My
dear friend and cider accomplice Elizabeth (http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/author/elizabeth/) had a birthday earlier this
month. And unlike most folks, this means she wanted to bring down a
heap of work and organization on herself to celebrate. This means she
planned and cooked a five course feast at the home of a wonderful
mutual friend.
As
part of my gift, I paired the menu with local Finger Lakes
Ciders and provided some of the ciders for these pairings. She was
kind enough to allow me to write up the pairings and combine that
post with my anticipation for this year's Finger Lakes Cider Week!
Local
Charcuterie Platter: Bellwether Vintage Heritage
El sourced smoked turkey, ham, rillettes, and duck confit from The
Piggery. For the non-meat eaters we had local hummus by Ithaca
Hummus. I enjoyed the Crosswinds Goblin cheese, Northwind Tripletree
Tomme and a home-smoked cheddar. El also pickled her own cucumbers
and beets.
Vintage
Heritage is a very special cider cider that isn't readily available
most of the time; its a cellar -aged edition of their Heritage cider.
That description reads, “Dry;
6.9% alcohol; blend of European cider apples including Brown Snout,
Dabinette, Chisel Jersey; this is the still version of Legacy;
complex acid and tannin; an Old World cider to bring balance to your
modern, hectic life.” This aged version really lets the playfully
rustic side of cider shine. Its leathery, woody, tart and tannic.
Delightfully different and something well worth trying if you ever
get the chance.
Bellwether
will be pouring samples of their ciders at the Ithaca Farmer's Market
both weekends of Cider Week (and all other Farmer's Market Weekends)
down at Steamboat Landing in Ithaca.
Caprese Salad: Redbyrd Orchard Cider Celeste Sur Lie
This simple salad was constructed of local heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, and drizzled with F. Olivers Picual Olive Oil.
Redbyrd Orchard Ciders says this about this cider, "Celeste
Sur Lie ’14 –An
elegant cider for celebration, made in the traditional style and
disgorged after aging on bottle lees for over a year, giving you a
beautiful helix of endless soft bubbles in your glass and a creamy
buttery mouthfeel. 0.0% residual sugar, 11% alcohol/volume." This cider fits my one of my preferred flavor profiles perfectly. This is so crisp, clean, and devastatingly dry. It rings like a golden bell on my tongue every time I take a sip.
Fresh
Pasta with Red Sauce: Kite and String Barrel Rye
This
hand-rolled pasta was served with fresh tomato sauce with garlic and
basil, homemade ricotta and a garden salad with F. Oliver's Balsamic
Viniarette Dressing. This course alone would have made a wonderful
birthday dinner. Elizabeth really knows how to make homey comfort food
like pasta shine.
Kite
and String describe this cider as, “Off Dry. Champagne style.
Stirred on the lees for 1 month. Aged 1 year in Rye Whiskey barrels.
Buttercream with a backbone. Oak and smoke and shalestone.”
and I chose it for that combination of smoke and backbone. Typically
folks, pair tomato dishes with red wines, but I think cider has a fun
option of doubling down on umami notes and adding both structural
notes and lively acidity. This pairing supports my argument well.
Finger
Lakes Cider House Grand Cider Buffet on Thursday September 28th:
This
event will be at Coltivare this Thursday evening, featuring cider
oriented food and Kite and String Cidery's full lineup. This will be
many folks first chance to try some of these awesome new releases.
Roast
Chicken with Tomato-Cilantro Hollandaise: South Hill Cider Patina
El's chicken came from Autumn's Harvest. He roasted them and served them with green beans, roast potatoes, and smothered the dish in tomato-cilantro hollandaise sauce. This felt just as complete with sauced potatoes and beans, almost as thought the sauce is the actual star of this course.
South
Hill Cider has this to say, “Patina is partially barrel aged so
that bright fruit notes ring clear over a well-rounded barrel
influence. Sparkling,
medium bodied, fruit forward with hints of vanilla. Dry. Bittersweet
apples. 8.2% ABV.” I knew we would need to continue to have strong
bubbles and some barrel presence in order for the cider not to
disappear entirely against such flavorful food. Thankfully, the
Patina was up to the task and then some. This cider has tannic
balance and smooth elegance to spare.
South Hill Cider String Band and Tasting on Saturday, September 30th
From 3-6pm on Saturday, you can stop by Agava in Ithaca to taste not only this restaurants inventive and appetizing food, but also listen to the cidermaker behind South Hill Cider (Steve Selin) play with the South Hill Cider String Band and sample their ciders.
Apple
Cobbler Cheesecake: Black Diamond Porter's Pommeau
This
cheese cake builds up from a graham cracker crust through a creamy
crumb and is topped with Black Diamond Orchard Apples, a brown sugar
oat crumble, and a burnt caramel sauce. Yes, it's decadent. Each
element is necessary for the tantalizing whole. Being able to pair a
pommeau with apples from the orchard that produced it, isn't a chance
I get every day.
Pommeau,
for those who don't love it already, is a very special cider based
distilled beverage. It starts with cider which is distilled then
back-sweetened with fresh apple juice and then aged on oak for an
extended period. Black Diamond's Porter's Pommeau, according to Black
Diamond is, “a blend of fresh
cider made from Porter’s Perfection – an old english bittersweet
apple and oak-aged apple eau de vie –is our take on the classic
beverage from Normandie, France.
Tasting
Notes: Fragrances
of ripe apples and vanilla, velvety tannins and a smooth, sweet
finish. Enjoy it with dessert, or by the fireside with friends. Most
people prefer to serve it slightly chilled. Alcohol: 20.0% Residual
Sugar: 7.6%
(Sweet)” And that's excactly what we did. I served this cider
chilled to my dear friends with an amazing dessert. Perfection
indeed.
Cider
Cocktails with Black Diamond Cider in Trumansburg, NY on Thursday
October 5th
At
hip foodie bowling paradise, Atlas Bowl, attendees will have the
chance to try classic cocktails made with a cider twist and other
original mixology creations all using the ciders and pommeau of Black
Diamond Cider will bowling, eating, and listing to the tunes of cider
owner Jackie Merwin who will be spinning as DJ Black Diamond. What
fun!
Whether celebrating a birthday, the season, or Finger Lakes Cider Week, enjoy with friends. I raise a glass to these good times! Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!