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Friday Night Feast 2014

Dec04

As part of the annual ThanksGavin celebration it’s traditional for us to do a home dinner on Friday night, historically cooked by my cousin Abbe. But this year she abdicated the job to her brother Matt and his wife Andrea.

NV Casa Vinicola Botter Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Santi Nello. Bubbly to start. Zingy acids, excellent minerality, very small fizzy bubbles. Ultra refreshing.

More fancy olives.

The return of the artichokes.

Bread.

2007 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses. Burghound 90. As would reasonably be expected, there is just more here in every dimension with a more complex and more elegant nose that is layered and very fresh and this refinement continues onto the nicely concentrated middle weight flavors that display evident minerality on the sappy, intense and mouth coating finish that lingers and lingers. This is a terrific Savigny blanc and recommended.

My dad is in charge of cheeses, which means some stinkers.

And the “separated” non-stinky plate.

1995 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Sorì Paitin. IWC 91. Medium red, some amber at the rim. Plum, cherry and enticing smoky, toasty oak on the nose. Smoky, sweet and velvety, with insinuating flavor. Has firm backbone and finishes with some oak tannins but avoids dryness. Rather Pommard-like in its solidity.

agavin: this particular bottle had more funk on the nose than usual.

Homemade manicotti, stuffed with ricotta and smothered in mozzarella.

A version without the mozz for those who aren’t THAT into cheese. Not me.

1996 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley. IWC 94. Deep ruby color. Multidimensional aromas of violet, coffee, dried rose, clove, rare steak and seductive oak. Huge and tactile; really implodes in the mouth today. Extremely deep and lush, with the sheer sweetness to buffer its considerable acids and tannins. Oaky. Finishes extremely long, with very fine, tooth-coating tannins. With aeration, some of the baby fat melted away, and the wine’s powerful structure was manifest. Headspinning, old-style Burgundy, and very impressive. One to buy and cellar.

The main dish consisted of roasted pork sandwiches. Here they are coming out of the oven, notice the big hunks of bacon/pork fat added for flavor.

Matt sliced the meat.

And warmed it in its own jus.

Any pig haters had the option of turkey, a giant sliced breast borrowed from one of the previous night’s birds.

And provolone of two types, the regular and the aged sharp kind. Both from the Italian market.

Plus some very serious roasted peppers. These had a big hot long burn to them.

And sautéed broccoli rabe.

Fennel and celery salad.

Here is the plate with a bit of everything.

1994 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 92-95. Michel Delon, a great man, is the consummate proprietor, meticulously administering this vast estate spread out along the St.-Julien/Pauillac border, separated from Latour’s finest vineyard by a mere ten feet. The 1993-95 vintages from Delon are brilliant wines. Leoville-Las-Cases remains one of the irrefutable reference points for high class Bordeaux. One of the more massive Medocs of the vintage, this opaque purple-colored wine exhibits fabulous richness and volume in the mouth. Layers of pure black-cherry and cassis fruit are intermixed with stony, mineral-like scents, as well as high quality toasty oak. Medium to full-bodied, with a sweet, rich entry, this wine possesses plenty of tannin, yet fabulous extract and length. Leoville-Las-Cases is one of the half-dozen great wines of the Medoc in 1994. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2025. This lion never falls asleep on the job!

Matt also “whipped up” some homemade pumpkin pie from scratch. There was a bit of ginger in there.

The actual pie itself.

And the brownie’s return.

These chessboard fudge squares were made by my cousin-in-law (cousin’s wife) Itsuki.

Overall, another fabulous evening of great food and company. Bravo Matt and Andrea.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Family, holiday, ThanksGavin, Wine

ThanksGavin 2014

Dec02

It’s that time of year again, time to loosen your belt buckle and sit down for the annual ThanksGavin!

The table is set.

NV Casa Vinicola Botter Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Santi Nello. Bubbly to start. Zingy acids, excellent minerality, very small fizzy bubbles. Ultra refreshing.

Crudites.

Some kind of dip of mysterious origins.

1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 90 points. This is medium gold. Nose is very ripe fruit and honey, but not boytritis. Sweet and satiny and weighty, acid is failing. Finishes with baked apples and pastry.

Artichokes.

Hummus. Achem, from a tub.

1988 Camille Giroud Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. Burghound 90. This too is very fresh, in fact fresher than the Clos de Vougeot with a beguiling mix of spice and secondary aromas that lead to big, intense, firmly structured flavors that have plenty of sweet pinot sap to buffer the solid tannins. This is quite long, in fact the longest of these bottled wines and delivers unmistakable Vosne character. It remains a creature of its vintage and the finish is austere and masculine in style but there is plenty of volume and flavor authority. This will live for years.

Now we’re talking: cheese.

And good olives.

1998 Dominique Laurent Mazis-Chambertin. 93 points. Showed good complexity and depth, excellent balance, and a medium finish. Flavors of black raspberry, cherry, spices, dried leaves, and forest floor all emerged after a time. The acidity held everything together nicely. Good freshness of flavor both on the nose and palate. I think this is nearly at peak or plateauing nicely.

This year there were two turkeys, and because our chefs patched up the neck with skin grafts from different birds, they nicknamed them Frankenturkey!

Turkey. But they came out perfectly.

Gravy. Of course.

Stuffing. Nothing better than gravy soaked stuffing.

Cranberry. A choice of three variants on the cranberry theme. My favorite is the spicy chutney (lower left) which is smooth and slightly spicy.

1973 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Añares Crianza. 92 points. wonderful wine; surprised how much vitality it retained. Like fig juice.

Brussels sprouts.

With a delicious lemon sauce.

Roast beets with balsamic & maple syrup.

Squash with black mustard seeds.

Spinach salad with goat cheese.

2009 Nugnes Falerno del Massico Rosso. 92 points. Red edges, dark core — Nose captivating, mindblowing, fresh, flowery, almond, sweetness, dried fig, pickled fruit — Palate mild, fresh, watery, like marsala wine, plums for days, oriental herbs, some cherry, some sour cherry — Finishes on red fruit, tartness and spice aspects again. This is special, an oriental dream, changing by the minute, now some pepper and some cinnamon, appears to be expressive and young, a long life ahead. Fairly high acidity level. Happy I bought 12 bottles to drink over the next 10 years.

The 2014 official plate!

1975 Dow Porto Vintage. 86 points. The wine showed all the characteristics of a tawny. Not exactly overwhelming but very nice to drink. Alcohol was a bit too evident. It’s so nice to open old bottles of Port like this! Unless the wine is really spoiled, it’s always a pleasure to drink it.

Coffee cake.

“Bubbie Caplan’s” rice pudding. Really quite lovely. Eggy sweet custard.

My mom’s absolutely perfect pecan pie.

Grandmom’s brownies and blondies.

Apple crisp.

Dessert plate.

