Jolly Good: Black Books, "Kafka on the Shore", Wine, Club 299 and Graduating

Upon reading my last few blog entries, I realised people might be under the impression that I’m a bitter, cynical old witch who sees little joy in the world.

Well that may be, but there are still some things out there that bring a ray of sunshine to my withered, blackened old heart.

(I also can’t be arsed writing about the highlights of the last decade like everybody else is.)

Black Books

“OLD!” Yes yes, I know, it’s been well established that I am not at the forefront of modern pop culture trends. Whatever. What an excellent show. It combines many things I can appreciate and relate to. Books! Surly customer service! Awkward social situations! Wine-related disasters! A bizarre attraction on my part to Bernard Black even though he’s a bitter, alcoholic, antisocial, possessive bastard! I love it. Thankyou naughty YouTube users for putting the episodes on the internet and providing me with hours of entertainment. My favourite is Grapes of Wrath.

Bernard: No one is willing to admit that wine doesn’t actually have a taste.
Manny: Of course you can’t taste anything, you smoke eighty bajillion cigarettes a day. What’s that you’re eating?
Bernard: Some sort of delicious biscuit.
Manny: It’s a coaster.
Bernard: Is it? Are there any more?

Speaking of wine…

Red Wine

“I will never be a pretentious, wine-drinking wanker!” I have screeched in various tequila/vodka-addled states.

This changed when I discovered that red wine is actually pretty nice. I currently like shiraz cabernet. Perhaps this is a sign of maturity. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s just a phase and will pass soon. It certainly seems to be in vogue with certain circles of young ladies at the moment. As shown in Black Books, it is the perfect partner to cozy nights in, reading a good book (or watching said British comedy on DVD), art gallery openings, late night chats with friends or lamenting over various love-related disasters. Oh, and probably pasta and certain kinds of fish I suppose.

Part of the appeal is a certain sophistication; swirling the beetrooty liquid around in my glass, making astute observations like, “Hmm… yes… quite a fine vintage, with subtle notes of… um… wine.”

Back on the subject of books…

Kafka on the Shore

I loved Karuki Murakami’s book After Dark so I moved onto his arguably most well-known book, Kafka on the Shore.

It’s hard to describe what it’s about without ruining it. It’s set in urban Japan but where mythology, philosophy, art, music and literature alters time and reality. It’s funny, tragic and a richly surreal look on life and the world. If you’re like and get caught up in pondering existential things like parallel universes and dreams, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Club 299

Club 299 in Fortitude Valley has gone under many changes. I was a bit of a regular back in 2007, in which I would consume tequila and play air guitar along to Guns n Roses. Knowing the ex-bar manager had its own advantages too. Then the club changed hands and the new club nights – particularly one advertised Katy Perry-themed night – discouraged me to return.

But the club has changed yet again, and I for one welcome our new Club 299 overlords. I haven’t been on a Thursday night yet, but Rosie’s ever-popular Snitch club night will now be at 299. SFX on Friday night features music that tickles my heavy rock and metal fancy, while Gossip on Saturday night plays a wide variety of indie, classic tunes (Ghostbusters theme song, anybody?) and guilty pleasures. The light-up disco dancefloor upstairs is quite a spectacle for bloodshot eyes. The downside is that it gets sticky after a while of dancers spilling their drinks on it. Basically, don’t dance there if you’re wearing slip-on shoes. On a personal note, a few “Old Ric’s” staff and regulars work, DJ and drink there. It’s lovely to see friends and familiar faces when I go.

Excellent Brissy band I Heart Hiroshima will be playing there this Saturday night. Can’t wait!

Graduating
According to those kind folks at QUT, I am now qualified to be a journalist. I got a piece of paper and everything. Blogging superstar Peter Taggart is one too.

Somebody hire us, please. Will write for money. Or food. Or wine.

[Via http://elliefreeman.wordpress.com]

Punta Del Diablo (and Montevideo)

After our short stint in Colonia, we hopped on a bus and headed over to the small beach town of Punta del Diablo. We originally were going to make a stop in Punta del Este; however, we heard it was a lot more touristy and a bit of a party spot. Our friend Marianne that we met in Mendoza had gone to Punta del Diablo a month or so before and suggested that the slow-paced and less visited beach would be more our style.  And boy was she right…

Punta Del Diablo

We took her recommendation on the hostel as well, El Diablo Tranquilo. The hostel itself was decent, but quite crowded. It was also run by all Americans from Chicago, who were all very nice, but obviously lacking in culture.  The hostel also ran a bar on the beach that had mediocre food but a great drink selection.  And the bar did draw a nice local crowd as well.

