Linden Library Tasting

We signed up back in early December for the Linden Library Tasting yesterday. I was excited to go back and revisit some old friends that I hadn't tasted in years and some wines that I have never tasted. As we made our way south to Linden on an unusually warm (upper 60s) day for January, I couldn't help but notice the blanket of clouds draped over the mountains to our east, looking like a giant had placed a layer of cotton batting right on top of the mountains. It was a cloud formation that I have never seen before, a very thin layer of clouds to the east of the mountains and just a little bit spilling over to the western side of the ridgeline.

Fog Bound at Linden Vineyards

Wisteria in the Fog

I wondered a little bit about the clouds as we were driving south on a sunny day, but not too much. As soon as we turned east and starting climbing up to get to the east side of the ridge where Linden is situated, I noticed the sunshine starting to fade. As we climbed, it became a gray and foggy day and when we got to the winery itself, it was socked in and despite the moderate temperatures, too damp and misty to sit outside. But the fog did lend itself to some interesting photo opportunities.

My Beautiful Wife!

We arrived at 2pm in advance of our 3pm tasting with the idea that we would have a glass of wine and lunch beforehand. We started with a glass of the library wine that Linden pours in the winter time. On offer this weekend was the 1999 Glen Manor red, a great opportunity to taste what Jeff's Hodder Hill might taste like in 10-15 years. The wine has gone from purple to red with a slight clear ring around it. The fruit is very much where it should be now with wisps of dried blackberry leaves and tea wrapping around a core of cherry fruit. The finish is starting to disintegrate now though with the layers of oak starting to separate from the fruit. Ten minutes in the glass helped the wine bloom and a little food helped bring the finish back into line. I told Ann that I could drink this wine every day and be very happy: it is a feminine and nuanced wine.

Bloomsbury from Caromont Farm: Outstanding

For lunch, Ann and I were both excited to see that Caromont Farm's Bloomsbury, a Chaource-like bloomed rind cow's milk cheese, is back on the cheese list at Linden. We both love this cheese! To go with the remainder of our cheese, summer sausage, and bread, we also ordered a glass of the 2009 Hardscrabble Red. I was surprised to see it on offer; didn't think it was going to be released this soon. Although it is young and tight, at this stage, I believe that this is the best wine that Jim has ever made. I'm going to tuck some away in the cellar: I believe this wine is going to be phenomenal in 15 years.

The Library Tasting Set Up

At 3pm, we headed into the tasting room with Jim and Barb who took seats at either end of the table, with four guests on either side of the table. Four whites and four reds were already poured. We started with the whites: Louis Jadot Chassagne-Montrachet 2006 as a reference point and the Hardscrabble Chardonnay Reserve 1997, the 2002, and the 2006. Jim introduced each of the wines in turn and we all discussed whatever came to mind and peppered Jim with questions.

I didn't take any notes at all; this being my day off, I simply wanted to enjoy the experience. But some quick notes from memory. Chassagne: oxidized nose and palate characteristic of Bourgogne Blanc, well balanced with plenty of acid, not fruit-driven; very typical. Reserve '97: tropical Botrytized nose of pineapple with a hint of mango, deep golden, very ripe and weighty; bigger fruit that I am used to from Linden, my least favorite. HSC '02: very pale, mineral nose reminding me of cement-fermented Chablis, very crisp seafood wine much in the Chablis mold with a touch more fruit. HSC '06: one of my all-time favorite friends, tropical nose and superb balance between fruit and acid. I would love to taste this wine in another couple or three years. Delightful!

For the reds, we were served a small charcuterie plate (pâté de campagne, lomo, and bresaola) to serve as a foil for the tannins. This excellent charcuterie comes from Derek at the Whole Ox in The Plains. At Jim's insistence, we all kept a bit of the pâté back to taste with the dessert wine.

