For about 2 years now, 3 or 4 of my best friends and I gather at my house (sometimes other houses, but almost always mine since I have a big house and a big back deck) at least once a month to cook, share 3 or 4 bottles of great wine, and talk about how cool we are for doing this.

I guess it started with my practice of buying wine by the case instead of bottle-by-bottle ('cuz it's cheaper), and then I'd realize that I'd never drink all this wine by myself. So, we decided to go buy a few really good steaks, cook outside, and proceed to love life. It used to be really simple all the time: steaks, one or two veggies, wine. But since nearly all of us work(ed) in food service, and since I am the king-daddy-pimp of the kitchen (slight exaggeration), I decided to spice it up and get all gourmet on everyone's ass.

So far, we've done everything from kabobs to Tandouri (sp?) to Thai, etc, etc. I posted one of my Dinner-@-James' recipes on the Recipe thread...I think it was for satueed grouper or something. We're constantly discovering something new we love, we ocassionally mess everything up on a disastrous scale (and by "we" I mean "I"), and we always revel in the simple joys of food, wine, and friends (awwwww....)

So for no other reason than pure self-indulgence, I'm starting this thread to chronicle the culinary exploits of our little dinner club. Actually, I do think it's nice to share ideas whenever you find something new and/or fun in the world of food and wine. Most of the best things I've ever tried out in the kitchen I've gotten from a friend, or a restaraunt I worked for. I may love cooking, but I'm sadly unoriginal. Whether it's a recipe, a food-wine pairing, or just a particularly good meal, I love culinary arts and I love talking about it. Feel free to contribute your own insights and adventures.

MENU FOR SUNDAY, 4/23/05:

-- Clementine Salad with baby ridicchio and sliced almonds. I don't know much about how to make this. My friend Melissa does it, and it is freaking a.w.e.s.o.m.e
Wine Pairing: Gazela Vinho Verde (we usually open a bottle as an apertif, and it usually doubles as a 1st course wine)

-- Mixed Grill kabab with spicy oreganatta glaze. This consists of fresh sea scallops, local (Charleston) Tiger Shrimp, and chopped NY Strip, skewered with mixed veggies (red and green peppers, shitake mushrooms, white onions) that have been marinated in an oreganatta sauce that is a guarded secret.
Wine Pairing: Flichman Tupungata, '02

You: Why jame$, what is "Tupungata"?

jame$: it's a blend of Malbec, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvingnon from esteemed Argentinian winemaker Finca Flichman.

You: boy, that sounds yummy.

jame$: yep, it is.

You: but jame$, although a big red wine like that would pair well with the steak, won't it run the risk of overpowering more delicate fare like shellfish?

jame$: well....shut up.

-- Desert: Yeah, see...most of us, while having the know-how, just aren't industrious enough to whip up a dessert for this things. Sometimes we do, but usually we just invest in a really good dessert wine, and that suits us just fine. So,

Dessert Wine: Artessa Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer. The winemakers at Artessa leave the grapes on the vine longer so that they overripen, causing a natural concentration of fruit sugar. The result is a sweet treat that is honey-like and unctuous in texture, with overtones of honeysuckle and orange blossom.

There's gonna be more of us than usual tonight (I think...Craig hasn't called...so maybe not) so I'll try to get some pictures of the magic.

Bonus Question: Although I'll love the Tupungata, who can think of a wine that would be better suited to something like kabab, where you are dealing with several different tastes at once? A shiny nickel for the Apple with the best answer.

Thunderbird goes well with just about everything, in my experience.

Okay seriously, I'd probably serve a nice young Beaujolais with a mixed grill like that.

Sure, invite your friends, but exclude your neighbors when good food is involved....

Yeah, I'd worry about this big red overpowering your seafood. That's not a match, methinks.

