When the Wife is Away the Foodie Will Play

Noel went to her mother's early last weekend for a surprise party for a friend and to have brunch with her mom on Mother's Day. I wasn't going until Sunday so that meant I was on my own for dinner Saturday night. I love being on my own for dinner, Noel is what we call a picky eater, while I am an adventurous eater. First I thought fish but real quick I changed my mind. I had bought a fig balsamic vinegar at Russo's a few weeks earlier but had not yet used it. It hit me like a ton of bricks....duck breast. Duck is my favorite foul and because Noel does not like it and it can be expensive in restaurants I don't get a lot of opportunity to eat the delectable bird.

I had gone to Russo's that day to do our weekly shopping. Usually Russo's has duck breast, that Saturday they did not. After my wine tasting I ran to Whole Foods but they too didn't have any duck breast. I called my friends at Bacco's Wine and Cheese, they are all foodies so they would know where I could get the sought after meal. The Cheese Wiz told me, "Duh Savenor's in Beacon Hill." I felt like such a dummy, I use to live down the street from this place and have bought some of the best meats from these guys. Savenor's Market is a really nice, high end butcher. They carry everything, I mean everything. Ever want to try lion, tigers or bears? Oh my, they have them all!! I found a great recipe online. It was a pretty simple recipe. Score the skin, heat up a skillet put some sea salt in the skillet before putting in the duck skin side down. Cook five minutes per side and l let it sit for 10 minutes covered in tin foil. While that was sitting I took 1/3 cup of my fig balsamic vinegar mixed it with 1/3 cup dry white wine and reduced it by half then added tablespoon butter. The sauce was amazing and when added to the duck I saw fireworks!!! I roasted some small potatoes for almost an hour at 500F. They cooked for so long they were small balls of mash potatoes and when dipped in the sauce were devilishly good. While the duck breast was resting I cooked carrots, brussel sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, shallot and garlic in the duck fat. There is nothing better than vegetables cooked in animal fat!!!!

Such a great meal needed a great wine. French Pinot Noir is a great wine, especially when it comes from Sancerre. Sancerre is a fantastic region in Lorie. It is now a region known for the world's best Sauvignon Blanc but historicly it was better known for Pinot Noir. Why not the region abuts Burgundy. I personally love red Sancerre's better than the wines from Burgundy. I opened a bottle of Henri Bourgeois Les Bonnes Bouches Sancerre. I had bought this once before from Beacon Hill Wine and Spirits in Beacon Hill and knew I loved. It was full of candied sour berries, tart acidity and as I drank it the earthy, dirty flavors that Pinot is known for came to the party. Perfect wine for my perfect meal!! I can't wait for the wife to go away again, I've wanted to cook a lamb dinner for a while!!

Happy Anniversary

Wow, I can't believe it's already been a year. When Noel first told me to start a blog I thought who would care, but I have found there are people out there. Thank you so much for sharing great meals and amazing wines with me!!

I was trying to think about what I should cook and blog about for my first year anniversary. My very first post was about meatloaf. I love meatloaf!! Over the year, anytime I have made my own tomato sauce I have used some of it in a meatloaf. I've got pretty good at making meatloaf. Thanks too our friends SamiJ and Erik, I still have some venison in my freezer. I decided to make a venison meatloaf for this very special occasion. The best part of using the venison in my freezer, I got to grind up the meat myself. Noel and I bought a Kitchen Aid blender on Ebay a while ago and it came with the meat grinder attachment. How gourmet!!! I cut up the steak into cubes so it would be easier to put it through the grinder, and seasoned the meat with salt, thyme and rosemary. Venison is not a real fatty meat. When I was at Russo's I bought a slab of double smoked bacon. I cut off a large chuck from the fattiest side and ground it up with the venison to add a little fat and flavor. Bacon makes everything better!!

After I had the meat ground up it was time to make the meal. I wanted to make a meatloaf with a gravy so I went online to find a recipe. What an age we are in!! My grandmother, even mother had to rely on cook books. I have a few cook books but I mostly rely on the internet. I found a great recipe for venison meatloaf on Georgia Outdoor News. The recipe calls for a red pepper chopped, small onion chopped, celery chopped, cup of bread crumbs, two eggs beaten, cup of tomato puree, BBQ sauce, and brown sugar. I didn't have enough regular bread crumbs so I used panko bread crumbs. I mixed all the ingredients and the meat together formed it in a loaf shape and stuck it in a 375F oven for about an hour, when my meat thermometer reached 135F. I found a quick recipe on line to make a mushroom gravy. The recipe called for a mix of mushrooms but I only used baby shiitake, figuring they would pair best with the venison. When I first tasted the meatloaf I couldn't believe it was venison. There was no gamy flavors at all and the gravy made the meal!!! I served it with mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts, garlic, onion and carrots. It was such a great meatloaf, I would serve this to anyone who told me they hated venison, and I wouldn't tell them it was venison until they had licked their plate clean. And trust me they would lick the plate clean!! Noel and I did!

While the meatloaf was in the oven I went over to my wine fridge and picked the perfect wine for this meal. A while back I was doing a wine tasting at Bacco's Wine and Cheese in downtown Boston. I love this place. It's the kind of wine shop that I would one day love to own myself. His space is small, so his selection is small but it is GREAT!!!! They carry wine from every region and because they are limited on space they are very selective on what wine they bring in. All the employees try the wine (even the Cheese Wiz) with Bob and the sales rep. They only take in wines that they all agree on. Bob does have the final say, but he really cares and trusts what his employees think. He only hires employees that know their shit. One of his wine guys has lived all over the world and has a real strong passion for wine and food, and his cheese wiz always brings in crazy good cheese!! It's the kind of store that you could go to everyday and always see something new. They have a wine and cheese tasting everyday!! Well except Tuesday, when they have a beer and cheese tasting. 

After my wine tasting I told Bob I wanted something different. He went right to this wine from Portugal. This is a country that is so often over looked. Most people only think of Port when they think about wine from Portugal. I love Port, but they really have so much more to offer in wine. Espirito Lagoalva was perfect for my meal. A blend of Castelao and Touriga Nacional, the wine had beautiful raspberry and blackberry fruit, a nice hint of spice and great smooth tannins. What a perfect pairing to a venison meatloaf!!!  My mouth is getting excited just thinking about the wine. If you haven't had a wine from Portugal then you need to put your computer down and run to your local wine shop. If you find Espirito Lagoalva then it's a must buy!! The best part about Portuguese wines, they are not expensive, you can find great values under $15. Thanks Bob! I don't think I could have had better wine with this meal!!

There has been some great recipes and even better wines over the past 365 days and there are still many more to come. I want to start blogging more recipes, I would love to have at least one a week. Right now I average about three a month. If there  is anything you cook or any wine that you drink that you think I need to try please contact me here or email me dangazaille@gmail.com. Together we can make the next year that much better!!!