Like most of us this year, our Thanksgiving plans were curtailed by Covid concerns. Michele had been planning a non-traditional yet all-American menu, but when friends decided not to join us for health reasons, the elaborate menu no longer made sense. She simplified the menu to suit just four diners.
It was just last week that I wrote that we rarely eat steak at home. But having enjoyed that one, we decided it would be a good choice for our main course for four.
The Wines
We started with Selosse Initial Blanc de Blancs, a classic Avize Brut. The soil is chalky marls. There is a long aging in bottle before and after disgorgement. It is an assemblage of three successive vintages from lower slope sites. It is released an average of five years after the most recent harvest in the blend. The dosage is 5g/l. Disgorged Oct. 2008. This is a complex Champagne with hints of melons, dried citrus fruits and a touch of white flowers and brioche. The role oxygen plays is very important and all of the Selosse wines have the trademark oxidation which adds more complexity to the wine. A few weeks ago at a friend’s home I attended a Zoom tasting of the wines of Anselme and Guillaume Selosse. I enjoyed the wines and was happy to taste one of them again.
After a stormy start, Thanksgiving afternoon was sunny and bright and we were able to begin our celebration with a festive toast outdoors on our terrace. To go with the Champagne we had warm gougeres, parmesan cheese puffs.
Fiorano Bianco Vino da Tavola 1980 Azienda Agricola Boncompagni made from 100% Semillon. My favorite red wine may just be the Fiorano Rosso (those produced before 1996). The Bianco I always had trouble with and this bottle, while drinkable, was not showing very well.
Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 1990 Edoardo Valentini made from 100% Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. This is a great white wine but this bottle was showing its age and seemed to have off aromas and flavors.
Meursalt-1990 “Perrieres” Pierre Matrot made from 100% Chardonnay. I do not know how this wine was produced since the winery changed its way of making wine in 2000. This is a full-bodied white wine with hints of peach, apricot and a touch of honey. It has a wonderful finish and a long aftertaste.
The Table
Our first course was a chestnut soup with whipped cream and grappa, a recipe from Chef Fabio Trabocchi. Because it was so rich and flavorful, Michele served it in small cups. We would definitely enjoy having this soup again.
Mazia-Chambertin 1990 Domaine Maume made from 100% Pinot Noir from 75-year-old vines. The vineyard is .64 ha and the soil is clay limestone. There is a separate vinification of individual parcels. The clusters are 100% de-stemmed. The wine is aged for 18 to 20 months in mostly older barrels and bottled without fining or filtration. This wine was not ready to drink. It was too young and more thean half the bottle was left. Michele and I drank it for lunch the next day and it was wonderful.
Michele’s original menu included a prime rib roast, but with just two guests, she downsized the menu to two thick Angus beef strip loin steaks. With them we had roasted carrots and brussels sprouts, as well as extra-buttery mashed potatoes.
Chianti Classico 1970 Fattoria Santa Cristina- L& P Antinori. I believe the grapes were Sangiovese, with some Cannaiolo, and a small amount of white grapes, most likely Trebbiano. The wine had great color and was drinking like traditional Chianti, with hints of red fruit, cherries, blueberries, leather and a touch of violets. We all agreed it was a wonderful wine and was the wine of the evening.
Cheese course consisted of La Tur, Alta Badia and Sardinian pecorino.
Rather than pie, Michele made 3 Fruit Crisp, with apples, pears and cranberries, baked under a crunchy oatmeal and brown sugar topping. The tangy fruit was complemented by the pumpkin pie and 4 flavors of ice cream supplied by our guests.
Dessert ready to be served
Chianti Classico 1960 Villa Antinori made from Sangiovese with Cannaiolo and Colorino and the white grapes Trebbiano and Malvasia. They may have also used the governo method (drying 10% of the grapes). The wine was showing its age and was not drinking well.
We finished, as always, with espresso and grappa.
To go with the wine, some smoked salmon
Smoked salmon with cream cheese on pumpernickel
Steak in the frying pan
Michele had some organic chicken livers and sauteed them with shallots. She mashed them onto crostini and drizzled on a little balsamic vinegar.
