Weekends Were Made For Bubbles

On Labor Day weekend we were fortunate enough to spend a couple of days with our friends Mike and Brenda at their cabin near Danbury, WI. More friends, Bob and Lynnette also came along for the ride. After puttering around most of the day in the pontoon boat we got down to the serious business of food and wine. Bob and Lynnette made dinner and paired it with one of my favorite summer wines, the Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc/Viognier. The wine is crisp and clean with hints of citrus. It stays fresh on the palette and drinks easy. It was paired with a balsamic and rosemary marinated grilled chicken breast served with brown rice, asparagus and a dinner roll. It was delicious, the dinner was balanced, the flavors were superb and everyone was satisfied. The next day after puttering around in the pontoon boat (do we see a pattern here) we started the cocktail hour at around 5 with a Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle Brut Champagne, a cream cheese/chipoltle sauce appetizer garnished with fresh picked blackberries (Mike picked them minutes before serving) and a chicken and cheese crostini that Brenda whipped together using leftovers. The snacking was great and the champagne was divine. It was clean with a slight hint of lemon, I was sad I only had one bottle. Dinner was a grilled pork tenderloin with a pineapple, chile and lime glaze served with quinoa, brown rice and pineapple. It was paired with Bella Lily Hill Zinfandel. Everything Bella makes is marvelous. It had perfect weight, enough fruit and tannins to linger on the tongue for moments drifting into minutes. The pork was a smash as was the pairing. Dessert was a cabernet ice, this is an old family favorite which is essentially a cabernet sorbet, simple yet delicious. We capped the night off with a glass of Choco Vine which is a red wine mixed with Dutch milk chocolate. It tastes a lot like Baillys. It's very good but I'm sure if one drank too much they would pass on M&Ms for a few weeks. Moderation is the key. Good food, good wine and good friends, do they have that recipe in Betty Crocker?

Happy Anniversery

Anniversaries happen, I enjoy them. If you spend enough time with a person you kind of get used to them and even start to like them. I pretty much like my wife, she has a million great attributes, one of them being she is great to go out to dinner with. Our anniversary is in early September. The day was gorgeous, the sun was out , there was a pleasant breeze and it wasn't sweltering. We started the evening at Acqua, a new restaurant in White Bear Lake. We had a bruschetta and a small pizza with a glass of Burgans Albarino. I have been loving the albarinos this summer. We sat out on the deck and talked and sipped. A great way to spend an evening. We moved the party to Ursula's for a treat on the deck. We had crab stuffed mushroom caps and an heirloom tomato salad. The tomatoes we have been getting this summer are fabulous. We complemented the food with a bottle of 2002 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet. Nothing but the best. It was beautiful, it didn't take too long to open up and our mouths were treated to rich black cherry and cassis flavors with a hint of smokiness. A perfect wine for a perfect day.