We started offering Riverside blend wines four-and-a-half years ago as an effort to offer affordable house wine we could pour into carafes, or serve by the glass, while saving lots of bottles from recycling.

This program really belongs to Riverside’s in-house oenophile and Catering Manager, Jan McCartan. Jan, who selects the wines featured on Riverside’s extensive wine list, suggested we work with Rich Cushman for this program. Rich is the local “go to guy” for winemaking. He not only makes wine for his own winery, Viento, he also blends wines for several outstanding wineries in the Columbia Gorge appellation (AVA). The Oregon Wine Press has dubbed Rich a “Master Blender,” not to mention “the wizardly winemaker of the Columbia Gorge.”

Rich was enthusiastic about working on the Riverside project. I was involved in the first blending, which turned out to be an amazing process with great results. Since that time I’ve left it up to Jan and Rich.

Rich and Jan get together a couple times a year to create new Riverside blends, both white and red. In April, Jan and Rich created the most recent red blend that will debut in late May, 2013.

Here is a little Photo Essay of the process...

Rich sets up for the tasting by setting out six bottles of what he considers quality red varieties that could potentially create a palatable blend for the type of food Riverside serves. The ultimate outcome should be an Italian medium varietal-based red wine. They also use an existing Riverside Blend as a control.

Rich also has some beakers out, which make the setting look oddly like a chemistry experiment, as well as some spittoons.

Rich pours tastes of the six wines in six glasses. The pair begins by smelling each one before tasting. If it doesn’t smell good that’s a negative. They also take color into consideration.

Jan and Rich take notes independently, then come together to discuss qualities they favor in each variety—aroma, taste, and color.

Believe it or not, they end up spitting a lot of the tastes out. “If you tasted too much, they all start tasting good,” Jan says.

Typically they’ll eliminate a few, and in this case they liked four of the six. From there, Rich plays with measurements. That’s where the beakers come in.

After over an hour of tasting, mixing a few different formulas of their favorite tastes, they’ve selected a the new Riverside Blend Red that’s 60% Barbera, 20% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot, and 10% Dolcetto.

"The sources of grapes for these various wines are all from local vineyards, no more than 33 miles from Hood River," Rich says. "You don’t need to go further than that, we now have a broad variety of good grapes in the Gorge."

The flavor of the new blend fits the whole concept as I presented it to offer a great glass or carafe of wine to go with Italian food at a reasonable price. "We’ll fine tune it a little from here," Rich reveals.

"Rich always has the final say," explains Jan. I know what I like, and what we need for the restaurant, but I give him the final say because he’s the master at this."

After over-thinking Riverside’s Valentine’s Menu for more than a week, I came across a survey today on people’s preferences for this special occasion. It’s nice to see that what we’ve lined up matches what many couples are looking for. 

Here’s the piece on the survey provided by Open Table, as reported on thedailymeal.com.

When I develop a Valentine’s menu, I think about various types of eaters, and attempt to have choices on there for “him” and for “her.” The survey does show different things appeal to different people. Sixty-seven percent of diners would rather not be locked into fixed price meal, while 33% prefer prix fixe. I know my wife would look at desserts first and plan her meal accordingly.

There are a couple highlights I would like to mention on Riverside’s Valentine’s Menu. Obviously the lobster, which will be flown in live from Maine, is very special. I plan different preparations for each of the parts. We par-cook the crustaceans just the point of releasing the meat from shell, a method I picked up from Thomas Keller of The French Laundry. Then we take out the raw lobster meat and poach it slowly in emulsified butter. This makes the meat even richer than it already is. We save the tails for the Steak & Lobster entrée, the claws and knuckle for the Seafood Salad, and use the shells and the rest of the meat for Lobster Bisque.

This is a more refined, cleaner way to eat lobster on Valentine’s with your loved one, as opposed to big plastic bibs, a hammer and goggles… Basically, we do the dirty work in the kitchen, and you reap the rewards in the dining room.

The sign says it all	On a pilgrimage back to Rhode Island last summer.

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For me what is more impressive on Riverside’s menu than the lobster is the Burrata cheese. Burrata is a hand-formed fresh mozzarella where the actual cooked cheese curd is stuffed with an unfinished curd and cream — completely over the top creamy DELICIOUSNESS. We’ll get it from an Italian cheese maker, Gioia, in California. (www.gioiacheeseinc.com) 

For Valentine’s Day the cheese will be made for us on Monday, flown to Portland on Tuesday, and delivered to us on Wednesday. I’ve been eyeing this Burrata for a long time, and it’s something we’ll hope to have on the menu this summer. For Valentine’s we’ll serve the Burrata with olive oil, salt, and Italian semi-sundried tomatoes, known as pomodoraccio.

over the top creamy DELICIOUSNESS	Vito Girardi, President Gioia Cheese, Inc.

