Wine & Food Blog Quick Update

With some positive feedback, I've changed the name of the blog from Winemaven's Guestbook to Maison Marcel - a name I've used in the past to honor my grandfather and one I'll carry forward with the blog!

Montaluce Wine Conclave 2010

The 2010 Montaluce Wine Conclave invited Atlanta-area foodies and wine-o's together to experience an afternoon with Winery Manager Oliver Asberger, Executive Chef Steven Hartman, and owners Rob and Brent Beecham. The result: an incredible series of food and wine pairings that make me a believer in this special maker of Georgia wines.

Are the wines incredible? Top award winners?

Localvores & Terroir

Let me preface by saying I believe that the recent 'localvore' movement in food has long been part of the 'terroir' focus many put on wines - the land where the wines come from tell you alot about the flavors and enjoyment you can expect. I take this a step further: I always enjoy wines I can drink within spitting distance of where they were made. That's because wines can bruise in a bottle. When you think about the supply chain of getting juice from one part of the world to another, from one guy in a back-brace loading a truck to another placing it on the shelf, it's a wonder the right wines taste as good as they do.

So? Good Wines?

Yes. I enjoyed these wines immensely in part because a few of them were very very good by themselves (IMHO: the Chardonnay and Viognier) but because all them were buffeted by an amazing supporting cast:

1. We drank them at the vineyard
2. They were paired with really 5-star amazing food in taste, technique, and presentation (as Le Vigne's GM Brad Egnor said, "food worthy of the view")
3. The company and the conversation around the table: fun, lively, and engaging (@hoplessfoodie, @winetonite, @mvineyards, @frenchtart, @atl10trader, @eatitatlanta, @blacktiebbq, @biskuitatl, @savoryexposure, @suburbanwin0, @atlantawineguy, @chowdownatl, @eatbuhi, @toddjwalker, @mvineyards, @hogballs, Michael Bryan, and @randomoenophile)

That's the best environment in which to serve any wine - and these Montaluce wines showed exceptionally well.

Read more about the event at Montaluce's blog.

See some amazing photos taken by a true photographer biskuitATL

Monday AM Linkfest

Welcome. Here's some of the articles I gathered over the weekend:

1. 21 Must Try Classic Cocktail Recipes
2. My Page - OpenWine Consortium: Get details on their wine blogging conference this summer
3. Good friend @biskuitATL cooked a menu inspired by Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc for his wife's birthday
4. The New Geometry of the Plate
5. AT&T Insiders Report iPhone Exclusivity Going Away On Wednesday
6. Putting Our Best Plate Forward - Interesting, we may be in the same contest together

Enjoy!

Resolution: Break It Down - DIY Mayo

One of my resolutions for 2010 stems from one of my accomplishments of 2009.

In terms of the kitchen and my growing culinary hobby, I'm most proud of my recent ability to simply make my own mayonnaise. It's surprisingly easy if you have a hand blender (mine is a silver Kitchen Aid model). The recipe came with these great step by step photos. Thanks DeliciousDays!

I was able to save my batch in a container for later use.

Next time I make it, I'll be experimenting with different seasonings and possibly oils.

I never used mayonnaise before in my cooking but always loved the aioli I tasted when living and then later visiting in France. It's a gift to realize how easy it is to make.

Can you think of something that no one thinks about making homemade like mayonnaise?

Let's look for things to make our own. Comments please.

Christmas Dinner Menu

Tis been the season for cooking and special dinners. More than any other time (and hopefully more to come), we've had family guests at the house visiting and eating!

Dinner was served on Friday, December 25, 2009. I used the Hebrew version to de-emphasize the obvious recognition of the date as this was a Shabbat meal first and foremost. But it was nice to share the evening with the special day.

This menu came from a collection of recipes centered around the Chocolate & Coffee braised short ribs. A special thanks to my friend Billy, the meatbroker, for supplying the high quality meat with which I cooked. Added to this came the Jean-Georges Vongerichten recipe for Mushroom springrolls. The rest flowed easily from these first two choices.

Here is the menu with a small 30 second video:

Menu:

Video: