ZETTE's maison

Yes, it's true, a view of home sweet home - the mother ship - my castle of cool. Built in 1503 by the very brilliant Marguerite de Massault, one of the first to spread the Malbec gospel - Marguerite de FANTASTIQUE. Don't you think?

all for love

Coming up in the next several days, the very talented singer-songwriter Alexa Wilding, who embodies the total beauty of Zette is performing at the very cool ART BASEL in Miami, for LOVE CONTEMPORARY, an upcoming art / culture magazine / movement about life, love, sex, art, and a return to beauty.

LOVE CONTEMPORARY Performances
3930 NE 2nd Avenue, 2nd floor windows
Miami, Design District

ACT I: Thursday 3 December 8:00pm
Unplugged and exposed, NY singer-songwriter Alexa Wilding matches her ethereal aesthetic to a dreamy musical interpretation of Love Contemporary.

Act 2: Saturday 5 December 7:00-10:00pm
As the snowstorm evolves, snow-dressed models will deliver your messages, and in unison the event will be painted with your sensuality. Berlin based photographer, Martina Hoogland Ivanow, will be recording the transition from cyberspace to reality, and Alexa Wilding will be electric, adding sound to the storm.

Act 3: 28th January 2010
These events will become an art exhibition in Miami and get printed in the pages of the first issue of Love Contemporary.

zette's zeus

Alain Dominique Perrin, creator and provocateur behind Zette's joie de vivre!- as photographed by Marc Dantan. Magnifique!

ZETTE loves Patricia Canino

Brilliant Parisian artist, photographer and filmaker Patricia Canino, who we spotlighted in our first Zette 10 interview has just released a fascinating film on the inner workings of Editions du Regard, where the most monumental works on contemporary culture can be found. We salute Patricia and Sergei Pescei for this glorious cinematic piece. Have a glimpse here!

Zette loves September!

Autumnal beauty is upon us! "Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." And Zette is the flower red. Pair it with something deeply satisfying tonight like a coq au vin from Ann Willan.

Coq Au Vin
SERVES 6
Recipe by Anne Willan

3 cups red wine

1 tsp. whole black peppercorns

3 cloves garlic (1 whole, 2 chopped)

2 ribs celery, thinly sliced

1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

1  5–6-lb. chicken, cut into 10 pieces

3 tbsp. olive oil

8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley plus 1 tbsp. chopped leaves

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs thyme

1⁄2 lb. slab bacon, cut into 2 inch long slivers

3 tbsp. flour

2 cups Chicken Stock

2 shallots, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tbsp. butter

18 pearl onions, peeled (see Pearls of Wisdom)

1⁄2 lb. button mushrooms, quartered

1. Bring wine, peppercorns, whole garlic, celery, carrots, and yellow onions to a boil in a pot; reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool, pour over chicken in a bowl, and drizzle with 1 tbsp. oil. Cover and marinate overnight.

2. Heat oven to 325°. Tie parsley sprigs, bay leaves, and thyme together; set aside. Remove chicken from marinade; pat dry. Strain marinade; reserve liquid and solids separately. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add bacon; cook until crisp, 6–8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a bowl; increase heat to medium-high. Working in 2 batches, brown chicken, 6–8 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add reserved solids; cook until soft, 10–12 minutes. Sprinkle in flour; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in reserved liquid; boil. Simmer for 1 minute. Stir in remaining garlic, stock, shallots, and salt and pepper to taste; nestle chicken and herb bundle in vegetables. Bake, covered, until tender, about 1 1⁄4 hours. Transfer chicken to a plate; cover with foil. Strain sauce; keep warm.

3. While chicken is cooking, heat 1 tbsp. butter and remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add pearl onions; cook until golden, 4–5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until tender, 8–10 minutes. Combine onions with bacon. Heat remaining butter over medium-high heat; cook mushrooms until tender, 4–5 minutes. Arrange chicken on platter; top with sauce, bacon, onions, mushrooms, and remaining parsley.

This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #108

Crush-a-belle:Yellow Corn con White Wine

As I sit down to write this post we are waltzing, make that running, through the last days of summer. Now is the time to fire up the grill and eat outdoors, before the waning days of humid haze elude us, and we wish it were once again time to complain about the heat. It is also peak season for my latest obsession: yellow corn with white wine!

I recently took myself on a foodie mission in search of the city’s best elotes callejeros. Spanish for grilled corn-on-on-the cob smothered with cream, spice and a squirt of caramelized lime, elotes callejeros is a perennial summer favorite I hadn’t munched on since making it for my Cinco de Mayo cooking lesson back in May. Undeterred by the large crowds nestled in front of Café Habana, it was here that I found what I consider to be corn’s reigning kingdom. As I poked my head inside the café doorframe, I noticed just about every single patron (and one of the chefs on the line!) eating the grilled “crack-on-the-cob.” After what seemed like an eternity (really only 15 minutes) I was gifted an order of corn to-go and rushed myself back home to my rooftop, where a sunset and a chilled bottle of 2007 Zette White awaited my return.

Now I have not always been a white wine drinker. For many years my motto was, “Chocolate should be dark, Milk should be whole, and Wine should be red.” But as with so many things, Mac has introduced me to the splendor that is a great bottle of white on a sultry summer eve, and these days, I’m drinking more vino blanco then I ever thought possible.

