Newlywed Couple Thoroughly Enjoying Registry Gifts (Austin, TX)

As DoBianchi and I settle into our married life and adorable little house, we are absolutely in love with every single wedding gift we have received so far. Case in point: Crock Pot (thank you Uncle Ray and Aunt Gladys).

I suffered a slight scare the first time I used it. There was a faint electrical burning smell/smoke that almost sent me into post-registrum depression, but it went away and all is well. Crock Pot and I are getting along swimmingly now! I took one of my fave braised dishes and translated it to the slow cooker. (If you must now, I am an unabashedly enthusiastic braiser.)

I know it ain't much to look at, but it sure tastes good--just ask mah man. Since you can't discern brown from beige here, I'll tell you what it is: pork chops smothered with cabbage. I've been making chicken smothered with cabbage (pretty sure it was a recipe from Marcella Hazan) for quite a few years now, so changing one meat for another is simply a matter of mood.

And who doesn't love a pork chop? I don't not.

Here's what you do:
*Take four pork chops (in the four-pack they only had loin chops, center-cut or rib chops work just fine too) and brown 'em up good in the All-Clad 3 qt braise pan that yo' mamma and daddy gave you for Christmas. Place them in the bottom of the slow cooker.
*Take half of an onion, sliced, and brown slightly in the same pan. Add a couple of cloves of garlic when the onions are almost done. (You can throw everything in the pot raw, but your laziness will translate in the finished dish as a sigh of mediocrity :)
*Transfer onion/garlic to Crock Pot in a layer over chops.
*Deglaze the pan with a hit of white wine (in my case, whatever is left over from a week's worth of working in wine biz), enough to cover the pan. Scrape up yummy bits and let it reduce. Add about 3/4 cup of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Pour over contents of Pot. You don't want too much liquid because the cabbage will contribute to the juices.
*Add 1/2 head of chopped cabbage (you can throw in a whole head too if you like) on top of everything.
*Lower the hatch and let it ride on High for 4 hours (3 will work too, if you have less time), or around 6-7 on Low.

What you will witness when you open the lid is quite unattractive to behold (see photo above) but SO so good. All that's left to do is open a rich rose'...we love the Campirosa by Illuminati. It's a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Cerasuolo** DOC and shows lots of strawberry, cherry, raspberry and a surprising hint of lemon zest. There's still an ephemeral spritz in the '08 that balances the sweet caramelized cabbage and earthy pork perfectly. It's available around Austin, for sure at Mandola's, and surely elsewhere.

Buon appetito!

**Cerasuolo comes from the ancient Italian word ceraso, the same word that gives us ciliegia (cherry). It indicates the cherry-like nature of something.

Call Me Crazy

But living in the Garden of Eatin' that was Italy didn't exorcise the taco-loving Texana out of me. Even the clams couldn't eclipse the burning in my heart that was my love for Mexican (Texican) food.

I always make nachos/quesadillas/tacos at home. I have convinced myself that I can make them healthy without a hint less of flavor, which is important because my metabolism cooperates less every day closer I get to 34. What I do is make a filling/topping that is versatile and, being forced to confess, I would say damn good.

My DoBianchi has asked me to post a recipe, inspired by our ritual equation of American Idol+nachos=love. I will do no such thing, as I am too willy-nilly with my filling to be precise, but I will tell you what I do and maybe you can too:

*One pound, maybe a bit more, of ground turkey or chicken breast. (HINT: when you can find it, ground chicken breast is quite a bit cheaper.)

*4-5 T of Chili powder, not the authentic New Mexican kind, but that Americanized spice mix. I like Fiesta...it's fancy.

*1 can of drained and rinsed (rinse please!) black beans. I like Progresso and Goya.

*Handful of frozen corn, fresh if you find yourself in the midst of Summer.

*A bunch of fresh baby spinach

*As much cilantro as you can stand to wash and cut, the more the better!

*2-3 limes, depending how juicy they are

*1 minced garlic clove and maybe 1/2 cup of finely diced onion.

1. Put the onion in a heated (mediumish) pan coated with olive oil, saute 5 minutes and add garlic until it becomes fragrant.
2. Add the bulk of the chili powder and stir with onion, garlic, and oil.
3. Add spinach and cook, and this is important, until the water is gone. Add ground meat and brown, putting the balance of chili powder in the mix.
4. Now that the meat is cooked, season to taste with salt and pepper, adding more chili powder if you're not feeling it.
5. Now it's time for the corn, stir it in until it's heated and seasoned. FOLD in the black beans, letting the spices penetrate without breaking them into mush.
NOTE: At this point, you want the mix to be free of running liquid, but not totally dry.
6. Take the pan off of the heat and go crazy with the lime juice and cilantro. Crazy! The lime juice is the secret that totally takes this over the top.

If you're making nachos, top some chips with the filling, low-fat refrieds too should you choose, and a moderate amount of ColbyJack cheese. (I SO know we're not Mexican anymore, but it's "inspired.") Throw them in the oven, melt, and top them with shredded cabbage and more cilantro. The cabbage is delicious, crunchy, and much more nutritious than mere lettuce.

Jeremy and I LOVE Herdez ranchera salsa. Goes great on top of the nachos!

If you make a little more of the mix, you'll have it on hand in the fridge to make quesadillas, tacos, or tostadas at will.

Whew! For all of my hard work, Jeremy surprised me with a bottle of Tempier Rose' (seems to be another emerging pattern, next week Tempier Blanc?), and you can read his thoughts here. It was lovely, very much in the same way as its Rouge sibling that I wrote about two weeks ago, but it's his turn, so go read it please.

My poor guy has to eat this at least on a weekly basis, constantly reminded by the leftovers, but he's still hangin' around so I guess our resident DoBianchi is a sucker for punishment! Who knew?

Now go get your Mex on! And feel good about it.

Weekly Wino: Tempo per Tempier? Indeed.

I'll admit to being very excited about American Idol, but awkward performances and triumphant surprises made for a splendid evening over a glass of Tempier Bandol. My very own DoBianchi, was recently braggety-bragging about having drunk the famous Tempier Rose' that I have yet to taste. In his wisdom, to avoid seeing me take a long walk down pout street, my guy hastily opened a bottle the '05 Bandol Rouge last night.

Please visit here to git yerself a-learnin' about the Bandol appellation. I will not torture you with my clumsy and perfunctory version of history and percentages when my rested fingers can point you elsewhere. I'll just tell you that this Provencal beauty is mostly Mourvedre with some Cinsault, perhaps some other usual suspects. Maybe someone out there knows the recipe...? The Google gods granted me no such tech sheet in an admittedly brief search this morning.

I brought two cheeses home from Mandola's. The first was a Chevre, the second a Pecorino Sardo. I fully expected the former to pair with the aperitivo of bubbles and the latter with the Tempier. Instead, this wine seemed strong but SO delicate that the Pecorino overwhelmed it. The Chevre was, suprisingly, the perfect partner.

Who knew?

Aahh, now to the good stuff. The nose gave hints of earth and tar, supported by an undercurrent of black cherry liquorice. On top of the crust and the filling were sprinkles of anise, lavender, cedar, and eucalyptus. But what was new and MEMORABLE about this wine was the velvet softness that reminds me of the fresh, cool stroke of talcum powder on a warm summer day. It made my mouth water in the same way that natural minerality usually does, but this was not made of salt or stone, it was Baby Soft.

I could barely tear my nose away.

So when the performances were sub par, I retreated into my glass of babies and spice, thankful to Kermit Lynch for deliverance.