This was another spectacular homemade ThanksGavin dinner as usual.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

Our main chefs, my mom and her sister

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Cooking, Gravy, Mashed potato, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, Wine

Ghosts of ThanksGavins Past

Nov26

A retrospective look at more than a decade of ThanksGavin turkey plates…

By: agavin
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Tagged as: ThanksGavin

Salty Saturday

Dec20

Part of the tradition for the ThanksGavin weekend of gluttony is a Saturday deli brunch. As we celebrate in Philadelphia, we have access to all sorts of great deli and the like.

This year, we’ve moved to a new location for Salty Saturday, namely my cousin Matt and his wife Andrea’s house (they just moved in this year).

A bagel brunch begins with great bagels!

And fresh Nova lox of course. This was hardly salty at all.

Two kinds of herring, creamed and pickled.

On the right is the chive cream cheese (which I prefer).

And in the center the regular. On both sides are whitefish salad. This particular blend has no mayo, and is merely smoked whitefish. Given the freshness of the fish it’s particularly delectable.

Cream cheese alone doesn’t pile on enough calories, so munster and aged cheddar are key.

Plus the condiments. Red onions, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes.

And farmhouse eggs from the coop plus a homemade fritata.

And the all important cappuccino. Matt is a whiz with the machine.

The whole plate, partially under construction, can be seen here. Yum!

For dessert we have homemade cinnamon buns.

And the return of the poached pears (along with a new — smoother — batch of chocolate sauce).

Too much goodness. Fourth meal in, I’m beginning to feel it. We have a long drive after this so I grabbed a liter of water to balance out the salt!

For more ThanksGavin dining, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Bagel, Brunch, Cream Cheese, Deli, Lox, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, Whitefish

Friday Night Feasting

Dec09

As part of the annual ThanksGavin celebration it’s traditional for cousin Abbe to cook and host the Friday night dinner. This year she joined forces with girlfriend Jody to whip up this feast.

The table.

This year, an alien must have kip-napped me because I forgot to photo most of the wine. Only these two bottles:

1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 92 points. This is medium gold. Nose is very ripe fruit and honey, but not boytritis. Sweet and satiny and weighty, acid is failing. Finishes with baked apples and pastry.

1999 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. 91 points. Rather open right out of the gate with perfumed nose of fresh dark berries, underbrush, delicate florals. Medium bodied and lively on the palate as wonderully layered, fresh red fruit mingles with savory game, flowers, and forest floor. Long, invigorating finish of broth, sweet berries, and spice. Really enjoyed this, and still has the capacity to improve.

When we arrived, cooking was still underway, like these toasting chickpeas.

On the table were a variety of olives.

And, of course, the traditional spread of bread and rotting bovine by-products.

Cheese from Philadelphia’s Italian Market.

Middle eastern salad.

Cous cous.

A vegetarian stew of spicy tomatoes and vegetables.

Homemade Kofte (meat balls) with tahini sauce.

And Bob’s chocolate chip bread pudding for dessert!

Overall, another great evening!

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

This year is the one and only Thanksgivukkah (at least until another 81,000 years roll around)

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Cook, couscous, Philadelphia, Robert Ampeau, ThanksGavin

ThanksGavin 2013

Dec05

It’s that time of year again, time to loosen your belt buckle and sit down for the annual ThanksGavin!

The table is set.

The libations begin with this bubbly.

1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused, round, intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now and I wouldn’t hesitate to open one anytime as there is no further upside to be had. A beautiful effort of real style and grace. Tasted several times with consistent results save for one bottle that, much to my complete surprise, was showing definite signs of oxidation.

1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin. 93 points. this wine shows sweet cherries, sharp minerals, and forest floor on the powerful nose. Initially the palate is a bit shy, but with time it gains concentration and volume until it explodes with deep red and black fruits. This is medium bodied and elegant but the fruit is intense, the acids are lively, and there is a strong spice note on the finish. There are still some hard edges and this is probably 5 years from its peak, but it’s wonderful now.

The first of the two birds comes off the BBQ, cripsy!

1995 Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia Riserva. 95 points. The dense 1995 displays a saturated ruby color. The rich, cedary, smoky, tobacco, and tar-scented nose is classic Nebbiolo. Excellent, with a layered texture, and a rich, spicy, austere, moderately tannic finish, it is accessible enough to be drunk, but should evolve nicely for a decade.

Here is the full spread. Most of this hard work is by our tireless chefs: my mom and aunt.

A simple salad (you need something simple).

Cranberry relish (one of two cranberry sauces).

The other, a spicy chutney. This one is my favorite.

The turkey itself.

Delicious stuffing.

Gravy.

2008 Castello di Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva. Parker 90, “The 2003 Chianti Refina Riserva exhibits a similarly sweet, open nose along with plenty of vibrant, super-ripe dark fruit, outstanding length and lovely overall balance in a style that is plump and accessible without sacrificing the wine’s underlying structure. It is made from 90% Sangiovese, with the remaining 10% divided among several other varietals, and aged 24 months in French oak barrels.”

Roasted beets.

Kale with garlic.

A new entry, consisting of sweet potatoes. There was a mix of orange and purple, which resulted in this refried bean-like color!

The official 2013 plate, or you can find the last 10 years of them here.

1988 Climens. Parker 96. The 1988 reveals layer upon layer of honeyed pineapple-and orange-scented and -flavored fruit, vibrant acidity, high levels of botrytis, and a fabulously long, yet well-focused finish. It is a great wine.

My mom’s incomparable pecan pie.

And a new entry, poached pears with homemade syrup.

And homemade chocolate sauce. The texture reveals its non-commercial origins.

Pumpkin pie.

Sweet potato pie.

This was another spectacular homemade ThanksGavin dinner as usual. Particularly impressive given the bit of upset that tore through the family in the proceeding few nights, namely a nasty stomach virus. This left a few of the secondary cooks “unfit” for their duties. Still, once recovered, great fun was had by all.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

My aunt hard at work in the kitchen!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Barbecue, Cooking, Dessert, Nebbiolo, Robert Ampeau, ThanksGavin, turkey, Wine

Fond of Philadelphia

Dec03

Restaurant: Fond

Location: 1537 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. 215.551.5000

Date: November 28, 2013

Cuisine: American

Rating: Tasty modern American

Every year we Gavins descend on Philadelphia for several days of epic gluttony. This traditional week of feasting kicks off with the traditional Wednesday night dinner at some Philadelphia restaurant.

This year, we hit up Fond, an ingredient focused New American in Philadelphia’s little Italy.

The seasonal menu.

A prosecco to begin.

An amuse of mushroom cappuccino. Cream is always good.

1994 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 91 points. A nice mature white Burgundy.

Black point oysters. Half dozen with mignonette.

Chicken liver mousse. pickled red onions and grilled sourdough.

