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Creamy & Sweet **+
(out of three stars)
Elegante Cream Sherry
CSPC 550947    $ 8.90

(GONZALEZ BYASS) (17%)
Deep amber colour. Very sweet, complex, fig and crème caramel nose. Very sweet, creamy, rich, slightly chocolate-prune-plum purée flavours with some sweet raisin pie notes on the lingering finish.  A BEST BUY 

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Dinner With Danny - Solo
© By Michael Vaughan
Saturday, October 27, 2001

It's Saturday night and I am batching it! Rosie, my wife is in Montreal and I am confronted with reality of having to fend for myself. I have been invited to a special Saturday night winemaker’s dinner and am tempted to go. But the taste of bad fish from the last visit still lingers on the palate. 

It was one of those winemaker dinners where things obviously had gone awry. In this case, the good wines from Henry of Pelham were put at risk by the rather uneven cooking. Perhaps it was this disconcerting memory of the fish that prevented me from attending. Now I know it’s a privilege to be invited to such events and gratefully count my blessings. However, when I saw some good looking pieces of pork on sale at my local IGA my fate was sealed. I decided to eat in and do a Fall dinner in homage to CBC radio raconteur Danny Finkleman of Saturday night's Finkleman's 45s.

 Being old guy, I love Danny’s outrageous program complete with inane commentary on our day-to-day insanity! Tonight, he can’t figure out why he wasn’t able to buy cases of 24 of his favourite pop at the local grocery store this summer. He asks: "how is it possible that our modern supply management has failed us?"  I wish he were here so I could blurt out that it hasn't!  It’s really a case of perfectly orchestrated supply management. In this case, the suppliers simply run short of  the less expensive larger formats of 24 cans. This forces you to buy the pricier and more profitable smaller packages of six or twelve! It’s supply management at its best!

So what did I cook, you ask? I went out and bought a mess of tenderloin end pork chops at $4.39 a kilo (that’s $1.99 a pound, Danny). What costs $1.99 a pound? How can good meat cost so little? Well, the colour is bright and the cuts looked moist and felt tender. The secret, however, is the basting sauce. I had a half-litre bottle of Nuó’c Mam Pha San (a Vietnamese Spring Roll Sauce), which cost $2.49 at a local Oriental grocer. I took a large glass bowl doused the pork in the sauce, covered them in plastic to hold the sauce in and threw them into the fridge for a couple of hours.

About half an hour before the designated dining time, I did my two for one basmati rice number. Two parts boiling water into which I plunge one part rinsed rice. The secret to making perfect rice it to take the metal top and cover it with a fresh dish cloth which is folded on top. As I am cooking with gas, I always place a weight on it to prevent any unexpected fire. The heat is turned down and after 15-20 minutes – voila – perfect rice.

I get the BBQ on a roar and the marinated pork hits the grill. As usual, the butcher cuts the pork too thick but it will have to do. I aim to crisp, perhaps slightly burn, the outside as quickly at possible. And so there it is. A simple dish of BBQ pork and rice – simple but very tasty.

And now comes the best part. I do a light dusting with garlic and coarse sea salt. Gadzooks, this is delish! Danny plays High Noon by Frankie Lane! This is really scary. Did I see this film when it first appeared at the Carlton Theatre on College Street in1954? I dig into an open bottle of a $27 Chardonnay that gives great pleasure.

It's probably too fancy for Danny, I think. I wonder how those other less expensive wines would marry with this dish? “Other” in this case means less tasty – stuff that I had previously tasted and decided not to drink. And so out comes a South African 2000 Fleur du Cap Chardonnay ($10.95) at less than half the price. “Hey, this is pretty good,” I think to myself. It’s loaded with sweetish canned pear flavours – a surprisingly yummy combo.

And then comes the big surprise. About a week ago I received a bottle of Bouchard Père & Fils 2000 Mâcon Supérieur (also $10.95). At that time, it didn’t quite cut the mustard; it was very crisp, dry and light-bodied without much flavour or structure. I stuck it down by my wine cellar door where it sat at 13 C for two weeks with the cork tightly in place.

Between bites, I go downstairs and retrieve the bottle. I throw a splash into a glass and suck it up with a morsel of the tangy blackened pork. Holy cow - (well at least pig) - this simple red Macon is bright and refreshing with lots of tangy red cherry flavours (where were they before?). It’s a perfect match and even works better than the Chard.

And so I give a quick salute to Danny Finkelman and his 45’s. They have once again provided even delicious evening and me with the excuse of a self-indulgent, casual, low-cost. Thanks for the memories Danny!

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
 (electronic or other wise) and or quotation.
Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net