Christmas Eve Dinner

So, my wife is suffering from pneumonia this holiday break. So, there is no travel for us. Making the best of it, we are celebrating Christmas Eve at home (and Christmas day with some friends). I had been planning an earlier celebration of the holidays one evening this past week for Julie and me, but we decided to move it to Christmas Eve.

So, what did I make? Well, of course, a roast goose. Coated in a citrus spice rub, with onion and lemon in the cavity. Into the oven until done, started at 425, down to 350. Did a cherry-brandy-port sauce to accompany it. Came out absolutely beautifully--crispy skin, juicy meat, and the sauce worked wonders. Since roasting a goose produces seemingly cups full of fat, it provided opportunities for nicely roasting some fingerling potatoes. Of course, a dressing is a must--did it with dried bread, plus pork-cherry sausage and poultry style seasonings. Gravy i a must, too. But the real hit were the Brussels Sprouts and roasted chestnuts--par-cooked and roasted first, respectively, then sauted in a bit of goose fat and finished with a bit of cream. It was absolutely delicious. In all, it was a most delicious dinner, and even Julie, sick as she is, enjoyed it.

But the real coup de grace was the wine pairing. I picked a 2005 Oregon Pinot Noir--Patricia Green's single vineyard bottling from Four Winds Vineyard. This wine comes from a rather coastal part of the Willamette Valley--west of Yamhill, even. There is not a lot of Pinot growing around this vineyard. But there sure should be more. It's one of the most burgundian, earthy, rustic Oregon pinots I've ever tasted. While it's definitely unique--very acidic, decent cherry fruit, balanced by tons of minerality and integrated tannins, violet flower nose, and tons of earth--leather, truffle, forest floor, it is perhaps most reminiscent of some Gevrey-Chambertin. The acidity cut through the fat of the meal beautifully. The fruit notes mirrored the cherry sauce well, and the rustic, gamy notes worked well with those flavors in the goose. As far as I"m concerned, this was perhaps the best new world wine I've had all year, and one of the best pinot noirs (Some from Bourgogne still eclipse this, but not by that much). The pairing was one of those things that just worked gorgeously--that rare moment where the pairing isn't just good, but where the food and wine really combine to make something far better than the parts alone. I love it when that happens-far too rarely for my personal liking, but what a treat when it does!