Saved By The Belle

In an effort to make this evening's meal easier on me, Christine and her Mom bought some fresh porcini ravioli at a local place. I was partly relieved, and partly sort of wished that I could have made them myself. Having said that, it's a busy week for me and was grateful to put the extra time to good use. For a sauce, I took the rest of the crème fraîche and poured in about half a bottle of Champagne left from the party then let it reduce. After it got thick again, I stirred in a knob of butter. I had picked both a salad and some Tuscan kale, so I wilted the shredded kale in olive oil and garlic and dressed it with lemon. The pasta got finished with parmesan, pepper, garlic chives and truffle oil.

Brooklynguy's blog reminded me about Vieux Pressoir's sparkling Saumur rosé, so we began with that (it's a terrific aperitif, and there was one in the fridge) and then to keep everything thematically consistent moved on to a 2006 Thierry Germain Saumur Champigny. I don't know what it cost, since someone left it here on Saturday, but it's unremarkable; given some time the tannins might soften up into something interesting but my guess is not so much. Perfectly good with the thrice-dairy sauce and ravioli, though. I can't say enough good things about Champagne reductions; they're by definition decadent luxuries, but if you ever have any left after a party, save it and reduce it with a little butter or cream. It's genius with lobster, or pasta like this, and has a complex, almost lemony tang that you just can't get any other way.