This is what migratory superstar LJR and I ate and drank while watching Make-A-Mild-Attempt-To-See-TV on NBC.
2002 Coppola Merlot California Blue Lable $17
Modest but tasty, with huckleberry pie, French vanilla notes and a firm cedary finish. (87pts WS)
Miles was wrong, there is nothing wrong with a good Merlot. And this is a fine, fine drinking merlot. Not something I would get invested in, but something that from time to time I would happily drink. This was also my take on My Name is Earl. If I had TiVo, I might record it. Since I don’t I’ll probably just be happy when I stumble across it. Part of what made it so enjoyable was having LJR making funny, poignant commentary. See, it’s about pairing.
So what do you eat with a good bottle of slurp? Good chow.
Prosciutto di Parma 18 Month
prosciuttoPARMA HAM is the true prosciutto, although others are also now made in the United States. Italian prosciuttos are designated prosciutto cotto, which is cooked, and prosciutto crudo, which is raw (though, because of its curing, ready to eat). This type of Italian ham is also labeled according to its city or region of origin, for example prosciutto di Parma and prosciutto di San Daniele [proh-SHOO-toh]
The Italian word for "ham," prosciutto is a term broadly used to describe a ham that has been seasoned, salt-cured (but not smoked) and air-dried. The meat is pressed, which produces a firm, dense texture. Italy's
My first experience with Prosciutto was a Hormel product that tasted like salty leather. It would be like introducing an alien to a Yugo and saying This is what a car is!. Two years later I had a real parma and was in heaven. Then I was introduced to 18 month-old and I was in love. It is tender, complex, and compliments food in crazy ways. Traditionally, the Italians serve with sweet ripe melons or figs. There’s a big O in the mouth on a warm summer’s night. I picked us up a quarter pound and since it has been a shit year for figs and melons, I went with Del Cabo Sweet 100 tomatoes.
Del Cabo Sweet 100 Tomatoes
These are very small cherry tomatoes and they are usually the first to hit the market each year. Even in an awful year for tomatoes, these are still champs as they require less to reach maturity. Each one was a little bite summer.
Rogue River Blue, Rogue Creamery, Oregon
The Rogue River Blue is naturally rinded. This aging process imparts flavors from the Rogue River Valley. These naturally occurring molds from our terroir impart flavors of wild ripened berries, hazelnuts and pears. To preserve this wheel we wrap it in grape leaves from the Applegate Appellation. The grape leaves are soaked in Pear Brandy and tied with raphia. This Cheese won “Best Blue Cheese” at the World Cheese Awards in 2003.
Last summer the Divine Miss L got me into a private tasting up at Copia. They were tasting Oregon wines, reserve labels only. That was enough to make it one of the best night’s I had that year. Standing in front of the Willakenzie table, I met this guy I thought to be one of the disenfranchised DeadHeads you see every so often. Turns out he is the cheesemaker for the Rogue Creamery. We end up talking and he tells me about his Rogue River Blue and all of its awards. I then spend 3 months trying to track it down. Finally finding a supplier who had mislabeled a case and was able to ship me 6 wheels. I have trouble explaining how good this cheese is, just trust me and head out to your nearest whole foods and get a wedge. Then you can salaam in my direction every day at 4:15pm (local) to show proper respect for the food god that I am. And if you really want to have the full experience, have it on a loaf of good rustic bread with Port.
Acme Bread Company - Ciabatta
Steve Sullivan, founder and owner, says that after all these years Acme’s foremost goal remains the same— to bake outstanding bread. Acme uses only organic flour and works closely with farmers in evaluating and selecting the grain varieties for its flour each year. Three shifts of bakers work around the clock, seven days a week at the Berkeley bakery in order to meet customer demand.
In a post later this week I’ll go on too long about Chez Panisse. The bread this company makes is as good as it gets. All of that staff of life stuff, yeah, you start to believe it when you get a fresh loaf. We are blessed here in the Bay Area to have at least 5 great bread bakeries and a dozen more that are known for their sourdough. Personally, I hate sourdough. It’s like they tried to make rye but without the flavor. And here it is usually the bread on the table, the bread with the soup (yech! It is awful with savory winter soups like Butternut Squash), the bread used for French Toast, and what makes our pigeons so fat and owning sour dispositions. But this stuff . . .
And it was a great repast.
We watched the season opening episode of The Office and were in culinary bliss.
p.s. I can't tell you how ready I am for the next upgrade to typepad's editing tools
Go in Peace