It was our turn to host the Wine
Tribe Dinner, so I pondered long and hard, and decided to fall back on food from
our last vacation . . . Playa Del Carmen. I came up with three tacos I’d had in
various parts of Mexico; a Basil Shrimp Taco, a Chicken Fajita Taco and a Pork
Carnita Taco.
For our wine competition we had
the idea to have them blend their own from at least two different bottles. It
was harder than you’d think!
Appetizer:
I started with a California-Mexican
favorite; Guacamole and Tortilla Chips.
Next I did an “every town in
Mexico” favorite; Mango, Papaya, and Cantaloupe sprinkled with Chili Powder.
Salad:
The salad is popular along the
border (I purchased from the local Mexican tienda); Spicy Pickled Veggies. A must
at any taquería.
Dinner:
No photo of my favorite . . . the
Caribbean Coast classic; Shrimp Tacos with fresh basil and sliced endive.
Another general all-over-Mexico
taco; Fajita spiced Chicken, sliced Peppers Duros, and melted cheese.
For the last taco I went to
central Mexico; The classic Pork Carnitas with an added twist of chunks of
Butternut Squash.
Dessert:
Dessert was simple with different
bars of Dark Chocolate, the most unusual being the Tabasco Dark Chocolate. It
was very good actually. World Market carries it.
Wine:
Dan and Denise took home the
coveted medallion. They combined Crankcase with Bella Piazza Reserve Port.
We came in second with a purposefully
odd combo of Apothic Red with a bit of Hatcher Voignier.
Mark and Melissa mixed two Bjorn
wines; Barbera, and a Zinfandel Reserva.
The next day we went wine tasting
and met the new puppy at Hatcher Winery. That evening we all chipped in and chowed
on pasta salad, corn soufflé, and BBQ pork ribs, followed by poor man’s
strawberry short cake. The wine didn’t go to waste J
