Page 4C
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, November 28, 2015
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By DONNA BRYSON
Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) — Some
of my most treasured travel
memories involve food.
Like the time my husband
and I went to what was
billed as New Delhi’s best
rumali roti stall, where we
turned the hood of a car into
a table so that the extrava-
gantly thin and succulent
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down before it cooled. Or
the time I introduced my
in-laws to a Johannesburg
street vendor’s vetkoeks,
slightly sweet, slightly sour
dollops of fried dough.
So when we were plan-
ning a trip to Japan and
my husband heard about
EatWith.com, we knew we
had to try it.
EatWith links travelers
to chefs and talented home
cooks around the world
to share a meal. It’s one
of several sites, including
EatFeastly, VizEat and
PlateCulture,
offering
opportunities to dine infor-
mally with locals. The price
is set by the chef, typically
comparable to a mid-range
restaurant meal.
We used EatWith to
book a date with Shino
Fukuyama, a marketing
manager who loves to
share her country’s cuisine
and culture. I, my husband,
our tween daughter, my
father-in-law and his wife
experienced what felt like
a homestay for an evening.
Fukuyama’s father was a
foreign correspondent and
their family lived in Mexico
and South Korea. In 2002,
her husband’s job took them
to New York. They devoted
much of their spare time to
exploring restaurants with
a Zagat guide. But it was a
Thanksgiving dinner in the
suburbs with the family of
her husband’s co-worker
that gave her a taste for
sharing worlds over a meal
in someone’s home.
She studied how to
teach sushi-making in
2010, and opened her home
to visitors after Japan’s
tourism industry began to
revive following the 2011
tsunami.
We scheduled our visit
with Fukuyama toward the
end of our stay in Japan’s
capital. That gave us a few
days to get to know our way
around the city a bit before
venturing by subway from
the sleek Roppongi embas-
AP Photo/Matthew Mead
This Oct. 19 photo, shows four wines for under $15,
from left to right, “Kungfu Girl,” a Columbia Valley
Riesling from Washington state, “Zoe” Red Pelopon-
nese, from Greece, Colome, from Argentina, and Colo-
nia, also from Argentina.
AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama
In this Oct. 31 photo, Shino Fukuyama, standing, teaches U.S. and Swiss tourists
how to roll sushi as she hosts a dinner at her home in Tokyo. Tourists can learn
about sushi, kimonos and enjoy dining with locals thanks to EatWith.com, which
links travelers to chefs and talented home cooks around the world.
she wore a chic dress cut
from an old kimono that she
had ordered off the Internet.
Once we got to
Fukuyama’s house, we
learned how to roll sushi
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ahead of time. We also
learned to set a Japanese
table, with pottery handed
down
in
Fukuyama’s
family. Chopsticks are
placed horizontally in front
of diners, with the narrow
ends that touch the food
pointing left.
AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama
Dinner stretched from
In this Oct. 31 photo, tourists are taught to make Ni- our sushi, mine inexpertly
giri sushi with sushi rice, top left, and slices of fish, as rolled, to fruit cut into the
they prepare dinner at the home of Shino Fukuyama rabbit shapes that doting
in Tokyo.
Japanese moms put in
The supermarket was their kids’ bento boxes.
sy-and-nightclub district
where our hotel was located D ¿YHPLQXWH VWUROO WR We had plum pickled by
home,
a Yamauchi’s mother-in-law.
to her more down-to-earth Fukuyama’s
husband
Meguro neighborhood in modern concrete box that Fukuyama’s
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central Tokyo.
Fukuyama and her her traditional touches — workmates, but he left us
friend Akiko Yamauchi, an tatami mats, paper sliding a vegetable dish he had
auction company art buyer, screens, minimal decor. prepared the night before.
met us as we emerged from Along the way, Fukuyama The whale bacon, more a
the subway station. They pointed out local land- textural experience than
¿UVWXVKHUHGXVWRDQHDUE\ marks. The Shinto shrine. anything else, didn’t clash
supermarket, where they The liquor shop that’s with Fukuyama’s carefully
answered questions about been in the same family curated menu. (I’ve never
meats, vegetables and fruits for three generations. eaten a rubber ducky, but
we had until then only The kimono consignment I imagine it tastes like the
seen on restaurant menus. shop where we bought a whale bacon did.) After
Fukuyama agreed to add delicately woven, lightly dinner, Fukuyama dressed
whale bacon, spotted in used kimono. The textures, my 11-year-old daughter
the prepared meat case by patterns and stories of fabric in a kimono, delighting her
my husband, to our menu. make it, like food, one of grandfather.