During the low season, the town only has about 300 inhabitants.  But they do get up to 20,000 visitors at a time from all over Uruguay and other countries.  We spent our days lounging around on the beautiful, almost deserted beach (save for a handful of surfers), strolling down the unpaved, sandy roads, consuming our fair share of alcohol, and hanging with our new friends at the hostel.  There are a ton of little cabanas lining the beach and had we had known, we would have rented one of them for the week and definitely suggest that option to anyone who travels here. You can get a pretty decent price if you have 3 people or more.

The main road

We also went horseback riding with a local named Fabian and two girls from Sweden. It was such a great day! Kim and I hadn’t been on a horse in over 17 years so we were a little nervous. Especially because my few experiences riding ended in me either falling off or my horse laying down in the mud with me still on it. Yeah. And of course, Fabian gave me the slightly unruly horse, Imilio, but was great once you show him you’re in control. Kim’s horse Borracha (“drunk girl” in Spanish), was awesome. They named her that because she weaves back and forth down the road and always stops to munch a bit on the way. It was hilarious. Fabian led us through the local national park and we stopped for some cookies and wine before doing some galloping down the beach. It really was a nice combo:)

Cowgirls!

Wine break

I also made friends with one of the only Uruguayan guys that worked at the hostel, Matias. He offered to make us an authentic Uruguayan meal at his place our last night in town. It reminded us a lot of our mother’s stew she used to make us. It consisted of steak, chorizo (a type of sausage), bacon, pasta, potatoes, carrots, yams, and onion in tomato sauce. It was so delicious and really nice to have some good comfort food for a change.

There wasn’t much to do in Punta del Diablo, but that was exactly what we were looking for. We could have actually stayed here another week or so. Kim and I really enjoyed it here. However, it was time to head back toward Buenos Aires so we could get over to Chile. We stayed one night in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo and had lunch at an old port that is now filled with restaurants and small shops, and then went to a local market to have a look. It was crazy big and sold everything from produce to live chickens, ducks, and turkeys. One night was definitely sufficient for Montevideo. The next day we hopped our ferry and cruised back in to Argentina.

We didn’t have much time in Uruguay, but were definitely glad we included it in the trip. Here are some random thoughts and/or highlights about Uruguay.

-It’s much more expensive than Argentina. Boo.

-Chivito’s are awesome. It’s a type of sandwich that is served everywhere consisting of really thin steak, a fried egg, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Lots of mayo. MMMM.

-The stray dogs are so cute. The same ones hang around the people they like and escort you all over town. A walk to the store, a stroll on the beach, heading home from the bar? “Heck yeah I’ll come!”

-The men are very attractive in this country. Yep.

-The people are extremely laid back and friendly.

[Via http://sistersastray.com]

Baby Steps

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Cornerstone Cellars.

I mentioned in a post last week that you should come back in a little while to see full reviews of some of Cornerstone’s new line, Stepping Stone, here on ye olde wine blog. Well, that day came sooner than I thought when I stepped into the basement and my eyes locked on the bottle of 2007 Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc. Although I had gone down to the basement to retrieve a Pinot Noir, the Cabernet Franc called my name. It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14.9%alcohol by volume, and retails for $30.

The nose on this wine sang to me. No, really. The first thought that popped into my head upon sniffing was “strawberry fields forever.” I also found cranberry, earth, spice, loganberry, raspberry, red cherry, and dusty chocolate.  In the mouth, cherry, raspberry, pepper, cranberry, strawberry, and earth stood out.  I described the wine as “kicky” by which I mean the fruit showed as tart and fresh. I don’t drink a lot of Cabernet Franc in general and almost none of what I do comes from California, but the Stepping Stone definitely opened my eyes to what a Cab Franc from CA could be!

