Sex in a glass, dick wagger’s wine, and an acidity lover’s wet dream.
These are three questionable phrases that I recently (and wisely?) elided from blog posts I was writing.
Well, “sex in a glass” actually made the cut and into the post. The other two were intended for a post I wrote today for the Houston Press about a new and progressive wine list in the most unlikely of places here in Houston (a log cabin, go figure!).
Aaaaa… just another day in the life of an average punter wine blogger for hire, folks!
Moving on to more serious subjects, I wanted to share a recipe for the dish above, which elicited a lot of queries on social media last night.
Basically, it’s an aglio, olio, e peperoncino to which I added a handful of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley. We didn’t have any long noodles in the house last night and so I used the unconventional (sacrilegious?) fusilli instead.
Recipe:
Over low heat, gently sauté 2-3 cloves of garlic, a half of a handful of freshly and finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, and a generous sprinkling of chili flakes in extra-virgin olive oil.
After 3-5 minutes (and before the garlic begins to brown), remove from heat, remove and discard the garlic, and reserve the oil in the pan.
In the meantime, cook the pasta in generously salted water until slightly undercooked.
A few minutes before the pasta is done, heat the oil over low heat.
Strain the pasta and gently fold into the pan, sprinkling with more parsley and seasoning with salt to taste.
Remove from heat and serve.
Another recent social media post (above) also drew a lot of questions.
The wine was the Domaine Luccy/Lucy Margaux 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Wildman Blanc from Australia (below), which had found its way to Camerata, my number-one hangout in Houston and the place where all the wine tradefolk congregate.
Camerata owner and wine director David Keck recommended it when I asked for something slightly oxidative but not too radical on a dreary and rainy night here in the Bayou City.
As David predicted, my buddy Nathan Smith (another one of city’s leading wine pros) and I were blown away by its vibrant fruit character in the wine.
Very cool wine, very cool story.
If you’ve made it this far into my post today, I thank you! And if you live in Boston, please come taste Franciacorta with me next Wednesday, March 16 at Wine Bottega in the North End.
Just another day in the life of an average punter wine blogger for hire…
Do Bianchi 