The Rest of Us (cont.)

[Wilfrid]

I should put some goat in the crockpot. It's been a while.

[Anthony Bonner]

my neighbor grows goats on their hobby farm. It was interesting to me to learn that they are almost entirely sold for Ramadan.

[MitchW]

16 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

Since Nixtamal and Sobre Masa tortillas have mysteriously disappeared from my neighborhood

Nixtamal is no longer operating in Essex Market; I wonder if the disappearance in your 'hood isn't related?

[Sneakeater]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Anthony Bonner]

Last I heard nixtamal had moved the entire wholesale tortilla business to NJ and it seemed like split the taqueria off as a separate entity.

[Sneakeater]

Oddly, the company whose tortillas I ended up buying seems to make their corn and flour tortillas in Brooklyn, and their blue corn tortillas in New Jersey.

Or at least they label them that way.

[MitchW]

It's the tortilla mystery!

[Sneakeater]

Lamburger.  WIth a big slab of Bulgarian-style Feta.  Pennsylvania Dutch onion relish.  Sweet pepper rosemary sauce.  And a hot pepper grilled to black.

On the side, roast broccoli drizzled with saba.

Another pairing that had me dancing around when I thought of it this afternoon.

2020 Floral Terranes Loving Cup

A blend of slightly more than half Cabernet Sauvignon with slightly less than half its father, Cabernet Franc.

Floral Terranes may forage the apples for their cider, but I'm pretty sure they buy their grapes on the market.

This doesn't taste at all like a Saint-Émilion, despite its cepage.  It tastes like a Natural wine from Long Island (which is what it is).

Thin texture -- I drank it just above cellar temperature -- with sharp flavors.  Piercing fruit (blackberry) at the start.  No detectable brett:  the rest is muck instead of funk.  But sharp muck:  there's some serious acid here.

So like perfect:  the acid was just what the spice from the peppers and the fat in the burger wanted.  Speaking of the fat in the burger, I don't taste any tannins, but I can tell from the way it interacted with that meat fat texturally that it's there.  Oh, and very distinct pepper, from the Cab Franc it must be.  This really worked.

I know there are people who don't like Natural wine.  Their prerogative, of course.  But I feel a little sorry for them.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

I would also like to say that Lost Bread Co. milk buns are like the best non-Fascist hamburger buns out there.

[Sneakeater]

Yeah this wine just tastes so GOOD.

(Named after ther Rolling Stones song, to keep this topical.)

[MitchW]

5 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

Yeah this wine just tastes so GOOD.

(Named after ther Rolling Stones song, to keep this topical.)

One of my favorite songs on that album.

[Sneakeater]

Rabbit/pork/ginger sausages with a ginger/vermouth jus.  I couldn't decide if I wanted this over rice or noodles, so I made . . . orzo!  Just as I was putting the orzo into the boiling water, I realized I should have been having the sausages over mashed sweet potatoes and carrots.  But too late for that.  Garnished with winter savory.

On the side, that Chinese green that looks like skinny flowering broccolini.  What's it called?  Oversteamed the way I like it, with garlic and butter.  Garnished with tarragon.

Ideally I'd have drunk an off-dry white with this.  But none that I have at hand is ready.  So the next best thing(?).

2016 Jutta Ambrositsch Riesling "Rosengarten"

So she did promise me a rose garden!

This is grown within the Vienna city limits.  You think these wines can't age, but it turns out they can.

Now this is far from the best Riesling you can have.  Even in its price range, it's outstripped by things like A.J. Adam's supernal entry-level Kabinett.  Which is not to say it isn't tremendously enjoyable.  It's so light it's almost not there -- which made it a less than apt pairing tonight -- but OTOH, I'll bet more of this is drunk with sausage than with anything else.  And rabbit/pork/ginger sausages aren't heavy.

It's just that I felt like I should be knocking this quite nice wine back in the late afternoon, not having it with a fairly substantial midnight supper.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

11 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

On the side, that Chinese green that looks like skinny flowering broccolini.  What's it called? 

Choy sum DUH (I realized after posting this).

[Sneakeater]

As I was thinking about how I was going to cook the bluefish I got this morning, I remembered that a few years ago Saranghina had a bluefish ragú I liked (not as much as I liked Dave Santos's tuna and then octopus Bolognese -- but there aren't many things I like as much as those).  I decided to Calabrian the ragú up because:  HOT PEPPER SEASON!

This was really good.  But even better are going to be the leftovers, after the hot pepper has had some rest time to really melt into everything else in this tasty sauce.

On the side, foglie di ravanello ed navone (that's radish and rutabaga greens to you) sautéed with garlic.  I don't think they eat rutabaga in Calabria, but I do know this:  if they thought you were throwing the greens of root vegetables away rather than cooking and eating them, they'd run you out of Calabria on a rail.

I couldn't decide between a red or a white with this.  So I split it down the middle and had an orange.

