Mendoza Kitchen “French Cuisine”

Sunday night we had friends over for dinner, Sandra and Gustavo, they are amazing and I wanted to make something different, a French twist, and decided to make a Beef Bourguignon.

we started with bread and cheese, with for sure great wine that our friends bring us, 2 great sparkling wine plus one Malbec 2011 and one Merlot 2007, we also tried a bottle of Cabernet/Merlot that I had on hand.

To Start Cheese and Bread

My husband Marc having a sniff of the Merlot 2007

3 Great bottles of red wine

We are so fortunate, sharing great bottles with amazing friends, Maria Duce, Maria Extra Brut, Malbec Miguel Escorihuela Gascon 2011,  Uxmal Cabernet/Merlot 2012 blend and  Merlot Rutini 2007.

 It was another tasting adventure, it’s so great to have a friend that know so much about wine, Gustavo is a real connoisseur, and it is a real pleasure to explore all the features of the wine with him.

Gustavo is a real wine connoisseur

To go with the cheese we drank a bottle of Maria Extra Brut, part of the Codorniu family and produce at Septima Bodega here in Mendoza, it was a perfect combination!

During that time the 2007 Merlot was breathing in a decanter, I had the chance to try it first with a piece of rye and walnut bread and goat cheese, “what a delight” feel so privileged!

I served the Bourguignon over mashed potatoes/carrots, pairing with the Merlot Rutini 2007, Malbec Miguel Escorihuela Gascon 2011, and the Uxmal Cabernet/Merlot 2012 blend.

Photo from our friend Gustavo, as you can see the gravy is thicker, I added bread crumbs, do the job without changing the tasting or adding fat.

For dessert I had bought an amandine tart at the best French pastry place in Mendoza Brillat Savarin, to pair with this  fabulous pastry we drank and other Codorniu sparking wine, this time a Maria Dulce, it was fantastic.

After dinner we chatted for a while and our friends told us about their project of opening a small hotel in Uspallata in the Andes, it will be a relaxing place surrounded by arts, a place to enjoy life, as we say here "un lugar para disfrutar" I will keep you updated, and will have more info after a visit to the site.

One piece of art is this silk carpet that Gustavo acquired in Turkey, beautiful, 

It was also the election night, and Macri won, another great reason to celebrate!

The recipe for the Beef Bourguignon;

Ingredients, 

 You can add to the list, if you have veggies, or beef broth, I also used fine herbs and black pepper for  seasoning.

The steps;

To get Perfect Effect 4 for Free click on the link on the right of the page

Week Night Dinner, Spanish Omelette

 Ingredients, Canon 5D Markiii on a tripod, Canon 100mm macro, f22, 1/2sec, ISO200, window lights

Another regular and easy recipe, a Spanish Omelette, done with left over , no pretention, healthy, delicious and very easy to do.

Ingredients " this is just a base depending what I have on hand"

2 tb spoon of Olive Oil

5 to 6 eggs, or 3 eggs and a cup of egg whites

5 cloves of garlic minced

1 red onion minced

I red, orange, yellow or green pepper minced

1 cup of quartered mushrooms

1/2 cup of bruschetta or tomato sauce

4oz of shredded cheese, this time I used German Suisse

Salt and pepper or whatever you like I used a lot of organic Greek seasoning lately.

Method

Oven Broil at High

Add the oil to a hot non-stick frying pan, I always wait that my frying pan get quite hot, taking the pan out of the heating source before adding the oil, you don't want to burn or smoke it, before putting my pan back on the heating source I add my onion and mushrooms, and put the heating source to medium low heat, let my onion and mushrooms colored for about 4 min.

During that time, I mix my eggs in a bowl, adding my garlic and seasoning to it.

Add the pepper  to the pan, cook for about 2 minutes, add the beaten eggs, low heat covered for about 6 to 8 minutes.

The eggs should be set, put under the broil for 2 minutes, take it out spread the bruschetta on the top, sprinkle with cheese and back under the broil for another 2 minutes, let stand for few more minutes and serve.

Add onion and mushrooms, Canon 5D Markiii on a tripod, Canon 100mm macro, f22, 1/8sec, ISO200, window lights

Add pepper, Canon 5D Markiii on a tripod, Canon 100mm macro, f22, 1/15sec, ISO200, window lights

Add eggs, Canon 5D Markiii on a tripod, Canon 100mm macro, f22, 1/8sec, ISO200, window lights

Let stand for few minutes,  Canon 5D Markiii on a tripod, Canon 100mm macro, f22, 1.3sec, ISO200, window lights

Serve, Canon 5D Markiii on a tripod, Canon 100mm macro, f22, 1.6sec, ISO200, window lights

To get Perfect Effect 4 for Free click on the link on the right of the page

Great Celebration Documented Using Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ200

Lunch at Heartland Okotoks Alberta

Great Celebration, 

I had one of the best day, lunch was excellent, cheese and bacon flatbread, sharing plate of goat cheese, flatbread, tomatoes, olives, a great glass of Malbec, chocolate shortbread cookie and cappuccino, in great company,  after what went to the consignment store bought few things, came back home to get ready for dinner. 

 

Dinner was a real feast our friend Tom cooked a turkey a recipe from Gordon Ramsey "The Christmas Turkey"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5PFXhdfVT8, 

it was amazing, end the day with beautiful evening playing card, nothing better than to enjoy great food with great friends.

A real feast, the best turkey ever:)

To document that day of celebration I used my little Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ200, it's a great camera to document life events, not the image quality of my Canon, but for a day in town drinking wine, it's a lot better than using a smart phone, more resolution, better focus, a zoom that can go up to 600mm, not a bad piece of equipment. 

On my wish list to get better resolution and great image quality in a small package is the new Canon G1X Markii, this new toy should be available by April,  not a cheap camera, around $849.00 Canadian.

The specifications for this new Canon addition are amazing, it's a dream camera,  the new 24-120mm f2-3.9 lens is very fast, plus great macro ability, a large sensor  1.5-inch for noise reduction, the latest Digic 6 image processor to improved low-light photos, a tilting touch-screen version that can flip up 180 degrees for selfies. A flash that also tilts for bouncing a hot shoe for Canon flashguns , two rings on the lens barrel, one for focus and the other for a user-selectable function. The auto focus has 31-area contrast AF this little camera has  wireless connectivity, shutter speed up to 60sec and weight only 19.5 ounces, it's a lot of specifications for a pocket camera, and if it reach the expectations that will be the perfect pocket companion. The price at Adorama is $799.00 US 

Adorama Specials

I sent an email to Canon to ask if the G1X Markii will be compatible with their new  radio triggering  speedlite system,  the 600EX-RT Flashgun and ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter, I used this system with my Canon 5D Markiii and it's amazing, up to 30 meters transmission, a lot of flexibility, and no worries, the radio transmission is very effective even the other side of a wall.  I really hope it will be compatible!