Saturday Dinner at Je Suis Gourmand.

I suppose those who follow my blog already know that my wife and Mrs. Doc are first cousins who happen to be particularly close. We hadn't been seeing each other as much as usual over the summer for some reason or another, so the two planned a dinner at Je Suis Gourmand this past Saturday (16 May 2009). The dinner was supposed to include the children, but only ours wound up coming along.

I guess this was because Doc's children are younger, and, probably, sleep earlier. In any event, it was certainly nice to get together again.

The day before, at the ladies' respective requests, I asked Marc to prepare 2 dishes off the regular menu: Escargots Miguel (now the official name of Marc's own version of Daniel Boulud's recipe that Miguel tried and told us about; 3 orders) and Tart Flambée (2 orders). With these, we also had 2 orders of Marc's signature Terrine of Foie Gras plus another one that Mrs. Doc ordered (I can't recall what it was though). My two older sons split a bottle of 2007 Bodegas Marco Real Homenaje Rosado, while we adults had...

2005 Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses - The Doc's bottle. This is the first 2005 Grand Cru Chablis I've tried to the best of my recollection, though I've had quite a few 2005 1er cru and village level Chablis. The Grand Cru appellation (recognized as such in 1938) is divided into 7 climats situated above the old town of Chablis on the northeast.

Les Preuses is a particularly highly situated, sun-kissed, 10.09 hectares in area Chablis grand cru vineyard on the right bank of the River Serein, abutting Bougros on the north and Vaudésir on the west (both also grand crus). It is generally known to yield one of the lusher, rounder versions of Chablis.

I expected the 2005 from this particularly sun-exposed grand cru vineyard to be disproportionately (for a Chablis, because of the vintage) ripely fruity, maybe even tropical, but it wasn't. Though typically lush and rounded, virtually opulent for a Chablis, the fruit was still properly taut and distinctly tensely minerally/cold-stony/flinty. The balance, though just adequate for my taste, was most admirable considering the vintage. As a whole, the wine presented clear luxury but in good taste. Quite impressive. Nice with the terrine of foie gras.

The Doc opened a bottle of 1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, the same wine that got the Stockbroker his first victory in the Grand Crew's Blind Bordeaux Challenge IV (2 November 2006). I last re-tried this wine over a year ago, 13 March 2008, at an IWFS Pichon Lalande Vertical Dinner, so welcomed a chance to see how it was coming along. Unfortunately, upon opening the bottle, with just one whiff, the Doc pronounced it DOA - badly corked - cause of death: TCA. Marc and I thought to give it some time just in case, but, the Doc's diagnosis was spot on - it just kept getting worse and worse as the evening wore on. Ditched.

In its stead, since we started with a grand cru Chablis, and to go with my Seared Scallops with Sweetbreads Risotto, I figured we may as well continue with yet another Burgundy...

2001 Daniel Rion Clos Vougeot Grand Cru - Yes, yet another of these bottles from me, I've always meant for the Doc to try this, but, due to a series of untimely hospital calls, it didn't happen until that night. My last notes, during a dinner at the Vigneron's new Manila residence last 15th April 2009, are as follows:

This time, I decanted the wine before dinner started, so it was breathing for around 1-½ to 2 hours before it was served. Since it is a grand cru, it is still quite young at point, so material decanting does help it release its charms. This bottle was noticeably more complex, heftier and richer than before - Burgundy decay was not apparent in its bolder fruit infused with violets, touch of Asian spice, moderate dark chocolate and well-integrated vanilla/oak. Nice body, not quite chewy, but showing its grand cru girth.

Now, also with material decanting for aeration, I add that I detected some sweetish dried fig and mild/subtle spiced new oak/vanilla notes to the mix. Also quite young at this stage, with very good ageing potential as well.

We were so full from all the food, we ordered few desserts to share: some homemade JSG Macarons, a Dark Chocolate Ice Cream for me, a Thin Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream and a special cake from Marc - much to my youngest's delight.

It was great getting together again. Hopefully, the next won't take nearly as long. Thanks, Marc, for yet again accommodating my requests.

