Category: Cooking, Food & Wine

Two years ago, we started a new tradition at Urban Plates by opening on Thanksgiving Day and offering a special Thanksgiving meal. The feedback from our Guests was so enthusiastic that we’re extending this tradition. All Urban Plates restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. The Thanksgiving holiday is a special day to give thanks, celebrate, and spend time with family and friends by sharing a special meal together. Our team members are proud to share this special occasion with your family and friends by offering our entire Urban Plates menu plus some specials our Chefs developed for Thanksgiving Day. Our special Thanksgiving menu is also available for Pre-Ordering and Take-Out. Thanksgiving Family Meals, which serve four, are also available.

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

The center of our Thanksgiving Plate is an herb-roasted turkey breast. Our turkey is raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones. From hatch to harvest, the farmers take great care to ensure the birds are raised to the highest standards, including a strict vegetarian grain diet without animal by-products. We prepare our turkey by marinating it overnight with sage, parsley, thyme, honey, butter, garlic, lemon zest, salt, pepper and a pinch of red chili pepper flakes. After marinating, we slow-cook it overnight to ensure the turkey is very juicy and bursting with flavor. Then, we finish the Turkey at a high heat to seal the herb crust and cook until it is golden brown. To keep the turkey at its peak of flavor and moisture, we hand-carve it to order. Turkey is high in protein, low in fat and a great source of vitamin B, which makes it a healthy choice with the added benefit of balancing post meal insulin levels. Not to be forgotten is our raw cranberry orange relish, gravy, any two sides of your choice and chargrilled rustic bread.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

As a special side to pair with our herb-roasted Turkey breast, we are offering an original mushroom stuffing. This stuffing is our twist on the traditional style. It’s made with rustic bread, our roasted mushrooms, grated apples, fresh herbs, and brown-butter cornbread made fresh by our pastry chefs. We bake our stuffing with house-made chicken stock and finish it with a light brushing of butter to get the perfect blend of crispy edges and moist insides.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

Our cranberry relish is the perfect complement to all the savory indulgence of Thanksgiving stuffing and mashed potatoes. We intentionally avoid cooking the cranberries and apples to maintain the full natural benefits of the phytonutrients which offer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits. This relish is packed with vitamin C and E. We lightly sweeten the relish with organic sugar, freshly-squeezed orange juice, and add a pinch of fresh mint.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

You are welcome to select any of our Urban Plates sides to pair with the special Thanksgiving items. Many Guests tell us they can’t refuse our signature mashed potatoes and gravy.

Perhaps that’s because we make them the old-fashioned way with freshly peeled organic potatoes, lightly whipped together with whole milk, butter and seasoned to perfection. We take no short cuts in making this classic side and you can tell we make them fresh multiple times a day.

Our gravy can’t be missed with or without the mashed potatoes. We use cage-free chicken as the base combined with organic carrots, celery, onion and parsley slow simmered to create a rich and healthy scratch made chicken stock. We then make a roux, browned butter and flour, to thicken the chicken stock and reduce the sauce slowly with sage, bay leaf and black pepper. The final result is a gravy that is irresistible over our mashed potatoes and pairs perfectly with our Thanksgiving menu items.

Urban Plates Holiday Perfect Sides

One of my favorite things about Urban Plates are the sides. I know I’m not alone in this sentiment, as I feel like I have heard this from many of our guests. I believe that is because sides remind us of the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, when everyone brings a side dish to the table to share. I sometimes enjoy the sides more than the main entrée and love that Urban Plates offers the classics like macaroni and cheese, roasted brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes so I don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy my favorites. We also have a great selection of seasonal sides like our miso mushroom sweet potato sauté, chilled beet salad with goat cheese and roasted vegetable farro if you are looking for lighter side options. Our sides make the perfect pairing to holiday meals and can be ordered to share at your Thanksgiving Meal or any gathering.

Fess Parker Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, 2014

Pinot Noir is a classic choice to pair with your Thanksgiving meal. The Fess Parker 2014 Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills in California is plump, medium- bodied, with cherry, spice and sagebrush aromas, accented by the moderate acidity of red currant, cranberry and plum flavors. These red fruit and lightly earthy spice characteristics pair well with the herbaceous flavors in our roast turkey, earthy mushroom stuffing and bright cranberry sauce. Overall an excellent approachable choice for your thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving Pastry

Our Pumpkin Walnut Cake has returned and will be offered through the holidays. This cake was crafted to satisfy your sweet tooth craving without the guilt. Inspired by a Thanksgiving favorite, pumpkin pie, it has all the flavors we look forward to this time of the year.

