Fork You, Part 2

 

So this is what the Pasta with Vidalia Onion Sauce looks like as a finished product, at least if you choose to serve in a a cheesy chartreuse melamine bowl. Which you'd do if you were bringing it to a pool where glass isn't allowed.

This time I used 1/2 Chevre, 1/2 crumbled Feta. Better than the original - the saltiness of the Feta is a nice addition.

The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc (06), always a great deal, is a perfect complement to the pasta. There's enough fruitiness - kiwi maybe - to play off the sweetness of the vidalias without getting cloying, and the mineral and sweet pea undertones of the wine go great with the thyme, parsley, and the veggy notes of the onion. This is one of the great wine bargains out there IMHO - a standard bearer for NZ SB, like Cloudy Bay, but at less than half the price. For both of these wines, 03 was a stellar year which the last 2 bottlings didn't quite live up to. However, the 06 Crossings might well (haven't tried the 06 Cloudy Bay yet).

A Curveball

Why didn't we do hot dogs and beer last night? Cause Phil always brings great wines from his cellar that hot dogs wouldn't do justice to. So what does he turn up with? The 2 wines on the left - Trader Joes specials. Cause his cellar's already packed.

The Contadino Pino Grigio was OK; generic white wine with no remarkable qualities one way or the other. The Cantina Zaccagnini was awful. Sort of like red water with a crappy aftertaste. The Pinossimo, some gifted wine from my grab bag rack, was marginally acceptable as an apertif.

To go with the ribs we grabbed my last bottle of '02 Shotfire. God that's great wine. Inky, complex, chocolaty, lots of blackberry and pepper, just fabulous. And it's all gone. Sniff.

The 2004 Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz was fine. Jammy cherry with a real spiciness and peppery finish. As I recall about a $20 bottle and if so it's a solid deal.

The ribs were smoked baby backs, with a finishing sauce. On a scale of 1 to 10, these were an 11. The sauce was a new one and it was a home run - concept was a basic sweet BBQ sauce with the addition of 2 of the things I think best complement pork: peanuts and black beans. This is so good I'm not even sure I want to share it. But I will cause I'm that kind of guy.

Peanut Butter Black Bean BBQ Sauce

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons fermented black beans
½ cup molasses
¼ cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Colemans mustard powder
2 jalapenos, chopped fine
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup red wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper