It’s foggy and chilled outside, the end of November, and a steady, cold, drizzling rain is falling.
The lazy days of summer have given way and passed through the gentle days of a Mid-Atlantic October. Now comes the dreary onset of a Maryland winter. Around here, we always have to pass through the damp mid- to late-November rains to get to the cold, crisp clear winter days.
Today’s a day for a comforting, warming meal. Tender greens and light summer flavors are out of season. In cooler climes, this is the time of year most of us should start changing over to the flavors that sustain until warmer days return. Root vegetables, potatoes, brassicas like cauliflower, kale, brocolli, and cabbage. Now’s the time to break out the canned and preserved bounties of our summer gardens. The flavors are changed, but provide a reminder of what to look forward to next year.
I’m going to tell you how to take the humble red cabbage, much-maligned vegetable that it is, and transform it into pure autumn. All you need to do is slice it coarsely, combine it with some diced Granny Smith apple, and pan-braise it in an acidic liquid in order to keep its color. Short cooking times keep it from becoming the red mush we remember from bad childhood meals, and a finish with butter transforms the dish into a glorious representation of fall flavor.
I’ve been referring to a particular tea to which I compared the previous Assam samples as my “Gold Standard.” To make sure that I wasn’t falsely imagining it better than it was, I tasted it using the same method as the new arrivals. The verdict – it’s still the Gold Standard. Unfortunately, it’s totally unavailable. No one, anywhere, carries tea from this estate anymore.
So, without any further ado:
Singlijan Estate Assam TGFOP1
Dry Aroma: floral and fruity
Brewed Aroma: tree fruit, malty, creamy, citrus
Color: dark copper
Flavor: malty, savory, fruity, with citrus notes and floral finish
Sweetened: fruit and citrus enhanced, with honey notes
Overall: This tea is very balanced, with restrained tannins that play well with the other flavor components. It leaves your palate clean, with a long, lingering finish of apple, lemon, and honey. The mellow tannins allow the natural sweetness to come through. Complex flavor, appealing aroma, and general good behavior make this my far and away favorite. 5 out of 5.
Thanksgiving is a hard meal to plan for. Logistically, it’s a nightmare – lots of separate dishes, all having to come together at once. There’s a huge bird to roast that takes hours to prep and cook properly. A vast array of sweet and savory flavors lie in wait to sate the palate, and put us all into a postprandial coma.
All of which presents a dilemma. I want to have a good glass of wine with dinner. But the quantity of food and the flavors makes choosing an appropriate drink a bit of a challenge. With candied sweet potatoes, oyster stuffing, and turkey legs waiting to send you into carbo-overload and tryptophan nappy-time, this is not an opportunity to whip out the best vintages. That being said, Thanksgiving is a “special occasion” with friends and family gathered around the holiday table, and cheap plonk just doesn’t seem right.
So, what’s called for are decent wines that won’t get lost or be squandered competing with the bounty of the rest of the table. They also need to be assertive enough to hold their own against a fair amount of heavy eating without adding too much of their own weight. To this end, I would suggest serving three wines, scaled in quantity to serve all of your guests at least one glass of each.
Sorry for the month-long dry spell. Things got a little out of hand.
There was a wedding (congrats, Brian), I had to keep the house from burning down in an electrical fire, and work and the holidays started sneaking up.
Hopefully, however, I’ll be able to get a little bit more back on track.
Update: No reason to freak out, I just had a bit of a short in an electrical box for the bathroom lighting. But, like any home repair project in an old house, it takes an inordinate amount of time. Had to install new junction boxes, remove damaged wiring, run new wiring, and splice it safely back into the original circuit. All in the attic. With armored cabling.
So, the Euro-to-Dollar conversion is kicking our ass, and the cost of good California wines is climbing ever higher as wine collectors realize the potential of premium vintages. The economy is swirling the bowl, and you’re just an average Joe, plumber or not, trying to find a decent bottle of juice to quaff with Friday night dinner. You’re no power exec, surfing the company expense account while buying vintage Bordeaux’s and “cult” Californian Cabernets. You want something red, something solid, something that isn’t going to put your kids’ college fund in the crapper.
Fortunately, there are still quality wines to be found that won’t send you into sticker shock. When an entry-level Burgundy or Bordeaux starts at $30 a bottle retail, it’s good to know that by shopping from the neighbors of great wine districts, or by choosing younger wines from the same pedigree, you can get the quality and character without the price tag. By shopping wisely, you can keep yourself in good vin rouge for $10 a bottle, with a splurge up to $14-15 for those relaxing weekend evenings.
The weather here in the Mid-Atlantic is starting to turn cooler, but I’m just not ready to let go of the last shreds of summer. So, before I delve into the earthy and warming flavors of autumn, I’ve got to give light, fresh, and vibrant one more go. Make this on a fleeting warm October afternoon, or hold onto it to spring on friends and family (ha!) come April. Or, let’s be honest, you can use this on a winter’s day to bring a little of the lazy days of Tuscan summer into the kitchen. Just be aware that some of the ingredients are only going to be available from distant climes.
This recipe is fast, fast, fast. After about 15 minutes of prep work, it comes together as a meal in less than 10 minutes in most cases. The sauce literally takes 5 minutes to prepare, so start it when your pasta has about 5 minutes to cook.
Ingredients:
6 oz. (dry weight) long pasta – spaghetti, bucatini, linguini fini, etc.
1 dry pint grape or cherry tomatoes
8 oz frozen, pre-cooked shrimp, thawed with tails removed
1 lemon
6 large cloves garlic
4-5 basil tops, fresh
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp white sugar
salt
pepper
Cooking time: 6-12 minutes for pasta, depending on type, 5 minutes for sauce.
Rob: Dude – what did you think cookies were made out of? They’re a butter and sugar delivery device. Almost every sugar cookie recipe is in a 1:1:1 ratio of butter to sugar to egg. And...
gorge: TWO STICKS BUTTER, TWO CUPS SUGAR AND TWO EGG YOLKS!!! AND YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT PACKAGED BROCCOLI. GIVE ME A BREAK! I HAD A HEART ATTACK BY JUST READING IT.
Eric Hundin: I found your blog on MSN Search. Nice writing. I will check back to read more. Eric Hundin
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So, the Euro-to-Dollar conversion is kicking our ass, and the cost of good California wines is climbing ever higher as wine collectors realize the potential of premium vintages. The economy is swirling the bowl, and you’re just an average Joe, plumber or not, trying to find a decent bottle of juice to quaff with Friday night dinner. You’re no power exec, surfing the company expense account while buying vintage Bordeaux’s and “cult” Californian Cabernets. You want something red, something solid, something that isn’t going to put your kids’ college fund in the crapper.