August 17 and 18, 2014 Rack of lamb, Mint sauce, Tabouli, and Tzatziki

August 17 and 18, 2014  Rack of lamb, Mint sauce, Tabouli, and Tzatziki

On Sunday we had our traditional bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches for brunch.

Around 3:00 Suzette made fish chowder for a late lunch with the fresh corn she bought on Saturday.  I ran to Pro’s  Market to buy milk, an avocado, yogurt, and another couple of potatoes.  Suzette made a simple chowder with PPI frozen pieces of salmon and Mahi Mahi; simple and delicious.  We drank beers with the chowder.

We were not hungry for dinner so we made a cheese plate with the fresh wedge of Le Delice from Costco ($10.99/lb.), toasted slices of Costco Sourdough bread and a sliced fresh peach from Suzette’s Center for Ageless Living.  I opened a bottle of Pennywise Pinot Noir I found in the basement.  The light fruity pinot noir went well with the creamy slightly acidic French cheese.

On Monday I ate the last of the noodle soup I made on Friday.  I am going to start describing what I put in my noodles soups because they are a magnet for interesting PPIs.  This latest soup included PPI broccoli and cauliflower flowerets and Bobby Flay sautéed chicken, plus mushrooms about 10 oz. of tofu, an egg, three kinds of noodles (mung bean, buckwheat, and egg), a heaping tablespoon of white miso, 1/3 of a yellow onion and a few other things.  I also added the sautéed rub we had put on the Bobby Flay chicken that was left in the skillet, which gave the soup a strong flavor of paprika and a distinctly reddish color.

We had invited Cynthia and Ricardo for dinner.  Cynthia and I discussed the menu on Sunday.  She told me she was making a Greek menu for Ricardo’s family and would bring a bowl of Tzatziki for Monday night.  Cynthia arrived at 6:45 with a large bowl of Tzatziki made with fresh local Japanese round cucumbers, yogurt, a bit of olive oil, chopped fresh dill and some garlic. 

Tabouli

At 5:00 I started making Tabouli.

First, I covered 1 cup of No. 2 Bulgur wheat with warm water to hydrate it.  I then went to the garden and picked two cucumbers, a handful of mint, two stalks of lovage and about six or seven sprigs of parsley.  I peeled, deseeded and cubed the cucumbers and sprinkled a bit of salt on thee cubes.  Then I chopped a total of 1 cup of parsley, lovage and mint and added that to the bowl of cucumbers.  I then sliced four green onions.  When Suzette came home at 5:30 she put more hot water on the bulgur to speed up its softening.  

At 6:00 I drained as much water from the bulgur as I could and added about ½ cup of olive oil and the juice of two lemons.  This made the mixture a bit sour, so I added a bit more olive oil.  Then I added the cucumbers, herbs and onions and at 6:15 covered the Tabouli and put it into the fridge to mellow.  Ricardo arrived a few minutes after 7:00 and by then the Tabouli had absorbed most of the olive oil and lemon juice and tasted fine.

Suzette made a Caprese Salad with fresh tomatoes from our garden, slices of fresh Mozzarella (Costco) and fresh basil leaves from our garden. After Ricardo arrived and we had a drink and were ready to eat, she made a vinegar and olive oil dressing and drizzled that over the salad.

 

Cynthia, Ricardo and I were hungry, so I put out a small appetizer plate with slices of Swiss Gruyere cheese (Costco $10.99/lb.), salami, Kalamata olives and caper berries.  Suzette added a handful of crackers and we nibbled and talked for a few minutes while Suzette organized the effort to grill the rack of lamb that I had bought at Costco on Saturday (11.99/lb. less a $2.00 discount).   Suzette set the table in the gazebo and I took out two PPI bottles of wine; the Penny Wise pinot noir and the Clos du Val Cabernet Cabernet Sauvignon.  

Cynthia brought a bottle of Big Bend Pinot Noir produced by R2, which is a new wine for me.  It is a big pinot with a dark deep flavor.  Here are the notes on it and its rating, along with other pinots made by Roger and Richard Roessler.  I first met Roger when he owned Ogilvies at the corner of Louisiana and Central, when I was reviewing restaurants for Albuquerque Monthly about twenty-five years ago. Since then he brought his nephews into the business and they opened Seasons, Savoy and Zinc and Roger and he and his brother Richard moved to California to make wine.  Here is an article describing their recent history and their wines.  We have seen Roger several time at the Anderson Valley Pinot Festival and I think he makes great wines.

R2 Wine Co. Opens Tasting Room

We have a new winery tasting room in town, and while the name and location is new, the two guys behind it should be familiar to many of you.

The R2 Wine Company (R Squared) is the new wine venture of Roger Roessler and his brother Richard Roessler. I’ve written about Roger and his Roessler Cellars brand before. The brothers recently sold the Roessler Cellars brand and business to Hall Wines over in Napa Valley.

Roger and Richard have taken a different tack with R Squared. Where Roessler Cellars focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – mainly vineyard designated bottlings priced in the $40 to $50 price range – R Squared has a broader lineup of Rhone-style blends as well as a Pinot and a Chardonnay and the wines are really reasonably priced, ranging from $18 to $29 per bottle. Roger and Richard have set out to create wines that are great expressions of their place of origin and great values. The current wine lineup, available for tasting, includes Black Pine Pinot Noir, Rhapsody En Blu Rhone Red blend, Big Bend Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Hannah Rose and the Vin Blancs Rhone White blend.