And, to everyone who would like to try some of the off-the-menu dishes I write about, please be advised that Marc is more than willing to accomodate requests for you all to try them as well. Just call up a few days ahead of time and request for them. With prior notice and enough lead time, assuming the ingredients are available, you'll get them.

Friday: Long Wine Day, Part II.

Around 3pm, the Stockbroker headed for home and J-Lab had something to do at Magallanes. That left Miguel and I with a few hours to kill before a wine-tasting event. Thus, we walked over to GB5 and looked for a wine book that J-Lab showed us earlier which Miguel wanted his own copy of. Thereafter, we saw Lusso (Gaita Fores' newly opened champagne bar at the ground floor of GB5, beside Myron's) and decided to stop for some...

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé - As the name indicates, this is a non-vintage champagne, meaning the grapes used did not all come from the same harvest year. It is composed of a blend of wines of several years of a maker to reflect its own particular style.

The grapes/blend used by Billecart-Salmon for its Brut Rosé are chardonnay, pinot meunier and pinot noir vinified as a white wine and pinot noir vinified as a red wine - I won't get into the difference in vinification as that would take too long and doesn't really matter to casual drinkers anyway).

This usually simple, fresh, charming, playfully light champagne is one of my favorite non-vintage, locally available rosé bubblies (from Bacchus). This particular version presented a sharply clean profile of fresh, large western strawberries, bit of pink grapefruit (more like our local, pink version called "pomelo" or "suhà"). There is a slight breadiness towards the back, but still restrained. There seems to be marginally more heft mid-mouth than those of the past, but it is still quite light in all. Amusing, bright and playful as usual - a nice and simple apéritif or drink to while away time with.

By around 6pm, we left to drop by the Vigneron's place for a few minutes and, then, proceeded to Sommelier Selection's Tasting of 100 Wines of France at the White Space along Pasong Tamo Extension (a.k.a., Automotive Row). Wine crusader, Jérome Philippon, was busy holding court, but took some time to welcome, chat with us and make sure we were quickly settled in.

As the event's name promised, there were no less than 100 wines from select producers of different French wine regions. Though there was a good crowd there, Miguel and I almost immediately saw a few friends in attendance: Austrian bon vivant and fellow IWFS stalwart Othmar Ober, Chef-Restaurateur Colin Mackay, Elbert "the Steakroom" Cuenca, Socky Pitargue and others.

I almost always seem to bump into Othmar at wine-tasting events, he certainly gets around.

I also immediately noticed the Alsace wines of Bott-Geyl on a nearby table and made a mental note to order some of the 2006 Bott-Geyl Gewürztraminer Les Elements that my wife and I love, particularly when paired with tart tatin and terrine of foie gras. At its most reasonable price, it's a definite no-brainer to purchase a lot of.

Back to the wine...a quick pass along the two kilometric tables on either side of the pleasantly cool, brightly-lit venue (nice high ceiling) with a Manhattan converted warehouse feel going on, showed many wines I was already familiar with. Good, this meant I didn't have to taste too many and risk getting tipsy for the second time that day.

I zeroed in a few whites, rosés and reds from the Rhône and Beaujolais. Since I already have a good enough grasp of Jérome's Rhône line, I just tasted some more recent vintages thereof, particularly the Domaine La Roubine Gigondas which I consider a very good value red that goes well with roast rack of venison and other hearty roast game/meat dishes.

In addition, I tasted and made sure to also order a few of these...

...as well as some of this (among others)....

Very briefly (since it had already been a very long wine day, after all)...

2006 Domaine Tracot Jean Paul Dubost Moulin á Vent - Rich, deeply veined fruit, good potential, poise and harmony, light on its feet, long and graceful finish of violets.

2006 Domaine Tracot Jean Paul Dubost Fleurie - Lighter in body, more floral and feminine, brighter berries and cherry. I bought these with my wife in mind and to try out on my friends to show them what a good Beaujolais is like.

2003 Lucien Boillot Volnay -Good drive and earthiness to the ripe-roasted, juicy dark fruit. Some interesting underlying roast meatiness as well. Robust and a bit rustic for a village Volnay, but neither heavy nor ponderous in the least. No-brainer for a good red Burg for the house. I'll pair these with my roast racks of lamb.

