Friday, January 18, 2008

Dinner At a Snail's Pace; and a Wine

Last weekend I told you about our excursion to the Hermann's European Cafe in Cadillac, Michigan. Hermann's Deli, next door to the restaurant proper, sports a small specialty-foods pantry; delighted by our delicious escargot appetizer, we went home with a large can of snails. Of course, once we got home, we looked at the can and thought, Now what do we do?

Here's what FT did: Sauteed the snails with a decent amount of garlic and some red bell pepper in some olive oil. Added white wine and lemon juice and simmered for a bit. Poured over pasta, seasoned and tossed with Parmesan cheese.

This was very good. Very good. Not too many calories either. If I were to surreptitiously feed a squeamish, unsuspecting other escargot, it might be in this manner.

And, for frequent fliers on this blog who care about cheap wine, here's a couple of reviews:

2007 Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau: I realize that I'm two months behind this season's Beaujolais Nouveau frenzy, but -- what can I say? -- this was displayed at the front of our favorite wine purveyor's, and it was cheap, so I bought a bottle. It frankly didn't do anything for me, or for Fellow Traveler. One review I'd red described Beaujolais Nouveau as "plonk," and that pretty much summed it up for me. For a light, fun, fruity red wine that goes with a variety of foods, I'd actually recommend a wine from my own fair state, not generally known for decent red wine -- Chateau Chantal's Naughty Red. That's good stuff.

2005 Woodbridge Riesling: This was, I think, one of those "Oh, why not" sale purchases at our nearest Big Box Store. Honey is the predominant flavor; the wine has some sweetness but isn't cloying. It's quite okay on its own, and I think it would be really, really okay partnered with some Riesling-friendly cheeses and fruit.

1 comment:

Trish said...

On my recent trip to Israel and Palestine through my seminary, we visited the Augusta Victoria Hospital and spoke to an intern at the Lutheran World Federation, whose offices are located directly to and with the hospital. They own land on the Mount of Olives, and are raising funds to build Palestinian houses for workers of the hospital on this land, and also, to contribute to the "fund for the poor" for patients treated at the hospital (without chopping down olive trees; rather, they are moving them). These Palestinian workers are not able to make the "should be" five to ten minute drive to the hospital because of checkpoints and large concrete walls. The drive often takes more than an hour. The point of this comment?

You can help fund this noble goal by buying olive oil from THE MOUNT OF OLIVES in a hand blown glass container made in Hebron, from broken glass after Israeli invasion and force in Palestinian territories. Check out the website: http://www.lwfjerusalem.org/olive_oil.htm

Or not... It's your decision. I just thought I'd give you the heads up.

And lastly, for a personal touch, I'll tell a short story: As we were touring the grounds, the intern took us to the top of the Mount of Olives behind the hospital to look at the ground where they are planning to build. I fell down. How many people you know can say, "I tripped and fell down on the Mount of Olives?" :)

Later.