The Murderer’s Row

It’s funny how get-togethers sometimes come together.  We have many friends who are nerds like us.  When premiere weekend for Iron Man 3 came around, six of us made plans to see it at the Cinebistro on Sunday afternoon (since two of them work in a restaurant, it’s one of their only days off) and then come back to the house to drink a bottle or two.  Then a thing happened:  they were only showing it in 3D.  None of us like movies in 3D, so we made the executive decision to skip the movie, get straight to the wine.

Obviously knowing that we were going to be here for many hours, we had to put together some food.  Fortunately, we had some fresh Florida shrimp that we hadn’t eaten the day before, so it became an appetizer.  We roasted it and laid it over a celery root slaw, a quick-and-easy delicious first course.

Buratta and Heirloom Tomatoes in all their glory

Second course was fresh burrata and heirloom tomatoes.  If you’re not familiar with burrata, it’s basically fresh mozzarella and cream.  Add some tomatoes, good olive oil, and bread (we actually made some crostini) and you have a dish that will always be a huge hit.  We added on the side some awesome roasted red peppers and anchovies that our visiting friend Scott had brought from Seattle, and we were in heaven.

Peppers and Anchovies

The main course was a simple homemade baked ziti with spicy Italian sausage on the side.  In this case, we weren’t particularly interested in pairing wine with the course so much as making something that wouldn’t distract us from what we were going to drink.

Dessert was a variation on the olive oil cake that Gretchyn has been experimenting with.  This time, she added a whole vanilla bean and a little sugar to some marscapone, mixing them together with whipped cream.  She then added some Amaretto and sugar to frozen strawberries, cooking it down into a compote.  The result was my favorite of the olive oil cake variants so far.

Fresh and delicious local strawberries

The Wines

Our friend Dave is more than just a fellow nerd culture nerd, he’s a fellow wine nerd.  He usually shows up with some surprises; this was no exception.  Since we hadn’t really planned around food, whatever he brought and whatever we were going to pull from the cellar were going to be fine.  He opened his case and announced we were going international, having picked wines from France, Italy, the US, and Spain (wines 2-5).

N.V. Graham Beck Brut Rosé:  This has gotten to be a house favorite, both due to flavor profile and price point.  On a beautiful May afternoon, it felt like it would be the perfect starter, and it was.

2010 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux:  We all put our nose in our glasses at the same time, and Dave asked exactly what I was about to:  “Who gets banana off of this?”  Six hands went up.  A little pear, a little lemon curd, and just enough oak (meaning very, very little).  Excellent juice.

2010 Castello di Bolgheri Bolgheri Varvàra:  It was coincidental that we drank this at about the same time the ziti was ready.  A nice little Super Tuscan, the Sangiovese clearly showed through.  It wasn’t anything that I’d want to drink without food, but it did the job quite nicely.

2009 Dancing Hares Vineyard:  Holy cow.  A brilliant Bordeaux style blend of 60% Cab, 20% Merlot, 13.5% Cab Franc and 6.5% Petite Verdot with the explosive juiciness of California fruit.  Deep, expressive, dark, and sexy, it was one of the best wines I’ve had in the last year.  The table agreed.  Parker gives it a 94; I might even be a little more generous.

2007 Bodegas Artevino Rioja Malpuesto:  Quite honestly, it would have been really difficult for anything to follow that Dancing Hares, but the Malpuesto did a reasonable job.  Pretty sure it was 100% Tempranillo, also dark and delicious.  It was just unfair to make it come after something so good.

2010 Martinelli Pinot Noir Moonshine Ranch:  We knew strawberries were coming with dessert, so I wanted to grab something out of the cellar to match it.  More restrained Pinot wouldn’t have done the trick, so I went after the Martinelli.  Ironically enough, we drank it all before dessert got served because we were involved in a hilarious game of Catch Phrase (one of four we played throughout the day).

2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine:  A this point, another high octane Pinot would have been wasted on us, as happens when you drink many bottles in a day.  I went for something a little more restrained but still with enough fruit to match dessert relatively well.

Although it wasn’t completely impromptu, the structure of the meal came together at the 11^th hour, and we were pretty happy with the way it came out.  The wines were awesome, the friends even better.  We then finished the evening like any good nerds would:  watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones.

The corvina (a fillet of about a pound and a quarter) was nice enough that I didn’t want to do too much too.  I simply put a little olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish, salted and peppered the fish on both sides, and laid it in the dish.  I chopped up a single clove of garlic and two leaves of basil and sprinkled them on top.  I sliced a whole lemon as thinly as possible, laying it on top, finishing with about two tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes and a half stick of butter, cut into four pieces.  I then roasted it at 375F at for 40 minutes.

