Saturday, December 26, 2009

Our quiet little Christmas

Since Sherry and I don’t have any children, Christmas is typically a quiet and peaceful day for us.  Don’t get me wrong.  We still have are share of holiday stress and chaos but usually not on the day itself.  This year was no exception.

Our festivities usually start on Christmas Eve with a family dinner hosted by Sherry’s mother.  This year it was a little more special because Sherry’s brother and his family have moved back to Santa Rosa from Phoenix.  That means the entire clan of siblings, aunts, uncles, niece and nephews were all there.  After great food, a little fun and games, gift opening and dessert we finally called it a night.

centro 1 Christmas morning is a time for us to sleep in and just be a little lazy.  At around 9:30 we headed up to Centro Espresso, probably our favorite coffee shop, to meet friends.  Centro definitely got the word out they were open from 9 – 12 because the place was happening.  We hung out for just about an hour chatting, laughing and really just enjoying the beautiful day . 

Once we got back home it was time for our real breakfast.  If you have read my blogs in the past you know that Sherry makes awesome french toast. This might lead you to safely assumed that’s what was on the menu for Christmas Day.  However, she has now perfected Belgian waffles as well.  What a dilemma!  In the end, the french toast won out this time.  Now, sometimes we go all out on the Christmas morning breakfast but this year it was simply french toast with a little fresh coffee.  Sometimes keeping it simple really is the best way to go.

Just after noon I decided to go out for a ride on the bike.  Really, the weather was just too gorgeous to pass up.  Plus, there was a threat of rain for Saturday and Sunday so you got to take advantage of these opportunities when you can.  If you want to know how the ride went head over to my other blog, Lee’s Life Adventure, for a full report.

IMG_0094Our tradition for Christmas dinner is to go all out and try new recipes.  In many cases these meals take hours to make.  This year it wasn’t too bad in terms of time.  Our menu consisted of pork tenderloin roasted with pears, gratin dauphinois, endive salad, and warm bread.  It was all very good.  The only question was what wine should we serve.

I consulted Bob who is my neighbor, good friend, and wine aficionado.  After some research, we decided that either a fruitier style Pinot Noir or a German Riesling would work best.  Since Sherry and I do not know Rieslings very well we decided to use this as a chance to broaden our horizons.  Ultimately, we settled on a German 2007 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese.  It was very good and paired with the pork quite nicely.

This afternoon, Bob and his wife Karin, came over for a little holiday cheer.  The plan?  Well, we drank a little champagne, ate a little cheese, and then perhaps open numerous bottles of wine to experiment a little more with which wine would have been best with the pork.  I actually made a second roasted pork tenderloin just for today’s pairing test.

After Bob and Karin arrived, we started with a taste of the bubbly.  Our choice?  A non-vintage Champagne Lallier Grande Reserve  Grand Cru.  It was excellent!  Then we did our pork-wine taste test.  We opened two German Rieslings and a California Pinot Noir.  Everyone agreed the Rieslings were the better choice.

So that was our quiet little Christmas holiday.  We spent time with family, drank coffee with friends, ate a romantic dinner together, and enjoyed a wine and food pairing afternoon with more friends.  What more could you ask for from a Wine Country Christmas.

Au revoir!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The long weekend

It was another great weekend for Sherry and I.  It actually started Thursday night with dinner at one of our favorite places, Riviera Ristorante.  Giampaolo and crew were up to their usual high standards and he was even able to sit and chat with us for a bit.  I choose the pasta special of the evening while Sherry had the carbonara.  We left the wine selection up to Giampaolo and settle in for a lovely dinner.

Friday started in an unusual way for me.  I had taken Friday off to participate in a ride that afternoon so I slept in and didn’t get up until almost 7:00 (I usually get up at 5:00).  There is something so civilized about waking up gently to the sound of birds singing and not being jarred awake by some obnoxious alarm.    

After a little early morning relaxing, we ate breakfast at Viola  Pastry Boutique & Café followed by a few errands.  The rest of the day was uneventful in a relaxing way.  I did my ride while Sherry decorated our tree and home for the holidays.  For dinner, it was pizza and stand-up comedy specials on TV. 

Saturday was a beautiful, but chilly, day in the Sonoma Wine Country.  After another ride with friends, Sherry and I joined our neighbors, Bob and Karin, to go see the play Hello Dolly.  Surprisingly, none of us have seen either the play or the movie and I didn’t even know the storyline.  The play was performed at the Roustabout Theater, which is a local theater group that supports the developing talent of kids 11-20.  The show was excellent and there was a consensus among us that these kids are already very talented.

After the play, it was off to another favorite of ours, Kenwood Restaurant.  As soon as we were seated Bob brought out a 1964 Barolo to be opened and decanted.  When our server started to open the bottle she asked, “What year is this?”  Bob simply replied, “It’s older then you!”  So with our magnificent Barolo, we ate our way through a collection of tomato soup, foie gras, crab cakes, cassolet, beef, frites and chocolate truffles.  It was a fantastic evening of good food, great wine and even better company. 

Sunday started with homemade waffles.  About a year ago we purchased the Waring Pro® Belgian Waffle Maker and it is fantastic.  If you are a fan of homemade waffles this is your machine.  It is very easy to use and clean.  It is also nearly foolproof in producing great waffles.  For a real treat, host a Sunday brunch, ideally outside, and make waffles “a table”.

Since Sunday’s weather was not that conducive to riding we did a little holiday shopping.  We also stopped by Luther Burbank Home and Gardens to enjoy the festive decorations and period dress of the late 1800’s.  This is one of those things you say you are going to do but never get around to.  I have lived in Santa Rosa for over 20 years, Sherry was born here, and it was the first time we visited this historical site.

As the cold, wet weather settled in so did we.  We watched football and relaxed.  In the afternoon, we drank eggnog and brandy just to be sure we stayed warm.  As I was heating the eggnog on the stove, you cannot use a microwave for this, it reminded me of making pudding.  Of course that made me want pudding.  Butterscotch pudding to be exact.

So I decide to make butterscotch pudding from scratch.  After a few recipe searches on the internet I decide to use the recipe of David Lebovitz, who is currently a pastry chef in Paris.  After collecting all the ingredients, I start cooking and quickly discovered that pudding is one of those recipes that when you read it you think, “Oh, that’s not so hard.”  But the timing is fairly tricky.  In the end, it tasted fine but was a little lumpy.  Still, it was a great way to spend 40 minutes in the kitchen on a chilly, rainy Sunday afternoon.

Next weekend it looks like it will be raining so who knows what culinary adventures are in store.

Until then . . .

Au revoir!