Grilled duck hearts. Fennel salad and tahini yoghurt.

Mushroom Risotto. truffle, maitake, hazelnuts.

With fresh shaved black truffle.

Mixed Green Salad. seasonal accompaniments.

2008 Ferrando Carema White Label (Etichetta Bianca). Parker 92. The 2008 Carema Etichetta Bianca wafts from the glass with sweet dried cherries, tobacco, sweet herbs and crushed flowers. A mid-weight, delicate wine, the 2008 is quite typical of these hillside vineyards. In 2008 the acidity is a bit on the high side, which readers should keep in mind when considering food pairings. This is a gorgeous wine from Ferrando. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2023.

Angel-hair pasta with tomato sauce.

Mushroom Risotto. truffle, maitake, hazelnuts.

Seared tuna. potatoes.

Organic Salmon. sauerkraut latka, Belgian endive, whole grain mustard.

Pork Belly. Okinawan sweet potatoes, escarole, Dijon jus.

Duck confit. polenta, brussel sprouts, bacon, and jus.

Beef Skirt Steak. royal trumpet mushrooms, farro, sauce Bordelaise.

The dessert menu.

Warm brown butter apple tart. Ginger ice cream, lemon curd.

Malted milk chocolate ice cream. Peanut crumble, chocolate crumble, peanut butter genache.

Some anise flavored meringues as petite fours.

Overall, a lovely meal, wish a lot of flavor and a great way to start off the 2013 ThanksGavin!

For more Philly dining reviews click here.

And check out the epic ThanksGavin events here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Dessert, Fond, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, Wine

Ghosts of ThanksGavins Past

Nov27

In honor of turkey day, a look back on over a decade of previous Gavin festivals of gluttony…

By: agavin
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Tagged as: ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, turkey

Friday Night Lights

Dec03

As part of the annual ThanksGavin celebration it’s traditional for cousin Abbe to cook and host the Friday night dinner. This year she joined forces with girlfriend Jody to whip up this feast.

Our cholesterol unfriendly tradition requires cheese, so here it is, along with some quince spread.

And what would cheese be without wine?

When I arrived, my dad had already opened this wine. It’s not my usual snob fare, but it was very enjoyable.

The 2006 MEANDRO DO VALE MEAO is a pretty nice second wine in this difficult vintage. One reason may be that a lot of declassified juice that would’ve have gone into the grand vin was used for this bottling. On first taste, this seems exceptional, elegant in weight, yet mouth filling and delicious. As with most 2006s, the proof is in the pudding, or rather the aeration. That first taste is not a reliable indicator in this vintage with most wines. After it airs out, it shows more hollowness than seemed initially apparent in the mid-palate and a shorter finish. It doesn’t have the penetration and power of its predecessor, the fine 2005, either. All that said, it tastes awfully good, will be approachable immediately and it is very reasonably priced.

Then from my cellar, reversing the appropriate order, I opened this mature Burgundy.

Ampeau holds their small batch wines in their cellar until they’re “Ready” for release — a la Rioja but by the subjective decision of Ampeau themselves, rather than “DO regulations.” Robert Ampeau and his son Michelle have never released a wine under 10 years of age, and their twenty-foot high cellar are chock full of un-labelled bottles of wine with chalk scrawling on their base to indicate the vineyard and the cintage. The Pommard is beautifully aged on the nose with faded flowers and old furniture, mulberry spice and a husk of licorice on the palate with a pine needle and cinammon finish, succulent, and chewy and desipits its tertiarity very young and fresh tasting (think Lopez de Heredia but Pommard!).

A pretty mix of olives and hummus.

This is one of the benefits of my “Italian Mastery” certification, unusual Italians like this! I love me a good Nebbiolo.

Parker 92, “The 2008 Carema Etichetta Bianca wafts from the glass with sweet dried cherries, tobacco, sweet herbs and crushed flowers. A mid-weight, delicate wine, the 2008 is quite typical of these hillside vineyards. In 2008 the acidity is a bit on the high side, which readers should keep in mind when considering food pairings. This is a gorgeous wine from Ferrando.”

Luigi is the man bottling Carema DOC underneath Mont Blanc straddling the border between the Vallee D’Aoste and the Piedmont. Nebbiolo from Carema strikes the balance between the more Alpinous highland reds and the longevity of Barbaresco and Barolo. For over 35 years this wine has been a benchmark of their portfolio, surviving the coming and going of Billecart Salmon (no one heard of them until Neal brought them here!), Castell’in Villa, and all the new growers from the North I offered you guys from that Wednesday luncheon tasting which was phenomenal. I’m giving you this background simply to say that the gold standard for Neal’s palate was, from the very beginning, formed by these wines.

The savory spread this year.

From my cellar: Parker 95, “Between 1978 and 2007, this 1998 is the greatest Vieux Telegraphe that was produced. It has taken a good decade for this wine to shed its tannins and come out of a dormant, closed period. It has finally emerged, and notes of iodine, seaweed, black currants, incense, and sweet cherries as well as hot rocks jump from the glass of this full-bodied, powerful wine. It possesses considerable elegance and purity, along with loads of raspberries and incense, in a round, juicy, rich style that is just emerging from the closet. The wine is still youthful and a pre-adolescent in terms of its ultimate evolution. Approachable now, it will continue to evolve for another 15-20 years. Bravo!”

Herb encrusted salmon.

Yougurt sauce with dill, cucumbers, and pomegranates.

Another contribution from my dad, the reliable but rustic zone of Gigondas is found on the slopes of Mont Ventoux not far from Avignon. The solidly made 2006 Gigondas Romane Machotte is somewhat rustic, with more noticeable structure and tannin. It does not possess the depth of fruit found in its three siblings, but it is a cleanly made, spicy, firm, structured effort.

Cous cous with veggies.

Asparagus, for funky pee.

Spiced meatballs, which intended or not, went well with the yogurt.

Bread.

And for dessert, this cake my mom made.

And a scrumptuous chocolate chip bread pudding. The only thing it was missing was the Crème anglaise.

Abbe and Jody also made Snicker Doodles.

Overall, another great evening, can anyone say “wafer thin mint!”

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

Peculiar terra cotta statuette my cousin Doug brought back from Brazil

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Dessert, Nebbiolo, Pommard, ThanksGavin, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Revenge of the Han Dynasty

Nov30

Restaurant: Han Dynasty

Location: 3711 Market st, Philadelphia PA. tel. (215) 222 3711

Date: November 21, 2012 & November 26, 2014

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Spicy Goodness

Every year, we Gavins converge on Philadelphia for the annual ThanksGavin, and every year it starts out with the “Wednesday night dinner.” This time around, we ended up at Han Dynasty, a downtown Szechuan Chinese restaurant. I love Szechuan, but rarely see it. In China, I’ve had meals that were so spicy delicious that your life flashed before your eyes.

