Saturday Night Dinner – Love Boat Edition

Our friend Pat was in town on Saturday for dinner. Pat works aboard a cruise ship most months of the year so we were fortunate to have her company. Mick’s wife, Amy was away on a work-related training course in the US for several days so it was a slightly different group than usual.

The menu for the evening was to be an all appetizer evening. I love this type of menu as it means there will be lots of different courses and wines. The downside is Mick and I always make too much food as we are worried that since there isn’t a main course, there won’t be enough food. One day we’ll learn.

The plan was five courses – four appetizers and one cheese tray for dessert. We ended up skipping the cheese tray as everyone was stuffed to the gills.

The first course was Gorgonzola Dip. This is made by blending red onion, walnut, basil, olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, cream and gorgonzola together. Amy isn’t a huge fan of gorgonzola so I usually up the basil to make it a bit milder; but, since she was absent for the evening I made it full strength. The dip pairs well with a Sauvignon Blanc.

"Wow, this is a Sauvignon Blanc?"

I picked up a number of bottles of Kim Crawford’s 2007 Sauvignon Blanc and I was intending on using it for the next Wine Club meeting so I thought this would be a good time to try it.

The most predominate aroma that was most predominate was peaches which isn’t what I was expecting for a Sauvignon Blanc. Its taste was a surprise – it had a much rounder mouth-feel than a Sauvignon Blanc usually has and the acidity seemed less than I expected as well. It was however a very easy wine to enjoy. It went nicely with the Gorgonzola dip. I will be picking more of this up for the wine rack.

LCBO Information - KIM CRAWFORD SAUVIGNON BLANC

VINTAGES 35386
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 19.80

13.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : XD

Made in: New Zealand
By: Kim Crawford Wines

Release Date: Oct 13, 2007

Description - Kim Crawford's aim is to have every vintage of his Sauvignon Blanc exhibit all the classic flavours and aromas we've come to expect from New Zealand, such as gooseberry, peapods, asparagus, passion fruit and citrus. He achieves all that and more. The 2006 received a score of 92 from Wine Spectator (Dec. 15, 2006). Tantalzing with monkfish with tomato and fresh herbs or steamed mussels.

The next course was a combo that we had two weeks ago,

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/01/saturday-night-pats-packers-pinot-and.html

Hummos and Tomato + Feta salad with a D’Arenberg Viognier. My wife requested it as she really enjoyed it the last time. I won’t go into it too much as I covered this pairing before. The one thing that was interesting is on first sip it seemed almost ‘sloppy’ compared to the earlier Sauvignon Blanc, though with the food it really came into its own. This wine at $17 is a steal as it is really something quite special.

"Something Different"

Mick prepared Grilled Curried Shrimp wrapped in Prosciutto. For this we usually pair a Robert Mondavi Riesling, but tonight I decided to go with a 2003 Hattstatty Hatschbourg Riesling from Alsace.

The Mondavi Riesling is a sweeter Riesling and this one was definitely dry. It did work with the Curried Shrimp but I wasn’t blown away by it. I was also getting very full at this point. At $21.80 as the price point for this wine, I’d rate it “worth a try” but not a must buy.

LCBO Information - HATTSTATTY HATSCHBOURG RIESLING 2003
VINTAGES 21295
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 21.80
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Les Vign. de Pfaffenheim
Release Date: Apr 14, 2007

Description - This wine won a Gold Medal at the 2006 Concours Riesling du Monde. Established in 1998, the Concours Riesling du Monde (Rieslings of the World) competition takes place every year in Strasbourg, Alsace. Rieslings from throughout the world are submitted to an international jury of oenologists and wine critics. This hugely respected competition illustrates the diversity and brilliance of fine Riesling from around the world.

"1997 - A good year for California Cabs"

Once we got back to it, we served up the final course of the evening. I had Mick grill my two Beef Tenderloins when he was cooking up the shrimp earlier. He grilled the beef just barely Medium-rare which is exactly how I wanted them done. I thinly sliced two the tenderloins and served them on a platter with shaved parmesan and diced fresh basil.