Regarding your bonus question, my suggestion is to pick a flavor in the dish -- say the Tiger Shrimp (since they're local) -- and match the wine to THAT flavor profile as the main goal, with secondary goals of complimenting your secret Oreganata marinade. Since the Oreganata probably contains parsley, mint, breadcrumbs, and (of course) oregano, you'd probably want something white to pick up on those light, bright flavors (I am assuming you're using fresh herbs all around). I'm thinking a full bodied white wine (see my earth-shattering suggestion, below) since your main dish seems to be mostly seafood with some steak thrown in.


It may be too late, but I just LOVE a good Moscato di Asti for dessert. Amazing. Reasonably priced which also helps.

In fact, that Gewurtz would probably be a good match for your kebabs... Gewurtz is my 'go-to' white wine because it matches well with many flavor profiles. I don't think you'll go wrong here.

On a related note, check out CULINARY ARTISTRY, a book by Andrew Dorenburg and Karen Page. It's a great, basic primer on 'flavor matching', among other things (including some spectacular recipes).

On a different note, I like the idea of this thread, Jame$! You'll see me here participating!

could you explain dessert wines to me?

Dessert wines are... wines that are meant to be drunk with (or as) dessert.

They are typically whites, low alcohol, and sweet. Some of them, as in the case of the Moscato, are lightly fizzy.

The challenge with dessert wines is that they should be SWEETER than your dessert item, or else the wine's vinegar notes become pronounced (sometimes to an unpleasant degree).

Dessert wines are vital, just in case you're not sufficiently plowed after cocktails, the aperitif, and the wine served with the main course.

I stick with cappucino myself.

And on the red spectrum of dessert wines/blends... Port and Sherry.

mmm... Port...

~fff

Cool!

So glad to see people answering!

Keith gets the shiny nickel for best answer. Though Drew is right in thinking the Tupungato isn't the best match, it all comes to down to what you like...and I loves Flichman Tupungato. Though Keith suggested a young Beaujolais, I would actually reccomend what's called a Cru Beaujolais. If you don't know what the difference is, *Cru* Beaujolais means that the grapes are sourced from one specific village within the Beaujolais AC. Usually, you won't see the world "Beaujolais" in large print on these bottles, but rather "Fleurie," "Morgon," "Moulin-A-Vent," etc. The key difference is that while the Gamay grape typically doesn't make wines that stand the test of time (the most exceptional examples *might* last fives years), Cru Beaujolais can often mimic it's big brother in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. So, you get a red that is still full of delicate fruit flavors, but that has enough muscle to stand up to a small amount of meat.

My friggin' digital camera's batteries went out on me, but my friend did get some pics of the "before" version of the kababs (i.e. before they were cooked) w/ his cell phone, so i'll try and get those here asap. They were magnificent, mostly because of Chuck's being able to procure the oreganatta.

Oh, and to offer a little more insight into kab's questions about dessert wines...

There are dozens of sub-categories within "dessert wine." Many are fortified (port, sherry), "botrysized" (sauterne, trockenbeurenauslese), or actually allowed to freeze to concentrate the sugar (eiswein).

What they all share (as Drew said) is sweetness, and an "unctousness" that makes them seem thick and syrupy. The fortified wines like port are made like normal wine, but then brandy is added to stop fermentation. This lends sweetness and ups the alcohol content. "Botrysized" wines are allowed to actually rot on the vine. This "noble rot", as it's called, sucks the water out of the grape, leaving little but sugar behind. The Bordeaux appellation known as Sauterne produces the world's most famous examples of these wines. Made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion grapes, a good Sauterne can run as much as $350 per split!! Eiswein is made when grapes are allowed to freeze on the vine (usually at 10 C ). The freezing, like the aforementioned "rotting," allows the fruit sugar to concentrate naturally, giving the wine a sweet flavor, but more importantly, super-accentuated fruit flavors. Eiswein is always expensive b/c it's so expensive to make. Some Canadian (and other) knock-offs are out there, but they often just run the grapes though an ice-bath to freeze them. If I paid less than $40/split for Eiswein, I'd be very suspicious.

I love that people are interested in this! Cooking is one of the things in life that brings me the most joy, and I'm happy to share my experiences and hear about others.