Tuesday, May 30, 2006

This weekend I made scallops in saffron sauce (vegetable stock, pinot grigio, saffron, fennel, garlic, shallot, butter). I wanted to get lobster, but I am a little intimidated with the whole killing them thing. I totally chickened out. I also didn't want to spend a ton of money on the grande sea bugs and then mess em up. That would suck. So, I chose to just mess up the scallops instead... Ha!


I also made steamed baby artichokes--in a pan with olive oil and guess what? more pinot grig! I made aioli to go with them.


For the appetizer, I made hummus with cannellini beans and oregano instead of chick peas. This actually tasted better to me the second day. I didn't add enough olive oil, though.


The best part of the meal to me, though, is always the bread. I have been buying it at TJ's--the kind they get from Il Fornaio--the Pugliese con oliva! I never eat bread during the week, so I lose total control over this stuff. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar, natch.


To drink, I bought French Cat Chardonnay (c) at TJ's... Totally pushed on me when I walked in the door by an obnoxious, over-sized display. Hey, the cat on the label was cute, so I caved. Normally, I don't do chard, I got burnt out on it a long time ago, but I didn't want to overpower the scallops. And the cute little kitty...come on!


I had three different quite bold reds this weekend. I am going to try to recall what they were... one moment... :)

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OK, so... one of them was 2000 del Sol Verano California Red Wine (c).
It was a blend. I thought it would be way less intense for it's age, but this stuff would stand up to buffalo meat. Very tannic and a little acidic.


The second one was Smashed Grapes Cab (sc). It was less of a kick in the teeth than the del sol, but still pretty heavy. It had a pretty yeasty smell up front, but it diminished after sitting a while.


I probably sound like such a dork, but I am so fascinated with learning about wine and how it is produced, why different vintages of the same label can evolve in taste and color so much, pricing, etc. I guess the podcasts have really renewed my interest.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

to clarify, was it French Cat or Fat Cat?

cakegrrl said...

There is indeed a "fat cat" chard, but this was called "french cat". :)
There are also a brand of scones called "fat cat"... Obviously, the makers of this wine get zero points for name originality. How hard is it to google something before you pitch it as a brand name?

cakegrrl said...

PS
Just for the record, there's also a Fat B*stard Chard. I have not tried the overweight cat or the b*stard.

amypatrick said...

Happy Birthday!!!! And the food sounds so good. My mouth is watering rigth now.

cakegrrl said...

Ha, that was just for this weekend... I am still planning the b-day party menu... mwahahahaha... xoxo

Anonymous said...

I have tried both Fat Cat and the Fat B*astard, neither is worth the effort, in my opinion. What is good is Coppola Pinot Grigio and also the Coppola Chard, two favs. Actually I like all Coppola wines.......

cakegrrl said...

I do like Coppola wines. Most definitely. Very decent wines and very very good line of pastas and sauces!

Anonymous said...

oh yummy on all their pasta dishes and i have not had a bad Coppola wine yet!!

ALSO a fun place to visit, the winery.........