To pair with this, I grabbed a bottle of 1997 Kendall Jackson Stature. We had a bottle of this a few years ago and it was OK but not amazing. This bottle was about the same as the first. It is a good Cabernet Sauvignon but not for the price. The structure of the wine is very good but the fruit was lacking. As it sat in the glass for about 15 minutes it improved but was just an 'alright' pairing with the beef.

We did break out some dark chocolate for dessert. The Stature got much better with the chocolate and was good on its own. For the money ($87 US = $142 CDN after duty and taxes) I’d lean towards the Robert Mondavi Napa Private Reserve Cabernet instead.

Wine Spectator Rating 93

Remarkably elegant and polished, with ripe, sweet, juicy plum and wild berry, turning elegant and sophisticated, with a long, detailed finish. Best from 2002 through 2012. 3,100 cases made. –JL

It was about at this point that we all voted to skip the cheese and port dessert course. It was fun hearing about all of Pat’s adventures at sea. Mick, with the wine in him, was also on a roll for the evening. Pat will be back in town this summer and I have promised to make Corn Chowder for her.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night - Mmmm... Lamb!

This Saturday was Mick’s turn to cook. He was a busy little beaver and spent a good chunk of the afternoon prepping dinner. The starter for the evening was Diablo meatballs with a 2002 St. Francis Pagani Reserve Zinfandel. He has done the Diablo meatballs before -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/10/saturday-hitem-with-spice-weasel.html

This time he used ground pork as well as ground beef.

"Spicy Meatbally Goodness!"

The meatballs were not as spicy as I remembered, or maybe I was fearing the spice weasel too much, as the first time he made these the ‘burn’ was quite high. They were also not as moist as they were the first time – whether they were slightly over done or the pork was causing this I’m not sure. They were very flavorful and we went through them like rabid wolves.

"Mick's other love"

The St. Francis had a nice smoky aroma to it and was very smooth going down. Mick loved it; I actually thought about giving him some ‘private’ time with the bottle as there was that much love! Me… not so much, it was good but I wasn’t blown away – more fruit would have been nice. This is the usual difference between Mick and me on Zinfandel.

Mick’s Perfect Zinfandel – Smooth, subtle, hint of smoke, hint of pepper and a touch of fruit.

Mark’s Perfect Zinfandel – Big, Bold “Fruit Bomb”.

The upside to Mick’s choice of Zinfandel was it went really well with the Diablo meatballs, almost too smoothly as it became a touch lost against the meal.

Neither the LCBO nor the Premier group had it listed on their websites so I can’t give you a price on it.

"Perfectly Cooked Rack of Lamb"

The main course was Rack of Lamb encrusted with Parmasan, Oregano and Chives with a Merlot Essence sauce and sides of Roast Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans. Mick’s wine for the evening was a Robert Mondavi “Carneros” Pinot Noir. For laughs and giggles I brought a bottle of the Newen Pinot Noir that I covered in yesterday’s blog to see how it would hold up.

"Pinot and Pinot Jr"

The LCBO doesn’t list the “Carneros” Pinot Noir, but the Premier Group does - $21.99 a bottle ($36 CDN after duty and exchange).

No surprises – The Mondavi Pinot was better than the Newen. The Mondavi had more fruit, bigger body to it and a smoother finish. The Mondavi Pinot is almost three times the price so this should be case. On the other hand, the Newen Pinot was very drinkable and all of us agreed for $13 it was a steal.

"The Winner"

For dessert, Amy had bought a La Rocca Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake. It was very good, but it really didn’t go with the last very drops of Pinot I had left in my glass, not that I expected it to but you never know.

I realized as I was writing this Blog - no Pinot Noir since I started Blogging and then 3 in a week. I do find that I occasionally go on 'streaks' with the same grape type. Not sure why I do this but it could be that after not having a type of wine for a while, I really like the change. Or it could be that it is easier to compare wines when you have the same grape type reasonably close together.

Cheers!

Mark

Parents, Pinot and Pizza

I was off work on Friday and needed to go to the LCBO to pick up wine for next month's Wine Club. I hit the Ancaster location as it is one of the better ones in the area. One of our favourite wine consultants Jack Blair, now works at the Ancaster store; he used to work downtown at the Dundurn location. The Dundurn store, for its size, always had a great selection in its Vintages section and I believe Jack had a lot to do with that. With Jack now in working in a larger store in a more affluent neighbourhood, its Vintage section is slowly becoming one of the best in the area.

