Christmas Dinner

Our plan for Christmas Dinner did not go nearly as planned. I closed the restaurant for lack of business on Christmas Eve and Ann and I were going to get in the kitchen together and make osso buco while relaxing with a bottle of wine. And then we were going to take a hike on Christmas Day and finish off the day with a nice pasta, as a reward for good behavior this past year. We haven't eaten any pasta in months and our waistlines show it.

Osso Buco, Risotto Milanese, Oregon Black Truffles

That was the plan, but the reality was much different. Ann spent a few days at her mother's and ended up following the ambulance to the ER on Christmas Eve because her mom was having more heart problems. Late afternoon on Christmas Eve after they admitted her mom for observation, Ann was able to get away and come home about dark. So much for getting in the kitchen and cooking. And as frazzled as she was, I just opened a bottle of wine and after some by-the-glass therapy, we cooked some pasta, and watched Love Actually for the umpteenth time. This was definitely not how we scripted Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day, we hung around the house without taking a hike, waiting for the call to come get Ann's mother and take her home. About 11:30 in the morning, it was clear that the hospital was taking its time in cutting her loose, so we decided to hurry up the osso buco into the crockpot so that it would be waiting for us when we got home.

Osso Buco Bubbling Away

We got the call about 2pm to come into Fairfax and as luck would have it, Mary had just got to the front door as we pulled up, so we didn't have to wait on her. After visiting with her mom and me making a quick pot of stracciatella for her to eat, we headed west on the drive across the mountains to Winchester. Once again, it was about dark when we got home, but this time we arrived to the awesome smells of osso buco.

We collected our wits for a few minutes and then Ann went on an explore in the cellar for wine (because we drank our osso buco Barolo the night before) while I pulled together the mise for risotto milanese. I also happened to grab a few truffles from work for our risotto, an indulgence that we partake of only once a year.

Risotto Mise: Leeks, Shallots, Oregon Black Truffles

Just Starting the Risotto: Adding the Saffron

Risotto Milanese Ready for Service

Ann surprised me with two bottles from the cellar that I was supposed to guess blind. Unknown to me, she pulled a couple of 2011s from our friend Maggie Malick. I couldn't place the first wine, the Cabernet Franc. It was bricking from age, the color was fading, but the fruit was bright sappy raspberry with a darker cherry undertone and some bottle funk. I couldn't place the wine at all and was shocked when she showed me the bottle: Virginia Cabernet Franc.

Outstanding Aged Virginia Cab Franc

The second bottle, I could place. It was a dead ringer for 2009 vintage Pinot Noir from Ribbon Ridge AVA in Oregon. Only one problem: we don't have any in our cellar. I was dumbfounded to find that it was Virginia Merlot. Merlot makes sense in that it has this juicy blueberry streak that you also find in Ribbon Ridge Pinot. Damned delicious and better than the Cabernet Franc. Age has a way of making certain wines really graceful. Time was excellent to these two and I know they taste far better now than when they were bottled.

Even More Outstanding Virginia Merlot

Andy Guest State Park/PaveMint/Glen Manor

For our walk this week, Ann chose Andy Guest State Park in Bentonville for the ability to take a swim in the river mid-hike. She certainly didn't plan on an almost 3-mile traverse of open ground in the blazing 97-degree heat, nor could she predict that my hip would go south on this particular walk. In the picture below, you can see the open ground to the left of the river for the entire frame of the photo: yeah, we walked that in the blazing mid-day sun, me with a gimpy hip. Bad plan. Suffice it to say that although it was a beautiful walk, there were parts of it that we hated.

Our day started about 8:30am as we entered the park off of US340 and proceeded to the Visitor's Center a couple of miles into the park to use the restrooms. Once parked there, we looked at the map and saw that the hike we planned to take started just slightly more than a mile upriver but that there was a connecting trail from the Visitor's Center to where we wanted to be. Given that our hike was only about 8.5 miles, we decided to just hoof it the extra mile for a total of about 10.7 miles on the day.

This view of the park was taken on the Overlook Trail perhaps a hundred yards north and 30 feet below the actual wood-deck overlook for which the trail is named. This view is actually prettier because it is framed by the surrounding trees. The trees have been cleared around the overlook but otherwise the view is pretty much the same. The Massanutten Mountains to the west are in the background.

South Fork Shenandoah River, Andy Guest State Park

Looking Down on Brown-Eyed Susans

Backlit Moth Mullein

Although I have been expecting to see Hoary Mountain Mint during our hikes this spring and summer, I haven't seen any until this hike. I found a huge patch of it and another of what looked to be escaped Spearmint.