The orzo was a simple case of two leaves of chopped basil and four ounces of parm, then baking it in individual ramekins alongside the fish for 20 minutes.  We steamed the broccolini about 10 minutes then poured a little melted butter over it.

The wine was Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc, a perfect pairing with the lemony goodness of the fish.  We’re still drinking the last of it as I type this and wait for the dessert, which we’ll talk about shortly.

For the salad (serves 3)

3 medium Chioggia beets

1 avocado, cubed

8 oz baby arugula

4 oz goat cheese

¼ cup craisins

¼ cup toasted walnuts

2 tbl red onion, diced

For the dressing

1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard

1 ½ tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbl maple syrup

2 tbl extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

We’ve experimented with peeling the beets before and after roasting (400F for about 50 minutes) and decided that they’re easier to peel post-roasting.  We still oil, salt, and pepper them before putting them in the oven, wrapped in foil.  After peeling, we cube them and put them in the fridge for a few hours.  When we’re ready to assemble the salad, we pull them out, mix together the dressing (which you can certainly do several hours ahead of time), cube the avocado, and toss.

The pairing—if you can actually call it a pairing—was 2010 Martinelli Pinot Noir Moonshine Ranch.  I’m not a big fan of pairing wine with vinegar-based dressing, so this wasn’t so much a pairing as a recognition of something that I just wanted to drink.  Gretchyn and Scott drank Camarena Margaritas instead.

And now that the rain has stopped, a swim before dinner.

Perfectly grilled french toast with cinnamon honey butter

Our friend Scott comes to visit two or three times a year.  Every time, it’s an excuse for a parade of food and wine, whether it’s what we eat at home or go out for.  Our start was straightaway from the airport at Wood-Fired Pizza, where we noshed on the Dante’s Inferno, BBQ Bacon Jam, and Tampa Verde pies.  We drank one of our last 2010 Martinelli Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa, which is the perfect pizza juice:  great spices and rich racy fruit, with enough acidity to stand up to the red sauce on the pies.

We spent yesterday with our friends at Armada Games, and our diet was gamer-appropriate:  Five Guys Burgers and Fries for lunch, roast pork from Checo’s Latin restaurant right next to the game shop for dinner.  I’ve always been happy with everything I’ve had from Checo’s, which boasts an excellent Cuban sandwich.

Today we’re spending at the house, relaxing on the lanai.  We got the day rolling with one of our favorites, Challah Bread French Toast (which I posted about last month).  There were two differences today.  The first was using Grand Marinier instead of Amaretto.  The second was cinnamon honey butter, made with Savannah Bee Company’s Winter White honey.   A mixed fruit bowl and some Smithfield bacon rounded out a great way to start our lazy day.

The Table is Ready for Action

Most of the time, we cook a small dish here, a little thing there.  It’s not often we pull out all the stops and make a big, fancy meal, visiting close friends and fellow foodies Brian and Karla gave us the right excuse to put together something special.  One of the reasons that they’re good friends is because even though they enjoy the finer side of dining, they’re the kind of folks who don’t necessarily need you to cook them a fancy meal.  They would be perfectly happy with something more straightforward—a tray of lasagna and a salad.  They don’t wear their meals as a fashion statement, they just enjoy delicious food.

Here’s the menu:

Hot Pepper Goat Cheese Phyllo Pouches

Served with Demi-Sec Kir Royale

Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash on Baby Arugula and Pecan Salad

Served with Mint Julep Shooter

Surf and Turf of Old-Bay Roasted Florida Shrimp and Bison Rib-Eye

Smoked Gouda, Fennel, and Leek Risotto

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Pignoli

Served with 2010 Martinelli Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa

Olive Cake Parfait with Mixed Berry Grand Marinier Compote

Served with Graham’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port

Hot Pepper Goat Cheese Phyllo Pouches

Chevre Pocket

We’ve experimented with this a number of times in the past, trying different cheeses and flavor profiles, plus experimenting with the right number of phyllo layers.  It’s riffed nearly directly from an Ina Garten recipe, minus the salad.  Our original intention was to use Cypress Grove’s Purple Haze lavender-and-herb chevre, but when we were shopping, we saw the Hot Pepper version and audibled into a more piquant opener.  We had talked about adding some hot pepper jelly or sambal to the dish, but decided to pass on that once we got the spicier cheese.  In the future, even with the same cheese, we’ll add the jelly.  That one more uptick of heat would have been great.

I believe in pairing sweetness with spicy heat.  Kir Royale is always a great first drink of the evening anyway, so the fact that it would pair up nicely with the dish was just a bonus.  We used Graham Beck’s Bliss Demi-Sec (having gotten it on sale) instead of a Brut.  We taste-tested first to make sure it wasn’t too sweet.  The Crème de Cassis had the right amount of bitterness to offset that sweetness, making it a fine drink and spot-on pairing.

Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash on Baby Arugula and Pecan Salad

I’m a recent convert to butternut squash.  I’ve found that I enjoy the pumpkin side of the squash family quite a bit while still disliking the zucchini side.  This course was inspired by having some roasted butternut as a side dish.  Because of the cinnamon and carmelization, it kept hinting at wanting bourbon, so we started brainstorming.  A full on mint julep wasn’t the right call, so we thought about the shooter.

The next step was getting the drink into the small format glass.  The first thought was to just make regular juleps and strain them into the glass.  We were worried about pieces of mint floating around, which led to the idea of infusing mint into the bourbon.  We consulted with our friend Nate DeWitt, mixologist extraordinaire, and he told us to instead infuse the simple syrup—which made perfect sense as soon as he said it.

After making the mint simple syrup, we did a fair amount of experimenting with the mixture.  In the end, we agreed on the ratio of 6 ounces of bourbon and 2 1/3 tablespoons of mint simple syrup, shaken over finely-crushed ice and strained into cordial glasses to yield four drinks.  The next discussion was serving temperature.  We eventually agreed that simply as a drink, we’d serve the shooter ice cold, but as an accompaniment to the dish, warmer was better, as it really opened up with aromatics of the bourbon.  I’ll post a full recipe for both the salad and the shooter in the next few days.

Surf and Turf of Old-Bay Roasted Florida Shrimp and Bison Rib-Eye

Roasted Shrimp, Bison Rib-eye, Risotto, and Chard

Our friends live in New York and are reasonably well-traveled, so there’s not too much they don’t have access to.  We figured that serving something local was the right way to go, so we got some nice Gulf shrimp.  We were simply going to roast them as we’ve done before, and focus on the side dishes.  Somewhere along the way, a discussion of surf and turf came up, and I recalled that we wanted to have bison rib-eyes for Day of Thrones 3, but the butcher was out.   I called the manager, verified they’d have them, and we were in business.

I didn’t want to cover up any interesting flavors in the meat, so I merely lightly dusted them with Penzey’s Chicago Steak Seasoning and rubbed them with a little olive oil.  I made a bit of garlic butter to finish them with, and that was that.  Bison is leaner than beef, which is why I went with the fattier cut of the rib-eye instead of the strips they also had.  Each one was just under a pound.  I grilled them about four minutes on a side and then let them rest for a few minutes before topping them with the garlic butter and serving.

If there was a failure in this meal, it was in the wine selection.  The wine didn’t fail—it was remarkably good.  The pairing failed.  I wanted something to bridge the gap between the shrimp and the steak, something that would have the residual fruit sweetness to go with the spiciness of the shrimp plus the tannic backbone to go with the steak.  Zinfandel was the first thing that came to mind, although I also considered an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.  Again, the wine was delicious.  It just didn’t do what I had hoped it would do.  If I do something similar again, I’ll try it with Australian Cab or a Cab/Shiraz blend–slightly more tannic with about the same fruit profile.

Smoked Gouda, Fennel, and Leek Risotto

We’re leaning more toward risotto than potatoes these days.  This was a version of what we did for Day of Thrones 3, once again wanting the smoky elements of the gouda as opposed to the nuttier flavor of parm.  We also again added marscapone to it, which will become a permanent part of the recipe.  The aromatics of the fennel and leek nicely picked up the aromatics in the shrimp spice.

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Pignoli

We love broccoli and we love asparagus, and it’s easy to default to either of them as the green for a meal.  Chard is a little bitter and a little earthy, so we thought that it would go quite nicely as a contrast to the risotto and a compliment to the bison.  It was a big hit.

It was simple enough.  We toasted a few pignoli beforehand, just to have them ready to go.  Because we know it can be pretty gritty, we washed the chard three times, drying it in the salad spinner each time.  We cooked two heads of it in a large sauté pan in 3 tablespoons of butter for about 15 minutes.  Right at the end, we tossed in the pignoli and squeezed the juice of half a lemon into it, hoping the acidity would both brighten the dish and cut into the bitterness.  It did.

Olive Cake Parfait with Mixed Berry Grand Marinier Compote

This was a Rocket Scientist design, using the olive oil cake from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery cookbook and inspired by one of his parfaits.  She said the meal felt like it wanted something fruity and creamy to end with without being heavy.  Served with a glass of Graham’s 20, it was a light and fitting exclamation point to the evening.  I’ll post a full recipe for this one as well later in the week.  Until then, enjoy the picture.