I knew the first wine I was getting for Wine Club was a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc as it received a 92 rating from the Wine Spectator and was less than $20 a bottle. I chatted with Jack about Wine Club and what wines we had tried so far and then asked him if he could recommend a good Pinot Noir in our price point ($25 or less). Pinot Noir is a finicky wine. When I took my Wine Course last year, I remembered my instructor saying that is was almost impossible to find a good Pinot for under $35 and even at $35 a bottle there was no guarantee that it would be good. So I have been a tad nervous to try Pinot Noir for Wine Club.

Jack suggested that I try a Newen Pinot Noir from Argentina which was reasonably priced at $12.85 a bottle. I had my doubts but decided at $13 a bottle I was willing to take a risk and bought a case for Wine Club.

"$13 Pinot Noir "

LCBO Information - DEL FIN DEL MUNDO "NEWEN" PINOT NOIR 2006

VINTAGES 55202
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 12.85
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Argentina, Argentina
By: Bodega Del Fin Del Mundo
Release Date: Jan 19, 2008

Description - The 'winery of the end of the world' is a remarkable project based in the wild Patagonia region at the southern end of Argentina. The climate here is extremely dry, with just 180 mm annual rainfall, so irrigation is needed - the water used for this comes from the River Neuquén, itself fed by Andes melt water... (Jamie Goode, www.wineanorak.com, Sept. 2006) A great value, match this Patagonia Pinot with grilled portobello mushrooms or lasagna.

On the way home I had to stop at my parents’ house to drop off a router for my sister. She got a second computer for Christmas and wanted Internet on both. I told her she would need a router to do this and I had an extra one.

My father was home and we ended up talking and wasting the afternoon away. My mom got home from work and the three of us sat around talking and before we knew it was close to dinner time. My father decided to cook up a frozen pizza and do up a salad. He yelled in from the kitchen asking my mom if she wanted a beer with dinner, mom asked for wine instead.

I suddenly remembered that I had a whole trunk full of wine in the car and offered a bottle of Pinot Noir as my contribution to dinner. I hustled out to the car and grabbed a bottle of the Newen which was cool from being outside, almost about the perfect temperature to serve a Pinot Noir.

I opened the bottle and gave it a quick taste – a bit sharp but nice body and good flavor. I detected quite a bit of ‘heat’ on the nose and wondered what the hell the alcoholic content was on this wine. My eyes went wide as I read 14% on the label.

I was pleasantly surprise how good the wine went with the pizza and salad. I thought to myself - “For $13 bucks this is very drinkable!”

I had a bit more of the wine than I had intended to, as it was going down way too easy, so I stayed for a couple of hours after dinner before driving home.

Cheers!

Mark

Wine Club - 'Bonus' Tasting

This was the 7th and final meeting of Wine Club. Adam and I asked everyone to commit to 6 monthly meetings at $25 each. For the $25, everyone got to attend the tasting and take home a bottle after each tasting. We had enough money left over to do a bonus tasting. There wouldn’t be a bottle for everyone to take home but we did get to try some really nice wines.

In one of the early meetings, I was asked is there was a big difference between a $10 bottle and a $20 bottle. I figured the best way to demonstrate the differences was to let people experience it for themselves. That was the goal of this bonus tasting. I went with California Cabs at three different price points – a 2003 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon at $20, a 2001 Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet Sauvignon at $37 and a 2001 Robert Mondavi Private Reserve Napa Cabernet Sauvignon at $169.

I prepared some Grilled Steak Sandwiches in Zippy Sauce and served it with some Miss Vickies chips and dark chocolate squares for dessert.