Han Dynasty is a new breed of American Chinese restaurant, more hip by far than your typical Chinese eatery.

The menu. The red border is not only auspicious, but prognostic — of the heat!

Knowing we were up for some Szechuan, I dragged some Riesling across the country in my handy winecheck bag.

Parker 92, “The detail, refinement, and lift that characterize the best of 2007 were reason enough, Rebholz said, for him to essay some residually sweet Riesling, otherwise, I’d rather leave that to the Mosel vintners. The 7.5% alcohol of his 2007 Riesling Spatlese Vom Buntsandstein indeed puts one in mind of the Mosel, as well as on notice that this will be wine of delicacy and very high residual sugar. It is also impressively endowed with ripe quince and wafting lily and gardenia perfume, and manages to keep its sweetness balanced so as not to tip into sheer confection, but instead to exhibit seamless purity and nectar-like lusciousness. It should be worth watching for a dozen or more years, and in fact I would personally not even care to revisit it for 6-8 years.”

Not your usual Chinese chinz.

Even the tea comes in stylish (probably Japanese, from the look of them) teapots.

We ordered up a deluxe ($30 a person) tasting menu for 16.

Vegetable fried dumplings. The vegetarian variant of your standard potsticker. These were probably the most disappointing dish, but then again, these puppies are always better with pork.

Spring Rolls.

Chinese hot wings, ordered off the happy hour menu.

Double Dragon Punch. Brandy, rum, amaretto, homemade orgeat, orange, pineapple & lemon juices. The ultimate Scorpion Bowl!

Champagne (style) wine also goes great with spicy Chinese.

Spicy Crispy Cucumber. Beware anything at Han Dynasty that has “spicy” in the name. These were delicious and crunchy, but drowned in chili oil — not that I minded.

Dumplings in Chili Oil. Even hotter. These fiery little fellows burn straight down the gullet.

Scallion Pancake. Not spicy, but observe the lovely red tint to the sauce!

This super sweet Auslese from my cellar went perfectly with all the chili. Quince preserves, baked apple, lily, gardenia, and hints of caramel and vanilla mark the nose of the Prum 2007 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. With richness yet delicacy and lift it saturates the palate with rich fruit, liquid flowers, vanilla cream, and savory, saline, shrimp shell reduction-like mineral essences. This intense, pure, subtly and truly nobly botrytized Auslese has umami with a capital “U.”

Wonton soup. Not hot, but had a little bit of peppery kick.

Rice helps cool the palette.

Little clams in spicy black bean sauce. Yum. This wasn’t too spicy, although you can see those Szechuan peppers hiding in there.

Dan Dan Noodles. This isn’t the crazy hot traditional version of the dish. Sure, it had plenty of heat, but it also had a nice sweet nutty sesame taste.

Another view.

We had the pork on the side, like high end baco-bits.

Sesame noodles. Same noodles as the dan dan, without the pork or chili sauce. Much nuttier in flavor.

Smoked duck. The duck was probably tea smoked duck, as it had that pastrami-like flavor. Controversial, as some didn’t like that vibe. I did.

Han Dynasty’s take on Honey Walnut Shrimp. These generous shrimp were crazy tempura fried and then glazed with a honey sauce and walnuts. Great rendition of the dish.

Hot shrimp with asparagus. Not a ton of shrimp, but some heat.

This was a special. Lobster in garlic sauce. Yum yum delicious. The lobster itself was perhaps a hair overcooked, but the sauce was amazing and the crustacean was perched on a bed of rich noodles…

Which allowed them to be soaked by the sauce. Yowzie!

Ma Po Tofu. One of my favorite dishes in general, and while this rendition was a touch too salty, it was still fabulous.

Eggplant w/ Garlic Sauce. These were not only very spicy, but had a delicious smokey garlic taste.

String Beans w/ Minced Pork. Fantastic version of this classic.

Pea Leaves w/ Garlic. Another great classic vegetable treatment.

Hot sauce style beef. Stir fried with cabbage and celery in an authentic Sichuan chili oil hot sauce!

Kung Pao style chicken. Peanuts, celery, and chili peppers. Excellent version of the classic.

Scallion Style chicken. Stir fried in hoisin and oyster sauce with onions and scallions. Not so spicy.

Cumin style lamb. Cumin-crusted and stir fried with bell peppers, dry peppers, and onions. Strongly flavored of cumin as you’d suspect with a nice heat. This was excellent, although it wasn’t as good as a cousin of the dish I once had in western China that was drier, on sticks. That one was bright red and relentlessly, throat burningly hot. It was also one of the best lamb dishes I’ve ever had.

Scallion Style beef. Mild and tasty.

Salt and pepper style chicken. Delicately battered and served on a bed of minced pepper and onion.

Salt and pepper fish. Also good, with a bit of heat.

This unusual white wine from Campagnia went pretty well too.

Another special. Whole stripped bass in sweet and sour chili sauce.

The sauce was, you guessed it, hot! But amazing.

Another special, dry fry style shrimp. These puppies were heavily fried (yum) and doused in a healthy dose of chili oil, then stir fried (again).

Spicy Hot Pot. Beware, like most Han Dynasty food, it was hot two ways (temperature and spicy). There was all sorts of goodness in there. Mostly chicken and a bit of seafood. This had some schezuan peppercorns.

The chefs at work: playing with fire!

This was a fantastic Chinese feast. Sure, it burned through my whole GI for 36 hours, but it was worth it. A worthy addition to the catalog of great Wed night ThanksGavin openings. Commenting two years later, and many many great Chinese meals under my belt, I’d have to say this is solid Schezuan style food, a tad modernized, and good stuff. One complaint on my second go (2014) was that they brought all the food in two giant waves, an “appetizer” and “entree” wave. The first time each item came out more or less on its own. This is way too many dishes for a big barrage.

See the rest of the ThanksGavin here.

For more Philly dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese Food, Han Dynasty, hot pepper, Szechuan Chinese, ThanksGavin, Wine

ThanksGavin 2012

Nov26

It’s that time of year again, time to loosen your belt buckle and sit down for the annual ThanksGavin!

The table is set.

And decorated.

The libations begin with this bubbly.

And the real deal, Grand Cru Burgundy. Parker 95, “This saturated and dark colored wine, with its extraordinarily spicy nose of sweet red and black fruits, sent me soaring. This massive, intense, broad-shouldered, masculine, structured, and chewy wine is crammed with super-ripe, rich, and layered blackberries, cassis, licorice, earth, and Asian spices. As if that were not enough, its dense fruit comes roaring back after expectoration, lingering on the palate for nearly a minute. This is an extraordinary Clos Vougeot! Projected maturity: 2006-2014. Bravo! to Jacques Lardiere and Pierre-Henri Gagey.”