2021 Terra di Briganti Coda di Volpe

Coda di Volpe is a grape that isn't characteristic of Calabria, but nearby Compania.

It's low acid, which didn't bode well for a pairing with a dish with some tomato and lots of spice.  But I figured the extended maceration in an orange version would raise the acid level -- and it did.

What I didn't think of is that of course it also raised the tannin level.  And the tannins didn't like the hot pepper spice at all.

How is it as a wine?   It's a  pretty MOR orange, drinkable but not very distinctive.  It has a lot of salinity, which was a plus with the briny bluefish.

I wouldn't run back to have this wine again.

Edited October 29, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

The pasta was Rafetto's fettuccine.

How I came by it is sort of cute.

I was in Union Market, staring at the tortillas they offer and trying to decide if they could possibly be good.  (I decided they couldn't.)  I didn't notice, but the tortillas were on a shelf below the Rafetto's "fresh" pasta packages.

Next to me, a little girl was trying to get her mother to buy one of the Rafetto's packages.  The mother wasn't having it.  But it made me remember that I had some pasta dishes coming up, and that I wasn't going to be able to make it over to Un Posto Italiano to get pasta.

"I need some of that," I told the little girl.  "I had completely forgotten.  Thanks for reminding me."

She started clapping and doing a little dance.  "I saved the day!", she exclaimed.

Edited October 29, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

Pan-roasted striped bass in winter savory butter.

This bass was caught in Moriches Inlet.  But not by me.  Or @MitchW, for that matter.

On the side, some baby bok choy sautéed with ginger and garlic.  I don't remember when my initial plan to chastely steam the bok choy went by the wayside.

And some orzo with garlic scape pesto (not made by me).

Eric Azimov says you MUST drink a Chablis with pan-roasted fish in herb butter.

2021 Julien Brocard Chablis "Vigne de la Boissonneuse"

My THIS is a good wine.

It obvs isn't a cru or anything.  I don't even think it's single-vineyard.  But there is A LOT going on in this glass.

I won't say it's a picture-perfect Chablis, because it's sort of Natural.  It has all the sharpness of a Chablis, but there's some Natural muck that keeps it from typicity.  It doesn't keep it from deliciousness, though (and as far as I'm concerned made it a better foil than it otherwise would have been for the mellow flavor of the bass).

This wine is actually a little hard to describe.  It starts with some sharp Chablis lemon/grapefruit.  And then there are definitely some minerals there.  But they are, as suggested, minerals set in muck.  Now that might seem like a demerit:  what we like about Chablis is its utter sharpness.  But I'm experiencing such a piquant contrast between the sharpness and the muck that I'm really enjoying this.

Also, the sour Natural finish kind of closes the circle from the sharp lemon/grapefruit entrance.

This wine isn't cheap:  between $40 and $50.  But considering what Chablis fetch, it's cheap for how good it is.  Just drink it with something really good.  Like pan-roasted striped bass.

(This would be insane with scallops with sorrell butter.) (Don't give me ideas.)

Edited October 30, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

It's worth recounting that Julien Brocard's father was a mainline producer, using pesticides and chemicals and foreign yeasts and godknowswhatelse.  When Julien began to take over in the '90s, he began to eliminate such practices in the parcels under his control.  I think there came to be a demarcation between the wines produced  under Julien's control and those produced under the control of his father and his father's successors.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

Wait I'm wrong.  These grapes do come from a single parcel.

[Sneakeater]

People who think they don't like Chardonnay need to try this.

[Sneakeater]

Probably this wine has years ahead of it.

But you'd have to have the patience of a saint not to pop it.

[MitchW]

7 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

This bass was caught in Moriches Inlet.  But not by me.  Or @MitchW, for that matter.

The inlet is interesting...not necessarily considered navigable.

Quote

 

Navigating the Water:

Use NOAA Chart 12352.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, Moriches Inlet is unreliable and should not be attempted at any time by deeper-draft boats. Those boats with a shoal draft (three feet or less) can attempt the inlet form either direction, but should do so only with prior local knowledge form a reputable source. By no means should this inlet be attempted by any vessel in the event of a storm. Strong currents can mix with brisk winds to create a melee of waves, eddies and exposed shoals.

Red and white Morse (A) buoy M marks the approach to Moriches Inlet from the south via the Atlantic Ocean, and flashing green 1 at the north side of the inlet guides you farther in. The most dangerous part of the inlet is a quarter- to half-mile southeast of the opening. Although the chart shows six- to eight-foot depths, this area is where silt deposits from the inlets strong outflow. As such, the depths change constantly and there are no aids to navigation, save for some strategically placed milk jugs left by transiting fisherman who use the inlet every day.

 

So we fished the inlet a bit - along with probably 2 dozen other fishing boats, and you (or should I say the captain) need to pay constant attention. So after a couple of casts, we went out and into the ocean, where there's a lot more room.

 

 

[Sneakeater]

My butcher had coppa again!

