This past Saturday night Mick, Amy, Kathy and I were joined for dinner by Sheian and her new man, Giovanni. Sheian was excited about us meeting Giovanni as we were the first set of friends she was introducing him to. I found out at the dinner that earlier in the day Sheian introduced him to her family for the first time… family and then us, the poor man was certainly being put through his paces on this day.

"Table set and ready for action"

 

"The Menu for this evening"

The menu for the night was a collection of favourite dishes that Mick and I have done before and two or the three wines are ones we have reviewed before so I will only be reviewing the new wine. The first course was Carrot soup with fire roasted chilies and this was paired with a 2006 Seghesio Zinfandel. I did the soup and Mick provided the wine as this pairing usually calls for a Zinfandel and he has a much better selection of Zins than I do. 

"Carrot Soup"

Usually I pair the Carrot soup with the Rosenblum Zinfandel, which is a big giant fruit bomb and wondered how the Seghesio which is more of a smoky/peppery Zinfandel would work with it. It actually was a better pairing with the soap then the Rosenblum was.

"A great Zin!"

"Mick's Most Awesome Chicken Wings"

For the second course, Mick did his barbequed chicken wings with the marmalade and Dijon glaze. This time our Zippy Sauce photographer wasn’t too drunk so we actually got pictures of them. The pairing for the chicken wings is Merlot, so as Mick provided the Zinfandel for my course, I provided the Merlot for this one as I had a wider selection of Merlots to pick from. I went with a 2001 Joseph Phelps "Napa Valley" Merlot. This is easily my favourite Merlot of all time and I wasn’t shocked to find that it made an awesome pairing with the chicken wings.

"Check out the deep colour on the cork"

"All time favourtie Merlot"

For the main course I did Beef Tenderloin with shrimp, lobster, and Béarnaise sauce with sugar snap peas and baby potatoes as the sides. I wanted something special and different to pair with this and picked a 2003 Chateau Margaux "Pavillon Rouge" as my pairing. I hadn’t tried the 2003 before and was looking forward to seeing what it was like.

"Steak and Seafood.. How can you go wrong with this combination?"

The nose was a pleasing mix of green peppers, cassis, smoke, cedar and spice. Tasting the wine before the food, the flavors of raspberry and black cherry were subtly mixed together. The structure on the wine was nice as it wasn’t overly tannic or acidic. Between the structure and the flavours, you had a very nice soft and approachable wine. With the food the fruit came more to the forefront and the tannin disappeared completely. The food softened the wine almost too much as I found myself searching for a bit more tannin and/or acidity at this point. On the upside the six of us had no problem killing the bottle.

"Worth the money?"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 89, Kathy – 87, Amy - 87, Overall – 87.5.

I picked this wine up in the US for about $99 US. The LCBO usually has the most current year in when it is released and the price will range from $100 to $200 depending on year and rating. 

"Cupcakes on Parade"

For Dessert, Sheian bought cupcakes for everyone, which both my wife and Amy were very happy about. She also bought a bottle of 2007 InniskillinVidal Ice Wine to go with the cupcakes. We really should have reviewed this wine, as it was very good; high acidity to balance out the sweetness of the wine and was a very easy to drink dessert wine. I didn’t review it for two reasons; one, I don’t like to do this with wines that people bring (Mick and Amy being an exception to this of course) and two, by this time of the night we had already finished 5 or 6 full bottles of wine so things were getting a touch fuzzy.

"A very good Ice Wine"

It was a fun night with plenty of laughs and good food. I’d like to thank Mick for his chicken wings and wine and Sheian for the cupcakes and wine. It was enjoyable getting to know Giovanni better and hopefully there will be many more dinners like this with them.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Burnt or Salmonella – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

The main course of the evening was Grilled Chicken Wings. They were coated in a Dijon and Marmalade Sauce which was extremely flavourful. Mick paired this course with a 2004 Columbia Crest Merlot.

"Above is supposed to be pictures of the greatest chicken wings ever made but our photograper was too drunk and forgot to take pictures.  So picture in your mind the most amazing chicken wings ever and put that imaginary picture above"

The chicken wings are also the reason for the title of this Blog.  The sugar in the Marmalade caused the wings to blacken very quickly on the BBQ.  As Mick was serving them up, I seemed to get the most blackened ones to which I commented “Oh sure, give me all the burnt ones” and Mick replied “Burnt or Salmonella, your choice buddy!”  Actually I was the lucky one at the table as the more blacken ones were the more flavourful of wings… they were awesome.  And for the record nobody at the table got Salmonella.