And this 2006 1re Cru, which was younger and brighter than its older sibling, but still delicious.

The first of the two birds comes off the BBQ, cripsy!

Parker 93, but tasted like a 98, “The classic 1997 Barbaresco Santo Stefano is evolved and flamboyant. A medium ruby/garnet color with an amber edge is followed by a sweet perfume of black cherries, tobacco, leather, spice box, licorice, and tar. Full-bodied, with a creamy texture, superb concentration, and an exquisite finish, it can be drunk now or cellared for 15+ years.”

Here is the full spread. Most of this hard work is by our tireless chefs: my mom and aunt.

Cranberry sauce, the jelly-like kind.

A kale salad with pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, and optional parmesan.

Parker 94, “The 2001 Bocca di Lupo is a wine which demonstrates that the Aglianico grown in the northwestern part of Puglia, just a short distance from the Basilicata, can compete with the best of Italy’s south. Smoky and balsamic on the nose with intense and expansive notes of raspberries and blackberries, cloves, mint, and high-roast coffee, its packed, strappingly muscular, and dense flavors continue in a seamless flow over the palate, softening as they move but still totally mouth-filling and explosively powerful. The only regret is that these wines are released too early and will probably be drunk too early as well – this is a bottle which I would not touch until 2007, and it will still be going strong in 2020.”

A tangy-spicy cranberry chutney.

Balsamic glazed beets.

Parker 90, “The 2003 Chianti Refina Riserva exhibits a similarly sweet, open nose along with plenty of vibrant, super-ripe dark fruit, outstanding length and lovely overall balance in a style that is plump and accessible without sacrificing the wine’s underlying structure. It is made from 90% Sangiovese, with the remaining 10% divided among several other varietals, and aged 24 months in French oak barrels.”

From scratch Challah stuffing.

BBQ Turkey.

And homemade gravy.

Thai curried sweet potatoes with a bit of coconut milk.

Bread. In the back in Cranberry Walnut from “Park’s”.

The official 2012 plate, or you can find the last 10 years of them here.

This 20 year Dow Tawny Porto covers dessert.

The spread.

Homemade (like everything else) rustic pear, cranberry, and ginger tart. My Mom makes these 🙂

And these: The world’s best pecan pie!

And my grandmother’s special brownies and blondies.

This was another spectacular homemade ThanksGavin dinner as usual. It was arguably even better than ever before.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dessert, feast, holiday, stuffing, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, turkey, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

More Mark’s Duck House

Dec11

Restaurant: Mark’s Duck House [1, 2]

Location: 6184 Arlington Blvd # A, Falls Church, VA 22044 703-532-2125

Date: November 30, 2011 & November 25, 2017

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Very very good cantonese.

Mark’s Duck house is an amazing Cantonese place I go to when I’m home in Washington D.C.. There’s nothing fancy about them other than the food but they make a lot of stuff, and they make it all really well.

Below is the menu to end all menus.

Picking from that menu can be a bit of a challenge!

We tried to entice my three year-old with this “pasta.” (pan fried noodles with Buddha’s delight) but he declared “that’s not pasta!”

But he did go for this lo-mein with garlic.

Hot and sour soup. Classic, but delicious.

The hot and sour soup is so good it was almost finished by the time I got the camera pointed at it (in 2011, the above photo is from 2017).

Beer really goes best with Chinese. If you’ve ever had Chinese wine (I have) you know why.

Succulent “Har-gow” (shrimp dumplings).

The whole peking duck and a glimpse of the green onions and hoisin.

The pecking duck here is incredible. They make the pancakes for you if you want, but the whole assembly was brought out to the table. I had photos of it the last time I was here.

Lobster causeway style. Fried with lots and lots of garlic and a little chilies. One of my favorite Chinese lobster preps.

“Lightly” fried shrimp with the heads still on.

Stir-fried chive-blossoms. It sounds weird but they are incredibly good.

Baby bok choy with garlic. I don’t love full sizec bok, but these were quite nice actually.

Sizzling beef short ribs with black pepper sauce. These were tasty, but the hard part was getting the meat off the bone with chopsticks and teeth!

Filet Mignon with black pepper sauce. Very tender and delicious.

Sauteed mixed seafood in a nest.

“Sweet and sour pork.” At the Panda Express and the like they always have those fried pork balls (which I call fried lard balls). This is the ultimate version. Incredibly tasty!

Ma Po Tofu. Non spicy Cantonese version. Nice texture, but lacked the depth, heat, and mala of the real thing.

We had way way too much food as usual here. Seven people and this could have fed twelve. I rolled on out very satisfied, indeed.

See my previous review of Mark’s Duck House.

Or other ThanksGavin meals!

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Cantonese, duck, Duck House, Mark's Duck House, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, ThanksGavin, Washington D.C

Jaleo Bethesda

Dec07

Restaurant: Jaleo [1, 2]

Location: 7271 Woodmont Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. 301.913-0003

Date: November 29, 2011

Cuisine: Spanish Tapas

Rating: Fun Tapas Bar

I’ve reviewed a lot of José Andrés restaurants on the blog, seven I think. This is een the second Jaleo. The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE) and his high end Saam, but also brunch at Trés, lunch at Trés, and to é by José Andrés and Jaleo in Vegas and Zaytinya also in Washington. Back to Jaleo, the restaurant at hand. It’s basically a straight up Spanish Tapas place but with a slightly modernized and enlarged menu.

The menu.

One annoyance of this particular branch — and not the restaurant’s fault — is the Maryland law against corkage. They have a fine list, but I had brought an amazing Spanish wine 3,000 miles! Parker gives it 91 points. “The 2008 Termes offers up a sexy perfume of cedar, spice box, violets, incense, espresso, and blackberry. Savory, concentrated, and well-balanced, this flavorful effort will benefit from several years of additional cellaring but can be approached now.”

“Gazpacho de remolacha con queso de cabra y naranjas. Chilled red beet soup with goat cheese and oranges.” I’m a total José Andrés gazpacho whore. I even make it at home home.

This is a different variant, kind of gazpacho meets borsch. It was fantastic. Beety, with that vinegary tang. Delicious.

“Dátiles con tocino ‘como hace todo el mundo. Fried dates wrapped in bacon.” Really how can you beat fried dates wrapped in bacon? Yum yum.

“Ensalada rusa. The ultimate Spanish tapa, a salad of potatoes, imported conserved tuna and mayonnaise.” The Spanish love potato salad.

“Aceitunas rellenas de anchoas y pimientos del piquillo. House-made stuffed olives with anchovies and roasted piquillo peppers.” This is another classic, and these are a really good implementation.

“Jamón Ibérico de bellota Fermin. Cured ham from the legendary, acorn-fed, black-footed Ibérico pigs of Spain and miscellaneous other Spanish meats like chorizo.”

