Healthy Food Recipe Blog

I have been very enthusiastic about Portuguese wines ever since I wrote WinePassport: Portugal. I appreciate that they are generally very food friendly with terrific acidity, and offer excellent value. While many varietals are planted everywhere, some are very particular to countries like Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Like travel, discovering these varietals offers unexpected pleasures.

In Portugal the same varietals that are used in Port are also used in table wines. But it’s only in recent years that some of the better tables wines have become more readily available abroad. Most port producers also produce table wines. One example is Ramos Pinto, a port producer that is revered for their 30 year tawny port and perhaps most well-known for their promotional posters by famous artists from the 1920's, you may recognize this one called the kiss.

The Ramos Pinto port house was established in 1880, and in 1919 the owners, two brothers, purchased their first quinta, or estate. Today they make about the same amount of port as they do douro table wines which are branded Duas Quintas, which means two estates. The two original estate are located in the Upper Corgo and in the Douro Superior and all their grapes are still harvested by hand.

I recently got a chance to try selected reserve wines of Duas Quintas dating from 1992 to 2013. While the wines have changed over the years, what I like about them is that they taste like Portuguese wines because they use all Portuguese varietals namely Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão. Let me tell you a little about each of these varietals:

* Touriga Nacional is probably the most famous varietal from Portugal and for good reason. It has notes of violet, eucalyptus, pine, herbs and mocha. It’s tannic but also fruity.

* Touriga Franca also has an aroma of violets but also intense fruit and softer tannins.

* Tinta Roriz is sometimes called aragones, in Spain it’s tempranillo. It has rich red fruit flavors of herbs, plum and raspberry.

* Tinta Barroca has a very dark color but soft tannins, red berries and black fruit and a juicy and spicy finish.

* Tinto Cão has spice and richness and great floral aromas.

What are Duas Quintas reserve wines like? Without sharing my tasting notes for each one, the ones I liked the most had great acidity, remarkable balance and fresh fruit, even in some of the oldest vintages. While some of the wines had earthy notes of mushrooms others were spicier and even had notes of licorice. Though the wines vary from vintage to vintage, what remains constant is that these are wines of great value, well worth seeking out.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Ramos Pinto for this exclusive tasting. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on Cooking with Amy

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Prunes are dried plums. There are many different kinds of plums, but the most common prunes from from the French D’Agen plum tree. Prunes were brought from Damascus to France by Christian crusaders. They are naturally self-persevering thanks to their sugar content. Several years ago the prune industry tried getting people to call prunes “dried plums” but the change didn’t really stick and today they are back to being called prunes once again. It's unfortunate that the word prune has some negative connotations. Personally I think the French name, pruneau, sounds lovely.

Call them what you like, they have some amazing health properties. They are fairly low in calories and have lots of fiber, potassium, magnesium, Vitamin K, and antibacterial properties. In addition to their well-known digestive benefits, they are also one of the few foods that not only prevent but reverse bone loss thanks to polyphenols.

Last Spring I went on a trip to visit prune orchards and a Sunsweet processing facility. Sunsweet is a growers cooperative with 300 members, each with about 60 acres of trees. Sunsweet processes the fruit, turning the pits into animal feed and fuel. On the tour was the first time I tried diced prune “plum amazins” which are little bits of prunes that can easily be used in any way you might use raisins. They are tasty and convenient and not as sticky as whole prunes. Paired with walnuts they make a satisfying snack. About 98% of prunes are used for snacking, but there are plenty of other ways to enjoy them. I particularly like using them in savory rich stews and tagines.

Ways to use prunes or diced prunes:

* Place on a cheese plate

* Blend them into smoothies with bananas or nuts and milk

* Stuff them with almonds or walnuts

* Fill them with goat cheese

* Add them to green salads

* Include them in grain dishes like pilaf, quinoa or Israeli couscous

* Use them in granola or trail mix

* Add to chili for their sweetness and thickening properties (they were used in this award winning recipe)

* As a sweetener in barbecue sauce

* Baked into scones or muffins

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Sunsweet, but I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post.

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08:22

It's hard to imagine after working on 35 turkey recipes that I'd be in the mood for another one, but behold the kimchi turkey patty melt! The mammoth recipe development project I've just completed included turkey burgers and I was left with quite a few extra patties. This recipe was actually something my client didn't pick from my master list of concepts but intrigued me enough to make it anyway.

A few months ago I stopped off at Fenton's in Vacaville and ordered a patty melt. I had forgotten how much I love the combination of rye toast, caramelized onions, melted swiss cheese and a thin beef patty. All the ingredients come together in a rich, gooey, toasty and meaty sandwich that really satisfies. The classic diner patty melt was the inspiration for my kimchi melt, which also uses a fully cooked thin patty as opposed to a big thick burger, but replaces the onions with kimchi and the swiss cheese with pepper jack and finally the rye bread with sourdough.

I like thick and juicy rare burgers from beef, buffalo or lamb, but you can't cook turkey rare so a thin patty makes sense. The mild flavor pairs particularly well with spicy and tangy ingredients which is why I sautéed some kimchi and layered on slices of Monterey pepper jack. A half cup of kimchi might sound like a lot for one sandwich, but it shrinks considerably when you cook it.

Kimchi Turkey Melt
One serving

Ingredients:

Oil
1 turkey patty
Unsalted butter
1/2 cup kimchi, mild or spicy
2 slices Monterey pepper jack cheese
2 slices sliced sourdough bread

Instructions:

Cook the turkey burger on a grill or hot skillet. Meanwhile slice the kimchi into strips and sauté in a nonstick skillet with a 1/4 teaspoon of butter for two minutes or until reduced by about half. When the kimchi is ready, butter the outside of two slices of bread.

Layer one slice of bread in a hot non-stick skillet with about 1/4 teaspoon oil. Top the bread with cheese, the burger and kimchi and place the second slice of bread on top, butter side up.

Toast the sandwich in the pan over medium heat with a small lid placed on top of the sandwich to weigh it down slightly and to help melt the cheese. When the bread is toasty, about 2 minutes, flip the sandwich and cook on the second side.

Enjoy!

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GSMARENA

The rumored update to Android Wear that was supposed to bring with it Wi-Fi support has now been made official by Google. It will be rolling out to all existing smartwatches running the wearable platform, starting with the new LG Watch Urbane. The new software should have reached all devices within the next few weeks. Wi-Fi support isn't everything that's new here. Apps now get the ability to be always-on and keep your watch's display on all the time. Previously such functionality was limited to the screen that shows you what time it is. From this point on, however, developers can take advantage of this feature, so their apps stay visible for as long as needed. Interestingly, the screen of the watch will only be full color when you're actively looking at it, in a bid to save power. Moving on, gesture support is now built into Android Wear. So you can flick your wrist to scroll through your notifications. Apps and contacts are just a touch away from the watch face - you only need to tap the screen and you'll be able to start apps and send messages at once. And if you want to send an emoji, you simply have to draw it on your smartwatch. Google will recognize it and send it along to your intended recipient. As for the Wi-Fi functionality, this means watches that have the necessary hardware will work with your smartphone even when the two aren't paired via Bluetooth. Your watch only needs to be connected to a Wi-Fi network with Internet access, and your handset needs to have an active data connection - and all your notifications will keep showing up on your...

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