By 9:30, we headed back home after a very long, but most enjoyable, wine-colored Friday.

Friday: Long Wine Day, Part I.

Friday, 15th May 2009, was a long one (wine-wise) starting off with a pinot noir themed lunch at Sala Fine Dining for just 4 of us (the Stockbroker, J-Lab, Miguel and I, as the Doc was busy and Santi and Rene are out of the country). The rest of the day's vinous activities will be subject of a separate post.

As planned, we brought a bottle each of pinot noir based wine. Miguel and I were the first to arrive, and it was only when we settled down in the cool, elegant environs of Sala that I realized we didn't speak of anyone bringing a white, bubbly or even rosé to start with. Thankfully, the Stockbroker thoughtfully brought a very nice one along for us.

Thus, to go with old favorite Twice-Baked Prawn & Goat Cheese Soufflé with Dill, we enjoyed...

2001 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos La Néore - As mentioned, this was the Stockbroker's bottle. I've tried only a handful of single-vineyard Sancerres, so this was a real treat.

It is difficult not to gush too much over this excellent wine. The bouquet and flavors were sharply defined, displaying toasty/leesy notes, small, white blossoms, cool steel, flint, limestone, cold/wet stone, dewy morning grass and demure white grapefruit, light green apple, slight ripe gooseberry and just the barest hint of white peach.

Laser-focused attack, precise expansion mid-mouth, funneling to the finish. Exquisitely dry, yet with healthy fruit, incredibly fine, bright, crisply acidic all the way to the finish. Superb balance, brightness and purity.

As a pairing with our prawn and goat cheese soufflés, it was no-brainer correct and excellent - both a regional and traditional pairing for shellfish and chèvre - can't really get better than that. I absolutely loved this wine, the soufflé, and the both together.

For the main course, I wanted another old favorite: Duck Breast with Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes, Spiced Red Cabbage, Roast Pears and Cranberry Jus. Though it wasn't on Sala's lunch menu, old and good friend, Chef Carl Miguel, came over from nearby Sala Bistro to make some for us (except J-Lab, who opted for what looked to me like a nice roast pork loin). With this, the reds poured.

1998 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru - J-Lab's bottle. Chambolle Musigny is a town in Burgundy's Côte de Nuits; its red wines famous for being ethereal, graceful, elegant and never cumbersome or heavy - comared to, say, the generally more masculine, richer, heavier wines of nearby Morey-St-Denis (situated slightly northwest).

The absence of a specific vineyard designation is, as J-Lab explained, because the fruits used come from different premier cru vineyards wherein Drouhin owns very small portions. A very good example of Chambolle-Musigny - lithe, barely medium-bodied, light on its feet, dancing with fine, silky, correctly ripe red cherry, slight raspberry/dried cranberry and violets.

There is a slightly sweet, delicately candied general character to the fruit - but nowhere even near dense, syrupy or cloying. Very refined, elegant, silky and excellently balanced with acidity. Without a doubt, this was my favorite red in itself of the lunch. As a pairing with the rich duck, this was too delicate, but, no matter - it was an absolute pleasure - even a bit contemplative - to drink alone.

1999 Louis Jadot Clos St-Denis Grand Cru - My bottle, a wine I hadn't tried before and wanted to test since I've enjoyed quite a number of '99 Burgs last year. Though previously untested, I was pretty confident opening it over lunch since Jadot is a pretty reliable maker and I happen to like the generally earthy, rich, somewhat rustic, masculine wines from Morey-St-Denis.

Clos St-Denis is a grand cru (the highest rank in Burgundy, followed next by premier cru) enclosed/walled vineyard (i.e., "clos", pronounced "kloh", the ending "s", as in many French words, is silent) west of center in Morey St-Denis, across the road from the town's larger, better known grand cru, Clos de la Roche.

