That’s my poem for today.
Just flowers today
September 3, 2010
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Hunter’s breakfast: roe deer liver
August 28, 2010
Roe deer liver
While in Germany I ate a lot of “bush meat”. This is because some of my friends practice hunting as a hobby.
Hunting in Germany is very much steered by tradition. One of these traditions is that when a roe deer was shot, the liver needs to be eaten the same evening or right after the kill. There is nothing better than a fresh liver.
This is what we had at the home of my friend Uli in the “Muensterland”, a German agricultural region north and west of the Ruhr, the old industrial heartland of Germany. Uli’s mother Doris prepared such a fresh roe liver for us for breakfast. It is usually served with onions (and some people add optional apple). Unfortunately, my photo of the dish with the onions did not work out. Above you’ll find just the liver in the pan. I can only say: super delicious.
Since we consumed the liver in the morning, we did not have wine with it. A characterful Riesling wine would always go with it, but also a Pinot Noir could be a good choice of wine. Thank you aunt Doris for this delicious meal.
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Restaurant review: Taverna Cestia, Rome, Italy
August 25, 2010While working at FAO and living in Rome at the end of the 1980ies, our main restaurant was Taverna Cestia, near Piramide, just a couple of blocks from the United Nations. We went often and all the waiters knew us very well. Usually that meant that we did not have to look at the menu (they knew what we liked to eat), and if we stayed longer than the opening hours permitted, we were somehow accommodated (usually the offering of burning ‘Sambuca’ signaled that it was time to go home).
So it was clear that when in Rome, we would go and eat there. And that’s what we did during our summer vacation 2010 as well. It was a very hot day. We had shown our daughters the Terme di Caracalla. We were thirsty and needed refreshment. ‘Melon with prosciutto’ and ‘bruschetta di pomodori’ are just the right stuff to start a meal.
Ham and melon
Tomatoes on grilled bread
Olives in a coat
Taverna Cestia is famous for it’s ‘spaghetti alle vongole’, but I always liked also the ‘penne al arrabiata’.
Penne al ragu
Spaghetti alle vongole
In the past we always ordered a liter of house wine, usually a white wine in summer (a refreshing Frascati) and a red one in winter. Also this time we had a bottle of this divine liquid. We did not regret our choice.
Frascati wine by Casalgentile
The back label of the Frascati by Casalgentile
That the food at Taverna Cestia is very good is proven by the next picture. Tripadvisor awards four out of five stars.
Address:
Taverna Cestia Di Salvi Gioacchino C.
Viale della Piramide Cestia, 67
00153 Roma, Italia
Tel.: +39-6-5743754
Subway: Piramide
1 Comment | food, food and wine, history and culture, Restaurant Review, wine, wine regions | Tagged: Casalgentile, Cestia, Frascati, Italian wine, Italy, restaurant, Restaurant Review, Rome, Taverna Cestia, tripadvisor, wine | Permalink
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Enoteca “13 gradi” and Angelo Consorte, in Garbatella, Rome
August 15, 2010
The precinct of Garbatella in Rome
When we lived in Rome, we had an apartment in Via Tamburini in Garbatella. During our holidays in Rome we could not resist to visit the old stomping ground and wander around. Apart from having “reconnecting” with “our” old pizzeria (more about this at a later stage), we also found a treasure of a wine shop, an “enoteca”, as it is called in Italian.
Name cards of Alfredo Pinot, manager of Enoteca “13 gradi” in Garbatella
By accident we stumbled into Angelo Consorte’s wine shop named “13 gradi” (13 per cent). After dinner we just wanted to take some wine with us to the old farmhouse where we stayed near Appia Antica. We were lucky, “Enoteca 13 gradi” was still open.
The inside of the treasure house
Angelo Consorte and me
The four of us immediately felt at home in the place. We waited for another customer to be served. I used the opportunity to browse through the shelves and had picked up six bottles which I lined up in a row.
Then we started to talk to Angelo. He took Margit for a local, the rest of us was obviously foreign (we have broken Italian only). We introduced ourselves and had a great conversation.
Angelo was very kind to help me identify the wines I wanted to try. He analyzed my selection which helped him to get an idea what types of wines I intended to try. Here and there he replaced a bottle with another one and in the end we walked out with eight bottles for which he made us a really good price.
We learned that Angelo had traveled along the Mosel and Rhine rivers by bike and was quite familiar with the wines from my home region. In fact he is involved in the organization of winery tours on bikes, very interesting I found.
My girls had a good time
My take from “13 gradi”
In the end my take was the following:
– 2008 Marabino, Noto, Nero d’Avola
– 2009 Le Favole, Bosco Bando, Traminer Aromatico, Friuli
– Graf von Meran, Riesling by Unterberger, Alto Adige
– 2008 Pinot Grigio, by Nals-Margreid, Alto Adige
– Marcarini Fontanazza
– La Luna des Rospo, Silente
– Zeno Blauburgunder Riserva, Alto Adige
– La Corte del Pozzo, Valpolicella Fasoli Gino
I apologize for the sloppy registration. I missed out on some of the vintage indication. But I will provide an account of these wines in the context of their consumption (usually with food and during lavish dinners).
