Saturday, August 18, 2007
figs and wines
It seems that you either love or hate fresh figs. I think it's more of a texture thing than a taste preference, I mean who didn't eat Fig Newtons growing up? The tree in the garden is laden with them now and I waiver between letting them get one day riper and plumper or risk letting the birds get to them. So, I've been picking them when they are dark purple, heavy and still firm to the touch. So what to do wtih them and what wine to drink with them - which is always the question when dealing with any food I am presented with. The choice of wine will, of course, be determined by the way in which the particular food is prepared. In this case we fired up the grill, split the figs in half through the stem, slathered the cut halves with a meyer-lemon olive oil and grilled them, cut side down until hot and then plated them with a heavy drizzle of a balsamic glaze. This was one of those 'lick your plate' dishes - the next time I would crumble a fresh goat's cheese over it as well just for a bit more of an acid balance. We were drinking bubbles when we started (which, in my opinion, goes with everything) but switched to our red table wine, The 3rd Bottle, to finish up the figs. The 3rd Bottle is a blend of merlot, cabernet and zinfandel and that melding of flavors really complimented the variety of flavors on the plate. If you have a fig tree or know someone who does try the combination above and let me know your thoughts.
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What about the next day? Let's say you wake up to clean the house and find that Third Bottle left unfinished? Here's a recipe for a delicious fig drizzle:
Take about a half a bottle of red wine in a saucepan, add a spoon of sugar and reduce it until you have about 3/4 cup. Add a couple bars of 80% cocoa nib Shaffenberger chocolate and reduce heat to warm. Fill the little bellies of the halved baked figs and let cool.
ummm...
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