My fave with spicy food is Amontillado sherry served ice cold, but I’ve never yet found that on a menu. Jammy Australian wine works well. There’s no point in getting too expensive as the spice will overpower most wines. (Think cheap critter wine that all wine snobs sneer at.)

Most of us, me included drink beer with such fare. And by default in a Thai place you can expect Singha, maybe Tiger (Singapore) or even Tsing Tao (Chinese.) All of these are essentially German lagers - the base recipe and brewmaster for all three was in fact German.

But the idea of adding some sweetness had me pick up some different brews to try out my theory.

If you’ve never tried them, Innis and Gunn, a Scottish brewery is making beer the way it was made until about 60 years ago, which is to say in wood barrels. Wood adds a mellower set of flavours to the brew.

If you’re not a Brit Bitter - or a Bitter Brit for that matter - drinker you will probably prefer I&G’s Blonde. If you’re a dark beer person, you must try their Triple Matured brew, an amazingly rich beer filled with flavours of chocolate and coffee. The Original is a standard bitter, with a silkier palate and heavier mouth feel due to the oak.

I am a lager drinker these days and can’t drink more than one of I&G’s Original or Triple Matured by themselves. But I tried all three, and a Singha lager with my yum salad and pad pad chicken. The results were surprising.

The Singha serves as a refresher, a contrast to the food. But the smoother heavier bitters were a real compliment. In particular I found the Original, and Triple Matured were excellent with the meals. They were both a great accompaniment, particularly the Triple Matured, and - to my amazement - the best at quenching the fire of the peppers.

I’ll leave it up to you to experiment, although I’d be very interested in hearing any readers’ insights.

Royal Thai’s in Saskatoon was the location of my test. Their decor is peaceful, with a non-intrusive Buddhist temple sort of theme. They offer a lunch buffet that makes a great escape from the office if you need some time alone or with a colleague.

I recommend the place if you find yourself out west.

Bathed Sandwich (pain bagne or pan bagnat) with pressing device still aboard

A fly fishing friend passed this on to me. He makes the sandwich, presses it, puts it in his vest pocket and goes fishing. It’s easy to make, tastes great, and dense in calories. (Think of it as the tasty version of a protein bar.) It keeps at least 8 hrs, and we’d both let it go longer.

He got the idea from an article by Melissa Clark in the New York Times. It makes a great lunch, from some pretty basic ingredients.

My version is a couple of slices of City Rye, a couple of slices of genovese salami or capicolo, a couple of tomato slices, some chopped oinion, some de-seeded cuke (when I use English cukes I don’t bother de-seeding.) As many black olives as I want (pitted obviously). Drizzle some olive oil on the bread. Add the ingredients. Drizzle with oil as you feel the urge. Press.

As you can see by the above, a 7 year old makes a good weight. Ms. Clark uses a kettle filled with water, apparently feeling in her old age, she is no longer useful as a weight. I typically use two nesting plates, a heavy brass mortar with two 4 lb. dive weights in it.)

Any sandwich works really. My friend adds sliced red pepper. I’ve added cooked chickpeas. I suspect you can make it out of just about anything. I intend to experiment with avocado in the near future.

Go for it. You really can’t go wrong. I usually eat mine with a nice cool bardolino. (Leave the bottle in the water beside you and it’ll be at the right temperature.) The mustard is too sharp for any but the toughest whites. Rose is a better bet.

If you want to replicate the NYT version the recipe is here. Ms. Clark’s original article is here. It’s essentially a salad nicoise in a bun.

Personally, I’d use more olive oil than Ms. Clark. You needn’t fuss with the rest of the dressing, but go for it. I often substitute grated cheese for the boiled egg.

- With many thanks to Riley, ace presser, and Ron.

Hungary, Chile, & France

IF music soothes the savage breast, then why not drink what soothed the composers?
Let’s start with Tokaji (pr. tow-kay). This was once a wine sought after by all wine lovers, and afforded only by royalty. A favourite of Beethoven, Schubert and Rossini (who was richer than royalty) Tokaj fell into disrepute under the communists (What didn’t? The Lada?) but has come roaring back, as returning refugees pour money into the vineyards.

Tokaj is ranked by ‘puttonyos’, which I think translates as ‘crowns’; wines are awarded between 3 and 6 puttonyos, depending on their residual sugar, rather like the German classification system. 6 puttonyo wines are incredibly sweet. The one pictured above is a very drinkable 3 puttonyo wine.

