Cinema Gewürztraminer

Last night the Professor and I decided to check out the new Alfonso Cuarón film, Children of Men. Since this was a mid-week date so we thought it would be nice to enjoy some nice food and drink while watching the movie. As much as I love freshly popped popcorn and a big soda every now and then while at the cinema, those options just didn't seem quite right last night. We wanted something a little more interesting.

But what?

Then inspiration struck. Why not watch the movie while enjoying a bottle of wine? And why not pair it with some aged cheese and bread? And while we're at it, why not throw in a salad as well? That was the plan the Professor and I concocted before meeting up at the theatre. I told her that morning that I would be bringing a bottle of wine with me to the movie and her job was to provide snacks to go along with it.

The aged cheddar, french bread and asparagus sald turned out to be the perfect match for the gewürztraminer I snuck into the theatre. I opened the bottle the night before and resealed it with a vacuvin so I didn't have to worry about bringing a wine opener. As soon as we were seated I pulled the wine out of my bag and poured us each a glass (paper cups, really), and the immediate area around us filled up with the wonderful aroma of the guwurtz. I briefly worried that someone might pick up the scent and rat us out but then realized that there was probably nothing to worry about as the theatre was mostly empty. All I had to do then was relax, sip some wine, eat some bread and cheese and enjoy the film, which I did.


The Professor's Tasting Notes

Ransom 2003 Gewürztraminer
Mary's Peak & Earl's Vinyards
Willamette Valley, OR


A very dry gewürz from Oregon, it is reminiscent of its Alsatian cousins in that its flavors are rich but understated. Compared to its Finger Lake region (NY) siblings that tend to be brighter, sweeter, and bursting with lychee flavor, this wine tastes more mature and silky. The wine has a beautiful golden hue and is well-balanced. Although it definitely had a rich fruit flavor, I am still having trouble pinpointing the dominant fruit of this wine.

Both Dantae and I didn't really take to it at first, perhaps because we were expecting more of a NY gewürz flavor. However, it really grew on us, especially when we paired it with food (in this case, two kinds of aged cheddar, crusty bread, asparagus-lemon-capers salad, and slices of bosc pear). With an alcohol content of 14.4%, it is easy to feel the effect of it. If you like Alsatian Gewürz, my guess is that you would like this wine.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes!

Don't these pancakes look good? OF COURSE they do! They’re pancakes! Freshly baked! But they aren't just any pancakes. They're lemony ricotta pancakes!

So anyways, this was my breakfast one weekend morning, and, as you can see below, nearly breakfast for one of my cats as well. The Minimalist column in the New York Times dining section a few weeks ago featured pancakes. The gist of the piece was just how incredibly easy making pancakes from scratch can be, adding, at most, a whopping 30 seconds to the time it takes to make of a batch from a mix. This I knew already though as I've been making a lot of pancakes lately.


What I haven’t been doing, though, is making any attempt to raise my pancakes to the next level. What does raising my pancakes to the next level mean, you ask? Well, in this case it means cheese; ricotta cheese to be precise. And yogurt. And lemon zest. And egg whites that are whipped and then folded into the batter. And a dash of salt. Oh, and using butter in the skillet rather than oil, as I had been doing.

That, my friend, is definitely operating on a higher level than I was before, which was just the plain old flour, egg, baking powder, sugar and milk mixture.

Now, thanks to the New York Times I've got game!

New Year New Adventures

So here it is. My first posting of the new year. It is a bit late, yes, but at least I got my first posting of the year up during the month of January. How many other bloggers can make that claim?

There are a lot of things I’d like to write about in the coming days and weeks. Certainly I’ll have to post about the wonderful jerk chicken and ackee and saltfish dishes I ate while down in Jamaica last month. Then there is the Pan-fried Striped Bass with Lemongrass Cream and Fried Leeks I attempted last Friday that turned out surprisingly well. The idea was to replicate the dish as featured on Clement’s A La Cuisine blog. He doesn’t have a recipe but there is a really nice photo and a few notes. I was literally shocked that it came out as well as it did. And there are a few other dishes I’ve prepared recently that I’d like to post about soon as well.

My intent for 2007 is for it to be a year of learning, experimentation, fun and adventure in the culinary realm. Above all else, though, it will be a year of sharing. I’m planning on cooking much often for friends and family. I’m going to get myself into various soup kitchens around town and prepare meals for people in need. As learning to bake is part of the plan, my co-workers will find themselves munching on all sorts of (hopefully!!) yummy treats. In short, I hope to take my newfound love of cooking and use it to put smiles on people’s faces.

And oh there is so much to learn! So many things to try and master! What is truly wonderful is that this is only the beginning of a life-long culinary adventure. No matter how far I happen to take this, no matter how much I might eventually learn and master, there will always, always, ALWAYS be more out there to learn and discover.

I’m excited!

Being a beginner of course it’s easy for me to stay in Beginner’s Mind. I hope that I remain in that state as I acquire new skills and knowledge, and that if I don’t , I have someone around me who will smack me and remind me.