[Via http://wannabewino.com]

The Cosby Show

For the last few months I have been recording the Cosby show on my DVR. What an image of the perfect family. So it is not real but the ideas came from somewhere. I assume that all the writers have bits and pieces of experience of that sort of family life. What I love about that show is the kind of relationship that Cliff and Clair have. The way they dance and laugh brings tears to my eyes when I watch. So I find myself thinking, I want that. I believe it is out there and waiting for me. I would love a man who has been exposed to the arts and appreciates it enough to share it with the ones he loves. Just think about this for a moment, you put the kids to bed and your husband has gone downstairs and when you meet him down there he has 2 glasses of a fine wine already poured, he has candles lit and you hear the sound of a slow blues song with a classic artist singing about true love. Your husband walks over to you with his hand out inviting you to dance. He holds you close your cheek to cheek as you move to the sound of the music. Now is that possible or is just Cosby? Now think about this for a moment. Your wife comes home with show tickets to go see a famous musician. Everyone gets dressed to impress, a car picks you all up, you go to a classy restaurant and have a fine dinner followed by the show you all have been waiting for. Now these tickets are for front row seats and a meet and CD signing by the artist after the show.  Now your wife knew how much you loved this artist so she went over and above to make this experience very memorable for you and your family because she loves you. Now could this happen or is it Cosby? Here is one more situation to imagine. Your kids grow up appreciating and enjoying all the efforts you made during their youth and pass it on to their families once they have one and this gets passed for generations. Am I asking too much or is this only Cosby?

Instead of coming home and complaining about bills and work. Lets get creative and open our minds and our hearts and get out on the town and see all that is out there to be seen. I know life is not perfect and won’t play out like a TV show.However couldn’t we learn a thing or two from Americas favorite family?

[Via http://michelleoutloud.wordpress.com]

Day 2 at Napa Rose with The Two Guys

OK, so this posting is about two months late, but we figured better late than never.  This is a recap of another fantastic tasting menu experience at the Napa Rose in the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland, Anaheim, California.  Day two of a two and one half day visit to the Magic Kingdom meant that we got to enjoy a second dinner at Napa Rose with a menu created for our meal by our favorite server/sommelier, Saucy.  As usual, The Two Guys let Saucy do the wine pairing as well, since he has an excellent nose for it.

Joining us were the kids and John’s sister, Auntie Julie.

To start, Saucy brought out pappardelle pasta with sauteed fall mushrooms, favas, figs and basil pesto.

Green Pappardelle Pasta

And the “baked Cinderella” pumpkin goat cheese tart with quince puree, roasted duck confit and cranberry port vinaigrette:

Cinderella Tart only at Disneyland

They were absolutely scrumptious (and though we have notes about the wines, we forgot to write down which courses most were paired with).

The kids got chicken breast with lemon whipped potatoes and petite green beans:

Roasted Chicken Breast

And buttered noodles with Parmesan cheese and grilled chicken:

Penne Pasta

Auntie Julie ordered the warm salad of harvest apples, red endive and autumn greens with smoked bacon, spicy pecans and “Fiscalini Farms Reserve” white cheddar:

Julie's Salad

We have no clue which wines these were:

Lots of Wine

But they all disappeared:

All Gone

How can one forget one of the top dishes of the evening – the tempura fried lobster and spicy Asian beef salad with daikon radish and coconut-lime vinaigrette:

Fried Salad

This was paired with a 2006 Failla Chardonnay (Russian River Valley).  The winemaker says that we should have tasted “wet stones,” but we did not.  (Really now – what on Earth do wet stones taste like anyway?)  We found the apple and hazelnut notes paired perfectly with the delicate and light lobster and Asian notes in the salad.

Saucy also brought us the warm salad of grilled Mediterranean octopus with English cucumbers, potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes in a Cabernet vinaigrette:

Nick's First Taste of Octopus

Though both of The Two Guys loved the flavor of the octopus, Nick didn’t care for the texture, as it was a bit gummy.  John loves octopus grilled, fried, smoked, however.

Next up was an amuse bouche:

Amuse Bouche

An orange sorbet with a dehydrated and sugared orange rind.  What’s not to love about sugar?  This was Nick’s favorite dish of the evening!  Six weeks later, and he’s still gushing about it.

Next up was the peppered and grilled “red deer” venison double chop over roasted autumn roots in a pear-huckleberry sauce:

Red Deer

We shared it, and both of The Two Guys found it absolutely scrumptious.  It was paired with a 2006 Rudd “Crossroads” Cabernet Sauvignon, which both of The Two Guys thought was a mismatch at first.  After it opened up, it was a much better mate to the venison.

