I finally found both the occasion and courage to try a low temperature -
slow roast of beef last weekend a la Heston Blumenthal [as recently
discussed with Ian Hoare]

In an age of supermarket butchers [here in NZ] - I am fortunate to have
reasonabley close by, one of those olde-style butchers who actually age
their beef - he selected a nice piece of bolar [blade] - this was roasted
for 20 hours at 55C/130F.

The result was a revelation to all six of us; melt-in-the-mouth and
surprisingly delicate in flavour.

I served two wines - and both worked exceedingly well.

First [kindly gifted by Michael Tommasi] was a Bandol from Domaine de la
Tour du Bon 2000; despite initial reservations, this wine was a very good
match which brought out the sweet nuances of the meat.

After initially considering a red burgundy [burgundy & beef - the classic
match] I decided upon a "Prada Enea" - a 1995 Gran Reserva Rioja from
Bodegas Muga as our second wine. This wine had a spicy, almost peppery
warmth which was a brilliant match.

However good the beef, my good lady excelled with a baked cheesecake for
dessert - not too sweet - with a little orange juice in the filling and
garnished with orange zest.

The wine served [again supplied by the inimitable Michael Tommasi] was a
2001 Grains Nobles Coteaux du Layon from Domaine Patrick Baudouin.

This match was 10/10 - hints of citrus in the wine found favour with the
orange in the dessert - voted [unanimously] perfect harmony.

Mike!!! I'm coming back!!!!!

--

st.helier