What's cooking this weekend?

Ines, how was the wine tasting? Those are perfect wines for BH--if barolo weren't so costly, I'd bet it would be his favorite wine.

The dinner was really exceptional--one of the best ever, I'd say. The first courses were with the Alto Adige whites--a lobster soup (not bisque), then a broccoli fonduta. Two people brought the identical wine, an '08 Eisacktaler Kerner, a variety I've never had before and it was amazingly good. Won in both flights that featured it. Kind of a cross between Pinot Gris and Gewurz.
Then two courses with the reds, and an amazing array of Baroli came out. I've got notes but would have to refer to them for names. Anyway, first red course was duck ragout on wide egg noodles, then seared Piedmontese Beef with a salsa cruda. Small portions, which were perfect. Then a sweet Sangiovese dessert wine with cheeses and finally Linda's amazing Meyer Lemon and Lime tart with blueberries. A tour de force of a wine dinner.

Missed this thread till today (Monday). Did no cooking at all over the weekend. Been eating out a lot.

Late to the party...we steamed some live Spot Prawns...served with Lemon/garlic/ginger aioli, rice and grilled asparagus. Man...was that some good eating. Those prawns were great!

[Jenise]

Late to the party...we steamed some live Spot Prawns...served with Lemon/garlic/ginger aioli, rice and grilled asparagus. Man...was that some good eating. Those prawns were great!

Greg, it's never too late. Quite a treat to get live when you don't live on the coast, too, isn't it? We had the first live spot prawns I've ever cooked about two weeks ago--sweetest shrimp I've ever eaten. Really a wow of a thing to experience them that fresh.

[Jenise]

The dinner was really exceptional--one of the best ever, I'd say. The first courses were with the Alto Adige whites--a lobster soup (not bisque), then a broccoli fonduta. Two people brought the identical wine, an '08 Eisacktaler Kerner, a variety I've never had before and it was amazingly good. Won in both flights that featured it. Kind of a cross between Pinot Gris and Gewurz.
Then two courses with the reds, and an amazing array of Baroli came out. I've got notes but would have to refer to them for names. Anyway, first red course was duck ragout on wide egg noodles, then seared Piedmontese Beef with a salsa cruda. Small portions, which were perfect. Then a sweet Sangiovese dessert wine with cheeses and finally Linda's amazing Meyer Lemon and Lime tart with blueberries. A tour de force of a wine dinner.

Wow, sounds like a terrific dinner! I've only had one Kerner that I can remember, a Joe Bastianich import that was a very bright yellow. I don't know if that is the true character of the wine or if we had a more extracted model, but I liked it.

How much barolo do you have in your cellar? Italy is probably the country whose wines I love that most that I don't own very much of, and Piedmont the most neglected appellation. I occasionally buy some second-hand, but I seem to no sooner get two or three on hand then a Piedmont offline/tasting gets called and there they go. And I only buy two or three because I'm paying like $60-150 a bottle to get well-produced wines from great years with a bit of age on them. So I never get ahead. I have a delivery coming tonight though: a friend knows an importer in Seattle who has decided to go out of business to move some distance to take care of an ill relative, so his inventory of wines he'd saved for himself--all Italy and vintage 00 and 01--is up for sale. I don't know what's there--my friend isn't knowledgeable in this area--but I know the price range is $22 to $35 and that the collection includes magnums of barbaresco, just for instance. So I authorized said friend to buy on my behalf anything that starts with the letter 'b'--barolo, barbaresco, barbera, brunello--up to four bottles of each, up to three cases total, and they'll get delivered tonight. I don't have room for more, but I couldn't say no....

For us, it was a 5 lb side of wild-caught Alaskan salmon, given a light wood smoke on the grill, with smoked morels, asparagus soup and roasted fingerling potatoes. An '08 Drouhin St. Veran and an '08 Navarro Pinot Gris were sacrificed to the cause.

Mark Lipton
(staring at lots of leftover salmon -- oh, the horror!)

I like challenging a red Burg or a chilled Beaujolais with salmon - it usually works out pretty well, sometimes amazingly so.

How much barolo do you have in your cellar? Italy is probably the country whose wines I love that most that I don't own very much of, and Piedmont the most neglected appellation. I occasionally buy some second-hand, but I seem to no sooner get two or three on hand then a Piedmont offline/tasting gets called and there they go. And I only buy two or three because I'm paying like $60-150 a bottle to get well-produced wines from great years with a bit of age on them. So I never get ahead. I have a delivery coming tonight though: a friend knows an importer in Seattle who has decided to go out of business to move some distance to take care of an ill relative, so his inventory of wines he'd saved for himself--all Italy and vintage 00 and 01--is up for sale. I don't know what's there--my friend isn't knowledgeable in this area--but I know the price range is $22 to $35 and that the collection includes magnums of barbaresco, just for instance. So I authorized said friend to buy on my behalf anything that starts with the letter 'b'--barolo, barbaresco, barbera, brunello--up to four bottles of each, up to three cases total, and they'll get delivered tonight. I don't have room for more, but I couldn't say no....

Gutsy move, going for anything starting with a 'B'. I think I heard about that importer - didn't he specialize in Bianco Frizzante......

I agree that Barolo is pretty expensive to buy these days. I have maybe a dozen cases of varying Piemonte 'B's but add to my stash only sparingly (and when SWMBO isn't looking) these days.

[Jenise]

How much barolo do you have in your cellar? Italy is probably the country whose wines I love that most that I don't own very much of, and Piedmont the most neglected appellation. I occasionally buy some second-hand, but I seem to no sooner get two or three on hand then a Piedmont offline/tasting gets called and there they go. And I only buy two or three because I'm paying like $60-150 a bottle to get well-produced wines from great years with a bit of age on them. So I never get ahead. I have a delivery coming tonight though: a friend knows an importer in Seattle who has decided to go out of business to move some distance to take care of an ill relative, so his inventory of wines he'd saved for himself--all Italy and vintage 00 and 01--is up for sale. I don't know what's there--my friend isn't knowledgeable in this area--but I know the price range is $22 to $35 and that the collection includes magnums of barbaresco, just for instance. So I authorized said friend to buy on my behalf anything that starts with the letter 'b'--barolo, barbaresco, barbera, brunello--up to four bottles of each, up to three cases total, and they'll get delivered tonight. I don't have room for more, but I couldn't say no....

Gutsy move, going for anything starting with a 'B'. I think I heard about that importer - didn't he specialize in Bianco Frizzante......

I agree that Barolo is pretty expensive to buy these days. I have maybe a dozen cases of varying Piemonte 'B's but add to my stash only sparingly (and when SWMBO isn't looking) these days.

All I can say is, I've had a few bottles this friend has purchased from this importer, and they've been pretty good wines. Not kidding myself that there will be any Giacosas in the lot, but they'll be nice for pizza night. Oh wait, we don't have pizza nights.

All I can say is, I've had a few bottles this friend has purchased from this importer, and they've been pretty good wines. Not kidding myself that there will be any Giacosas in the lot, but they'll be nice for pizza night. Oh wait, we don't have pizza nights.

Hmm....pizza night and bocce with a grab bag of Nebbiolos. Could do much worse!

[Jenise]

All I can say is, I've had a few bottles this friend has purchased from this importer, and they've been pretty good wines. Not kidding myself that there will be any Giacosas in the lot, but they'll be nice for pizza night. Oh wait, we don't have pizza nights.

Hmm....pizza night and bocce with a grab bag of Nebbiolos. Could do much worse!

True. Would you believe the last pizza I had was at your house? I"m overdue!

We should whimp up some rustic pizza soon (absolutely round geometric shapes are for overy fussy minds).

I went to the local vegie mart and they had no spargel in sight!! Just boring green stuff. Ack!

Made iddlis and sambar last night. Delicious.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

@ Bill: is white asparagus grown in B.C., or if you'd found it, would that have been imported?

@ Paul: my Indian food education is very incomplete, and I've never had an iddli. I've never even seen it/them on an Indian restaurant menu to order, or I certainly would have tried one by now. Just commenting out loud that this seems strange, as from what I know it's a fairly common thing in Indian cuisine. Or do I misunderstand?

@ Bill: is white asparagus grown in B.C., or if you'd found it, would that have been imported?

Yeah, they grow it here - no big deal, but I found it a bit more labour instensive than just growing the green, which I could pretty much leave alone. Always having to keep the earth mounded so it wouldn't go green. That might not seem like a big chore, but when you have a large garden, remembering to do any one thing can be challenging. There are several farms producing it in BC, and it usually hits the markets around now, which is why I found it so dissapointing to have to substitute something else the other day.

You could grow it where you are, but to have the amount you'd want to eat you'd have to give over quite a bit of area to it!

