In article
>,
DaleW > wrote:

> Tuesday we had a couple of very ripe mangoes, Betsy was planning on
> doing a Ming Tsai recipe of spicy shrimp with mango and snow peas. But
> a package arrived with 2 live lobsters (a thank you for babysitting
> last week). So she just converted the recipe. With the sambal olek in
> the dish I felt some residual sugar was needed, and opened the 2001
> Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese. Pretty open and ready,
> fairly sweet but with that '01 acidic spine. Lots of primary peach
> flavors, a little petrol and slate. Perfect wine for the dish,
> handles the heat but rich enough for lobster. Not the most complex
> Riesling, but satisfying for what it is. B
>
> Yesterday's NYT has an article by Eric Asimov on Burgundy, with a
> couple of Ma Cuisine recipes as accompaniment. Betsy decided to do the
> spiced game hens. A very nice dish, though Betsy questioned the timing
> from beginning, and it clearly isn't enough at 400°F to cook the birds
> through. After the adjustments, we sat down to the birds with barley
> and a garlicky spinach salad. I had found the 2005 Domaine Bart "Les
> Champs Salomon" Marsannay tight and tart at opening a bit before. It
> fleshed out a bit, and offering a nice accompaniment to the dinner.
> Rather big cherry fruit, strong acids,light but persistent tannins. A
> hint of damp earth and mushrooms with time. This never truly grabbed
> me, but it went well with the dish and certainly was a solid bottle of
> Marsannay. My guess is a few years would do it good. For today, B.
>
> So 2 good but not great wines provided a lot of pleasure, as they
> really went well with the dishes. Wine need not be great.
>
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Interesting you should mention timing for cooking from recipes. I have
found that many recipes, especially from restaurant cook books, way
understate the time it takes to cook meats often by 50% or more. Do they
actually serve raw meat at their restaurants?