If this sounds too esoteric for you how about a Sauternes? Everybody knows Chateau d’Yquem, and not many of us can afford it. But rather like Rolls Royce, there an awful lot of great sauternes out there that cost about a fifth what Yquem.

A fabulous dessert wine, Chateau d’Armajan des Ormes pictured above is also just great with food. The traditional accompaniment is pate de foie gras. I don’t usually have foie gras on hand, but I almost always have liverwurst in my fridge. Liverwurst on rye with cream cheese and a glass of Des Ormes is one heckuva a lunch!

Finally, a wine you’re unlikely to think of: a Late Harvest from Chile. Torreon de Paredes is a fine winery and they have listed their dessert wine here. This is a tremendous deal! If you’re on a budget (who isn’t? The Dow’s back below 10K and headed for the basement…) this is great wine at an unbelievable price.

I like Canadian dessert wines, but they’re expensive, pegged as they are to the price of Icewine. The above are great wines worth exploring if you like dessert, and they’ll save you a buck or two.

Oh there are exceptions: Canadian Riesling and Gewurztraminer, are pretty much perfect regardless of the maker. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is justly world famous. McWilliam’s Semillon from Australia is extraordinary. But the rest… well, frankly they’re just not that appealing.

New World wines have almost completely eliminated astringency from their flavour profile. This makes sense. Their drinkers’ palates are formed via soft drinks. If you move to wine from juice and coolers, you’re not going to be hunting a complete flavour set. And if, after such an apprenticeship you should encounter some astringency, or a nice crisp acidity, you’ll probably dislike it.

Astringency is usually felt at the back of the palate. For me it often reveals itself as a sort of slight sensation, almost as if there was a bubble burst at the back of my throat. Barolo is one of the easiest wines to identify this sensation, but you’ll get it from Sauvignon Blanc - at least those that have been tortured into fruitiness by maniacal wine makers.

IF you buy French whites, they will have some oaking - which usually adds a touch of astringency - and making for a bigger molecule thicker wine. My go-to cheap white for the last year has been Chateau Barail, a Bordeaux, semillon-sauv blanc blend. Great wine at a great price.

Following this dictum, we strolled through a small blizzard to Carvers, the steak house in the Sheraton, some 3 blocks from the old homestead.

Jayce the Maitre d’Hotel, and sommelier did us proud. We went for showy tableside dining.
First course, Dog Point Sauv Blanc from NZ, with calamari putanesco. Great Sauv Blanc. Tremendous nose. Better than Kim Crawford, for less money.

Quite enjoyed the calamari too. We were both hungry, and the easiest way to not drink too much (hahahaha!) is to get some solid protein into your stomach ASAP. I found myself mopping up the remainder of the sauce with a piece of bread.

Sairey had a Pinot Grigio. Jayce was horrified that she might sully her lips with Santa Magherita, a nice wine but one all of us have had endless numbers of times. He raced downstairs and emerged with a Livio Felluga PG. It clearly met the test, as Sairey promptly swallowed two glasses.

Round 2 was the kind of formal service that is always entertaining. Tableside preparation of a Caesar Salad. At our request extra garlic was added.

There’s nothing like a great caesar, as the entire world can attest, but almost all of the products you eat are nothing more than commercial dressing dropped on romaine. The original is worth having once in a while just to remind yourself why it’s so good, and why you eat the not very good clones served elsewhere.

Course three was steak diane, again prepared by Jayce at the table. This is a dish that every home cook should master. It’s not really that hard (when in doubt add more butter), and it’s fabulous to watch a chef make for you.

There’s something about tableside service, that is just plain luxurious. It can make any commoner feel like a Roman Emporer. (Jayce actually refused to peel grapes and pop them into my mouth. Apparently there are limits.) He did however recommend the Hacienda Monasterio wine for us, and that not only soothed my disgruntlment, but turned Sairey into a cheerleader.

Ribera del Duro is the upper Douro, a region famous for tempranillo (in Spain. Tinto Horiz in Portugal.) and it makes an absolutely faboulous dry wine. Rich, tannic, flavourful, it is very hard to top. Frankly, I don’t know why people chase Bordeaux when Douro wines are available.

Alas they largely are NOT available, at least in Canada. And here is where Carver’s excels. They buy their own wine, ordering it in via various agents, and the wine list is unique in the province, and pretty close to unique in Western Canada. I have no hesitation in saying it is the best wine list in the province, and certainly in the top five lists on the prairies - including Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.

