i was sitting around with leigh (my fiancé and personal stylist) and her brother, john (who i owe a substantial amount of money to, thanks to a series of bad decisions on my part regarding last week's fantasy football match-up) last night, and we were trying to define "foodie". this came after a fantastic impromptu dinner of chicken sausages over shitake mushrooms with a mushroom demi-glace and a baby spinach salad. we drank 2005 Il Posta Malbec from Argentina and discussed what it meant to be a "foodie". we also watched the Patriots absolutely destroy the Buffalo Bills (and with only one T.D. pass to Ben Watson, preserved my fantasy football win this week! yeah, baby!)
what is a foodie? to me, a foodie is someone who appreciates food and eating. not simply someone that likes to eat a lot, but rather, somebody who delights in the art of food and cooking. there are, of course, food snobs--who can't imagine ingesting anything but the finest and most expensive of ingredients, but to me, a true foodie enjoys all levels of cuisine. a Burger King chicken sandwich? yes, please. john even suggested there could be such a thing as a "junk-foodie": someone with a palate for the fast, fried, and fatty. what kind of foodie are you? leigh just finished reading "Gluten Free Girl" and the author often speaks of her passion for food. where do you stand? do you eat because you have to, or is it an event to be celebrated?
i write this while waiting for my chicken stock to reduce. leigh and i are hosting thanksgiving for the first time this year and we're doing it gluten-free. the gravy will be a pan sauce thickened with demi-glace. the stuffing will be corn bread with chorizo and the bird is twenty eight pounds! i personally don't think it's going to fit in the oven. we'll need a chainsaw to cut it in half. leigh says it will be fine. mashed potatoes with horseradish cream, haricot vert with almonds, brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes round out the meal. yes...there will be wine.
so wish me luck getting this whole dog and pony show together. to all of you, i wish the happiest of thanksgivings. be safe, eat well and have love in your heart.
i'm a dark meat man, myself.
geoffrey
defining "foodie" and the road to thanksgiving...
Champagne Shootout and More...
we're definitely in the throws of the holiday season. there seems to be some kind of function, or party, or private tasting every night. the Sorriso third anniversary party is tonight, the Champagne Shootout is next tuesday and then there is Beaujolais Nouveau Day next thursday. so much to do--so much to talk about!
first off, there's the sorriso anniversary party tonight. our little sister restaurant is three years old. it seems like only yesterday we were sweeping sawdust off the floor, rubbing sealant into the rocky bathroom walls, and watching someone paint naked ladies on the wall (haven't been? check it out!) i remember putting together the original wine list and trying so many wonderful Italian wines. i can't believe it's been three years (but i'm going to the party, anyway!) come by and say, "hi!" it starts around 9:00 PM and it should be a hoot!
the legendary "Champagne Shootout" is almost here! next tuesday at 7PM we'll try SIX Champagnes in a blind tasting and try to figure out which one is the imposter, all the while tasting delicious foods paired perfectly with the bubbles: oysters, deviled eggs, scallops, etc...come on, you have to drink Champagne this time of year. it's the holiday season--so whoop-dee-doo!
and then there's Beaujolais Nouveau. the third week of every November the Beaujolais Nouveau is released in Burgundy. it is a wine created exclusively for partying. it's ultra-fruity, it doesn't age well, and it's not exactly "complex", but it tastes young and fresh and yummy and it goes down like grape nee-hi! it's used to celebrate the years harvest and we'll do the same next thursday at 8PM. we're serving a three-course Burgundian dinner with Bojo Nouveau poured from the "pig": a 15 liter cask shipped to us from France. there will be escargot, boeuf bourguignon and cheese and all the B.N. you can drink! well, not really, but at least a couple of glasses. then listen to some live jazz in our music room. oui? yeah, i'll see you there...
and remember: new year's eve will be here sooner than you think. ask around--we have the rockinest, ronnie ron-iest, champagne pourin'est new year's throwdowns this side of the champs-élysées. so book it now.
more info on any of this? call 617.542.5108
where's my velvet suit?
geoffrey
Tuesday Night Wrap-Up
well it was a little touch and go there for awhile. Olivier Schoepfer from Accents du Sud Ouest was in Reykjavík, Iceland after two days of delays trying to get here from France. Air France went on strike and Olivier was in the throws of one hell of a commute. the tasting was to begin at 7PM and Drew (owner of Oz Pacific--importer and distributor of fine wines from around the world and ex-bar manager at Les Zyg who actually hired me oh so many years ago) and i were wondering if Olivier would get here in time. sure enough, a mere 30 minutes late, Olivier arrived and we tasted some amazing wines from Southwestern France. We don't see nearly enough wine from this area of France, but they can be quite remarkable. one wine in particular piqued my interest: a Madiran made from the highly tannic tannat grape. tannat is very buzz-worthy these days as it has been shown to have more anti-oxidants than any other grape variety (save perhaps cannonau from Sardinia.) apparently many people in Madiran lives to be 90+ so it is a wine worth severe consideration. in the past, Madiran was undrinkable without at least 10 years of aging--the high levels of tannin making the wine bitter, chunky and unpleasant in its youth. these days new methods of production allow for temperature controlled fermentation, a shorter soak to allow for more extraction of color and less tannin, and a process called micro-oxygenation. this process introduces a minute amount of oxygen to the wine as it sits in tank--softening the harsh tannin and removing a bit of the rubbery aroma of the wine that some find unpleasant (present company excluded.) nowadays, Madiran can be enjoyed much earlier and it has much to offer: aromas of black pepper, black cherry, fig, grilled bread and yes--rubber. the flavors are intense and thick. Madiran is often high in alcohol, giving it a viscous mouthfeel.
anyway, i could go on and on. the wines were great. the pairings were right on: smoked scallops, calamari, house made sausages and Brébis--a sheep's milk cheese from the Southwest of France. we ate. we drank. we talked about how the French love to go on strike and we discussed the nightlife in Reykjavik (they like to boogie.) all-in-all a great tasting.
i can't wait for next week's Tuesday Night Tasting where we'll present wines from Argentina--land of meat and Malbec. don't forget Beaujolais Nouveau Day on Thursday, November 15. that's the day the Beaujolais Nouveau is released, celebrating this year's harvest in Burgundy. we're going to have a Beaujolais Blow Out at 8PM with a great three-course dinner and plenty of B.N. (what? i'm tired of writing Beaujolais Nouveau every time. oh man! i did it again!) call 617-542-5108 for details.
planning to live past 90+ thanks to Madiran,
geoffrey
