Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

“Shame about syrah, really,” I was thinking the other day while washing down a cheeseburger with a glass of 2003 Ojai Thompson Vineyard Syrah from California’s Santa Barbara County. The wine was big, meaty even. Yet, it was balanced, in proportion, perfect with my dinner.

Syrah is a noble grape, grown for thousands of years. It powers many of the reds made in the Rhone region of France, and winemakers the world over incorporate it into their Rhone-style blends. Yet the poor grape seems to get no respect these days.

It’s often overshadowed by cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir. Boatloads of cheap, colorfully labeled syrah from Down Under (dubbed “shiraz” there) have turned off many North American drinkers to all syrah. Sales stats tell the story: Both dollar sales and the number of bottles of syrah sold fell about 7 to 8 percent over a yearlong period ending May 1, according to The Nielsen Co.

Yet, the Ojai syrah was so, so good with that cheeseburger.

Sharing my syrah pain is Evan Goldstein, author of “Daring Pairings.”

“I want to be more bullish on syrah,” Goldstein wrote in an e-mail from his base in San Carlos, Calif. “It goes so well with food and has so many styles to go with so many foods (cool to warm climate, peppery to jammy, pure versus blended). It provides incredible range for consumers to find wines that are different and provide amazing pleasure.”

Goldstein, president of a wine and spirits education company called Full Circle Wine Solutions, spoke last January at the New Zealand Syrah Symposium about the challenges syrah has to overcome to be more widely accepted in the United States.

In our e-mail chat, Goldstein pointed first at the Australians. Low-end Aussie wines have “made it challenging for premium producers in Oz (Australia) and elsewhere to get any traction as they have seemingly conditioned wine consuming people that they don’t need to spend a lot on this grape.”

Goldstein also thinks most California syrah producers have yet to demonstrate “any sense of a true regional terroir,” which means sense of place or style, as has happened in France and, “when given a chance,” Australia. There are very good syrah options in Washington, Chile and Argentina, he added, but they aren’t “on the radar for most people outside the lunatic fringe of syrah-crazed drinkers.”

But Goldstein did end on a hopeful note. If syrah can meet its challenges, he thinks the wine may pop with the public.

Do your part to make that happen. Pop open a bottle of syrah tonight – with or without a cheeseburger.

A BIT OF AGE MATTERS

California syrahs from multiple vintages are available in most every price range and style. The tasting panel sampled 10 syrahs ranging in price from $11 to $65. In general, tasters preferred the older vintages, finding a little bit of age had given the wines more complexity and interest.

2005 Bridlewood Estate

A very handsome estate syrah from the Santa Ynez wine region. The nose is somewhat closed, subtle, with suggestions of tobacco, berries and spice. The flavor is mature, fully developed with notes of tobacco, cassis and coffee. Nice finish.

$40

2006 Baileyana Grand Firepeak Cuvee

From the Edna Valley, this inky, plummy wine has a rich fragrance evoking notes of plums, spice and even a bit of mint. The flavor is smooth but sharp, with the berry fruit supported by plenty of oak and black pepper.

$28

2006 Russian Hill Winery Estate Vineyards

Sonoma’s Russian River Valley is the source for this big, mouth-filling wine. The nose is a mix of fruit and chocolate and so is the taste, with touches of black cherry, earth. Lots of black pepper on the finish.

$28

2006 Adelaida Viking Estate Reserve

Another wine from California’s Central Coast, this time the Paso Robles region. The nose has plenty of ripe berry fruit while the flavor runs from black pepper through lingonberry and tart plum to tobacco and spice.

$65

2007 Fess Parker

The late actor turned winemaker made California’s Santa Barbara County his base. This wine smells and tastes of currants and cherries with a touch of spice. Tannins give structure.

$25

2007 Liberty School

A Central Coast of California wine, less inky than the others tasted, with notes of cherry, blackberry and nutmeg on the nose. The flavor starts out tight but develops body, filling out with notes of cherry, plum and a bit of vanilla.

$15

2007 Beckmen Vineyards Block Six Purisima Vineyard

From Santa Ynez, an inky purple wine with a subtle if a bit stemmy nose of cherry. The flavor is dry but full, with ripe fruit, spice and a touch of chocolate.

$54

2007 Hahn SLH Estate

SLH stands for Santa Lucia Highlands, a wine region in Monterey County along California’s Central Coast. The nose is lightly fruity and a bit stemmy. The flavor is soft, think cherries touched with notes of earth, black pepper and leather.

$27

2008 McManis Family Vineyards

A bright, spicy California red with lots of cherry flavor and touches of pepper and licorice.