Coppa has so much intramuscular fat that you eventually have to start thinking about smoke.  Mesquite.  I gave it a sear afterwards, but I'm not sure it even needed it.  Didn't hurt, though.  And gave rise to a fond.

I had marinated the coppa steak in a down-and-dirty approximation of a Cuban mojo, which I then reduced and used as a sauce.

This smoked pork was fantastic.  Just fantastic.

One the side, some roasted rutabaga.  And some pan-roasted broccoli with garlic.

The wine pairing was sort of a mishap.

2020 Frédéric Agneray Kalamite

I saw the cépage of the 2021 Kalamite from Roussillon and assumed my bottle would be about the same.  The 2021 was 40% each of Cinsault and Syrah, the rest Grenache.  That would have been perfect:  the Cinsault smoky-sweet, the Syrah bacony, the Grenache friendly.

But, I now see, that's not what's in the 2020.  This is 40% each of Grenache and Carignan, the rest Syrah and a little bit of white Clairette.  I should have saved it for tomorrow night's leftover Barbacoa.

As it is, this wasn't a bad pairing.  Just not optimal.

The wine itself, though, is scrumptious.  It's Natural.  The white grape makes itself felt, despite its small part in the bill.  There's a refreshing tartness at the finish that could only come from that.  The lead-in is mainly Grenache.  The Carignan then makes itself known in the interesting flavors that follow upon the brambly -- but in this wine very light (watch that word) -- Grenache fruit:  sweet-leaning spices.

The key word for this wine is "light".  I served it a little above cellar temp, but TBH it would have been even better at cellar temp.  It's light as a feather.  It floats over your tongue, but the flavors are pronounced -- and wonderful.

I was going to say that I hadn't previously tasted the wines of this Roussillon producer, and now that I've met one I want to explore further.  But looking at his importer's page for him, I see I'd already drunk two:  the Orniere and the Youkali.  I remember liking them.  We know from today's mishaps that Agneray's cuvées vary from year to year.  But I can say I'm firmly in Agneray's camp.  This bottle was great.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

I read somewhere that Agneray's wines were favorites of Olivier Lamasson.

Not enough to convince Lamasson to stay in this world, unfortunately.

Edited October 31, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Sneakeater]

LAST DAY OF GOATOBER!

Leftover Barbacoa.  Did it get better?  OF COURSE it did.

Garnished with Cojito, crème frâiche, housemade deconstructed salsa verde, Spanish black radish, avocado, scallion, and cilantro (they really like their garnishes in Mexico).

Leftover calabasitas.  Did they get better?  They tasted fine -- but they didn't get better looking, I'll tell you that.

Leftover Mexican rice.  I theorize that toasted rice lasts better than plain.  I also theorize that tossing more stock in before reheating it didn't hurt its recovery.

I didn't choose this wine because it is produced within Mexico's former colonizer.  I chose it because I thought its flavor profile would go well with the spicy meaty Barbacoa.

2017 Manuel Molees Acios Mouros

And I was right!!!!!!!!!

Manuel Moldes is a Natural winemaker in Rias Baixas.  He makes some really superb Albariños.  But of even more interest, I think, are his tintos.

Except for some Mencia shared with neighboring Bierzo and Rio Sacra, just about no red grapes grown in Rias Baixas are grown anywhere else in the world.  They're not grapes with strange names that it turns out you know by some other name:  they're genuinely grapes you've never heard of.

Most of them exist in only tiny amounts; and they were on the verge of extinction until rare local grapes became modish 15 or 20 years ago.

I want to be clear:  these aren't some workhorse blending grapes like Bobal or Albillo that are now being promoted as varietals but have traditionally been workhorse blending grapes for a reason.  These are grapes that are planted in such small quantities, in places that are so remote and inaccessible, that they just fell by the wayside without in any way deserving to.

So what's the cépage?  60% Caiño Redondo, 20% Loureiro Tinto, and 20% Espadeiro.  Ring any bells?  Me neither.  (Loureiro Tinto is known elsewhere as Merlot.  NOT.)

But this tastes just like you'd expect grapes grown in vertiginous hills on the Atlantic to taste.  Very sharp dark fruit (along with some grapefruit:  wasn't expecting THAT)  And then a veritable onslaught of minerals.  I expected some pepper (and got it) but I was also hoping for some salt (and I got it, too).  I was figuring on high acid and low tannins, and the acid was even higher than I expected (see that grapefruit I was talking about).

This worked amazingly well with my tricky main dish.  Aside from the work of the acid and the low tannin, the flavor of the wine just went with the spicy slow-cooked meat.

(Also, I have to figure that with all those steep hills, goat must figure into their diet in Rias Baixas [when they're not eating scallops].)

Edited November 1, 2023 by Sneakeater

[Anthony Bonner]

Sneak idk how to break it to you but those vineyards are more like gentle rolling hills rather than steep slopes.  And the neighbors are mostly holiday homes 

 

It's almost suburban feeling if I'm honest.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Anthony Bonner