Recipes From The Napa Valley

Maria Helm Sinskey has a life many can only dream about. She provides culinary direction and cooking classes at Robert Sinskey Vineyards, a Napa Valley, California, vineyard she owns with her husband Robert. The Sinskeys and their two daughters make their home in the vineyard.

In 1996, Sinskey earned Food and Wine magazine's Best New Chef honors when she was at Plumpjack Cafe in San Francisco.

We asked her to create a meal for four on a $30 budget for The Saturday Early Show's Chef on a Shoestring challenge.

Sinskey shared some of her family's favorite recipes from her first cookbook, "The Vineyard Kitchen." Her recipes are grouped into seasonal menus with wine suggestions. There are 40 menus, 10 per season, with more than 180 recipes to enjoy. She says the recipes are simple and sophisticated at the same time, making use of high quality, local, seasonal ingredients.

Sinskey says she wrote the book, in part, because she grew up in a home where food was important and represented a bond between her present and her family's past. She explains she wanted to share that tradition with others and promote home cooking.

Not surprisingly, Sinskey's recipes are considered "wine friendly." She believes that wine "should enhance, not overpower the food you are eating." She believes there needs to be a balance between the food and the wine.

Sinskey's husband took many of the photographs you see in the book.

Her Chef on a Shoestring menu: an appetizer of Gathered Greens Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette; an entrée of Wild Mushroom Risotto; and for dessert, Apple Spice Cake.

Read an excerpt from "The Vineyard Kitchen":

Introduction

Home cooking is a disappearing craft; what was once commonplace has now become a luxury as time becomes more precious in our busy world. These seasonal recipes are designed to inspire you to make time in your busy schedule and step back into the kitchen.

The menus and recipes respect the merits of the seasons, reflecting a sense of time and place. They remind us that we should rejoice in the warm sweet tomatoes of summer and revel in the stoic, earthy root vegetables of winter, that the bright colors of summer vegetables should gracefully fade to the brown, gold and dark green of fall and winter ones.

Choose how lofty or humble your meals will be. Some recipes and menus are created to provide pleasure not torment. Preparation of these recipes should be done with the best ingredients available to you. Best does not mean the most expensive, but the freshest and most wholesome ones you can find at your market.

Recipe

The following recipes are excerpts from "The Vineyard Kitchen."
Published By Harper Collins 2003

Gathered Greens With A Red Wine Vinaigrette
Serves 4

This recipe isn't a recipe at all, merely a guideline for throwing together the simplest of salads. You'll need to trust your taste buds and culinary instincts on this one. After a few times you will have perfected your technique. My mother has made this salad for years and my father always commented, and still does, that as far as salads were concerned, when my mother was "on" there is no better salad. So there you have it.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound mixed baby greens
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Wash the greens well. Spin dry and place in bowl.

Drizzle olive oil lightly over the greens and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and the sugar toss the greens again and taste.

Drizzle with red wine vinegar and toss. Taste for tanginess and seasoning. Adjust the salt, pepper and vinegar to taste. Serve immediately.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is a great medium to showcase wild mushrooms. The muted flavors of the rice provide the perfect backdrop for the earthy flavors of the mushrooms. The meaty texture of the mushrooms will satisfy all but the most hardcore meat eaters.

Wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles and porcini, freshly picked from the forest excel in this dish. They also pack a lot of flavor. If your budget is tight use a small quantity of fresh or dried wild mushrooms mixed with some of the domesticated varieties such as oyster, button, crimini or shiitake.

A cautionary note: As the rice begins to thicken it has a tendency to spit hot starchy liquid, which can be painful. Use a long thick wooden spoon or paddle to take your hand as far away from spitting range as possible. While this will not prevent the spitting it should reduce your pain.
Serves 4 as a main course

To use dried wild mushrooms: substitute 4 ounces of dried for each pound of fresh. To reconstitute cover the mushrooms with a generous amount of boiling water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Be sure to lift them out of the water after they are re-hydrated to prevent contamination by any dirt that has fallen to the bottom.

