First let me start by saying I am a good chemist ergo I am a good cook. Overtime I have learned, both in the lab and in the kitchen, when it is important to strictly follow a recipe and when you can be more creative. But these skills did not necessarily come naturally and thankfully I have a husband with a good appetite and strong stomach.
Two events during the dating phase of our relationship gave me the confidence to try anything and everything thereafter. First, my sophomore year I had an apartment with gas stove which I never had experienced before plus I was a child of the microwave and had never in my life cooked bacon on the stove. The outcome of this is that I severely burnt the bacon thereafter and forever more referred to as Bristow’s Burnt Bacon. The second occasion was after our engagement when I made an herb escalloped potato dish which upon one bite I decided was not good but for some reason Brad enjoyed and ate tons of - only to be up sick the rest of the night. If a man stays with you after you have given him food poisoning he is with you for life. My first Thanksgiving attempt with Brad was a breeze compared to these previous episodes and I successfully did turkey, gravy, homemade dressing with fresh herbs, creamed potatoes, the whole kit and caboodle all on my own with decent timing. So it was with extreme confidence that I entered my sister’s home to assist with her first attempt at the full Thanksgiving meal experience.
It all started extremely well. We managed to put our sibling rivalries aside to work together with me being careful to remember that it was not my kitchen and my sister actually listening to her older and wiser sister pertaining to planning and execution. There was a moment when we were discussing what should be started when and planning out what item would be served in which of her dishes that it occurred to me that we were reenacting the scene I had watched year after year between my mom and her sister as they tried to determine what needed to be done when and how it was going to be presented.
But like many family events with more than one chef in the kitchen things soon begin to fall apart. But it isn’t the story you expect to hear. We did not argue. No one tried to take over. And in the end no food was totally destroyed or deemed inedible. Where our story gets interesting is that we both made the critical mistake of thinking I was an expert in all things and that my sister should follow all my advice.
I think it began with the melting of her meat thermometer. In my kitchen I have an oven proof meat thermometer and I am a firm believer in this as the means of determining when a turkey is done enough to be safe to eat yet still moist and tender. I also adhere to the leave it alone method, as in don’t keep opening the door to baste, etc. So when my sister asked “Is it okay to leave the thermometer in the turkey as it cooks?” I said “Absolutely yes!” and we stuck it in and forgot about. It was only when an hour or more later that we first checked on the small turkey breast that we found my sister did not have an oven proof thermometer as evidence by the melted remains of a dial attached to the probe. Oops. To the best of our knowledge no toxic acrylic ever made it to the surface of the turkey – that’s my story and I am sticking to it.
Next came the instruction on how to make the sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows. As I am encouraging my sister to load the top of the casserole with almost an entire bag of mini marshmallows she does pause and ask “Are you sure this isn’t too many?” and I respond “This is exactly how much mom uses”. So 30 minutes later we open the oven to find that the marshmallows have greatly expanded and at least half of them are now sticking to the floor of her oven beginning to char. Oops. Well that is easily fixable just be sure to clean your oven after we leave and don’t worry the flames will die down after it is all burned out.
Even through all of this mess and destruction my sister kept her cool. Yes, she even remained calm when after all is said and done and we are getting ready to serve dinner and I manage to kick over my nearly full wine glass which is sitting on the floor next to the couch, breaking one of her new glasses and staining her carpet with red wine. Oops. I have never apologized to my sister so much in my entire life but she was perfectly fine with it all. And really I can see why – after all, big sister has at this stage provided multiple examples of how she is not an expert and certainly not perfect and is now groveling for forgiveness. And it provided her with a wonderful tale to share to convey in a loving manner my numerous shortcomings and best of all – DAD was there to witness everything.
I am glad to have this memory of my sister to share for this holiday. She may not be with us anymore but wherever she is, she is safe in the knowledge that at my house Brad will be fixing lasagna while I am banned from the kitchen.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving no matter how you choose to celebrate it.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Second Wine Dinner at Biaggi's
We recently attended Biaggi's second wine dinner along with Dad and Linda. Things were slightly better organized this time around at least from the standpoint that they did not seat anyone at the tables that bordered the rest of the main dinning room. The four of us were at a table with another couple who were very nice dinning companions throughout the experience.
Once again it was a multi-course meal paired to go with select wines (6 courses, 7 wines, $65 inclusive of tax and tip). The supplier was the same wine distributor as the last wine dinner.
