Short Ribs

CC had the idea to start up Sunday Supper, and I of course took the idea and ran with it. What you’ll see below is a mercifully pared back version of what I had originally envisioned…

But first, the guest list. The gardener and the barrister, who I don’t see nearly enough, agreed to join us. CC was of course in attendance, and my good friend NT also made it over.

CC and I spent the better part of the day shopping, prepping, drinking a little wine, and listening to music. We were, however, no where near ready in time. Last minute details to finish up, you know, frying up pancetta for a crispy soup topping, grating cheese for the polenta, things like that… Luckily, the gardener was up for helping us set the table.

Also, check out my new salt setup... Cyprus black salt, coarse French grey salt, Redmond Utah sea salt, and Hawaiian Alea red salt...

So, here’s the meal, laid out course by course:

To start, n/v A. Soutiran Grand Cru Brut (100%) – Oh, the percents. These will refer to how much of said wine was consumed. Sort of a guide to how much the group liked this or that particular bottle. Bubbles are fully consumed.

Course 1 - Celery Root Bisque. I used veggie stock in place of the water that was called for. I’d found the water version, well, watery, and wanted it to have more flavor. I think I’ll make my own celery stock next time. Bisque was good, good texture and flavor, but not celery-y enough in my opinion. The crispy pancetta topping was really great, though!

• 2005 Dom. De Triennes Viognier “ Sainte Fleur” VdP du Var (80%)
• 2003 Francois Villard Condrieu De Poncins (50%, criminal! This wine was great)
• 2002 Marc Tempe Pinot Blanc “Priegal” (20%, this was going through a secondary fermentation, and was a little spritzy, but still tasted good)
  

Course 2 – Braised Short Ribs with Parsnips and Bacon. I had intended to write this up earlier so I wouldn’t forget too much about the meal, but here it is, a week later, and I’ve forgotten plenty.

We roast the short ribs in the oven, drain fat, deglaze roasting pan, add all to the Dutch oven, add a bottle of Zinfandel, some parsnips (my first experience with them, nicely spicy, cloves and allspice, very cool vegetable, this 'parsnip'), and bacon. We served this up with a little creamy parmesan polenta and some broccoli rabe.

• 2001 Dom. Ott Bandol Rouge (80%, a pretty rare bottle. Too young, even when decanted)
• 2000 Dunham Syrah (30%, NT claims this tastes of Malibu, all coconut and vanilla, like the overly oaked wine it is)
• 2000 La Cave des Vignerons de Chusclan CdRV Chusclan “Les Monticaults” (100%, perhaps the winning red wine. We thought it might have been over the hill, but it was soulful and satisfying)
  

Course 3 – Cheeses. Again, I should have written down the amazing selections CC picked from Pastaworks, but I didn’t. Maybe she can enlighten us with a comment? Anyway, there were amazing cheeses, pecans, hazelnuts, dried cherries, and currants. Served with an amazing 2003 Champlou Vouvray Trie de Vendage “CC” (100%, a sweet Vouvray in a 500 ml btl, fabulous!)

Course 4 - Chocolate Espresso Truffles, Sea Salt Caramels, and Candied Citron. We serve this up with a little cup of French press coffee (COE, Columbia Finca el Placer).

At the end, we all sat back, completely full and satisfied.