Jenise - it's a very regional thing. Idlis, dosas, uthappams and sambar are all very popular and common in south India - particularly in Karnataka (where a lot of these dishes originated). Most North Indians don't eat these dishes too often, and North Indian (or generic 'Indian') restaurants will rarely ever feature such dishes.

The restaurants that serve dishes like sambar/idli tend to be very specialized in Udupi cuisine and almost always strictly vegetarian. If you get a chance, visit Saravana Bhavan in Vancouver (where you'll see a lot of those traditional Kannada/Udupi dishes).

[Jenise]

You could grow it where you are, but to have the amount you'd want to eat you'd have to give over quite a bit of area to it!

I just planted an asparagus bed, actually, but I won't be putting in the effort to keep it white, much as I like it. And the green is a great estrogen booster--a hottie like me needs that, you know.

Salil, thanks for the recco--would LOVE to try it. Have to admit, I don't really understand the regional differences nor have been typically aware in any Indian restaurant I've been in what their regional bent is. We should eat out Indian more often: the Delta/Surrey neighborhood is so close by, where many Indians reside so the restaurants are plentiful.

How much barolo do you have in your cellar? Italy is probably the country whose wines I love that most that I don't own very much of, and Piedmont the most neglected appellation. I occasionally buy some second-hand, but I seem to no sooner get two or three on hand then a Piedmont offline/tasting gets called and there they go. And I only buy two or three because I'm paying like $60-150 a bottle to get well-produced wines from great years with a bit of age on them. So I never get ahead. I have a delivery coming tonight though: a friend knows an importer in Seattle who has decided to go out of business to move some distance to take care of an ill relative, so his inventory of wines he'd saved for himself--all Italy and vintage 00 and 01--is up for sale. I don't know what's there--my friend isn't knowledgeable in this area--but I know the price range is $22 to $35 and that the collection includes magnums of barbaresco, just for instance. So I authorized said friend to buy on my behalf anything that starts with the letter 'b'--barolo, barbaresco, barbera, brunello--up to four bottles of each, up to three cases total, and they'll get delivered tonight. I don't have room for more, but I couldn't say no....

Jenise,
I'm largely in your shoes in regards to Barolo and Barbaresco. My three words of advice are: Produttori di Barbaresco. Good, often great, wines at reasonable prices. In '06, they didn't make any Cru wines, so their generic Barbaresco should be an outstanding bargain for high quality Nebbiolo. And then there's Sella Lessona and Bramaterra...

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Mark, I like Produtorri wines--they do great single orchard olive oils, too. It's been awhile since I've seen them around, though. Which only contributes to my problem--don't see much Piedmonte wine locally so I'm not spiking my collection with incidental purchases; every buy has to be very overt.

My friend delivered the wines this morning. He only brought me three wines: four magnums of 01 Luigi Giordano Montestefano Riserva Barbaresco, and four each 750's of 2000 Cascina Gagliaissi Le Coste Riserva Barolo and 2001 Podere la Vigna Brunello di Montalcino. I paid $32, $23 and $22 respectively for them.

Jenise,

What Salil said. Most Indian restaurants in the USA tend to feature the non-vegetarian Mughlai and Goan cuisines. Mughlai is the food of the Mogul emperors, who originally came from Central Asia. It resembles the food of Afghanistan and Iran, and includes the tandoori roasted specialties. It also uses a lot of yoghurt, cream, and nuts. Goa is the former Portuguese colony and features blazingly hot non-vegetarian dishes such as vindaloo and xacuti. Vinegar and wine, almost unknown elsewhere in Indian cuisine, are often found as ingredients. Meals are more often accompanied by breads (roti) than by rice.

Iddli (steamed cakes made from ground raw rice and urad dal), dosa (pancakes also made from rice and urad dal), and sambar (toovar dal, vegetable, and tamarind stew) come from South India. South Indian dishes often feature coconut milk and rice rather than bread is the most common starch. Most South Indian food seems to be vegetarian, although the Kodagu district of Karnataka has non-vegetarian dishes, including pork.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Goans also eat pork, do they not? I had a Goan friend years ago who was very proud of this about his cuisine. I had a standing offer to dine at his home but sadly moved away before I took take him up on that.

That would have been fun, Goan out for dinner.....

Goans even eat beef, which is something that could start a major riot in other parts of India.

-Paul W.

Parsley soup!

[Jenise]

Parsley soup!

Okay, Celia, what on earth is parsley soup?