Yes, two blogs posts from me in a week! I promised to keep you apprised of the developments at the World Headquarters of Random Oenophile Enterprises as the winter weather moves through, so this is my entry for Day One.
So, as you probably know by now we got some snow:
It started here last night around 8:00 and went steadily to around 1:30, and then I went to sleep and can’t tell you what happened after that. Apparently the snow turned into something called “freezing drizzle.” It’s kind of like the post-nasal drip of wintery precipitation: steady and annoying, and likely to leave a crust on things if you’re not careful. Okay, that was gross. Sorry. The cabin fever might be setting in.
Hubby made an executive decision that we’d do the Duck Confit Tacos last night. We had originally thought we’d do a head-to-head comparison of Cab vs. Pinot as a pairing, but after Hubby made the salsa according to directions, he decided it would be too spicy for the Pinot and went a completely different direction: beer. He’s the best Hubby ever, so he made salsa for me that was mild, and I had the 2006 Texas Hills “Kick Butt Cab.” Medium bodied and with great fruit and caramel notes, it had enough acidity to cut through the fattiness of the duck and enough sweetness to balance out the salt and spice.
Although we hadn’t bought milk, bread, and eggs this weekend, I decided to engage in an act of solidarity with our panicked brethren and make French toast. We’re out of maple syrup, so I did some strawberry topping:
A couple of friends of ours who have the French Tart blog are absolute Pho addicts. For those who don’t know, Pho, pronounced “Fuh,” is a type of Vietnamese soup. It’s also apparently a really good hangover remedy. We decided we’d make some Turkey Pho, courtesy of Cooking Light and their annual “what to do with leftover turkey” article from a few years ago. It turned out really pretty and tasty, especially paired with the 2009 Montinore Estate Borealis: The Northern Whites. The blend of Miller-Thurgau, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Riesling had distinct vanilla notes at the front, and the savory-salty soup accented the citrus notes and minerality of the wine. Sorry, there’s no picture. Blogger kept flipping my bowl of soup on its side, and I didn’t want it to spill.
No snowstorm blog post would be complete without a few pictures. I took these around the yard, and you can see that the freezing drizzle had, indeed, coated everything with a thin layer of ice.
Like most other things in the city today, the bird bath is closed:
Frozen berries:
Last night’s carnage:
All snowstorms should come with wine & desserts.
Tony, I agree! But then all of y'all who get snow regularly would get fat. 😉
CD
Fun beverage-related adventure in the Memphis snow: My old mutt decided to take full advantage of the snow and romp around through several backyards. So I had to bank my martini in a pile of snow (really, a great way to keep that cocktail cool), and then run after the dog barefoot. At one point I was up to my knees in a snowdrift.
The dog and I are both fine, and about 30% of the feeling has returned to my toes.
ROFL, Benito! We've got about a quarter inch of ice or more over the snow, and the lab across the street was fine when she ran through it, but walking proved to be a little slippery for her.
I hope your toes warm up soon! Have another snowtini. 🙂
CD
The 2007 Witness Tree Claim No. 51 in the picture is one of the wines featured in the sequel to "Sideways" called "Vertical" a novel by Rex Pickett. Miles and Jack are back and drinking Witness Tree wines. "Jack returned with the open bottle of an '07 Witness Tree Claim #51-another blockbuster, a heartstopper-and refilled all of our glasses."
Thanks for the tip! I'd heard there was a sequel to Sideways but didn't know what it was called. It's a great wine. Witness Tree is only the third winery we've liked enough to get a whole case from.
CD
thanks for the French Toast nod.
Duck tacos…hey now!