Tasting tempranillo.
The only good thing about my impending exams is that I can use them to get out of virtually any school-related task I don't feel like doing. "Ah, I would.... but I have my exams...." is all I have to say, and everyone takes back whatever request they had just made of me. They're like my get out of jail free card. But I won't miss them when they're done. Not at all.
And it's not like I've been studying, either. Hah! There's only so much reading you can do. And I'm (probably unwisely) about to jet out of town to go to Boston/Vermont for the weekend, where a friend is getting married and where I am sure it is butt-freezing cold. To bring my fur coat or not? If only my life consisted of such trivial decisions all the time. It would be so much easier.
But hey, I'm pretty much going to be drunk all weekend. (Doesn't hurt that the reception for the wedding starts at 3pm.) And if there's a better way to prepare for my exams, I don't wanna know about it.
Oh! Yeah! And I had another wine tasting party last week. These things are fun. Since the theme was tempranillos, I accordingly made a Spanish-themed meal, with this super-easy tomato paella recipe that's already been touted 'round the internets for its amazing simplicity. (Personally, I think the dish needed a little extra salt, but I was just getting over a cold and nobody else thought so, so perhaps it doesn't).
There were also two different tortillas españolas - one, the traditional simple egg-onion-potato one, the other a fancier version with mushrooms, caramelized onions, and truffle oil. One is also a lot prettier than the other because gosh, it's hard to flip those things. Hint: Leave it to cook a lot longer in the pan than the recipe says, otherwise you end up with an utter mess.
The winning wine this round was a Viña Santurnia Reserva 2001. It's mostly tempranillo, with some mazuelo and graciano blended in. It was lovely and smooth, and it comes wrapped in some thin gold cord. You can't beat it for style.
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