We had also planned a cheese plate, but everyone agreed that we were comfortable enough without it.  If forced to choose between a sweet and a cheese to end a meal, I’ll almost always choose cheese.  In this case, I thought the dessert would be light enough (and it was) to warrant still having cheese.  It was the rest of the meal (even spread over five hours) that was filling enough to make skipping the cheese the right call.

Although we occasionally have some of the elements of this meal, putting them all together into a feast of this proportion doesn’t happen all that often.  We were happy that our friends provided us with the excuse to do it.  We agreed that next time they come, the four of us will cook together something interesting, and I’m sure you’ll hear all about it.

The Calm Before the Storm

There are two other couples, Kathryn & David and Jim & Neal, who we get together with monthly for cooking, eating, drinking good wine, and socializing.  One of us hosts and usually does all or most of the food and wine.  This month, we decided to all make recipes from Ina Garten’s cookbooks, putting them together in a grand meal.  We were not disappointed.

We’ve been inspired by, riffed off of, or outright copied too many of Ina’s recipes to count.  One of the things we love is their relative simplicity while maintaining a high level of quality.  The idea to do this with the gang was born straight out of a discussion with them over those very facts.   Gretchyn and I had discussed it previously, so when someone else piped up with “we should do an Ina night!” we knew we had a plan.

We decided to host, but I think that was mostly because it was simply our turn.  We laid out a plan where Jim & Neal would do an amuse bouche and first course, Kathryn & David would do a small salad and dessert, and we’d do the main course, with everyone responsible for their own wine pairings.  Then we made it happen.  It felt a little weird not having to do all the prep and all the cooking for a meal, but we really liked the way it turned out—a real team effort.

Crostini with Tuna Tapenade

Tapenade and Rose

The recipe comes from “How Easy is That?”  Jim said he had seen Ina make it on one of her shows and had wanted to make it for quite some time.  Although it was well larger than an amuse, it was a great start, especially paired with Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Rosé.  Neal said that they had originally considered a classic French Champagne, but wanted something with a little more Pinot character in it to pick up tuna.  The tapenade itself was tasty, but the pairing really took it over the top.

Shrimp Bisque

Shrimp Bisque

Taken from “Barefoot Contessa at Home,” the bisque was the kind of soup I like—deep and rich without being heavy.  It had a sweetness to it that had David asking if there was also some crab in it (which there wasn’t).  Neal mentioned that some bread would have been good with it.  I would have agreed if the bisque was a major part of a nice lunch, but as part of a 6-course meal, you don’t want too much bread filling you up.  They paired it with 2010 Circadia Chardonnay, which they selected because of its minimal oak.  It picked up the bisque reasonably well.  As a minor niggle, I would have liked it to be just a little more buttery (strangely enough that I’m not a buttery Chard fan) to grab onto the delicious creaminess of the bisque.  A second triumph in a row.

Goat Cheese Salad

Kathryn said they got this recipe from Barefoot Contessa Parties, one of the older books.  They made a slight modification, using chopped pistachios to crust the cheese instead of bread crumbs, much to the approval of all.  It was spectacular, and the perfect size to fit into the middle of the meal.  If the salad was textbook, the pairing was anything but.  They served this course with a “Rose Garden,” which is two parts Hoegaarden Witbier and one part Lindeman’s Lambic Framboise.  Beer in the middle of a wine dinner wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was superb.  The drink was light enough to seem like wine anyway, reminding me a bit of an earthier and less sweet Kir Royale.  I might have to make this combo a regular drink.

Intermezzo:  Blood Orange and Basil Sorbet

This was just a little palate-cleanser that David & Kathryn put together unscripted.  In Kathryn’s own words, they “…tried to make one that we felt was in the spirit of what Ina might prepare.”  It was another winner.

Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese

Stuffed Chicken, Chive Risotto Cakes, Roasted Asparagus

The only recipe not actually from one of the books, this was taken off the Food Network site, having been featured on the episode “Stress Free Dinner Party.”  It was the truth.  This was one of the easiest dishes we’ve ever made.  All I had to do was stuff slices of basil and herbed goat cheese under the skin of the breasts, then oil, salt, and pepper them.  It’s all the fancy without any of the work, exactly the kind of thing we like to discover.  The goat cheese and herbs melted into the meat, keeping it beautifully tender, juicy, and richly flavorful. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the cheese stayed under the skin of the breast; I had worried that it would just leak out once it melted, but that wasn’t the case at all.

2003 Château d’Armailhac, waiting for the call

When I was considering pairing for this course, I headed straight for Bordeaux and nowhere else.  I knew that the aromatics in the wine would have to match the aromatics in the dish, so I initially thought of a Merlot-dominated (and thereby lower-tannin) Right Bank offering because of the chicken, but remembered having a few bottles of 2003 Château d’Armailhac, a rich but still just-chewy-enough product of Pauillac.  A blend of 65% Cab, 20% Merlot, 13% Cab Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, it fit just right, with notes of licorice, coffee, and kir in the midst of muscular fruit.  I was extremely happy with the pairing.

