flickr photo by Arlo Bates

My wife and I had some friends over for dinner tonight, as a non-seder Passover celebration, just to hang out and enjoy some good food and company. Inspired by reading Dr. Sue’s Open That Bottle Night blog post, I decided to open a dusty birthday present from years ago to go along with the lamb chops I was making. It ended up being delicious, a dry red wine, as it said on the bottle, with a beautiful dark burgundy color. I made lamb chops with a pan sauce (referring to the Joy of Cooking a bit to get the general idea). My wife made soup, sides and dessert and our friends brought another bottle of wine and a fancy salad. I’m so glad we were inspired to open the wine, it was awesome to share a good meal and good wine.

Here’s the full menu:

1999 Barone Cornacchia Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Vegetarian matzoh ball soup

Mixed greens with dried cranberries, candied walnuts and goat cheese

Green beans with almonds

Curried apples with sweet potatoes

Lamb chops with red wine reduction

Chocolate-covered matzoh and candied fruit slices