Like so many traditional Provençale dishes, there are at least as many ways to prepare Bourride as there are cooks preparing it. The traditional concept calls for fish and shellfish served in a fish based broth thickened with aïoli. The name stems from the Occitan bourrido, boulido both from the Latin bullire, all simply meaning boiled. The innumerable variations specify different types of fish, shellfish, stock, garnish… In nicer, read more expensive, restaurants on the Côte d’Azur for example, whole fish might be used and fileted tableside along with lobster and langoustines in a fine fumé whereas a more humble seaside shack fish house would probably use clams and chunks of monkfish in an intensely garlicky broth. Similar to boulliabaisse (rooted in boiled, of course) but much less specific in it’s use of the local, bony Marseillaise fish like rascasse and the use of Provençale seasonings like dried orange peel and saffron.

My version is a simple one based on a clam broth with simple garnishes; just fresh herbs and an aïoli infused crostino. I use generally just one but no more than two fin fish, prawns and sometimes a few mussels along with the clams. My preference is monkfish if possible but firm, white fish like halibut, sea bass and black cod make excellent substitutes. The clam stock is quick and easy and the earthy, sweet flavors really make a great, complex base for the other components.

As you might suspect, the preparation of this dish is a great reason to open lots of rosé for lots of good friends though I have other favorite wines which change with the seasons. My current faves are:

Brunet Vouvray Pétillant “Le Naturel” NV buy it here

Domaine La Paleine Saumur Blanc “Scherzo” 2008 buy it here

Philippe Bornard Côtes du Jura Savagnin “Les Marnes” 2005 buy it here

Donkey & Goat Pinot Noir “Broken Leg Vineyard” Anderson Valley 2009 buy it here

La Bourride 

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the wines of the Rhône around here, particularly those from the overachieving satellite towns near Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Among these, Gigondas is certainly the most well known and justly so with a number of excellent producers. Not so well known is Rasteau, also with a number of good producers but lacking reputation. There exist, in my opinion, two great sources of Rasteau: Domaine de la Soumade and Domaine du Trapadis. The wine we’re tasting here is a product of the latter, my personal favorite. Like most of the red wines from the area, Rasteau is grenache based, sometimes 100%, in this case 80% and blended with 10% each carignan and mourvedre. 60 year old vines for all varietals and very low yields of between 10 and 20 hectolitres per hectare.

Deep, clear red robe. Big, expressive nose of kirsch and spice with loads of ripe black fruits. Rich, round and fairly soft due in no small part to the warm 2007 vintage. Lowish acids and soft but prodigious tannins. Finishes long with sweet fruit notes. At this price it makes all but the top clutch of Châteauneuf-du-Papes seem a little expensive. Fantastic drink and a good candidate for the cellar. $28, buy it here.

Whenever I feel that first autumnal nip in the air, as I did here a few times in LA this past July and August, my thoughts turn from chilled rosé and anything with aïoli to robust reds and bold, heady braises and roasts. In fact, winter is pretty much the only time of year that I eat red meat. My favorite recipes all have a couple things in common; they’re either French or Italian recipes and they’re both easy and inexpensive to make at home. One of my favorite resources for the French dishes I like is anything written by Richard Olney and this daube recipe, from his book Simple French Food , is one of my favorites. 

This is a fairly typical beef and carrot daube at heart but the infusion of so many heady flavors, especially the essential addition of a bit of dried orange rind and salt pork, make this dish transcendent. I always serve it as a one dish meal which makes for an easy dinner party; put some Serge Gainsbourg on the hi-fi, open a couple of bottles of Champagne along with maybe some gougères to start it off and finish with a great cheese selection and fresh fruit.

This is a really versatile dish in terms of wine pairing and I’ve served everything from simple southern French blends to old Barolo with success. At the moment, I think I’d reach for the following:

Domaine du Trapadis Rasteau Les Adrès 2007 buy it here 

Domaine Coursodon Saint-Joseph 2005 buy it here 

Bindi Sergardi Chianti Classico Riserva 2005 buy it here 

Marcarini Barolo Brunate 2005 buy it here

Daube Provençale

enough for ten with leftovers

enough 7 bone steak to yield 4-5 lbs. make sure it’s at least 1.5 inches thick. have butcher bone it for you if possible
8oz salt pork with skin. if larding, remove skin and set aside and make matchsticks with rest. if not, cut into cubes
1 bottle good quality, unoaked white wine like sauvignon blanc
1/2 cup cognac or dry brandy
2 TB olive oil
2 cups tomato pieces, seeds removed 
2 lbs white mushrooms
lots of garlic
1 big brown onion
6 large carrots, peeled and sliced fairly thin but not shaved
1 large bunch flat leaf parsley + more for marinade/larding/finishing
2 bay leaves
2 strips dried orange rind
1 qt veal stock, sort of diluted, not demi-glace
1 large daubiere (le creuset oval or some such vessel)
enough cheesecloth for three layers in daubiere
1 strip linen
1 cup flour slurry
egg noodles, preferably homemade and rough cut

-cut beef into large cubes, something like two per person at 3oz each
-mince a handful of parsley and garlic together. like 4 cloves and a cup of parsley
-if you have the inclination to do so, roll salt pork matchsticks in parsley/garlic and lard beef with ones strip per cube. otherwise don’t worry about it.
-put beef in large bowl with bottle of wine, cognac, olive oil and parsley/garlic and a few twists of black pepper. let sit for no more than a few hours.
-chop mushrooms, onion and a few cloves of garlic finely together to make duxelles. food processor ok for mushrooms and garlic but not onion.
-divide parsely bunch and make two bouquets garnis by tying together 1/2 bunch with bay and orange rind.
-place half the salt pork skin or cubes and tomato pieces in bottom of daubiere. cover with cheese cloth and place half the beef and half the carrots on top. cover with more    cheese cloth and add half the duxelles and both bouquet garni side by side in opposite directions. cover with cheese cloth and build one more layer with salt pork/tomato, cheese cloth, beef/carrots etc. the idea is that you’re only eating the beef, carrots and cooking liquid. pack pretty tightly.
-add marinade and veal stock + water to cover if necessary.
-drag linen strip through slurry and seal pot with it.
-i always give it a head start on the stove top but place in a 275 oven for at least 8 hours. don’t let it bubble too strongly.

