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Dish of the Week: Korean Salmon

Actually it was last week, at the Korean Food Fair in downtown Los Angeles. 

And not every one got to taste the salmon, only those attending a media conference where it was presented by Bernard Guillas, executive chef of the Marine Room at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.

An ardent fan of Korean food, Guillas won the Top Chef Korean Food Challenge in 2011. For the conference, he dreamed up the dish with only a few days notice.

The salmon--ocean-farmed Skuna Bay salmon from Vancouver Island--had been cured for 48 hours with smoked sea salt, black sesame seeds, gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), and tangerine and Meyer lemon zests.

Guillas  (above) placed the fish on a round of jumbo Korean pear that he had marinated with pickling spices and pomegranate-flavored Hong Cho, a Korean vinegar.

Seaweed salad with sukkat (crown daisy) went underneath, and masago roe, mint and slivers of dried Korean peppers went on top. A couple of spoons of pickling liquid moistened the salad. The last touch was a sesame leaf placed at the side.

Who knows--Guillas might one day add this to the Marine Room menu. Meanwhile, you can taste other Korean fusion dishes there. Ttoekbokki, spicy stir-fried rice cakes, are at the bar, embellished with such non-Korean additions such as duck confit.

And the main room has wild mushroom casserole topped with black garlic, a Korean import that was featured at the food fair. You can read more about that in my article for LA Weekly's Squid Ink. 

Surfing Wine at Fleming's Steakhouse

Who could resist a great steak dinner? That's what I was having at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Beverly Hills. But what really got my attention was Fleming's WinePad (above), an enological version of the iPad.

Instead of paying attention to what I was eating--a prime dry-aged ribeye--I surfed the WinePad, checking listings from around the world, the red and white varietals, wine pairing suggestions and the prices of wine by the glass ($30 for Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay). This took time, because Fleming's stocks 295 wines.   

I could even email friends what I was drinking. Of course, the form that Fleming's supplied made sure they knew where I was drinking it.

Even better, the WinePad provided the light I needed to photograph the food, as you can see in the photo above. (The email page has especially good light.) The seafood platter below was photographed before I realized that the WinePad could help. You can see the difference in the other photos. 

Although I'm not much of a meat eater, I went to Fleming's for a dinner previewing the new menu. Compared to the woman next to me, I was an absolute carnivore. She was tasting steak for the first time.

This should have been celebrated with champagne dribbled over her fork, like the launching of a ship. I did have a little Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs left from the seafood course but decided to wet my tongue rather than her plate.

That seafood first course was more my speed--an icy bed holding lobster, crab and enormous sweet shrimp, all extracted from the shells and easy to eat (above). The platter that held them stood on a rack so that it could be called a tower.

An Olivier Leflaive Meursault came with the next course, crisp pork belly with a fennel and orange salad and mustard vinaigrette (above). This white Burgundy was too austere for most palates, not a good pairing with the jolly mood of the table.

Next came a choice of prime ribeye (above) or New York strip, both dry-aged. A hefty tomahawk, cut up for sharing, was, in my opinion, the tastiest of the meats. The wine for the meats was Round Pond Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley.

Remember surf and turf? It's still around, only raised to new heights as Fleming's "steak companions." There were three--truffled poached lobster, diablo shrimp and king crab with herb butter. Was there really any choice? How could anyone pass up lobster, which is on top of my steak in the photo? And look, there's caviar on top of the lobster. 

This was rich food. Potatoes were covered with bright orange cheese. And little sauce pots held purple mustard, sweet onion bacon jam and mascarpone brûlée in case you thought your food wasn't tasty enough.

Cappuccino afterward was actually s'mores, deconstructed into dessert in a cup. The chewy, stringy, sticky stuff made you feel like a kid again. But would you have chosen milk over a luscious, sweet Chambers Muscadelle from Rutherglen, Australia?

Fleming's dining room (above) is dark, cozy and quiet enough so you can focus on your steaks. Mine was so big that the leftovers lasted for two more nights.   

