Last Night's Dinner

Ok, so since James said it wouldn't be pretentious to make this a food and wine blog, here we go.

Last night I made an herbed risotto with a balsamic roasted eggplant/tomato topping.


I am getting more into risotto. It's so creamy and makes a great base or side to so many things like vegetables, fish, or poultry. I know the traditional gourmet herb is saffron, but let's be honest, I can't afford it. Here I used parsley, garlic, thyme, and anise. I also used anise in the eggplant and tomato topping. I've found anise works really well with eggplant. They both have really strong flavors but seem to cut each other when cooked together. And I garnished it with some basil from our new basil plant. It was a great entree.

The Wine was a Vidal Blanc from Sand Hill Crane Vineyards which is in Michigan, only about a half hour away. I was originally looking for a Sauvignon Blanc, but I was happy to see that this Michigan vineyard decided to use a lesser known and more suitible grape to the region rather than bank on a name that people recognize. I results were decent. I was expecting it to resemble Sauvignon Blanc, but tasted and went down much more like a Chardonnay. Smooth and almost buttery, not the crisp feel I expected. Definite American oak, and floral notes with a bit of vanilla. Overall the creamyness went well with the risotto. It was a fine table wine, but nothing too exiting going on.

I'm going to try and do this about once a week. Let me know if it gets annoying.