Fernet-Branca

First ever tasting of Fernet-Branca.

The nose is herbal, but in a surprisingly refreshing, pepperminty, menthol. The taste is everything they claim--hard to imagine, powerful, like chewing on the root of a dogwood, after eating limestone. Its aroma really makes it for me. The bitter herbs are wonderful, but this is an acquired taste.

The Fernet Alexander is one way to make a special end of the evening drink:

equal parts Fernet-Branca, Cream de Cocao, cream. garnish with nutmeg. This is a chocolate martini for a carnivore. There are endless variations on this.

The Fernet Old Fashioned looks appealing, at least to me:

Front Planter, 2011

April 23 planted, left to right (street facing)

Mortgage Lifters
Golden Nugget
Oxheart Pink

The bees balm is coming in like a weed on the west end, which is fine given that the planter is rich in soil and compost. Let it come.

On April 27, it appears that the mortgage lifters and the golden nugget have either been dug up, or withered. I'll check back in a few weeks.

Front Rows, 2011

My two experimental rows successfully yielded a late fall harvest of carrots, green onions, cilantro, and parsley, all grown from seed. The cilantro and parsley has now gone to seed, so I'm knocking them out this weekend and next, and beginning the planting process. Here is the plan, at present. Row 1 is the main row, Row 2 the second row. House facing, left to right.

Row 1: parsley and cilantro, indeterminate amount. Some late plants came from seed, so I may have a couple of producing plants, and I have one cilantro plant to put in the ground. I'll have to update this at a later time once the row is completely planted. Far right end: jalepenos.

Planted April 23:

Row 2:

Cucumber, Marketmore 76 (8-9 inches long, disease resistant, 66 days to maturity)
Cucumber

Row 3:

Taxi Tomatoes
Amish Paste
Taxi Tomatoes

Tomatoes 2011

So I've planted six tomato plants, all seedlings from the Oakhurst Community Garden. The tomatoes go in the same spots as last year. For soil prep, I added Black Kow to the amended soil, which I mixed with some Georgia Clay. I've done nothing to prepare drainage in the plot, which is clearly an oversight on my part. But I didn't have any last year, and the soil seems to be doing okay. Until I raise beds, I'm not going to give it too much thought.

In the stone planter, street facing and left to right, I planted

Mortgage Lifters
Golden Nuggets
Oxheart Pink

UPDATE: two of three were seemingly ripped out. I believe the plants are now:

Tappy's Heritage
Cabernet
Oxheart Pink

In the Triangle Plot (front of Maia's window), house facing and left to right, I planted

Taxi Tomatoes
Amish Paste
Taxi Tomatoes

UPDATE: the last taxi did not come in. I believe I replaced it with a golden nugget, but am not sure.

Ribeye, perfect timing

These ribeyes were about 1 inch thick, although freezing and thawing shrunk them a bit. Once again, the fear is I overcooked, at 9 minutes.

Grill: 600
1 minute 30 second sear, each side.
after second turn, baste with kickass garlic-parsley oil.
close dampers most of way.
Grill at 400
3 minutes then flip
baste that side with kickass garlic-parsley oil.
Grill at 350
3 more minutes
remove from grill. tent for 10 minutes.

Ribeyes turned out perfect. Medium rare, warm in the middle. 9 minutes is looking good, with maybe a couple more minutes in the event that they are thicker.

beans and rice

looking for a good beans and rice recipe. Vegetable broth will be a biggie, so will need to start making the stock. Should not be a problem. Fresh tomatoes will be coming as well. Peppers from the garden.

Here is a simple recipe that seems to be replicated all over. I will be back with some experiments, plus reports on how to best prepare beans from scratch, which I have had difficulty with in the past.

Humberto Barberis Gran Reserva Malbec, 2006

Ansley Park Kroger
$40 ($25 on sale)
Malbec, 13.8%

Humberto Barberis
Malbec 2006
Gran Reserva
Mendoza Argentina

This was a fruity and rich Malbec. Worked well with a ribeye, as it brought out some of the structure, but in the end it is a Malbec. I would have to have a proper tasting in order to discern whether this was worth the big price tag.

Alexandria Nicole Alderdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Cabernet Sauvignon
Ansley Park Kroger
$28

Alexandria Nicole Alderdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Destiny Ridge Vineyards
Horse Heaven Hills

The 2007 was a Double Gold Winner for the Seattle Wine Awards. It promises big fruit, cassis, herbes de Provence, lingering milk chocolate and toffee. Wine Spectator gave it 90 points in its December 15, 2010 issue.

We'll see what the 2008 does.

UPDATE: tasting was brilliant. Big mouthful of fruit on the tongue. Well structured. Nicely balanced. The toffee/milk chocolate finish was very pleasant. This one was a success at our EPGTC tasting.

Clos de l'Eglise Lalande de Pomerol, 2008

Ansley Park Kroger (talk to April)
$25
Merlot 80%, 13% alcohol

The Lalande de Pomerol is an appellation directly north of Pomerol, very much in Pomerol's shadow. It is known as a great value region, and one that adds a rustic touch to its wines. The soil is well-drained gravel.

This wine was a knockout. I find myself gravitating towards the French and Italian styles, increasingly. They are rich and subtle even when big. The EPGTC tasting named this the favorite amongst the wines. It was also the first. But it produced an immediate reaction that made it hard to follow this wine with fruitier, new world varieties.

Kickass Steak Recipe

Michael Lomonaco offers the following recipe for steaks:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves, chopped
3 to 4 sprigs each fresh thyme and rosemary
4 20 oz, bone-in, NY strip steaks, 1 3/4-2 inches thick.
Kosher salt
1/2 lemon

1) combine oil and garlic in small saucepan and warm over low heat for 2 minutes. Cool thoroughly, then add the parsley, thyme and rosemary. Divide the seasoned oil equally between 2 small bowls.

2) brush the steaks with half of the seasoned oil. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes before grilling.

3) make fire

4) season steaks lightly with pepper and liberally with salt (1/2 teaspoon per steak)

5) sear. don't burn.

6) after turning, brush (don't slather) steaks with marinade in second bowl using a clean brush.

7) remove steaks to platter and tent with foil. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the steaks.