Georgia P is seven weeks old today! :) We love her SO MUCH!
Category Archives: de rebus familiaribus
I’m in love for the first time…
I’m in love for the first time
don’t you know it’s gonna last
it’s a love that’ll last forever
it’s a love that has no past
For our vines have tender grapes…
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! :)
For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
Song of Solomon
Best meals 2011: Frasca (Boulder)
Dinner at Frasca with Tracie P in September was one of the best meals of my life… for the food, for the wine, for the fun, and for the sheer joy of sharing it all with the woman I love…
When Tracie P and I talked about one last “babymoon” before the last trimester of our pregnancy (when she can’t fly anymore), she expressed her desire to dine at Frasca in Boulder. And so on Saturday, we headed for the Rocky Mountains and one of the best meals we’ve ever had.
It’s so hard to get properly sliced prosciutto in this country and I have told Tracie P about Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson’s obsession with reconditioned vintage Berkel slicers and how their beveled blades make all the difference (it’s in the diffusion of the heat, Lachlan explained to me last year when we traveld in Friuli together). When our server asked us about what we wanted to eat, the first thing out of (and into) Tracie P’s mouth was: P-R-O-S-C-I-U-T-T-O!
Co-owner Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey graciously offered to select the wines for us and it was only fitting that we start with 2010 Malvasia by Venica & Venica: Lachlan, he, and I tasted the wine together last September at the winery in Collio not long after it had been harvested. We loved the spice in this vintage of Malvasia by our good friend Giampaolo Venica.
Lachlan’s frico was off-the-charts good.
Bobby surprised us with this 09 lees-aged Sauvignon Blanc by Borgo del Tiglio, a winery I’d never tasted or seen in the U.S. I love the muscular style of Sauvignon Blanc embraced by certain Friulian producers. If ever there were an international grape variety to grow in Italy, it would be Sauvignon Blanc in Friuli, where winemakers can obtain sublime expressions of this aromatic grape. The 09 Tiglio had a crazy spearmint note on it and it was amazing to see this intense wine evolve over the course of the evening. (Note how Bobby decanted it for us.)
Lachlan’s cooking is a benchmark for Italian cuisine in the U.S. His gnocchi had that perfect balance of substance and lightness.
His ravioli were stuffed with a “deconstructed ratatouille,” in other words, all of the ingredients of the classic French dish, but prepared separately. Again, the quality of Lachlan’s pasta is a benchmark for Italian cuisine in the U.S. (Note the yellow color.)
1997 Schioppettino by Ronchi di Cialla was one of the most incredible wines we’ve drunk this year. Unbelievable minerality with this bright, fresh grapey note and under 13% alcohol. Simply incredible… It was gorgeous with Lachlan’s roast pork loin.
After dinner, Lachlan gave us a tour of the kitchen and revealed some of the secrets behind his Neapolitan pizza, served at their new pizzeria next door. Believe it or not, we actually went next door after our 3-hour dinner and ate again! I’ll post on the pizza later this week.
At certain point during our dinner, we were having so much fun that we were nearly overwhelmed by the joy of sharing food and together. Almost simultaneously, we looked into each other’s eyes and it was as if the same thought had just come to our minds at the same moment. I looked at Tracie P and told her I loved her and that it’s a miracle that we found each other: there’s no one else in the world that I could share an experience like this.
See that glimmer in her eye (as she enjoys a Sanbitter before dinner)? It makes me melt like prosciutto on her tongue…
IMHO, Frasca is the best Italian restaurant in the U.S. and you really can’t go wrong there. But it’s so much better if you go with someone you love…
There’s so much more to show and tell about our dinner in Boulder but it’ll just have to wait… Stay tuned and thanks for letting me share this special evening with you!
All I want for Christmas…
Merry Christmas, everyone! :)
Christmas Letter 2011
So many great things happened for Tracie P and me in 2011 but they are all eclipsed by the miracle of Georgia Ann Parzen, who arrived on Monday, December 12.
Around 3 a.m. this morning, as Tracie P and I cleaned the soiled linen in the bassinet and changed another dirty diaper, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the prayer that Jews say after going to the bathroom: Asher Yatzar ([Blessed Are You] Who Has Formed [Humankind]).
Blessed are You, HaShem, Our G-d, King of the universe, Who created the human with wisdom and created within him many openings and many cavities, exposed and known before Your Throne of Glory, that if one of them were to be ruptured or one of them were to be blocked it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You for even one hour. Blessed are You, HaShem, The physician of all flesh who acts wondrously.
Over the course of the year, Tracie P and I have been blessed with many miracles: the miracle of Georgia’s conception, the miracle of our healthy pregnancy, the miracle of Georgia’s delivery, and the miracle of our family, who supports us with their love and devotion.
This morning at 3 a.m., we paused again to reflect on the miracle of a dirty diaper and the health of our baby girl.