After we had downed our wine and steak - with baked potato. we’re always calorie concious. - we pondered Jayce’s recommendation of crepes suzette or cherries jubilee. Both of these preparations require more tableside service, but the truth was we were stuffed.

We settled instead on a half bottle of Chateau Guiraud sauternes, and splitting a chocolate pate. The sauternes was, of course, exceptional.

With that we staggered back out into the blizzard, knowing we had at least enough calories on board to make the walk home.

One of my favourites is Osso Bucco. This week I stumbled across the Ur-recipe, the Betty Crocker version of Osso Bucco. It’s so good I wouldn’t modify it, although clearly it’s merely the launching pad for more complex models. But seriously, this works beautifully with nothing more.

- a pound of ham shanks give or take
- one cooking onion (two if their small)
- 1 small can (400 mls / 14 oz) diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil

Fry the onions in the oil till translucent. Stop before they turn golden. Add the tomatoes, ham shanks, and wine. Cook slowly for a couple of hours. Flip the shanks occasionally when the top surface seems dry.

I served mine over white rice cooked in commercial chicken broth instead of water. I also added 4 strands of saffron. I expect the dish would still be delicious without either of these furbelews.

We had this a fruity garnacha (BaoSao) from Spain. Worked great. But almost any wine that wasn’t too tannic would work fine.

Don David, cabernet sauvignon, Michel Torino, Argentina

The balcony door froze shut yesterday, so no barbecuing till I defrost it, which might involve the weather getting about 15 degrees warmer.

I have a box of Aussie Shiraz sitting on the counter, the remnant of the first round of cheap wine tasting. Had a glass last night, and the dilithium crystals couldna’ take no more! Opened a glass of Don David Cab Sauv by michel torrino (round 2 cheap wine). A much better choice.

I think the overly fruity profile of Oz Shiraz and clones (eg. Rockblock Syrah, Oregon) is just about undrinkable. And it takes a lot for me to turn down even a cheap glass of wine. Mind you it does accompany spicy oriental style food better than ‘normal’ profile wines.

For my money Chinese/Thai et al should be offering ice cold sherry, particularly fino and amontillado with their dinners. But no one listens to me.

squash & stuffing

My recipe was:
- 1/2 lb prosciutto butt
- 1 onion
- 1/4 cup cooked chick peas
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 200 mls (4 shots) amontillado sherry
- 1/4 nutmeg, grated (maybe an 1/8 tsp)
- 5 mls cinammon
- 2 whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup COOKED white rice

brown almonds in half the butter.
combine with chickpeas and sherry and cloves and cinnamon and curry in food processor/blender and puree.
Mince ham. (add to food processor?)
Soften the onions till transparent in the remaining butter.
combine all ingredients. Makes 3 cups stuffing enough for 2 acorn squash in these parts.

I boiled the squash halves, cleaned, for 5 min in water, then when cooled stuffed and ’sewed’ together with wooden stakes. (As seen above.) Roasted @ 300F for 2 hrs. You can do it for less time.

This is a recipe for moderately competent cooks willing to fool around with proportions and times.

You can drink pretty much any wine with this one: riesling, rhone syrah, Oz shiraz (recommended) or even Amontillado…

The prosciutto is due to Nardi’s in Winnipeg, making a practice of selling off the butts of the hams at about $5 a pound. Too fibrous for anything else, they still taste great and work in food.

Squash Oven Ready

Commuter lines have gone to cheap bulk like Barefoot (and for the record, Barefoot Merlot is a much better wine than one would think). Biz lounges in the airport have gone downscale to brands like Eaglehawk. (And yes, I’d prefer Barefoot). High end liqueurs are still in evidence as is decent whisky.

Food is coming back in biz class, and my hope is wine will follow. Using biz class catering as a leading indicator may seem odd, but if they have to cater to folks in Biz then biz folks are flying again, presumably on business. 6 months ago upgrades were available for the asking.

Sherry & Bayonne Ham

A few years ago, a friend of mine (Hi Freddy!) who represented sherries at the time, told me he had taken to coming home from work, sitting on the deck and having a bottle of sherry in an ice bucket, some olives and some cold sausage, and watching the sun go down.

It sounded good so I gave it a try.

He was right. sherry and nuts, sherry and cheese and sherry and coldcuts are a natural. I love fino with peanuts, but I especially love Amontillado with cold cuts. Being at my Dad’s place I picked up a new Sherry, Gran Barquero pictured above, with some Bayonne ham.

I’m not sure Bayonne ham is worth the premium (20%) over Serrano ham, but with sherry both are excellent. Give it a try.