Day #12 – Australia (PART 1 OF 3 – POST 1 OF 2) – Shrimp on the Barbie, Shiraz, SHARING…..and OPPOSITES!
Those who know me well, know that I’m not very good at sharing. I must have fallen asleep in Kindergarten during that lesson. Actually, I probably shared my toys as a child, but as I’ve gotten older, I found that I don’t really care much for sharing my toys…….wine, food, money, friends, secrets, Blueberry Streusel Muffins…etc. Today, our first day in Australia, was different. Since Australia is opposite of North America and has opposite seasons, we thought it would be apropos to do the opposite of our normal wine tasting/food pairing get together. Step 1 – We extended an invite to 2 MALES (on GIRLS Day In). Step 2 – We actually left the living room and ventured out into the world after our 3 course meal. Step 3 – We did not watch BAD reality television. STEP 4 – We have TWO blog posts for Australia….one from me AND one from Lexi. (PS – Step 3 was challenging!) Enjoy!
What we drank and what we ate:
Wine #1 – Yalumba Shiraz Viognier Barossa Valley 2006 – $12.99 at The Wine House
Wine #2 – d’Arenberg Shiraz The Stump Jump 2008 – $8.99 at The Wine House
Wine #3 – Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz 2006 – $10.99 at The Wine House
Wine #4 – Rosemount Estate; Syrah/Shiraz 2008 – $6.99 at The Wine House
For our first course, we had the obvious choice, Shrimp on the Barbie. I actually cooked the shrimp on the grill, all by myself. I realize that’s not a tremendous feat, but I’ve never cooked a single thing on the outdoor gas grill. It was a little scary and the shrimp (while flavorful) could have been cooked a TAD less, but I’m glad I did it. We also made Australian Meat Pie. We made four individual pies, one for each of us, which means…………no over indulgence in Course #1?? WOW!! That’s a first for us. Usually we’re busting at the seams, but for once, we actually practiced portion control. AND thank GOD there were only enough pies for 1 serving each because they were YUMMY! There’s not much to these pies… it’s pretty much just ground beef filling, with a pie crust base and phyllo dough topping….plus a few other basic ingredients. SO TASTY!! With this course, we opened up the Yalumba Shiraz/Viognier and the Stump Jump. The Yalumba had intense, delicious berry flavors. It was very smooth, yet a nice big red. The Stump Jump was very silky, with berry and plum notes. It was slightly peppery, but not too overwhelming at all. The first 2 wines were a success!!
For our second course, we had Aussie Burgers, Potato Wedges (triangles, circles, rectangles…or whatever shape Lexi felt like making) and a Patio Salad. This course was amazing and STRANGE. As we were assembling the ingredients to the Patio Salad…. Kidney beans, RELISH, cheddar cheese, sour cream, hard boiled eggs…etc, I couldn’t help but think EWWWWWWW! All of the flavors really came together and this salad was really good! The ODD shaped Potato Wedges were fantastic. Lexi couldn’t wrap her head around what a “WEDGE” was. She began cutting the potatoes and almost immediately started mischievously giggling. She held up a big fat triangle shaped potato with a rounded edge. I flashed a look of bewilderment, as I couldn’t figure out how she even cut the potato to look that way. SO, let’s just say the outcome was NON-wedge like potatoes that we baked with just a little olive oil, then sprinkled with salt when they came out of the oven. This couldn’t be a simpler side dish, but they were SO FREAKING GOOD, regardless of their many shapes! Lastly……..the Aussie Burger….NO, they were not made with Kangaroo meat. These were made with extra lean ground beef, chopped onion and seasoning…….but the best part was the burger toppings. Hold onto your seat…….. cheddar cheese, bacon, sautéed onions, lettuce, tomato, pineapple slices and PICKLED BEETS! Never in a BAZILLION years would I have considered putting a BEET AND A PINEAPPLE SLICE on a burger, but we had to do it………and the result, UNBELIEVEABLE. This burger was heavenly! I would absolutely put a beet and pineapple on my burger again. With this course, we opened up the Jacob’s Creek Shiraz. Overall, this wine was WAY less fruity than the first two. It was more peppery and spicy as well. Lexi didn’t like this one as much. I thought it was good, but not as good as the Yalumba and Stump Jump.
Our final course was dessert… Kiwi Berry Pavlova. Unlike our previous weeks, this was a very light dessert. The base was a meringue with a marmalade/sour cream sauce and fresh strawberry & kiwi topping. This was absolutely heavenly. It was sweet, yet very light and fluffy. The LAST wine we opened was the Rosemount Shiraz. This was not that great. It was entirely too dry for us. It wasn’t very easy to drink, which might explain why we still have ¾’s of a bottle left. WELL, at least it was only $6.99. I can find a bright side to pretty much everything.
Our food for the week was NOT very opposite of the norm. We’re having the yummy Tex Mex Casserole again and BLUEBERRY STREUSEL MUFFINS. Once again, we threatened to punch each other in the face and steal each other’s muffins. I’m not exactly sure why we always resort to violence when it comes to food, but since we have yet to actually punch each other, we’re still in good shape.
As I mentioned earlier, we actually ventured out into the world instead of watching reality TV on my couch. We rode the cruisers down to the Promenade for a 5:15 movie…. Hot Tub Time Machine. I’m partially biased, but I loved this film. YEAH, I worked on it, but even after 7 times, I laughed my ass off. Rob Corddry is my new BFF…sorry Lexi!
All in all, I’d say Australia is off to really great start. We have 2 more weeks left to explore the land down under. The theme of OPPOSITES will ring true for all 3 of these weeks. Next week, however, we’re adding an extra special twist. We’re taking the show on the road to VEGAS!! No three course meal, no Santa Monica living room, no bad reality TV……instead, we’re looking at even MORE sharing and a whole hell of a lot more fun venturing out into the craziness that is THE LAS VEGAS STRIP. Look out Vegas, here we come…. and we’re bringing Australia with us.
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