I've driven through Morey-St-Denis a couple of times, through the narrow vineyard roads once, just exploring, but never stopping, on my way to Gevrey-Chambertin from Vosne Romanée. It's a sleepy little place. Interestingly, Chambolle-Musigny's reputedly deepest fruited, richest and most masculine wines (usually, they are more feminine, lighter and graceful) come from grand cru Bonnes Mares - which, incidentally, borders Morey St-Denis - a strong argument of those who champion the deep significance of terroir.

The subject wine was quite high-toned upon opening so I decanted it - something I haven't seen anyone do in Burgundy, the Loire and Alsace in the times I was there* - because I figured it was pretty young for a grand cru, especially one from Morey St-Denis. In around 40-45 minutes, it opened up with more typical earthy, slightly meaty, truffled fragrances. At that point, in the mouth, it had admirable heft, depth of fruit, earthiness and a clearly masculine, serious, somewhat severe character. I must admit I then neglected refilling my glass of this wine until after my main course was finished (and I eat quite slowly, mind you). When I returned to it, it had been sitting in my decanter for over 2½ hours and had noticeably tightened, thinned and become very crabby - grudgingly handing my palate a mouthful of dark, tart cherries touched with violets.

I absently complained about my wine, prompting both the Stockbroker and J-Lab (who disagreed with my somewhat precipitately harsh assessment) to gently chide me for decanting this wine at all, moreso for so long. Ok, ok, mea culpa, we'll re-taste this in the near future without decanting. Judgment reserved.

*nb. Decanting is more de rigeur in aristocratic Médoc (attributed by many to the deep shared history with and consequent influence of the wealthy English) and cosmopolitan Paris.

2003 Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Champeaux - The Stockbroker's bottle, he started buying from this maker ever since Château Latour's president, Frédéric Engerer, during the Latour Vertical Dinner that we attended (14th November 2005, RED, organized by Bacchus Int'l.), told the former that he favors Mortet's wines.

I stopped by the town of Gevrey a couple of times, the longest was when my wife and I walked around the area around the Place de Mairie and the old church, stopping by at Domaine Heresztyn's and Leclerc's shops, before having an early dinner at Chez Guy, well-recommended to us by Anne Gros.

The premier cru vineyards of Les Champeaux are situated at almost the northernmost tip of the appellation, bordering Brochon, south-southwest of Dijon.

As many know, 2003 was a roasted-hot vintage for most of France's wine-growing regions - many producers struggling to make balanced wines. This wine was very open, forward, approachable and easy to enjoy though young - with soft, sweet, ripely plummy, somewhat candied, succulent red cherry, raspberry, a bit of craisin, baked red beet, touch of cola and a dose of vanilla/oak. A touch modern in style to me, with designer extraction, indulgent ripeness, barely adequate acidity and, quite noticeable, though well-integrated and not at all over-bearing, new oak.

In texture, if the Chambolle-Musigny was fine silk, this was a luxurious satin. Very immediately pleasing. I don't know if this possesses material ageing potential, but, who cares? It is certainly plenty lovely to enjoy right now. This was Miguel's pick for wine of the day.

2005 Alois Lageder Krafuss Pinot Noir - Miguel's bottle, an Italian pinot noir from northern, mountainous Alto Adige, one he specifically purchased and brought home for this lunch during a recent business trip to Italy. I don't think any of us had ever tried an Italian pinot noir until this one, only J-Lab was familiar with the maker.

The flavors were decently focused, slightly sweet, roasted-ripe dark cherry, wild raspberry, cranberry, touches of cola, spicy vanilla/oak, hint of underlying dark chocolate. Shows good harmony in its lithe body but definitive flavors. I like the way J-Lab put it: "New World flavors in an Old World body".

I had this wine mostly with my meal, liking the way the slightly stewed cranberries and duck-richness played with it. Though barely medium-bodied, this wine's flavors and drive made it, for me, the best match with the main course.

Main courses done, we still had quite a bit of wine left, prompting J-Lab and the Stockbroker to request for a cheese platter to share. Since the restaurant closes at 3pm, we broke up at the appointed time, with me, slightly, though pleasantly buzzed.

Superb lunch all around. Thanks, Carlo, for arranging our reservation and accommodating our requests; and, to the guys, of course, for generously sharing such good wines, as well as stellar company. Until the next.

