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The Good Egg- And the Wines That Pair With It
- By CWF Sources
- Published 03/30/2006
- Columnists & Blogs
Whether you’re basing your grocery list on the Atkins, South Beach, or Sonoma diet, or on just plain good taste, the egg should always be on that shopping list. Americans too often relegate the egg to morning dining, paired with black coffee. Two things wrong here--eggs being limited to breakfast and wine limited to dinner. In this column, the two shall meet.
Now in paperback, THE GOOD EGG: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Breakfast to Dessert (Houghton Mifflin, paperback $15.00), presents hundreds of ways to use the egg. Marie Simmons, an James Beard award-winning author known for her delicious flavor combinations, offers up a diverse collection, with recipes for everything from gnocchi with butter and herbs to superb desserts like "Fallen Chocolate Soufflé Cake." Eggs are definitely in style, featured on menus of the country’s finest restaurants from San Francisco to New York, in classic dishes such as spaghetti carbonara, omelettes, frittatas, and crème brûlée. At home, cooks are discovering what the experts have always known: when you have an egg, you can have a perfect meal.
But what wine to pair? At breakfast (yes, breakfast) or maybe brunch, I opt for off-dry, lower alcohol, with some form of bubbles. I bring to the table Moscato d'Asti. An American version that I embrace is the Martin & Weyrich's Moscato Allegro, a Californian version of a classic Italian Moscato d'Asti, a sweet kiss from a delicately effervescent vino. Flavors of brilliant apricot nectar explode from this fresh and spicy bottle. Tropical floral and more fruit aromas abound throughout, with honeyed-orange blossoms and peaches at the finish.
Now bring on the midday egg. THE GOOD EGG provides plenty of recipes for appetizers, comforting soups, flavorful sandwiches, innovative salads, sauces, soufflés, cookies, cakes, and pies. It’s filled with tips and techniques for the basics: how to scramble, fry, bake, poach, and hard-cook eggs.
Simmons gives hundreds of dinner possibilities, many of them vegetarian. She reinterprets such classics as quiche, adding leeks and feta (more unusual than broccoli) or caramelized tomato and corn. She rediscovers dishes from the past, such as "Mom’s Eggnog Tonic," lemon chiffon tart, and popovers. Omelettes wrap around various fillings (broccoli rabe sautéed with olive oil and garlic; avocado, bacon and brie; even strawberries and ricotta cheese). Deviled eggs are stuffed with anchovies (per recipe) and capers, or with salmon and potato, or with cream cheese and chutney. Even crème brûlée has been reborn, delicately infused with Earl Grey tea.
But what wines at dinner time with egg based dishes? International wine expert Daniel Rogov makes it simple by suggesting Sherry from Spain. "As to food combinations, sherry is at its best with appetizers of nearly any kind and with many egg dishes. Even though many Englishmen drink Sherry at room temperature, I concur with most Spaniards that this wine is best when lightly chilled, almost as you would chill a white wine."
The following is an explanation from Rogov. "Even though Sherry takes many forms, from bone dry to syrupy sweet, there are basically only four kinds of this wine. Fino is the aristocrat of the family, pale in color and so dry that those who usually consider Sherry a sweet beverage are surprised when they first sample it. Manzanilla is a lighter variety of fino, also extremely dry but with a unique salty tang. The rich Amontillado can range in color from pale almond to almost amber (as sherries get sweeter, their color gets darker); and Oloroso which means 'fragrant' is a deep amber color and sweet enough to be thought of exclusively as a dessert wine."
Simmons’s ideas within the book, The Egg are fresh and inspiring. Consider eggs baked in fresh tomato salsa with melted cheese. This more spicy dish calls for a cava from Spain, a classic but affordable sparkling wine, often available for less than $12 per bottle. A great option would be the Segura Viudas Aria Estate Brut Cava NV, made by traditional "méthode champenoise", this elegant but affordable bubbly allows for Champagne tastes at a beer budget. The grapes used for this Cava are unlike the traditional Chardonnay and Pinot Noir used in other parts of the world, especially the Champagne region in France. For what the Segura Viudas Aria may lack in sophisticated finesse, the trio of 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada and 15% Xarel-lo provide fun, honest and lively wine drinking enjoyment.
Brimming, as eggs will do, with informative sidebars, THE GOOD EGG: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Breakfast to Dessert is the ultimate book on a subject long overdue for serious attention. Like the egg it celebrates, it is certain to be a staple in any cook’s kitchen. Though you may think that I am cracked, I will drink to that.
