Too Much Barking

It's finally very hot and humid and that means it's summer here in Ohio. That also means that the windows are closed and air conditioner is running. That didn't stop a fit of barking this evening from Ellie and Scott. They were at the front door and barking when I went to look and saw nothing.

As soon as I was back in the kitchen they started again. I went back to the front door and saw nothing. They were "properly castigated" and I returned to the kitchen only to have them start again.

This went on for more than several minutes until the barking changed to a loud howl!

I live near a medical center that has a large field and this time I looked across the street and a large, hot air balloon was rising above the roof of the main building and heading directly toward us. The dogs don't like the hissing sound that the burner on balloons make and that was no doubt the cause of the barking. They knew before there was any visual evidence what was going on - and they were not happy.

Things finally settled down and I was able to get back to a bottle of 2007 Cline Viogner. Fruity and floral and just barely off dry it is a very good bottle of wine for $10. It carries only a 'California' appellation but it is what it intends to be, just a refreshing little bottle of wine to drink. It's correct enough that it hints at more expensive bottles and makes me think of a Condrieu. Good chilled and good as it comes to cool room temperature. I can't recall ever having had a wine from Cline that I didn't like.

Perfect Storm?

Well, it wasn't exactly a perfect storm, but it will do.

I ordered two books that were delivered yesterday. The first, pictured here, is The Wines of the Northern Rhone by John Livingstone - Learmonth and the other was The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace. The latter has been creating a storm of it's own in the wine world with its 'investigation' of the 1787 Thomas Jefferson Chateau Lafitte bottles. It's ruffling a few feathers so I decided to see what the fuss was about.

The books were delivered while I was out and the postal service tried to put the box between the front door and the storm door. There was quite a bit of wind yesterday afternoon and it was coming from the southwest. The box was a little too large to fit where the postal worker put it so that left an opening for the wind to do strange and terrible things to the storm door. The result of all this was the need for a new storm door today and two very unhappy dogs who will have to content themselves with looking out the window instead of sticking there heads out of the door.

Later in the evening as I was reading notes on Cote Rotie and sipping a Cote du Rhone the severe part of the storm began, and it continued until early this morning. The three witches from MacBeth showed up, Thunder Lightning and Rain, and they brought their uncredited sister Windy with them. Windy destroyed what was left of the storm door.

Islay Again

Another pleasant, cool evening topped off by a small glass of Caol Isla 18 year old single malt scotch.

Dinner was a prime rib steak done over charcoal with a baked potato sprinkled with black truffle salt and butter. There was a modest little Cote du Rhone, La Ferme de Gicon 2005. The wine is a good summer red. There is nothing heavy about it, it takes a slight chill and it is mostly about soft fruit and acid. At $10 a bottle there may be more of it once the weather turns warmer.

The whisky? Light peat smoke, some herbs and a little bit of the seashore on the nose. The peat and grain are there in the taste, though I was expecting a little more iodine. Nice lengthy finish that ends in a touch of honey and caramel. A very nicely balanced effort from Caol Isla. I have had several bottles of the 12 year old, and this 18 year old is an elegant addition and a step above the 12 year version. The Islay whiskies are unique and just have that wonderful sense of place about them.

The two, resident Gordon Setters spent some time sniffing the bottle, so I will take that as a sign of their approval.

As for the photo, I have to admit that I like the fact that the camera kept focusing on the reflection of the building across the way instead of the whole glass. I also like the streaming of the last of the day's sunshine shining through the whisky. Another day ends well.

Rain

A rainy morning here and it promises to be that way for most of the day. That will delay the gardening for a nicer day.

I went out just as it was getting light to take the above picture of some blossoms with raindrops clinging to them. As as started back in the house I took the below picture of four jealous eyes, Ellie on the left and Scott on the right. Ellie was scheduled for a long walk this morning, but it is raining heavily so she will have to wait until this afternoon. The"spring shearing" for both was scheduled for the patio this afternoon, but the rain may interrupt that as well.

Spring

An Ohio Spring is finally here and the first flowers are now out of the ground with their promises of good weather to come. Like a typical spring in this area those promises sometimes seem distant. They are predicting snow flurries for this weekend.

Bad weather likely means that the freezer will be emptied of all the braising material and something will get that treatment this weekend. I'm thinking a big pot of short ribs might be in the offing.

The dogs are busy chasing birds and squirrels. Scott made a near catch again yesterday on a tree rodent when it failed in its attempt to jump from a short tree to a larger tree. It landed on the ground but still managed to get to the trunk and safety before the jaws of death clamped on his tail. He also got involved in a soccer game with some teenagers in the neighborhood and they are thinking of making him a goalie. He had a great time chasing the ball, and given any warning at all it was hard to get the ball bye him.