Post Golf Wine Dinner.

Wednesday, 13th May 2009, was golf with Bernd, Keiichi and Vince at the club. We started off a bit late and so managed only 16 holes by a little past 6pm. No after game beers as I had to go home to help make dinner. My wife would make the salad, I had prepped the herb-crusted young lamb racks before the game and the cook had taken care of the rest. What I had to do was make the pasta and roast the racks - the cook usually does this pretty well, but, since we had guests, I wanted to do these myself (control issues, I know).

Vince and Keiichi arrived by 7pm and Bernd followed soon after. We started off with appetizers of an excellent Terrine de Cerf, Sobresada (both from Terry's) and some freshly sliced Parma ham, washed down with...

Masia Eric de Vallformosa Reserva Brut Nature - My bottle. I had this thirst-quenching, appetite-enhancing, finely bubbled cava the previous week during the G9 dinner at Café Ysabel. My notes then were as follows:

[A] sparkling wine from the Cava D.O., the grapes of which (55% parellada, 45% chardonnay) come from vineyards of Mas Baltà in the Alt Penedès comarca (Catalunya). What immediately struck me in this cava was its very fine, yet persistent mousse. I rarely see such a delicate stream of small bubbles in the cavas I've had. Even the mouthfeel was vaguely champagne-esque, almost still from the attack but expanding and frothing upon reaching mid-mouth and beyond.

Light, clean, well delineated, crisp, steely green apple dominates with well-blended, demure citrus notes. Towards the back, there is a bit of leesiness and the faintest hint of yeasty bread. Admirable focus and purity in fruit. Very clean and refreshing (no woodiness or oakiness there), if simple and straightforward.

I had just one quick glass while my wife plated the salad of butter lettuce, arugula, fresh tarragon, Parma ham slices, grated Parmesan and toasted pine nuts. The honey-mustard-champagne vinegar-garlic dressing would be added right before serving. Once she was done and was free to entertain our guests, I took my turn in the kitchen to time the pasta to finish just as the the salad course was done. The lamb racks, already brought down to room temperature, I simply threw in the pre-heated oven.

I was ready to serve the Spaghetti Vongole (Bernd loves this dish) just a couple of minutes before everyone finished with the salad. With this, we had...

2007 Martin Códax Albariño - My bottle. Regular readers of my blog know that I've been drinking a lot of albariño the past several months, ever since Miguel introduced me to those of Bodegas Laxas. Also from the Galician D.O. of Rias Baixas, wherefrom the best albariños hail (regionally and traditionally paired with shellfish and fish dishes), and Martin Códax is one of the more known albariño producers outside Spain.

As I've been drinking a lot of the 2007 albariños of Bodegas Laxas, I couldn't help but compare the 2007 Códax albariño thereto. While the two wines share major notes of green apple and ripe lemon, the Códax has white peach added, is more floral, a touch sweeter in fruit, noticeably less in mouth-watering acidity, less minerality, tension and definition.

It is still a good albariño, make no mistake. I imagine that this would be more approachable to those new to albariño and/or like their whites touch sweeter in fruit. Personally, I prefer the nervier, more brightly acidic and slightly almond-bitter Laxas, but that's just me. That said, I am happy I still have some Códax in my wine fridge, beside my Laxas stash.

By the time we were done with the pasta course, the lamb racks had already been resting for around 25 minutes, so I returned to the kitchen quickly to carve them into single-rib chops à la chuletillas. The cook plated them, with extra virgin olive oil-sautéed cherry tomatoes and mushrooms with fresh basil thrown in at the end (admittedly, I am no good at all at plating).

With these, we had...

2004 Osoyoos Larose - Vince's bottle, brought by him from Canada, the product of a joint venture between Bordeaux's Groupe Taillan and Ontario-based Vincor International. Groupe Taillan owns/controls, among other, Châteaux Gruaud Larose, Haut Bages Libéral and Chasse-Spleen.

From vineyards located in the southern tip of British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, the grapes used in this wine were merlot (68%), cabernet sauvignon (21%), petit verdot (5%), cabernet franc (4%) and malbec (2%). 13.5% abv.

