brunosdream

This should be the start of a new yearly tradition; meeting  for wine and  Thanksgiving  food stories while others dash about in a shopping frenzy… Remy’s was the natural choice, it being “the mayors” 2nd home and my 3rd.

Jay playing bartender for the night
(we also shared “family” pictures. Jay’s dog
Jenny is the mother to my son and a few
other lucky groovy people)

The Nights Wine & Spirit List…

Steele Cabernet Franc ’02 Clear Lake
very quaffable w/ burnt sugar and
mocha explorations

Qupe Syrah  ’03 Central Coast
crushed blackberry, lavender
w/ velvety tannins

Gravity Hills “Base Camp” Syrah ’02
Paso Robles
cornucopia of red fruit and spices

Magnificent Wine Co. “House Wine” ’03
California
58% Cabernet-32% Merlot-9%Syrah-1% Cabernet Franc

Doamine de Barillon Bas 
21/yo Armagnac

                Dessert Trio 

Warm Apple Bread Pudding, Tiramisu
& Chocolate Mousse

                                                         

1111 Mississippi, the review…

  A gathering of “Foodies” (genuine food lovers) always means a good time but add a great place and it becomes a true event… Tonight’s gathering includes Radio guy extraordinaire Dave, Stay at home “Sex Kitten” and aspiring writer Kris, Writer and recently published Poet Sandra Jean,  “The Mayor” and Me, your humble narrator.

   While sampling our appetizers, Dave commented “at 1111 it’s all about the food”…  In that one remark he captured Chef Ivy Magruders culinary philosophy: An uncomplicated menu with the freshest ingredients paired with a stunning wine list.

  Though the menu maybe uncomplicated, the exquisite flavors infused in each plate represent  gastronomic ecstasy for the  impassioned epicurean…

“D”

 

Grilled Sea Scallops w/ chive polenta cakes& vanilla rum sauce

Sauteed chanterelle mushrooms w/ puff pastry tower
The chaterelles in the cream sauce were tasty and the puff pastry tower was light and flaky.

Wild Boar Ravioli w/ a tomato vodka cream sauce
The wild boar ravioli were so delicious there weren’t enough to go around!

The 1st wine tonight was Wits End-The Procrastinator an Australian blend of

 95% Cabernet Franc/5% Shiraz. It was a great wine to start out the evening

Grilled Double Pork Chop stuffed with bacon-dijon mustard cream over blue corn polenta
The stuffed pork chop was juicy and had a nice bacony filling. A pig lover’s dream!

Seared Ono w/ tomatillo salsa over golden barley 
Of all the main courses we ate, my favorite was the ono (also known as wahoo). It had a beautifully crispy crust yet was still moist (gotta ask Ivy how he did it!). This may replace tuna as my favorite fish!

Grilled Salmon w/ roasted fingerling potatoes,swiss chard & artichoke tapenade

Braised Rabbit w/ Tuscan red wine reduction & aged goat cheese polenta
The braised rabbit had a great wine sauce, the goat cheese in the  polenta gave it an additional creamy texture.

Midnight Cellars Estate Zinfandel 2002,Paso Robles
which was, you guessed it... ZINFULLY DELICIOUS!!

crème custard napoleon w/ carameled
bananas & chocolate shavings

warm chocolate bread pudding w/ marshmallows & pecan streusel served w caramel ice cream
Again the chocolate bread pudding was the winner in the dessert category. It had nice crispy edges and awesome flavors that exploded in your mouth!

Calvados/ Aged Apple Brandy

  Everything was beautifully presented and the evening was exceptional...

 the perfect combo of great friends, food and service all wrapped up in a

 cozy, warm and inviting atmosphere, topped off w/ a perfect grape juice buzz!!   

Tasting notes                 Food Photography                                                                      "The Mayor"                         "D"  

Chef Ivy & “The Mayor”

Kris, “The Mayor” & Sandra Jean

Rich Friendships

Sandra Jean © 2005

Rich,
like chocolate bread pudding
so good
you’ve got to
slow down
between bites
and savor the flavor
that’s taken up residence
in your mouth. Rich friendships
made like
intricate
cut-glass
window ornaments
that become
conduits
for sunshine
and the smiles of
rich friendships
that sit around a table where
the laughter pours more freely
than the wine.
A place where
new friendships
sprout
from old friendships
like trails of ivy
in a kitchen window.
Where my plate
is our plate
and your plate
is our plate
and we share bites
and giggles
and stories of
old friendships
first tied together with
I knew her,
knew him,
knew them
when
rich friendships
were just
new friendships.

Back when good knees
and better eyesight
were taken for granted.
Back when we
were going to conquer
the world
and before
the aging,
like good wine,
of our rich friendship.Thanks for a great time!

 

The Aroma Wheel
  Ann Noble, a professor at U.C. Davis, created this great tool to help people improve their ability to recognize different aromas that are present in wines. So many people get lost by the lingo that wine geeks use in their descriptions of wines. I think these descriptors might also freak people out a bit because it’s tough to identify these aromas. With a little training though you too can become a wine geek, or at least keep up w/ the pretentious types you may encounter at your local wine shops when they do a tasting!! The aroma wheel goes from general smells in the center then expands outward to more specific smells.  To do your tasting you’ll need a base wine that has very little taste and smell. A box of Almadin wine works well and isn’t expensive, or if you can’t find that use some other neutral jug wine. If you’re experimenting w/ identifying aromas in red wines use a red for your base, or white if you’re going for white wine aromas. Pour about 2 ounces of the wine in each glass you’re using. Then, for example, drop into each separate glass some clove, leather, tobacco, berries (fresh, frozen, or jam), pineapple, grass, citrus, honey, straw, tar, pepper or whatever you’d like to train your nose to identify. Be as creative as you want to be! Cover the glasses w/ something
for a few minutes to let the aromas strengthen, then have at it and
have fun! Smell your base wine to compare and contrast w/ your experimental concoctions. Remember don’t taste, just sniff, or you may get a mouthful of something that could trigger that gag response!!

  To buy a colored and laminated version of Ann Noble’s aroma wheel go to: http://www.winearomawheel.com/

Just do me one favor… Don’t turn into one of those pretentious wine snobs or I’ll have to slap you senseless if I ever see you at a wine tasting!
: )

“The Mayor”

Hey there,

  In our quest to expose you to all things food and wine, it’s my pleasure to introduce our 1st guest blogger restaurant review….

Bettina from Hamburg,  Germany

“D”

    Just went to restaurant I hadn’t been to in years. A place called
“Nil”.   Very innovative cuisine.
I had beef carpaccio with baby-octopus sauteed in Lime-Vinaigrette.Then, some sausage that only looked like one. It was made with fish (pike) and pumpkin, also with lime and homemade bacon. After that, fawn with truffled viper’s grass and nutty potatoes. For dessert one could choose between Pear soaked in Shiraz wine with nutmegflower-icecream and Florentiner (cookie),and a small assortment of native milk cheeses. I went for the cheese.   It was a pleasure.
Had some nice, tasty French Rosé with it. I quite like Rosé at the
moment.

Bettina