I can honestly say elotes callejeros from Café Habana is the single best way to spend $3.95 in New York City. One order gets you two delicious corn cobs smothered in a blend of spicy creamy goodness. Butter, mayonnaise, cheese, and chili powder with a spritz of lime make this dish a rich, bold, salty, smooth summer indulgence that will change the way you think about corn-on-the-cob.

Forget boiling (which sucks out many of corn’s nutrients and adds none of the coveted char that makes corn pop when cooked over an open flame), and try making this recipe at home by throwing a few cobs and a few halved limes over direct heat on the grill. Periodically rotate the cobs so that they char on all sides. In the meantime, blend together a stick of softened, salted butter and a tablespoon or two of mayo. When the hot cobs come off the grill, use a pastry brush to spread a thin layer of cream over each ear of corn and sprinkle with cheese (preferably something without much bite, like a Mexican cojita or queso blanco, so the sweet corn can take center stage). Finish the cobs with a dash of chili powder and squirt of caramelized lime. Pair them with your favorite bottle of a chilled white wine and enjoy the last few bites of summer. Trust me, life has never tasted so good. Eat it up!

Photo courtesy of Yelp

Hot & Spicy with Guest blogger Kimberly Belle of Dinner Belle

Summer in New York City has taken her good old time bursting onto the scene. She’s held out for a late August arrival, and if she can kick rain’s ass to the curb, she may even gift us a final summer weekend or two, perfect for a backyard or rooftop BBQ.

Erin and I are planning a Labor Day BBQ to celebrate our Dinner Belle catering staff, our favorite clients and our best buds. I’m hoping for a hot day, a hot grill and a hot new pair of platform espadrilles to ring in the occasion.

And what pairs well with heat? Spice!

Spicy salsa, to be exact. I love salsa, and without a doubt, house-made tortilla chips are in my top ten favorite foods, but I can’t stomach the stuff that comes in the jar that is so often served alongside ‘em. Especially since making salsa at home couldn’t be easier; it just takes time to chop it all up. My recipe for Sweet & Spicy Summer Salsa takes tomatoes to a new level by expertly pairing heat with char and sweet. Signature summer taste sensations both! I sweat the water out of the tomatoes and make a sweet tomato glaze with the liquid. I then char the corn, caramelize the garlic, and dice the jalapeños, for a perfectly balanced sweet & spicy BBQ dish that can indeed sit outside baking in the sun all day long.

And what pairs well with spicy salsa? Spicy wine!

The Zette Malbec is salsa’s best friend. I know what you’re thinking, “Red wine on a hot summer afternoon?” And my answer is, “Yes! If it has lush fruit flavors, a light to medium body, and notes of spice.” At a great value, this Malbec has all three and is the perfect accompaniment to summer’s zesty buffet staple, salsa.

As this month’s guest-blogger here on Zette's blog, I'll be offering three summer recipe suggestions for pairing Zette's vino with my cibo. For those die-hards that “just don’t do” red in heat, I’ve got a white and rosé coming up next. And if you wanna try out my Tequila Spiked Mango Guacamole pictured alongside the salsa, I assure you that second to the Zette Malbec, salsa and guac are like totally BFF. ¡Buen provecho!

Sweet & Spicy Summer Salsa (serves a party)
By Kimberly Belle for Zette

Tomato Liquid

4 pints Cherry or Grape Tomatoes  (ripe, quartered, about 8 cups)
4 Vine-Ripened Tomatoes (pureed in a food processor, set over a cheesecloth to drain liquid from pulp)
1 T Salt
1 T Sugar

Tomato Glaze

1 cup Tomato Liquid
4 TB Lime Juice
¼ cup Sugar

Tomato Salsa

6 ears Sweet Corn on the Cob (grilled, kernels cut from cob)*
4 cloves Garlic (caramelized in a sauté pan with olive oil)*
2 Jalapeños (micro-dice)*
1 can Black Beans (rinsed)
1 large Sweet Onion (micro-dice)
1 bunch Scallions (micro-sliced)
1 bunch Cilantro (chopped)
Tomato Pulp
Tomato Glaze
Quartered Tomatoes
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Tortilla Chips for Dipping

1. Tomato Liquid: Toss quartered cherry tomatoes with salt and sugar in a large bowl; let stand for 30 minutes. In the meantime, puree the vine-ripened tomatoes and set over a cheesecloth to strain the liquid from the pulp. Reserve both. The tomato pulp will be used in the salsa; the tomato liquid will be used to make the glaze. After 30 minutes, transfer the cherry tomatoes to a salad spinner and spin until seeds and excess liquid have been removed (about 1 minute). Reserve both. Return tomatoes to the bowl and set aside. Strain the tomato liquid through the same cheesecloth to remove the seeds. You should end up with about 1 cup total of tomato liquid collected from both tomato varieties. If you have extra, make a bloody martini!

2. Tomato Glaze: Bring 1 cup of the tomato liquid, lime juice and sugar to simmer in small saucepan set over medium heat. Simmer until thick and glaze-like or until the sauce has reduced to approximately ¼ cup (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat and cool before adding to salsa.

3. Tomato Salsa: Mix all the ingredients together and allow to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving, giving the flavors time to meld.

***A few tips as concerns the corn, garlic and jalapeños: grill the corn over an open flame or in a grill pan before cutting the kernels from the cob to give it that coveted summer barbeque char; sauté the garlic till golden brown in a TB of olive oil to lend a caramelized flavor to the salsa; proceed with caution with the jalapeños, adding or discarding seeds depending on how hot you like it. I like it spicy and sometimes throw in a third jalapeño, seeds and all!