Charcuterie from The Whole Ox

The red line up was: Château La Tour Carnet 2000, Red Reserve 1997, Red Reserve 2001, and Hardscrabble Red 2002. La Tour Carnet is not a wine with which I am familiar and it presented with a funky Bretty nose. The Brett didn't extend to the palate and I quite liked the focused berry fruit with a strong acid core. The '97 is a wine that I had asked Jim about earlier in the afternoon, because he gave us a bottle for our wedding and I was wondering how it has developed and when to drink it. Awesome to get to taste it in advance of opening our bottle! It is a beautiful wine and my favorite of the day and I don't think it is going to get any better. It leads with a Cab Franc profile and is a bit herbaceous with a touch of bell pepper. The 2001, largely Cabernet Sauvignon, is a bit more angular but also drinking nicely, though I don't think it is as complex as the 1997. The 2002 is still hanging in and would be a crowed-pleaser if crowds could taste it. At 100% Merlot, it is soft and supple, but simple.

We finished the day with a taste of 2002 Late Harvest Vidal that is just brilliant. I've tasted this wine several times over the last 10 years and it is really coming into its own with caramel and crème brûlée notes weaving in and out of the tropical fruit. The color is a darker shade now than I remember it on last tasting. I imagine this beauty will still improve for some time and will drink well long after I am gone.

Posole Verde de Pollo

I'm not sure why I decided, on a January day that was supposed to be headed to nearly 70F, to make posole, a hearty Mexican soup, for dinner. But I'm glad I did. The day didn't turn out to be all that anyway: up on top of the hill at Linden where we spent the day, it was cool, damp, and fogged in. Good soup weather. And a good day to have dinner waiting in the slow cooker when we got back home.

I make all kinds of posole, from thick and heavy chile-laced fiery pork stews, to light and almost ethereal soups of amazing flavor. It was this latter I was aiming for in making a green posole with chicken.

Roasting Poblanos

The day before, I charred my poblanos, peeled, seeded, and chopped them. It is not necessary to roast poblanos or even skin them beforehand, but I like them better that way. I am always careful with poblanos for their heat is unpredictable. Some are totally mild; some will hurt you. I've found that in winter when our poblanos come from very far south, they can be extremely spicy.

Roasting Tomatillos and Garlic

Also the day before, I made a green tomatillo sauce by roasting tomatillos and garlic on a sheet tray until the tops of the tomatillos were nicely blackened. Then into the blender with the lot.

Posole Ingredients

I was going to start my posole with dried hominy, but oddly enough, I couldn't find any at the market, so I grabbed a can of hominy. From the hominy clockwise: oregano, avocado leaves, tomatillo-roasted garlic sauce, green onion, cilantro, lime, roasted and diced poblanos, and an onion. What you don't see: 4 big chicken leg quarters and a bottle of cheap Mexican beer that was leftover from some party last summer. What else can you do with flavorless lager but cook with it?

Posole Verde de Pollo

Everything went into the slow cooker, then I poured the Sol beer over and added water to cover. I added maybe a teaspoon of salt at this point and set it to cooking. Six or seven hours later when we got back home, I fished out the chicken thighs, deboned them, added the meat back to the posole, and adjusted the salt. I served it with a lime wedge, fresh cilantro leaves, and sliced green onions. I would have topped each bowl with slices of avocado except that the avocado I thought was on the counter ended up in Ann's egg salad earlier in the week.

If I want a thicker stew rather than a thinner stew, I will sometimes stick the immersion blender into the soup and blitz up some of the hominy. Other times, I will add a little masa to the cooking soup. This time, I just wanted a thin soup. Delicious and easy to make with almost no clean up, because I had the foresight to roast the poblanos and make the salsa verde the day before.

Berryville Grille, Berryville

Living as we do east of Winchester right on the border with neighboring Clarke County, it is often easier to get into downtown Berryville, the county seat of Clarke County, than it is to battle the traffic to get into Winchester. We'd go there more often if there were any places to eat of note, but if you think that Winchester is a culinary wasteland, visit Berryville to put things in perspective.

I have heard over the last couple years that Berryville Grille is a decent place to eat, so we decided to run over on Monday night for an early dinner. The place is a small storefront café right on Main St.; I've driven by it a zillion times before. We were seated in the window looking out on Main St. and presented with menus, double-sided laminated legal sheets that are very well laid out and well organized. The menu is clean and simple. I like that. The prices are very reasonable.