A tricky thing about ordering premium specialty items is figuring out how many of these delicacies we’ll go through. I tried to plan enough for February 14^th and 15^th, and we’ll have to see. 

I wanted to skip the food-based blog for this post to give a shout out to Ryan Huntington. Ryan is Front Desk Manager at the Hood River Inn and has worked here eight years. A couple of years ago he took over our music program and has done an unbelievable job.

Our entire team down here at the Hood River Inn works hard everyday to make sure we truly are a destination hotel. From restaurant to banquets, rooms and amenities, it is a never-ending work in progress.

One of the biggest challenges presented to me four years ago was to make Riverside a top choice for locals. My team in the kitchen works tirelessly each day to achieve that goal.

What Ryan has done in Cebu Lounge is exactly the same with the music program, and he's made Cebu the premier music venue in Hood River. This past year he brought in some really big shows such as Nicki Bluhm, the Shook Twins, and Austin Heat, just to name a few. Ryan says he gets calls weekly from popular Northwest bands who have heard about us and want to play here.

If you want to keep current with Ryan’s upcoming shows you can check them out on the entertainment page on Riverside’s website, or even move it to your smartphone homescreen so you never miss a show.

Ryan has lined up some great music already this year. Although he's stoked about many upcoming shows, he’s especially looking forward to:

Feb. 1 - Chris Otepka	Feb. 16 - James Apollo & His Sweet Unknown

March 1 - Two Man Gentlemen Band	April 6- Taarka

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Ciao!

Mark

Sauce Base

This is an incredibly simple sauce based on excellent quality ingredients. This base is truly a vinaigrette and could be used in many ways. Here we are going to mix it with a little heavy cream. It would also work well on a plate with Roasted Chicken, tossed with some romaine leaves, pasta, or with some seared local Salmon or Halibut in the summer. 

In a blender add about a 1/4 cup of aged sherry vinegar, and a couple shots of Dijon mustard. Add about 1-1/2 cups semi-sundried tomatoes with a little of their oil. Blend, and emulsify by adding some extra virgin olive oil, maybe 1 cup or a little more depending on how tangy you would like it. Season with salt and pepper. It’s that easy!

Chop some Marcona almonds and reserve, to sprinkle later on the gnocchi. This will add a salty crunch to the tangy sundried tomato sauce.

Products: I use a high quality aged sherry vinegar, and pomodoraccio (Italian semi-sundried tomatoes), and Marcona almonds. Fine ingredients like these are available at FarmStand or Ovino’s.

In a blender add aged sherry vinegar, and a couple shots of Dijon mustard, semi-sundried tomatoes with a little of their oil. Blend, and emulsify by adding some extra virgin olive oil.

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Making Gnocchi

It’s impossible to have a go-to recipe for gnocchi because every potato is different and the balance of dry ingredients depends on the moisture of the potato.

We usually use Yukon gold potatoes, but russets can work. After baking the potatoes, “rice” or finely grate them. A box grater or a food processer with a grater attachment works well.

After baking the potatoes, “rice” or finely grate them.

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Once you have fine potato rice, add flour. Start with a ratio of 3 parts potato to one part flour (i.e., if I start with three pounds of potatoes, I use less than one pound of flour to start with. Some potatoes are so dry, we only add a little flour.) The goal here is to add as little flour as possible. You want to add the flour and work it through your fingers until crumbly, like making shortbread. You don’t want the mixture too wet, or too dry. Again, it’s all based on the moisture content of the potato.

Now it’s time to add some beaten egg. Again, depending on the moisture, I decide how many eggs to use. If I started with 3 lbs. of potatoes, I would probably start with 2-3 eggs, beaten. Pour the egg in center, and with your hands start forming into a ball of dough. The key here is to work the mixture just to the point of a ball of dough and not further. By not overworking, your gnocchi will be very light and fluffy. The more you work, the denser it will be.

Next, roll the dough into long snakes. Then cut the gnocchi with a dough blade. Simmer a pot of water and throw small batches of the dumplings into the simmering water until they float. Then drain the gnocchi and shock them into an ice bath.  Remove from ice bath, and roll in some olive oil. Your gnocchi is now ready to use or store in the fridge for a few days.

Roll the dough into long snakes and cut the gnocchi with a dough blade

A small batch of the dumplings ready for the simmering water

You know they are done when they float!