“Pan con tomate. Toasted slices of rustic bread brushed with fresh tomato with Pasamontes farmhouse Manchego.” Basically Spanish bruschetta.

“Salpicón de cangrejo. Jumbo lump crabmeat with cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower and Sherry dressing.” While Spanish in flavors I suspect this a bit of a nod to the Eastern shore. Big lumps of crabmeat too.

“Pan de recapte con anchoa. Traditional Catalan bread with peppers, tomatoes and salt-cured Spanish anchovies.” I really wanted Fresh Spanish anchovies, marinated (Anchovies en Boccerones) but they didn’t have them. These weren’t a bad substitute.

“Espinacas a la catalana. Sautéed spinach, pine nuts, raisins and apples.”

“Vieiras con romesco y mojo verde. Seared scallops with romesco sauce and mojo verde.”

“Lomo de buey. Grilled hanger steak with piquillo peppers.”

“Arroz con costillas de cerdo Ibérico de bellota. Made with the famous Ibérico de bellota pork ribs.”

“Arroz Mediterraneo. Made with porcini mushrooms, mixed vegetables, green and black olives and thyme.”

The dessert menu.

“A classic Spanish custard with creme and oranges.”

“Dark chocolate mousse with sponge cake and hazzelnut ice cream.”

“Various fruit sorbets.”

“Vanilla ice cream and grapefruit sorbet.”

“Chocolate ice cream.”

Jaleo is like a good Tapas place in Spain but a little slicker, with perhaps more consistant quality. And they don’t have fresh anchovies! It is also a little (actually more than a little) more expensive than a typical Spanish tapas place in Spain. But considering the scarcity of good tapas places in America… worth it.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Bazaar, Bethesda, Dessert, Gazpacho, Jaleo, José Andrés, Maryland, Paella, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Spanish Food, Tapas, ThanksGavin, Washington DC, Wine, Zaytinya

2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria

Dec02

Restaurant: 2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria

Location: 3715 Macomb St NW. Washington, DC 20016. (202) 885-5700

Date: November 29, 2011

Cuisine: Neapolitan Pizzeria

Rating: Really authentic Neapolitan Pizza

My brother spent the whole week talking up this Neapolitan style pizza joint just over the border into DC.

They have a classic big wood fired pizza oven.

A sleek front room.

And a backroom bar.

The menu.

A delicious but simple arugula salad.

Fried salt cod fritters. Vaguely like crab cakes, but fishier. Still, very good examples of these.

The classic cheese pizza. The dough here was really really good. Neapolitan flour and slow fermentation for sure. This was a pizza dough good enough to munch through all the remaining crust.

“Santa Brigida Tomato, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, arugula.”

“Calabrese Tomato, onions, anchovy, fresh mozzarella, parsley, olives.” A classic anchovy pizza. Strong salty flavors, but still really good.

The margarita plus pepperoni.

“Ripieno Extra Ricotta, grana, salami, prosciutto, pancetta, tomato.” Full of cheesy meaty goodness inside.

In the front is the “Puttanesca Tomato sauce, rapini, fresh mozzarella, garlic, anchovy, hot pepper.” An interesting combination of bitter and salty.

Fresh ground pepper.

Dessert, although we were too stuffed to order any.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For 50+ meals in Italy.

Or to see my own Ultimate Pizzas, click here!

By: agavin
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Tagged as: 2Amys, 2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria, Anchovy, Italian cuisine, Mozzarella, Neapolitan Pizzeria, Pizza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, ThanksGavin, Tomato, Tomato sauce, Washington DC

Zaytinya – East made Easy

Dec01

Restaurant: Zaytinya

Location: 701 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001. 202.638.0800

Date: November 27, 2011

Cuisine: Greek/Turkish/Lebanese

Rating: Great flavors!

Zaytinya, which means “olive oil” in Turkish is part of José Andrés’ little culinary empire — which started first here in Washington D.C. and then spread to various other outpsts in the country including LA and vegas.

I’m a bit of a Jose Andres groupie as not only have I reviewed The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE) and his high end Saam, but also brunch at Trés, lunch at Trés, and to é by José Andrés and Jaleo in Vegas.

For those who don’t know, José Andrés is perhaps America’s leading practitioner of my favorite culinary style: Spanish Molecular Gastronomy. This school of cooking, a radical interpretation of the preparation of food, was begun at El Bulli outside of Barcellona. Andrés cooked and studied there with master chef Ferran Adrià. I first encountered Andrés’s cooking in Washington DC at Cafe Atlantico, and it’s own restaurant within a restaurant, Minibar.

Zaytinya, however, is neither Spanish or particularly molecular. It focuses on the Eastern Mediterranean cuisine of Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. These are all former Ottoman zones and despite their political animosity toward each other share much in common — foodwise.

The modern frontage on 9th street in Washington.

The space inside is clean and white.

The geometric white shapes are reminiscent of Greek architecture.

The menu.

We ordered this “ASHTA. traditional Lebanese-style French toast, bananas, orange blossom honey” for our son. It was more like Pane Dulce I’ve had at other Andres restaurants crossed with Tres Leches cake. He devoured it.

They have this light poofy bread.

The classic roasted eggplant dish: “BABA GHANNOUGE. fire-roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon, garlic.” This was a very bright tasty variant with pomegranate seeds.

And one of my all time favorites: “TZATZIKI. Greek yogurt with diced cucumbers, dill.” This wasn’t nearly as garlicky as in Greece and Turkey, but was more akin to the Lebanese variant. It did have a nice thick Greek yoghurt consistency and a pleasant crunch from the cucumber.

“BEET SALATA. crimson and yellow beets, shaved fennel, upland cress, spiced walnuts.” I doubt this was exactly a traditional dish (even if the ingredients are) but it’s pretty much obligatory on modern menus.

“BANTIJAN BIL LABAN. crispy eggplant, roasted garlic-yogurt sauce.” This was a nice treatment of eggplant — in no small part because it was seriously fried! This was a very crispy coating with hot eggplant inside.

“SPANAKOPITA. house-made phyllo, spinach, feta cheese.” Not your typical version of this dish which is usually triangular in shape. The insides were similar enough though, so more a cheese and spinach taquito than a puff pastry!

“ROASTED CAULIFLOWER. sultans, caper berries, pine nuts.” This is a brighter less fried version of this traditional Lebanese dish (you can see the original here). Good stuff though.

My son got his second order of “French toast.”

Which he polished off in about two minutes.

“GARIDES ME ANITHO. sautéed shrimp, dill, shallots, mustard, lemon juice.” This was a pretty awesome variant on Andres’ normal “Gambas Pil Pil” (photos here in this Jaleo review).

FRIED SQUID. crispy squid, garlic-yogurt sauce.” Nicely done classic calimari.

And a zesty garlic sauce for dipping.