Tempura Tuna Skewers

We decided to order two appetizers, an entrée salad, and a hot entrée. For appetizers, we ordered Tempura Tuna Skewers and Chicken Empanadas. When Ann ordered the tuna, the server asked her how she wanted it cooked. I hate it that we live in a place where this is even a question.

The tuna came to the table as you see here, a small steak bias-cut, skewered, and battered. It was sitting on a bed of seaweed salad and drizzled with (too much, in my opinion: though I am well known for disliking sauces) wasabi mayo and hoisin sauce. I didn't find that the cup of sweet chili sauce added anything to the plate. The tuna was fine and cooked rare as ordered.

The chicken empanadas came with chips and a green sauce called chimichurri. I don't understand the chips on the plate: the empanadas are fine and stand all on their own.


Chicken Empanadas

The pastry on the empanadas is great, maybe better than mine, though that's comparing apples and oranges as mine is a wholly different style of pastry. But, it was deep-fried and tasted like whatever was in the fryer before it. I wanted more flavor in the chicken.

As for the chimichurri, I really liked it a lot. But in my experience chimichurri is a loose sauce that readily separates. This sauce is emulsified and in my experience, it would be called a salsa verde.

The salad Ann chose was Heidi’s Mighty Buffalo Chicken Salad, nice lettuces with fried chicken breast bits tossed in wing sauce, blue cheese,  canned sliced American-style black olives, tomatoes, and shredded cheese. I found the two kinds of cheese to clash, but the salad wasn't bad. The lettuces were very nice.

I ordered the brined pork chop with jalapeño mash, BBQ gravy, and sautéed vegetables.We were disappointed in this dish. The pork was boneless, not something I ever imagined a chop to be, and the marinade dominated the flavor. The mash was OK if just a little on the pasty side (more milk would have helped). I didn't care for the gravy. The frozen vegetables on the plate were not good. We left ours as a gift to the trashcan. For all my nitpicking though, it was a reasonable plate of food for the price charged.

Bottom line: dinner was worth what we paid for it and we will go back. The food was good, the prices were reasonable, and we love to support local independent restaurateurs.





Goat Cheese, Once Again

Back in December, I mentioned a new goat cheese maker and while I was extremely excited to have local high quality goat cheese, the cheese itself, a Valençay-clone, needed to ripen to achieve its full potential. Well, lo and behold, Suzanne from Shepherd's Whey Creamery came up to me at the market on Saturday, the first post-Christmas market, and said she had a cheese for me. Another couple of weeks and this would have been primo! When she figures this cheese out, it is going to be awesome! Ann made a fabulous loaf of her bread to go along with this cheese.

Melting, Gooey Deliciousness: Goat's Cheese with Ann's Bread

Guilty Indulgence

My Guilty Indulgence: Perciatelli Aglio e Olio

Some people crave chocolate, some people ice cream. Me, I crave pasta and garlic. Call me weird; I don't really care. If I am down, a plate of pasta aglio e olio will do the trick in elevating my spirits.

I wasn't down last night, but I was hungry and not in the mood to cook. Ann was feeling off her game and didn't want dinner. Lucky me, I had a bit of par-cooked perciatelli in the fridge.

We partially cook our pasta at the restaurant and then finish it to order; it helps get orders to the table faster. If we had the luxury of having someone to cook pasta exclusively, then we could do it to order. But we don't, so we par cook it. And that means that we sometimes have leftover pasta that didn't get served. And so it was on New Year's Eve. Lucky me, as I said earlier.

There is nothing simpler than warming garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil, adding a little salt and water, and finishing some long pasta in it. And my special bonus to myself: topping it with a touch of grated pecorino romano and some panko and dried basil that I toasted in olive oil.

And that's my guilty indulgence. Pasta and garlic: perciatelli aglio e olio. Late night bar hopping drunk food!

As I was eating my bowl of noodles, Ann said, "Our house should always smell like this." Amen!

