The Rest of Us (cont.)

[Sneakeater]

Thanks!  (I mean REALLY thanks!)

I think I've figured out who you "are".

Almost.

[Sneakeater]

Now if I could just figure out who I "am".

[Sneakeater]

12 minutes ago, relbbaddoof said:

but I do think weed has something to do with your overall exuberance.

Trust me, I don't do weed.

I'm paranoid and self-conscious enough on life.

Edited October 4, 2023 by Sneakeater

[relbbaddoof]

7 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

I've figured out who you "are".

That's unlikely because I don't even know. That's the existential question that you, of course, have already addressed in your next post.

And hold off on the weed, will you? While I was typing -- is that a word any more? -- I got like a dozen -- OK, that may be my weed kicking in --  notifications saying you'd posted this or that. I have to leave this post, dangling M-dashes and all, and possibly totally obsolete -- just to read what you've had to say.

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by relbbaddoof

[Sneakeater]

You get notifications of what I had to say?

Oy.

[relbbaddoof]

See how your quick wit and silver-quick fingers force obsolescence on our posts?

[Sneakeater]

This is (a) off-topic and (b) self-centered and (c) TMI.

BUT, I was high on pot virtually every minute of every day from around my 14th birthday to just before my 18th.

But then -- I remember this very clearly -- at some specific point I began to wonder why I felt like shit all the time.

And I pretty soon figured it out.

Edited October 4, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

Doesn't stop me from buying Asian potato chips.

[Sneakeater]

And McConnell's Ice Cream.

[relbbaddoof]

6 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

Asian potato chips

Health-impaired as I am, that's a pleasure I've had to live without.

[relbbaddoof]

7 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

And McConnell's Ice Cream.

Health-impaired although I am, that's a pleasure I've had to live with.

In the olden days there was a McConnell's in a shopping mall in Goleta, just off Santa Barbara. (There may not have been a rich bum called Fred Kavli whose alleged foundation may not have funded an extended period there of a certain couple who discovered McConnell's on afternoon-one.)

Although the main shop was in SB (as alleged-couple discovered on a late night trip to the bathroom -- everything in California requires a car and the freeway), that space was small. All the goodness was churned in Goleta. It's a delight to find it now at my local Amish market on 9th, but packaged and mass-produced as it now is, it's not the same. We eat it and enjoy it, but when we have the option we stock up on Laboratorio stuff. I know, ice cream, gel-aah-to, but both frozen deliciousness.

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by relbbaddoof

[MitchW]

1 hour ago, relbbaddoof said:

In the olden days there was a McConnell's in a shopping mall in Goleta, just off Santa Barbara.

My first residence, after moving to Santa Barbara in '76, was a house in Goleta.  My 3 NY housemates and I all got arrested in that house...for growing weed! There's more to the story (like the lawyer we'd met downtown at Baudelaire's (do you remember that place?!) who happened to like other mind-altering substances), but that can wait till another time.

 

1 hour ago, relbbaddoof said:

but packaged and mass-produced as it now is, it's not the same.

Is anything the same? It's still better than most, in my opinion!

 

 

[Sneakeater]

My meal plan for the week got messed up when it hit me that something I missed out on at the Greenmarket last weekend was needed for two of my planned dishes.  (Deluge or no deluge, I KNEW I shouldn't have slept in.)

So, what with my having a friend who's currently vacationing in Amalfi and all, I thought I'd pivot to Linguine with Colatura di Alici.  I was sure I had some Colatura.  But the bottle wasn't there!  (Which is not to say it won't turn up somewhere else in my refrigerator tomorrow.)

So I pivoted to making an anchovy/bottarga/cured tuna heart sauce for the linguine.  (The anchovies were from Cetera, so I still got to commune with my absent friend.)

(I will repeat, self-congratulatingly, that I have gotten so good at managing Ghost Pepper that I now look with sorrow at my impending completion of the second of the two that I accidentally bought, as opposed to the horror I felt when I initially realized what I'd purchased.)