The new R Squared tasting room is located at 654 Broadway, south of the Plaza. The official grand opening for the tasting room which started last Friday, June 10, and runs for two weekends through Sunday, June 19, features complimentary wine tasting, special seminars, discounts, food and prize drawings. Erin Leveroni is the tasting room manager.

I recently tasted through the lineup and here are my notes:

2009 Vins Blancs Santa Barbara, $22: A blend of Viognier, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne, this is a crisp, clean wine with really nice floral aromas and flavors.

2010 Grenache Blanc Santa Ynez Valley, $24.50: A bit of a rarity in California, this is my favorite of the white wines. It has bright aromas and flavors of melon and citrus, with nice structure and crisp acidity.

2009 Big Bend Chardonnay Carneros, $26.50: The grapes for this wine come from Roger’s vineyard located south and west of Sonoma. It was such a favorite under the Roessler label that he decided to hold on to it for his new venture. Rich, ripe pineapple and citrus flavors greet you with just the right amount of oak to round out the taste experience.

2010 Hannah Rose Santa Barbara, $18: This is a Grenache-based rose and in general I think Grenache makes the best roses. It’s bright and crisp with nice strawberry aromas and flavors. Chill this down and it’s the perfect summer picnic and party wine.

2008 Black Pine Pinot Noir California, $24: This is a blend from several different appellations and has some really nice layers of flavor from dark cherry and spicy aromas to a rich core of cherry fruit and earthy complexity in the mouth. Great all-purpose Pinot.

2009 Rhapsody “En Blu” Santa Ynez Valley, $23.50: Again, Grenache is the star here, making up the majority of the blend with the balance made up of Syrah, Mourvedre and Carignane. The nose has nice plum and black pepper notes; rich, ripe flavors follow with a lush, silky texture. It’s big enough for a steak, but definitely not overdone — probably my favorite of the red wines.

The R2 Wine Company Tasting Room is located at 654 Broadway in Sonoma, about two blocks south of the Plaza. The tasting room is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit r2winecompany.com or call 933.1330.

Here is a description of their pinots:

	From PinotReport, Issue #77, February 15, 2012, "In The Market" by Gregory S. Walter SMART BUY! "Bright and full of flavor..." R2 Wine Company Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Red Birds 2010: Medium-deep ruby color; ripe, rich red cherry aromas with spicy, herbal notes; ripe, bright red cherry flavors with spicy, cinnamon notes; lush, silky texture; good structure and balance; long finish. Bright and full of flavor, this Pinot would be great with roasted chicken. 289 cases made, $30. Score: 93
	SMART BUY! "Rich and ripe..." R2 Wine Company Pinot Noir California Black Pine 2010: Medium-deep ruby color; deep ripe cherry and earthy aromas; rich, deep red cherry and plum flavors with earthy notes; silky texture, nice oak notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Rich, ripe Pinot that's a nearly perfect blend of full fruit and earthy complexity. 1,033 cases made, $26. Score: 93
	MAKE ROOM IN THE CELLAR! "Complex and many layered..." R2 Wine Company Pinot Noir Carneros Big Bend Reserve 2010: Deep ruby color; deep, complex earthy aromas with chery and herbal notes; complex, earthy and rich cherry and plum flavors with some sage and anise notes; sweet oak; good structure and balance; long finish. Complex, many layered Pinot that really needs some time in the glass and in the bottle to open up; perfect paired with a grilled steak or slow-cooked short ribs. 98 cases made, $30, Score: 93
	From the San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 2011 Chronicle Recommends, by Jon Bonné 2009 R{+2} Wine Co. Rhapsody en Blu Santa Ynez Valley Red ($23.50, 14.7%): You might know Roger and Richard Roessler from their Sonoma-based Pinot label, but they sold last year to St. Helena's Hall Winery and moved on to this new effort. Stylish wood tones arrive first, melded with pretty wild strawberry (it's mostly Grenache, plus Syrah, Carignane and Mourvedre) and licorice, and a root-like earthiness. Big and chewy.

   I am proud when Albuquerque and New Mexico folks are recognized for their wine.  I can hardly wait to try the Grenache Blanc. 

 When the lamb was done I pulled it from the grill and sliced it and we were ready to eat.  We each took two lamb riblets and filled our plates with Tabouli, tzatziki, and caprese salad.  Ricardo described his new job, which is designing sets for Digg, which is a mystery surrounding archeological excavations in Israel.  Cynthia is very busy with her landscape design and garden work.  She worked at a garden in the North Valley and they had to leave early because she has to drive to Gallup tomorrow morning for a design for an apartment complex.

The mosquitoes were bad and we decided to move inside for dessert.  Suzette had planned to make sundaes with fresh and brandied peach slices. We all chose to eat them with vanilla ice cream rather than yogurt.  Also, everyone wanted to drink a sweet dessert wine so I went to the basement and fetched a ½ bottle of 1996 Château Pineau du Rey Sauternes that we had bought in Sauternes in 1999 or 2000.

The sauternes had a deep golden color and tasted exceedingly nutty. Like it had slightly oxidized, but it still had a very vibrant fruity flavor, with just a touch of citrusy botrytis flavor.  Ricardo really liked it because it had lost that sickeningly sweet flavor that sauternes sometimes have.

The peaches and ice cream were lovely; a light summer dessert and the creaminess of the ice cream was a wonderful complement to the nutty, slightly sweet flavor of the sauternes

By 9:30 we were all done and said goodnight to our dear friends.

Bon Appétit