This was an unusual and intriguing dinner, built around a gift from my friend E of the Grand Food Experiment. She brought the peppers that she says have been obsessing her – called padron (pah DRONE) – and a wine from Vintage Berkeley that they recommended to go with the peppers.
Per E’s suggestion, I lightly grilled the peppers, to soften but not blacken them. The wine and peppers were a great combination and we really enjoyed them! We also thought the peppers went especially well with the Columbus sausage that D had bought awhile ago.
He suggested the sausage, and also Picholine olives (from Cheese Board), and I added in a cheese he’d bought at the Bowl – a Blue Fromager d’Affinois, which was interesting. This was also the first time we’d used the cool little spreaders with wine-cork-shaped handles – a gift from Chef A, also of the Grand Food Experiment – and most of the Tunisian painted dishes I bought recently at the Spanish Table. What a fun dinner!
Here is the wine – it was a very beautiful light copper colored Italian rose:
