Sunday, July 24, 2005

Eating Like a Single Girl

With Brian out of town at the Lebowski fest I got to indulge myself and eat like a single girl again. In my case that means a cold supper of assembled small delicacies, the kind of dinner that Brian would view as a good appetizer (meanwhile, he is eating as many meals as possible at our favorite L'ville restaurant, Lynn's Paradise Cafe).

I made it across town to Big 10 and bought some of their fresh-that-day mozzarella purchased from the man who pulled it himself, some sopressata peppata and some of their bottle-your-own 18-Year Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, Italy (to go with the Spanish olive oil I already bought there). I also bought some applewood smoked bacon to make a fine BLT with in the next few days .

When I got home I combined my purchases with my homegrown tomato and basil, and some Zingerman's Paesano bread that I had.

The mozzarella was even creamier than I remembered it with none of the rubbery texture that older "fresh" mozzarella sometimes has. The balsamic puddle proved to be the best accompaniment to the sopressata--the sweetness of the vinegar brought out the flavors in the salami. And the tomato and basil provided the pure flavor of summer.

I didn't drink quite the right wine with it--I had a bottle of Ravenswood Zinfandel Vintners Blend 2003 open (a good basic Zin to have on hand; it usually retails locally for about $12/bottle but Meijer's--I know weird place to buy wine but sometimes they have terrific deals--had it recently for $7.50) so I drank that, but the food really demanded something punchier with a little more tannic kick to it--if I had any of the Woop Woop Shiraz I bought last autumn it would have been perfect. (And yes, at first I bought it because the goofy name appealed to me, but then I went back and got some more after I tasted it--a good Shiraz for the price).

For dessert, I chipped some Ghiradelli dark chocolate off a big bar and nibbled it with some walnuts. A glass of port would have been perfect with it, but since I had to put Fiona to bed by myself (a challenge even when totally sober) I didn't pour myself a glass. By the time she eventually passed out (note: not, once again, in her bed but on the couch) I was too tired to dig around in the cabinet and find the port.

2 comments:

freddyknits said...

We tried the fresh mozzarella Saturday - wow! Thanks for the tip. It is the perfect sponge for tomatoey/balsamicky goodness.

I didn't know this before, but once you refrigerate it, it becomes rubbery. So you need to eat it the day it is made, and as soon after you get home as you can. Not that that presents any difficulty for me....

Kate said...

well crap, that means I have a half pound of rubber left in my fridge...I think I'll use it to make grilled pizzas so maybe the rubbery texture won't be so apparent.