Hoary Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum incanum

These American Bellflowers were so beautiful but there was no way really to photograph them in the very dim light of the forest understory. Just to get this, I opened my lens as far as possible and backed off to the minimum focal length. Unfortunately, with this setting, there is no depth of field and getting a decent view of a gorgeous flower was nearly impossible.

Pretty American Bellflower, Campanula americana

I've been keeping an eye out for all the lobelias, but this Pale-Spike Lobelia is the first lobelia that I have seen in bloom this year.

Pale-Spike Lobelia, Lobelia spicata

There are miles and miles and miles of trails at Andy Guest State Park, more formally known as Shenandoah River State Park, some winding along the cliffs and bluffs fronting the river, some in the floodplain along the river, and some running in and out of the glens and creek ravines of the surrounding woods. We worked our way south along the river through the woods for about three and a half miles and then worked our way back along the riverbank. We stopped for lunch at an observation point, a slight tree-covered promontory in the line of bluffs a few hundred yards off the river, on the northern end of the Redtail Ridge trail.

The network of trails is well-marked on the ground, but at times, relating what we were seeing on the ground with our map and with the written description of the hike was confusing. Still, with the river as an unmistakable landmark, it was easy enough to get where we knew we had to go, despite the slight confusion.

River and Floodplain from Redtail Ridge Trail

Enjoying Lunch at the Observation Point

I got a brisket in last week and so I corned it and used it in making our lunch for the trip. As Ann said, "This would be really good with a beer."

Corned Beef and Slaw Wraps

While we were stopped for lunch, Ann spied this prickly pear just down the dry slope from us. We missed the gorgeous yellow blooms (ours at home bloomed 4-6 weeks ago), but the fruits are starting to whiten. Later on this fall, the fruits, the tunas, will go red and will be good eating for something or someone.

Eastern Prickly Pear, Opuntia humifusa, Fruits Starting to Ripen

Beat up Spicebush Swallowtail with Spoon-Like Tail

Down along the river, the long walk in the sun commenced. Although it was a great opportunity to see wildflowers and critters, we kept moving as fast as we could, given my crappy hip, to get out of the sun. At times, Ann would be thirty or forty yards ahead of me in the span of time that it took me to go ten yards.

Common Soapwort, Saponaria officinalis

Despite the oppressive heat, I confess to taking a minute to watch a group of Red-Headed Woodpeckers hawking bugs from the top of a large Sycamore and the top of another immense Cottonwood tree. Though we think of woodpeckers getting their food by pecking insects out from dead snags (or the ground in the case of Flickers), Red-Heads are unique in that they act like large flycatchers, sallying forth and taking bugs mid-air on the wing. It is very impressive to watch. I wish I could have stayed longer.

Red-Headed Woodpecker, Click to Enlarge

Successful Mission; Enlarge to See Insect in Bill

Skittish Doe; Wild Parsnip in Foreground

About a mile along the river, we came upon an opening down to the river and Ann was off, trying to cool off from the long march in the sun. She was surprised at the current in the north-flowing river. After saddling back up with another mile to go in the sun, we saw a lot more wildflowers from here on out as we veered slightly more inland from the river, but we really didn't stop to admire them as the sun was so fierce.

Cooling Off!

Butter and Eggs

A Sunflower, Jerusalem Artichoke?

Common Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum

Cutleaf Teasel, Dipsacus laciniatus

Tickseed, Coreopsis verticillata

Back at the Visitor's Center, after getting off the trail, we were brutally hot and Ann was at the point of heat exhaustion. We sat in the car with the AC blasting on full for a long time before setting off home. Ann had wanted to stop by Glen Manor on the way back, but after the hike, she just wanted to go home and who could blame her? So you can imagine my surprise when as we were pulling in to Front Royal she asked if we could go to PaveMint for a beer and lunch. Well, all right then!

Ann Liked This Dogfish Head Namaste

Wings

Fish and Chips for Ann

Duck Tacos for Ed

About a half an hour after we arrived at PaveMint, about the end of beer number one, Mike texted me that he was on his way to Glen Manor, asking if we wanted to join. Ann wanted to head home after lunch, so I demurred. Meanwhile, Kelly texted Ann asking if we would come later for a mystery tasting. Methinks Mike and Kelly were working in cahoots. And so after we finished our lunch, we headed off to Glen Manor.

Look Who We Found!

Although the tasting room closes at 5:00, the staff couldn't shoo everyone away until about 5:30 at which point we set up tables on the back patio and Kelly brought out another of her huge ("impromptu") spreads.