Robert Mondavi Napa Cab (Forgot to take pictures so I used the 2002 rather than the 2001)

LCBO Information - “2001 NAPA VALLEY RESERVE” Cabernet Sauvignon by Robert Mondavi

Stock Number – 670463
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 169.00 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: California, United States
By: Robert Mondavi Winery
Release Date: May 9, 2007

Tasting Note - The finest Private Reserve since the 1991, 1990, and 1987, the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is extraordinary. There are 8,000 cases of this blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and small dollops of Merlot as well as Petit Verdot. A perfume of smoke, camphor, creme de cassis, cedar, and fruitcake is accompanied by a gentle giant of a wine. Powerful and impeccably balanced, with outstanding concentration, well-integrated wood, acidity, and tannin, and a long, nearly 60-second finish, this saturated ruby/purple-hued effort is a prodigious example of Cabernet Sauvignon. Anticipated maturity: now-2020+. Score - 94 ((Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Feb. 2005))

Wine Spectator – 2001 Rated 94

A superrich, polished, multifaceted wine, with layers of ripe currant, blackberry, herb, cedar, sage and a touch of pencil lead. Deep and concentrated, the flavors pour through on the finish, and while the tannins are chewy, the texture is supple. Best from 2005 through 2012. –JL

LCBO Information - “NAPA VALLEY” Cabernet Sauvignon by Robert Mondavi

Stock Number – 255513 (current year not the 2001 from the tasting)
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 37.95 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: California, United States
By: Robert Mondavi Winery
Release Date: NA

Description - Mondavi’s original Napa Cab has an intense bouquet of red and black currant, licorice, and cedar. Full-bodied and well balanced with black fruit flavours and ripe tannins on the palate. Long, firm, spicy finish. Enjoy now with rib-eye steaks, or cellar for two to three years.

LCBO Information - “PRIVATE SELECTION” Cabernet Sauvignon by Robert Mondavi

Stock Number – 392225 (current year not the 2003 from the tasting)
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 20.15 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: California, United States
By: Robert Mondavi Winery
Release Date: NA

Tasting Note - Medium deep ruby red colour; cassis, sweet cherry, hints of black pepper and spicy oak aromas; dry, medium bodied with cassis fruit flavours and cedar notes in the finish.

The bad news for the day was the $20 Mondavi was ‘corked’. It smelt mustier than my grandparent’s basement. On the upside, at least it was the $20 one and not the two more expensive ones.

I was surprised that on the initial tasting most people preferred the middle Cab rather than the high end. The $37 Napa Cab didn’t have the structure that the $169 Reserve did but it did have more fruit. I think that is why people liked it over the high end one. With the Steak Sandwiches opinions flipped and the Private Reserve was the favourite. Finishing up with the dark chocolate people liked the $37 one more.

Everyone enjoyed this tasting and the main opinion going around was that the $169 Cab was good but not 4 times better than the $37 one. I will admit that the $37 was exceptional and much better than I expected it to be.

The entire Wine Club agreed to sign up for another 6 month run which I was pleased to see. It has been a fun journey for me as we had agreed to not repeat a Country or Grape in the six months so it forced me out of my California comfort zone. In the end we tried 7 different types of Grape from 8 different countries.

Now that we’ve started the next six month run of Wine Club, we are allowed to re-visit grapes and Countries that we experienced in the first one, but I am going to try not to do this. We will have to see if I can do this or not.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night - Pats, Packers, Pinot, and Port

Saturday night, play-off NFL football and good friends... what more could anyone want? Oh yeah, good food and wine to go with all of the above. Mick and Amy came by for a Saturday night dinner and this was more of a casual evening on TV trays as we wanted to watch the football games.

To start the night I decided to go with a light appetizer of hummos and pita and a tomato + feta salad with basil. To accompany the starters I offered a bottle of D'Arenberg 2006 Viognier-Marsanne. I had tried the 2005 D'Arenberg on the very first meeting of wine club and the 2006 made the Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines of 2007 (84th over all with a rating of 90). As I hadn't tried it yet, I was excited for the opportunity. The 2006 Viognier went very well with the Hummos and pretty good with the Tomato + Feta. Everyone seemed to like this pairing. I will say for $17 this wine is a steal.

LCBO Information -

D'ARENBERG THE HERMIT CRAB VIOGNIER/MARSANNE 2006
VINTAGES 662775
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 16.85
13.0% Alcohol
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Australia
By: D'Arenberg Wines
Release Date: Oct 13, 2007

Description - Wine critic Jeremy Oliver awarded this white a score of 88. Employing the Rhône Valley varietals Viognier (70%) and Marsanne (30%), this dry, fresh white blend is a rich tapestry of flavours with notes of ginger, tropical fruit, almond and citrus beautifully woven together. Needless to say, crab would make a delicious food match.

