Indulgence of the Night 11/13 - 11/19

[doctorsimon]

Two kilos of mince converted into:
spag bol
more bolognese
chilli con carne
cottage pie
meatballs
stuffed peppers

That should keep the 2.5 of us going for a few weeks now!

If only I had my pasta machine here I could have made a lasagna with it too!

 

[modern man]

I think Matt will love what I had tonight.

I worked late today and my wife went out with her girlfriends for a birthday dinner so I cooked something quick and easy.

Ramen: Lime Shrimp and Chili flavor mixed together.

 

[castlecraver]

Chicken noodle soup... I'm feeling a little under the weather tonight

 

[jpweston]

This evening, SWMBO and I treated ourselves to a winemaker's dinner at a local cafe. The featured winery was: Matchbook

Here is what was on the menu:

Warm Salad of Wild Prawn, Scallop, & Mussels
Paired with: 2005 Matchbook Chardonnay

Anchiote Rubbed Chesapeake Striper with corn cake
Paired with: 2004 Matchbook Temparanillo

Risotto of Rabbit, Wild Mushroom & Proscuitto
Paired with: 2004 Matchbook Blockhouse

Boneless Short Rib With red wine & dark chocolate sauce
Paired with: 2004 Matchbook Syrah

Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce with Coffee or Tea

As this winery is fairly young, all of the releases are "first" releases. I am rather partial to the reds, so the middle of the menu was my favorite. The fish was amazing. The spiciness really completed the Temparanillo. The risotto was also very tasty and robust.

All in all, a very rich evening.

j.

 

[TimmyBoston]

Bulleit Bourbon. Not my favorite, but still not too bad and it does make a wonderful Kentucky Iced Tea.

 

[ouch]

This evening, SWMBO and I treated ourselves to a winemaker's dinner at a local cafe. The featured winery was: Matchbook

Here is what was on the menu:

Warm Salad of Wild Prawn, Scallop, & Mussels
Paired with: 2005 Matchbook Chardonnay

Anchiote Rubbed Chesapeake Striper with corn cake
Paired with: 2004 Matchbook Temparanillo

Risotto of Rabbit, Wild Mushroom & Proscuitto
Paired with: 2004 Matchbook Blockhouse

Boneless Short Rib With red wine & dark chocolate sauce
Paired with: 2004 Matchbook Syrah

Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce with Coffee or Tea

As this winery is fairly young, all of the releases are "first" releases. I am rather partial to the reds, so the middle of the menu was my favorite. The fish was amazing. The spiciness really completed the Temparanillo. The risotto was also very tasty and robust.

All in all, a very rich evening.

j.

Sounds like fun.

Call me a bit of a traditionalist, or a fuddyduddy for that matter, but I'm not completely in favor of many of the wine/food pairings that have become popular recently. I think it is often more a case of the sommelier trying to show off how hip and smart he is. (In America, sommelier is often a term ascribed to someone who worked in the electronics department at Macy's last week.) Fish with red wine will always be a dicey proposition, in my estimation. This is especially true with delicate, white fleshed fish. At least the chef had the decency to pair the striper with a light Tempranillo (one of Spain's finest varietals, and one of the most food friendly wines around), and to spice it accordingly.

Chocolate is another nightmare pairing for wine. It can be done, but usually the results leave something to be desired, at best. Even the traditional mate-Banyuls- can be hard to pull off.
I am not familiar with the Blockhouse grape.

As for young wineries, I wish them all the luck in the world. (They'll need it- the old adage goes that the only way to make a small fortune in wine is to start with a large one.) As long, that is, as they attempt to make honest, quality wine. If they want to be yet another high end, boutique blender, well, we already have more than enough of those.

 

[Limey]

My wife made a homemade birthday cake for my birthday on Monday and I have been eating it every night since. It ought to last until Friday if I'm lucky. Only get to this once a year!

 

[jduffy]

Building a tube amplifier.

I blame Ouch for renewing my audio addiction.

I love the smell of solder in the morning, it smells like a Single Ended Triode.

 

[ouch]

Glad to be of service.

I hope you're planning on using horns for those little SET's.

 

[rikrdo]

Edgeworth Sliced in my Larry Roush "Fisherman's Pipe"
.....so named by the maker.

My poor attempt at Ready-Set-Concoct a Manhattan.
.......no sweet Vermouth in the house - extra dry really does not work well
and, Roses Lime Juice did not help the drink at all.

 

[ouch]

Hmmm. Some folks would say that "no sweet vermouth in the house" is a good first step.

 

[rikrdo]

Hmmm. Some folks would say that "no sweet vermouth in the house" is a good first step.

Yeah...my thoughts too.
BUT.
As a bourbon 'bibing brutha I thought it only appropriate to enjoy a Manhattan every now and then.

Any good recipes??
Havent really had one I really dug.
============================
now enjoying Cashews with my watered down "Manhattan"

 

[castlecraver]

Jim,

Is that one of those antique CRT monitors on your desk? I think I saw one of those in a museum once. That tube amp is going to sound great hooked up to your victrola

 

[jduffy]

Okay, first Ouch and then Castlecraver:

Yep, building horns myself with a Fostex fullrange driver. I'd already posted here that I got the Fostex drivers but I guess I'll have to post again with a pic of them.

You should hear me getting crazy on a Friday night when I fire up my orchestrion. Now THAT'S music baby! And I'll take a CRT over those new fangled gizmos. I like the feeling of retinal burn.

 

[ouch]

Jim,

Is that one of those antique CRT monitors on your desk? I think I saw one of those in a museum once. That tube amp is going to sound great hooked up to your victrola

High end audio, at least the amplification portion of it, is pretty much a solved problem. You can make fun of tubes all you want, but they work great.
Sure, you need a whole bunch of them to drive some big, inefficient speakers, but they're fantastic for preamps and phono stages.

 

[boboakalfb]

I guess I am not the only one who got the Manhattan Memo...

Makers Manhattan
Makers Mark
Noilly Prat Sweet Vermouth
Dash of Bitters
Garnished with a Cherry

I usually mix about 4 or 5 to 1 with the Vermouth since the Makers has an inherent sweetness. Experiment and see what ratio you like best.

If you were to use a Rye Whiskey (The traditional whiskey used for a Manhattan.) You could do 3 to 1 since the Rye is a bit spicier and less sweet then a Bourbon.

Savinelli with Astleys 109

 

[rikrdo]

If you were to use a Rye Whiskey (The traditional whiskey used for a Manhattan.)

"I Did not know that"....done in my best Johnny Carson impersonation
I will have to pick me up some Rye.
Is Jim Beam Rye any good??
Thanks for the recipe BTW

 

[boboakalfb]

"I Did not know that"....done in my best Johnny Carson impersonation
I will have to pick me up some Rye.
Is Jim Beam Rye any good??
Thanks for the recipe BTW

Maybe some others more versed in Rye can chime in. I don't care for the Jim Beam Rye...for a couple bucks more the Wild Turkey Rye 101 is much better. I have heard the Old Rip Van Winkle is good as well but I haven't tried it.

 

[ouch]

Mmmmm. Astley's 109. I'm almost out, except for the dozen or so tins I have stashed away.

 

[Edcculus]

Enjoying one of my favorite Phish shows:

2/20/93, Roxy Theatre, Atlanta GA.


except give the one singing a some keyboards a B3 and a mini grand.