The pasta was made with guanciale, dried porcini mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes topped with grated pecorino.
Pasta in the plate. This is a deeply flavorful sauce that was perfect with the wine.
The plate 
Brunello di Mantalcino 1999 Lisini made from 100% Sangiovese from the estate’s massal selection. The vineyards are at 300 to 350 meters. Vinification is in glass-lined cement tanks with skin contact for 20 to 26 days. The wine is aged in 20 – 52 HL casks for 42 months, followed by 6 to 8 months in bottle before release. This is an elegant wine with hints of red and black fruit, tobacco, violets with a very pleasing finish and long after taste. The wine was drinking very well and was a perfect combination with the food.
Dessert was the Torta Sbrisolona, basically a giant buttery cookie filled and topped with almonds. To eat it, you just break off a piece.
Vinsanto del Chianti Classico 2008 Meleto made from Sangovese, Malvasia Nera and Trebbiano Toscano. Fermentation and maturation takes place in sealed carati, traditional small barrels, of acacia and cherry wood and kept in rooms with great seasonal variations in temperature. The carati are only filled to 70% and aging lasts for 4 to 5 years. This is a deeply flavored dessert wine with hints of dried fruit, honey and apricot with a touch of spice. It seemed as if the dessert and the wine were made for each other.
It was a chilly night so I was very happy to have dinner by the fireplace.
We started with a rabbit pate and cornichons from a local cheese shop.
There were also fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto.
For the main course there were slow cooked lamb shanks with white beans and gremolata, a recipe from Michele’s book, 
Rosso del Conte 1981 Tasca d’ Almerita Nero d’Avola 90% and 10% Perricone. Production area Palermo, Sicily. The soil is fine clay slightly calcareous. It is at 650 meters with a south-west exposure. The training system is bush and espalier, with short spur pruning. There are 4,000 vines per hectare and the harvest is in October. Traditional red wine fermentation in stainless steel and maceration for 25 days. The wine is aged in large chestnut casks and then 6 months in bottle before release. This is a very impressive wine with hints of cherries dried red fruit. herbs and a touch spice and tobacco.
And a cheese selection, including a perfect Vacherin
A goat cheese, and a blue.
Chateauneuf du Pape “Vignobles de la Lerriere” 2006 Beauchene made from 65% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre. The terroir is a mix of galets and sandy soil. The wine is aged for 12 months in used French oak barriques. This is a medium bodied soft round wine with ripe red fruit flavors hints of raspberries and red cherries and a touch of spice. The wine has a nice aftertaste and a long finish. It was a pleasure to drink
Dessert wasn’t really necessary, but Michele had brought some freshly made Biscotti Regina, Sicilian sesame cookies, so that we could finish the meal on a sweet note.
Lunch in the garden
An entire wheel of Tuscan Pecorino cheese inspired the first course.
Pecorino Cheese cut
Barbera d’ Asti “Vigna Noce” 2010 Antica Azienda Agricola Trinchero The winery belongs to the Triple “A” Agriculture Artisans Artists, an association of wine producers from around the world that believes in Organic and Bio-Dynamic production, terroir and as little interference as possible by the winemaker. Only natural yeast is used, there is no acidification of the wine, and clarification and filtration does not take place. Chemical treatments are not used in the vineyards; copper and sulfur are used but only when it is really necessary. The wine is aged for 7 years in large chestnut barrels. This is a traditional, classic Barbera. The winery is strictly organic. This is a full-bodied robust wine with hints of cherries, plum, and leather, balsamic touches and a note of smoke. This is a very impressive Barbera that will last for at least another 15 years. I had the 1999 recently and it was in perfect condition.
Michele made sausage ragu which she tossed with mezzi rigatoni, grated pecorino and arugula.