Pimento Cheese

Cookies; BLT Dip

Miraculously Recovered!

There were three brown-bagged mystery wines on this occasion. The first had a nose of sulfurous stone fruit and white flowers with medium gold color, good body, and OK acidity. It could have been Chenin or Viognier or a bunch of other things. It turned out to be Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. I've tasted all kinds of fruit profiles on SB except this: live and learn. The next wine had a bit of oak to the nose but wasn't very aromatic otherwise. It had plenty of body, light melon fruit, and was lacking acid. It could have been manipulated (oak/malo) Chardonnay. It turned out to be a local Roussanne. The final wine was a very aromatic red that was dull ruby going brick around the edges. The nose reminded me of cool climate Nebbiolo, but the alcohol was very high. The palate reminded me of Nebbiolo too except for the fruit was a bit too briary and extracted. I was stumped. It turned out to be 2012 Cabernet Franc from next door at Chester Gap Cellars.

Mystery Bottle: Local Roussanne

The Home Team

Jeff and His Domain, Skyline Drive in Background

The Huckster, Late Arrival to the Party

For those who know the vineyard, this photo will appear reversed; the new vines being on the north side and not the south. This is actually a picture of the vineyard reflected from the winery window.

Mirror Image of Vineyard

About dusk, the Barn Swallows made a raucous appearance, coming in to roost for the night and we knew it was time to leave. We helped Kelly clean up the mess and then made our way back home, having bitten off a bit too much today. Ann was unconscious by hiker midnight. I was soon to follow.

Barn Swallows Coming in to Roost

Ashby Inn, Paris VA

We finally made it to Ashby Inn. We have been trying forever, but our schedules will just not cooperate. Seriously, the last time I was there was before John and Roma Sherman sold it and that has been many years ago now. But finally, the torrential rain on Sunday washed out all our other plans and, truth be told, Annie put down her foot. So she booked a table for which we were 5 minutes late because it was raining so hard that visibility was that bad. I figured slower and later was better than faster and really late.

Ashby has a new chef, David Dunlap, formerly executive sous of the Inn at Little Washington and we got to spend a few minutes chatting with him. He's just finishing his first month at the Ashby and I have no doubt that the transition from the vast number of employees at the Inn to the minimal staffing at the Ashby is going to take a lot of getting used to, not to mention the huge number of shifts that David is working. He does have the fact that he is only 31 on his side. At his age, I could work those hours too, but not any more. Best wishes to him!
 

Host extraordinaire Neal Wavra greeted us at the side door and showed us right to a booth. We run into each other every now and again at business functions, but because we work essentially the same days, we rarely get to visit and catch up. It was great to have a few minutes to chat with him even though he was working.

 



Sparkling Cabernet Franc from Michael Shaps

A few minutes after seating us, Neal returned with two glasses of sparkling wine and a sly little grin on his face. I could see that we were going to be playing the guessing game. The first thing I noticed was the color: a deep golden that might have been a touch copper-colored, maybe just slightly cloudy. The initial nose was slightly beery or cidery, in a good sense, and the wine was elegant on the palate, rich and round in the mid-palate, with great lemony acidity to finish. I ruled out a lot of wines including both my initial guesses from the rusticity of color and nose: Asprinio and Mauzac.

In the end, when Neal came back around to the table with his hand covering the label, I had to admit that I had no reference point for this wine. "It's from right here," he said, showing me the label of the 2008 Shaps/Stafford Méthode, a blanc de noirs sparkling Cabernet Franc. I have tasted plenty of other sparkling blanc de noirs including 100% Pinot Noir and 100% Pinot Meunier, but never have I had any kind of sparkling Cabernet Franc before. No wonder I had no frame of reference!

 

I was just not in the mood to order anything at all. I told Neal that we wanted to start with a half bottle of sparkling and a big red of his choosing. He asked "Something unique?" and "Blind?" to which we responded affirmatively. Yes please, unique and blind. We started with a half bottle of François Diligent Champagne Rosé Brut and there was no point in doing this blind as there are only a very few sparklers on the half bottle list.

Check the Color on this François Diligent Champagne

And now on to lunch. Ann ordered off the menu and I asked the server to order for me, something different from what Ann ordered, so that we could taste more of the menu. We enjoyed the very fruity and very colored rosé sparkler with our first courses, octopus carpaccio for Ann and cauliflower soup for me.

