I hope the WSJ Doesn't have a Trademark on its Off Duty Section
Because this is my first off duty post.
When I’m not teaching or writing about corporate law and governance, two of my favorites hobbies are cooking and wine collecting. I actually have my very own (unpublished as yet) cookbook, which you can download for free.
Friday night, even though Lent is over, I made fish; specifically, I made Creamy Fish With Mushrooms and Bacon this weekend, but with pancetta instead of bacon. I added some zoodles. Paired it with a lightly chilled Ridge Vineyards 2022 Frediani Ranch. Great meal. Great match. The tomatoes, mushrooms, and pancetta combined to make the dish quite red wine friendly. The Fredani Ranch is a blend of Valdiguie, Charbono, and Petite Sirah. Light bodied, bright, berry flavors.
Saturday night, I turned to my new air fryer. (Yes, I'm a little late to the party.) It's an Instant Vortex 6 quart. Easy to use. Easy to clean. Works great. I started using it with fries and so on. Saturday was the first time I used it to make a whole meal.
Specifically, Air-Fryer Mustard-Thyme Lamb Chops with Roasted Carrots from America Test Kitchen's Ultimate Air Fryer Perfection cookbook. It was a success. The lamb was medium rare and the carrots were tender with a slight char.
We drank a 2016 Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. It's good, but needs more time in the cellar to become truly great. The oak and the tannins need to integrate more fully to let the fruit show better. But you can tell there's some good currant, plum, black cherry fruit in there waiting to show.