After draining the gnocchi, shock them into an ice bath.  Remove from ice bath, and roll in some olive oil. Your gnocchi is now ready to use or store in the fridge for a few days.

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Lemon Bread Crumb Baked Cod

This cod preparation is really simple. A good breading starts with homemade breadcrumbs. Grind some stale/toasted bread and mix with a little olive oil and lemon zest. Prepare a baking tray with a light rub of oil. Place a layer of breadcrumbs on the baking tray to keep the fish from sticking. Drizzle the cod with a little olive oil, season w/ salt and pepper, then add more breadcrumbs to the top of the cod. Heat the oven to 400 degrees or so.  We keep our ovens at 500 so our times will vary. With fresh cod, you’ll know it’s done when you see its edges start to flake apart.

While the cod is baking, finish the gnocchi.

Prepare a baking tray with a light rub of oil. Place a layer of breadcrumbs on the baking tray.

Drizzle the cod with a little olive oil, season w/ salt and pepper, then add more breadcrumbs to the top of the cod.

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Serving Gnocchi in Semi-Sundried Tomato Sauce

Gnocchi is so versatile. You can make whatever you want with them—as simple as mixing with a good store-bought tomato sauce, or serving with a fine sauce like the one I shared.

To complete our recipe, I like to put a little crust on the gnocchi first. Put some oil and butter in pan, and let the butter start to brown a little. Brown the gnocchi for a minute or so. Then, add a couple shots of heavy cream. Add a tablespoon of the sun-dried tomato sauce into the cream, stir, and it’s ready. (If you put the sauce in the pan without a little cream, the oils would separate, and you’d have a broken sauce). Place the gnocchi on a plate and top with chopped almonds.

Add your baked cod to the plate, and serve with any other accompaniments you like. This baked cod is so versatile, you can do a number things with it. I love breadcrumbs falling on everything else you serve with it. It’s great with a Caesar salad, or green beans, or broccoli, with the added benefit of crunchy breadcrumbs. 

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Fish buying tip:

Don’t buy tilapia from Vietnam. Know where your fish comes from. I recommend you have a rapport with your vendors. Ask them where the fish was caught. Ask them when fresh fish is delivered. If it’s  delivered Tuesday and Friday, I wouldn’t buy it on Monday. 

Enjoy!

Mark

What an incredible summer and early fall we’ve had! It was great to see so many regulars and so many new faces enjoying the deck. I keep waiting for things to slow down so I can focus on new plans. It continues to be busy, and with fall events, and holiday parties looming, I don’t expect it to slow down for some time. In any case, I’ve committed to “try” a blog as a way to let Riverside fans know what’s coming up.

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Breakfast First of all we have a new breakfast menu that I’m really excited about, with many seasonal items — lots of fresh fruit, including apples, blueberries, huckleberries, and pears. So far the Autumn Vegetable Hash is the most popular thing on the menu. Pretty much all the veggies in this come from Hood River Organic . Take a look at the Breakfast Menu, and let me know what you think.

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Dinner

Our Dinner Menu is fairly new, too, and I hope to change it up again soon. My plan is to pare it down a bit, although I always have a hard time doing that...my menus seem to constantly grow. My goal is to get back to my Abruzzo model where I was able to change the menu more frequently with a smaller menu, inserting old favorites easily. My hope is that you’ll try something new, and love it, knowing your favorite item will back soon. Let’s try this, and see how it works. If you have a past fall or winter favorite from Abruzzo or Riverside, post it on our Facebook page, and I’ll consider adding it! Please give your feedback to the servers, too. And always ask if you a have a special request...we want to hear from you, and we try our best to accommodate.

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Thanksgiving A big change this season is planned for Thanksgiving at Riverside. We’ve traditionally created extensive holiday buffets. It turns out Thanksgiving and Christmas buffets have smaller turn out than Easter and Mother’s Day. And as you can imagine, they take days of planning, preparation, and staff time on precious holidays. So this year we’ll serve plated Thanksgiving Dinner. We think this will be a smarter way to serve the best quality holiday food, and give people affordable choices. There will be Small Plates, Soups, Salads, Main Dishes and Desserts. Our Turkey Dinner or Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner will be $15. There will be other options, too, such as Prime Rib or Seafood. People can opt to share a dessert, or eat a light meal and go for the Dessert Buffet! I feel we’ll be able to build more value into our menu items, and allow people to control their eating and spending. It will also allow us to extend our serving hours to 9 p.m., with reservations starting at noon. We will see how this goes for Thanksgiving and decide on Christmas. Easter and Mother’s Day, we will continue with our traditional buffets. Check out our Thanksgiving Menu , and please give me your feedback!

Ciao,

Mark