Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor
Left: A perfect filet mignon with divine sauce. At right: My new love, Ice Wine with Passion Fruit Mousse.
Time has no meaning. One minute it's the beginning of the year, de nex', is time fi end. I was 21 last week. All of a sudden, me old, suffering from a case of wrongful body gravity. Grave indeed. One-and-a-half foot in it too! Life. We have to accept, sit back, and watch it zoom before our eyes 'til we dead.'
On this good note, here's this week's Christmas gift ideas:
Azan's Super Centre - gorgeous colourful kitchenware.
Karmen's Furniture Land - wine glasses.
Weekends for two? Hedonism III.
For fun, SuperClubs.
Sandals Royal Plantation.
Jamaica Inn for perfect spas.
Sweet and cozy means Blue Marlin Villas MarBlue in St. Elizabeth.
Christmas away from home? Common sense dictates another island. MacaBana Villas (Grenada).
Coco Palms or Ladera Resort (St. Lucia). Mange, bwe et amise coh (eat, drink and enjoy yourself!).
DECADENT CHOCOLATE AND WINE PAIRINGS
Open any 'foodie' magazine and there's a dark chocolate rave. The gods of health and food have decreed chocolate's good for you. Not news. The Aztecs, many moons ago, used it for health and to appease their own gods, but hey! Who are we to get into semantics as yet we go into another 'foodie' fad?
Wine has been known as the drink of gods and the purveyor of gout from time immemorial. Now, a glass or two of red wine a day is said to keep the doctor away.
Smart Sommeliers (trained wine connoisseurs) worldwide are pairing fine chocolate with wine. You tink we in Jamaica leff out? No Sar! Chocolate Dreams (Kingston) makes an assortment of chocolates (exotica even) including the oh! so fashionable nibs (chocolate covered roasted cocoa beans). 1876 Wines is a membership club providing high quality wines from small vineyards around the world at affordable prices. For a fixed fee, members receive six bottles tri-monthly of the best and can have their favourite wines sourced. Put Chocolate Dreams and 1876 Wines together and voilą - there's a Yuletide chocolate and wine pairing party in the making.
If you're not a Christmas party person - buy a book from Sangster's, lock yourself up from the world accompanied by the above. Wunderbar! (wonderful).
MOVING RIGHT ALONG WITH CHOCOWINE NEWS
"The difference between a liquefying pile of rotten grapes and the raw material for one of the most precious fluids in the oenological universe is surprisingly small. The tiny agent of this dramatic divergence is a filamentous fungus called Botrytis cinerea (it's the asexual spore-forming version of Botryotinia fuckleliana, but we will just call it Botrytis). All that separates a highly prized wine from something you would not want to step in is a fluke of meteorology."
So writes James Rodewall in Gourmet's November issue. All it means: Wine comes from decomposed grapes brought to fruition by a rude bacteria coupled with the weather. Wine for thought? Note this: The best fashion wines for pairing with chocolate and desserts? Ice Wines with Canada producing the best because of their extreme winter temperatures. It's a tricky wine - grapes must be picked at night frozen on the vine. No melting allowed here or all is lost. This procedure makes good Ice Wine fairly expensive but, well-worth its weight in gold. Read more in December's Bon Appetit. Subscriptions for this and Gourmet (don't forget our own Jamaican Eats) make great Christmas presents for lovers of the culinary arts. Or buy Ice Wines from 1876.
DINNER, GOOD COMPANY AND PERFECT WINE
Caribbean people are just beginning to understand wines. We are but 'young-and-wanting-to-learn' countries, rum having always been our forte. Connoisseurs, such as Paul Hanworth of 1876 Wines, are leading us innah dese waters beautifully. Invited to a wine and food pairing at Marguerites Restaurant, MoBay, I found myself in great company where we, the guests, tasted, ate, conversed, laughed - thoroughly enjoying the experience of having Adrian Garforth, one of only 242 Masters of Wine in the world whisper 'sweet-wine-everything's' in our ears. I must also commend the owners (thanks, Brian) and staff of Marguerites for flying the flag of perfection so well.
The evening began on the well-appointed balcony of Marguerites before angels began their sprinkling and the venue moved indoors. The stars were brilliant at first, sparkling over the vast waters of our wondrous Caribbean Sea causing champagne glasses filled with Bollinger, Special Cuvee, Brut, NV to shimmer; this dry bubbly creating much merriment. Our starter Smoked Salmon Tartar with Parmesan Cracker, Tomato and Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce was perfect for the Middelvlei, Chardonnay 2006 - the tartness of tomato and sweetness of pepper a superb combination for this light fruity white wine. Tangle of Local Greens with Pumpkin Seed Crusted Goat Cheese with Cucumber Ribbon and a Grilled Apple Champagne Dressing followed - a great match for the Wither Hills, Sauvignon Blanc 2005.
THE ENTREES
Rosemary Horseradish Crusted Filet Mignon and Citrus Grilled Shrimp with Mashed Sweet Potato Praline, Seared Marble Tomato and Roasted Asparagus paired with Turkey Flat, Butchers Block, 2005.
Citrus Grilled Grouper with Pistachio Butter Sauce, Mashed Sweet Potato Praline, Seared Marble Tomato and Roasted Asparagus engaged a Rustenberg, Chardonnay 2005.
Linguini with Fire-Roasted Peppers and Feta Cheese Fresh Lemon Basil, Roasted Garlic and Scotch Bonnet-Infused Olive Oil married a Belondrade y Lurton, Verdejo 2002.
I chose the Crusted Filet Mignon and Citrus Grilled Shrimp. When beef's on the menu, I order. It's my way of testing Caribbean chefs as they so often overcook. This filet was perfectly tender, bloody rare (perfecto!) with a fantastic grilled horseradish crust; the Shrimp (Rain Forest) plump and sweet; the Turkey Flat, Butcher's Block, aptly named - strong, red, bold, full, with (for me) raspberry tones.
Dessert was a delightful Passion Fruit Mousse accompanied by Selaks Ice Wine 2005 - full bodied, fruity, not too sweet, icy cold and definitely a hit. I was in good form after a few glasses. Cheeses were served with Taylors, Late Bottled Vintage Port, 2000. Sorry. I was far too enamoured with the Ice Wine to taste same!
The best noble rotted botrytised dessert wines also come from Bordeaux, Hungary, Germany topped only by Austria as Rosemary Parkinson has discovered in her search for fuckleliana.