Quite fruit-forward, sweetly ripe, baked/jammy dark fruit - black currant, plum, bit of kirsch, blackberry, chocolate, lots of toasty oak toffee, cinnamon and vanilla. Nicely enough balanced and properly restrained in the beginning, but the oak seemed to get more and more pronounced as it sat in the glass. Healthy extraction, good concentration, moderate tannins. Modern. I didn't try it blind, but I really doubt I would mistake it for Bdx.

2000 Connétable Talbot - Bernd's bottle. The second wine of 4th Growth Château Talbot (St-Julien) from the heralded millenium vintage. Popped and poured - no decanting, though I did have decanters out for those who wanted to use them.

Very extracted with an initial pronounced gamey, sweaty pungency virtually masking the smoky/earthy rich-ripe cassis, old leather, asphalt, licorice and cedar. Keiichi pretty accurately dubbed the initial sweaty pungency as "arm-pit", but that subsided quite a bit after around 25-30 minutes in the glass.

In the mouth, the wine was much less aggressive than on the nose, mirroring its aromas, the sweatiness quite faint but still noticeable. Ripe fruit, good balance, healthy extraction and concentration, but firmly balanced by acidity. Nearing the end of the meal, I revisited this wine and the sweaty pungency seemed to have reasserted itself a bit.

2003 Château Talbot - Bernd's bottle, the grand vin this time, from a ripe-roasted Bdx vintage highly touted by Robert Parker, Jr. I expected a jammy, alcoholic, low-acid, sweetly-ripe fruit driven wine - and was happily wrong.

The fruit is richly ripe, make no mistake, but the wine is in good balance - which I cannot really say for several 2003 Bdx I've tried. Compelling aromas of somber, earthy dark fruit and cassis infused with masculine notes of leather, ash, tar, cedar, cassis and tobacco.

Notably focused flavors in its body slightly past halfway between medium and full. Firm, yet warmly comforting wine. In the mouth, the aromas were again mirrored but with added dark cherry and a touch of licorice. Nice complexity. At this point, probably the most approachable 2003 classed growth Médoc red I've tried.

Next was the cheese course: Petit Reblochon, Chèvre and Manchego. The afternoon's game, plus all the wines, seemed to be taking its toll on Vince at this point...

...that is, until Bernd and Keiichi started telling jokes - triggering Vince's revival - prompting the latter to respond with some of his own.

With the cheeses, we had...

1999 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Grand Cru - Vince's bottle, the only Burgundy of the night. From Jadot's own south-eastern exposed vineyard situated on the Rognon de Corton (literally, the "Corton kidney"), just below the vineyards of Corton-Charlemagne.

A bit reticent, initially, after around 15 minutes in the glass, this attractive dark red wine started opening up with sweetly-spiced raspberry, cherry and fine cedar - eventually developing into a nicely perfumed bouquet.

This wine was alluringly, seductively feminine in character, with very notable finesse - from the attack to finish, there is definitiveness, but elegantly understated. In the mouth, notes of dried cranberry, red beet and a whisper of violets are intricately intertwined with the mirrored sweetly spiced red fruit/berry aromas - making for a very enjoyable wine indeed.

Vince said he picked this up from Bacchus. I must get a bottle or two for myself.

Dessert was a Chocolate Truffle Cake, with which was opened...

1999 Château Mémoires Cadillac Grains d'Or - Keiichi's bottle, purchased from Premium Wine Exchange several years ago. I remember this wine, I also bought some bottles a long time ago to pair with the seared foie gras. It was a real treat to get to try this again after so long.

Cadillac is a small appellation in Bordeaux, north of Loupiac, north-northeast of Barsac, across the river Garonne.

Comes off in body and acidity more like a Barsac than a Sauternes - but very light on the tangy/spicy rich botrytis notes - more like a very late harvest, really. Nicely bright and lifted, with pretty good freshness to its clean preserved lemon, over-ripe pineapple, canned cling peach and candied orange rind and dried apricot flavors. There are readily apparent vanilla notes as well.

