It’s like Christmas around here when a pallet of new products arrive! A load of French shelf groceries arrived this week, replenishing and augmenting many favorites, such as Rougie canned duck leg confit, Provençal olives, and tinned fish. We now have Bonne Maman fruit tartlets from the company famous for its preserves; chocolate macarons, and shelf stable pâté, among other items.
Back in Stock!
Foie de Morue (Smoked Cod Liver) $4.49
Rougie Duck Rillettes $7.99
Nicoises Olives $11.99
Teisseire Mint Syrup $10.99
Black Rice from Camargue $9.99
Isigny Ste Mère Crème Chantilly ($7.99) This puts all other canned whipped cream to shame. Made with organic milk from grass fed cows, organic sugar and Bourbon Vanilla from Madagascar, it can be eaten straight from the can! Or, serve it on top of berries, ice cream, dessert crépes or Creme Brulee.
Need a quick dessert for a dinner party? Pick up a box of Carmencita Crema Catalana (Crème Brûlée), $3.49, serves 10. Mix with milk and sugar, boil for two minutes, pour into individual serving containers (our small cazuelas are perfect for this) and chill. Can be made up to three days in advance of serving.
Elevation Salamis: With the buttery texture of Jamon Iberico, this line of pork salamis offer up distinctively flavored charcuterie, artisanally made. Using sustainably raised, Heritage breed pigs, the salamis are produced in Denver by two butchers who are passionate about permaculture. Fully cured, with a shelf life of 9 months, they do not require refrigeration. We’re now stocking four of their salamis in our grab-n-go case. Enjoy them on your next hike, tail gate or cocktail party!
Fennel Pollen: (5 oz chub, $12.99) Made with Fennel Pollen imported from Italy, sea salt, spices and red wine.
Barley Wine: (5 oz chub, $11.99) A play on the beer-mustard combination, this salami is made with Bourbon barrel-aged barleywine and golden mustard seeds.
Dry Chorizo: (5 oz chub, $12.99) Of course, we brought in this salami! Made with Spanish Pimenton De La Vera smoked paprika, it also contains white wine and Southwest Chipotle, which gives added smokiness.
Sour Ale Salami: (5 oz chub, $10.99) This is Elevation’s take on Bratwurst, made with Trinity Brewing’s 7 day Golden Sour Ale and black pepper.
Treblec Buckwheat Flour (Farine de Sarrasin) $8.49
Using their own flour millls and quality grains, Treblec produces its line of flours exclusively in Brittany. Treblec’s buckwheat flour packs a toasty, rich, and earthy flavor. Excellent in homemade breads, pancakes, muffins, and cakes. Try using it to make galettes, buckwheat crêpes. See recipe below.
WINE VALUES:
2014 Muti Albariño, Rias Baixas, $36.00. We are big fans of winemaker Raul Perez and always feel fortunate to get our hands on one of his wines. Raul is moving closer to being a natural winemaker, and striving to adapt his vineyard work to a changing climate in order to produce better wines. Using native yeasts, he experiments with fermentation and aging in a variety of cement, egg shaped fermenters, large and small casks. It’s difficult to stock his cuvées, because he produces miniscule quantities of each wine. “The 2014 Muti is pure Albariño sold exclusively in the US from 40-year-old vines on sandy granitic soils, with 50% of the volume fermented in stainless steel and the other half in foudre without malolactic. The volume in foudre matured in those 2,000-liter oak containers for one year before being blended with the rest and bottled. It’s sharp, austere and mineral, a serious Albariño, flinty, mineral. It takes time to show some white flowers and something that made me think of wet stones. As is always the case with this bottling, there is a minerality here, the austerity and salinity of granite. I really like this. 2,500 bottles produced.” 93 points Wine Advocate
2014 Cara Nord Negre, Conca de Barberà ($17.99) This tasty Catalan red wine comes from a north facing, stony vineyard in the Prades Mountains, located at an elevation of 2400 feet. A blend of 52% Garnacha, 34% Syrah and the rest Garrut (a local indigenous grape, which may actually be Monastrell), aged 6 months in French oak. The vineyards have extreme UV exposure and intense heat, compounded by the rocky soils which full ripen the grapes. It offers up aromas of black cherry, and on the palate, the fruit is bright and lifted with dusty notes. Showing intense minerality with great structure and acidity, this is a full-bodied, balanced red wine. An excellent choice for late summer barbeques. 91 points Vinous Media/Stephen Tanzer
Buckwheat Crêpes
Recipe from Crêpes by Martha Holmberg $19.95
Makes 15-18 crêpes
1 1/2 to 2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
Filling per crépe: 1/4 cup grated nutty Gruyere and 2 slices Jambon de Bayonne (available at Paris Madrid Grocery).
Put 1 1/2 cups of the milk, the eggs, and salt into a blender. Whiz for a few seconds to blend everything together. Remove the lid and add the buckwheat and all-purpose flours. Cover and blend until very smooth, about 20 seconds. Remove the lid, pour in the butter, cover, and whiz until combined, 10 seconds more.
Transfer the batter to a large glass measuring cup with a spout. Let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes and up to 24 hours. (If resting more than 30 minutes, store in fridge.) When you’re ready to make the crepes, test the batter’s consistency; it should be as thick as heavy cream but not as thick as pancake batter. If it feels too thick, whisk in up to 1/2 cup of the remaining milk.
Heat in an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it’s hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle upon contact. Using a folded paper towel, spread about 1/2 tsp butter around the interior of the pan. The butter should sizzle upon contact but not instantly turn brown. You don’t want the pan to be so hot that the butter burns.
Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the pan, and at the same time lift the pan from the heat, tilting and turning it in all directions so the batter spreads evenly across the bottom of the pan in a thin circle. If the crepe has any holes it in, quickly add a few drops of batter to fill them in. Or, if you have too much batter and the crepe looks too thick, immediately pour the excess back into the measuring cup or bowl of batter. You can always trim off the “tail” that’s left behind later.
Cook the crepe until the edges begin to dry and lift from the sides of the pan, and the bottom is nicely browned, about 1 minute. Use a knife, spatula, or your fingers to lift the crepe and quickly flip it over. Smooth out any folded edges or pleats, and then cook until the center is firm and the second side is browned, about 20 seconds more. Slide the crepe onto a large plate or cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, adjusting the heat and wiping the pan with more butter as you cook. Add the filling to each crepe and put back in the pan. Warm for 1-2 minutes until the cheese starts to bubble and melt, then serve.