“STRIPED BASS PLAKI. tomato, fresh chickpeas, onion, mint.” This is a local fish, but the prep is very Eastern med. Strong flavors of tomato.

“AGLAIA KREMEZI STYLE CRAB CAKES. mini jumbo lump crab cakes, roasted garlic yogurt.” They can pretend this is Eastern Med — but no, it’s all Eastern Shore. Still, no one was complaining. These little patties were essentially crab imperial balls lightly fried on the griddle. There was a light taragon flavor too.

“KEFTEDES KAPAMA. beef and lamb meatballs, feta cheese, rustic tomato sauce, cinnamon, allspice.” Tasty meatballs in classic Eastern style. Similar to typical “spicy kefta” preparations.

“ADANA KEBAB. skewered ground lamb, house-made harissa, grilled tomatoes, sumac, onions.” Typical ground lamb kabob. This wasn’t my absolute favorite dish here. It was a bit salty and the grill flavor too strong. Not that it was bad by any means.

“URFA BIFTEK. grilled sirloin, Urfa pepper, cumin, heirloom lettuces, caramelized sesame.” And this was even saltier, although the meat did have a lot of flavor.

“LOUKANIKO ME AGINARES. grilled Greek pork sausage, marinated artichokes.” The sausage was good and I liked the onion and pepper (pimento in Spanish) salad on top.

The dessert menu.

A nice chewy cup of Turkish coffee, semi-sweet.

“Turkish delight. Walnut Ice Cream, yogurt mousse, orange caramel sauce.” This was very yummy, but from the name I hoped for something closer to real Turkish delight — which is a favorite of mine, particularly the rosewater flavor.

A trio of very good homemade ice creams (my three year-old loved them). Walnut, apple, and pear. The fruit flavors were very bright and pure.

“Greek yogurt and apricots.” Very yummy. The thick yogurt paired very nicely with the sweet fruit. In Greece they eat the purest variant of this: very very sour and thick goat yogurt with drizzled honey.

Another fruit and yogurt/ice cream blend. Can’t go wrong with berries and cream.

More of the large and modern space.

Overall, Zaytinya was pretty fantastic. It’s neither totally traditional or ultra modern, but instead what one might call a modernized or modestly updated classic. Most of the dishes have their roots in traditional Eastern Med dishes, and they retain — even emphasize — those bright flavors. The form of them is a lighter and slightly more playful, adapted to American tastes. In any case, highly successful.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

I’ve also reviewed: The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE) and the high end Saam, brunch at Trés, lunch at Trés, and to é by José Andrés and Jaleo in Vegas.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dessert, El Bulli, Ferran Adrià, French Toast, Greece, José Andrés, Restaraunt, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, ThanksGavin, turkey, Tzatziki, Washington DC, Zaytinya

Jackson’s

Nov30

Restaurant: Jackson’s

Location: 11927 Democracy Drive. Reston, VA 20191. (703) 437-0800

Date: November 26, 2011 & 2017 — yes same day, 6 years apart

Cuisine: American

Rating: Solid mid-sized chain offering

Back “home” in DC we wanted a quick and easy meal and so headed out to Reston to this reliable place. I reviewed Coastal Flats last year, another member of the same small chain.

This is one of those well done (but not earth-shattering) mall places. It seems that good malls these days aren’t going with the giant chains or with one-off restaurants. they must feel the need for a little more stability in their business relationships.

This vast interior all decked out for the holidays.

The menu.

They have these donut-like rolls which are pretty delicious.

This was billed as an “perfect margarita” and actually, it was pretty good. Not quite as good as my own, but not bad at all.

A mojito.

“Lobster and ham mac and cheese.” Pretty good too. The ham made it.

A special salad. Fried oysters, blue-cheese, salad.

A simple green salad.
Salad with grilled salmon. Didn’t skimp on the salmon.

Lobster Club salad. Not bad at all.

Grilled cheese for my son.

Simple pasta for my son 6 years later.

Fried grouper, fries, and cole slaw. This was a tasty fried fish, nice and crispy. This chain has an unusual but very good slaw, chopped, with a bit of peppery bite.

Crab cake roll with a side of butternut squash.

And the platter version, two crab cakes with fries and slaw. The cakes a pretty good, with big lumps of crab. It does have a little breading (obviously).

Sautéed spinach.

Lobster roll with corn on the cob. No shortage of lobster here! They claim it’s all the meat from a 1.5 pounder. Looks like it.
Same lobster roll, 6 years later.

This isn’t really chef driven cuisine. It’s basically comfort food. But it is well done.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Blue cheese, Coleslaw, crab cakes, Fish & Chips, Jackson, Jackson's, Lobster roll, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Reston Virginia, Salad, ThanksGavin

ThanksGavin 2011 – Salty Saturday

Nov28

Part of the tradition for the ThanksGavin weekend of gluttony is a Saturday deli brunch. As we celebrate in Philadelphia, we have access to all sorts of good deli and the like.

My mom also made an interesting Southern casserole of eggs, cheddar, and challah.

Just blend.

And pack into a casserole dish, then bake.

For the bagel spread we have the onions — crucial for the lingering bad breath.

More veggies.

Cream cheese, normal and with chives.

Swiss and Muenster cheese.

Kippered salmon and chunky whitefish salad.

It’s worth zooming in on the whitefish salad as this stuff is good!

Good nova lox.

Creamed herring — not for everyone’s taste!

And fresh baked bagels from a local bagel specialty bakery.

Here is the finished casserole which had a soufflé-like texture.

And this incredible donuts from a special place that fries them to order. They only make donuts and for an hour a day — fried chicken! These are three different variants of cinnamon. Certainly the best cinnamon donuts I’ve ever had.

Overall, another great brunch! You can check out last year’s here.

For more ThanksGavin dining, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Bagel, Casserole, Cooking, Cream Cheese, Deli, donut, Lox, Muenster, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, whitefish salad

ThanksGavin 2011 – The Third Wave

Nov27

Given that we went out to the Zoo all day while my cousin Abbe cooked up this followup to the official Thanksgiving dinner, she insists that it should really be called the ThanksFlitter (her last name). Regardless, the gluttony continued.

The 2006 il Cocco. This guy makes only 3000 bottles a year, and he does ALL the labor (field and cellar) himself.

Parker 93. “The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino is a beguiling wine laced with all sorts of black cherries, minerals, spices, licorice and menthol. All of the aromas and flavors are layered together through to the exquisite, refined finish. The 2006 shows a level of richness and density this bottling has lacked in some previous vintages. Today the tannins remain a touch austere, but another few years in bottle should do the trick. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2026.”

The cheese spread I bought at Di Bruno’s.

A medium aged goat cheese. Chalky goodness.

An American farmhouse buttery cheddar.

Mimmolette.

A stinky washed rind.

And a medium body blue cheese.