And on the side, one of my favorite things:  fioretto roasted with Nonnata di Pesce (or whatever Tutto Calabria's version of it is currently called).

The pivot to a more Sicilian pasta preparation (the origin of the anchovies notwithstanding) clarified my wine choice.  (I had planned something more um geographically disconnected for the Amalfian pasta I originally thought I was making.)

2022 Mortellito Cala Ìancu

My favorite white of the Summer.

Mostly Grillo.  Some Carricante. 

Natural but in a non-overbearing way.

Fruit pops out of the glass:  apricot, grapefruit (a very intriguing combination).  Very herby.  Lots of salt.  The grapes are grown near almond trees, and although I know it doesn't work like that, I could swear you can taste the almonds.

This is so good you don't want the bottle to end.

But more than that:  this is one of those wines that bring you joy.

Edited October 5, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

The end of my chili verde with pork.  Served the same way I did all the other batches.

On the side, flame roasted (on the közmatik) (meaning burnt to a crisp) Roma beans.  Wow this is a good way to cook these.  Tossed with olive oil, seasoned with lots of salt and some chili de arbol.

I had an idea for a wine pairing that would have taken off from the successful red-white field blend pairing for my last batch of the chili verde.  But I couldn't see drinking a supernal $70 bottle with food that was so flavor-forward and spicy:  I wouldn't have tasted the wine.

Plan B:

2019 Costador Trepat "Metamorphika"

(Wow.  They must have had their vintage mark designed and placed by the same person who designs and places the cooking time notations on Italian pasta labels.)

Trepat is a Catalan grape that is most frequently used in Cava and Rosados.  So I figured it would have to be light and untannic enough for a mildly spicy chili.

Almost:  this was more tannic than I expected.  And not quite light.

But what an intriguing flavor(s).  Lots of black cherry and raspberry at the front.  Lots.  But not particularly light-textured, as you'd expect of a Natural wine vinified in amphorae.  This has substantial mouthfeel (something I don't really like).  But the wine as a whole stays sprightly enough that the mouthfeel isn't annoying.  Then there are A LOT of minerals.  But they don't follow the fruit.  Rather, they sort of emerge from underneath the fruit.  The fruit lasts and lasts, pretty much until the finish.  Which is this sort of indistinct syrupy thing that feels good in your mouth.  Perhaps happily, it doesn't last very long:  just a tickle.

So an interesting wine, and a very tasty one.  Perhaps not a pluperfect pairing for the food (although at least the food didn't come near overwhelming it).  But life is like that.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

Just drinking the wine down:  that fruit is so delicious.

[Sneakeater]

Costador has a good thing going with these "Metamorphika" things.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

Wait wait.

That pairing I'd been considering with tonight's dinner would be genius with tomorrow's dinner.

Unless I think of something better before then.

[Sneakeater]

Oh God now I'm excited.

This pairing tomorrow is going to be genius.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

Leftover Creole Cassoulet with shrimp and andouille.  God this is good.  And it tastes like something you'd have in New Orleans.  I wouldn't have thought I could do it.

In making the side dish, I realized that all my life up until today I've been sauteing vegetables wrong.  I'm not gonna tell you what I've been doing wrong, because it will reveal me to be even more inept than I already seem.

Anyway, sautéed mustard green/bok choi cross, with garlic and actual mustard (I saw that in some Southern recipe, and as silly as it seemed to me when I read it it tasted good) and crushed dried chili de arbol and onion vinegar.

21 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

Oh God now I'm excited.

This pairing tomorrow is going to be genius.

What if you were trying to think of a wine to pair with a mildly spicy stewed dish with shrimp and pork sausage -- and you remembered that you have a wine that's a co-ferment of Pinot Noir and orange skin-contact Pinot Gris?*  You'd think:  that's it!

2017 Hiyu Wine Farm Aura

I didn't want to drink this with last night's chili verde cuz I feared the chili would overpower the wine.

But tonight's Creole Cassoulet, while it might be a bit spicier than the chili verde, is a more refined thing flavor-wise.

