Crispy bits enrobed in velvety gravy

Recently a good friend of mine spent his Sunday mornings perfecting his biscuit and gravy recipe. For weeks he toyed around with different sausages and studied Alton Brown footage to hone the delicate amount of flour needed to bind the milk into a velvety cream. In our regular discussions I explained the finesse of making the gravy including the gentle browning and rendering of the sausage. At just the right time, adding the flour to the sausage which helps to relieve clumping issues when adding the room temperature mil while whisking. And finally the tiniest pinch of nutmeg to round out all of the flavors.

While I have yet to taste a batch of his recipe, I am confident that he has a handle on the gravy but he still uses tube biscuits. Don’t get me wrong fluffy, perfectly layered dough popped and unraveled from a shiny tube is a much better way than frozen or precooked biscuits any day. So many people are intimidated by biscuit baking, leaving it up to machines in a factory; making your own is easer than you think if you keep a couple of things in mind.

The recipe I use for our biscuits and gravy dish at brunch on Sunday morning comes from our crispy, slightly translucent edged and dog ear (from buttery fingers) and dog eared paged copy of the “Joy of Cooking. (click here for the recipe).” I modify the recipe a bit adding 1 tsp of baking soda and substituting buttermilk for the milk and I brush the biscuits with milk instead of butter before baking. I double the batch and precess it in a food processor until the frozen butter bits are about half the size of a pea. The dry component of the recipe works even better after being frozen and you can pull out as many biscuits as you need instead of baking by the dozen. A major shift from the recipe that I use is something that comes with the experience of many batches, some close to perfect and plenty of failures. I start with the dry component in a mixing bowl, a fork and some ice cold buttermilk. I splash in some buttermilk and start to mix with my fork until the clumps begin to get larger.  Set the bowl aside for a few minutes and let the flour absorb the buttermilk. Grab about a three inch ball of the dough and almost turn the bottoms inside the bottom creating a rough , almost spiky surface. those spikes will create crispy little craters that give a delicate crunch after being enrobed in velvety gravy. Brush the tops lightly with milk and bake at 450 degrees until the biscuit comes off the nonstick baking pan and has a subtle thump when tapped.

The only way that I truly enjoy eating biscuits is fresh from the oven (popped from a shiny tube only if desperate). Making them for family and friends is rewarding, but can be a mess. Next time you get the craving, let me make and clean up the mess, drop into Niche, I bake a fresh batch of them every Sunday just before we open.

{ Aphrodisiac Bliss }

For several years now, we have laced the Valentine’s Menu with aphrodisiacs from cultures throughout the world. Aphrodisiacs have been used since the dawn of time for aiding in all matters of libido. While modern science has not quite isolated and identified the compounds in the everyday foods we eat to show a “positive” effect, humans have always believed that certain foods hold the key to ultimate happiness. Researching further into the roots of aphrodisiacs, I found that most of the foods considered to be aphrodisiacs were fruits or seeds of the plant or were uniquely shaped. Threaded throughout this years Valentine’s menu you’ll find velvety clam chowder with a crisp fried oyster and gently braised, bone-in English short ribs enrobed with a natural jus and tender florets of rapini. And who could leave Niche without the archetype chocolate and all if its decadence. Elisa’s chocolate - coffee torte will surely cap the evening off with a rush of dark chocolate chased by champagne bubbles and a smile on your valentines face.

The more I studied these foods, a common thread of sharing an intimate moment that is centered around preparing, serving and eating food was woven through fabric of cultures and celebrations. Food and love are absolutely essential to our lives; both of which we indulge in some form daily. Every so often the two combine in a way that resonates deep into our memory, and for just a short moment in time we find that true bliss.

Reflections and thoughts about the coming year in wine

Reflections and thoughts on the wine world. . .
It has been an exciting and truly memorable year for me here at the restaurant. Standing behind my bar, I have seen a lot of familiar faces and have noticed quite a few new ones as well. Your continued support for what we are passionate about here at niche is appreciated I want to thank you personally.
The past year has been quite exciting for wine and continues to change and evolve with the restaurant. One good thing to come from our economy is that several wines we love but could never imagine being able to pour by the glass, have lowered their market prices. This allows us to pass along unique opportunities to try some really special pours on our “Wines by the Glass” list. Whether the winemakers realize it or not this is a good thing for the industry. In my personal opinion there were too many wineries (mmmhm Napa Valley) out there taking advantage of people. I think we are getting to a point where there are so many great wines at an affordable price that many of the big houses are going to have to lower there prices to stay competitive.
It’s exciting for me to see the growth of wine knowledge among the general public is getting more sophisticated every day. As I search out and pour our wines, I see that our guests are learning constantly and have begun to order more highly allocated boutique wines instead of the namesakes that have been taking advantage of people for the past decade (mmmhm Silver Oak). Here are my favorite wines for the year:

1. 2006 Charles Smith “Royal City” Syrah, Washington State
2. 2004 Palmaz Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
3. 2004 Turley Charbono, Tofanelli Vineyard
4. Williams Selyem Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer, Vista Verde Vineyard
5. 2006 Charles Smith “Motor City Kitty” Syrah, Walla Walla Washington

Based on recent events in the wine world I feel confident in saying that Washington state wine is here to stay. As the Washington wineries continue to get better at what they do for more reasonable prices, California will be forced to compete with their neighbors to the north.
The industry has seen so many great Washington wine houses popularity emerge this year like Charles Smith, Cayuse, and Betz. Charles Smith, my personal favorite, was named winemaker of the year and his Royal City Syrah received 100pts by the Wine Enthusiast Magazine and was ranked the number two for Wine of the Year. Compare that to the once omnipotent Silver Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon as their wines have taken a beating with numbers in the 80 pts. It is clear that the old guard won’t be able to rely on high prices and name recognition any longer. Great wines are crafted to be drunk not just talked about. The American wine drinking public are finally beginning to understand that you don’t have to rely on name recognition to find great wines.
As we close out the year I sat down and jotted a few predictions for the coming year:

1. Washington wines will continue to develop and put pressure on the other wine producing states.
2. More people will venture away from drinking big fat cab’s all the time and start drinking more Syrah.
3. Wine prices in both market and retail will continue to decline.
4. Brad Pitt and Angelina will break up.
5. The economy will slowly crawl out of the gutter.

Thank you again for an exciting year and I look forward to see you in my bar soon. . .Vince

Save The Dates

September
5th ~ See Chef Jeremy’s demo at Geneva’s Festival of the Vine17th ~ 3rd Annual Harvest Dinner
24th ~ Concert Between Courses, Young Artists Recital
October
1st ~ Concert Between Courses Michelle Areyzaga - soprano and Larry Dieffenbach - piano
29th-31st ~ Halloween themed Tasting Menu
Tasty Bits
Welcome to the latest edition of Tasty Bits Newsletter!
Mark your calendars for another busy fall and holiday season here at Niche Restaurant!Thursday, September 17th we are hosting our 3rd Annual Autumn Harvest Dinner. That evening we will highlight the best that the season has to offer from local farm pastures to the plates here at Niche. Six courses of tasty morsels of food for $50 plus tax & gratuity and$40 for an optional wine flight paired by Vince.
As the Summer winds down and the weather begins to keep us indoors, check out three great websites about wine that our Sommelier Dan Fijolek sifted from the abundance of info on the web in the Oeno-File column.
Chef Jeremy discusses a bit about the difference between organic and sustainable farming practices and how they ultimately affect the flavor below. Then find out his take on what it is about the change in weather that evokes so many great food memories in the Kitchen Connection.