The Dingo Ate My Baby!

The Australian wine tasting we held was a huge success. We've been part of this group for a year now and I believe that Australia, surprisingly, produced the best wines we've tasted so far. I actually didn't even want to do Australia but Bill talked me into it. We did steer people away from Yellow Tail by quoting the statistic that YT is the #1 import in the US (which I'm still shocked by). We were also surprised that no one brought any Rosemont Estates or Penfolds.

We always provide a sheet for taking notes but due to confusion over my notes, B and I had to devise a new method. Before, as the night would go on, my notes - for the same wine - would be: "Just okay. Yummy! Good. Great!" Obviously when reading these the next day, you had no idea what I really thought as I apparently didn't either. The note "pretty good" has also caused problems. There's "pretty good" as in "Eh, it's pretty good." and then there's "pretty good" as in "Wow! That's pretty good!". This time, we decided to go with "buy/no buy" because that's really all it should come down to - would you want to drink it again or not.

While I did stick to the plan so my notes were much less ambiguous, I did start to lose some descriptive adjectives towards the end. Here are some of the standouts from the night.

• 2006 The Innocent Viognier - Sweeter than most viogniers; medium bodied (Side note: By dumb luck, we were able to try The Guilty Shiraz the very next night. It's a buy. They also make The Verdict Cabernet which I'd really like to try.)
• 2007 Brujeria blend - smelled and tasted like BBQ; would def buy
• 2006 Schist Rock Shiraz - like!
• 2006 St. Hallett Faith Shiraz - yum!
• First Class Shiraz - yum!

Aside from the standard assorted cheeses, we made two hot plates that were very, very good. The mushrooms are supposed to be served as a side dish but we served it with toast points instead.

Southwestern Mushroom Casserole
Courtesy Rachael Ray

• 2 8-oz. packages sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 c. beef broth
• 1 T. flour
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 c. breadcrumbs
• 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
• 2 T. butter, cut into pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Place mushrooms in a 9x9 baking dish
3. In a medium, microwaveable bowl, combine broth and flour. Microwave on low until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cream and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over mushrooms.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and parmesan. Sprinkle on top of the mushrooms, top with butter and bake until browned, about 45 minutes.  Serves 6.

Aromatic Lamb Meatballs
Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson

• 2 pounds ground lamb
• 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 tablespoons semolina
• 2 eggs
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions
Put the lamb into a bowl and add the scallions. Sprinkle over the spices, salt, and semolina, and then beat the egg adding to the bowl. Work everything together thoroughly with your hands, and then cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for half an hour.Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and scoop out about one tablespoon of the mixture. Roll in your hands to form the meatball and place on the lined baking sheet. Have a bowl of cold water beside you to dampen your hands with; this helps them not get too sticky for rolling the meatballs.

When you are ready to cook them, heat about 1/2-inch of oil in a frying pan. Line another baking sheet with kitchen towel, and when the oil is hot, fry the meatballs in batches without overcrowding the pan. Cook them for 2 minutes a side.  Makes approximately 40 meatballs.