Happily, this was one of those pairings that worked as I'd hoped.  Both Pinot Noir and the Pinot Gris would have been fine with either of the proteins in this stew.  The oranging of the Pinot Gris (take a bow Max Apple) provided some funk to stand up to the flavors (although the strong orange tannins didn't love even the restrained spice).

Another thing about this wine, from a leading Oregon Natural producer, is that it's just fantastic.

Every transition in this wine is seamless.  This is just elegant with a capital E.  The fruit is laser focused, but very refined.  Not just the expected pinot cherry/berries, but hints of a lot exotic stuff (maybe from these grapes' Pinot cousin, Charonnay).  Some salt, some funk, some slate.  There's more going on in this wine than my description has been able to convey:  it's quite complex.  I guess it's ineffable.

A magnificent wine, actually.  I'm happy I opened it to accompany one of the best things I've ever cooked.

__________________________________________________________

* Let's nerd out for a minute and remember that Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris are the same grape, Pinot Gris merely being a color mutation of Pinot Noir.

Edited October 7, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

This has to be my last striped bass of the season. Whatever (I mean we know what is) is freakishly extending the tomatoes shouldn't do the same for this fish.

Broiled.  With ginger-scallion oil.  A recipe I found somewhere that is really great.

The fish attained almost Santosian/Ripertian levels of undercooking.  Those guys know what they're about:  it was great this way.

Some broccolini sautéed with lemon, garlic, and sesame oil on the side.

Really an excellent dinner.

I wasn't positive this pairing would actually work.

2019 Alexandre Bain Pierre Présieuse

The backstory to my having this is that one morning a couple of weeks ago a friend texted asking if I know where you get Alexandre Bain Sauvingon Blancs in New York.  I'm like, what have I memorized the stock lists of every wine shop in New York City?  But then that afternoon I saw Bain's line on the shelf at my neighborhood wine store.

Of course I had to get a bottle.  If only for purposes of Lobster ala Risholm one-upmanship.

This is Bain's entry-level cuvée (which does not mean it's cheap).  I think (I'm not checking) it's the only one of his Pouilly-Fumé Sauvignon Blancs that isn't single-vineyard.  No matter.  It's fucking great.

Usually when Sauvignon Blancs are thicker and heavier than usual, that kills them.  You want these wines to be racy.

This is the exception.  Don't get me wrong:  it isn't big like a New Zealand SB.  It's just thicker and more complex than your average Loire Sauvignon Blanc.  It's like a Natural Cotat.

So you start with a very refined expression of grapefruit.  You then sense some grass, and then some (no:  A LOT OF) herbs.  The minerals aren't particularly slatey:  it's like you know they're there but can't really separate them out.

Which is really this wine's appeal:  it's incredibly integrated for a Loire Sauvignon Blanc.  You don't usually see this seamless a flavor progression.

Which was, in fact, the reason I feared this wouldn't work as a pairing.  Your usual SB would be too blatant to work with the food I was pairing this with.

This, this was, if not perfect, near perfect.

I can see I'm going to have to acquire some of Bain's senior cuvées.

Shit.

Edited October 8, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

Tuscan-style rabbit ragù over papardella.

This was a perfect example of the pasta-water-in-the-gravy thing.  The gravy looked like an incoherent oily mess until, at the end, I tossed in some pasta water and let it reduce.  Then I had a gravy.  It never ceases to amaze me.

The recipe I was looking at (I couldn't say it was "followed") seemed to me to clearly call for too much salt.  Even after I greatly reduced the amount, I thought this still came out a little (only a little) too salty.

But about midway through dinner, it hit me:  if I were eating this along with a salt-free bland piece of faintly spongy bread, it would've been perfect.

Cuisine works!  The Tuscans actually know what they're doing.  It's amazing.

Despite the salt, this was quite good.  I think braising must be the A-number-1 way to cook rabbit.  Especially if you put in tons of panchetta to fatten things up.

I forgot I had some leftover sautéed broccolini from the first round of this rabbit saddle.  So even though I had broccolini last night, I heated it up and threw on some balsamic vinegar.  It was fine.  But even I have to admit that vegetables are better fresh.

