Text 23350, 83 rader
Skriven 2007-11-24 19:06:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av CAROL SHENKENBERGER
Ärende: wine 460
================
 CS> Grin, not quite.  Too sweet and it is a definate turn off.

How sweet is too sweet? What's the sound of one hand clapping?

 CS> 2 of those bottles will be used for Thanksgiving but not sure which 2.
 CS> I lean towards the Riesling (dry but not chardonnay levels) and the
 CS> White Zinfandel (fruity but not overtly).

Given your cellar I would have guessed the same. How'd it go?

==

 CS> Naw, I noticed all of them were like that pretty much.  I felt they
 CS> were 'flat and blandly dry' as a group.  I just need one drinkable
 CS> bottle for guests as Don and I will never drink it.

I don't know what "blandly dry" means to you. Most of my real
faves are quite dry to very dry, but nobody could accuse them
of being bland.

 CS> If we cant think of anything else, we will get a Paul Mason red as a
 CS> widely  'acceptable' plonk and be done with it.

I'd go with something else. Orson Welles notwithstanding, one
can do much better than Paul Masson. Virtually anything from
Australia would beat it. The Consumer Reports list is a good start, 

 CS> You'll hate me but our main use of wine is for a mix with 7-UP over
 CS> lots of ice on a hot day. (I can feel your eyebrows making a whift of
 CS> air as they rise then drift down as you softly go ewwwww..... she didnt
 CS> really say that did she?)

Funny thing is that with the rise of the Chinese economy, the
custom started of rich kids (i.e. 20s-30s entrepreneurial types)
paying $200-500 a bottle for great Bordeaux and mixing them with
Coke or Sprite. That was widely regarded as proof positive that
the Chinese were in a decadent phase. I've never tasted the combo,
though, but might, once, if it were paid for by someone else. As
far as $5-10 wines go, some of them might go well with soda pop.

Foie Gras on Potato Puree with Winter Truffle Sabayon
cat: main, luxe
servings: 4

360 g foie gras
1/4 c cepes
2 ratte potatoes
1 egg yolk
1/5 oz plus 3 slivers black truffle
Butter
Cream

Foie gras and winter truffles from Perigord are quintessential
French ingredients. In this easy, impressive dish, place
sauteed foie gras atop a rich mash of potatoes, egg, truffles,
butter, and cream. Add the sabayon and bake until golden. Top
with sauteed cepes and slivered truffle.

For the potato puree: Mash the potato and add in the cream,
butter and process until smooth in texture. Saute the sliced
cepes until golden brown, set aside. For the sabayon: Add the
egg yolk in a mixing bowl together with chopped truffle and
cream. Whip the sabayon in a bain-marie until light and foamy
and incorporate enough air until the amount increases by half.
Portion the foie gras into slices of about 90g. Season with
salt & pepper.

Preheat oven to 350F. Pan-fry the foie gras with some butter
in a hot pan, until golden brown, finish cooking in the oven
for 3 minutes. Keep warm.

Plating: Place the potato puree in the center of a soup plate.
Pour the sabayon around the puree and gratine it under the
salamander or grill. Once the sabayon becomes golden hued to
light brown, place the sauteed cepes on the puree, followed by
pan-fried foie gras. Garnish with three thin slices or slivers
of winter truffle.

Guillaume Galliot, JAAN, Beijing

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