The Wine Spectator - 90 Rating

d'Arenberg Viognier-Marsanne McLaren Vale The Hermit Crab 2006

Soft and charming. A beguiling mouthful of spicy pear and grapefruit flavors that linger with focus on the open-textured finish. Not as rich as pure Viognier, but better balanced. Drink now through 2010. 3,500 cases imported. –HS

"Tomato, Feta and Basil Salad"


"Hummos with Pita"

"The Spread"

"84th on the Top 100 Wines"

The next course was made by a co-worker of my wife, Kathy - Philo Pastry with Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers and Goat Cheese. The wine my wife's co-worker recommended was Pinot Noir. This was great as I have a fair amount of Pinot Noir on the rack and don't get a lot of occasions to break one out.

I bought the 2002 BearBoat Pinot Noir blind down in the US as I thought the label was amusing. I wasn't expecting much out of the wine and was pleasently surprised - very heady aroma of Raspberry and a floral scent upon opening the bottle. The wine was very big for a Pinot Noir - Fruit forward and a big mouth feel and an amazingly smooth finish. The Philo Pastry was excellent but the wine pairing was OK. I think a Sauvignon Blanc would be a better pairing. After finishing the Philo Pastry all of us enjoyed sitting around and just enjoying the Bear in a Boat Pinot Noir... it was a very easy drinking wine on its own and I regret only having the one bottle as I would have loved to try this with lamb. The Pinot Noir was $20.99 US so about $33-35 CDN after duty and exchange.

"Cool Label"

For the main course I prepared a stir-fry of Grilled Chicken Breast, Green Peppers and Onion in Zippy Sauce and cut the Zippy Sauce with about a 1/4 cup of Organic Chicken Broth. I served it on a bun for easy eating in front of the TV. I had no idea what to pair with this and decided to play it safe with a Merlot. I had picked up two bottles of Chateau La Commanderie 2003 earlier this week as it was reasonably priced and the Wine Spectator gave it a rating of 90. The Merlot was an OK pairing with the sandwiches, it would have been a lot better if the meat was steak rather than chicken. After the sandwiches we broke out a few squares of dark chocolate and the Merlot paired much better with the chocolate. The wine wasn't bad but it certainly didn't blow me away so I will keep the remaining bottle on the rack for a couple of years and see if it improves with aging. I won't be running out to buy more at this point.

LCBO Information

CHÂTEAU LA COMMANDERIE 2003

VINTAGES 35774

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 29.70

13.4% Alcohol

Sugar Content : XD

Made in: Bordeaux, France

By: Dourthe Freres

Release Date: Jul 7, 2007

Tasting Note - Aromas of jam and vanilla. Full-bodied, with lots of good fruit and a long, juicy finish. Very fruity. Best after 2008. Score - 90 (James Suckling, www.winespectator.com, March 31, 2006)

"French Merlot"

For dessert we broke out some Taylor Fladgate 20 year old tawny port and a cheese tray.

"Tawny Port... Mmm!"

St. Agur Blue Cheese and Tawny Port is a match made in heaven, though after killing three bottles of wine it is almost a tad too much.

The evening wrapped up as the New England Patriots defeated the Jaguars 31-20 and we walked (OK stumbled) Mick and Amy home.

Cheers!

Mark

Guest post by Mick

My wife, Kathy was under the weather this past weekend with the Flu, so we didn't do our usual Saturday night dinner with Mick and Amy. Mick and Amy though troopered on and had a really good Saturday night dinner without us. Amy took some pictures and Mick was nice enough to write-up the dinner...

I had been planning to make one of my favourite recipes for dinner on friday night. It requires a can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce. Unfortunately I used up the last of it when I hit the diablo burgers with the spice weasel. All week long I had been meaning to pick up a couple cans to refresh my pantry, but I came up empty handed wherever I checked. Finally in desperation I jumped on google and searched for "mexican food store hamilton" and got a hit on a place called Mex-I-Can. I gave them a buzz and asked if they had stock, yes they did! Finally found a source for Chipotles in Adobo. Denninger's doesnt seem to have them anymore. I didn"t have enough time on friday to make the "Smokey Chipotle Tenderloin" so I decided to make it Saturday night.

