A Thouroughly "Marinated" Weekend

So my weekend started with our Traditional Provencal Wine Dinner at Frenchy's Bistro on Thursday night. I had worked a full shift at The Wine Country but being a French wine dinner Randy thought I should attend and was kind enough to invite my husband Carl as well. I flew home to pick up the "hot hubby", (the way he has listed himself on my cell phone contact list) run a brush through my hair and change out of my grubby work shirt before dashing off to the dinner....we made it just in time. We plunked down in our seats, dunked a few veggies in Anchovy Dip and sipped away on a glass of 2007 Sorin Rose, I could feel the anxiousness slipping away with each swallow of refreshing Rose.

Each course came out in a timely fashion, things went smoothly and two of the wines, (not counting the Sorin, the first wine always shows well at a wine dinner) were the clear superstars of the evening, the 2007 Chateau La Canorgue Cotes du Luberon Blanc $15.99 and the 2005 La Cabotte Cotes du Rhone Villages Cuvee Gabriel $16.99. The Canorgue was bright and loaded with zippy fresh pears, apple and a touch of citrus, weighty in the mouth with a crisp snappy finish. The La Cabotte was so freaking easy to drink, mine was gone long before my lamb was! Deep red fruit flavors with nice spice and a texture that kept us coming back for another sip, this is a wine for all things meat and there was not a drop left in anyone's glass. A very nice evening and the kickoff to a wild weekend!

Friday night after work I once again shot home to pick up the H.H. and get a touch glammed up for a nice dinner in LA with Amy, Merritt and Amy's sister Rachel who was in town for a visit. We were able to score a last minute reservation at Cliff's Edge in Silverlake, one of my favorite places to just chill in the beautiful patio and gorge myself on perfectly crisp fries that have been strategically dipped in their Gorgonzola dipping sauce, (they also have a lovely brunch on Sundays. Cant recommend it enough- Cliff's Edge 3626 Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026)...it is a glorious thing. I had heard they had a new chef so I was eager to get my eat on if you will.
Amy and I both brought wines for dinner, Amy brought the NV Agrapart Brut Rose Champagne $49.99 and a bottle of 2002 Chateau de la Tour Clos Vougeot, ($99.99 when we had it) a lovely red Burgundy knowing full well that her little sister was in the mood for red meat. I found a bottle of 2002 Chandon de Briailles Corton, ($70.00 when we had it) that I had stuffed away....this was the time to bring that sexy little number out. Okay pretty telling, there I am standing in front of my wine fridge with a wrinkled men's dress shirt and a tie on looking for sexy wine....I fear I may be a weird girl.

We ordered our first round of goodies, Mussels in a Pernod sauce, Frito Misto a bounty of fried yumminess, Beef Carpaccio, Corn Soup, (so delicious, like biting into a fresh cob of corn) and French Onion Soup all of which were wonderful with the Agrapart Rose that we brought and the 2007 Saint Pierre Rose, ($13.99 at The Wine Country) that we ordered from the list. After picking away at the first courses we ordered the mains, lots of rare beef, perfectly roasted chicken and scallops and the wines we brought framed the food so remarkably, they went so well we ran out....oh no! We were getting full and with just dessert left to go we opted to buy wines and cocktails from the after dinner drink list, you know because we did not want to over do it or anything.
Just after 11:00 we rolled out of Cliff's Edge and rolled right up to Melrose to hit The Snake Pit, a bar that we found the last time we ate at Mozza. Very cool spot, mixed crowd, couches and some pretty cool spirits and beers. Should you ever find yourself on Melrose feeling a tad parched check it out- The Snake Pit 7529 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90046.

We intended to just drop Amy and Rachel off at Amy's house but I was enticed inside by the promise off a magazine she had been telling me about, in retrospect I should have known when the four girls in the car were singing aloud....really ALOUD that we were stuck in full party mode, my poor husband. So...yea Carl and I made it home at 4 am, alive but not looking our freshest, I woke up on the couch at 12:30 Saturday afternoon....wondering who the hell had removed the saliva from my mouth and throat. I spent the rest of the day hydrating and farting around on the internet.

Sunday? Party day at Randy's house....for the love of all that is holy. It was time for the Grand Aioli, a party that he and Dale put on full of grilled lamb, chicken, roasted veggies...ummmm those beets, gallons of ice cold Rose and vats of garlic mayo my liver be damned I'm going and I'm going big! (To see pictures from the party see Nancy's post on her blog Nancy on Wine at blogspot.com)
I mixed up a batch of marinated, (pun intended) chickpeas and attempted a new potato chip appetizer, um yea the chip thing was crud but the chickpeas were super yummy. Bennett brought white beans, Nancy sliced fruit, Amy a tomato salad and we all brought wine. There were some truly fantastic wines but I have to tell you, nothing went better with that food than the Rose. I will get a complete list of wines and post those later.

We arrived at Kemner Manor at 6pm and crawled home sometime after 2am, the details are fuzzy but there was lots of dancing, laughing, washing of dishes and the bringing out of vintage Randy and Dale photos. I got an email from Amy the nest day saying something like, "Was I a monster? I don't remember the last couple of hours" oh yea sister, I'm the one to ask I'm sitting here with a cold towel draped across my face!

Such an amazing wine soaked weekend.....I faught the good fight, powered through the pain and puffiness of the mornings after all in my quest to educate my palate....you know, to be the very best wine specialist I can be....it helps if you imagine me drinking glass after glass of wine with the theme from Rocky blaring in the background......