However, I also noticed that my notes are not complete (after all I was on holidays and not on a wine tasting venture). I might skip one or the other of the above wines. Some of them we took with us as gifts for friends and therefore I do not posses all tasting notes.
Angelo is certainly a find. Please visit him at “13 gradi” when in Rome. He has a great selection of Italian wines and a great passion for them. Below his address.
Address:
Enoteca “13 gradi”
Piazza Bartolomeo Romano 4
00154 Roma
Tel.: +39-328-5589211 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +39-328-5589211
E-mail: a.pinto@13gradi.it
PS: Thank’s to Alfredo Pinto earlier mistakes in my blog entry could be corrected. What would we do without the internet. Thank you Alfredo for making me aware of my misconceptions.
3 Comments | culture, wine | Tagged: Alfredo Pinto, Angelo Consorte, Enoteca, Garbatella, Italian wine, Italy, Mosel, Rhine, Rome, wine | Permalink
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Back from the Mosel River
August 12, 2010
Photo taken in Paris at the City Museum
The Man from Mosel River is back in action. After a long, long flight yesterday, we got home to Bangkok safely but exhausted. The summer holidays are over. Needless to say that we had a great time in Europe.
I gained extremely valuable experience with old and new wines and in the process of wining and dining three to four kilos of additional weight. I am also “loaded” with stories of wine, food and play “incidents”.
Europe and its people were kind to us. The summer was just wonderful; blue sky and warm, even hot (we had 45-48 Celsius in Rome) at times, with long and glorious evenings which we spent in beer gardens, restaurants and at barbecues with family and friends.
It is nice to be home again. The weather in Bangkok is humid and cooler than when we left Thailand five weeks ago. Moreover, today is a public holiday and I have time to recover from the excruciating flight.
Sparkle sparkle little wine
I was not able to produce any blog entry after the one on Villa Bucci, Italy. Ever since we have visited Paris, the “Muensterland”, Bavaria, and enjoyed wines from the Mosel, Saar, Nahe and Main (Franconia) among others. In the days to come, I will try to work on my material and extract some interesting information which I will post on the Man from Mosel River.
Bear with me and cheers to the good times.
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Wine from Argentina: Misterio
June 30, 2010
2007 Misterio Cabernet Sauvignon by Finca Flichman
In a Belgian chocolate shop in Hanoi I picked up a bottle of Argentinian wine. I fancied a bottle of red. My choice was a ‘2007 Misterio Cabernet Sauvignon’ by Finca Flichman, Mendocino, Argentina. I know that the Argentinians keep their best wines for themselves. Anyway, I liked the name and the label of the wine.
The label in close up
I should have been warned, because the label said “oak aged”, and an “oaky” taste it was. Frankly speaking I was quite disappointed. Somehow the fruit was dull and I could not get my palate around it. Also the finish was not to my liking, it was a metallic taste which was left in my mouth. 86 Parker point were awarded to this wine. Maybe the circumstances of my tasting were not right.
Finca Flichman is one of thew oldest and most respected wineries in Argentina. The Flichman family tradition goes back to 1873. Today the winery is owned by the Portuguese wine maker Sogrape. The Flichman Chardonnay and Malbec wines are the most famous. I will look out for them and give it another go.
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From Shakespeare’s kitchen
May 11, 2010Today I will share a recipe with you. Francine Segan produced this marvelous cookery book titled: “Shakespeare’s Kitchen – Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook”. We cooked from this book the most wonderful fish.
Red snapper with Caviar is the dish called.
From the outset I have to admit that our supermarket had only sea-bass on offer and instead of caviar we had to be content with ordinary fish roe. Indeed, Francine remarks that the original recipe was based on roe, not caviar, which was not well understood in Shakespearean times.
Ingredients:
– 4 small red snapper or trout with head on
– 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
– salt and freshly milled black pepper
– 12 dates, minced
– 1/4 cup finely grated fresh ginger (cam from my own production on my terrace garden)
– 8 ounces of caviar or roe
– 8 ounces fresh red currant or barberries
– 1 table spoon sugar
– 2 table spoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
How it’s done:
– Preheat the grill, brush the fish inside and outside with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, combine the dates with the ginger and gently fold into the caviar/roe, spoon the mixture into the cavity of the fish, grill of about 405 minutes on each side until the flesh is firm
– Place currant, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan, simmer for about 10 minutes until thickened, puree until smooth
– Place the fish on a plate and serve the sauce in a small dish next to it. Finished. Enjoy.
And this is what the dish may look like:
Sea-bass
Beautiful roe
The side dishes came also from the same cooking book. They were sweat onions (six different kinds of onions) and artichokes in vinegar with herbs.