"Very good Merlot"

We have already reviewed the wine before and the review can be found here –

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2010/09/saturday-night-curried-mussel-bowls-and_765.html

Speaking of chicken wings, this recipe was a real winner -- some of the best wings that I have ever had – and the wine pairing was exceptional. I cannot wait until Mick does this one again.

For dessert Amy chose a Baco Chocolate cake and our leftover Merlot was a very good pairing with the chocolate.

I’d like to thank Mick and Amy for hosting as Kathy and I had a great time and a big thank you to Mick for attempting the three new recipes.

As a side-note, the Blog is probably going to be quiet during the month of December due to family and holiday commitments and our Wine Club not meeting again until January. In case I don’t post again until the New Year, I will wish my 3 or 4 loyal readers a safe and happy holidays and Happy New Year.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Burnt or Salmonella – Part 2

For the second course of the evening Mick prepared a Baked Spicy Shrimp recipe. The shrimp were breaded in a spicy coating, pan fried briefly and then covered with cheese before being transferred to the oven to bake in individual ceramic dishes. He served the baked shrimp with a tomato-based salsa. Mick paired the dish with a 2008 d’Arenberg “The Last Ditch” Viognier.

"Spicy baked shrimp with cheesy goodness"

The nose on the wine was kind of funky as it was a mix of burnt popcorn and roses. Tasting the wine was interesting as you get a quick hit of pear and then the wine just disappears from your mouth, leaving you with a very faint taste of vanilla. The best way I can describe this wine is like throwing a drop of water on a hot plate - you get a brief sizzle and then poof it is gone. The shrimp were very spicy and unfortunately this wine did nothing to cool the spicy burn. It was an OK pairing with the shrimp but I’d lean towards a French Sauvignon Blanc as a pairing with this dish in the future.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 83, Kathy – 84, Amy - 85, Overall – 85.5.

"Pure Viognier"

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

D'ARENBERG THE LAST DITCH VIOGNIER 2008


Vintages 25064
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Australia, Australia
By: D'Arenberg Wines
Release Date: Apr 3, 2010


Tasting Note - Bright and jazzy, with a tart edge and lots of lemon and lime character mixing with the floral and pear flavors. Finishes with zip. Drink now. Score - 89. (Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com, Nov. 30, 2009)
I liked this new recipe it was way too spicy and buried the flavour of the pink shrimp. Albeit I was worried that frying and then baking the shrimp would dry them out, Mick cooked the shrimp themselves to perfection..

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Burnt or Salmonella – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner.  Mick had three new recipes on tap for the evening.  The first dish was Grilled Oysters with a Sour Cream and Horseradish dip.  Mick chose a 2009 Momo Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand as his wine pairing.

"Grilled Oysters and special sauce"

Pouring out the wine you’ll notice that lovely pale yellow with a slight greenish tinge one would except to see from a Sauvignon Blanc.  The nose on the wine was a mix of cut grass and honeydew melon.  In tasting the wine before the food, it reminded me of the yeastiness one would find with French Champagne.  There was a touch of gooseberry in the background and a quick finish.  Structure wise the wine wasn’t too acidic; if anything it needed a touch more.  It was very easy drinking and went well with the oysters.

"Momo Sauvignon Blanc"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 88, Kathy – 87, Amy - 87, Overall – 87.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

MOMO SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009

Vintages 9167
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand
By: Seresin Estate
Release Date: Apr 3, 2010

Tasting Note - ... this seems quite a savory style of Sauvignon Blanc, the savoriness probably accentuated by the wild yeast ferment that seems to add a funky veneer to the bright fresh fruity flavours. But there's loads of passion fruit and underlying gooseberry and a spicy zestiness that is just so, so Marlborough ... (Sue Courtney, www.wineloverspage.com, Sept. 28, 2009)

Personally, I had never tried grilled oysters before (usually I have them raw) and I can’t say I was a huge fan. They were OK but for the amount of work Mick went through from shucking them and making his dip from scratch I doubt this recipe falls into the “do again” category. If he is going to spend this amount of time on a dish in the future, I hope it for some of his amazing mussel recipes.

Click here for Part 2