Dining and wining with Persian kitties. Paring padrons and Riesling.

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My friend A.C. is an urban gardening queen. In her back yard and in a rented plot in a community garden in Santa Clara she grows enough organic veggies to feed a small army. Once a year she throws her famous tomato taste-off. She is as passionate about tomatoes as I am about wine. And her second most favorite vegetable has got to be padron pepper, pan seared with a little olive oil and sea salt. Tangy, piquant and usually not hot, this delicacy is a favorite finger food amongst the Bay Area's discerning foodies. There is an occasional spice-bomb in the mix that hits you like a chunk of wasabi. In a situation like that, a chilled off-dry German Riesling (Kabinett level, like a Donnhoff Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl from the solid 2008 vintage) is just what the doctor ordered - a highly recommended pairing.


Even her two championship Persian kitties are enamored with the veggies - I guess it runs in the family.


Followed by her signature sausage lasagna, loaded with home-made tomato sauce, with garden oregano and rosemary, and the tenderest ever sheets of melt-in-your-mouth pasta (I am begging for the recipe) with a bottle of Massolino Barolo (or any other tangy Italian red), life is good! Viva A.C.!

Comments

AC said…
Nice blog Gary! Thanks for the very kind praise :-) I wish I could take credit for the fantastic lasagna recipe, but it comes courtesy of Saveur and can be found at the below link. My only modification to this recipe (to make my carnivore friends happy) is to add 4-5 Mild Italian Chicken Fennel sausages - grilled slighlt and then cut in 1/2 inches pieces before layering into the lasagna.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Vegetarian-Lasagne
August 24, 2010 at 12:18 PM
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