The sweat onions
Artichokes
The wine we had with the food was not Shakespearean. Instead, we had a very simple wine with it, a ‘Frascati superiore’ from Rione. Ever since we lived in Rome about 20 years ago, I love the young white wines from Frascati,especially on hot days, the wines are refreshing and uplifting. It was a good complement to the “heavy” Shakespearean food.
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Pierre Sparr Riesling, Alsace
May 8, 2010
Pomfret con alceitunas y alcaparras
We had fish for dinner. Following a Spanish recipe, we had “Bonito con Aceitunas y Alcaparras” (tuna with olives and capers) from the “Culinaria Spain – Spanish Specialities” cookery book by Koenemann, 1998, Cologne, which is a wonderful book. It has not only breathtaking recipes but great pictures, stories about the food and the people, the various regions of Spain and, of course on Spanish wines.
We deviated from the original recipe by replacing the tuna fillets by whole pomfret fish but used all the other ingredients for the preparation of the dish. Needless to say, it was delicious. The recipe worked also with pomfret, one of my favourite fishes here in Asia.
2008 Pierre Sparr Riesling, extreme, Alsace
I had no Spanish wine in my wine fridge, but a Riesling from Alsace which I had bought a couple of days earlier because of its funky modern label. Pierre Sparr is the name of the estate. The 2008 vintage Riesling is still young and exuberant, just the right stuff for pairing it with the strong taste of the olives and the capers. The acidity made all the difference.
Pierre Sparr Riesling extreme
2008 Pierre Sparr Riesling, extreme, Alsace
I tried to find the same label on the Pierre Sparr website but could not. It must have been a special label for the export market. Back home in Alsace the same wines have more traditional wine labels. The Sparr family winery goes back to 1680. Pierre Sparr is representing the ninth (!!!) generation of Sparr family wine-makers and vignerons. The winery is located in Sigolsheim at the heart of the Alsace region. The family owns and operates 34 ha under vines and contracts fruit from about another 150 ha, usually small growers.
I love this wine region and have visited many times, especially during my student days. Alsace has a outstanding gastronomy, spread over the most picturesque region, right at the foot of the Vosges mountains down to the Rhine river. Vines have been cultivated since Roman times.
Pierre Sparr offers a wide range of wines (and also grappa). I guess the wine we had belongs to the lowest quality segment which you can buy in France for about 8.25-9.50 EURO/bottle. I paid much more for it here in Bangkok. It displays rose petal aromas, citrus, peach and honey. The wine is sprizzy and has zest, a good structure and a long finish. Its’ perfectly made and will last for some more years (12% alc/vol).
I hope we have the chance to visit Alsace again this year. And meanwhile I look out for Pierre Sparr wines here in Bangkok.
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Upper Goulburn Vintage Celebration
April 26, 2010
Autumn is a splendid time in Australia. It is the time of colours and, of course, harvest festivals. The past weekend saw two such events celebrating the 2010 vintage of the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association.
The first was the traditional “Day on the High” in Mansfield, High Street, which is a street festival. The second event was the “Upper Goulburn Long Lunch” which was held in the Mansfield showground pavilion. Both events are the highlight of the year for many of our winery members and the many related trades displaying their wares and produce, meeting friends, eating and drinking and being merry.
Australia’s 2010 vintage was the smallest in a decade. Instead of 1.8 million tons of grapes, only about 1.4 million tons were harvested. The wine industry is being plagued by oversupply in general. Moreover, 2010 was another drought year with poor grape prices. Many grape growers just gave up. More than 8,000 ha of vines have been pulled already and many more vineyards have been abandoned.
So therefore, this autumn was also a great time for the birds feasting on the many unharvested grapes on the vines. The wine industry crisis is hitting many family businesses, not so much the very small weekender and backyard vintners, but the full-time and medium-sized ones. Some of the investor driven schemes have also suffered. The corporates, however hard hit, are shedding “the fat”, meaning they are “selling the crap” and keeping the profitable brands and vineyards.
For many vintners 2010 was not a good year and for many more, crunch time is still to come. But on this weekend those sombre thoughts were stashed away for a few hours. Let the good times roll on (even if only for a couple of hours).
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Dining in Hua Hin
March 20, 2010
There are plenty of good restaurants and fancy dining in Hua Hin, this seaside town about 3 hours south of Bangkok, which has become such a very popular destination for Bangkonians to spend the weekend.
During our recent workshop in Hua Hin we ate out a couple of times. I report about a not so famous place, called Pom Pom, where you can eat for very little money home cooked dishes. Some of the food is announced as “Italian”. The place was an insiders tip, which we could not refuse.
The participants of this dinner where divided as regards the quality of the food. Some thought it was awesome, other were appalled. There were few guests that night, a weekday, but the staff was very friendly and we remained seating and drinking wine for a couple of hours after the meal had ended.
We consumed many bottles of wine. Nothing fancy. Some of the wines were re-bottled and re-blended as the label in full honesty proclaimed. We drank “our way up price’wise” and did not regret it: We woke up the next morning without hangover. We had a jolly good time.
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The Man from Mosel River 