One of my very favorite wines.

2016 Poderi Sanguineto I e II Rosso di Montepulciano

This is aging out of its window.  It certainly now lacks the jumpy freshness that initially made this wine so special.

But it's still real good.

The fruit may no longer scream "boy howdy!" at you.  But it's really good (black cherry, dark berries, and now some plums).

The stuff that comes after hasn't gotten any more profound -- this isn't that kind of wine -- but it's still very pleasant:  a little Natural funk and a little junior-cuvée muck.

This wine really ought to be finished.  I guess it's good I only have one more bottle.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

Kathy Chan's Family's Garlic and Fish Sauce Eggplant (Grandma's version)

That name is literally all there is in this dish (well, if you make it the way Grandma and I prefer, there's also an egg and a Thai chili).

This dish is indestructible.  I made so many errors I thought would fuck it up.  But no, it was delish.

(The least of my errors is that I thought I was putting in too much fish sauce.  I'm thinking you can only put in the right amount when you think you're putting in too much.)

On the side, Tokyo Bekana dressed with sesame oil and La Boite's Ana blend.

Here's the best pairing for that eggplant dish.

Valdespino Fino Sherry "Innocente"

You know how it works:  the salt and the oxidation match the fish sauce; the Fino sharpness cuts through it.

And that's JUST how it works.

After dinner:

Cocchi Doppo Teatro

This is a bitter Vermouth, Cocchi's answer to Carpano's (now Branca's) Punt e Mes.

They're not identical -- I think the Cocchi is a bit more flavor-forward -- but there's not much to choose from between them.  I prefer whichever is in front of me.  (At least Cocchi's is still made in Turin.)

(I remember the first time I had a bitter Vermouth.  It was Punt e Mes.  I was gobsmacked.  What a perfect digestivo!)

Edited October 10, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Wilfrid]

These posts are designed to make me miss Kathy.

[Sneakeater]

Kathy Chan had nothing to do with the following dinner.

[Sneakeater]

Belated Happy Indigenous People's Day!

North American Surf 'n' Turf:  Hickory-Smoked Bison Steak with a Dried Louisiana Shrimp Garlic-Sage Butter Sauce.

On the side, roasted squash, tomatillo, and chili pepper.

When I became obsessed yesterday afternoon with smoking the bison steak I had planned to eat today (the better to join the dried shrimp I planned to top it with in a huge Umami-Fest), the problem that immediately presented itself was how lean bison meat is.  I was afraid I'd end up with something like pemmican.

After a lot of deep thought while I was ostensibly working, I hit on the expedient of marinating the bison steak in oil for a long time before cooking it.  So it spent most of today marinating, salted and peppered, in olive oil with its own blood, garlic, and the obligatory bits of Ghost Pepper.

Did that work?  Well, the meat wasn't leathery, so I guess it did.  But as wonderful as the smoke flavor was with the bison meat, I have to conclude that bison, like venison, is a meat that's best sous-vided.  That's really the way to keep it from drying.  You could put Liquid Smoke on it afterwards.  (Kidding!)

I'm sure there's something else, that I don't know about, that could have minimized this.

I seared the steak after smoking it.  Which not only gave it the requisite crust, but provided a fond for a pan sauce.  The dried shrimp really were excellent with the smoked bison:  I'll give myself that.

There was A LOT of butter in that pan sauce.

The wine pairing proved the importance of food and wine liking each other.

2007 Orin Swift The Prisoner

I've established my doubts about this wine.

But with a dish like this, it's Just The Thing.

Not tannic enough for its size?  Well bison has almost no fat.  Too hyped-up flavor?  Well drink it with an umami bomb like I made tonight.

One thing I'm feeling as I drink down the dregs by themselves afterward is that the fact that this wine is a little over the hill saves it.  Its worst aspects are tempered, and you now get a decent amount of flavor that isn't too in-your-face.

So drink up -- with the right food.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Sneakeater