This cake consists of velvety pumpkin mousse seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, turmeric and vanilla bean. We then layer the mousse with walnut cake layers made with pumpkin puree, organic olive oil, walnuts and sweeten it with dates and raisins instead of cane sugar. The cake is finished with raw pumpkin seeds and edible flowers. We are proud to say this cake is made without dairy, gluten, eggs or refined sugars and we bet you can’t tell they are missing! It is a great compliment to your Thanksgiving Day celebration or holiday parties.

As we do year-round, we will also offer our full pastry menu, including our famous Mango Tart made-from-scratch with hand-sliced mangos and carefully layered into a beautiful floral pattern with rum cream filling in our handmade tart shell. All pastries are available for pick up Thanksgiving Day.

 

Signed,

Chef Jen

The post Chef’s Blog: Urban Plates Thanksgiving Menu appeared first on Urban Plates.

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The deep history of Bordeaux first-growth Château Haut-Brion was not lost on the Wine Experience crowd as they settled into the last seminar of the weekend: a tasting of six wines from the estate. Owner Prince Robert of Luxembourg recounted some of that history, from the first vines believed to be planted in the 1st century AD to the important figures who enjoyed Haut-Brion wines over the centuries, including quite a few U.S. Founding Fathers.

Another crucial part of the château’s history is the one between Prince Robert and Haut-Brion director Jean-Philippe Delmas, who have known each other their entire lives. The prince joked that, while he built sandcastles in the sandbox, Delmas would create sand mounds and plant little twigs on their southern sides. “When he started bringing gravel in the sandbox, that’s when things got a little bit worrisome,” said Prince Robert. “But it all makes sense now. Jean-Philippe and I have been building castles and vineyards now, or at least tending them, for almost a quarter of a century together.”

The tasting started with the estate’s second wine, Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 2010 (93 points, $200), an approachable introduction to Haut-Brion’s reds.

The 2005 vintage (100 points, $930 on release) was a testament to the freedom Delmas is given to make the best wine possible from a wonderful terroir: The blend Delmas thought surpassed all others could only be made in a very small quantity, but Prince Robert gave him the OK, forgoing the chance to sell a larger amount of grand vin from a much-hyped vintage.

The 2003 vintage was extremely hot, but the 2003 Haut-Brion (96 points, $325 on release) was surprisingly fresh. Delmas recalled why. After tasting the berries in early August, he and his vineyard manager concluded that the grapes needed to be picked—but France was in the middle of its month-long summer holiday. He summoned back his vacationing and incredulous father, Jean-Bernard Delmas (who retired from Haut-Brion later that year) and spent two days tracking down all of his workers. The grapes were harvested in the sweltering heat.

Delmas could smell the signature of Haut-Brion’s terroir in the maturing 2000 (94 points, $425 on release) and 1998 (97 points, $193 on release) vintages: smoky nuts, burnt coffee beans and chocolate. Though the vineyard is planted equally to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the ’98 is 60 percent Merlot, as it was a much better year for that grape. Delmas prioritizes making the best blend possible, as opposed to relying on a majority of one grape regardless of its quality. As his father always said, “It’s 100 percent Haut-Brion.”

“And now we have a special gift for you,” Delmas told the audience. It was the 2013 vintage of the rare Haut-Brion White (98 points, $982). Production for the white typically maxes out at 500 to 600 cases a year, compared to about 10,000 cases of the red grand vin; the white can also command almost twice the price. It was a thrilling conclusion to the New York Wine Experience tasting seminars.

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In an annual ritual at the New York Wine Experience, four heavyweight chefs and restaurateurs gather for a wine-and-food-pairing smackdown, and this year’s edition of the Chefs’ Challenge was as raucous as ever.

Each chef presents a dish, and Wine Spectator executive editor Thomas Matthews and another chef face off via dueling wine pairings. The audience members, who taste it all, determine each segment’s winner.

This year’s panel included old hands Emeril Lagasse and José Andrés, and last year’s rookie, Mario Carbone. The newcomer was Ti Martin, co-owner of Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. “It’s not only a first for Ti, it’s a first for us,” Matthews acknowledged. “It’s the first time a woman has appeared on this chefs’ panel.” The crowd erupted in applause. “I don’t know what a nice girl like me is doing at a table like this,” Martin quipped, as she surveyed her competitors.

The pairing portion began with Andrés’ homage to the late chef Joël Robuchon: a rich cauliflower cream with truffle gelatin, pickled cauliflower, caviar and hazelnut oil. It drew a white Burgundy from Lagasse, the Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet Embazées 2015 (94 points, $120). He explained that as a young cook in the 1980s, he tasted Robuchön’s original dish. “To me, it spoke French,” he said. “I chose this wine for its complexity, its richness, the buttery notes.”

