Back in December I served a table of 6 who were all members of the NBC Olympic broadcast crew .
After dinner we discussed the upcoming Olympic and my expectations, I said with conviction that "Regardless of what else Canada does if we don't win Gold in Men's Hockey the Games will have been a failure".
For a long time I stood by that statement but in the past week I've changed my mind . Even if the Men's Hockey team does not prevail this afternoon against the Godless scourge in Stars and Stripes, and I firmly believe we will, these games are an athletic success for Canada.
Alexandre Bilodeau got it started and along the way there were great moments like John Montgomery, Clara Hughes (whose bronze shines as bright as gold to me), Joannie Rochette, Jasey Jay, the phenomenally named Tessa Virtue and the precision of Kevin Martin's curling rink. There was disappointment for some and a heart breaking number of 4th and 5th placings but in the end, in my mind, we did Own the Podium.
This morning the DPK U11 Silver Shadows finished off their season three hours early, a 4-2 win for those keeping track, so that everyone can be nervously ensconced in their own place of worship to watch the Gold Medal game at noon. It's a massive game, a defining moment in many ways but win or lose the athletes of Canada have more than met my expectations.
Still that 14th Gold would be sweet, but no sweeter than the other 13 .
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Dressing for Dinner
Last Monday Safeway were giving away Ribs so I decided to have some for dinner, OK they weren't actually giving them away but $1.99 a pound for fresh sideribs is pretty close. I know many people consider sideribs the "poor cousins" of the rib family but I find the flavour deeper in these fatty monsters than in back ribs and the price is always better. I generally prepare ribs more in the summer because the char off the grill adds to the enjoyment but oven roasted are just fine as well.
I also enjoy the "set and forget" quality of ribs, I just rub them with salt, pepper, paprika and dry mustard powder and leave them for an hour to reach room temperature. I then place the ribs on baking sheets in a 275 degree oven and pretty much ignore them, once every 45 minutes to an hour I'll turn them over and pour off any fat that that's about it. After about 2 1/2 hours the ribs are ready, I will then baste them with something sweet and hot sauce wise and run them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes then serve with rice, a green vegetable and either cold pilsner or an inexpensive fruity red - Argentinean Malbec is good, Carmenere or new world style Spanish are fine as well, just don't break the bank.
On the way home from school daughter had asked what was for dinner, when informed that we were having ribs she burst into song - literally. As dinner prep near conclusion I called out to wife and daughter that dinner was five minutes away, this gives them time to finish up whatever they are doing and arrive at the table. I heard daughter dash to her room and close the door.
"Strange I thought, I wonder what that's about ?"
When I enquired she replied "I'm changing for dinner" resulting in more puzzlement on my behalf.
Two minutes later she emerged "changed for dinner", old T shirt, sweat pants and hair pulled back in a ponytail with the explanation that:
"Hey if I'm eatin' ribs it's gonna get messy".
My kind of kid no doubt.
I also enjoy the "set and forget" quality of ribs, I just rub them with salt, pepper, paprika and dry mustard powder and leave them for an hour to reach room temperature. I then place the ribs on baking sheets in a 275 degree oven and pretty much ignore them, once every 45 minutes to an hour I'll turn them over and pour off any fat that that's about it. After about 2 1/2 hours the ribs are ready, I will then baste them with something sweet and hot sauce wise and run them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes then serve with rice, a green vegetable and either cold pilsner or an inexpensive fruity red - Argentinean Malbec is good, Carmenere or new world style Spanish are fine as well, just don't break the bank.
On the way home from school daughter had asked what was for dinner, when informed that we were having ribs she burst into song - literally. As dinner prep near conclusion I called out to wife and daughter that dinner was five minutes away, this gives them time to finish up whatever they are doing and arrive at the table. I heard daughter dash to her room and close the door.
"Strange I thought, I wonder what that's about ?"
When I enquired she replied "I'm changing for dinner" resulting in more puzzlement on my behalf.
Two minutes later she emerged "changed for dinner", old T shirt, sweat pants and hair pulled back in a ponytail with the explanation that:
"Hey if I'm eatin' ribs it's gonna get messy".
My kind of kid no doubt.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Lovely Carmenere, Undrinkable Petite Sirah
Ran the gamut the last couple of days, The Grands left some wine with us including a Petite Sirah from De Bortoli.
Granddad had brought this, along with some decent bottles, for Christmas season tippling but I avoided it like the plague. I cannot ever recall drinking a wine from De Bortoli, in Australia, that I enjoyed but we popped the cork on the Petite Sirah the other day as a 2nd bottle.
Sadly my fears were confirmed, it was awful - in fact undrinkable. All pruny overccoked fruit with no acid and a ton of alcohol. To paraphrase Monty Python: this is not a wine for drinking, this is a wine for laying down and avoiding, even at the low price of $11.99 this wine has nothing to recommend it.
On the other hand our New Years Day bottle was a delicious Reserva Carmenere from Viu Manent in Chile. This wine is still young, 2008, but has a lovely ribbon of rich fruit with a solid acidity to balance it. We enjoyed it with home made pizza but it would be a great partner to grilled meats or roast poultry. The wine is listed at $17.99, CSPC#596536, and has limited distribution - I recommend seeking it out.
Granddad had brought this, along with some decent bottles, for Christmas season tippling but I avoided it like the plague. I cannot ever recall drinking a wine from De Bortoli, in Australia, that I enjoyed but we popped the cork on the Petite Sirah the other day as a 2nd bottle.
Sadly my fears were confirmed, it was awful - in fact undrinkable. All pruny overccoked fruit with no acid and a ton of alcohol. To paraphrase Monty Python: this is not a wine for drinking, this is a wine for laying down and avoiding, even at the low price of $11.99 this wine has nothing to recommend it.
On the other hand our New Years Day bottle was a delicious Reserva Carmenere from Viu Manent in Chile. This wine is still young, 2008, but has a lovely ribbon of rich fruit with a solid acidity to balance it. We enjoyed it with home made pizza but it would be a great partner to grilled meats or roast poultry. The wine is listed at $17.99, CSPC#596536, and has limited distribution - I recommend seeking it out.
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