Food and wine review by Robert Wiggins

Tora, Tora, Tora; December 7^th, 1941

80 years ago, when Pearl Harbour was bombed in a sneak attack by the Japanese.  This act of treachery gave the Americans the go-ahead to get into WW11.  This changed the course of history. Eighty years later, some of our previous friends are enemies and some of our enemies are now our friends.  The world has been tossed about like a careless Italian salad, thanks to Covid

Some of the comments today from the ladies, were that it was so good to be back at the Wine and Food Society and after the past couple of years, it had felt like we had gone through a war and now hopefully we are emerging from it.  A bit like leaving a bomb shelter, where you have been locked up forever, to find that upon emerging that there is life outside again and the world is starting to look like normal again.

It will take a great deal of time to recapture the abandonment of senses that enshrined the pre covid days of being able to do almost anything you wanted as long as you had the funds and health to do it. This is especially true for travel, either within our divided country or around the world.

So, with this second to last lunch of 2021, there was a great deal of optimism running through the room on where we and the world go from here, even with the spectre of more variants than you can poke a breadstick at.

Peter’s contribution was good; however, Catherine’s was outstanding!  Behind every great man is an even better woman peeling prawns.  Catherine peeled her way through around 350-400 large prawns… which is a very amazing and dedicated feat.  And the result was certainly worth it and we were lucky enough to partake in the feast.

However back to the beginning.

It was ladies’ day, which due to covid had been placed into abeyance for almost the past two years.  Therefore, there were many outstanding catchups with both the ladies and the members.  The Lanson Black Label champers flowed freely as a great starter to limber up the palates.

Canapes

The starters consisted of small cups of a cold consume of green herbs, made with chicken stock with infused parsley, sage, rosemary and lemon sorrel.  Only the thyme was missing, which was the only thing preventing Peter from bursting into song.

The other starter from James Hill was anchovy butter with a green Sicilian olive on croutons.  Both were an excellent way to begin and went well with the Lanson.  There were no other wines served with the canapes, and the Lanson certainly provided more than enough enjoyment on its own, with subtle malolactic acid smoothness.

Main Course

As previously mentioned, Catherine’s hard labour with the prawns certainly paid off.  The prawns came to the table, cooked to perfection, again with some help in the kitchen from Rob.. he really is an asset, compared to some of the previous cooks.

Peter said that the green king prawns were marinated overnight in a sweet chilli sauce, olive oil and garlic with a bit of preserved lemon. They were then sauteed very quickly in a hot pan and served with the marinade and a sauce made from the prawn heads on a bed of boiled rice with minced onion and sumac. The crisp al dente green beans were steamed with a sugar syrup/miso sauce. There was already a touch of heat in the sauce, but for those who like it hot, Peter provided a separate accompaniment of a hotter version of the sweet chilli sauce.

From Peter’s comments, this very labour-intensive meal is probably a one-off, so if you were here today, you were lucky to enjoy a great dish, if you weren’t then you have probably forever missed out.

There is a problem with the white sourdough bread that James Hill provides from Iggy’s.

It is far too delicious forcing many of us to eat more of it than we intended, especially with the tasty butter. Very cruel James, you are killing us with kindness and expanding our waistlines.  This was especially true with the fruit and nut bread; pecan and cranberry, also from Iggys, which was a perfect partner with the cheese.

The main course wines consisted of two Aussie whites and two Italian reds with cheese.

The 2016 Leo Buring Leopold Riesling from the Coal River in Tassie was termed a “wild beast” with natural styles layers of complexity and a bit “off-dry”.  It was the favourite with the prawns.

The Tyrrells 2018 Stevens Sem was fresh and bright with citrus notes and acidity and drinking superbly at this stage of its life, with fresh, vibrant fruit.

The two 2017 Piemonte cheese wines were both from the Italian maker; Paolo Scavino, to match James’ cheese.

The comments were;

The Barbera d’Alba had tannins that were not broken, fruity, cherry layers, with high acidity and luscious.

The Dolcetto was a joy to drink, with a peachy nose, a soft style and a great match for the cheese. It was commented that the tannins in this wine were too much until they were consumed with the cheese and then this became the standout wine.

Well today, James Healey, our resident Cheese Meister, went out of his way and also deviated from his cheddar tilt that he had steered us through over the past month.

This was a delicious Italian taleggio … in perfect condition. 

The microclimate in the natural caves where these cheeses are matured, high in the Alps, encourages the development of a unique flora on the outer rind. Washed and brushed several times over a month, the cheese develops a thin bloom flecked with blue penicillium moulds.

Beneath the rind, the ivory chalky texture of the cheese begins to change slowly as it ripens, becoming buttery and soft.  The creamy texture, when balanced with the delicious yeasty taste provided by the rind, is one of Italy’s best-kept secrets.

Mauri Taleggio is considered one of the finest DOP cheeses made in Italy and should not be confused with the industrial waxed or vacuum-packed copies that are a poor imitation of the original.

This was a real treat today and a perfect pick for the ladies lunch.

The cheese was served with an oak leaf lettuce and rocket green leaf salad with a few nasturtium leaves scattered throughout, dressed in a vinaigrette of sherry and balsamic vinegars with walnut and olive oils. Some toasted walnuts were served with the taleggio.

The whole soiree did not wind up until close to 5:30, with many of the ladies remarking on how they were looking forward to the next lunch that they are invited to.

Next weeks’ lunch is the final lunch of the year and is a sold-out affair, however, don’t hesitate to put your name on the waiting list as there are usually some dropouts.

We are all looking forward wishing each other a Merry Christmas at the next lunch and there are several members who because they are not able to go on holiday due to the chaos with covid are looking to send their livers on a holiday during January, with a dry month, as there are no further lunches on until February in the New Year.