Greetings everyone!
Summer if definitely over here in the South - thank goodness! And as the temperature drops along with the leaves, a dog's thoughts lightly turn to those of . . . grilled lamb!!!
This past Friday night I was able to experience something I hadn't tasted in quite a while - grilled lamb chops! These were prepared in the simpliest manner - lightly coated with either olive oil, salt and pepper or olive oil and greek seasonings. These thick cut chops were then plopped onto a searingly hot grill (charcoal, not gas, I'm a purist and so is Mom and the Coyote, thank goodness) and allowed to cook until they were a dull red in the center. Completing the meal were some tender-crisp haricot verts and mashed sweet potatoes. The wine was a most excellent Cline small berry mouvedre. It even says on the back of the bottle that is pairs well with grilled lamb and boy, they weren't kidding! Everything about this wine is deep and intense, from the the black cherry and plum nose to the dark purple color to the luscious purple and dark red fruit flavors of plum, raspberry and currant. If you've ever tried the Cline Mouvedre - then give the Small Berry a try. I'd put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes and then decant for 20.
The following night Mom wanted to thank the Coyote for his help in putting up a fence to keep my two crazy canine companions, Callie and Sophie, from taking themselves for walks! Having had meat the night before, it was decided that fish would be the main course that night; steele head salmon to be precise. Every now and then Mom gets her kitchen mojo working just right and she took on the challenge of preparing the fish two different ways. First she took on poaching it in dry vermouth, blanc de noirs, butter and fresh rosemary, basil and thyme from the herb grarden out back. Next, she decided to take a spicier route and rubbed the salmon with blackening seasonings and olive oil. Next came the red wine reduction to pair with the blackened salmon - she started with a 1/2 stick of butter and about 2 cups of zinfandel (yes, the red one - Four Vines Cuvee to be exact). Then she added some chipotle mustard, dijion mustard, some Sandeman's Character Sherry, a bit of agave sugar and bit of Cointreau Noir. This lush, dense, spicy sweet reduction went great with the fish! The uneaten sweet potatoes and haricot verts from last night were served again, but this time the wine was white! There were two choices on the menu that night - a Roussanne from the Rhone region of France and a lovely bottle of 2008 White Knight Viognier! Both stood up to, but did not overpower, the poached and the blackened fish. Both are delicate but not wimpy by any means. They are smooth, medium bodied wines that have good fruit/acidity balance.
So that's all I have to report for now! I'll snag Mom's Simply French cookbook to see what I can coax her into preparing this weekend!
Bone Apetite!
Sammy
Sammy, a nine year old border collie mix shares his views and musings on human cooking with a dog's eye view. He also shares his thoughts as he and his human attempt to become a canine therapy team.
