Wednesday, November 19, 2003

It's Wednesday!! I have to confess that I still, after so many years, look forward to the Wednesday food section  of the NYTimes (between that and a new Rob Brezny posting, Wednesdays mornings are a banner moment around here, gosh).  I go downstairs (3 flights) in my slippers and bathrobe, snatch the paper from the stoop (our current delivery person leaves the paper, with its plastic nicely folded in to keep the paper dry, all the way at the top of the stoop, carefully placed just by the door, so nice, I love him/her!).  I run back up, scanning the weather report, then rip the paper open to the food section and search for interesting recipes and perhaps a good wine or restaurant review.  So often I am disappointed.  But today there were two! two! enticing recipes that I want to try, so I could forgive the slightly pained-looking picture of Jamie Oliver.  At least there was no fawning Nigella treatise on the glories of roasting a turkey (oh yeah, she's English).  Anyhow, so I can post the links before they expire, for once, here are the recipes:  Cranberry Cornbread for Thanksgiving snacking (it is just so hard sometimes to wait for the feast!) and Jerusalem Artichoke Pankcakes (a nice idea, wonder if it works?  I love Jerulsalem Artichokes so. . . .)  Do they work?  We shall see. . . . PS.  I am NOT, repeat NOT drinking Zinfandel for Thanksgiving and do not recommend that you do so either, no matter what Prial says.  If you must do American wine, I feel that Pinot Noir is the way!  (a light, lipsmacking red is really the way to go with such a rich -- or bland, depending on your family's cooking style -- meal. Or maybe I think so because I adore cranberry sauce and that's what goes with cranberry sauce.) Adelsheim, from Oregon, makes a good one that is really quite well-balanced. Me, I drink Cru Beajolais if I can get it.  A Morgon, or a Brouilly, or even, going a bit heavier, a Moulin-a-Vent.  A lighter young Burgundy (Santenay or even just a generic Bourgogne rouge, from a good producer, would do; 1999 if you can get it, from any producer -- 2000 if not, but in that case make sure it's a good, small producer and not a big negociant, like Jadot or the like, which would be most likely a bit dilute and disappointing). Oh, and some people will want white. From California, I can't think of anything right now, but there are some great Rieslings from the Finger Lakes, like Hermann J. Weimer's Dry Johannisberg Riesling.  As a rule of thumb, I say go light and fresh with the wines. Because around here we think French, I'm thinking a good Alsace muscat (or Sylvaner, but that's because I'm thinking Ostertag and I'm stuck on his wines). . . or any Pinot Blanc would do.  But having said that, at this moment the Riesling sounds like a better idea.  Light, sweet, sharp, fresh. But maybe all that is just me --  more than ever, I only seem to be able to drink very light, fresh, quaffable (sweet-tart) wines these days.      9:42:57 AM    comment []