And quince paste which always makes cheese better.

Various appetizers, some recycled from the night before.

Muhammara.

A little champagne.

Parker 94. “The 2007 Laurel, a blend of 65% Garnacha and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep purple-colored with a bouquet of wet stone, Asian spices, black cherry compote, and incense. Dense and sweet on the palate with tons of spice, it is super-concentrated, rich, and smooth-textured. Give this lengthy effort 2-3 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2013 to 2027.”

This is an amazing wine, deep grape.

Parker 91. “The 2005 Finca Libertad is a blend of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 30% Merlot aged for 18 months in new French oak. The Cabernet Franc portion of the blend was sourced from 100+-year-old pre-phyloxera vines. Dark ruby in color, it exhibits a complex aromatic array of toasty oak, cinnamon, earth notes, pencil lead, cassis, and black currant. This is followed by a medium-bodied, elegant wine with savory flavors, considerable complexity, and enough structure to evolve for another 2-3 years. This lengthy effort should be at its best from 2011 to 2020.”

Classic Mexican “gulf coast style” rice pilaf. Chicken stock, garlic and onions in there. These recipes are mostly from Mexican Everyday.

The main dish: Chipotle Shrimp. Tomatos, chipotles, garlic, broth, cilantro. This had a good bit of heat.

Flounder in the same sauce.

Avocado.

Various condiments: lime and fresh tortilla from a Spanish place by the Italian Market.

Chopped onion, queso fresco.

“Classic Mexican pot beans” with Abbe’s special twist of roasted poblanos and Thanksgiving smoked turkey. Very tasty, although they had the usual effect.

Swiss chard sautéed in olive oil and garlic.

And the sherry comes back out for dessert.

The spread.

Vegan brownies. Hmmm.

A chocolate chip cake with chocolate sauce. It isn’t that pretty but it tasted great.

My grandmother’s special brownies.

These were supposed to be Grandmom’s blondie’s, but they were made vegan and so ended up a little weird.

Another plum tart.

Overall, another great feast from Abbe. You can check out her pork spectacular last year too.

For more ThanksGavin dining, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: brownies, Brunello di Montalcino, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cheese, Cooking, Dessert, il Cocco, Mexican, Muhammara, Quince, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, Wine

ThanksGavin 2011 – The Italian Market

Nov26

It’s Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving and we head down to the Philadelphia Italian market to channel our inner Tony Soprano.

Sarcone’s is home to stunningly good old school Italian-American deli sandwiches. All bread is baked fresh at the adjacent bakery.

Even Danny DiVito gives it the vote of confidence.

The low key (but crowded) interior.

Random stuff inside the display case.

Spicy pickles!

And what we really came for, the “old fashioned Italian” with the works. Notice, NO MAYO. Olive oil and vinegar, roasted hot long peppers, onions, sharp aged provolone, etc. This is a GREAT hoagie.

The “modern Italian American” has slightly more whitebread meats.

Even the tuna is good.

And the sweet and spicy pepper relish is fantastic.

Here’s the birthplace of the bread.

This is the corner two blocks away at the heart of the Italian market.

In case you need some deer brain, fresh rabbit, or wild boar.

Then on to get some cheese at Di Bruno’s.

Cheesy!

And some completely old school sausage at Fiorella’s. They only make 3-4 kinds. Each has only 3-4 ingredients: pork, salt, pepper, and maybe some garlic or red pepper.

And one of my favorites! From Isgro Pasticceria.

Stuffed to order cannoli! Fresh fresh ricotta cheese with chocolate chips in a pastry shell. Almost as good as in Sicily except no candied fruit.

Even my three year-old loves them. I pitched it as a “cheese cookie.” I had him at “cheese.”

For more ThanksGavin dining, click here.

Or check out eating across Italy itself, 50+ Italian meals.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: cannoli, Cheese, Dessert, hoagie, italian, Italian American, italian deli, Italian Market Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Sarcone's, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, Tony Soprano

ThanksGavin 2011 – The Main Event

Nov25

Every year my mom and her sister cook up an incredible feast for the family. And every year, incredibly, the food gets slightly better.

We open with the real Chardonnay from my cellars (hauled 3000 miles): “The Domaine Fevre 2006 Chablis (there is a separate cuvee from purchased fruit which I did not taste) displays an uncanny combination of creaminess of texture with firm underlying suggestions of chalk and stone. Mouthwatering honeydew melon and lime run with the mineral suggestions right through to a long luscious back end of exceptional quality for generic Chablis.”

Then back it up with a red burg, cousin to last nights. Parker 93. “Super-ripe aromas of cookie dough, spices, and black cherry syrup can be found in the nose of the medium-bodied 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Pruliers. Its fabulously satiny texture, concentration, and purity are immensely impressive. This medium-bodied wine coats the palate with innumerable black fruits, minerals, and spices. Projected maturity: 2008-2018.”

My mom in the kitchen, hard at work on the turkey.

her cohort and sister, also at work.

Turkey and stuffing.

The appetizer spread. Various breads and crackers (mostly picked over).

Caponata.

bean salad.

Guacamole. I didn’t make it, so it isn’t incredibly spicy. Sometime I’ll have to do a post on mine.

A decent chianti clasico. Parker 90. We had two fabulous meals right in this town in Chianti. “The 2007 Chianti Classico is a pretty red laced with dark cherries, dried flowers and spices. The perfumed bouquet melds seamlessly into a caressing, attractive mid-palate that turns delicate on the finish. The Chianti Classico is 95% Sangioveto and 5% Canaiolo. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2014.”

The main spread.

Bread from a great Philly bakery.

Two types of cranberry, this one is more a jam, with a bit of spicy kick.

And a cranberry relish.

Salad (dessing in the background).

Nuts, separated out for the allergic.

Marinated carrots, sort of Moroccan style.

Brussel sprouts. Don’t knock the veggie until you’ve tasted these.

Roasted beets. Yummy — and pink pee.

Butternut squash puree.

The turkey. We BBQ the big fellows on the charcoal grill.

Stuffing.

Gravy.

A total blockbuster. Parker 96. “The top effort, the 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau Fleur de Confiance, is awesome. An inky/blue/black color is followed by a stunning bouquet of scorched earth, incense, blackberry jam, coffee, and spice. This full-bodied, massive, stacked and packed Rasteau is destined for two decades of life. Its sweet tannin and textured mouthfeel are compelling. Give it 2-4 years of cellaring and consume it over the following 20 years.”

This year’s plate.

And what little I left of it.

After dinner we move onto this incredibly grapey wine. Parker 01. “The 2007 Shiraz Angel’s Share reveals a Cote-Rotie-like nose with its scents of mineral, meat, game and bacon. On the palate there is plenty of sweet, spicy blueberry fruit, silky tannin, and incipient complexity. Give it 1-2 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2010 to 2017.”