Darryl Beeson travels the world looking for great wine values. He also seeks great, perhaps over-looked, food and wine pairings. He is the American editor of www.wineontheweb.com.
Now in paperback, THE GOOD EGG: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Breakfast to Dessert (Houghton Mifflin, paperback $15.00), presents hundreds of ways to use the egg. Marie Simmons, an James Beard award-winning author known for her delicious flavor combinations, offers up a diverse collection, with recipes for everything from gnocchi with butter and herbs to superb desserts like "Fallen Chocolate Soufflé Cake." Eggs are definitely in style, featured on menus of the country’s finest restaurants from San Francisco to New York, in classic dishes such as spaghetti carbonara, omelettes, frittatas, and crème brûlée. At home, cooks are discovering what the experts have always known: when you have an egg, you can have a perfect meal.
But what wine to pair? At breakfast (yes, breakfast) or maybe brunch, I opt for off-dry, lower alcohol, with some form of bubbles. I bring to the table Moscato d'Asti. An American version that I embrace is the Martin & Weyrich's Moscato Allegro, a Californian version of a classic Italian Moscato d'Asti, a sweet kiss from a delicately effervescent vino. Flavors of brilliant apricot nectar explode from this fresh and spicy bottle. Tropical floral and more fruit aromas abound throughout, with honeyed-orange blossoms and peaches at the finish.
Now bring on the midday egg. THE GOOD EGG provides plenty of recipes for appetizers, comforting soups, flavorful sandwiches, innovative salads, sauces, soufflés, cookies, cakes, and pies. It’s filled with tips and techniques for the basics: how to scramble, fry, bake, poach, and hard-cook eggs.
Simmons gives hundreds of dinner possibilities, many of them vegetarian. She reinterprets such classics as quiche, adding leeks and feta (more unusual than broccoli) or caramelized tomato and corn. She rediscovers dishes from the past, such as "Mom’s Eggnog Tonic," lemon chiffon tart, and popovers. Omelettes wrap around various fillings (broccoli rabe sautéed with olive oil and garlic; avocado, bacon and brie; even strawberries and ricotta cheese). Deviled eggs are stuffed with anchovies (per recipe) and capers, or with salmon and potato, or with cream cheese and chutney. Even crème brûlée has been reborn, delicately infused with Earl Grey tea.
But what wines at dinner time with egg based dishes? International wine expert Daniel Rogov makes it simple by suggesting Sherry from Spain. "As to food combinations, sherry is at its best with appetizers of nearly any kind and with many egg dishes. Even though many Englishmen drink Sherry at room temperature, I concur with most Spaniards that this wine is best when lightly chilled, almost as you would chill a white wine."
The following is an explanation from Rogov. "Even though Sherry takes many forms, from bone dry to syrupy sweet, there are basically only four kinds of this wine. Fino is the aristocrat of the family, pale in color and so dry that those who usually consider Sherry a sweet beverage are surprised when they first sample it. Manzanilla is a lighter variety of fino, also extremely dry but with a unique salty tang. The rich Amontillado can range in color from pale almond to almost amber (as sherries get sweeter, their color gets darker); and Oloroso which means 'fragrant' is a deep amber color and sweet enough to be thought of exclusively as a dessert wine."
Simmons’s ideas within the book, The Egg are fresh and inspiring. Consider eggs baked in fresh tomato salsa with melted cheese. This more spicy dish calls for a cava from Spain, a classic but affordable sparkling wine, often available for less than $12 per bottle. A great option would be the Segura Viudas Aria Estate Brut Cava NV, made by traditional "méthode champenoise", this elegant but affordable bubbly allows for Champagne tastes at a beer budget. The grapes used for this Cava are unlike the traditional Chardonnay and Pinot Noir used in other parts of the world, especially the Champagne region in France. For what the Segura Viudas Aria may lack in sophisticated finesse, the trio of 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada and 15% Xarel-lo provide fun, honest and lively wine drinking enjoyment.
Brimming, as eggs will do, with informative sidebars, THE GOOD EGG: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Breakfast to Dessert is the ultimate book on a subject long overdue for serious attention. Like the egg it celebrates, it is certain to be a staple in any cook’s kitchen. Though you may think that I am cracked, I will drink to that.
Darryl Beeson travels the world looking for great wine values. He also seeks great, perhaps over-looked, food and wine pairings. He is the American editor of www.wineontheweb.com.