I didn't think that would be enough food for Amy and I so I ran out to the store and bought 16 31-40 size shrimp and 7 slices of "the best prosciutto in the place". I ended up with $5 worth of Fini Prosciutto Parma. Expensive for sure, but hopefully worth the price.

The dinner plan called for a batch of my special Prosciutto wrapped curry shrimp followed by Smokey Chipotle Tenderloin over spring mix salad with clementines. Usually we have Robert Mondavi Riesling with the shrimp, but with only 2 of us, I figured it might not be a good idea. With the tenderloin, I knew I was serving Zin, just which one. I have a plethora of Zin in the cellar, many of them needing to be consumed soon. I chose a bottle of Dashe Cellars' "Dry Creek Valley" Zinfandel 2002. ($19 USD @ Premier Group, rated 83 by WineSpectator, 87 by Wine Enthusiast).

I grilled up the shrimp after letting them marinade for about an hour. One thing surprised me when I took them out of the fridge, the marinade was a dark red colour. Usually it is pretty thin and lighter in hue. I used up the same volume of marinade for a half serving of shrimp, drizzling the grilling shrimps with whatever was left in the marinading container. With no Riesling in sight, I served the next best thing. Alexander Keiths India Pale Ale. What could be a better match for Curry than an India Pale Ale?

The shrimps were without a doubt the best I have ever made, the prosciutto was worth every penny, it was strong in flavour but not as salty as the kind I usually get. It was also quite moist compared to the norm. Usually prosciutto is quite dry and sometimes hard to wrap around the shrimp, the Fini was nice and soft and easy to wrap. The extra marinade drizzled overtop made then extremely spicey. They were fantastic. The Alexander Keiths matched great with the shrimps. Amy (who despises beer) agreed with me that the beer was a great match, worth having again. I highly recommend trying some Keiths with curry. The beer is pretty light in colour, sweet in taste and dry to finish. It goes perfect.

Next up was the Smokey Chipotle Tenderloin. This is a recipe I initially pulled out of a grilling cookbook and adapted for winter cooking. I now roast it in the oven. Saturday night I decided to go back to its roots and grill it. Am I ever glad I did. It turned out better than ever, I doubt I will ever roast it again.

The wine was amazing. Mark would have loved it. Big, Bold in your face fruitiness and a strong alcohol finish that leaves your mouth tingling but not burning. It had that nice sweet middle flavour that I like in my zin, but it kicked like a mule. Considering the age of it (2002) I was expecting it to be pretty weak in the fruit department, but it did not dissapoint. Next trip down to the Premier Group, I will definitely be picking up another bottle or 2. The 2001 Dashe Cellars "Todd Brothers Ranch" Zinfandel we had previously was nowher close to as good as this one was. I quite liked the Todd Brothers Ranch, but the Dry Creek Valley absolutely smokes it.

-Mick

Prosciutto wrapped curry shrimp.

Combine in a bowl - 2tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp of Cayenne Pepper, 1/2 tsp Curry Powder, 1/2 tso Ground Cumin, 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander seed, 1/2 tsp Ground Sea Salt, 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper, 1 tbs Olive Oil, 2 tsb Sugar, 2 tbs Lemon Juice.

Add 20-30 peeled and deveined shrimp and stir to coat. Marinade in fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Skewer the shrimp, wrapping each shrimp with a 1/2" to 1" wide, 5" long strip of proscuitto.

Grill direct high heat for 3-4 minutes, turn and grill 3-4 more minutes

Smokey Chipotle tenderloin.

In a small skillet combine 4-6 cloves of diced garlic, 1 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp cinnamon with 1 tbs of heated olive oil. Cook 1 minute.

Add 1 213ml can of Tomato Sauce, 1/2 cup of water, 1/4 cup of cider vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Allow marinade to cool.

In a blender combine the marinade with 3-5 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (pluck the peppers out of the can and toss them in the blender, make sure the peppers are covered with adobo sauce). Blend untill smooth.

