Denoument

The last part of my trip for Mrs. De-I we went down to Salinas (which is just in-land from Monterey) and visited our very dear friends Steve and Diana. They have one a wonderful house that overlooks the Salinas valley. Wife has often remarked that their house has incredible peacefulness and is like going to a vacation home. They had prepared an al fresco lunch on their patio. Steve and I enjoy wine. He has all kinds from local growers around the area and was serving a local Chardonnay (nice an full without being an oak bomb) and a Pinot Noir along with some saussison, ham, turkey, three kinds of cheese, breads, olives and veggies along with a fabulous cream of asparagus soup (recipe will be in another post). We hung around their house the rest of the day catching up on all the things friends do when they haven’t seen each other for a long time except for taking a quick trip to another winery very near the house that I buy from because I wanted to place an order. Dinner was lamb and beef grilled along with salad and potatoes (another Diana special recipe that I will post). Steve made some of his excellent martinis upfront and dusted off a bottle of Opus One for dinner that he’d received as a gift. It was the first time I’d tried it and it was really different. I’m not sure that it’s my type of wine.
Sunday was traditional French Sunday lunch at a restaurant we’ve been to before, Casanova. They have a special room that I swear looks like it was brought from a French country place and the chef cooks up a fixed menu meal when you reserve it. This was not small portion, balanced eating. This was a meal more appropriate for the 19th century. Everything was served country style and in great portions. On the other hand the food like at Quince definitely focused on the ingredient rather than on the elaborate preparation.
On the table to begin with were olives and a saussison, Rosette de Lyon. Then came a variety of hors d’oeuvres. There was duck pâté (very mild and tasty), baked mushrooms with garlic butter and braised leeks with an incredibly mild vinaigrette. A dry bubbly rosé was served with the first course but I didn’t get its name.
The main courses were a Navarin of Canard Montmorency (duck braised with cherries and apples) and a Watterzooi du Pêcheur (steamed sea bass, salmon, mussels and scallops Belgian style in creamy broth). Personally I thought the duck was too sweet for my taste, but the Watterzooi was over the top. The broth was so mild and fresh tasting and the cream just added richness without the hint of goopy overpowering thickness. There was also a gratin of cauliflower. Everything is served in these large serving vessels that looked like they came right out of the oven. I ordered with the help of our sommelier a 97 Échezeaux Grand Cru (red burgundy) with the meal which was subtle enough to work with both dishes
There was an interlude dessert of fresh berries in vino santo (a sweet Italian wine). That was followed by a blackberry tarte (the whole thing) and a big bowl of chocolate mousse. I ordered a half bottle of Sauternes with dessert.
We walked around Carmel after lunch and then spent the rest of the day hanging around again. In spite of us all agreeing that we really couldn’t eat much of anything for dinner (a little soup and salad) we also agreed that we could drink more. Steve suggested some Champagne to settle our stomachs. We had a bottle of local Rhone type blend with Syrah, Mouvedre, and Viognier that was really interesting. They we had an aged rum night cap.Wife has now made it back to ABQ and we are recuperating well in de-tox.