Octopus Carpaccio

We love octopus, so we were really looking forward to seeing what the carpaccio concept would translate to on the plate and we were not disappointed. Being in the business, I appreciate all the labor that went into fabricating this beautiful plate. The flavors were disappointing, though. I had a distinct flavor of fish sauce crossed with lavender and I found this off-putting. Next time, just braise my octopus with some chorizo, slop it on some polenta, and call it a day! I felt bad for the servers having to lug around the 3-pound glass plates that this is served on.

The cauliflower soup was a white soup in a white bowl, poured tableside, so there wasn't anything to photograph. The warm cauliflower purée with curried pistachios and tea-soaked raisins was delicious, though I couldn't taste the curry on the pistachios or the tea on the raisins. I could have done with a bit more than the 3-4 ounce portion served, but it was well done. Ed 1; Ann 0.

Just before our second course, Neal brought two glasses of red to the table and I took a second to contemplate mine before tasting it. Just from the color alone, I was already thinking Syrah but I briefly considered Petit Verdot. Two sips and I was convinced that I was drinking Syrah, but Syrah from where? The wine displays a nice blueberry core, firmish tannins, and decent acidity. Notably lacking was the jammy fruit such as you might find in Paso Robles. The decidedly New World style ruled out Northern Rhone. Moreover, it displayed none of the vivid aromatics that scream Australia. Hmm.

Our second courses arrived just after this. Ann ordered the pink snapper with potato leek broth and I found set in front of me a plate of steak and eggs.

Pink Snapper with Leek and Potato Broth

The pink snapper was cooked well enough, but the dish wasn't exciting. If I am served a fish with the skin on, I want the skin crispy. This wasn't. Also, the broth might have been a good idea on paper, but it didn't really translate to the plate. Rather than the ethereally light take on warm vichyssoise that it could have been, it was a gluey mess that I would not have allowed to be served at my restaurant. I'm not sure where the leeks were; I didn't taste them in the broth. So, good ideas and a nice enough presentation, but the details were missing.

Steak and Eggs

On the other hand, I would have never ordered steak and eggs, but I am glad that someone ordered it for me. As you can see, the steak and eggs were super well done; props for that. The sauce is styled a sauce Choron, but I learned Choron differently, as a sauce pink with tomato purée. I'd be happier calling this a Béarnaise with diced tomato, but nomenclature aside, the sauce was really well executed and delicious. Ed 2; Ann 0.
 

While we were chatting and slowly working our way through our dishes, Neal brought the bottle of red to the table and asked what it was. I offered up Syrah from Washington State and was very surprised when he uncovered the label: Massena 2010 Shiraz Barossa "The Eleventh Hour." This was a wonderful bottle that shows just how far some Australian producers have come in producing delicious modern wines. Examples like this will go far in helping the Aussies capture some of the market that they lost during the decades of making soft, jammy, overripe wines.

Before dessert, our server brought out two complimentary plates of pancakes for us to try (and they were delicious):

Buttermilk Pancakes, Sassafras Whipped Cream, Hickory Syrup

For her final course, Ann ordered a torched Grayson cheese. That would have been my preference too because we are both nuts for this awesome Virginia cheese. Note to self, time to reorder a block for the restaurant.

Brûléed Grayson Cheese with Pickled Plums and Citron Blend

I must say that even in the stupor of a brutal 90-hour week, I could never come up with a plate presentation this staid and uninspired. We love the idea of brûléed cheese and it is one we have done over and over at the restaurant, but the presentation doesn't fit the dish. Do you see the pickled plums? It's a speck of sauce up under the citron blend (the microgreens).

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake; Honey Ice Cream

Not being a dessert person, I sure would never have ordered chocolate for myself, but I was happy to taste this. As good as the mousse was, the honey ice cream was better. I would have made the cook replate this if I saw it coming out of my kitchen though, with all the elements at different angles to each other and the spacing all off. Still, the ice cream was as good as any that we make in our kitchen (and we make it every day) and that makes it Ed 3; Ann 0.

Just as our desserts were hitting the table, Neal arrived with two half glasses of another red wine, this one lighter red and a touch bricked. I had no idea what to think at this point in our meal, but the very rustic nose and light color reminded me of Pinotage. The flavor did not; however, with really high levels of acidity. Clearly a rustic red wine from Italy, but I had no idea what. I was leaning in the wrong direction though thinking perhaps a Langhe Rosso when Neal showed me the word Aglianico on the label.

On balance, our meal was very good and we had a fabulous time—actually it was the best restaurant meal we've had in a while—and I'd recommend the Ashby to anyone, but in the best of all worlds, I'd like a bit more precision from the kitchen and hopefully that comes as things settle down. Neal, thank you for your incredible hospitality and letting us a spend a rare afternoon together in your care.