MEK’s blog

Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical novel captured in film.

It's about a young girl growing up in Tehran during 1970's. Marjane is "gobby" and rebellious. Backdrop is eventful, and covers the Iranian uprising and overthrow of the Shah. She shows us how life changed under a new Islamic regime.

Its a smart film. Brilliant black & white animation; narrative is very original.

I saw the film in London. I was expecting subtitles and surprised to see the characters very cleverly dubbed with American/European accents. Odd, but less of a strain on the eyes.

Slightly abrupt ending. Otherwise worth toddling off to the film house.

What better reason to start making one's own. Euro/£ currency appreciation and the local supplier had run out of stock. Gorgeous French pate.

IMG_0571

Shoulder, belly and pork livers were minced and seasoned with onions and parsley. Wine to marinate. Lots of herbs and spices.  Vacuum-packed into the water bath for 5hours at 70^oc.

Drain off fluids. Vacuum- packed. Refrigerate. Place a weight on top.

Leave for a few days.

Et voila.  

Serve chilled, with bread, wine and great company.

Directed by Craig Gillespie, Lars and the real girl is smart. 

It's a wonderful and unconventional film about loneliness. I was taken in completely.

It made me laugh, laugh, smile, cry, laugh out loud, cry and smile. In that order.

Ryan Gosling is believable. Emily Mortimer is just superb.  

The Duchamp, Man Ray and Picabia exhibition at the Tate Modern is worth seeing.

Apparently the three men were very good friends; the exhibition shows us, quite diligently, how each influenced the other and gives us the chance to see some of their most famous works again (Man Ray's rayograph photos and early films, Duchamp's nude descending a staircase). We also get to see Duchamp's alto ego and the others in drag (now, that's quite fun). And fun, in-jokes and innuendoes are everywhere in this exhibition.  

Here is a review of the exhibition.

Talking about eggs. Again. I couldn't resist it any longer. We had scrambled duck eggs. Oh, so light and fluffy, creamy and smooth. On the side, brioche with sautéed mushrooms, smoked trout (with pancetta, onions) and small fried potatoes in duck fat. The eggs stole the show.  I opened a Centellito Verdejo 2006 Rueda, a dry Spanish white. The tasting notes were accurate - vibrant, crisp and grassy with hints of grapefruit and passion fruit.

Whilst enjoying a wonderful high tea with a very good friend, the topic of eggs crops up. I continue to evangelize the wonders of duck eggs, which I adore. We explore this again. Chat about birds' eggs and wonder at how gull's eggs are prized amongst all, apparently the laying period is only two weeks a year. She is venturing off to the Harris Island in Scotland for a few days and regales me with some statistics of the puffin population in the neighboring islands. The conversation broadens to other birds. We come to pigeons. Um. Now we know folks eat pigeon. I do. We wondered whether pigeons’ eggs are eaten, where they lay their eggs. Neither she nor I came up with any sound suggestions. Do we eat pigeons’ eggs?

I was catching-up on my reading and discovered a little article for matching wines with Thai food. (Caterer & Hotelkeeper, September 2007)

Apparently, it’s better to drink beer or water with Thai food. Full stop.

Or to drink alcohol before or after eating, not during. But if you are looking to drink wines, stick to the whites. Unless the reds are soft, say American Pinot Noirs; something soft and fruity rather than earthy and rich.

German whites were favoured. The Riesling Kabinett a favourite on the list. The slight sweetness of the wine reduces the heat of chillies.

Coconut is seen as a big "no-no" for wines, too. The fat in the coconut destroys any flavours, subtleties in the wines.

Gewürztraminer works successfully with banana blossom salad with chili jam. Hot. The flavours of the dish were surprisingly enhanced by the wine.

A regular on a Thai restaurant menu - Green mango salad. With shallots, fresh mint, toasted coconuts, dried prawns and Thai basil, this dish goes very well with an Australian Riesling (Jim Barry, Florita, 2005). This wine also got a thumbs-up with the stir-fried cured pork salad & rice. The salad contained fresh ginger, garlic, chilies and coriander. The wine "...picked out the smokiness of the wok..." and "cleaned everything-up..."

Um.  

The broccoli soup had great texture. Reminded me of leek and potato soup. Great subtle flavours. I wondered whether the stalks of the broccoli were perhaps a little too difficult to break down, as if I am little critical of the dish I could say, the soup was stringy.  

MANCHEGO

We accompanied the soup with Manchego cheese,

fresh French baguette and French butter. Wow, what a wonderful combination. Simple.

I forgot to put The Ned Black Label Waihopai River Pinot Grigio 2007 Marlborough, New Zealand wine in the fridge overnight. It spent all of two hours in the fridge before serving. Oops. Ah, when I served the wine I was pleasantly surprised. A very pale colour. Certainly some type of fruit nose, really difficult to point out the type of fruit. On reading the label afterwards, it was ripe white pear. Umm. Taste was creamy, smooth. Clearly not cold. Perhaps that helped. The creaminess and body, fruits, sweetness made the wine just perfect for the cheese. So, maybe I’ve discovered my perfect white for cheeses.  Peut-etre.

Finally I got to Orrery's wine tasting. It was held at L'Epicerie, and not in the main restaurant. Pity. With 30+ persons (excluding our wine host, 3 waiting persons, another wine expert with a distinctly French accent, and a chilled cabinet), the space was tight. Our waiting person had only 90 minutes to circulate 6 wines (3 whites and 3 reds) plus top-ups. Hot. Hungry. Thirsty. She did well.

A real Spanish fare Marques de Riscal - wines plus tapas-style nibbles and my companion for the evening was Portuguese; a wonderful combination. 

Blanco Rueda

We started with 2007 Blanco Rueda. Verdejo grapes, fermented in steel vats. Mr. Portugal was buzzing with ideas and picked out strawberry notes. A lovely fresh white, great as an aperitif.

Next up. Sauvignon Rueda (2006). Am sure the heat was getting to us folks. I heard descriptions like "...wild boar ... at altitude ... licking pine tress..." I wasn't sure if someone was recanting an adventure holiday, a Coen Brothers’ movie or my companion had already had a long lunch!   

Combination of peppers, mozzarella, salmon nibbles accompanied the wines nicely.

Rioja Rosado (2006) produced using the saignée method did manage to remain delicate, fresh and smooth, apparently untypical for this type of

Rioja Rosado

wine. Within moments of sipping, a lovely lady to my right squealed "bakewell tart". Original. She followed up with "... but I hate these cakes...” Oops. Not sure she intended to bellow out that comment quite so loudly. One assumes her reference to "Mr. Kiplings cakes" was inspired by the almond notes. She loved the wine.   

Of the three reds which followed, my favourite was 2003 Rioja Reserva. The tasting notes explained, after pressing and fermentation, the Reserva wines of Riscal spend approximately two years in American oak barrels, followed by a further 18 months in bottle before release. Usually, I find Rioja fruity and not tannic enough. Clearly I am buying wines at the cheaper end of the market. This wine was beautifully balanced, tannic, with blackcurrant aromas.

1860 Tempranillo (2004) and Rioja Gran Reserva (2000) were also served.

A wonderful selection of Spanish wines. The prices ranged from £10 to £25 for the Gran Reserva.

So, a hot night of fun, frivolity, and gorgeous wines. L’Epicerie, I think you need a larger room, perhaps next time.