Saturday Night – My turn

Mick has been knocking Saturday night dinners out of the park over the past few months. He has been cooking items to perfection, trying new recipes and new wines. So I decided it was time to step up to the plate and swing for the fences.

"Spicy, but good!"

I wanted to try a new wine – a 2005 Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris and wanted to do a new dish to go with it. I’m looking at doing a Wine Club meeting on the wines of Alsace and focus on Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris from that region. I did a web search on wine pairing for Pinot Gris and came across a recipe for Honey Ginger Shrimp.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Ginger-Shrimp/Detail.aspx

The one thing that caught my eye on the recipe was the amount or lack of some of the ingredients . The recipe called for a tablespoon of crush red peppers and teaspoon of honey. I thought this was bizarre as I have never seen a recipe ever call for more than half a teaspoon of crush red peppers. In the end, I went with a teaspoon of crushed red peppers and a tablespoon of honey. Someone had posted on website comments that orange juice made a nice edition, so that went in too. I made two batches of the sauce, the first was used to marinade the shrimp. I want to do more than shrimp and thought a Asian Vegetable medley would be fun, so for that I used the second batch of sauce.

"Hello Wine Club!"

I had Mick grill up the shrimp while I cooked the veggies on the stovetop. The final product looked and smelled great.

The first thing everyone noticed was how spicy it was; I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I didn’t use a tablespoon of crushed red peppers - the dish would have been uneatable. The dish did have a really nice flavour. Mick suggested that this would be good as a pasta dish. One of the comments on the website suggested coconut milk; if I did the vegetables in the coconut milk it would make a good base for a pasta and would also tone down the burn as well.

The Pinot Gris was good with the food; nice fruit on the tongue, light oily mid-palate and a reasonably clean finish. I think this will be a good candidate for Wine Club.

LCBO Information –

Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris Reserve 2005
Vintages 983395
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.85
12.7% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Pierre Sparr
Release Date: Feb 16, 2008

Description - This Pinot Gris delivers layers of peach, melon and nut aromas that replay beautifully on the palate. This full-bodied wine shows good intensity and balance and will make a delicious match for pan-seared scallops in garlic and butter.

Tasting Note - An excellent example of the medium dry style of Pinot Gris that Alsace does so well. Try this rich and ripe pear/peach-centric example with grilled salmon, tuna or pork roast.

"Homerun, baby!"

For the main course I did the Pine-nut Salmon recipe I did for my In-laws last Saturday.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/03/saturday-night-with-my-in-laws.html

For sides, I went with a mixed sweet green salad with baby tomatoes and red onion.

"A year younger, but still a very good wine!"

Last week, the Kendall Jackson was good with the salmon but I thought a white Burgundy would be better. I used up my last bottle of 2005 Louis Jadot “Bourgogne” last week and bought more this week, but it was 2006 and not the 2005 we’ve been drinking. 2005 was an exceptional year for white Burgundy and I was worried that I wouldn’t like 2006 as much.

The Louis Jadot had a much bigger nose to it than the Kendall Jackson which surprise me as usually the Kendall Jackson is very fragrant. The wines with the Salmon were completely different from each other. The Louis Jadot was very easy to drink with the Salmon; so smooth that it almost disappeared. The Kendall Jackson on the other hand, exploded in your mouth with heaps of fruit and oak. Mick and I both liked the Louis Jadot with the salmon, Amy like the KJ and Kathy liked both equally but if pressed gave a slight edge to the KJ.

LCBO Information –

Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay 2005
Vintages 369686
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, United States
By: Kendall-Jackson
Release Date: Nov 24, 2007

Tasting Note - ... 2005 continues their streak of top-notch wines. Loads of tropical fruit, surprisingly deep texture, medium body, and wonderful purity results in a crisp, elegant, dry Chardonnay. It is ideal for drinking over the next 1-2 years.

Serving Suggestion - pasta in a cream sauce.

Loius Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay
Vintages 933077
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.80
Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Domaine Louis Jadot
Release Date: Mar 1, 2008

Description - A wonderfully versatile wine, this Chardonnay offers aromas of baked apple, citrus, cinnamon and a hint of vanilla. It's creamy, ripe and balanced. Medium-bodied with a lingering finish. Tantalizing with freshwater fish or a vegetable stir-fry.

Tasting Note - From the geographical headquarters of the Chardonnay grape comes this wonderfully versatile wine. Expect aromas of baked apple, citrus, cinnamon and a hint of vanilla. It's creamy, ripe and balanced. Medium-bodied with a lingering finish. Tantalizing with freshwater fish or vegetable stir-fry.

Serving Suggestion - pork chops with apple sauce.

For dessert we had a white chocolate cake with a Henry of Pelham Botrytis Affected Riesling. I really liked this wine the first time I tried it. But this time it was OK; the white chocolate cake was much sweeter than I’d expected and the Botrytis Affected Riesling wasn’t sweet enough to stand up to it.

LCBO information –

Henry of Pelham Botrytis Affected Riesling 2005
Vintages 534628
375 mL bottle
Price: $ 27.90
Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine
10.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MS
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Henry of Pelham
Release Date: Sep 29, 2007

Description - Botrytis cinera is a fungus that is responsible for many of the world's great dessert wines including Sauternes and Hungarian Tokaji. It shrivels the grapes which concentrates the sugars and acids, as well as adding a distinctly 'wild' quality to the wines. Henry of Pelham reserves a small, low-lying block of Riesling in hopes that once every five years they get the warm days, cool nights and foggy mornings needed to create these unique wines. Enjoy this rich, complex wine with a selection of fine artisan cheeses.

Cheers!

Mark