Pure Mountain
23 East Market Street
Rhinebeck N.Y 12572
Tel. 845 876-4645
www. puremountainoliveoil.com



CUBAN FOOD WITH SALSA


The Pure Mountain store owned by Zak Cassady-Dorian, and Charlie Ruehr  in Rhinebeck specializes in a myriad of gourmet olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The wonderful  flavors that the store's olive oils and vinegar can give on food was successfully presented  in a recently held culinary gathering at their Rhinebeck Bank Plaza location.  The event focused on pairing select wines from Holly Condina's ( Enjoytasting.com), California cellar with food prepared on premise using Pure Mountain store brand products.  Gina von Trapp, Charge de cuisine, and general manager at the store, prepared, cooked, and presented four tasty dishes for the occasion:

The first dish Ms. von Trapp skillfully orchestrated for the event was a Cuban Grilled Bacon Guacamole with baked Tortilla chips as an appetizer.  It was interestingly cooked using a Tunisian olive oil, and truffle sea salt.  The other elements used were lime,Florida avocado,bacon, habanero pepper, and jalapenos.  The dish, a harmonious balance of ingredients and texture proved very flavorful and helped to awaken the palate for more good things to come.  Ms. Condina's wine, Meritage Sauvignon Blanc 2011, citrusy and crisp  appropriately complemented the food.    

The tasting continued with a Chicken Tortilla Soup --a light broth with a good balance of spices, poblano peppers, and tender pieces of chicken.  A melange of sauteed ingredients garlic, onions, and pepers cooked in  Chipotle olive oil  as  base was used for the dish--imparting it with a warm an exotic exuberance.  And the Sommerville Cellar White Meritage 2011 with soft notes of hazelnut paired nicely with the zesty creation.

The third dish: The Ropa Vieja, ( small cuts of shredded Chuck Roast ) with a fragrant Cauliflower Rice  that followed was masterfully crafted and super delicious.  A knowledgeable use of traditional Cuban ingredients used, Habana Sea Salt, annato, and yellow and red peppers and proper seasoning made the dish spot on, The interesting entree with the excellent reponse from the patrons attests to Ms von Trapp 's cooking talent--paying attention to maintaining culinary elements of historic dishes quite intact while giving them a personal innovative zip.  The Ropa Vieja which had a Spanish Olive oil base was properly paired with a superb Sommerville Cellar Red Meritage2009.

The fourth and final dish was the Cuban Vanilla Carmelita, which traditionally uses Cuban rum. The soft and moist, small square size pastry made with dates, almonds, brown sugar, chocolatechips, and drizzled with a warm chocolate balsamic coating was quite outstanding.  And the sparkling rose wine, Grand Cadeau with notes of raspberry, orange and floral aromas made an excellent paring.

Pur Mountain Store offers some really fabulously diverse Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar that do a lot to enhance flavor, and impart vibrant and exotic aromas to food.  Ms von Trapp and Ms Condina produced a very specially warm and tasty Cuba night at Pure Mountain.  All the patrons gathered in the dining area and listening to Cuban salsa music said  they enjoyed the evening of food, wine and music immensely and were looking forward to the next monthly event.  Rating: *** Good -Good

Baron Corso Palenzuela von Habsburg is an international food, wine,beer, chocolate and restuarant critic, He has been published in Gusto, Bon Appetit, Eddible, Country and Abroad and other publications.