Antipasto Caldo - Creamy Butternut Cappuccino paired with Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio
Butternut squash soup with cinnamon ginger creme served to look like a cappuccino was the hit of the night in terms of food. It was absolutely one of the most delicious things I have ever consumed. Well balanced so it was not too sweet. The wine made from 100% pinot grigio grapes, was light, crisp with a subtle minerality that balanced the sweetness of the soup and was an excellent pairing. Several at the table commented that the wine tasted similar to a riesling and as it turns out this wine is from the very northern portion of Italy which borders Austria and therefore is indeed very similar to German riesling.
Insalata - Field Greens with Warm Pumpkin Vinaigrette, Sweet and Savory Grissini with Allegrini Soave
Mescalin greens tossed in the warm pumpkin vinaigrette with date and fontina wrapped in phyllo dough to form the grissini. The phyllo dough with cheese and date was yummy and I could have ate a plate of just that. The salad was very nice and the pumpkin vinaigrette was very good. The wine is a blend of 80% garganega and 20% chardonnay and definitely had the mouth feel of chardonnay. The fact that it is not aged in oak gave it a light mineral quality. It was not a favorite for most at the table.
Primo - Homemade Roman Gnocchi with Pancetta Alfredo with Tasca Regaliali Rosato
Sweet potato gnocchi with pancetta alfredo was one dish I was really looking forward to and then nothing like what I expected. Large Roman style gnocchi is basically polenta disks. But it was very good and very filling. The wine is 100% nerello mascalese and was blush in color with subtle fizziness. I did not pick up on any of the reported berry flavors. It was not a favorite and Brad did not even drink his glass. It was better with the food which might be a case of a very good dish making a not very good wine tolerable.
Pesce - Halibut Finocchi with Argiolas Vermentino
Broiled halibut with braised fennel, porcini mushroom and baby carrot in a light broth was very nice. However, as the fish course was being served there was an overwhelming fish odor throughout the room. Thankfully, the portions for myself and those sitting near me at our table did not have a strong fish aroma. I was not sure if I had ever had halibut and was pleasantly surprised by it. The broth was a good balance for the broiled fish which was on the edge of being a tad dry. The wine is 90% vermentio and 10% Sardubuab grapes. It had a nice subtle honey and citrus flavor and was light and crisp and paired very nicely with the fish. This wine is reported to be a nice choice for various seafood and Asian dishes including being recommended to consume with sushi.
Secondo - Basil Crouton Crusted Lamb Chops with both Allegrini Pallazzo della Torre and Leone Salice Salentino
Basil crouton crusted lamb chops with truffle mashed potatoes and red wine reduction. This was some of the best lamb I have had in a long time and the seasoned crust was a nice change compared to typical herbed pairings with lamb. However, we were all so very full by this point that we barely ate this dish! Last time we managed to box part of the earlier courses in order to save room till the end but this time most of the courses were not the type that would travel and reheat well so we ate them all. The positive thing is that lamb chops and mashed potatoes travel and reheat very nicely and we ended up with ours and a few others leftovers from the table. The Allegrini Pallazzo della Torre is 70% corvina veronese, 25% rondinella and 5% sangiovese. This wine is quite unusual as 30% of the grapes are left on the vine to dry into raisins before converting into juice so the wine has a strong raisin flavor to it which I did not care for. It was a little better with the food but I opted to pass my glass on to Dad who did enjoy this wine. The Leone Salice Salentino was the preferred red of the two for this dish for most at the table. It is 90% negroamaro and 10% malvasia nera and has a nice smokey, spicy vanilla character. It was good as a stand alone wine and also paired well with the lamb.
Dolce - Panna Cotta with Coppo Brachetto d'Aqui
Panna cotta with fig compote and orange granite was not the kind of dessert I personally like. The combination of flavors was a bit strange with the fig on the bottom, panna cotta in the middle and orange on top. The orange granite was wonderful and that is all I ate of the dish but then I am not a fan of panna cotta. The wine is the first red chilled dessert wine I have tried and is 100% brachetto from Acqui. It has a beautiful red color, nice light fizz, was not too sweet and went well with the portion of the dessert I did consume. This is the only wine we purchased for the whole evening. If we were not being conservative with funds we would have also bought the Argiolas Vermentino and the Leone Salice Salentino.