$11

2007 Frei Brothers Reserve

From Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, a wine with a berry nose and berry and cherry flavors. A bit tart, tannic.

$24

Garlic produces magic in many cuisines. For this quick Chinese Garlic Steak, I added soy sauce and peanuts with the garlic.

Shortcut Tip: To make this meal even faster, buy beef cut for stir-frying at the market.

Asian Peanut Noodles is a cold side dish. I use bottled peanut sauce that can be found in the ethnic section of the supermarket. Look for fresh or steamed Chinese noodles in the produce section.

This meal contains 553 calories with 17 percent of calories from fat.

Helpful Hints:

-Dried Chinese noodles or any thin dried pasta can be substituted for the fresh noodles.

-Minced garlic can be found in jars in the produce section of the market.

-Look for a thick peanut sauce. It works best for this recipe. Or, mix about 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon rice vinegar to make your own peanut sauce. Thin it with 1 tablespoon water.

Countdown:

-Marinate steak.

-Prepare noodles.

-Make steak.

Wine suggestions: A big, garlicky steak cries out for a wine that is full-flavored (to balance the potent garlic) and tannic (to cut through the fatty feel of the steak.) A cabernet sauvignon from California or Australia, or a Rhone wine from France, would go well. I wouldn’t try a softer wine like a merlot or pinot noir, or especially a Beaujolais: The steak would turn them to water.

CHINESE GARLIC STEAK

3/4 pound quick cooking steak (skirt or strip)

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

3 teaspoons minced garlic

Vegetable oil spray

Remove visible fat from steak and cut into 1-inch strips. Mix soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic together in a self-seal plastic bag. Add steak and set aside while making the noodles.

Heat a wok or skillet over high heat. Spray with vegetable oil spray.

Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade. Stir-fry steak 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add reserved marinade to the wok. Boil 1minute. Spoon over steak. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 265 calories (21 percent from fat), 6.1 g fat (2.0 g saturated, 2.7 g monounsaturated), 96 mg cholesterol, 41.3 g protein, 12.4 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 1003 mg sodium.

ASIAN PEANUT NOODLES

1/4 pound fresh or steamed Chinese noodles (about 21/4 cups)

1/4 pound fresh snow peas, trimmed (about 11/2 cups)

3 tablespoons peanut sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil. Add the noodles and snow peas. Bring back to a boil and cook 1 minute. Drain. Place in a bowl and add the peanut sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well. Serve with the steak. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 288 calories (14 percent from fat), 4.5 g fat (1.0 g saturated, 0.7 g monounsaturated), 48 mg cholesterol, 11.9 g protein, 49.9 g carbohydrates, 4.2 g fiber, 481 mg sodium.

SHOPPING LIST

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for tonight’s Dinner in Minutes. To buy: 3/4 pound quick cooking steak (skirt, strip), 1 bottle low-sodium soy sauce, 1/4 pound fresh snow peas, 1 small jar minced garlic, 1/4 pound fresh or steamed Chinese noodles and 1 bottle peanut sauce.

Staples: Vegetable oil spray, brown sugar, salt and black peppercorns.

(Linda Gassenheimer is the author of 14 cookbooks including her newest, “Mix ‘n Match Meals in Minutes for People with Diabetes,” and “Prevention’s Fit and Fast Meals in Minutes.” Visit Linda on her web page at www.DinnerInMinutes.com or email her at Linda@DinnerInMinutes.com.)

Tired of trudging down your supermarket’s wine aisles selecting yet another chardonnay or merlot for dinner? Yearning for something just a little more adventurous without getting too far out and pouring something your friends might consider weird?

Read on.

Here are some wines that are a little unusual – but not very. Wines you might not see every day, but that are enjoyed by perfectly reasonable people in other regions, other countries. Wines that are different, but you could order them in a restaurant and the waiter wouldn’t look at you funny.

In California’s warm Central Valley, around Lodi, the Lee Family Farm winery is planting grapes that come from Portugal, which has a similar climate. Its white verdelho grape – commonplace in Portugal but infrequently planted here – makes a crisp wine that pairs well with food. The sturdy red grapes the family has planted – touriga francesa, alvarelhao, touriga nacional and tinta roriz – are used in Portugal in making port. In California, the grapes make a full-bodied red table wine that goes well with red meat, cheesy casseroles and other rich dishes. In California’s equally warm Central Coast, around Paso Robles, the Hope family is making Treana Red, a blend of cabernet sauvignon and syrah in the style of France’s Rhone Valley. And in cooler Monterey County, the family is making Treana White, with Rhone-style marsanne and viognier grapes.