Matthews went with Veuve Clicquot, a producer beloved by Robuchon. “There’s a kind of sentimental connection,” he said, adding that the darker, richer flavors of the Brut Champagne La Grande Dame 2008 (95, $150), which is 95 percent Pinot Noir, accentuated the dish’s truffle element, “and the bubbles refresh the unctuousness of the terrine.”

When pressed for a decision, Carbone took a jab at Matthews for having teased him about his rookie panel performance: “I generally like to vote against you, just for spite.” Matthews returned fire: “Everybody gets better the second year.” But the audience agreed that Lagasse’s richer wine paired best.

Next up was Martin’s dish. “Well, I didn’t cook the damn thing!” she protested, crediting Commander’s Palace executive chef Tory McPhail. The cayenne-smoked redfish salad, with herbsaint-infused crabmeat ravigote, citrus, fennel, celery root and toasted pecans inspired Andrés to select a Txakoli, a lightly effervescent, briny white with soaring acidity from Spain’s Basque region. The variety is a go-to for him with seafood, and he felt the Bodegas Itsas-Mendi Bizkaiko Txakolina 7 2015 complemented the dish’s spicy quality.

“2018 has definitely been the year of the rosé,” noted Matthews, who chose the Domaines Ott Bandol Rosé Château Romassan 2017, which stars Mourvèdre, “a gutsy grape that’s got a little more power than most rosés.”

“Both wines are really very close,” Lagasse said, “but I have to say that I would choose José’s wine just because I’m getting the overtones from the smoke much better than [I am with] the Bandol. And for me, that’s the story.”

“Yeah, I’m just over rosé,” Carbone added.

Matthews observed that both wines worked, albeit differently: The Txakoli’s acidity cut through the dish, while the rosé’s roundness supported it. After surveying the audience, he handed the win to Andrés, though he called it a close vote. (Andrés protested this characterization.)

Next, Carbone served a showstopper: a “humble” goose and pork “country” terrine inlaid with Madeira-marinated foie gras, figs and olives, plus fresh fruit, mostarda and pickled mustard seeds. Martin chose a Cabernet Franc–based Loire red, Catherine & Pierre Breton’s Bourgueil Trinch! 2016, while Matthews went with the Merlot-dominant Clos Fourtet St.-Emilion 2015 (96, $105).

To devise the match, Martin had consulted McPhail and Dan Davis, whose wine list at Commander’s Palace holds Wine Spectator’s Grand Award. “You got a lot going on here, dude,” she said to Carbone, “but the olives were standing out for me, and that’s how we got to the Cab Franc. … We got this rustic thing going on.” Matthews agreed that the complex mix of big flavors presented a pairing challenge. “When I am in doubt, I go for red Bordeaux, because I think those wines are classic, they’re timeless, they’re meant for food.”

“This was a humble dish, so how much was your wine, Tom?” Martin retorted.

“Nothing is too good for my people!” he protested.

Carbone voted for Martin as a way of voting against Matthews, he said. But for Lagasse, the fig element in the dish pointed to the dark-fruit finish of the St.-Emilion. The audience agreed, and Matthews took the round.

Andrés was indignant: “The one time they bring a woman on the panel and you cannot vote for her?” he reprimanded the audience.

Last up was Lagasse’s daube glacé, a chilled terrine of oxtail and short rib served with a cracker, apple-horseradish jam, microgreens and mustard-seed vinaigrette. He gave a shout-out to Emeril’s Homebase director of culinary development David Slater and the rest of the team for the dish.

Carbone brought a Mendocino Syrah while Matthews headed again to France, this time to Beaujolais. Carbone said his wine director, John Slover, had noted that the juicy raspberry fruit and smooth tannins of Copaín’s Syrah Yorkville Highlands Tous Ensemble 2015 made it food-friendly.

Matthews recommended the combination of fruit and structure in his pick, Louis Jadot’s Moulin-à-Vent Château des Jacques La Roche 2015 (92, $43). “The acidity is hanging in there with everything going on in the daube glacé,” Martin said, adding with a mischievous smile, “It is towards the end of the panel, so I gotta go with Tom one time.” The audience was with her, and Matthews won the face-off.

Andrés imparted a note of reassurance to those who had voted against Carbone’s pick, the lone U.S. wine of the bunch: “Doesn’t mean you are less American.” The seminar closed with Andrés leading the room in a chant of “We love wine! We love wine!”