On this Christmas 2011, I’m happy to report my business has continued to expand and Tracie P’s been loving her new position selling fine wines. I launched a new wine column for the Houston Press and my band released a new record. My first wine list was well received in Los Angeles and I was invited to speak on Italian wine and wine writing at a number of conferences held this year in the U.S. and Italy. I’ll never forget my first Cretan sunrise on the day of the first European austerity vote, nor the Venetian sunshine on Tracie P’s face on a bright winter’s day on the Grand Canal.
This year’s blessings are too many to count and not a day goes by that I don’t look in the mirror without remembering the long and often challenging road that delivered me to this special moment in our lives.
And so, on this early December morning, as Georgia and Tracie P slumber, and I can hear the first birds begin to chirp with the Texas dawn, I’ll say a prayer for a dirty diaper and I’ll thank my lucky stars that it turned out so right for strangers in the night.
Georgia P makes headlines in Houston (and best meals 2011: Al Covo, Venice)
Georgia P had her name in the paper today: here’s my post for the Houston Press on the wines we paired with hospital food and “what they meant to us.”
That’s the three of us, above, as we were about to leave the maternity ward on Wednesday afternoon. We were exhausted but overjoyed.
At 3 a.m. this morning, as I cradled Georgia P in my arms after she and Tracie P had finished nursing, it felt like my whole life were flashing before me: the highs and the lows, the joys and the heartbreaks, “my devil and my deep blue sea”… I love Georgia and Tracie P so much my heart could burst… somehow those “twenty thousand roads” led me here and I have my lucky stars to thank for that…
*****
Here’s one of our “best meals of 2011”: our first anniversary dinner Al Covo, Venice…
For our anniversary dinner, Tracie P said she wanted to eat seafood and so after much consultation and discussion with friends and colleagues, we decided on Al Covo.
We started with the mixed seafood appetizer: baby squid, shrimp and prawns, clams, and snails. Delicious…
I managed to snag the last portion of handmade noodles dressed with granceola (spider crab) and its corallo or “coral”: pink roe, a delicacy that you find only at this time of year when the crabs mate. Unbelievable…
Tracie P had the cod with prunes and potatoes.
The potatoes had been cooked in the tocio or jus of the fish and their starch had imparted a wonderfully delicate and creamy texture to the sauce. This was simply one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever tasted… Stunning confluence of flavors and textures…
We drank an 07 Malvasia by Zidarich and after our meal we munched on cheese and sipped an 06 Recioto di Soave by Fasoli. I can’t think of a better meal to have here…
Owner Cesare offered us a Capovilla distillate (such beautiful, delicate aroma) and with bellies full and warmed by the excellent brandy, we made our way back to our hotel across a deserted and chilly Piazza San Marco, the Basilica of St. Mark and her mosaics watching over us like a fairy godmother, and we tumbled into each other’s arms and into bed…
Georgia comes home, fav photos, and what we drank at the hospital…
We’ll be bringing little Georgia P home today. She’s passed all her tests with flying colors and she and Tracie P are doing great. We loved how the last page of her birth certificate form welcomed our “new little Texan.” :)
I know that every new father thinks that his little girl is the most beautiful of all and I’m no exception. I’ll have two gorgeous girls at home now… I’m the luckiest guy ever…
We are so lucky to have the support of our family: it’s been a joy to have Rev. and Mrs. B here with us and they’re staying at the house all week to help us get settled.
What a joy to watch Rev. B. rocking his new granddaughter! He’s so big and she’s so little! :)
Modesty won’t allow me to reveal a photo of Tracie and Georgia P nursing. But to see Georgia “latching” just minutes after she came into this world was like viewing a living and breathing allegory of maternity. This drawing by Raffaello will have to suffice: words cannot express the emotion we both felt in that precious, precious, unforgettable moment. We’re happy to report that nursing is going great.
The staff at the Seton maternity ward was fantastic. Maybe it’s Texas: everyone was so friendly and sweet and all the nurses shared their own personal experiences. Dr. Abikhaled, our ob/gyn, was awesome. And our anesthesiologist — the only male health care provider in the crew — wore cowboy boots.
And what did we drink to celebrate our joy? As if you have to ask…
Georgia P, Tracie P, and I would like to thank all the folks who commented, tweeted, texted, emailed, and posted on Facebook from the bottom of our hearts. Our lives are so rich right now: full of joy, full of happy tears, full of laughter, brimming with love for a newborn child, overflowing with love for each other… Our virtual community — spanning the Atlantic ocean and the continental U.S.! — means so much to all of us. G-d bless you all…
Any day now…
Infant car seat safety…
I’d like to think of myself as a pretty bright guy… capable and a quick study… When I took Baby P’s new car seat to be inspected, however, I learned that the folks at Austin Safe Kids could sure teach me a thing or two (my mistake, btw, for the record, was that I read and studied the manual for the car seat but I neglected to read and study the manual for my car).
We used a website called SeatCheck.org to find car seat inspection services and instruction in our area (it covers the entire U.S. btw). And I’m sure glad that we did: I learned that only 1 in 5 car seats in the U.S. are installed correctly. I’m happy to report that our car seats are now among the 1s.
The service is free (and you can donate on the spot) and the ladies who inspected my vehicle and schooled me were super nice.
I highly recommend them…
Do Bianchi 