Over our time in Bend, we have gravitated to Viaggio, a favorite wine bar, and we have come to know many of the regulars. So it was with Brad, with whom we struck up an easy acquaintance. Sadly for us, he decided to relocate to Florida. He let us know in the Thanksgiving time frame that he would be gone by mid-December. Naturally, we needed to host a farewell dinner to wish him on his way.
A dinner for three people is truly an odd number, both as in not an even number and a slightly bizarre number for a dinner, but three it was. I just so happened to have a package of three beautiful center-cut veal shanks in the freezer waiting for just such a dinner. Three people and three portions of ossobuco, perfect!
As Brad was packing and trying to avoid schlepping a lot of wine across the country, he volunteered to bring the wine. And when he learned the meal was ossobuco milanese, he brought two bottles of Barolo, the quintessential pairing for this classic dish.
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| Almonds and Olives to Start |
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| Barolo. What Else to Pair with Ossobuco? |
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| Ossobuco Milanese |
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| The Guest of Honor |
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| 1989 Trockenbeerenauslese |
After dinner, in lieu of dessert, I opened a 1989 trockenbeerenauslese that I bought in Germany at Kloster Eberbach in Eltville just up the Rhine from Wiesbaden and Mainz. The once-amber Riesling had turned the color of raisins, oxidizing heavily over the years. The nose was of Madeira, Sherry, and raisins, but the acid was still screaming.
Brad, best wishes on a new life in Florida!
