December, 2016
Get simple.
Earlier this week we celebrated our youngest daughter's 17th birthday. One of our family's crazy traditions is to allow each child (we have four... or is it forty) the pick of what they want for dinner on their special day. No holds barred, out to their favorite restaurant as fancy as they would like, or we will happily prepare whatever their little heart desires. It is their choice, and as long as it is within reasonable driving distance and does not involve illegal importation of a banned food group, the world is their oyster. When we put the question to Sammy and the answer was out before the question was finished, Spaghetti with meatballs, tomato sauce, garlic bread and a Caesar salad. I quickly responded “absolutely, you got it” but was thinking to myself… is that really it? No Steak au poivre or trip to the Capital Grille, no sushi or even Shrimp Scampi, one of her all time absolute favorites. Nope, a simple spaghetti dinner, nothing fancy at all. So I asked her why she picked that particular meal for her special day and her response was priceless. “Because Dad, I like it, everyone's home and we can all just hang out together at dinner without going anywhere. What's better than that?”. My 17 year old's wisdom stopped me dead in my tracks. No pretense, no extravagance, nothing more than the innocent simplicity of a home cooked meal together with her family. She is absolutely right, what is better than that?
Oh, and Wine, yes, we had that too, and it was right in theme. Masciarelli Montepulciano D'Abruzzo. A delicious red wine produced by Masciarelli winery in San Martino Italy. It is 100% Montepulciano (that's the name of the grape). It is soft and silky, with a medium body and tastes of Cherries and Black Currants (yes, I have tried black currants, by themselves hmmm... not so good but as a nuance in wine, delicious). It is not particularly dry, but has enough tannin to make it interesting. This simple Italian Red is quite delicious and at about $8.50 per bottle you cannot go wrong. It went perfect with Spaghetti and Meatballs, very simple. Give it a shot, you will enjoy it
As this holiday season gets cranked up into the chaotic frenzy they seem to inevitably become I hope you have the chance to enjoy a simple dinner with your family, what could be better than that?
Cheers
Don
