One Meme/Two Tails

It seems that the Wine Chicks have tagged me to be next in line for “The Best in the Last 30”, stemming orginially from Basic Juice’s 1 Meme/2 Tails .

"The Best in the Last 30"
I want to ask my wine friends to think back and recall the best bottle (or glass) of wine they've sampled over the past 30 days.  To my foodie friends, I ask you:  What is the best,  wine-friendliest dish you've tasted over the past month?

As it so happened, I was already planning on making what I consider the penultimate food-friendly wine dish; the humble pizza.

Now, enough of the eye-rolling, and don’t think I didn’t hear that snort. Pizza can be varied upon the whim, from the 'mundane' and much-loved pepperonni, to an ultra-thin crusted affair topped with roasted figs and gorgonzola.

DucCat raided the freezer for a good dose of Florimonte’s meatballs, and one quickly-thawed ball of dough. Meanwhile, I scrounged the depths of the cheese drawer for some interesting tidbits, and got to chopping veggies.
DucCat’s pie had to be cooked naked for a few minutes to handle all the ingredients. Coated with smooth eddies of tomato sauce, just the right amount of fresh mozzarella, and those garlicky glorious meatballs, it was truly a sight to behold.

Hounded by indecision, I finally decided to just make two small pies.
The first was my ‘usual’, thinly coated with tomato sauce, thinly sliced tomatoes, roasted pepers, red onion, and, of course, basil when plucked from the oven.
This little guy also had tomato sauce and a bit of onion, but then was covered with a mixture of Morbier and Piave cheeses , freckled with diced chorizo, and hit with a touch of chopped fresh rosemary.

It’s tough to say which one I liked better, but I think that the mini-chorizo took the edge when paired with the wine: a 2002 Protocolo

This inexpensive little red hits you with black cherry and dusting of cocoa. The body is smooth, the tanins comingling nicely with the wine. It’s fine for right now, and stood up well to the spicier meatball and chorizo pies. However, I look forward to tasting this again in 6 months, to see how it changes.

Of course, not everybody at the table was impressed with the pie or the wine.
You can’t please everyone.

So, let’s keep this baby rolling.

For the wine-side of things, we’ll check in with the girls over at Every Day Wine Pairings, who always seem to come up with something interesting.

For the food side of things, I’ll choose birthday girl Violet of and the dish ran away with the spoon. Hopefully, she'll be pairing something interesting with a good wine anyway tonight.