The Wine and Food Matches

José Andrés, ThinkFoodGroup, Washington, D.C.
Cauliflower Cream with Truffle and Caviar (donated by Sterling Caviar)
Lagasse’s wine: Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet Embazées 2015 (94 points, $120)
Matthews’ wine: Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne La Grande Dame 2008 (95, $150)

Ti Martin, with chef Tory MacPhail, Commander’s Palace, New Orleans
Cayenne-Smoked Redfish Salad
Andrés’ wine: Bodegas Itsas-Mendi Bizkaiko Txakolina 7 2015 (Not Yet Rated)
Matthews’ wine: Domaines Ott Bandol Rosé Château Romassan 2017 (NYR)

Mario Carbone, the Grill, New York
Country Terrine with Foie Gras
Martin’s wine: Catherine & Pierre Breton Bourgueil Trinch! 2016 (NYR)
Matthews’ wine: Clos Fourtet St.-Emilion 2015 (96, $105)

Emeril Lagasse, Emeril’s, New Orleans
Daube Glacé with Apple-Horseradish Salad
Carbone’s wine: Copaín Syrah Yorkville Highlands Tous Ensemble 2015 (NYR)
Matthews’ wine: Louis Jadot Moulin-à-Vent Château des Jacques La Roche 2015 (92, $43)

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“Oregon is the most dynamic wine region in the United States right now,” pronounced senior editor Tim Fish as he introduced the seminar Oregon’s Rising Stars. “When you’re in Willamette Valley, the sense of discovery and opportunity is palpable, and you can taste it in the wines.”

Over the past decade, Willamette Valley has seen an influx of new investment and new vineyard-site exploration, with high-profile consultants and vintners joining the already solid ranks of local artisan growers and winemakers. Oregon has also been gifted with some tremendous recent vintages, earning classic ratings for 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Four of Willamette’s most promising new stars—Big Table Farm, Chapter 24, Lingua Franca and Résonance—presented 2015 Pinot Noirs for an eye-opening horizontal tasting.

“If you had told me in 2010 that I would be standing here today, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Clare Carver, who moved to Willamette Valley with her husband, winemaker Brian Marcy, in 2006 and founded Big Table Farm. Their Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Sunnyside Vineyard 2015 (93 points, $48) is 100 percent whole-cluster fermented—“We don’t actually even own a destemmer,” said Carver, an artist who also draws all of the winery’s labels. “Everything is naturally fermented, unfined and unfiltered. We believe low-intervention winemaking lets the vineyard shine.”

Hollywood producer–turned-vintner Mark Tarlov was the founding president of Evening Land, but left that brand in 2012 and launched a new Oregon Pinot Noir label, Chapter 24, named for the final chapter of Homer’s Odyssey. He brought on noted Burgundy vigneron Louis-Michel Liger-Belair as director of winemaking and acquired new vineyards with the help of terroir consultant Pedro Parra. According to Tarlov, “Pedro said, ‘There are grand cru quality vineyards in Oregon. We will find them. Eventually. What we need now are wineries who believe in them.’”

While sharing the Chapter 24 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Last Chapter 2015 (91, $91), a blend of four sites with varied soil types, Tarlov said, “Leonardo Da Vinci said that nature begins with a cause and ends with an experience, so we have to follow the experience, which is the wine, and search for the cause.” He continued, “The magic in wine is caused by the connection between vines and rock. … We believe it is the ‘where’ that creates our ‘what.’”

Fellow Evening Land alum Lawrence Stone is another big believer in the “where.” In his search for great terroir, he looked to Seven Springs vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA (source of five classic-rated Evening Land Pinots). “I looked across the road [from Seven Springs],” Stone said, “and I sold everything I had; I’m all in on this.” His Lingua Franca Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Mimi’s Mind 2015 (94, $90) comes from another nearby vineyard, owned by vintner Mimi Casteel. “Our wines are made naturally; they’re all wild ferments,” Stone said. “We want the terroir to speak … it’s always the vineyard that’s speaking.”

The final wine came from Oregon newcomers with a Burgundy pedigree. Maison Louis Jadot purchased Resonance Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA in 2013 and quickly set to work establishing an impressive estate. “We had the feeling of a sense of place,” said Résonance head of operations Thibault Gagey. “It was something, being from Burgundy, we are very sensitive to … so we bought the place!” He presented the Résonance Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton District Résonance Vineyard 2015 (91, $65), a young wine that he believes has a long life ahead of it. “We still have many things to learn, [but] we strongly believe that Oregon is an amazing place to make Pinot Noir,” said Gagey. “We want to make Oregon wines, not Burgundy wines in Oregon.”