On Saturday night, we wished a bon voyage to a special person. Adam Riley is as loyal a friend that could come your way. Funny, smart and lovable, this guy often becomes the life of the party. On Friday, he will be leaving for Israel. For those of us who know him well, we will miss him terribly.
But there is another part of Adam's journey that I forgot to mention: He will be spending eight months in Israel, but after that four months in Tuscany making wine. Because if there's one thing you need to know about Adam Riley, it's that he loves wine. He tastes wine like a pro, and has all the equipment to prove it.
The first time I met him, we were at a wine and cheese party for JewC, one of the numerous Orange County young adults groups, and the one handled by my friend Rae. It was cocktail-style attire, so he was wearing his best tux. He had provided all the wine for this event. He could have been a snob about how to taste, but he really wasn't: He constantly wore what I came to know as his standard cheery smile, explaining everything to those who didn't know.
Mind you, I had great wine before I met Adam. I once had some remnants of an $80 Herzog wine known as Covenant, a kosher cabernet sauvignon that is simply perfect. I enjoyed that glass of wine (and had a hangover the next morning, which should tell you how much of a lightweight I am). But I think if I drank it now, I would truly understand how great it is.
That's because Adam taught me to drink wine properly. Most people just slosh it down, but he taught me to really taste. I knew how to do some parts of it: swish, smell and taste. But he taught me how to understand the complexities of a really great wine. I needed to trust my palette, find the flavors for myself. I had to understand it.
At one point in the evening, he poured me a delicious red from Tuscany. Suddenly, I was tasting other elements of the wine: a deepness, a richness. It was so strange, and so I told him.
"Wow," he said. "You're a good taster."
Since then, I have learned the complexities of flavors in both my drinks and my food. From Adam, I learned to not just drin
k, but to enjoy. For me, if you want to just drink, get a beer. If you want to enjoy it, get a glass of good wine.
Mind you, due to my medication, I am not supposed to drink too much wine. But this is an important skill when it comes to cooking. If you learn the subtleties of wine, you can truly understand the other elements that come into the cooking process, and how each little thing that becomes involved with food can change it.
So, Adam, as a toast to you, I am going to include my recipe for chocolate chili, a rich dish that should go well with the right red wine. B'tayavon!
But there is another part of Adam's journey that I forgot to mention: He will be spending eight months in Israel, but after that four months in Tuscany making wine. Because if there's one thing you need to know about Adam Riley, it's that he loves wine. He tastes wine like a pro, and has all the equipment to prove it.
The first time I met him, we were at a wine and cheese party for JewC, one of the numerous Orange County young adults groups, and the one handled by my friend Rae. It was cocktail-style attire, so he was wearing his best tux. He had provided all the wine for this event. He could have been a snob about how to taste, but he really wasn't: He constantly wore what I came to know as his standard cheery smile, explaining everything to those who didn't know.
Mind you, I had great wine before I met Adam. I once had some remnants of an $80 Herzog wine known as Covenant, a kosher cabernet sauvignon that is simply perfect. I enjoyed that glass of wine (and had a hangover the next morning, which should tell you how much of a lightweight I am). But I think if I drank it now, I would truly understand how great it is.
That's because Adam taught me to drink wine properly. Most people just slosh it down, but he taught me to really taste. I knew how to do some parts of it: swish, smell and taste. But he taught me how to understand the complexities of a really great wine. I needed to trust my palette, find the flavors for myself. I had to understand it.
At one point in the evening, he poured me a delicious red from Tuscany. Suddenly, I was tasting other elements of the wine: a deepness, a richness. It was so strange, and so I told him.
"Wow," he said. "You're a good taster."
Since then, I have learned the complexities of flavors in both my drinks and my food. From Adam, I learned to not just drin
k, but to enjoy. For me, if you want to just drink, get a beer. If you want to enjoy it, get a glass of good wine.Mind you, due to my medication, I am not supposed to drink too much wine. But this is an important skill when it comes to cooking. If you learn the subtleties of wine, you can truly understand the other elements that come into the cooking process, and how each little thing that becomes involved with food can change it.
So, Adam, as a toast to you, I am going to include my recipe for chocolate chili, a rich dish that should go well with the right red wine. B'tayavon!
CHOCOLATE CHILI
2 pounds ground beef or chuck roast cut up (see quick tip1)
Salt and pepper
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons oil
¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 cans kidney beans, drained
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup water with 1 tablespoon beef bouillon, or 1 cup beef stock
1 teaspoon cumin
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce (see quick tip 2)
Vegetables (see quick tip 3)
Heat up a soup pot to medium-to-high heat. Add the oil. Season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Dice the onion and garlic. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, onion and ground beef. Make sure the ground beef is browned; it does not necessarily have to be cooked through. Add the cocoa powder and stir, making sure it picks up all the fatty juices.
Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, water with bullion and bay leaf. Allow to come up to a simmer. Add in the cumin and pepper flakes. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
Add any desired vegetables. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot, preferably with some rice if it’s super-spicy.
Quick Tip 1: This recipe is great if you have leftover fatty meat such as a chuck roast. You can skip the browning section of the recipe. Just make sure that the meat heats enough to release the fat. At that point the cocoa powder can be added.
Quick Tip 2: I’m not a major spice freak, but I will definitely turn up the heat when it comes to chili. Other people don’t feel like I do. My suggestion, like with any spices, is to season the dish to your liking.
Quick Tip 3: The beauty of chili is that you can add whatever you want to it, as long as it’s got the tomatoes, beans and is spicy. However, since this is chocolate chili and you don’t want it too sweet, I recommend that you stick to vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini and stay away from sweeter veggies like red peppers and carrots.
No comments:
Post a Comment