Fukuyama said such
We would come to see how our family obsessions. It
gracious that was when we turned out Fukuyama is a moments when she can
realized just how meticu- kimono connoisseur. She surprise and charm her
lously she had planned the and Yamauchi met in a guests, along with those
evening. Fukuyama told kimono club, where people when she learns something
me later she usually spends who like to look at and about another culture are
two days preparing for her talk about the traditional among “the joys of my
clothing gather. That night, life.”
guests.
Entertaining this holiday season? You need our cheese puffs
By ALISON LADMAN
Associated Press
It’s holiday entertaining season, so
we say bring on the fat and carbs!
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parties and cookie swaps (when you’d
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and a pint of ice cream) requires a
bit of comfort food (not to mention
a stiff drink, but that’s another recipe
for another time). Still, if you’re
entertaining, you can’t totally slack
off. You just need to marry your
need for fatty comforting carbs with
something dressy enough to serve in
polite company.
So we give you blue cheese and
mushroom cheese gougeres. Or
just call them cheese puffs; they’re
delicious no matter what you call
them. They’re basically dough balls
studded with chopped mushrooms and
crumbled blue cheese. They are deli-
cious right from the oven or at room
temperature. And as an entertaining
bonus, they can be prepped ahead and
frozen on the baking sheet. Just add a
few minutes baking time when you’re
ready to cook them off.
Blue cheese and mushrooms not
AP Photo/Matthew Mead
Blue cheese and mushroom gougeres.
your style? Substitute pretty much any
cheese you like, ditch the mushrooms,
add fresh herbs or scallions. Whatever.
It all works.
And while your mother-in-law
or boss may judge you, we promise
to look the other way if you feel the
need to power eat these like popcorn
BLUE CHEESE & MUSHROOM GOUGERES
6WDUWWR¿QLVK 50 minutes
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1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
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Kosher salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
Ground black pepper
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4 eggs
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
Heat the oven to 400 F. Coat 2 baking sheets with
cooking spray.
In a large skillet over medium-high, melt 1
tablespoon of the butter. Add the mushrooms, shallots
and a hefty pinch of salt. Cook until tender and lightly
browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium, combine the
remaining 7 tablespoons butter, the water, milk and a
hefty pinch of each salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer,
during the party. Our gougeres are a
judgment-free zone.
———
Alison Ladman is a chef, food
writer and recipe developer for The
Associated Press. She also owns The
Crust and Crumb Baking Company in
Concord, New Hampshire.
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spoon, mix well and continue to cook until the mixture
becomes a ball that separates from the pan, 1 to 2
minutes.
Scoop the dough ball into the bowl of a stand
mixer. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes to allow
the mixture to cool slightly. Add the eggs, one at a
time, beating thoroughly between additions. Stir in
the reserved mushroom mixture and the blue cheese.
Scooping by the tablespoonful, place walnut-sized
dollops on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 1/2
inches of space between each.
Alternatively, transfer the dough into a large zip-close
plastic bag. Snip off one of the lower corners and pipe
(squeeze) the mixture into place on the prepared baking
sheets.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition information per serving: 70 calories; 45
calories from fat (64 percent of total calories); 5 g fat
(3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 45 mg cholesterol; 70
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protein.
Festive and frugal:
Vine values under $15
By MICHELLE LOCKE
Associated Press
All we really want for
Christmas? Help mastering
the sweet spot of gifting
wine during the holidays.
We don’t want to spend
too much. We don’t want
to spend too little. We don’t
want something so obscure
that we leave our recipients
befuddled. We don’t want
something so common it
is sold on grocery store
endcaps. We want bottles
with character and terroir.
We want bottles that please
the palate as much as the
wallet.
And that is the gifted
wine sweet spot. And this
is your answer: Our team
of experts has come up with
15 knockout bottles that sell
for around $15 to help you
create a wine shopping list
that’s easy to buy, easy to
drink.
Suggested picks span
the world of winemaking
regions, from New Mexico
to the Old World. And if
there is one theme to the
recommendations it’s this:
Drink global.
“Look for wines from
lesser-known wine regions
such as those in Bulgaria,
Turkey or Croatia,” says
Mike DeSimone, who with
Jeff Jenssen is author of
the recently released book,
“Wines of California.”
“They’ve been making
wines for centuries, and
besides using European
grape varieties they also
make single varietals and
blends from indigenous
varieties. It’s a great way to
learn about new grapes.”
