After a long flirtation with beer in Bend, we are back to wine.
Bend has more brewpubs than I can shake a stick at, and—let's face it—after five years in the wine industry drinking nothing but Pinot and barrel sample after barrel sample, a beer tasted good, damn good.
In the last couple of years, we have discovered Viaggio Wine Merchant and become regulars. Regulars to the point that we invited the crew for dinner. An everybody bring a bottle kind of dinner. I made a cassoulet, a perfect foil for a bunch of hearty wine on a cold day.
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| The Crew |
I gave up on trying to get people to pose for a photo, so I snapped the one above where only Butch is listening to my plea to face the camera. I managed to get me and Gordon framed in the mirror.
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| Mushrooms for the Crostini |
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| Mushroom Crostini with Taleggio |
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Cooking Chicken Livers, Shallots, and Thyme for
Chicken Liver Mousse (not shown) |
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| Ten Places is a Stretch for our Dining Room |
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| Look at the Crust on This Cassoulet |
This cassoulet just started going right from the get-go. It's all down to the super-concentrated stock that I made the day before. All that gelatin started browning in the first hour. I forget how many punchdowns this went through, six or eight, no doubt.
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| Rogue's Gallery |
It was a good night. Right to left: Force Majeure Parvata Red Mountain 2021, Nicolas-Jay Chardonnay Affinités Willamette Valley 2022, Williams & Selyem Zinfandel Bacigalupi Vineyard Russian River 2022, Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Les Chapaudaises 2018, Sylvain Pataille Bourgogne Aligoté La Charme aux Prêtres Marsannay 2022, Quinta do Vesuvio Porto 1991, Sealionne Syrah-Viognier Floyd Walla Walla 2023.
I am fairly certain everyone's favorite was the Guiberteau Saumur in magnum, one of the best Cab Francs I have tasted.
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| Mandarinquats and Sumo Citrus |
Jenny was so kind as to bring us a bag of citrus that I got into after everyone left. I had never had mandarinquats (super-sweet rind, super-sour flesh) or sumo citrus (all around delicious) before.
