Last night after Tracie P and I got to Orange, Texas, we shared an ice-cold bottle of Lone Star beer from the six-pack that Melvin Croaker gave me back at Xmas to welcome me to Texas and to the folds of the Croaker and Branch families.
Lone Star beer never tasted better.
“It’s not Melvin’s first rodeo,” said Rev. B, fondly remembering how Melvin competed in professional bbq competitions at the Houston rodeo and elsewhere.
Rev. B will be speaking at the memorial service this morning.
It fills Tracie P and me with great sadness to share the news that good friend to the B family, one of the nicest folks I’ve ever met, Melvin Croaker, left this world last night to pass to another.
Rev. B wrote a heartfelt eulogy for Melvin here.
It was on Xmas eve of 2009 that Melvin gave me my cowboy hat and a six-pack of Lonestar beer to welcome me to Texas and to the fold of the Branch and Croaker extended families.
As Melvin’s illness progressed, he spent a lot of time at home looking at Facebook. And in a way that may have not been possible a few years ago, he and I got to know each other by “following” each other — commenting and “liking” each others notes and posts.
I’ve worn that hat proudly in the Texas Hill Country, picking grapes (above).
I’ve worn that hat proudly in California…
I wore that hat proudly in Italy, where I found out that a good cowboy hat comes in handy when you least expect it.
It was just the other day, posting from Sant’Angelo in Colle in Tuscany, that I wrote: “Wherever I lay my hat these days, I am reminded that Texas is my home (for MELVIN CROAKER).”
We’ll miss you very much, Melvin. Thanks, again, for my hat. I plan to put it to good use…
In the wake of a comment on this blog by Tracie P (while I was in Tuscany) sharing her yen for some Tuscan pici (long noodles made with only flour and water), my good friend Federico aka Fred (export director for one of my favorite Montalcino wineries, Le Presi) appeared one day with two bags of dried pici by Panarese for me to take home.
Last night for dinner, Tracie P defrosted some of her excellent ragù and used it to dress a few nidi (nests) of the pici (also called pinci).
On the back of the label, the only ingredients listed are durum wheat flour and water. There’s something about pici, even when dried (and not freshly rolled out), that makes them ideal for meat sauces (or mushrooms). For all of their humility, the purity of the saltless flour and the texture of the noodles create a sublime pairing with the richness of the sauce. Simply delicious. We paired with a grapey, bretty, easygoing Valle Reale Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that was remarkably fresh and bouncy for an 06. A perfect Tuesday night dinner, catching up on the TV shows we missed (Tracie P sacrificed herself and did NOT watch the season finales of True Blood and Mad Men so that we could watch them together… THAT’S how much she loves me, she says).
How did I manage to get the pasta back without any breakage?
I used my cowboy hat, of course! I packed the bags of noodles on either side of the “crown” of the hat in my carry-on. It worked like a charm! That’s me, btw, above, outside the famous Osteria al Cappello in Udine, where hundreds of hats (cappelli) hang from the ceiling. (Photo by Joe Campanale.) The owner asked me if I’d give her my hat for her restaurant. “Un bel cappello,” she said. “A fine hat.”
“Naw,” I told her. “This hat will be riding home with the San Diego Kid back to Austin.” I’ll post more on the AMAZING MEAL I had at Osteria al Cappello in an upcoming post.
In the meantime, we’re sending lots of love to Pam and Melvin Croaker today. Melvin, you may remember, gave me my cowboy hat late last year.
How and why I got here is a story too long to tell right now, a tale that stretches over more than two decades! What’s important is that Marisa and Giorgio, some of the nicest folks I know, were married yesterday at the Abbazia di Praglia at the foot of the Euganean Hills (near Padua).
The setting was the famous Benedictine abbey.
Guests were greeted by an amazing spread at a nearby agriturismo.
Risotto ai funghi e al tartufo nero, carnaroli cooked perfectly al dente.
Feast your eyes! One of the best catered events I’ve ever attended (seriously).
Congratulations Marisa and Giorgio! I’m so glad I could be there to celebrate your happy, happy union!
Our good friends Winnie and Amy were there too, in from New York!
Running out now to taste some dry Moscato in the Euganean Hills… stay tuned…
Parzen family dinner yesterday evening at the Parzen coterie’s semi-official pizzeria Mamma Mia began with a killer bottle of Bobby Stuckey’s Scarpetta Timido Brut Rosé, made from Pinot Nero and Franconia (drinking through some of the orphans from 2Bianchi Wine Selections). This wine is just so juicy and yummy and super food friendly. It was fantastic with pizzaiolo Cinzia’s awesome panzerotti.