Alder Yarrow, founder
and editor of the popular
wine site Vinography.com
also recommends looking
afar.
“Once upon a time,
California abounded with
sub-$15 wines, but these
days it more resembles
a desert populated by
sparse and prickly wines
that I don’t really feel like
drinking. Contrast that with
the incredible number of
reasonably priced imports
coming
from
Greece,
France, Chile, Argentina
and more, and you have to
feel sorry for most American
winemakers,” he says.
One domestic wine did
make it on to Yarrow’s list
— the 2014 Charles Smith
“Kung Fu Girl” Columbia
Valley Riesling from Wash-
ington state, an emerging
wine region that offers quite
a few undiscovered values.
He also recommends the
2014 Skouras “Zoe” Red
Peloponnese, from Greece
and the 2014 Bodegas
Colome Torrontes Valle
Calchaqui Salta from Argen-
tina.
Two
French
wines
made the list, with one
being the 2014 Chateau de
Fontenille Bordeaux Blanc
recommended by Ray Isle,
executive wine editor of
Food & Wine magazine. His
other two suggestions, both
from Italy, were the 2014
Capezzana Barco Reale and
one sparkler, the NV (non
vintage) Rotari Brut.
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that won’t land you in the
red is to experiment with
new grape varieties, advises
Jonathan Alsop, founder
and executive director of
the Boston Wine School.
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values in wine grapes no one
has ever heard of before, like
gaglioppo.” He recommends
the 2013 Enotria “Ciro”
Gaglioppo from Campania
in southern Italy. Light red
in color, it’s “very juicy and
easy to drink.”
Complete list of
the wines:
• Charles Smith “Kung
Fu Girl” Columbia
Valley Riesling 2014
• Skouras “Zoe” Red
Peloponnese, Greece
2014
• Bodegas Colome Tor-
rontes Valle Calchaquí
Salta, Argentina 2014
• Chateau de Fontenille
Bordeaux Blanc 2014
• Capezzana Barco
Reale 2014
• NV Rotari Brut
• Enotria “Ciro” Ga-
glioppo 2013
• Colonia Las Liebres
Bonarda 2013
• NV Gruet Blanc de
Noirs Brut
• Owen Roe “Lenore”
Syrah, Washington
• Pala “I Fiori” Vermen-
tino, Italy, 2013
• Domaine Deupre Mor-
gon Vignes de 1935,
France, 2012
• Chateau Burgozone
Viognier, Bulgaria
• Enjingi Grasevina,
Croatia
• Vinkara Doruk Na-
rince, Turkey
Rounding out his picks
were the 2013 Colonia
Las Liebres Bonarda from
Argentina. Bonarda, a red
grape, is “the next red wine
from Argentina you’re going
to be drinking after you
grow weary of Malbec,”
Alsop predicts.
And from the United
States he recommends NV
Gruet Blanc de Noirs Brut
from New Mexico. “Gruet is
the best value sparkling wine
in the USA from the unlikely
hills above Albuquerque.” If
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Noirs at the $15 price point,
the lower-priced Gruet Brut
also is a good choice.
One more U.S. wine
made the cut, the Owen
Roe “Lenore” Syrah from
Columbia Valley, Wash-
ington, recommended by
David Kravitz, beverage
manager of The Smith
restaurants in New York
City. Loaded with “wild
blackberries, pepper, African
violets and a hint of bacon,”
the Syrah is a perfect burger
wine, he says.
His other choices are
the 2013 Pala “I Fiori”
Vermentino from Sardinia,
Italy, and the 2012 Domaine
Deupre Morgon Vignes de
1935, a French red from the
Beaujolais region.
For the intrepid, Jenssen
and DeSimone have some
picks that may take a little
hunting down. Chateau
Burgozone Viognier from
Bulgaria — “aromas of
orange zest and pineapple,
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stone fruits. It’s great as an
aperitif before dinner or at
a stand up cocktail party
with hors d’oeuvres,” says
Jenssen.
The two like Enjingi
Grasevina from Kutjevo
in Croatia’s north. A white
wine made from 100 percent
Grasevina grapes, it’s light
and fruity and pairs perfectly
with lighter holiday recipes,
says DeSimone. Another
option, he says, is Vinkara
Doruk Narince, a “crisp
clean white wine from
Turkey made from 100
percent Narince grapes.”
So make that wine list,
check it twice — and don’t
forget to slip a bottle or
two in your own Christmas
stocking.
After all, notes Kravitz,
“there is no greater joy,
when it comes to wine,
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has depth, shows a sense of
place and that you can afford
on any given night.”