Once again it was a multi-course meal paired to go with select wines (6 courses, 7 wines, $65 inclusive of tax and tip). The supplier was the same wine distributor as the last wine dinner.
 |
| "what remains at the end of a wine dinner is a lot of glasses to clean" |
Antipasto Caldo - Creamy Butternut Cappuccino paired with Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio
Butternut squash soup with cinnamon ginger creme served to look like a cappuccino was the hit of the night in terms of food. It was absolutely one of the most delicious things I have ever consumed. Well balanced so it was not too sweet. The wine made from 100% pinot grigio grapes, was light, crisp with a subtle minerality that balanced the sweetness of the soup and was an excellent pairing. Several at the table commented that the wine tasted similar to a riesling and as it turns out this wine is from the very northern portion of Italy which borders Austria and therefore is indeed very similar to German riesling.
Insalata - Field Greens with Warm Pumpkin Vinaigrette, Sweet and Savory Grissini with Allegrini Soave
Mescalin greens tossed in the warm pumpkin vinaigrette with date and fontina wrapped in phyllo dough to form the grissini. The phyllo dough with cheese and date was yummy and I could have ate a plate of just that. The salad was very nice and the pumpkin vinaigrette was very good. The wine is a blend of 80% garganega and 20% chardonnay and definitely had the mouth feel of chardonnay. The fact that it is not aged in oak gave it a light mineral quality. It was not a favorite for most at the table.
Primo - Homemade Roman Gnocchi with Pancetta Alfredo with Tasca Regaliali Rosato
Sweet potato gnocchi with pancetta alfredo was one dish I was really looking forward to and then nothing like what I expected. Large Roman style gnocchi is basically polenta disks. But it was very good and very filling. The wine is 100% nerello mascalese and was blush in color with subtle fizziness. I did not pick up on any of the reported berry flavors. It was not a favorite and Brad did not even drink his glass. It was better with the food which might be a case of a very good dish making a not very good wine tolerable.
Pesce - Halibut Finocchi with Argiolas Vermentino
Broiled halibut with braised fennel, porcini mushroom and baby carrot in a light broth was very nice. However, as the fish course was being served there was an overwhelming fish odor throughout the room. Thankfully, the portions for myself and those sitting near me at our table did not have a strong fish aroma. I was not sure if I had ever had halibut and was pleasantly surprised by it. The broth was a good balance for the broiled fish which was on the edge of being a tad dry. The wine is 90% vermentio and 10% Sardubuab grapes. It had a nice subtle honey and citrus flavor and was light and crisp and paired very nicely with the fish. This wine is reported to be a nice choice for various seafood and Asian dishes including being recommended to consume with sushi.
Secondo - Basil Crouton Crusted Lamb Chops with both Allegrini Pallazzo della Torre and Leone Salice Salentino
Basil crouton crusted lamb chops with truffle mashed potatoes and red wine reduction. This was some of the best lamb I have had in a long time and the seasoned crust was a nice change compared to typical herbed pairings with lamb. However, we were all so very full by this point that we barely ate this dish! Last time we managed to box part of the earlier courses in order to save room till the end but this time most of the courses were not the type that would travel and reheat well so we ate them all. The positive thing is that lamb chops and mashed potatoes travel and reheat very nicely and we ended up with ours and a few others leftovers from the table. The Allegrini Pallazzo della Torre is 70% corvina veronese, 25% rondinella and 5% sangiovese. This wine is quite unusual as 30% of the grapes are left on the vine to dry into raisins before converting into juice so the wine has a strong raisin flavor to it which I did not care for. It was a little better with the food but I opted to pass my glass on to Dad who did enjoy this wine. The Leone Salice Salentino was the preferred red of the two for this dish for most at the table. It is 90% negroamaro and 10% malvasia nera and has a nice smokey, spicy vanilla character. It was good as a stand alone wine and also paired well with the lamb.
Dolce - Panna Cotta with Coppo Brachetto d'Aqui
Panna cotta with fig compote and orange granite was not the kind of dessert I personally like. The combination of flavors was a bit strange with the fig on the bottom, panna cotta in the middle and orange on top. The orange granite was wonderful and that is all I ate of the dish but then I am not a fan of panna cotta. The wine is the first red chilled dessert wine I have tried and is 100% brachetto from Acqui. It has a beautiful red color, nice light fizz, was not too sweet and went well with the portion of the dessert I did consume. This is the only wine we purchased for the whole evening. If we were not being conservative with funds we would have also bought the Argiolas Vermentino and the Leone Salice Salentino.
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