Champagne and Chambolle at Scott Paul Wines

Scott Paul is one of my favorite Oregon wineries. They both produce their own Oregon wines and import wines from France, so you can taste Bourgognes next to Pinot Noirs and so forth. Plus, the folks there are so nice and down-to-earth.

They are doing this Champagne and Chambolle event on the 21st - a great chance to slow down and get out of town with friends before holiday madness begins.

Here is some info:

Date: Saturday, Nov 21, 12 noon – 5 p.m.

Where: Scott Paul Wines, 128 S. Pine Street, Carlton OR, 503-852-7300, www.scottpaul.com

What: $10 tasting fee for 5 wines -- one Champagne, two of our Burgundy imports, specifically from Chambolle-Musigny, a celebrated village in Burgundy, and two of our Scott Paul Oregon Pinots. Tasting fee refundable with purchase.

Guests will be able to taste a lovely and vivacious Champagne from Marc Chauvet, two different wines from Chambolle-Musigny (from Domaine Anne and Hervé Sigaut), and two brand-new releases from Scott Paul Wines own production (2007 La Paulée Pinot Noir and our 2008 Audrey, of which we only make 200 cases). You can read more about the producers and tasting notes on our website at http://www.scottpaul.com/spselections/.

D

Spinach-Kale Turnovers

I love foods that involve seasoned, mushed up spinach. For instance, the spinach pies at Basha's, Andre's mom's spanakopita, and saag anything are all delicious.

After realizing last week that I actually like spending time in the kitchen and don't, in fact, have that many things I'd rather be doing, I have suddenly become interested in the kinds of time-consuming recipes I used to always avoid. Yesterday afternoon I made these spinach and kale turnovers, which involve both dealing with large, unwieldy greens and forming things out of dough. But it was fun and I didn't care! They are a lot like something I would buy frozen to take to work. So I froze them to take to work.

I figured out that a good way to de-stalk kale is to grab the end of the stalk with one hand, grab the leaves on either side with the other hand close to the stalk, and pull down. The stalk strips off pretty easily.

I also used pre-made pizza dough. The recipe calls for those fun dinner roll tubes you hit on the counter, but the store didn't have any. Pizza dough handles a little differently. Here is a video of the process.

All in all though it wasn't that difficult or time-consuming. I would make this again, maybe with a different filling, or maybe just the filling on its own, as a side. The combination of the kale and spinach created such a deep, complex, woodsy flavor, and the feta provided a nice balancing tartness.

Outfits

It feels like New Year's day. Hungover and camped out on the sofa with the cat, looking at the wardrobe remix feed on Flickr. It is one of the things that make me happy.

Yesterday I bought a new pair of boots and tried them on with all of my outfits. They look great with everything I own, including a Wonder Bread costume.

Top 5 Things About New York

1. Kishke and chopped liver sandwiches at a Hasidic restaurant in Williamsburg
2. Chewy delicious ramen at some place in Manhattan
3. Hot Cuban sandwiches at any hour of the day or night
4. The Spotted Pig
5. Burger made by the guys from Frankies at a BBQ
6. Jim Beam on the roof

Here Comes Summer

There is a time and a place for drinking Charles Shaw out of the bottle. First Thursday at the Goldsmith Building.

Taste of the Nation

Many thanks to Lance Mayhew for tix to Taste of the Nation, which I hit up with P-Co last night. There was so much great food from many of the best local restaurants, and fantastic wine and spirits. Also, I got to meet Lucy Brennan. It was all I could do not to ask for an autograph.

Some highlights:

Caprial’s Bistro
Pecan Blondies Layered with Chocolate Mousse and Topped with Sugar Honeycomb - I love blondies, and these were perfect and dense, with deep flavor from brown butter.

Clarklewis
Grilled Monterey Bay Calamari Salad with Poached Kingfisher Potatoes, Castelvetrano Olives, Wild Greens and Piment d’Espelette Oil - the calamari was uncommonly tender and flavorful, and the whole dish tasted so fresh and pretty - it made me get excited about squid again.

Fenouil
Salmon Tartare with Absinthe and Crème Fraiche - Absinthe is getting really trendy but its herbiness worked really well here.

Pazzo Ristorante
Fig Bellinis; Cold-Smoked Marlin-Wrapped Asparagus - Did you know Pazzo makes their own bitters? They were in the bellinis.

House Spirits
Corpse Reviver #2 - I love this drink. It makes me think of a bride rising from the dead.

Sake One
Moonstone Asian Pear sake (pictured) - I was skeptical but this is a well-executed sake. It's not sweet or cloying, and the pear melts into the creamy, round, mellow flavor of the sake creating a deep, complex yumminess.

P.S. Taste of the Nation is a benefit that fights hunger. You can also fight hunger for free by clicking at The Hunger Site.

The Aviation Blooms

Violette, impossible to find not all that long ago, has been back for awhile, but for whatever reason I haven't crossed paths with it much - probably because whenever I'm at 50 Plates I feel compelled to order a daiquiri, and whenever I'm at Ten 01 I usually end up with something closer to brown.

All this by way of not embarrassing myself when I say that upon finally cozying up to a Violette-laced Aviation last week, I rediscovered one of my old favorite cocktails, in a completely new light. With Violette, the Aviation has all of the fresh-bitter complexity, with an added delicate prettiness creating a fuller, more decadent flavor profile. It's like hearing a new album by one of your favorite bands, or seeing a good friend dressed up fancy for the first time. And the cocktail turns the most exquisite color. Definitely worth the wait, and a reminder that I’ve really got to drink more often.