food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
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Aperitif/Bayou La Seine: An American Restaurant in Paris 191<br />
spice <strong>and</strong> seasoning does tend to be higher than what is generally served in traditional French cuisine.<br />
Judith shares some of the challenges she encountered in adapting this ethnic cuisine to French tastes <strong>and</strong><br />
French <strong>wine</strong>s.<br />
‘‘When adapting ethnic or foreign cuisine to the French market, the most difficult obstacle to overcome<br />
is the preconceived notion of the <strong>food</strong>, which generally is negative or patronizing at best. The<br />
predominant prejudice expressed regarding our Cajun cuisine was that the cuisine is too spicy. To reduce<br />
a number of possible negative associations with the term Cajun cuisine, we decided to describe our <strong>food</strong> as<br />
Louisiana cuisine. This description is a more inclusive term (encompassing both the Cajun <strong>and</strong> Creole<br />
cuisines as well as the influences of African, French, Spanish, German, <strong>and</strong> Italian cultures in Louisiana),<br />
takes it out of the realm of ‘‘home cooking’’ <strong>and</strong> into cuisine (an important selling factor in France), <strong>and</strong><br />
reduces the connotations of spiciness associated with the term Cajun.<br />
‘‘Spice usage being perhaps the single most important identifying component of this cuisine, I felt<br />
that it was crucial to learn to balance the taste notes of the different spices. This can be accomplished in<br />
many fashions: the combination of the spices in complementary <strong>and</strong> contrasting interactions, the timing of<br />
the addition of the spices during the cooking process, <strong>and</strong> different techniques of getting flavor from the<br />
spices, such as heating, grinding, mashing, or infusing in a water-based potion or in an oil.<br />
‘‘In creating the menu, I found there were many aspects to consider apart from the actual flavor of<br />
the item served on the plate. How the taste would develop as one worked through a bowl of Jambalaya?<br />
Would the first sting of cayenne pepper deaden the taste buds to the tangy slivers of marinated pepper<br />
used in the sausage? Would the murky spiciness of Dirty Rice (made with roasted mustard seeds <strong>and</strong> cumin<br />
as well as three powdered peppers <strong>and</strong> herbs) complement the smoky, piquant Blackened Rib Eye Steak,<br />
dusted with a sweet paprika, cayenne, <strong>and</strong> thyme concoction <strong>and</strong> then seared in a white-hot dry pan? Or<br />
would one overwhelm the other? And, of course, what would these spices do to the flavor of the <strong>wine</strong>s<br />
offered?<br />
‘‘In the best of all possible worlds, a dry but fruit-forward white <strong>wine</strong> such as a good California<br />
Chardonnay or an Arbois from the Jura region of France is a perfect complement for the spicier Cajun<br />
dishes, such as Jambalaya, Dirty Rice, or Barbecue Shrimp. But in France, red <strong>wine</strong> outsells white <strong>wine</strong> in<br />
restaurants such as ours by ten to one, <strong>and</strong> price is a major factor. Also, many of our customers who are<br />
native or have traveled through Louisiana order beer. Beer is great to accompany fried <strong>food</strong> on a sweltering<br />
day, but a well-chosen <strong>wine</strong> accentuates the flavors in our more complex dishes.’’ 1<br />
One of Judith’s menu items is a dish she calls Cajun Matriochka, which is a takeoff on a traditional<br />
Cajun dish called Turducken. Turducken is basically a roasted whole turkey that has been stuffed with a<br />
whole duck, which has been stuffed with a whole chicken. Prior to this stuffing process, all of the poultry<br />
bones are removed. This delicacy is becoming popular as a holiday dish throughout much of the southern<br />
United States. 2<br />
A matriochka is a Russian nested doll set that consists of a wooden figure that can be pulled apart<br />
to reveal a smaller figure inside, which can be pulled apart to reveal a smaller figure, <strong>and</strong> so on. Her Cajun<br />
Matriochka adapts the traditional Turducken into a menu item that can be prepared as an individual portion.<br />
It features red-<strong>wine</strong>-poached fig quarters rolled in a thin slice of duck breast, which is rolled in a thin slice<br />
of turkey breast, dusted with a mixture of ginger, cori<strong>and</strong>er, sweet paprika, <strong>and</strong> cinnamon, <strong>and</strong> browned in<br />
butter. Sliced into rounds, it is served with smothered greens, wild rice, <strong>and</strong> a Burgundy/balsamic vinegar<br />
caramel sauce.<br />
‘‘Sauces offer a dramatic medium for the dichotomy of flavor,’’ says Judith. ‘‘In the <strong>wine</strong>-based sauce<br />
for my Matriochka, I infuse star anise, Szechuan pepper, <strong>and</strong> cinnamon stick in a sweetened, vanilla-scented<br />
merlot that was used to poach the figs <strong>and</strong> also pears. Reduced to nearly a syrup, the sweetness cut by a<br />
dash of balsamic vinegar, this sauce awakens the fruitiness of the fig as it assuages the meatiness of the<br />
duck <strong>and</strong> turkey. The Asian spices in the poultry react differently in the meat than they do in the sauce.<br />
The finished dish creates a combination of contrasting sweet, spice, fruity, meaty, <strong>and</strong> lightly sour elements.<br />
‘‘On the other end of the flavor spectrum is a brown beer Cajun roux-based sauce that I use for<br />
Cajun Boudin Blanc, a fresh sausage made with pork, poultry, rice, <strong>and</strong> lots of sage. To accentuate the beer