260 days later....

First off, I just want to say to sorry.  Where have I been?  What have I done?  What have I been drinking?  What's good?  What's bad?  Why does every important player on the Bears offense have an injury?  Why haven't I written anything in 8.5 months or 260 days or 374,400 minutes or 22,464,000 seconds?  For shame James - for shame!  I'm so sorry for the delay, but life gets crazy.  Weddings, trips, crazy jobs, leaving crazy jobs, getting new stupendous jobs, and all that is in between. 

Anywho, there will be lots of forthcoming posts.  Dinner at one of the most difficult reservations in the US, three weeks in California during harvest, a tasting of 18 world-class wines, and everyday recommendations will be just part of what I hope will become a more consistent read for you all. 

So, what got my creative juices flowing again? An amazing dish paired with an amazing wine of course.  The wife has been on a huge slow-cooked pork shoulder and tenderloin "kick" for over a year.  Most of the recipes are cheap, easy to prepare, and make great left-overs.  Yesterday, on a particularly awful day of cold temperatures and rain, I whipped up this pork ragu recipe from Cookstr paired with some great half moon ravioli from Papa's Food Market in Wilmington, DE.  Every ingredient melds together into a truly restaurant quality dish.  You can certainly substitute another pasta, but you need to make sure to get a thicker pasta that can hold its own with the heavier ragu.  I really did enjoy the interplay of the ragu and ravioli though.  The recipe makes enough for 10 servings so it is dinner party perfect as well.  Try it on one of those depressingly dreary days that are bound to roll around during these winter months.

But, what wine to pair?  The easy and practical choice is Italian, but I've really been craving Syrah/Shiraz since I got back from California - I'll get to that trip in later posts.  When I say Syrah, I know a lot of folks' minds flash to all the big brand Aussies out in the market.  That's not what we're talking here - we're talking small production wines that go beyond the fruit bomb stereotype.  I find a lot of the nicer Syrahs have the perfect combination of fruit, acid, secondary flavors, and structure.  The wife and I found that in the 2005 Two Hands Shiraz Ares.  What a wine!  It was one of those spectacular wines that you just sip slowly over the course of a few hours and then fight over the last drop.  The flavors and aromas change and evolve from fruit to mineral to chocolate/coffee and back again with a finish that lasts for minutes. 

While not cheap, this is a bottle worthy of any special occasion.  If you are close to Wilmington, DE, check out Frank's Union Wine Mart during the days (check out the Daily Discounts tab on their site) that they offer their "X Chairman's Selection" list at 50% off to pick up this wine at a great price.  You'll probably see me there replacing our bottle. 

Cheers and happy sipping!