Odds and Ends

Yesterday's "bargain" at the market was some imported tomatoes that looked just great sitting in the display. Even though one would think 'south' at this time of year, the yellow on vine tomatoes were actually Canadian in origin, eh. The red Roma's were from Florida and the yellow grape tomatoes were Mexican so we covered most of the north American continent.

They wound up being peeled, seeded and chopped and tossed into a pan with some olive oil and crispy pancetta chunks, garlic and shallots. The only sad part was that there was no fresh basil. I mixed in some pecorino Romano cheese and tossed the whole thing with some fresh tagliatelle for a faux mid-summer feast.

I was auditioning a new wine for the 'house white.' The 2006 Mas Des Bressades from the Costieres de Nimes is a blend of Viognier and Roussanne. Bright, fresh and fruity and affordable at $8 a bottle. It might be just a touch low on acid, but it's QPR (quality price ratio) is good enough to get it some strong consideration.

We are down to the last two bottles of the 'house red." There is no more 2005 Vina Alarba Old Vines Grenache in the marketplace. It was a great little Spanish red for $7 a bottle, but the search is now on for a replacement. It is getting harder and harder to find a good wine in the under $10 price range.

I had a nice conversation with my neighbor this morning. He is the one who puts out the cracked corn for the squirrels which have become Scott's and Ellie's current raison d'etre. He was puzzled as to why the tree rodents weren't eating as much corn as they used to and why they weren't around as much. I replied that "it's spring so it must be breeding season." He seemed to accept that excuse and we left it at that. It's nice to see some green in the ground instead of brown and white.

There's a new, roaming cat in the neighborhood that's been spotted a couple of times so if the squirrels have finally abandoned the area the dogs can start to work scaring away the new feline.

The Bloom is off the Rose

The title of this entry is certainly the way Scott feels now that his sister is no longer "in season." He is totally ignoring her and spending most of his time making up for ignoring me for the last ten days. Despite his having lost several pounds it still about 75 pounds of dog when he wants to get in your lap.

Ellie still makes her attempts by wiggling her butt in front of him, but with one sniff he goes back to watching for squirrels or chewing his rawhide. They are still not loose together without supervision but by the weekend things should be fine.

We grilled a small lamb roast last night and it was nice to have "good help" again. Scott helped by guarding the grill and Ellie helped by making sure anything that fell to the kitchen floor was immediately removed from the floor.

Sunshine

Spring is finally here and today there is some sunshine. After nearly two feet of snow a week and a half ago we he two warm days to melt the snow, and that was followed by nine inches of rain, then another inch of snow.

Today there is mostly sun and it is bringing out all sorts of animals. The squirrels are getting brave and foolish again, but this time it was Ellie who almost snagged a sluggard who was too busy eating to pay attention to his surroundings.

She was initially chasing a bird that was feeding, but when she turned a corner there sat a happily munching squirrel. But for her brief hesitation it would have been the great nut tree in the sky for the squirrel, but he managed to get to the nearest pine tree.

Scott was still in his crate because the two of them still can't be together because of her heat cycle being mostly "prime." He did condescend to eat some roasted chicken out of my hand today, and he did drink some water when he ventured away from Ellie's crate during one of his loose periods, so perhaps the worst is passed. Ellie's time out of the crate is usually spent relaxing on the bed, looking outside or helping in the kitchen. Scott just lies in front of her crate during his free times.

Fair price on New York strip steaks today, so since it is sunny the grill will be going later.

Blueberries

After all the excessive snow and ice this week it was time for some summer food, just to remind myself that it really is coming. The local market helped out by having a great sale on Chilean blueberries. It must have been a bumper crop in Chile because the prices were good enough to afford the amount needed to make a blueberry cobbler.

Lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch in the fruit and a sweetened, buttermilk biscuit dough on top dusted with cinnamon sugar proved just the thing to throw in the oven while I sat in the front window watching things begin to melt.

The Gordons both had long, separate walks today. I went about two miles with Ellie and about three with Scott so that worked off enough calories that I won't feel too guilty about putting a scoop of ice cream on top of the rewarmed cobbler tonight. Scott managed to nearly snag an unsuspecting squirrel who was preoccupied with eating his cracked corn to the point where he got dog saliva on his tail before getting up a tree. He 'marked' the tree for future reference.

There's a locally produced chicken ready to go on the grill so that helps alleviate some of the carbon footprint of having blueberries flown in from Chile.

Interesting interview on the radio while I was driving to the river for Scott's walk, even though I still don't know who it was with. It was out of New York and the gentleman was suggesting that it is more carbon neutral for New Yorkers to drink French wine than California wine because the ships that bring in the wine from Europe are much "greener" than the trucks that bring in the wine from California. His equation works out even just west of Columbus, Ohio meaning that I have the best of both possible worlds here where the two sources reach the evening point. Another guilt trip I don't have to worry about!