Argentina Invades an Italian Tasting

The invitation was to meet icons of Italian wine and taste their finest products. At least this was the plan for Kobrand Corporation's Tour d'Italia at Sofitel.

But I found there something I hadn't expected--wines from Argentina. And because I like to spend time in that country, this interested me more than the rarest Italian wines. 

No one mentioned the Argentine wines when the seven iconic winemakers discussed their work at a panel before the walk-around tasting. 

The set-up for the audience (at the top) presented seven wines, one for each panelist. The first was the 2012 Pinot Grigio Collio from Fernando Pighin & Figli. Dry and aromatic with balanced acidity, fruitiness and minerality, it was the lowest-priced wine of the group, $24.99.

Pinot Grigio, said Roberto Pighin, is "a wine that you can never make a mistake with [in pairing with food]."

It is also likely to get many buyers, because consumption of Pinot Grigio in the United States has grown dramatically over the last decade. This varietal now accounts for one-third of  the Italian wines imported here, said Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan, a wine educator and Master of Wine who chaired the panel. 

The price rose dramatically to $102.99 for the next wine, Michele Chiarlo's 2009 Cerequio Barolo, a wine that is made only in good years, said Alberto Chiarlo. Named for the vineyard, it is 100% Nebbiolo. "A single vineyard Barolo is not a brand, it is history," Chiarlo said proudly.

Next up was the $106.99 Manachiara Brunello di Montalcino from Tenute Silvio Nardi. Brunello's strict requirements dictate that it can be made only from the Sangiovese Grosso grape grown in a limited area, said Emilia Nardi, recommending her complex wine with red meat and game.

The highest priced wine was the 2010 Sassicaia Bolgheri Sassicaia  ($225.99)  from Tenuta San Guido. A blend of  85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, it was the first wine to be called a Super Tuscan. However, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta (above), who represented the winery, does not like that term. He explained that Sassicaia came about when his grandfather, who had made wine in France, ascertained that Bordeaux grapes would thrive on the Tuscan coast.

Sassicaia is not a fruit bomb and not oaky, he commented. "The idea of the wine is to bring into the glass what happens in the vineyard in 365 days," he said. 

Like his grandfather, Incisa has a pioneering gene. His innovation is to make Pinot Noir--not in Italy, but in Argentina. "I love Pinot Noir," he said. And he now spends several months of the year making it at Bodega Chacra in the Rio Negro valley in northern Patagonia.  

Under the Chacra label, he produces single-vineyard old-vine Pinot Noirs. A secondary wine, the 2011 Barda (above), is the one he poured at the walk-around tasting.  Online prices for this wine range from a little more than $20 to about $38.

Next  was a Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2010 Il Pareto Toscana from Chianti ($85.99). Giovanni Folonari from the winery Tenuta de Nozzole stated that the goal is to achieve elegance and make wines that pair well with food.  "Our wines have acidity that makes them food friendly," he said. Higher in acidity than Napa Cabs, Il Pareto has earthy, leathery qualities not common in Cabernets, he observed.

I noticed a sweet, tea-like aroma and notes of strawberry and chocolate in Tenuta Sette Ponti's 2011 Oreno Toscano ($110.99). This Tuscan Bordeaux blend combines Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Try it with red meats and strong cheeses, suggested Giovanna Moretti, who spoke through an interpreter.

The other Argentine wine at the walk-around tasting was the 2011 Paso Doble from Masi Agricola (above). It's a blend of Malbec and Corvina from Tupungato in the Uco Valley in Mendoza.

Corvina is the predominant grape in Masi's 2001 Mazanno Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. The grapes for this wine are laid on bamboo racks to dry for three to four months, which concentrates and thickens the juices.  It's a big, rich, dry red, limited in production and not made every year.

"There are no wines on earth with this kind of style," said Raffaele Boscaini of Masi Agricola.  Accordingly, the price is high, $174.99, but you can get Paso Doble for a mere $12.