New Year's Brunch

Damn the dogs! Just damn the dogs!

@#^$&! the bleeping dogs!

Are you kidding? It's 9am on New Year's Day; we got pounded at the restaurant last night; and now, the dogs are racing around the bedroom, bouncing off the bed and the walls, wanting to go pee and eat? Seriously? Weren't they up late with us?

But what are you going to do? We knew the drill when we signed up for dogs. And when you disappear for a minute to go to the bathroom, they greet you like you've been away for years, all waggy and wiggly and so, so damned happy to see you! What are you going to do?

Drag your exhausted ass out of bed and take them out and feed them is what you're going to do. Dog people will get this.

So we were up bright and early, long before we wanted to be, and by late morning, even after a midnight supper the night before, we found ourselves hungry and wanting something brunchy for breakfast.

Sausage, Jalapeño, and Cheese Frittata

I decided on a clean-out-the-refrigerator frittata. Frittatas, baked egg omelettes, are perfect receptacles for whatever needs using in the refrigerator. I found eggs, a couple links of sausage (lop cheung, though I would have preferred chorizo), a jalapeno, garlic, some grated cheese, a little mangy cilantro, and that, my friends, is enough for a feast.

And while I was putting it together, I might have accidentally slipped those pesky dogs a little cheese. Dog people will get this.

New Year's Eve

Veal Osso Buco on Risotto Milanese

A few weeks ago, I was wrestling with whether or not to open the restaurant for New Year's Eve. You wouldn't think that there would be anything to think about: of course, a restaurant should be open on New Year's Eve. But in recent years, business on New Year's Eve has been slim and this year, it was on a Monday night, normally a glacially slow evening and a night on which we are normally closed.

To make matters worse, we didn't even have an inkling of an inquiry about New Year's Eve from customers until the week before Christmas. It wasn't like the phone was ringing off the hook for reservations. And so I waffled for a few weeks and this waffling caused Ann to hope that I might be able to celebrate the new year with her. But after talking with other restaurant owners, sticking my finger in the air to test the winds, uttering a few incantations, and finally, listening to my gut, I decided to open.

Ann was extremely disappointed in this. I think the 'we might be able to celebrate together' morphed into 'we are going to celebrate together' in her mind. Such is the restaurant business that we don't get to spend these occasions together. She knows it; I know it. But it doesn't make it any easier. At least I am at work and my mind is fully occupied. She is at home being a restaurant widow.

By way of compromise, however, I promised her that we would have a late dinner and ring in the new year together. I have noted in years past that in our town, people dine at my restaurant before heading to wherever they are going to ring in the new year. While in many big cities and towns, customers are fighting for the 9 and 10pm tables, here in Funchester, they all want to dine from 6:30 to 7:30pm. And so I took advantage of that by closing reservations at 8:30, which let me get out by 10:30, though my poor staff were there much later. Guys, sorry about that, but rank has its privileges. I'm not all about pulling rank, but sometimes it has just got to be done.

Well, holy crap! New Year's Eve was the busiest night of 2012! I came staggering in the door closer to 11 than to 10:30 and all I wanted to do was collapse. But when I saw the table was set, candles were lit, and New Year's streamers were hanging from the balcony above the living room, I couldn't collapse. What a great suprise that was! A glass of Prosecco and a fifteen-minute sit in a chair and I was ready to put dinner on the table.

Ann had mentioned the day before that she would like osso buco on risotto milanese for our dinner and unbeknownst to her, we had both osso buco and lobster on risotto milanese on our New Year's menu at the restaurant. Score! So I brought home two pieces of osso buco and some risotto base. All I had to do was nuke the veal to reheat it and give the risotto its final five minutes of cooking.

We had a great dinner with another glass of wine, tidied up, went upstairs, watched the ball drop, kissed and wished each other Happy New Year, and I promptly passed out in what Ann terms "1.3 seconds." Such is the restaurant life!

But how lucky am I to have had New Year's dinner with my wife on New Year's Eve? That never happens in my business! What a great start to 2013!