Let's Cooking: TNL!

[Tones]

I primarily use recipes for inspiration. When I cook something new, I usually look at enough recipes to get the concepts, defining ingredients, and special techniques for the dish. I find a combination that works with what I have, or what I'm willing to pay for, and go from there. I hate wasting food, so I really try to get a limited amount of "specialty" ingredients unless they're cheap, last a long time, or I'm cooking for a special occasion.

What I cook also greatly depends on who I'm cooking for. When I'm cooking for myself, I'll focus on dishes that will still be really good three days down the line. I don't use protein dishes for myself unless they're in a soup, chili, or with greens. The food I cook for myself is overwhelmingly southern.

[Advocate]

Admittedly I'm no sommolier but I know Shiraz is a bit of a spicy wild wine which makes it a good pairing with strong flavors. I'd recommend grabbing some of that great NZ lamb in your backyard and getting wild on that beast. Marinate a leg in half a bottle, some good olive oil, garlic and thyme overnight in the fridge. Build a fire in your backyard (doesn't have to even be on a grill) get it down to screaming hot coals. Wrap your lamb leg in heavy tin foil and throw it in the fire. Move it around a bunch for the next 20 minutes or so and then eat the fuck out of it like a goddamn caveman!

Edit: Salt the hell out of it before you wrap it in the foil.

Edit 2: take all the rest of the liquid and reduce it down while the lamb cooks for bangin sauce. Do it in a pot over the same fire for maximum awesomeness.

Shiraz is good with any red meat. Lamb, Steak, Pot Roast, etc. SO, what Icarus said is good.

Also: Icarus ... I saw the PF Changs you would have worked at. Fucking HUGE and is attached to a new shopping complex. The new Movie Theater is all stadium seating and is fucking nice as shit.

[YellerDog]

Oh, by the way. Natural Peanut Butter? Better than remembered.

Livin' in the fridge.

[Tones]

I've been converted for a while, but have been conceding to creamy. I remember stirring chunky akin to mixing concrete.

[Josh]

Keep it in the pantry upside down for a day or two before you open it for the first time to make the stirring easy.

[YellerDog]

Or be a man about it, come on.

[Josh]

I was just trying to help the spindly little nancyboy out.

[Advocate]

Livin' in the fridge.

You can't stop the mold from growin'.

[arjue]

Thanks icarus, that sounds delicious, but I doubt I'll be able to get a fire going (summer = fire bans in Australia ). A Lamb roast with a shiraz based marinade would kill though.

Shiraz isn't the best wine for matching with meats imo. Unless its a particularly weak shiraz, make sure you do it with something very flavorsome, otherwise it will overpower it. Steak and shiraz? I wouldn't. Pork and shiraz? I definitely would (and have).

For more delicate meats like duck, a pinot noir would be a much better match.

[Advocate]

http://www.winerdgame.com/pairings.html

c. This can be a very food-friendly wine. Lighter styles can be quite good with simple grilled shrimp dishes (Just throw some shrimp on the Barbie!). The fruit and spicy qualities can be brought out by dishes such as a rich beef stew cooked with red wine, pasta arrabiata, and even pizza. Steak au poivre is an excellent match for a full-bodied tannic Shiraz.

http://wine.about.com/od/vineyardvoc...hirazsyrah.htm

Shiraz is great for grilled meats or veggies, wild game, richly flavored red meats, beef stew and meat lover's pizza.

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/wineandfoodpairings.asp

go to the chart ... middle of the page.