Also in California, Barefoot Cellars is making a sweet, spritzy wine from the Italian grapes moscato and malvasia bianca, plus French columbard and Symphony, a blend of muscat of Alexandria and grenache gris introduced in California in the 1980s. It’s a good match for spicy food.

In Italy, an unusual wine is trying for a comeback. Frascati is grown in vineyards on hilltops overlooking Rome. In times of yore it was called “the wine of popes” and tradition said it flowed magically from city fountains when new pontiffs were being elected. It’s made of three ancient Italian grapes – malvasia bianca di Candia, trebbiano toscano and malvasia del Lazio.

And you can be the first on your block to serve them.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

2009 Lee Family Farm Verdelho, Silvaspoons Vineyard, Alta Mesa, Lodi, Calif.: crisp and dry, with intense aromas and flavors of ripe peaches and minerals; $15.

RECOMMENDED

2008 Lee Family Farm Silvaspoons Vineyard Rio Tinto red wine, Alta Mesa, Lodi, Calif.: (56 percent touriga francesa, 24 percent alvarelhao, 13 percent touriga nacional, 7 percent tinta roriz): crisp, full-bodied and rich, with hearty black plum and cinnamon aromas and flavors; $16.

2008 Treana White, Central Coast (55 percent marsanne, 45 percent viognier): full-bodied and fully dry, but with sweet-tart hints of lemons and peaches; $25.

2007 Treana Red, Paso Robles (70 percent cabernet sauvignon, 30 percent syrah): full-bodied and rich, with aromas and flavors of black cherries, dark chocolate and cloves; $40.

Nonvintage Barefoot Cellars Moscato, Calif. (moscato, French columbard, symphony, malvasia bianca): sweet and spritzy, with intense flavors of oranges, limes and golden apples; $7.

Nonvintage Fontana Candida Frascati Superiore, DOC Lazio, Italy (60 percent malvasia bianca di Candia, 30 percent trebbiano toscano, 10 percent malvasia del Lazio): light and dry and intensely fruity with aromas and flavors of apricots and peaches and a refreshing hint of bitterness in the aftertaste; $10.

(Contact the writer: Fred Tasker ftasker(AT)MiamiHerald.com)

THE MENU

Here’s what Chicago chef Rick Bayless served to the White House guests at Wednesday night’s State Dinner:

STARTER

Jicama with oranges, grapefruit, and pineapple

Citrus vinaigrette

2008 Ulises Valdez chardonnay Russian River

FIRST COURSE

Herb green ceviche of Hawaiian Opah

Sesame-cilantro cracker

MAIN COURSE

Oregon Wagyu beef in Oaxacan black mole sauce

Black bean tamalon and grilled green beans

Herrera cabernet sauvignon 2006 “Seleccion Rebecca”

DESSERT

Chocolate-cajeta tart

Toasted homemade marshmallows

Graham cracker crumble and goat cheese ice cream

Mumm Napa “Carlos Santana Brut” N/V

Rose wines go well with ham, chicken tacos, seafood paella, salade nicoise, eggplant parmesan, fried tofu, sesame-coated tuna, goat cheese, pastrami, vegetarian lasagna, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, spicy Thai noodles, mac and cheese, Martha Stewart’s saffron crab cakes, Bobby Flay’s poached salmon and watermelon.

Try to match a regular red or white wine with that.

Rose is versatile because it straddles the red-white continuum with the fruity crispness of a white wine and some of the heft of a red.

Even red grapes contain white juice, so the color of the wine depends on how long the winemaker leaves the juice in contact with the skins after the grapes are crushed. Even the darkest merlot or syrah grape can be made into a rose if you know how.

Roses can be bland and sweet, called blush wine, but we don’t like to think about that. They can be sweet but zingy with fruit acids, wonderful with fruit salads. They can be tart, crisp and intensely fruity, and become one of the most pleasing wines on earth.

Or you can make them with bubbles and have the ultimate toasting wine for June weddings.

The cuisines of summer are perfect for them. And they’re perfect for these economic times: All but two of the 11 wines here are under $15.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

2009 Domaines Ott “Les Domaniers” Rose, Cotes de Provence (70 percent grenache, 25 percent cinsault, 5 percent syrah): crisp, tart and powerfully fruity, with flavors of ripe peaches and vanilla; $20.

2008 Banfi Rose de Centini, Tuscany (sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, merlot): tart and crisp with intense cranberry flavors, long finish; $12.

RECOMMENDED

2008 Angove “Nine Vines” Rose, South Australia (70 percent grenache, 30 percent shiraz): crisp and tart, with red raspberry and black cherry flavors; $12.

