The Early Show

A Taste For Grapes

By Rome Neal

October 15, 2002 / 2:14 PM EDT / CBS

You might think grapes are only good for wine, jams and preserves, but Michael Chiarello from Napa Style proves the thought wrong.

Chiarello tells The Early show his latest cookbook, "Casual Cooking," has some recipes incorporating grapes that will make your mouth water.

In buying grapes, he says, you should look for bunches that are plump, have a fully developed color and still on their stems. Grapes develop more sugar as they ripen, but once they are picked, they never get any sweeter. To check for ripeness, look for a slightly pale yellow color in the green grapes; dark grapes should have an almost black or crimson color and no green at all.

Chiarello demonstrates some of his favorite grape recipes:

Harvest Focaccia
(makes one 11x17 baking sheet)

Ingredients:

1 oz. fresh yeast or 2 envelopes active dry yeast
2 cartons whole milk, lukewarm
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of sugar
5 cups of all-purpose flour plus more for the work surface
1/3 cup extra Virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1 table spoon lemon zest, grated
1 cup red grapes, halved or quartered
1 cup golden raisins
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
1 egg, beaten well
1 gray salt

Method:

In a large bowl or the work bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve the yeast in the milk and add 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 cup of the flour. Mix well and let stand in a warm place about 15 minutes for the yeast to activate.

In a small saucepan, warm ¼ cup of the olive oil with the rosemary and lemon zest. Add the grapes and raisins, mix well then add half to the yeast mixture. Mix another 1 cup flour into the yeast mixture with the dough hook attachment. Knead until smooth. With machine running, add the salt and remaining 3 cups flour, one cup at a time, kneading until smooth after each addition. Knead another six minutes after the addition of the last cup of flour. The dough should remain rather wet to ensure a soft and light bread. Shape the dough into a ball on a floured board and put it in an oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down and lightly sprinkle work surface with flour. Turn out dough and knead lightly. At this point, dough may be wrapped and frozen.

To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil an 11x17 baking sheet. Press dough down into a flat disc with the heel of your hand. Using your fingertips, nudge the dough into a rectangle. The dough can be rolled but the pressure will produce heavier bread. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and brush with the remaining olive oil. Let rise again until doubled, 30-40 minutes.

Make indentations all over the dough by pressing with your fingertips, being careful not to puncture all the way through. Bake 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and brush with the egg. Sprinkle with the remaining grape mixture, then the remaining sugar. Finish with some coarse salt. Return to the oven and continue to bake until golden brown on top and crisp on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Let cool in the pan before cutting.

Chicken a la Vendemmia (Crush)

In the Napa Valley, the autumn grape harvest - la vendemmia, in Italian - is a season all its own. The whole valley smells like grape juice, as huge gondolas haul just-picked grapes up and down the main roads to their final winery destinations. At that time of year, I might make this dish with ripe wine grapes that are incredibly sweet. I might even sacrifice a couple of pounds from my own vineyard. (Because of the seeds, wine grapes would need to be crushed in a food mill, not a blender). The chicken has lovely sauce, so I would serve it with noodles, rice, or bread to soak up every drop.

Ingredients:

2 pounds seedless red grapes
4 large bone-in chicken breasts, skin on
sea salt, preferably gray salt, and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fennel spice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup thinly sliced shallot
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
½ cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth

Puree the grapes in a blender then strain through a sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. You should have about 2 ½ cups of juice.

Preheat the oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit. Season the chicken on all sides with salt, pepper and fennel spice.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over moderately high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the olive oil. Add the chicken breasts, skin side down, and brown well on all sides, about seven minutes total. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the chicken is done throughout, 12 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the skillet. Add the shallot to the skillet and return to moderate heat. Cook until softened, then add the rosemary and cook briefly to release its fragrance. Add 2 cups of the grape juice and simmer briskly until reduced by half. Add the stock and any collected juices from the chicken platter and simmer until the mixture has reduced to a creamy, sauce-like consistency. The total volume of the sauce will be a little more than 1 cup.

Cut the chicken breasts in half with a heavy knife or cleaver and return them to the platter. Spoon the sauce over and around them. Serve immediately.

Tiziano
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 bottle of NapaStyle cabernet grape juice, chilled
1 bottle of dry sparkling wine, chilled

Method:

Mix equal parts sparkling wine and grape juice. Serve chilled with the garnish of your choice.

The individual varieties of table grapes, which include both seedless and seeded are harvested at different times of the year. Some of the most familiar names include the Black beauty (May to July), Calmerai (January to February), Cardinal (May through August), Champagne (Sept. through October), Empero (August through March), and Flame Seedless (June through December). The availability of the seasonal varieties is extended by imports from Mexico and Chile.