What did you make for dinner?

I got home earlier than usual (yes, spring fever is hitting me BIG TIME), sat on my beautiful south-facing patio in the 70F sun, put my feet up, and sipped a glass of wine. I may have dozed a bit too.

Not wanting to take a lot of time to fix dinner when I finally roused myself, I made a quick tomato-basil-mushroom sauce and served it over tri-color rotini, with steamed asparagus on the side.

Cantaloupe for dessert.

Life is good.

After last night's disappointing ginger garlic shrimp (I won't go into the depressing details) I wanted something good. I remembered some enchiladas I had made a while back, but couldn't remember just what I did. So I searched the spiral bound notebook where I keep my meal plans, recipes I want to try, etc. in hopes that I had written it down. I was in luck! So tonight's dinner was enchiladas, refried beans and leftover rice. So good!

No wine just diet soda.

Mine is on the stove at the moment: artichokes braised in wine, garlic, and vegetable stock to be served over whole wheat pappardelle with some pecorino.

We had three grandkids here overnight. They like hot dogs and we are trying to stay close to a low fat diet. So we tried Hebrew National 97% fat free Beef Franks for the first time. They were excellent, and the kids liked them too. Finished off a package and a half.

[Jenise]

My dinner was airline food: chicken on mashed potatoes with corn and Wasa crispbread crackers. There was also a mousse for dessert which I did not touch, and a very spooky "salad" that consisted of seafood parts in a thick white sauce from which a pool of oil had separated. Wine was a French white called Arrogant Frog, which would appear to be a marriage of the trendy Insulting Adjective and Funny Animal schools of goofy wine names.

[Robin Garr]

We went out to check out a new local wine bar in the 'burbs. I was intrigued by the name, Brix, which they pronounce correctly, figuring that anybody who knows enough about wine to come up with such a geeky name would probably do a good job.

It was okay, but not really splendid. About 200 wines, about 30 or 40 of them available by the 2-ounce taste or 6-ounce glass, and prices seemed fair, most glass prices around $2.50 to $3.50 for a taste and $7 to $9 for a glass, many bottles in the $20s and $30s (and a short Captain's List, bottles only, from the $70s to $350 for 2001 Penfolds Grange, in which I did not indulge).

It seems that they just pop the cork back in and keep bottles un-preserved, but in fairness, we tried four modest reds - a Jumilla, an Argentine Malbec, a Chilean Cab blend (Nomad), and a Menage a Trois from Folie a Deux.

Anyway, you asked about dinner: Curiously, this eatery has decent chow, but there's kind of a disconnect in the food-and-wine matching side, it's mostly bar munchies and sandwiches, with a few simple main dishes - pork chop, steak, ahi tuna. We ended up choosing a couple of wine-friendly sandwiches - a caprese on bread (although they didn't use that term), and a funky item, thin-sliced prime rib moistened with French onion soup and baked inside a pastry crust as a thing about the size and appearance of a small rugby ball. It was pretty good, though, and really did improve the wines.

Wednesday night? Ah yes, I opened a can of Van de Kamp's Pork 'n Beans which I enjoyed directly out of the can. I balanced this with two stubs of microwaved baguette. I paired this with a half liter of flat diet Pepsi.

Thursday night? Well, that was teriyaki chicken thighs accompanied by a spinach and bleu cheese salad dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Corn on the cob on the side washed down by some Wente and then some BV chardonnay. All this courtesy St. Mary's College. (It's great to have a girlfriend who works in food service.)

Tonight? Friday? Girlfriend is visiting her girlfriend. Who knows!? I microwaved Ball Park Franks for lunch so my quest for grande cuisine is satisfied. I still have three cans of pork 'n beans and a dozen eggs. It's beginning to sound like a plan!!!

Girlfriend is visiting her girlfriend. Who knows!?

I do. Baby-doll pajamas. Pillow fights.

Girlfriend is visiting her girlfriend. Who knows!?