I ate my cake and had 2½ pours of this light-hearted and readily pleasing sweet wine. Espressos and tea were offered - I had my usual double espreso, while some opted for tea. More jokes, stories and laughter ensued. Keiichi and I took a cigarette break outside and wound up petting my youngest son's dogs in the process. At that point, from the looks of Vince - who was one of those who opted for tea - he should've had a double espresso instead.

Not long after, the guys left for home; Bernd, seemingly sober as a judge, lingering a few minutes more upon my wife's insistence. Really, it never fails to amaze me how well he can handle his alcohol. 7 bottles for 5 persons seems like a walk in the park for him. Then, again, my wife and I have had dinner with him where we polished off 6 bottles amongst us 3, and he was none the less for wear.

That was a really fun day, guys - golf, good food, good wine and great company. We must do this again soon.

Tuesday Dinner at Terry's 2º Piso,

When I asked my kids where they wanted to have dinner Tuesday night (12 May 2009), they opted for an evening of tapas at Terry's 2º Piso. We arrived by around 7pm and bumped into, JC, who was busy brainstorming with Gema and Mike for some important event. My kids asked for our usual an array of favorite tapas.

Jamón Ibérico de Bellota

Flamed Chorizos (tragically, they were all out of Morcilla, much to my second son's dismay)

Crispy Bacalao with Aïoli

Angulas, Gambas al Ajillo, Warm Bread. The youngest still gets apprehensive when the chorizos are flamed, so he sticks close to my wife.

My youngest enjoying his Croquetas de Tres Quesos.

Calamares, and, rosado naturally, for all except the youngest...

...which my teenagers always enjoy (so we no longer order only one bottle).

For dessert, the teenagers had a couple of orders of Chocolate Marquis which they dove into so fast I couldn't take decent pictures of them. There was another dish that also got mangled before I could photograph it, but I can't remember what it was. My youngest certainly enjoyed his Picatostes con Chocolate (Croutons with Chocolate).

I love it that my children know how to eat well.

My Brother's Birthday: Home Smoked Salmon, Ribs & Beer.

This past Sunday, 10th May 2009, was my brother, Tad's, birthday. As Hisako (Tad's better half) had mentioned previously that Tad was currently obsessed with grilling and smoking different kinds of food, I wasn't at all surprised when the latter informed me that he was planning to make some smoked salmon and slow-grilled pork ribs on his birthday, to be enjoyed with some beer, of course. I told him he may as well hold it at our place since my grill is easier to use than our dad's. Upon my request, my wife got my sister's old potato salad recipe for our cook to execute to go with the smoked/grilled fare.

The two showed up a little past 4pm and, while H put together her cold bean salad, T started getting to work. A few minutes later, my two older sons arrived from several days at a marine preserve camp somewhere in Negros, just in time to join T's birthday celebration.


Flame on! Since I have a gas grill, T stuck some wood chips inside to provide more smoke.


T with my 2nd son, as our cook looks on.


My wife had earlier consulted our old friend and beermaster, Tonji, as to what beers to buy, given that T doesn't really like the sweetish dark Belgian ales I do - so we wound up with an assortment, of which I remember only a few: Peroni Nastro Azurro (a light Italian pilsner made with herbal hops), Hoegaarden (a Belgian witbier) and Warsteiner Premium Verum (a German pilsner). My dad brought along some Stella Artois and Heineken as well. H quickly finished making her bean salad, and then chilled out on the lanai with my eldest for some of her nachos, homemade salsa and pistachio nuts.



The salmon and ribs coming along nicely...


...as the tita surreptitiously foils adolescent attempts at cool.

Dad and my sis also added fried shrimp and chicharron to the pica-picas...

...which we enjoyed outside in the unusually cool summer night. We eventually moved into the even cooler indoors when it started to drizzle, where we had the ribs, salmon, bean salad and potato salad with some more beer and a bottle of 2001 Bodegas Beronia Rioja Gran Reserva, but I forgot to take pictures thereof. It was a fun evening with a lot of eating, but the hanging out at the lanai with my family is what I remember the most.