Rain

The weather he has turned into a brief spring pattern. It definitely won't last, but overnight the temperature stayed in the low 60 degree range. It's also rainy.

Some rain didn't stop me from firing up the grill last night. The local fishmonger came up with a great special on some Island Creek oysters so they were popped onto the grill just until the shells opened. They were silky and smooth and tasted like the ocean. There was a little Spanish white wine left so the oysters were washed down with that. There has been an abundance of oysters from good suppliers in this area lately, and that is something that I don't normally see with Ohio being 600 miles from the nearest ocean. Whatever the reason I'm thankful.

While the oysters were being enjoyed we threw a split chicken rubbed with some Italian spices on the grill.

A couple of months ago I had an opportunity to taste a range of Barolos from Enzo Boglietti. They were very good wines, and though a little pricey I purchased a few of them. In the past month or so some other Boglietti wines have hit the local market so I purchased one bottle each of Dolcetto D'Alba, Barbera D'Alba and a Nebbiolo Langhe.

When the chicken came off the grill we opened the Dolcetto. Deep purple with lots of black fruits in the nose. That's exactly what carried through to the taste along with a healthy dose of acid. Long, almost sweet finish, and true to Dolcetto almost no noticeable tannin. At $16 a bottle this is a very nice, food friendly wine. It's on the list for adding a few more bottles while it's still in the marketplace.

Scott and Ellie were happy as there were plenty of chicken scraps for a quick treat last night and to mix in with their dog kibble this morning. Happily wagging tails.

Perfect Day

Blue skies and warmer temperatures here today with lots of sunshine. That brought out some hot air balloons this morning, one of which floated overhead totally annoying Scott and Ellie. The hiss of the burner definitely got their attention.

Later on in the day we all wound up at the wildlife area east of here and they got a ton of exercise. Both were into the ponds and mud and they had a great time. Squirrels, geese and ducks were all fair game today and the dogs were equal opportunity chasers. Scott even found a lone pheasant, and he pointed it - be it ever so briefly. Baths were in order when we all got home. They spent most of the rest of the day sleeping, though they did get up when it was time for their dinner.

My dinner was a small rack of lamb, rubbed with garlic, rosemary and olive oil and grilled. The pasta dish was papparadelle with white and brown mushrooms with olive oil and butter and then dusted with some Pecorino Romano cheese. Nothing difficult, just a simple but delicious meal.

There was another bottle of Vina Alarba within easy reach and it paired well with the meal.

Dessert is occurring while this is being posted and it's just a wonderful glass of Higland Park 12 year old Scottish Whisky. The perfect end to a really nice day.

Sister, Sister

For the third time in her life Scott and Ellie's sister, Doer, was here for a visit. She was here originally when she was born, then she went to live in Illinois as a young puppy. She was eventually placed in a home in northern Ohio for year, and after that period the folks decided they could no longer keep her so she came back here before moving back to Illinois.

Weekend before last we picked her up again in Illinois and brought her home because there was a new 'permanent' home waiting for her in Maine. Scott was beside himself because he felt like he had the beginnings of a harem with two girls in the house. Doer's new family drove out to pick her up and the three of them immediately liked each other. She was in their laps, she was kissing them on the nose, she was selling herself - and it worked.

Over the years these folks have owned two of my dogs, and now this is the third one. At last report Doer was busy diving into snow banks in Maine and has learned to jump up on the bed. She's busy supervising a crew that is remodeling the kitchen in her new house and she appears to have found that permanent home she's been looking for.

Scott, of course, is disappointed that his harem disappeared and Ellie looked at him as if to say, "Get over it, Dude. If you're not gonna chew that rawhide I can help you out"

Discriminating Taste

Cold this morning, and as the day goes on the promise is for even colder weather - down to near zero degrees tonight.

A belated Christmas present arrived this week - a half bushel of grapefruit from Vero Beach FL.

Few things are better this time of year than a morning grapefruit. Sharp and tart, but sweet at the same time. It's just a perfect way to start a morning. I received a note at Christmas that the grapefruit would arrive sometime in mid to late January when they were fully tree ripe. The fruit shipped for Christmas delivery is still good, but the peak of the season is now and it certainly showed with the three that have been eaten so far.

Miss Ellie as always was in the kitchen to help. She is a big fan of grapefruit and waits, sometimes impatiently, for any handouts that might come her way. Her brother finds them distasteful, but she's more than willing to eat what he spits out. She was happy this morning.

