Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Provisions Wine and Food pairing #2 9/1/2009

Being the loyal friend and customer that I am, I immediately signed up for my second Provisions class which was just a couple of weeks after the last one. I did NOT want to miss out!

Word had definitely spread about Angie's classes as this class filled up a lot quicker and was much more crowded. This time the tables were in a U-shape and that helped a LITTLE bit with the acoustics, but it was still difficult to hear with Provisions' high ceilings. If nothing else, it definitely forces you to talk to those around you. I ended up making friends with the same couple I sat next to the week before.

Anyway, on to the important information...the courses! This evening's theme was "The American Melting Pot" pulling meals from specific cities, although most of the foods and wines were borrowed from their original European styles, although made into their own Americanized version.

Appetizer starter was Baltimore - Crab Cake paired with an Oregon Pinot Gris. Normally I tell folks that Oregon is known for their Pinot Noir but really, it's any Pinot grape. I really liked it this white wine because it had a sharp finish to it.

I was really looking forward to the next course, from New Orleans, having just been there, but the Shrimp Etouffee was a little disappointing because I only got one little baby shrimp on my plate. I mostly had brown goo. And the Chenin-Blanc paired with it was too dry (although Angie kept saying overly sweet).

Next from San Francisco was Cioppino which came from the early 1900s when the fishermen would come in and chop up all the leftover fish and put it into a tomato rother soup. Typically it comes with lots of shrimp and shellfish so everyone got two clams. Not too bad. The wine was actually a little bit better here...a Monte Volpe Primo Rosso....real smooth finish. That's the only way I can handle red wines....low on tannins.

From Miami, we had Cubano Beans and Rice but when I think Cuban, I think spicy chicken and rice...but noooo...Angie insisted that Cubans liked pork. So I tried the piggy and it was full of flavor but finished with a greasy aftertaste. Luckily it was paried with a Grenache but the wine was too strong, so you could wash down the grease but it totally overpowered the pork.

Last was cheesecake from New York and it was only a tiny bite. Chef Scott from Provisions is EXCELLENT in his desserts. THis was fantastic even though I could only roll so much chocolate onto the cheesecake instead of smothering it like normal. This was paired with the super sweet wine, a Moscato...which is one I could actually drink...well a little it...almost too sweet for me! hehehe

The best part of the class is all the things I learned. Dessert wines should be stronger than the actual dessert.

More importantly....buy a half bottle of wine...they look like baby wine bottles...and save the bottle when you finish. THEN you have a better sized container to keep your excess wine from any full bottles you don't finish. This is better because there is less air in the bottle since oxygen is what is the enemy when trying to keep wines.

OH...and the most fun thing I learned is "seasoning my glass". We were enouraged to heavily swirl our wines to get the sides of the glass coated in the wine to improve taste.

Unfortunately, I'm going to miss the next Provisions class (when there won't be any piggy) for a "fall food theme". I'm a little bummed I'm going to miss but it's because it's the same night as cheese class and you better believe I won't be missing cheese class!!!

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