I do. Baby-doll pajamas. Pillow fights.

Had that been the case, I may have insisted upon going along. I would have brought my Beach Boy, Dick Dale, and Annette Funicello records and we would have had a rockin' time.

(Apropos Dick Dale, this is bizarre: Dick Dale & The Del Tones "Misirlou" 1963 The chick doing the twist in the foreground is somehow out of time and space and the expressions on the Del Tones!!)

By the way, after surveying the contents of the kitchen, my menu choice was finalized as a center cut pork chop, biscuits and burnt gravy. I'm learning to behave. I only ate 7 out of the 13 biscuits I made and tossed the remaining gravy down the drain.

Last night we hosted our wine group and it was an amazing dinner.

Everyone brought something Italian to go with our "Italian red wine from anywhere but Tuscany" tasting. Mostly Barolos and Amarones.
We made Beef Barolo (with an inexpensive Cotes du Rhone--couldn't imagine braising with a $50+ bottle of vino) served over creamy polenta.

Nibblies supplied by everyone else:
-a wonderful antipasti platter
-grilled and sliced hot and sweet Italian sausage
-assorted bruschetta
-sausage stuffed mushrooms
-authentic caesar salad
-spaghetti and meatballs
-tirimisu

It was a definite food fest. And the wines.... fabulous!

[Jenise]

We made Beef Barolo (with an inexpensive Cotes du Rhone--couldn't imagine braising with a $50+ bottle of vino)

It would be a crime. Even Mario Batali uses California Merlot.

Thursday night I interrupted my annual NCAA basketball orgy to have a little snack with my wife on her birthday. We went to a local place and shared 3 appetizers.....a small Margherita pizza, some bruschetta with wild mushrooms and shaved parmesan, and an Andouille spring roll with hoisin garlic sauce. Washed down with a bottle of Guenoc cab sauv. We both enjoyed the food and drink particularly since we got to see Duke flame out in the tourney while we ate, warming the heart of this Tarheels fan!

Friday the basketball overindulgence continued so it was bar food all day. Being Lent, choice was kinda limited. So it was deep fried shrimp for lunch, deep-fried mozzarella sticks for late afternoon snack, and crab cakes for dinner. Not exactly the healthiest diet, but the copious quantities of Miller Lite I consumed over two days weren't on that list either. What the hey, its only once a year.

Saturday night we went out to celebrate Cindy's birthday at a new restaurant in West Chester named mesh. A great meal ensued. Her house salad included sun-dried cherries and was very tasty. She had a glass of Eola Hills PG with that. I had a crab appetizer: crabcake with curry remoulade (YUM), crableg meat with either butter or the curry remoulade, and a crab-fennel risotto. The Campania Basa Rueda was a nice match to this.

Entrees were a veal osso buco for me and a filet with grilled asparagus and pesto mashed potatoes for her. We split a bottle of 01 ESJ Syrah with the entrees. Very nice, not a fruit bomb at all, more European than Aussie in style. Had them decant it which was a good move, it opened up after 10 or 15 minutes of air. The wine list at this restaurant has a nice assortment but the prices are outrageous. Best example is the 04 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee. Ohio retail is around $35; wine list had it at $110. St. Innocent Brickhouse Pinot Noir was listed at $88.

Tonight is the traditional corned beef and cabbage. Gotta check out the thread on here to figure the drink. Guinness is fine with me but Cindy isn't fond of it.

Indirectly grilled beef ribs from a Steve Raichlen recipe (you can't go wrong with Steve's recipes). First a rub that included 5-spice powder, pepper, salt, etc., then a glaze with hoisin, garlic, honey, sherry. Yummy. Even my wife said it tasted good, and she doesn't eat much beef.

Saturday....after a light breakfast and working in the yard the rest of the day, it was Carbonara paired with Kim Crawford 06 Sauv. Blanc.

I yet to find a red wine that doesn't turn to metallic copper on the palate when paired with eggs. Any suggestions?

Richard