As much as she likes grapefruit she has a long way to go to come up to the standards on connoisseurship that her great, great uncle Dangerous Dan displayed. The annual gift of grapefruit is into its third decade so it isn't a new thing. In the early 90's it became an annual ritual to buy several supermarket grapefruit during Christmas to get ready for the real thing in January. Dan thought grapefruit were absolutely great, but try giving him a piece of the supermarket variety and he spit it out. Give him a section of the good stuff and he literally turned circles and was your friend for life.

It took a small experiment one winter to prove this point. While Dan was outside making sure no birds were in his yard I cut up one Vero Beach grapefruit and one store purchased grapefruit. I put each in a separate dog dishes and placed them on the floor. He came rushing in the door and stopped quickly when he saw two bowls on the floor. The nose went in the first bowl, then the second, and then he promptly ate every piece of the Vero fruit while leaving the store variety untouched. It's nice to know he was so well trained.

While we're not into "selling" on this blog, a visit to the orchard may be in order.

And now that it's daylight and the local world is getting busy it's time to head to the market. It's a perfect day to braise something.

Cattus Interuptus?

Scott's early, morning walk was eventful today. Less than three seconds after we walked out the front door he spied (and I heard) two cats about to start a litter of kittens in the flower bed.

His reaction - "Not on my watch you don't!"

Fortunately he was on a 30 foot leash. The large orange and white male stopped what he was about to do, considered his situation, and decided that a morning of cat sex could wait awhile. Off he went around the corner of the building with Scott in hot pursuit. When Scott hit the end of the leash he spun around, saw the female, and came running back. Despite her "itch" in certain spots she immediately hit the tree next to the bedroom window and raced up it until she was out of his reach.

It's an hour later and she is still there and both Scott and Ellie are glued to the front door waiting for her to make a descent. I thanked her for posing for the photo and suggested she seek professional advice about her situation.

Squirrel Patrol

Sunday morning and the weather here has gone from cold and snowy to balmy and rainy. All that means is that the squirrels are back out and feeding on the corn and nuts that the neighbor scatters for them.

Ms. Ellie (above) is not happy about this situation since it is also muddy and she and Scott are restricted to the house. Scott is beside himself with frustration. They both have spent the better part of an hour watching intently as the corn buffet continues about 20 feet from them. There are four or five squirrels causing this problem.

The main result will be that when Scott goes out on a leash the tree will likely drown from being marked. And to show his true frustration he will likely mark the neighbors doorstep in revenge.

Cold

Definitely a cold night as the temperature dropped to eleven degrees overnight . Scott and Ellie still wanted to spend time outside, and both got their evening walk in the snow at a balmy fifteen degrees. Scott spent the rest of the time looking out the front window watching for a cat he encountered on his walk.

If it had been a weekend it would have been the perfect time to braise some beef or lamb shanks, but week nights don't lend themselves to that. Instead there was a turkey pot pie made fresh daily by a local market. 30 minutes in the oven was just enough time to get it warm and golden brown on top and to fix a small salad.

I finished the Chateau Ste. Michelle cabernet that seemed a little tannic and weak in fruit on New Year's Eve . The second half of the bottle was far superior as the tannins faded a little and the fruit came to the front. Very interesting change in the wine and it was perfect with the small pot pie. Add a Lagavulin at the end of the meal and it turned out to be a nice evening.

New Year's Eve

Quiet night at home with the dogs.

The evening started with half a dozen Island Creek oysters and half a dozen generic blue point oysters. Tossed them on the grill just until they popped open and then they got a drop or two of lemon juice and a grind of black pepper. Both varieties were good but the Island Creeks were just about perfect.

Two wines to go with the oysters, a 2006 Setzer Gruner Veltliner (Vesper) and a Ch. Callac 2006 white Graves. Nice contrast as the Gruner was tart with acid and a definite counterpoint to the richness of the oysters while the Callac was fuller and more mellow thanks to the semillon in the blend. It was more of a compliment to the oysters. Hard to choose a favorite here.

While those were going down the small rack of lamb was on the grill and the 2001 Chateau Ste. Michelle Canoe Ridge cabernet sauvignon was breathing in the decanter. The lamb was delicious and there were walnut and gorgonzola ravioli tossed in a little olive oil on the side. A small salad finished off the main course.

Not much into desserts so a little Australian Roaring 40's cheese and some more of the Canoe Ridge got us through the rest of the evening. The wine could have used another hour or two of breathing and the fruit seemed a little thin, but it was more than drinkable.

Scott and Ellie got some scraps of lamb and then a chunk of rawhide to finish their evening. As usual, Ellie managed to get Scott's away from him before he could chew much of it so he got the extra piece while she was hiding hers for later. He didn't let go of his second piece. I doubt that this will change in the new year.