Nonvintage Ballatore Rosso Spumante, Calif.: light, crisp and sweet, with low alcohol (8.2 percent), flavors of ripe cherries, good dessert wine; $10.

2009 Jean-Luc Colombo “Cape Bleu” Rose, Provence (40 percent syrah, 40 percent mourvedre, 20 percent counoise): soft and dry, with flavors of red raspberries and anise; $12.

Nonvintage Lamberti Rose Spumante, Veneto, Italy (34 percent pinot bianco, 33 percent raboso, 33 percent pinot nero): light bodied and delicately sweet, with red apple flavors; $14.

Nonvintage Freixenet “Elyssia” Pinot Noir Brut Rosado, Penedes, Spain (85 percent pinot noir, 15 percent trepat): light bodied, just off-dry, big bubbles, red raspberry flavors; $23.

2008 Louis Jadot Beaujolais Rose, France: soft and tart, with red apple aromas and flavors; $11.50.

2008 Sauvion Rose d’Anjou, France: light and crisp, tart cranberry and cinnamon aromas and flavors; $13.50

2008 Le Rose de Mouton Cadet, France: rich and full bodied, soft tart cherry aromas and flavors; $12.50

2009 Marques de Caceres Rose, Rioja, Spain: tart red raspberry aromas and flavors, spicy, crisp; $10.

(Contact Fred Tasker: ftasker(AT)MiamiHerald.com)

I promise this is the last time I will begin a column about merlot with a reference to the 2004 movie “Sideways,” in which Miles, the wine snob, speaks disparagingly about the wine. Miles preferred pinot noir, and there were reports that merlot sales fell and pinot noir sales rose in the wake of the movie.

Well. Blackstone Winery, a California maker of merlot, just commissioned the Nielsen Co. to survey U.S. wine consumers, and came to these conclusions:

Nearly 45 percent of those surveyed never saw the movie, and 95 percent of those who did say it had no effect on their attitude toward merlot.

More than half of U.S. merlot drinkers are consuming more merlot than they did before the film.

So there.

Another survey firm, the Wine Council, says merlot these days is the third most popular wine among American drinkers, making up 11 percent of sales, trailing cabernet sauvignon at 12 percent and chardonnay at 22 percent.

And this much I will say: U.S. merlot, after a rough patch in the 1990s when it was planted too plentifully in too many places, has got its moxie back. It is again the kinder, gentler alternative to monster wines like cabernet sauvignon, easier to drink by itself, better with lean cuts of beef, roast chicken, spaghetti with meat sauce, even salmon.

Merlot makers are going to a lot of trouble to make it this way. They’re making wines that are about 85 percent merlot, and adding backbone and complexity with small quantities of cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, shiraz, petite sirah, syrah, ruby cabernet, malbec and other red grapes.

You can see they’re having fun.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

2007 Blackstone Winery Merlot Sonoma Reserve, Sonoma (85 percent merlot, 7 percent cabernet sauvignon, 6 percent ruby cabernet, 2 percent petit verdot): hint of oak aroma, flavors of black plums and mocha, smooth and hearty; $20.

2007 Freemark Abbey Merlot, Napa Valley (80 percent merlot, 11 percent cabernet sauvignon, 9 percent petit verdot): blackberry and black coffee aromas and flavors, full-bodied, rich and smooth, long finish; $25.

RECOMMENDED

2006 Franciscan Estate Merlot, Napa Valley (99 percent merlot, 1 percent cabernet sauvignon): Black cherry and vanilla aromas and flavors, smooth and rich; $22.

2007 Clos du Bois Merlot, North Coast (91 percent merlot, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon, 3 percent malbec, 2 percent shiraz): soft, rich, intensely fruity black cherry and mocha aromas and flavors, smooth with ripe tannins; $15.

2007 Blackstone Winery Merlot Winemaker Select, California (86 percent merlot, 10 percent syrah, 3 percent cabernet sauvignon, 1 percent zinfandel): black cherry and black pepper aromas and flavors, smooth and rich; $12.

2007 Estancia Merlot, Central Coast: aromas and flavors of blackberries and cinnamon, rich and smooth; $12.

2008 Robert Mondavi Merlot Private Selection, California (89 percent merlot, 6 percent petite sirah, 3 percent syrah, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon): black plum and black coffee aromas and flavors, firm tannin, crisp acid; $11.

2008 Simi Merlot Sonoma County (94 percent merlot, 5 percent malbec, 1 percent cabernet sauvignon): Black raspberry and dark chocolate aromas and flavors; big, ripe tannins; $19.

Note: An early May column misstated the price of the 2008 Frei Brothers Reserve Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley. It’s $20.