when finished, carefully remove layers of things you don’t want and set aside those that you, do i.e. meat and carrots. strain, clean out daubiere and put stock back on stove.

cook egg noodles very al dente, about halfway, and finish by cooking in the simmering stock. this is called the macaronade. drain noodles, being careful to reserve the stock, and start plating in deep, warm bowls.

finish by tossing noodles with butter and a bit more stock and plating in deep bowls. allow noodles to soak up stock and dust with minced parsley. add a ladle of stock, place beef on top and sprinkle with fleur de sel et voila!

This is David Phinney’s (Orin-Swift) newest wine, the 2009 Abstract, inspired by the wines of France’s  Pyrénées-Orientales where he’s made a bit of wine the last couple of vintages. I’d like to think this was inspired by a deep and abiding respect for early nineties hip hop but the label art suggests otherwise. Grenache, petite sirah, and syrah from hillside vineyards in Sonoma County and a really easy one to like.

Balsamic nose of eucalyptus and mint with loads of berry and black fruits with just a hint of oak.  Big and dense but manages to remain light on its feet. Smooth and easy finish, not very tannic and low in acid.  Lots of alcohol (label says 15.7%) but doesn’t come off as very hot. Pretty complex wine all in all and opens very nicely with a bit of air. Great deal at 25 bucks.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about the wines of Groffier but considering the fact that the domaine holdings include big chunks of both Amoureuses and Bonnes-Mares, it’s a pretty tough house to ignore. Much like the offerings of Mugnier and De Vogüé, the Amoureuses here is generally more interesting than the Bonnes-Mares though the comparison isn’t terribly fair. The soil in the latter is clearly less talented than the former and François Millet, De Vogüé’s soft-spoken, talented winemaker, goes so far as to deem the vineyard “not part of the family”, referring to Musigny’s clear dominance of the commune and Amoureuses being the queen to Musigny’s king. Pricing as of late reflects this with Amoureuses now commanding the same price as the grand cru Bonnes-Mares in the houses that produce both. In any event, I generally find the wines of Groffier to be a bit dull, lacking the upper register sonorities one finds in great examples of southern sector Chambolle. The 1998 Groffier Amoureuses is a good bottle of wine but it tastes more like Groffier than Amoureuses. I find the use of oak to be a bit heavy handed with the faint hint of rubber tire I often find in the Gevreys of Jo Roty, for example. Otherwise, texture is a bit rough, no doubt at least partly due to the vintage.

I can’t get enough of the wines of this great domaine, both figuratively and literally. Michel Lafarge, now in his eighties, and his son Frédéric are making the greatest wines in Volnay at the moment and considering the skyrocketing costs of great Burgundy, these are a bargain. Even in a fairly forward vintage like 2007, Lafarge’s Volnays can be sort of quiet in their youth but the precision and detail speak clearly. Pretty notes of small red fruits and spice with just a hint of the autumnal underbrush notes so common in these Volnays. Full, persistent mid-palate and clean, lingering finish. You hear the comparison often, maybe too often, but this wine is a dead-ringer for a good Chambolle-Musigny. A steal at $50.

This wine is one of the best kept secrets in Burgundy and certainly one the zone’s great values. Savigny-les-Beaune is one of the bigger communes in terms of production with 380 some hectares under vine and like neighboring Beaune, bereft of grand cru vineyards.  There are two parts to this divided commune; the north-east facing flank called the Mont Battois and the south-facing slopes beneath the Bois Noël. These are where the premiers crus are located. The flatter expanse in between consists of village AC vineyards. The vineyards on the Bois Noël side contain a fair bit of clay and ferruginous limestone though overall not a terribly stony soil. The Mont Battois side is sandier and even less stony but the main difference here is the opposite aspects with the south facing vineyards ripening a week earlier than those facing north. Generally speaking, the Mont Battois vineyards produce structured, earthy wines while those from the Bois Noël produce elegant, perfumed, easier wines of medium weight. La Dominode is part of the former and is actually a subplot of Jarrons which was owned by a Monsieur Domino back in the nineteenth century. It’s my favorite vineyard in the commune and easily the best wine chez Pavelot.

The 2007 is the most approachable young Dominode in recent memory though the one I just drank just landed last week and was maybe a tad closed as a result. Lovely, plump strawberry tinged fruit and lots of spice. Excellent depth and definition with the persistence and focus that set the wines of this vineyard apart from others in Savigny. $50

I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to play with great musicians on  a regular basis, both professionally and for fun, but rarely do I have the chance to play,one on one, with a personal music hero. Abe Laboriel Sr (Jr is a great musician in his own right) is not only one of the greatest bass players to ever pick up the instrument but one of the most musical people I’ve ever met. Most important to me me though is his immense, larger than life spirit. We decided to just play whatever came to mind, me on double bass and he on his new instrument which is a six-string bass tuned as a guitar with light gauge strings. Not a piccolo bass at all but a real bass with brilliant upper register definition, perfectly suited to Abe’s technique which is rooted in his childhood training as a flamenco guitarist. Everything from a samba version of Giant Steps to straight ahead takes on standards like Inner Urge and finally a lush version of Poinciana. Certainly a master class for me.