Wonderful Barbera

[Innkeeper]

Real winner tonight. 1997 Giuseppe Mascarello, Barbera d'Alba, "Santo Sefano di Perno", Piedmont ($15.99 Wine Expo). A huge barbera (14.5% alcohol) with a touch of oak, but still had enough acid to mate will with leftover meatballs in tomato sauce with Keto (lo-carb) pasta, covered with grated hard imported Provolone; and salad. Had enough pizazz to marry with a Bistecca alla Pizzalola.

[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 01-31-2001).]

[ddf68]

Good to hear it. I bought four bottles of that and haven't gotten around to trying one yet.

ddf

[Innkeeper]

BISTECCA ALLA PIZZAIOLA:

The Steak:

1 Medium onion chopped
1 tsp Crushed garlic
2 tbl Olive oil
4 Individual chuck fillet steaks, 1 inch thick
28 oz can Crushed (ground) tomatoes
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1/4 tsp Crushed red pepper
1 tbl Dry oregano
Large, covered skillet

The Polenta:

2 C Water
1 C Polenta (cornmeal)
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbl Butter
Loaf pan

In skillet, saute' onion and garlic in oil for three minutes. Add steaks and brown for two minutes on each side. Add tomatoes, salt, black and red pepper, and oregano. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover skillet, and simmer slowly until meat is tender; 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

In a saucepan, boil water and add polenta, stirring rapidly. Cook until it looks like grandma's porridge. Stir in salt and butter. Pour into greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool and cut into 1/2 inch slices.

Serve the steak and polenta with salad and the barbera.

[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 02-03-2001).]

[Drew]

IK, sounds GREAT! Thanks for the recipe.

Drew

[caci74]

Has anyone tried the latest barbera/dolcetto
blend by Paolo Scavino? I'ts incredible!

[Innkeeper]

Will look for the Paolo Scavino. Had the Bistecca Alla Pizzaiola tonight with a few mods. Got an eye of round and cut it into one inch slices. Browned the onion and beef slices as directed. Mixed the other ingredients together and added beef, onions, and tomato sauce to slow pot; and cooked all day. Added a half cup grated imported Provolone to the polenta. Had it with veggies, and sauce poured over the sliced polenta. Matched all this with a bottle of 1997 Picchioni Buttafuoco, Oltrepo Pavese DOC ($15.99 from Wine Expo). This is a blend of barbera, vespolina, and croatina. It had plenty of acid to carry the tomato, and enough pizzaz to carry the beef. It was a big wine, despite Roberto's description of medium body. At 14% alcohol, it's a little bigger than medium. Regardless, the wine married wonderfully with this meal, and would recommend to to all.