Chive Risotto Cakes

Our initial starch consideration had been a celery root and potato puree, but that seemed too heavy.  The chive risotto cakes were just what the doctor ordered, both in avoiding that potato weight and in being awesomely delicious.  The recipe says to cook them on medium.  The next time we do them, I think we’ll go to medium-high, since the Arborio is already cooked, and I think we can get a crisper outside to the cake.  It’s a platform that I wouldn’t mind experimenting with in the future.  And if I had it to do all over again, I would have added a little dollop of crème fraîche to them.  We added a little roasted asparagus, which I assume she has in a book somewhere, and the plate was complete.

Profiteroles

Kathryn and David got creative with the dessert.  They made the profiteroles and chocolate sauce directly from the Barefoot in Paris book, but used the Crème Brulee recipe on the following page to make the Ice Cream.  It turned out as the perfect exclamation point to the meal.  They went outside the box again with the pairing, to great success.  The obvious choice here is a nice Port with caramel-and-toffee notes.  They served 2011 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Las Alturas Vineyard, a big fruit bomb of a wine that might be too sweet to drink with most foods.  With dessert, it was amazing.

Espresso and coffee followed dessert, and suddenly the hour had grown quite late.  We had spent just under five hours eating, drinking, talking, and enjoying the amazing recipes we had culled from Ina’s books, so some thanks go to her as well.  It was a brilliant idea that we had come up with and implemented together, which made it that much more special.  We talked about having further themes for our monthly get-togethers, but for the moment, we’re still basking in the success of this one, which I’m sure we’ll remember for the longest time.

The Rogue’s Gallery

They’re Servers, Not Servants

First and foremost, don’t treat them like they’re your domestic staff.  While this isn’t a destination career for most of them (which is a shame—real professional servers are a treat), that doesn’t mean they won’t have pride in themselves and what they do.  They’re there to bring you your food in a timely fashion and help you navigate the menu and foods, not take the verbal beating that you really want to be giving to your boss/spouse/cop that ticketed you.  Treat them with the same dignity and respect you’d treat anyone else (unless you’re just a giant ass in general—then try to treat them like they could, I don’t know, spit in your food).

Learn How to Complain

Even in the best places, stuff sometimes goes wrong.  Here’s a news flash:  When it does, don’t be a jerk about it.  Pitching a fit isn’t going to get it fixed better or faster than being calm.  It’s probably likely to make it worse for you.  Simply explain to your server what’s not right.  They know what to do from there.  Believe it or not, they actually want you to have the best experience possible.  And I know “it’s their job,” but thanking them for fixing it is a good idea as well.

If something needs improvement but isn’t time-critical, a calm talk with the manager on the way out is reasonable.  “Hey, we thought the courses were a little rushed” or “the server kept over-filling the wine glasses” isn’t out of line, especially presented in an adult manner.

Learn How to Compliment (aka “Over-Tip”)

It’s a general social ill that we’re willing to complain but hesitant to compliment.  When something goes well, tell them.  People are bringing you tasty food and delicious drinks.  A little thanks isn’t out of line.  When service is outstanding, we will tip 25-30%.  As long as it isn’t really bad, we’ll still tip 15-20%, but we believe in positive reinforcement, so when the staff does it right, it’s a good idea to treat them right.

Be Sensitive to Their Time

Especially when it’s busy, everyone’s time is stretched thin.  Don’t eat it up unnecessarily.  When the waitress asks if you’re ready to order, be ready.  Your dining experience isn’t enhanced by them hovering over you while you decide if you really want the pork or think you should eat the vegetarian plate.  Being sensitive to their time also means understanding how things work in a good restaurant.  Don’t ask for Bearnaise sauce when your steak arrives at the table—some things take time and care to make right.

Don’t have the waiter take a partial drink order and then make them take another one when they come back.  Wait until everyone is ready.  You knew you were going to the restaurant, right?  Doesn’t it make sense to figure out what you might want to drink (even if it’s just “some kind of New World Red” or “bourbon”) beforehand?

This especially goes when you’re at the bar.  Bartenders are serving both their own folks AND the dining room.  If you don’t know what you want, ask for a wine or drink list.  Don’t make them stand there while you figure it out.

Pro Tip:  On a busy night at a bar, don’t order drinks that take lots of time to make (mojito, Old Fashioned, and the like).  Yes, a great bartender will get it done, but you’re better off waiting until a slow night to let her stretch her mixology legs.  Stay simple.