The re-hydrating juices may be strained through fine cheesecloth and reduced to 1/2 cup. Add the reduced juices to the chicken stock/broth for extra flavor. Cut the larger mushrooms into bite-sized pieces, smaller mushrooms may be left whole.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds assorted wild and/or domesticated mushrooms (see Headnote); or 6 ounces dried wild mushrooms (see Note above)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, peeled, trimmed and minced
1 medium clove of garlic, peeled, trimmed and minced
2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 to 8 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups carnaroli or Arborio rice
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
grated Parmesan for sprinkling

Note: The mushroom ragout can be made a day or two ahead of time and then reheated to add to the rice.

Clean the mushrooms thoroughly. Keep each variety separate. The dirty stem end should be trimmed with a small sharp knife and the pine needles should be gently brushed away with a semi-stiff brush. If the mushrooms are so dirty as to warrant a bath, fill a large bowl with cold water. Quickly dip and swish the mushrooms in the water two handfuls at a time.

Repeat if necessary and then drain the mushrooms in a colander or on top of an absorbent towel. Never allow the mushrooms to soak. They are like sponges and will quickly become sodden if allowed to sit in water for any amount of time. Their sodden state will make it almost impossible to get a good golden caramelization when they are sautéed or roasted. Slice the larger mushrooms into bite sized pieces and cut the smaller mushrooms in half or, if they are very small, leave them whole.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat; add the olive oil and then one type of mushroom. Each variety must be cooked separately as they cook at different speeds. Sauté the mushrooms until they are golden and their juices are almost dry, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir the shallots and garlic into the mushrooms (be sure to reserve equal amounts for the rest of the mushrooms) and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

After all of the mushrooms have been sautéed, mix them together and reserve them in a warm place until ready to be used or, if you prepare them in advance, cover and store them in the refrigerator. Reheat the cold mushrooms before adding to the risotto.

Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot and reduce to a simmer. If you have used the dried mushrooms, you should stir in the reduced, re-hydrating juices to the chicken broth.

Heat a large heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat, add the butter and cook until it is lightly browned and bubbling. Add the diced onion and sauté until it is translucent, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Add the rice and stir until it is thoroughly heated. Add the white wine and bring everything to a boil while stirring constantly. Stir until the wine is completely absorbed by the rice. Set the timer for 12 minutes.

Using a 6-ounce ladle, add the simmering stock into the rice one ladle at a time, stir the rice constantly while adding the stock. Add more stock as the rice absorbs the liquid. When the timer goes off, stir in the warm mushroom ragout and continue cooking for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly. I prefer my risotto with a little tooth so I cook it a little less.

The grains should be silky and slide easily over one another when a spoon is drawn through. If this is not the case, add a little more stock to loosen them up. The rice should have enough liquid so that the texture is creamy. If the rice is not cooked enough the texture will be starchy and crunchy. If the rice is overcooked the grains will be bloated and stick together. Add more liquid until it reaches the texture you desire. Add the chopped Italian parsley immediately before serving.

Garnish with a little grated Parmesan and serve with additional Parmesan on the side. The rice should be served soon after it has finished cooking otherwise it will continue to cook and become overcooked and clumped together.

Apple Spice Cake

The flavors of this moist homey apple studded cake get better with each passing day as they have time to settle into one another. Pears can be substituted for apples or a mixture of both can be used. Serve this cake with ice cream and caramel sauce, a spoonful of soft nutmeg scented whipped cream or a wedge by itself with a cup of coffee. It will fittingly rise to the occasion whenever and however served.

Sautéed Apples:
4 tart medium-sized baking apples
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cake batter:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup buttermilk

To prepare the apples, peel, halve and core the apples. Dice into 1-inch cubes.

Heat the butter until golden in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the apples and sauté them until they are golden. Sprinkle with sugar and cook until all the liquid has evaporated from the pan. Cool. Prepare the apples up to three days in advance, tightly wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Butter and flour a 12 cup bundt pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.

In a small bowl, combine the eggs and the vanilla. Add to the butter mixture in two parts, beating well after each addition.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and add to egg/butter mixture, half at a time, alternating with the buttermilk.

Fold in the cooled cooked apples and spoon into the buttered and floured bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool for ten minutes and then turn upside down onto a rack. Leave the pan on and cool to warm. Remove pan and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with ice cream or alone.

The foregoing is an excerpt from "The Vineyard Kitchen," by Maria Helm Sinskey. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from HarperCollins Publishers.