David Ransom’s career in the wine business began when his parents and brothers collectively decided to buy the Rivendell Winery in the Hudson Valley. That was the mid-80s. Today he’s a wine and spirits writer, speaker and educator, whose work can be seen in print (Tasting Panel Magazine, SOMMjournal) and on the web (The Connected Table, InsideFandB), and heard — along with his wife Melanie Young — on radio (The Connected Table, Live!).

When we spoke recently, he was preparing to fly to Houston for a TV spot on wine. I had to ask, what he likes best about his current career. He chuckled, “When someone says, ‘I’ve read you article and loved it,’ or ‘your radio show is amazing, what a great platform.’”

– bonnie

BonnieBOTB

Which food product or gadget would you never give up? Gadgets: My garlic press. Contrary to some professional opinions that say it’s a waste of money when you can just spend a bit of time mincing a clove or two, I find it indispensable and a huge time-saver. Mine was my mother’s, is probably fifty years old and still going strong. My first-generation Cuisinart food processor. They don’t make ‘em like they used to!

Food product: Chunky Peanut Butter. I have been known to eat it by the spoonful right from the jar. FYI: I buy only the “just peanuts and salt” kind. I have never liked the sugary ones laden with additives (and sugar, of course) and about as unhealthy for you as it gets.

Ingredient: Fresh ground black pepper. I have a bunch of different types of peppercorns at home and love to experiment.

What do you like to serve when you entertain? Depends on the season (indoors or outdoors). We roast a lot in winter — meats, fish and vegetables are all fair game. I make a mean roast chicken from a recipe handed down from my mother (my friends call it “Chicken David”). Sometimes I deviate from the norm and do a spatchcocked bird, as it roasts more evenly and more quickly. We always buy higher-end chickens, organic or at least “thoughtfully raised.” We never use Tyson, Perdue or the like; as after the good ones, you find these have no taste at all.

We also create a lot of one-pot dishes like gumbo and our own versions of cassoulet, utilizing various types of good-for-you beans.  I always use rinsed, canned beans as I can’t wait for soaking the dry ones, We often make the dish on the fly, so advance prep doesn’t fit into the equation.

In summer, I’ll grill a whole side of salmon. I love playing around with different spices and citrus, as well. My current favorite are Morrocan spices paired with lemon. We bought a bag of this wonderfully aromatic 35-spice mixture in Marrakesh while on a recent trip to Morocco, which I am in love with. All the spice stalls in the Marrakesh markets have their own proprietary spice blends; each one is amazing.

Being wine and spirits writers, we always have good cocktails and wine on-hand to complete experience.

Describe your “last meal?” Champagne, oysters, a really good French frisee and lardons salad (with the poached egg, of course), grilled un-Frenched lamb chops with rosemary and a great bottle of wine (or two). Since it’s my last meal, we can skip the vegetables…

What food is your secret guilty pleasure? Salami and sausages (any kind, any country), extra sharp cheddar on a Triscuit topped with a few drips of a really good hot sauce (Marie Sharp’s Habanero Hot Sauce from Belize is the best I’ve ever had), “Salted in the Shell” peanuts and — when we’re in Hawaii — Spam musubi, a nori-wrapped piece of  unagi tare-brushed Spam sushi, sold in all the ABC stores and supermarkets. It’s completely addictive and a TRUE guilty pleasure, though I don’t eat it too often.

What is your go-to neighborhood restaurant? We live in the Hudson Valley now, so restaurants aren’t as prevalent as they are in NYC, where we lived for 25 years. Our neighborhood spot is a 60 years-open German restaurant named the Mountain Brauhaus, and it’s amazing. Now run by the third generation of the Ruoff family, it sells all the traditional fare like schnitzel and sauerbraten, made in-house, but also offers an inventive modern (non-German) menu that always pleases.

What is one food product most people don’t know about, but should? Well, I can’t say Sriracha anymore, can I (I use it almost daily)? So, how about home-made hummus? It’s so easy to make in a food processor, with chick peas, olive oil, salt and sesame tahini at its most basic. You can make it rough or smooth, dress it up with spices and ingredients like lemon juice, olives, hot peppers, or even mix in thawed (and peeled) edamame to give it a spring-like greenish hue. Hummus is versatile. We use it as a dip for home-made pita chips and veggies, spread it on toast and use it in sandwiches instead of mayo or mustard.

Another product we absolutely love is sesame tahini. We use it in place of olive oil when making roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, and even drizzle it over steamed spinach and/or rice. A great pairings with the Moroccan salmon!

Describe your worst kitchen disaster and how (if possible) you saved it: A few years ago, I hosted family Thanksgiving. Being foodies, we succumbed to the craze of dry-rubbing the turkey and airing it uncovered overnight in the fridge before roasting it (it doesn’t really do anything for the meat, but makes for tasty skin cracklings).  Once the turkey was done, we proceeded to make the gravy from the pan drippings. About halfway through the de-glazing and gravy-making process, we tasted it and found out it was all salt!

Sure, the rub we made was salt based, but it never crossed our minds that the coarse salt we used would all fall to the bottom of the roasting pan and integrate with the turkey drippings during the roasting process (dumb, right?). Well, we had no other gravy possibilities, so we started trying to figure out how to save it. Enter my mother, who gave it a taste and said “oh, that’s easy, someone go get me a peeled raw potato” – which, when provided, she proceeded to slice into big chunks and stir into the pan. “No worries, the potato will absorb the salt and then we can remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and continue on our way,” she said, “We’ll get it fixed in a minute.” And we did.

Who was your most influential mentor? My Mother, see above.

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