We also shared the walnut crusted mountain meadows lamb rack over roasted parsnips and Sonoma mushrooms:

Lamb Rack

This was paired with a 2005 Stanton Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, which was yummy, with lots of earthy and musty undertones that paired well with the lamb.

Auntie Julie ordered the grilled petit filet of Angus beef with crisp Yukon gold potato gnocchi, smoked bacon, grilled onions, all in a Merlot jus:

Meadows Lamb Rack

Auntie is not much of an enophile, and she ordered iced tea to pair with her beef.  She reported that it was a perfect match.

For dessert, Saucy brought out an apple tart:

Apple Tart

Think deconstructed.

And creme brulee:

Creme Brulee

Also prepared in the deconstructed style.

Both disappeared promptly.  Nick is not much of a fan of dessert wines, so we passed on the wines with dessert.

For The Two Guys, Napa Rose is truly a destination restaurant, and whenever we find an excuse to stay at or near Disneyland, we make a point to visit Saucy for a culinary tour de force.

Until next time . . .

[Via http://twoguyswithanappetite.com]

On the Verge

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Verge Wine Cellars.

Of what? Of fantabulous wines. Oh yes, fantabulous. I first tried a wine from Verge at the Twitter Taste Live at Estate in Sonoma. Though, given that I love the wines of Michel Schlumberger and Jay works there, it was not a giant leap that I’d enjoy these wines too.  Plus, Syrah? One of my favorites.  Not to mention, for December, owners Jay and Mike are donating 10% of all profits to Feeding America. You get a great bottle of wine and a worthy cause gets some much needed funding. How can you go wrong? The 2007 Verge Dry Creek Valley Syrah clocked in at 14.8% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and retails for $40.

On the nose, pepper, plum, spice, violets, green olives, black cherry, and meaty notes jumped out at me. The aroma had a pie-like quality to it that I loved. In the mouth I found black cherry, spice, tart raspberry, plum, anise, pepper, and other dark fruit.  Overall the fruit showed as tart and the wine had a great long finish.  I’d suggest a bottle with your holiday meal…especially if you are serving a beef or pork based dish.

[Via http://wannabewino.com]

Anyone for a mulled wine sorbet?

Here are two very Christmassy ideas that I’ve plundered shamelessly from Kieran Murphy’s foodie blog: sparkling wine sorbets, and sorbets made from leftover mulled wine.

(1) Blanquette de Limoux sorbet

Kieran runs Murphys Ice Cream in Dingle, County Kerry, and for the past three years or so they have been making a champagne sorbet with Dom Perignon.

Or you could make one with pink champagne. But when you’re in the Languedoc, champagne is out of the question. It just has to be the splendid  Blanquette de Limoux. Here’s my recipe for B de L sorbet,  which is tangy, zingy and I bet it’s just as good as any champagne version.

1. Dissolve 300 grams of sugar in half a litre of bottled spring water.
2. Cool the mixture down completely.
3. Add a third of a bottle of Blanquette de Limoux, and lemon juice to taste (I find it takes a couple of lemons) to counteract the sweetness.
4. Pour the liquid into a plastic tub with a cover, and put it in the freezer.
5. Take it out briefly every hour or so to break up the ice with a fork or a whisk, then return it to the freezer. It can take quite a while to set – maybe the alcohol affects the freezing process?
6. About 15 or 20 minutes before serving, take the tub out from the freezer and allow it to thaw slightly. A sorbet shouldn’t be as hard as a lolly, or as soft as a “slushy” either.

“It’s hard to make sorbet without an ice cream machine. You will need to interrupt the freezing process and stir, or you will be left with a block of ice! The more times you do this, the better the consistency will be.”
- Kieran Murphy, IceCreamIreland.com

(2) Mulled wine sorbets

Kieran’s crew also came up with a mulled wine sorbet recipe after a Galway cafe asked for it for its Christmas menu. Here’s my simplified version:

1. Take your mulled wine, which I’m assuming is already cooled down completely, and strain it to remove any cloves, lemon peel etc.
2. Freeze as you would any sorbet (see above)
3. Serve in small wine glasses, garnished with a slice of orange.

Related posts:

• Mulled wine recipes
• ‘She wore a raspberry purée…’ – includes a raspberry sorbet recipe
• Elderflower champagne – we might make some sorbet from a couple of bottles still left after our elderflower harvest in June

[Via http://irishherault.wordpress.com]