2014 Enfield Pretty Horses, California:
Pairings by sommelier Nate Redner of Oyster Bah, as told to Michael Austin:
2009 Domaine Tempier Cabassaou, Bandol, France:
This wine is composed of 95 percent mourvedre, 4 percent syrah and 1 percent cinsault, creating a highly structured wine with aromas of mulberry, blackberry, espresso, licorice and black pepper to complement the nutty mint pesto. There is a good bit of fat in both the lamb and pesto, so you’ll be happy to have the high tannin of mourvedre with acidity on the back end.
Lush fruit and nuttiness characterize this wine. It’s made of mainly tempranillo with some graciano, which helps its tannic structure and fruit intensity. Floral notes of lavender and rosemary will complement the mint pesto while juicy cherry on the palate will match the lamb. The wine’s abundance of acidity will cut any fat that may linger from the chops. Be sure to give the wine a slight chill.
2013 Tami Frappato, Sicily, Italy:
This red wine is light in body, and expresses aromas of wild strawberries, raspberries, sour red cherries and rose petals. Feta and lemon juice/ zest provide a good bit of salt and acidity in the pesto, and they’ll be backed up by the tart red fruit character and slightly briny finish of the frappato. Also, the nuttiness in the pesto will be complemented by the floral component of the wine.
Crying spaghetti is the bomb, reports a friend, home from Seattle. Obviously. Who can resist a name like that?
Why, I worried, would spaghetti cry? I checked the source, the menu of a restaurant called The London Plane. The noodles, bolstered with browned lamb and brightened with fresh lime, seemed to be crying from a surfeit of red peppers — much like the Thai beef dish, crying tiger. Crying spaghetti, I noted, lacks spaghetti.
Inspiration enough to compile a made-up version. This one twirls crisp hazelnuts, fresh herbs and spicy pepper paste into a heap of
As summer approaches and backyard pitmasters ready their grills and stock up on sauces and rubs, we recommend a guide to help move things along. Roll nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet. Slide into
“Texas BBQ: Platefuls of Legendary Lone Star Flavor” by the editors of the savvy Southern Living magazine (Oxmoor House, $20, 192 pages) is a welcome addition to any home chef ’s repertoire.
In its pages are tried-and-true recipes (and hunger-inducing color photos), many sourced from roadhouse restaurants and vintage cookbooks. You, too, can make beef ribs with sorghum glaze, chicken-brisket Brunswick stew, King Ranch chicken casserole, grilled tri-tip with citruschili butter, and the “original” nacho, invented in 1943.