Sunday the clouds came in – a little too chilly for outdoor dining, so, back indoors with gorgeous veal chops from DiBruno’s, roasted potatoes, asparugus, and garlic bread (a little piece of nostalgia) – all washed down with the magnificent Château Signac Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Chusclan “Combe d’Enfer” 2010 (which is easily the best ever produced on this estate).
Generous, ripe black fruit backed with fine, silky tannins and vibrant minerality. A perfect foil for the veal!
A beautiful Saturday evening, and our first meal outdoors this Spring.
Whole-roasted Branzino, and the first of the “All-Chateau Signac Weekend,” starting with the Château Signac Rosé Dona Clara 2012 – a drop-dead, gorgeous rosé from the Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages of Chusclan.
This is bone-dry “saignée” (a bleeding of juice from red wine) which just dances on the palate. Particularly good with whole-roasted fish (in this case, garnished with thinly-sliced, roasted orange slices), fresh, crusty baguette and lots of olive oil.
This is a favorite quick recipe that takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish, requires very little prep, and is a great lighter springtime dish.
Spring Ravioli with Ramps, English Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 lb. Your favorite fresh ravioli (in this case it was house made mint and pea ravioli from Eataly)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
7-8 Ramps (or 3 cloves of garlic if out of season)
1/3 lb. fresh English peas (or substitute frozen peas if out of season)
1/4 lb. fresh Shiitake mushrooms
Cooking
1. Bring a substantial pot of water to a boil.
2. Heat olive oil and […]
Decisions, decisions. A magnificent Middle-Loire Valley red wine – the “Expression” St. Nicolas de Bourgueil from Joel Taluau, an empty skillet, potatoes and carrots pan-roasting off to the side with duck fat (and apologies to my cardiologist…)…ah, what the heck…duck breast it is! Wowser!
Domaine de la Citadelle Gouverneur Saint-Auban Lubéron has a deep purple color, saturated right to the edge. The nose unfolds with ripe wild black cherries, crushed raspberries, and wonderful secondary aromatics, including dried figs, fresh fennel, and melted dark chocolate. On the palate the wine is all concentration and succulence, with luscious flavors suggesting black raspberry preserves, sweet Provençal herbs, and ripe black olives, all seasoned with buffering graphite minerality and sweet spices (like a great northern Rhône Syrah).
As always at Moore Brothers, this beautiful, handcrafted wine was “SHIPPED AT 56º,” so on a recent Sunday at Josh […]