Put 1 or 2 pork tenderloins in a resealable freezer bag and add the cooled marinade. Allow it to marinade for at least 1 hour (3-4 is optimal).

Place the tenderloin(s) on an oiled grill rack, place a pan underneath grill rack and grill at med indirect heat for 40 minutes. Remove tenderloins after 40 minutes and grill an addition 5-10 at high direct heat. Slice and serve over spring mix salad with madarine slivers and balsamic vinegarette dressing.

Happy New Year!

To celebrate New Year’s, my wife and I got together with Mick and Amy for our annual New Year’s dinner. Back in 2000 all the restaurants in the area more than tripled their prices for New Years as it was “2000”. Due to this pricing stupidity, all four of us decided to have dinner at home. As we were staying home on New Year’s Eve, we decided to go a little nuts on the food and wine.

I found this recipe for a Beef Tenderloin Roast with a Port and Shallot sauce.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/4542

And we picked two higher end California Cabernet Sauvignons to go with dinner, one was a $60 bottle by Hess and the other was a $65 bottle of “Stag’s Leap” by Robert Mondavi. These at the time were the most expensive bottles of wines we’d tried to date.

Both were excellent with the Beef Tenderloin but the Hess was the better of the two. The Mondavi went better though with the Chocolate Cake we had for dessert. The Beef Tenderloin was amazing or as Amy described it “Oh my God! This is like Chocolate in meat form”. As Amy, like my wife, is a Chocolate addict, this was high praise indeed.

So since 2000 we have dined at home on New Years. Certain traditions were started on that New Year’s in 2000

1. We always have the Beef Tenderloin recipe
2. We always get a high end or special Cabernet Sauvignon to go with the Beef

This New Year’s was no exception. We started with Carrot Soup with Fire Roasted Chilies and that was paired with a bottle of 2001 Rosenblum Zinfandel that Mick brought over. I have covered the Rosenblum Zinfandel in a previous article so I will just say that it was a great pairing.

"The cork from a 2001 Rosenblum Zinfandel"

The Main Course was the Beef Tenderloin recipe with a side of Mashed Potatoes and Caramelized Onions and a side of green beans. The wine for the evening was a 1999 Robert Mondavi Napa Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. We had this exact pairing a couple of year’s ago and it was too die for. The Premier Group in NY had a about half a dozen bottles of the 1999 in stock last time I was down there and it was on special for $79.99 ($131 CDN after duty and exchange) so I picked up a couple of bottles.

"Chocolate in meat form"

Wine Spectator Rating - 94

Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve 1999

An enormously complex and sophisticated wine that combines great flavors with uncommon finesse. Dark, sleek, rich and polished, with a delicious core of concentrated cola, currant, plum and blackberry. Tremendous finish. Best from 2004 through 2014. 20,000 cases made. –JL

"The Guest of Honour "

I was a bit disappointed with the Beef Tenderloin and the Mondavi Cabernet at first. Don’t get me wrong, it was very good, but I remember almost weeping in joy at the first time I had this pairing as it was that stunning. I think part of it was my expectations were way too high and secondly I have be very fortunate to have lots of good food and great wines this year. After getting more into the wine and food, I found that both improved with each bite/sip and it was closer to the exceptional match I remembered.

"French Merlot and Chocolate"

After finishing our wine, both Mick and I were longingly looking at our empty glasses and wanting more. I had a couple of aged Tawny Ports and a cheese tray ready to go for dessert but both of us were full. We argued about what to do and in the end decided to grab another bottle of red from the cellar. Mick was craving a Merlot and then I remember I had a half sized bottle of French Merlot on the shelf.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2007/11/wiener-chowder.html

I wasn’t blown away by the Chateau Rouget the last time I had it, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was as good as it was with my first couple of sips. Considering we had just killed a bottle of the Mondavi Reserve - the Merlot managed to hold its own against it. The wives broke out some dark chocolate and the Merlot paired quite nicely with it.

We sat around for the rest of the evening and polished off the Merlot until watching the ball drop at Times Squire in NY on TV and then called it a night. We never did hit the Port so I will have to open/cover that at another time.

To all a great 2008 and looking forward to another year of good food, great wines and pleasant company.

Cheers!

Mark