Don’t Try to Impress Anyone

No one needs to hear about your trip to New York and how you ate at one of Mario Batali’s places (although that might come into play later; see “Establish Relationships” below), or how you once drank a 1982 Lafite.  They really don’t need to hear about how much you spent on it.  Don’t pretend to have private conversations about the best veal you ever had but then have them loud enough for the waiter or bartender to overhear.  The staff is there to make your meal better, not assuage your insecurities.

Establish Relationships

I’m not talking about setting out to be friends with everyone who works there (although making friendships isn’t out of the question), I’m talking about recognizing and acknowledging the folks who take care of you, or at least the ones you have the chance to interact with.  If we end up going to someplace regularly, I make an effort to remember the names of the hosts, servers, bartenders, and managers who we’ve interacted with.  During your interaction with them, they’re likely to unintentionally drop hints about stuff that they like—the waiter constantly suggests Australian wines or you hear the bartender talking about making sure he gets to watch the Steelers game.

When time permits (so not on a busy Friday night; see “Time” above), I’d engage the waiter about the Aussie juice.  Find out what he likes, which producers are his favorites, and share some of my experiences, maybe make some suggestions of my own.  I might commiserate with the bartender the next time I see him after the Steelers get blown out (unless, of course, I’m a Ravens fan, in which case I offer up the rub-ins).  Even if you’re not the type to deeply engage with strangers, recognition of the fact that they’re human beings who continue to exist even after you leave the joint will take you a long way toward establishing a rapport with folks and enhancing your experience.

Face it:  restaurant staffs recognize some people as good customers and some as bad.  Why would you want to be one of the bad ones?  Why would you want them to rock/paper/scissors to not have to wait on you?

Once you’ve established positive relationships, you gain a number of benefits.  They’re more likely to find you a table when you don’t have a reservation (although it’s your fault, not theirs, that you don’t have one and have to wait an hour).  They’re likely to offer you things they don’t offer to other folks, like special events (“Hey, we’re doing this special dinner in a few weeks; we thought you might be interested”).  You can also trust them when it comes to taking a chance on food or wine.  You can tell the somm that you want “something racy and exciting” or “dark and brooding” and be assured that he’s going to find you the right bottle.  They’ll steer you toward dishes that are looking good tonight or have gotten lots of positive comments.  And though I never expect them, occasionally we’ve gotten comps just because we’re good customers—and I mean good in the sense that we treat them well, not in the “spend lots of money there” way.

If you’re wine nerds like us, establishing a relationship with the person in charge of the wine program is important.  We’ve gotten first tastes of things they’re considering putting on the list.  We’ve gotten special bottles that simply aren’t available.  We get a heads up when something new comes into the cellar or on the by-the-glass list.  We get invited to the wine geek events.  All in all, it’s a win.

It’s easy to enjoy your restaurant discoveries.  While there are a few additional things to know due to the nature of the beast, simply applying the precepts of being a decent human being will take you a long way.

The food doesn’t need to be complicated.  We can be happy with yoghurt, fruit, and/or granola.  This particular morning we were in the mood for something different, so we went for the French Toast.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)

Half loaf of cinnamon-raisin challah

2 eggs

½ cup whole milk

½ teaspoon cinnamon

(optional) pinch of orange peel

(optional) splash of Amaretto

This recipe is entirely Rocket Scientist-made.  To scale it for more people, she uses an additional egg and quarter cup of milk for every two people, and adjusts the spices up as well.  Half a loaf is more than enough for the two of us.  A full loaf will serve six pretty easily.

We whip together the ingredients then dredge thick slices of bread in it, then drop it on the electronic griddle at 275F.  Cooking French Toast on a lower temperature makes sure the inside of the bread gets cooked and isn’t just a soggy mess.  It cooks about 7 minutes on a side.

Challah makes great French Toast because of its sweetness.  We’ve also tried panettone, but that’s WAY too sweet.  Challah is just sweet enough for me that I don’t use any kind of syrup on it, only a little butter.  She sprinkles some powdered sugar on it.  Every now and again, we’ll mix together some cinnamon and honey butter, using Savannah Bee Company’s Winter White, a beautiful floral honey that has to be tasted to believed.   Occasionally we’ll whip some cream (maybe infusing it with a little di Saronno as well) to top it. This time, we added a fruit plate to finish a sweet, fresh breakfast that paired perfectly with the sweet freshness of the day.

The Saturday morning view

Come for the games, stay for the steaks

Games and gaming culture are nearly as big in this house as food and wine.  Being able to combine those passions makes a pretty special day.  Each of the last two years, the Monday Night Gamers have come over on Sunday to celebrate the season premier of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” with a day full of eating, drinking, and gaming (we discussed previous editions here and here).  This year was no different.

