Dry Creek Fume Blanc

Yesterday was Father’s Day. My two dogs are spoiled like kids, that counts, so I can celebrate too. It was sunny and in the mid 90’s. It’s not like I need an excuse, but even if I had to play the Father’s Day card, I would have. Nothing was going to keep me from the grill.

I’ve been on Mission: Clean Out The Freezer lately. Partially because the frozen food is already paid for and doesn’t require a current cash outlay with the wedding coming up, and secondarily because I have a deep sea fishing trip planned for early August. I plan to restock with tuna and dolphin. No, not Flipper. Mahi-mahi.

I found two boneless chicken breasts. Thawed them and gave them a good soak in fat free Italian dressing before grilling. When they were just shy of done, I topped them with a few slices of deli ham and Swiss cheese. They went onto grilled rolls with a fat free ranch dressing (70%) and spicy honey mustard (30%) sauce. Voila! Grilled chicken cordon bleu.

I’d saw I paired the sandwich, with my bestest roasted potatoes, with the Dry Creek Fume Blanc, but that would seemingly imply that there was some thought behind it. There wasn’t. I grabbed something near the Riesling section of my fridge, and this came out.

I remember buying this bottle for two reasons. First, it was about $10. Low risk. Secondly, perhaps more importantly, it had a picture of a sailboat on the front. And I want to but a sailboat. Both are totally rational.

The wine smelled sweeter than it tasted and finished clean. It had a pretty round flavor though the crispness of grapefruit came through. The back of the bottle says it was fermented in stainless steel, and it isn’t oak aged. The wine didn’t add to the food, nor did it take away. Which, considering the price point and the fact that I didn’t put too much thought to pairing, the ‘taking away’ was my main concern. Overall, I liked it.

Fish Eye Pinot Grigio

I was in the mood to cook tonight. Not to reheat leftovers, but actually put together a meal that I’d enjoy. Treasa was out at the mall with Miranda shopping for something that will be ‘crucial for the wedding.’ That line is like an impenetrable defense. No matter what my argument is, she wins.

But, despite the credit card flesh wound, I had the ability to cook for myself, irregardless of my any other taste recommendations. I decided on fish stew. I have tilapia filets in the freezer from Costco, so I Googled a few recipes. I sort of stole from most of the ones I viewed, so I won’t give any particular one credit, but if you search for ‘fish stew’ and find the one that errs towards Mediterranean, doesn’t use bacon and calls for Tabasco, well, you’ll get pretty close.

The recipe called for a bottle of dry white wine, pinot grigio in particular. I saw a bottle of Fish Eye pinot grigio for $6.99 at the corner store. Considering I was making fish stew, I thought it was a match made in heav—an enameled cast iron dutch oven.

To go along with the tilapia, I ordered a handful of shrimp and scallops from the grocery store. I got a fresh tomato and some tomato paste. A little bit if culinary magic, and holy schiznit, the recipe called for a 1/3 cup of white wine and I’ve drank the rest…

The wine exceeded all expectations, especially considering its price. It was palatable by itself and didn’t detract from the seafood party in my deep bowl of flavor. For something to cook with, or to enjoy without trying to impress yourself or guests, this won’t hurt your wallet. Unlike white designer flip flops at the mall.

Cooking note: I bought smaller scallops thinking they’d cook at the same pace as the thawed fish and the shrimp. Eh, slight miscalculation there. Give those buggers a head start before you add the rest of your seafood assortment. I’m not sure if it was a faux pas to add a little reduced fat parmesan cheese to the fish stew, but after a bottle wine minus what I used for cooking, it seemed like a good idea. And at my reduced cognitive ability, I’d still say it was.

Pat Me On The Back

So the handful of page viewers we’ve had so far are probably wondering, ‘What’s up with the Domaine Ste Michelle? It’s all over this corner of the internet.’ Well, you’re right. It is. And it is.

Here’s a little independent validation.

Results were compiled, analyzed and reviewed by a team that included statisticians, neuroscientists and economists.
Among the surprises: More than two-thirds of tasters preferred a $12 Domaine St. Michelle Brut, a Washington state sparkling wine, to a $150 Dom Pérignon Champagne.

And if our wine qualifications ever come into question, just look at the background of the picture in the previous post. Yep, that’s about it. We drink a lot of wine.

Francois Montand Extra Dry

Today marks ten days to our wedding. So I went to the liquor store to find something to celebrate with, partially due to Treasa’s suggestion and mostly because our champagne cache was null.

The knowledgeable, though overly eyeshadowed, woman at Toys R Us for grownups suggested a Francois Montand Blanc de Blancs champagne. Given that she also said that Prosecco was dry—which potentially conflicts with the first sentence of this paragraph—I went for the drier bottle: Francois Montand Extra Dry.

This bottle was a little less dry than the Domaine Ste Michelle, but carried a rounder presentation with a more flavorful finish. I can’t really say which one I prefer between the two, regardless of the extra dollar necessary to take home a little piece of Mr. Montand.

Domaine Ste Michelle Extra Brut

Yesterday was three weeks until the wedding. We celebrated with another bottle of Domaine Ste Michelle champagne. Being the romantic that I am, I put on The Bourne Identity and we stayed in for the night.

The champagne, as usual, was enjoyable. My picture of the bottle, on the other hand, was not.

Steel Creek White Riesling

Treasa and I went through the closet in the guest room tonight and sorted through clothes we haven’t worn in awhile, clothes that were given to us and clothes that just ended up there for some reason. There was a lot of trying on, mirroring, and refolding/rehanging or refolding and placing in the donation bag. Given how much fun I was having, I hinted that a bottle of anything might be a good idea. Treasa said ‘A bottle of white,’ and I descended the flight of stairs in .2 seconds and was in the wine fridge picking something out before she finished with, ‘might be nice.’

I decided on the Steel Creek White Riesling 2009, from Monterey County. The back of the bottle says:

The aromas of honeysuckle and hyacinth complemented by rich flavors of apples and peaches set Steel Creek Riesling apart. Try it before dinner with fruit and soft cheeses, or with light chicken and pork dishes.

Okay. Maybe I can see that, but the first sentence should read, ‘The aromas of honeysuckle and hyacinth complemented by rich flavors of apples, peaches and about a metric ton of Sweet and Low set Steel Creek Riesling apart from anything you would consider pleasant to drink.’

‘So, where was that pair of hand-me-down dress pants you thought I should try on again, sweetie?’