My parents, who live in Los Angeles (still in the same house where I grew up), came up North recently. There was a baby naming for our new grandson: Winemaker B now has a 3 year old daughter and a newborn son. With the naming on a Sunday, the parents came up on Saturday and stayed over. Which meant a nice dinner Saturday night.
So I went into my recipe file to see what I hadn’t cooked yet, and came up with Moroccan Lamb Pot Pie With Phyllo Crust. Ground lamb, veggies, spices, into a casserole dish, cover with phyllo dough, then into the oven. I thought it was going to be easy, and it was. I thought the prep would be quick, and it wasn’t. Fortunately we opened up a bottle of wine and some cheese while I was cooking, and since we have an open kitchen everyone could gather and chat while munching. This initial bottle was a 2010 Armida Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc. This was Winemaker B’s first harvest at Armida, and he made a Sauvignon Blanc that when initially released reminded us that he’d spent time in New Zealand. But this Sauvignon Blanc has changed, has mellowed, has become a more balanced wine in the 2 years since it was released. (We’ve opened another bottle of this since then, with the same results.)
So we were really enjoying the wine and cheese, and the lamb pot pie went into the oven after Lori did her thing with the phyllo dough (I don’t do dough), and it was time to open the bottle of red and decant before dinner. The red was a 2002 Franciscan Oakville Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. And adding to my timing mistakes with cooking, I waiting too long to open the Cab, not giving it as much time as it needed to open up before dinner.
But … all was apparently forgiven when the lamb came out of the oven and the meal was served. The pot pie was great, the wine eventually did open up and went great with the lamb dish. This is definitely a meal for special occasions, and we’ll cook it again. But with better timing.
P.S. Thanks to our friends Peter and Diana for the Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon, which was a gift a few years ago for our 50th birthdays.
L’Chaim,
Larry