Sunday dinner with friends

Champagne followed by Pinot Noir. Great photos, as always. Wines for the cheese and fruit tart should be selected on the characterisitics of the supplied cheeses and components of the fruit tart.

Champagne and Pinot? Huh, I did not think of it this way, but that's exactly why I asked.

Usually, if I make the prawns for just the two of us, I serve a rich white Burg in the likes of Corton Charlemagne. It is a good match, but a bit too sophisticated for the crowd I'm entertaining tonight. They are typical Cali people seeing everything through fruity malolactic lens.

I like your suggestion of Champagne. What about a cremant d'Alsace? That should be really good too - it's less acidic and rounder, fuller in a way, and would go really well with saffron broth.


The dressing for salad in duck dish will be very light, barely there, so Pinot might work, Oregon perhaps? I guess you see how I am pushing it in savoury direction and away from fruit.

I was going to serve '98 Potensac with it. The dish is very bistro type and what's better than to wash it down with than a great Medoc, I thought. Your Pinot suggestion...I like LOT.


Got some cheeses today and about to go for the tart.
Cheeses: Andante Nocturne, Vento d'Estate (Italy, cow milk, white wine and hay rub), La Tur(Italy, goat, sheep, cow milk) and mimolette (for me). I'll serve Marcona almonds and dried cherries with cheeses and was thinking of bringing out a nice Oregon Pinot, but now you have me confused.

Another take. I would go with a white Rhone, or even a white Priorat for the first course. For the duck course, I would go with an aged red Burgundy. Obviously I agree with the Pinot match. You could also try a mature Beaujolais.

For the duck I would suggest a 15 to 20 year old shiraz or hermitage, one where you've got some really earthy flavous coming through.
Such as a 1990 E Guigal Hermitage or a 1991 Lindemanns Steven Shiraz.

I served both of these wines with duck and they matched very well.

I won't comment on the prawns as I consider the treatment they are being subjected to as completely sacreligous.

quote:

I won't comment on the prawns as I consider the treatment they are being subjected to as completely sacreligous.

For whatever reason I cannot warm up to saffron, is it the saffron, Pauly?

No it's the whole cookery thing I object to.

The best way to enjoy prawns.

1) Get them pre-cooked whole prawns straight off the trawler. Tiger prawns (approx. 6-8" in length are the preferred variety)

2) Allow 1lb/person or 2lb/person if you're feeling extra-good.

3) Get a whole bunch of baguettes cut into 1" slices, apply liberal amounts of unsalted butter to the bread.

4) Place prawns in a large bowl set on ice in the middle of the table. Have some wedges of lemon/lime available. Have the bread in baskets in easy reach of people.

5) Serve with a crisp and fruity white wine.

6) Make sure that there is a sporting event on a big screen TV handy.

7) Go for it.

8) place prawn heads in the neighbour's hub caps after they complain about the noise you're making.

quote:

Originally posted by Pauly:

8) place prawn heads in the neighbour's hub caps after they complain about the noise you're making.

i have done that with fish

Pauly, I wish we had shrimp as fresh as yours. Instead, we get frozen deadbeats that are ask
ing for it.

what a wonerfull plate underneath this fabulous looking shrimp-dish!

quote:

Originally posted by tsunami:
what a wonderful plate

Thank you. It's Noritake, pattern Pacific Majesty/9771.


Well, I'm surprised I am up.

Thank you all for suggestions.
I served white burg -'04 Chavy Les Femelottes - with prawns and it was excellent. Good mildly complex chard that will please many. And you can find it under $20.

The duck found itself in the company of two wines - '03 Haut Gay B.Superieur and '02 Anne Amie Pinot. As I suspected, it was better with Bordeaux, but everyone loved both wines and that's all that matters to me.

With cheeses I had to serve more Pinot because everyone demanded more Pinot and I had no choice, and opened freshly bought '03 Boucherottes from Jadot. I tasted it from the barrel in '04 and could not resist to see what was going on with it now. It's a definite Buy.

quote:

Originally posted by grunhauser:
Pauly, I wish we had shrimp as fresh as yours. Instead, we get frozen deadbeats that are ask
ing for it.

I understand exactly why you treated the prawns the way you did, and to be fair it looked like a very nice dish.
It's just that I live in a part of the world where I can get prawns fresh off the trawler, which leads to a different way of treating them. Like most foods very fresh + simple treatment is a winner.

Addendum:
I am not so sure about the '03 Boucherottes anymore. Seems burnt out. Quite undrinkable in fact.

That was quick dude. Seems the french wines dont keep too long huh

Back in '03, those damn socialists kept the temperatures on high all summer long. Burned the damn wines probably for spite.