Ooooh Sooo Good…

I dont know if this is going to be about wine per se, however, it is worth writing about.

Went over to a friends house for din-din and we were supposed to get together and go over some ideas for this new project we are starting together and a light dinner.  We should’ve been there by 7 but didn’t reach their house until 8pm.

As we arrived, their excited dog, Skipper, greeted us.  As we walked inside and settled in, I saw the starter.  Fruits, nut breads, and cheese.  As usual, there was a bottle of wine.  They were all tasty but one cheese blew me away.  It is a French cheese called Brillat Savarin.  Apparently there are two types – fresh and whatever the other one is.  Get the fresh one!  I was going to try it with the nut bread, but Laura suggested I put on a clementine.  A clementine I ask?  Oh goodness!  I trusted Laura, a professionally trained chef, there was no reason (thus far) not to trust her.  So I did, on top of a section of clementine, I generously added the Brillat Savarin cheese (…and fade to fireworks on the 4th of July!)  It was incredible!  I felt like Remy from Ratatouille when he found a new marraige of ingredients (I forget which one it was when he and Emil got electrocuted?!)  It was absolutely heavenly.  Of course I had some wine too.  We had a 205 Chateauneuf du Pape.  Not sure from which domain in was from…but it was nice.  It “married” well with the fruit, cheese, etc.

Onto the main course.  Where shall I begin – we had pasta with carrots and courgettes (Julienned to look like pasta) in pesto sauce (which was not with your normal pine nuts…it was with almond and pistachios!) We had breaded chicken breast, garlic bread, steamed asparagus (or maybe boiled…I dont know it was good!) with parmesan cheese shavings, cherry tomatoes (not sure how she did that but it was awesome).  Oh…my…goodness.  I must admit the pesto sauce had me scared a little…I dont generally like pistachios (my hubby does)…but it was so good.   Needless to say, the table was silent – and for having two teenagers at the table, that was incredible.

Then came dessert – sugarless chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and a swoosh of  chantilly (whipped cream).  As Ashante says…”ooooooooooooo mmmmmmmmmmmmy ggggggggggggooooooossssh!”  It was made with Splenda.

I didn’t finish my piece…I left a morsel.  It would’ve been to greedy of me to finish off my plate! LOL!

Oh…yes the wine…for dinner we had a St. Julien (or was it a St. Emilion?) I forget.  It was too strong for me.  It was a bit heavy for me.  Looking at the bottle, there was only a 13% alcohol content.  Again, I didn’t check to see which domain it was from or the year.  As you can see, since I am not the wine lover, Im not sure what is important and what isn’t.  My friend Laura has vowed to help me understand why my hubby loves wine so much.  She gave me a book and I think the first thing I am going to do is read up on how to interpret the label.

I’ve added my friends blog (Laura) to my blogroll.  She just started it, however, stay tuned as her meals are absolutely awesome!

The Call

I couldn’t get to sleep until 3am this morning. Why you ask?  Mollydooker wine.  At 10 pm France time, my dear husband finally ordered “a little piece of heaven”.  Not sure what the big deal is.  He said something about it being a collectible.  He woke up this morning smiling (never happens) and singing “The sun will come out tomorrow…” (Remember, from the play Annie?!)  He actually said, “Good Morning”.  Usually it’s just “morning” as it is never good.  Today is different.  Who knew that obtaining this wine could be so satisfying. 

Seeing his smile (especially on a Monday morning) makes me smile.  I guess that’s what passion is all about.  Loving something so much that any detail of your passion will bring a smile to your face, will enlighten your life,  will cause you to break into song on a Monday morning.  I truly am happy for him and all is good in the world.

For me,  I couldn’t get to sleep so I watched 12 episodes of House.  I can now almost diagnose you!  Ugh…tired today.

What is a wine widow?

Ever heard of a golf widow?  Well, I am a wine widow: A woman whose husband/partner spends many hours finding, drinking, enjoying the oh so powerful glass (maybe bottle) of wine.

I must admit,   there are times that it is interesting.  When he talks about travelling to the far corners of the world to get that evasive 2003 blah blah blah – Im thinking, “Ooh, I’ve never been there.  That sounds like a plan”.  Or when he politely invites me to a big hoo-haw wine tasting that just happens to conflict with my mommy duties.  The look of joy in his face when I say, “No, I have a basketball practice to go to”, is absolutely priceless.   Oh yes, wine and wife – pretty important in his life – however, I think wine is winning.

So what does a wife do?  How does a wife compete with something that always changes, is fresh and new, and that their value increases – sometimes exponentially?  A wife doesn’t…at least I dont.

I love other things such as writing, photography, blogs, websites – stuff like that.   So, aside from trying to understand the how and why’s for his love of wine – I figure I can tag along and maybe learn a thing or two.  I mean it’s already happening – I now like red wine.   Before, I couldn’t bear it.

So this blog is dedicated to my stories.  You’ll probably hear about my frustrations, ah moments, and on occasion I may learn something.