Christmas Cooking

[Jenise]

Howie, sounds wonderful!

We dined with the same five couples we've shared Xmas Eve with for four or five years now. Al insists on doing ALL the cooking--a bastardized version of the Italian-Catholic feast (meat's allowed in the pasta dishes, IOW)--and he outdid himself as usual. Then I woke up with a migraine Christmas morning, which caused us to postpone gift-opening until late afternoon and the baked him dinner indefinitely (did not want to smell meat cooking) in favor of cold marinated brussels sprouts for a salad course followed by blanched rapini and butter potatoes oven-roasted, then broken and reroasted with butter until crispy and THEN topped with shaved fresh white truffles. With that, a '98 Haut Bailly. Perfect wine choice.

Howie, I like what you had for dinner both Christmas Eve, and Christmas day. even the leftovers sound good. Most of all, I like that you had all your sons there with you. Outside of the religious side of Christmas, Family is the best thing about the holiday.

Following Cindy's Polish traditions, tonight was shrimp cocktail with an 05 Latour Chablis, crab cakes with an 08 Tahbilk Marsanne, then sauteed green beans, grilled Chilean Coho salmon, and an 02 Lange Three Hills Cuvee pinot noir. Living the dream!

Tomorrow morning we'll have Bellinis along with a Servatii's cheese pocket while opening gifts. Dinner will feature roast prime rib and 89 Lynch-Bages. Other wines and food items will be included, let you know then.

How was the Tahbilk? I don't recall whether I have had the 08 or not, or even if I have any. I do have 10 or 11 bottles of the 09 though and it is the best young Tahbilk I have ever had. Not sure what that means for aging though. For the Christmas pork roast I have decanted a 1998 Musar white, This is the best bottle of the 98 I have had...at least straight from the bottle. I decanted it about 4PM yesterday, and we expect to eat around 2PM today. So, that will be 22 hours decanted and kept in the unheated garage.

Bob, the 08 Tahbilk was delicious. Confession: I thought I pulled an 06 and didnt realize my error until I took the empty to the trash! But it worked well with the crab cake so no harm. BTW, my records indicate you should have at least 1 of the 08 vintage in your possession.

Mike I will make a search for the 08. It does seem to me that you gifted me with a bottle of the 08. I have heard that the memory is the 2nd thing to go as one gets old.