Beware The Claw

Following up on my post of a week or two back about the arrival of a bottle of the Chesapeake Wine Company's Blue Crab Blanc at Orgle Manor and the dare of several Gentle Readers, the Missus and I decided to give it a go this evening.

As regulars 'round here know, I pummel Virginia wines pretty much out of hand. Sometimes I feel a bit bad about this. I'll ask myself, "Self, is it really fair to damn and blast an entire region's worth of wines based only on the relatively small sample you've tasted?"

Well, my friends, I'm here to tell you that having tried the BCB, I'm not suffering any such qualms at the moment.

Alas, I really don't have the technical vocabulary to describe the taste of this dog. When first sipped, it has the curious property of feeling hard to locate in the mouth, a trait which I believe the cogniscenti refer to as "butteriness". It's also something I loathe in a wine. Once one does manage to track it down, the BCB is really quite sweet, not with the light sweetness of fruit but with the heavy, pounding sweetness of Halloween candy. I would also mention that the aftertaste brings to mind an industrial chemical plant, except that I get that sensation from most whites.

I suppose the best way to sum things up is to note that the Missus took one sip only. And I wound up pouring out about half the bottle, something extremely unusual, considering what a lush lover of the grape I am.

Well, at least din-dins wasn't a complete wreck, as we decided to try the BCB with one of our favorite easy dishes. I dimly remember posting the recipe here a couple years back, but I reckon it's been long enough that I can do so again:

SHRIMP, SCALLOPS* and PROSCUITTO with PASTA

*We cut out the scallops, as the Missus is allergic and I don't like them much.

Ingredients:

12 sea scallops
18 shrimp, peeled,
1/4 pound prosciutto cut into thin, 1" strips
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 whole shallots, finely minced
basil
thyme
juice of 1 lemon and zest
dry sherry, about 5-6 tbs
12 oz. half and half or cream (use the cream)
pasta (angel hair, linguini fini)

How to Prepare:

Saute shrimp and scallops in olive oil on medium heat. When firm, add proscuitto, shallots, garlic and herbs and increase heat. Add sherry, lemon juice, zest and cream. Bring to boil, then reduce heat. Add 1 cup of grated parmagiano and stir into angel hair or thin pasta.

This is one of Dad's recipes. It's really quite simple (indeed, it is almost fool-proof), but boy is it good. Even the Llama-ettes like it, and if you knew how picky they are, you'd be impressed by this.

Anyhoo, there you have it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go crack open the emergency stand-by valpolicella to get rid of this lingering taste of....rotten crab.