Next came a bottle of Billecart-Salmon that had been gifted to brother Tad for his 50th birthday (I wonder by whom?). As BrooklynGuy likes to point out, Champagne is first and foremost a wonderful food-friendly wine and this delicious bottle delivered seamlessly: the bright acidity in the mineral-rich wine and its 12% alcohol were perfect with my prosciutto e funghi.
Tracie P and I were so happy to have three uninterrupted days and nights in San Diego with family and friends. Champers and pizza was the icing on the cake!
Happy birthdays brother Tad (August 17) and mama Judy (September 22)!
Brunch at the Pannikin in La Jolla is a sleepy beach town classic. So yummy…
Bagels and lox, California style.
Parzen family welcomes new member Daisy, a rescue. That’s niece Amalia and brother Tad with Daisy. Amalia gave her her name.
Tracie P and I just had to stop for something sweet on our way back to the beach at Michele Coulon Dessertier, who made our wedding cake.
Did I mention that I LOVE BEING ON VACATION. We’re gonna take a nap now… yum…
at Jaynes Gastropub in San Diego…
Many great bottles opened last night over a 5-hour dinner at Jaynes Gastropub last night, including this 2006 Bâtard-Montrachet by Pernot, unctuous and rich, rocks and fruit. THANK YOU ROBIN! :-)
Cory (left) was in town to visit his best friend who’s pursuing a graduate degree in communications at UCSD. A vibrant dialogue on Gramsci and his significance in the age of the internet undulated over the din of our munching. That’s Jon (of Jaynes) at the top of the frame and Yele (John Yelenosky) to the right.
How a schlub like me always gets to go home with the prettiest girl in the joint will always remain a mystery to me.
Post scriptum
Only because TWG has been objecting to my sartorial choices of late, I thought I’d include this photo from the gig the previous night at Zenbu (La Jolla).
It was on the fourth Sunday of August 2008 that I got on a Southwest jetliner and came to Austin to take Tracie B on a date to dinner — our first meeting after nearly two months of emailing each other. Mole enchiladas at Polvos, dancing at the Continental Club to the music of Hey Bale, and a first kiss I’ll never forget…
Sit yourself down next to me
Let me hold you near
Sit by my side close to me
There’s something you should hear
If I have not made it perfectly clear
I love you girl
I love you girl yes i do
Before we met I was lost
On life’s carousel
Spinning around like a top
Never slowing down
I don’t recall how I got here at all
But I love you girl
I love you girl yes I do
There comes a time in your life
When you know it’s right
Dark comes before love arrives
With the morning light
So long ago when I was young I had a dream
That I would find my love find my love
So many years, so many tears it took before
I found my love when you appeared
If I have not made it perfectly clear
I love you girl
I love you girl yes I do
Jeremy P to Tracie P, August 22, 2010
Above: Sandro and Julia were wed in a Saturday evening mass at the Iglesia de la Divina Providencia in Tijuana this weekend. What a beautiful wedding, what a gorgeous couple! When Julia knelt before the image of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral’s chapel and the soprano sang Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” both Tracie P and I had tears in our eyes.
The Castro and Parzen families have been closely related and intertwined for nearly four decades. The marriage of Julia this weekend to her beloved Sandro marked a milestone that none of us will ever forget. They were married in the same cathedral where brother Micah and I were ring-bearers (he nine years old, I eleven) in 1978 at the wedding of Teresa and Felix, Julia’s parents.
And so mama Judy, brother Micah and sister-in-law Marguerite, Tracie P, and I drove to Tijuana on Saturday afternoon for the night.
The reception was held in the Salón de Eventos of what many consider to be the best restaurant in Tijuana these days, Cien Años, in the Zona Río shopping district (my favorite part of the city).
The main course of our dinner was a wonderful mole blanco (a mole sauce made with white as opposed to dark chocolate) with a roast potato au gratin and a julienne of fresh squash.
Before heading to the wedding, we had a cocktail at our hotel next door to the event space (the Hotel Real del Río, a moderately priced, full-service hotel, highly recommended).
The next morning, we had a fantastic breakfast at Cien Años, which opens every day at 8 a.m., btw. The main dining salon there is one of those magical rooms.
I envied Tracie P’s crepas (crêpes) drowning in a mango and habanero sauce…
…and stuffed with zucchini blossoms, mushrooms, and serrano peppers. Amazingly good… We used to dine regularly in Tijuana when during my college and grad years at UCLA. There are so many great places to eat there.
Chelsea Clinton may have had the wedding of the year, but Julia and Sandro had the wedding of a lifetime! :-)
Muchisimas felicidades!
Do Bianchi 
