Culinary Demonstration – Jose L Camey – Paradiso 37, Downtown Disney

Specifics:

Food: Guacamole, Jose L. Camey, Paradiso 37, Downtown Disney

Wine: Croney Three Ton Sauvignon Blanc, Greg Crone, Croney Estates, New Zealand

John Ekin was our host today and we not only had a chef! We had a real live vintner, Greg Crone from Croney Estates in New Zealand.

Greg was very engaging and entertaining… so much so that after the Culinary Demonstration was over, we went and immediately signed up for the Beverage Seminar he’s conducting the next day! Greg started by asking who was the closest neighbor to New Zealand, a lot of the audience answered “Australia”… he said “no, it’s Antarctica, but the closest with people is Australia.” Then he asked us to keep it clear in our minds that New Zealand wines are not the same as Australian wines. However, everything is backwards down there — the toilets flush opposite (the water swirls in the opposite direction from what we’re used to), the light switches are opposite (they flick down to turn on the light and up to turn off the light), and they drive on the wrong side of the road. He then went on to talk about wine…

• His vineyard is in the Marlborough region of New Zealand, it’s the most famous region of New Zealand, at the very northern tip of the southern island.
• The weather there is very dry and cool – this helps the grapes to ripen very slowly, concentrating the flavors.
• His vineyard is rather small, only 50 acres – it’s tiny, tiny. They produce about 2000 cases per year.
• Because it’s so small, the mechanical harvesters don’t want to bother with his harvest, so they harvest entirely by hand.
• In addition to harvesting by hand, his winery is totally organic. They only spray when absolutely necessary and when they do spray for pests, they use a seaweed spray.
• So, what does THREE TONS mean? They only harvest 3 tons of grapes per acre. The typical yield is 10 tons per acre, and to do that the vines are just shoving all of their energy into the grapes… after all, if you think that resources are restricted, you put all of your energy into reproduction (i.e. making fruit and seeds). A few weeks before harvest, 7 tons per acres are removed from the vines… he says you can actually see the vines perk up. So, now there are 3 tons of grapes per acre — these get all of the energy and resources from the vines — thus, better grapes.
• “You can make a poor wine with great grapes, you can’t make great wine with poor grapes.”

• Paradiso 37
• They make the guacamole fresh and continuously every day – if someone is a bit slow, they make guacamole
• guacamole is best eaten immediately – don’t expect to “store” it in your refrigerator
• The guacamole has chunks of avocado in it, this is to ensure patrons that it’s fresh and made from whole avocados (some restaurants have runny guacamole, this is because they use industrially processed avocado)
• The most popular dish at Paradiso 37 currently, Crazy Corn! We had this for the first time last week with Al, Sandy, and Harry… it was very good… we thought that Al and Harry were going to come to blows over who ate more than their fair share 🙂
• Crazy Corn is a dish that native to Mexico and Central America. The version at P37 is altered a bit – it’s made with fire-roasted corn, aioli, quesarilla cheese, jack cheese, and queso fresco
• Making guacamole
• Selecting the avocados
• Florida avocados (these are huge green fruits with smooth skins) have less fat, more fiber, and more water than Haas avocados — they aren’t good for making guacamole
• Haas avocados (these are the smaller fruits with lumpy skin) are the best for making guacamole
• They have the right texture, creamy & smooth, and the right fat content.
• They’re grown in California and Mexico
• When using, don’t get hard, green avocados – the best ones are firm to touch (not mushy) and dark dark green (not black or mustard colored)
• The best ones are 100% tree ripened
• “Alligator Pearl” is another name for Haas avocados — because they’re shaped like pearls and because the skin looks like alligator skin
• Peppers
• Serrano or Jalapeño peppers are okay to use – he prefers serranos because of the flavor and heat profiles

The Tasting!

We were given 4 different guacamoles to taste… traditional, roasted mushroom & truffle oil, “cerviche,” and baked.

1. Traditional – follows the recipe we were given (shown below)
2. Roasted Mushroom & Truffle Oil – portabello or cremini mushrooms, onions, and grape tomatoes are roasted separately in olive oil; after cooling, they’re tossed with sherry vinegar, brown sugar and salt – this is then incorporated into the traditional guacamole
3. Cerviche – made with shrimp prepared for the P37 shrimp cocktail (lightly poached, mixed with their made-from-scratch bloody mary mix [hmmm, if they make a bloody margarita with that mix = yum yum!], onions and peppers; then added to the traditional guacamole
4. Baked Guacamole – made with bacon and shredded cheddar cheese; after mixing with traditional guacamole, put it back into the avocado shell (husk?) and bake at 400F until the cheese begins to melt (you don’t really “cook” the guacamole)

Our verdicts…

• Wine
• Without Food – a little fizzy, acidity on the front of the tongue, a little woody flavors
• With Food – nothing outstanding, we agreed with the other couple at our table that perhaps a good cerveza or a light red wine would be a more agreeable pairing
• This wine just wasn’t one that’s going to be a favorite with us, nora isn’t surprised because Sauvignon Blanc isn’t a wine we’ve liked in the past

• Guacamoles

1. Traditional — well, we knew from last week that we were really going to like this one; it’s a very smooth yet chunky guacamole; looking forward to having it a P37 again
2. Roasted Mushroom & Truffle Oil — at first nora thought that this had balsamic vinegar in it because of the sweet and the vinegar tastes; we found out later in the demonstration that it contains sherry vinegar and brown sugar; couldn’t really notice the truffle oil; this was our least favorite
3. Cerviche – wow! this was a bit of a surprise! definitely want to try the shrimp cocktail at P37 after this; it has a wonderful blend of flavors and textures; the shrimp is NOT overcooked; and the little bit of bloody mary mix on top was very good
4. Baked Guacamole – a bit of a surprise, you could REALLY taste the bacon; one of our table-mates suggested that this would be fabulous on a home-grilled hamburger – we agreed

Fortunately, we were given a “few” chips to use with the dip. Unfortunately, they were not the delicious ones that we enjoy at Paradiso 37.

Guacamole

6 servings

• 4 Haas avocados (Mexican or Californian)
• 1 plum tomato, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon red onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Serrano chiles, seeded and minced
• juice of 2 limes
• salt & cracked fresh black pepper to taste

1. Wash all vegetables
2. Seed and dice tomatoes and place in a small bowl
3. Dice the onion and place in a small bowl
4. Chop the cilantro and place in a small bowl
5. Mince the Serrano pepper and place in a small bowl
6. Cut the avocado in 1/2 long ways, remove the pit and scoop out the pulp into a mixing bowl
7. Mash the avocado with a potato masher or with a fork to a chunky texture
8. Add all of the measured ingredients to the mixing bowl, add the lime juice, salt and pepper, mix well and taste with chips or with a spoon. Chips are better!
9. Cover with tight plastic wrap, label and store until ready to serve