LUNCH:  Asparagus and Fennel Pasta Salad with Chilled Roasted Shrimp

One of the MNGers is allergic to shellfish, so when he told us that he was having lunch with his family (it being Easter and all), we knew the direction of lunch.   We wanted it to be light, knowing that we would be eating a fair amount during the day.   We brainstormed up a simple yet tasty pasta salad.

INGREDIENTS

1.5 lbs ditalini

1 lb asparagus, diced

2 medium fennel bulbs, diced

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbl celery seed

Salt and pepper to taste

2 lbs fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tbl Old Bay

Asparagus and Fennel Pasta Salad with Roasted Shrimp

We roasted the shrimp the day before in order to chill them overnight.  I used about ¼ of the Old Bay I’d normally use when roasting them because all I wanted was to give them a little flavor, enough to complement the pasta, not dominate it.  These were 31-40 count shrimp, so they didn’t take as long to roast as the 21-25 count we normally get.  They roasted nicely at 400F in about 11 minutes.

We cooked the pasta while cutting the fennel and asparagus.  We diced the vegetables quite small, then gave them a quick sauté in about a tablespoon of the oil, softening them from raw but leaving a firm texture to them.   Once the pasta was done, we mixed it right in with the sauté and the remainder of the oil and spices.  We mixed the oil in a little at a time, just to make sure we weren’t overdoing it.  We put it in a bowl to chill and served it about 2 hours later.

White Burgundy to get the day started

We debated either cutting up the shrimp and mixing it in or keeping it whole and laying it on top.  We finally settled on leaving it whole because we thought the presentation would be better.  We gave the MNGers their first taste of Premier Cru White Burgundy by serving 2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Combes.  The apple and pear notes of the Burgundy went extremely well with the flavor of the fennel, leading us to consider some kind of fennel/apple dish in the future.  I love good White Burgundy, but just can’t bring myself to spend that much regularly on white wine—but that’s an exploration for another day.

SNACK:  Coconut cream cake

Playing games for several hours gives a brother and appetite, so while playing the board game Catacombs, we had cake and coffee.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the beautiful cake that Keith, one of the MNGers, made.  It was beautifully creamy and nicely sweet and went perfectly with a rich cup of coffee, giving us the fuel to get through until dinner time.

DINNER:  Grilled rib-eyes, Smoked Gouda Risotto, and Grilled Leeks

Our first plan was bison rib-eyes, which had caught my eye at the butcher counter at the new Whole Foods in town, but when I went to get them, they didn’t have any.  We’ll get them eventually (and provide a full report).  The manager was nice enough to give us a deal on the regular prime beef for our disappointment.  I didn’t do anything special with the steaks, because I believe that good beef doesn’t need too much done to it.  I dusted them with a little Penzey’s Chicago Steak Seasoning and a light coat of olive oil about 3 hours before grilling them.

Because it was sitting beside a good steak, we wanted the risotto to have a big wow factor.  We modified our normal risotto recipe by substituting a half pound of smoked gouda for the parmigiano reggiano.  We obviously left out the shrimp here, as well as passing on the paprika.  Because we wanted it extra cheesy and creamy, we added 3 ounces of Marscapone as well.  We liked the texture so much that Marscapone will probably end up as part of our normal risotto recipe.  We were going to put mushrooms in the risotto, but since Keith isn’t a fan, we simply sauteed them in a little of the wine we were going to drink and served them on the side.  They were extremely good with both the risotto and the beef.

2005 Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley

There was a little panic about half an hour before dinner time as we had forgotten to clean the 3 pounds of leeks.  Fortunately, everyone pitched in, and we got them cleaned, sliced, and roasted in no time.

I wanted a wine that would have the tannic profile to stand up to the steaks and cheese, but also have an elegance that would marry well with the asparagus and leek.  Enter 2005 Quilceda Creek Red Wine Columbia Valley, a blend of 84% Cab, 9% Cab Franc, and 7% Merlot.  Black fruits blended with graphite and cedar on the nose.  Full-bodied, with rich, ripe, fruits and a huge backbone, it was a great pairing.

DESSERT:  Thomas Keller’s Dark Chocolate O-O’s

Keith had given us the Bouchon Bakery cookbook for Christmas last year, and this was the second time we tried Keller’s take on Ho-Ho’s.  They’re worth a full report themselves, so we’ll save that for another day.  I will, however, give you the picture of deliciousness.

Fingers or fork is the main question here

Day of Thrones has become a tradition that I suspect will outlive the HBO series.  Given its popularity, we’ll have many more years before we have to decide exactly what to do once the series is over.  Until then, this annual festival of food and games will continue.

