap location at 900 Harrison Avenue. Barataria, Lago, even some place simply called "900" - nothing ever seemed to catch on.

And then Susan Spicer opened Mondo.

Spicer, a Lakeview resident herself, has created a neighborhood restaurant that appeals to the younger demographic of 70124. Instead of the bountiful plates of fried seafood and red gravy laden dishes which made Landry's a neighborhood favorite for over 20 years, Mondo offers a sophisticated but unpretentious selection of both familiar favorites and eclectic fare, all at affordable prices.

The restaurant seems to be always busy, no matter what night of the week. Reservations are only taken for larger parties, so be prepared for upwards of a 30 minute wait for a table. The bar is also usually crowded with regulars, and the five high-top tables are often used for hostess seating. If you are in a rush, plan to dine after 8:00 during the week or 8:30 on the weekend. If time is on your side, order a bottle of wine and relax at the outdoor tables.

Though the menu prices are affordable, portion sizes are reduced accordingly. Dinner at Mondo is definitely a two-course meal. I would advise forgoing the fried hominy with chile and lime, which tasted like high class corn nuts. The wood oven roasted artichoke heart is cooked to a perfect al dente but had not been stripped of enough of its outer leaves; the buttery bread crumb topping was offset by a surprisingly sweet lemon aioli. The trio of dips ($7) - olive tapenade (average), taramosalta (overpowering), and white bean and garlic puree (best) - required more crostini, which were happily delivered by the waitress.

Another starter option is to share a pizza, whose chewy crust may not be en vogue with the crispy thin pies so popular today, but it's still good eating in my opinion. Think of it freshly baked bread topped with fine ingredients.

Pork is your best bet across the board. The Thai shrimp and pork meatballs are akin to the pork meatballs at 9 Roses except smaller in size and in number. $5.50 is a fair price for an order of three, but don't expect to share. Carnitas gorditas have spongy masa tortillas folded around shredded pork. The roasted pork shoulder ($15) is meltingly tender, and the beans and rice shore up a modest cut; unfortunately, the single thin, crunchy slice of plantain was nothing but a garnish that I wanted more of. Fish is served broiled or sauteed and topped with your choice of meuniere, amandine, or muddy waters (pictured). A half roast chicken and burger are available for those in search of refined comfort food.

At first glance, the menu seems too chaotic, but that's probably what Chef Spicer was going for. Her slogan at Bayona: "Our restaurant gives you New Orleans. Our menu gives you the world." At Mondo, the menu offerings may not be in harmony with one another, but most work well individually. It's the neighborhood restaurant for the next generation.

Mondo - Par/Birdie

900 Harrison Avenue

(504) 224-2633