a menu

• potatoes with parsley and peas, some kind of bread
• tea and ginger simmered chickpeas
• minty kidney beans and potatoes or chickpeas and potatoes with singed spices
• crack pepper beef; broccoli (hopefully a photo forthcoming)
• deconstructed italian sausage pasta
• green curry with asparagus and peas and tofu

Wine Club #1

I very much enjoyed our first wineclub gathering last night and look forward to next time, Chianti. Here is the roundup of what we had, in roughly lightest and driest to sweetest. My favorite was definitely #1, followed by 5 and 8 tied for second. The Spanish 3 and 4 were both delightful in totally different ways and thus tie for my third ranking. I did not much like 7 (boring) or 11 & 12 (both overwhelming, palate fatiguing). [I don’t mean that as any kind of competition, just my subjective experience and what I’d like to remember.] Thanks to everyone for joining in the fun! What were your favorites?

1. Gitton Sancerre “Les Belles Dames” 2007 (Sauv Blanc)
2. Château Graville-Lacoste Graves (Bordeaux) 2008 (Chardonnay)
3. Pazo Señorans Albariño 2008 Rias Baixas
4. Montecillo 2006 Rioja (Viura)
5. Champalou Vouvray 2008 (Chenin Blanc)
6. Skouras White 2008 Peloponnese (Roditis 60% / Moscofilero 40%)
7. Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina Sannio 2008
8. Colombelle Vin de Pays Côtes de Gascogne 2008 (Colombard 70% / Ugni Blanc 30%)
9. Hugo Grüner Veltliner 2008
10. Trimbach Alsace Pinot Blanc 2006
11. Petit Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc 2008
12. Crios Torrontes 2009
13. Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium 2007 Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Kabinett

food this week

• tindora (ivy gourd / gentlemen’s toes!), yogurt rice
• potato chorizo soup, no-knead bread, pumpkin flan or tarte tatin
• pumpkin hummus, pita, baked beef-lamb kibbe
• sweet potato purée, glazed broiled tofu
• fresh tagliatelle all’alfredo, glazed carrots

Next week: the chicken-methi-pumpkin curry. It necessitates a trip to Devon (I am out of frozen methi).