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Bay Area Bites Update: Man, did I have fun with Slanted Door's new make-at-home-dinners or what? Long time readers and friends over at Television Without Pity might have an inkling of how much I simply adore Bonny Doon wines. After several years of some serious sampling, I've yet to quaff a bottle I didn't like. Last year, some friends flew in from Boston and we visited the tasting rooms in Santa Cruz -- we were en route to the Mystery Spot and the Boardwalk to reenact scenes from The Lost Boys, so you can guess what sort of mood (MICHAEL!) we were already in -- and it was there I first tasted Framboise. But soft, what juice from yonder glass imparts? It is the Doon and nectar from the West. Seriously, it's that good. Now, our lovely wine pourer at Bonny Doon just gave us a tiny taste of the precious vintage, served up in a minute dark chocolate cup, but that fat drop was all we needed. Once we crunched through that brittle chocolate casing we found an even sweeter delight in the raspberry-infused wine that lolled on our tongues and slipped down our throats. I wanted more. I didn't get more until I gathered my intime around me to celebrate yet mourn the death of Enterprise. Yes, I did a fair amount of celebrating on that score. Shut up. Anyway, Framboise with Molten Chocolate Cake is lovely and it's amazing over vanilla ice cream, but I had additional plans for this slim bottle of decadence. Enter the Kir Framboyal. Or something. All you need is cheap bubbly (the black Freixenet bottle does quite well, we've found), some glasses, and the precious, Victoria's Secret-bedecked Framboise. Pour about 1 oz. Framboise into an elegant, stemmed glass, top it off with Chilled Cheap Champfaux, and imagine you're sitting at a chic Parisian cafe as the summer sun filters through the ruby light of your glass, washing your cheeks with a virginal blush as old as time. Ew -- that prose is so purple it's almost black! Okay, so just imagine you're on your couch with a good book, movie, food, or friends and enjoy whatever season you're currently enjoying. I for one decided to enjoy it thusly.
Start by toasting two slices of sourdough bread, and while they're still hot, rub them with a cut clove of garlic. Next, take a ripe tomato in two hands and stick your thumbs in the tomato's bottom. Break the tomato open, hold it over the toasted and garlic-rubbed bread, and let juice and flesh fall. Sprinkle liberally with coarse salt and black pepper. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons young extra-virgin olive oil over the two pieces of bread and top with slices of prosciutto and minced fresh oregano. Back on my Bonny Doon bent -- I've been notified that they're coming out with their own sparkling wine, Il Circo 2004 Moscato d’Asti “Il Giocoliere." I'm nuts with excitement. NUTS I tell you!
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