Bern’s: Come for the wine, stay for the steaks. And more wine.

A couple of our friends, Nate and Mary, are getting married and then moving away for an exciting opportunity owning a restaurant.  They wanted one final fling at Bern’s Steakhouse, one of America’s best, before they left.  We were happy to oblige.  Four other friends of theirs, two who live here and two in town for the wedding, also came along, providing the maximum size table I ever want to be at in a restaurant.  Four is perfect for conversation, six it okay, and eight is the limit for keeping things coherent.  After that, it just becomes chaos.

If you know anything about Bern’s, you know it has the world’s largest operating wine cellar.  There are over 100,000 bottles on-site and nearly a million in their off-site across the street.  Reports vary on just how much is over there, and since the collection started decades before computers, I imagine we’ll never know.  The great thing about the cellar is that if you want trophy bottles, they’re there.  You can lay out serious cash like we did in January 2012, when we started drinking Burgundies (1926 was the oldest, 1970 the youngest) with some wine nerd friends.  That was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.  The secret to Bern’s cellar is the old and well-maintained stuff that most folks might not have heard of.  We’ve been there on several occasions when we’ve had two bottles from the 1970s and our wine bill was less than $100.  You just have to know what you’re looking for (or ask for some help from the somms).

Since I was in charge of the list, and knowing we wanted to keep the budget on the more reasonable end, I decided nothing was going to cost more than $100.  I had an endless number of choices.

2008 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs

On this occasion, we started with a sparkler since we were celebrating Nate & Mary’s nuptials.  I chose the 2008 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs, at a nicely affordable $75.  It’s a wine we know from what we think is the best American producer of sparkling wine.  It led to a brief discussion about whether I prefer their Blanc de Noirs to the Blanc de Blancs (at basically the same price point).  Gretchyn insisted that I had told her I liked the latter better, and I had it in my head the other way around.  I decided to trust her, and she was right.  As soon as I took the first sip, I remembered what I love about it.  Great golden straw color.  The Chardonnay shows through, rich and round.  Great flavors of honeyed green apple and just enough citrus make it shine.

1979 Ridge Zinfandel San Luis Obispo. Remnants of Truffled Tartare in the background.

For the second choice, I wanted one of those old California wines.  Nate was born in 1979, so that’s the year I zeroed in on.  The Zins from that era are the great values.  I finally chose 1979 Ridge Zinfandel San Luis Obispo.  I’m sometimes worried about the fruit profiles of these older wines, but this one still held a grip on its structure and fruit.  Beautiful aromatics and excellent length, all at $72.  A real find.  Only after we were drinking it did one of Mary’s friends tell me that her last name is Ridge, so she was doubly excited about the wine.

2005 Rusden Ripper Creek

Everyone knew that a Cab was going to be the last wine, being in a steak house and all.  Gretchyn ordered a shrimp dish, I ordered a Delmonico (pictured above—which was enough for a full meal and lunch the next day), and the rest of them shared a 48 oz Chateaubriand.  Good California Cabs can get a little pricey as well as be quite monolithic.  That Chateaubriand doesn’t have as much fat as the Delmonico, so I looked for something with a bigger fruit profile while still having the backbone to go with the steaks.   If I was at home, I would have pulled a Bressler Vineyards Cab out, because I think it’s perfect with the lower-fat steaks.  Being out, I searched immediately through Australian Cabs.  I found a few I liked the idea of, finally settling on 2005 Rusden Ripper Creek.  It’s a little generous to call it a straight Cab.  It’s more of a Cab-Shiraz blend, which fit the bill perfectly.   Notes of leather and spice, cassis, and blackberry jam.  Intense fruit without being over the top.  I would have hoped for just a touch larger tannins, but they were still enough to stand up to the beef.  It was well-received all around.

1961 St. Aubin Bas Armagnac

One of the fun things about Bern’s is that you eat dessert in an upstairs room where every table is a private cabin.  The list of whiskies, Ports, Cognacs, and Armagnacs is second to none.  I didn’t need anything sweet, so I chose a 1961 St. Aubin Bas Armagnac to finish a perfect meal.  It had a little sweetness on the nose that was a little reminiscent of the raisin and toffee of a Port.  The rest was delicious liquid fire.  Gretchyn was driving so she stuck to tea and a chocolate dessert.  Mary had a 20-year-old Graham’s Tawny Port to go with a Bern’s Cappuccino, which Nate also had.  He finished with a Calvados from 1965.  The other four were about 15 minutes behind us getting to the dessert room because being first-timers, they took the kitchen and wine-cellar tour.  I missed what they ordered for after-dinner drinks.

It was a great evening.  We made a few new friends and got to send off two close ones in exactly the right fashion.