Pasta in the dish
Barolo 1998 “Bricco Francesco” Rocche Dell’Annunziata Rocche Costamagna made from 100% Nebbiolo from the Rocche dell’Annunziata vineyard one of the historic crus of La Mora. The soil is calcareous-clayey and there are 4,800 vines per hectare Traditional vivification wit a maceration that lasts for about two weeks. The wine is aged for 24 months in 30 hl Slavonian oak barrels and the at least one year in bottle before release. This is an elegant Barolo with hints of raspberry, violets and a touch of spice.
The last of Michele’s precious stash of Piemontese hazelnuts went into making these brutti ma buoni, ugly but good cookies. Not very ugly, but very very good.
A guest brought ice cream from a local shop which went great with the cookies. The flavors were rum raisin and dark chocolate.
The weather on Saturday afternoon was perfect and we had the first course of our lunch sitting on the deck overlooking his garden with the trees changing into beautiful colors. 
We had a French sparkling wine made with the Champagne method. Domaine Rolet Pere et Fils “Cremant Du Jura” NV made from 57% Chardonnay, 16% Savagnin, 16% Poulsard and 11% Pinot Noir from 20 year old vines at 280 to 380 meters. The soil is gray marl and there are two meters of topsoil before hitting mother rock. Only indigenous yeast is used. Fermentation and aging is in tanks. The wine remains on the lees for 24 months. It is medium bodied, dry with good minerality, hints of citrus fruit, yeasty notes and a touch of white flowers.
Sauteed Potatoes were the accompaniment.
The plate
We roasted some fresh chestnuts for our dessert.
And followed them with Brutti ma Buoni, Ugly but Good Cookies, made with excellent hazelnuts Michele had bought on our last trip to Rome. 
Michele made Ricotta Gnocchi with a simple tomato sauce from her book, 
Chicken with Red Wine, Olives and Herbs ready to be served
On the plate
We started as usual with Champagne. Gosset Champagne Brut Excellence made from 24% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 19% Pinot Meunier from Ay-Chapmpagne, Chigny-les-Roses, Courmas, Cumieres, Avize, Cuis and Trepail. There is 100% malolactic fermentation. The wine spends 30 months in the cellar before it is disgorged. Dosage for the Brut is11g/L. It has hints of apricots, peaches, dried fruit and a touch of brioche.
Fiano di Avellino “Vignadora 1986 Mastrobeardino made from 100% Fiano di Avellino I believe the wine was fermented in cement tanks and aged in large chestnut oak casks. The wine was showing its age and had lost most of its fruit. It was still drinkable with a note of almonds in the finish.
Polpettone, a large meatloaf made with beef, pork and veal, plus prosciutto, salami and provolone in the mixture, stuffed with hardcooked eggs. This was a special occasion dish when Michele was growing up.
The plate
Taurasi “Radici” 1997 Mastroberardino made from 100% Aglianico. The vineyards for Taurasi “Radici” are located on two hills, Mirabella vineyard at 500 meters and the Montemarano vineyard at 550 meters. Because of its position on the hill and its altitude, the temperature at the Montemarano vineyard was much colder and the grapes are picked a little later. Harvest is from the end of October into the beginning of November. The vinification is the classic one for red wine, long maceration with skin contact at controlled temperatures. The wine is aged for 24 months in French barriques and Slovenian oak barrels and remains in the bottle for 24 months before release. The barriques were second and third passage. This is a wine with hints of black cherry, plum, spice and a touch of leather.
Monte di Grazia Rosso 2011 The wine is made from 90% Tintore di Tramonti from very old ungrafted vines and 10% Piedirosso. The Tintore di Tramonti grows almost exclusively in the Monte Lattari Valley. The grape is harvested at the end of September, which makes it an early ripener for this area. This indigenous red grape variety belongs to the Tienturier family. Tienturier means dyed or stained in French. The flesh and the juice of these grapes are red in color. The anthocyanin pigments accumulate in the grape berry itself. The free run juice is therefore red.
For dessert, we had individual apple tarts with whipped cream. Michele served the tarts on plates from our collection from the Unione Ristoranti Buon Ricordo, a sort of dining club centered in Italy. Over the years, we have collected about a hundred of them. 