Not to be outdone by our coastal brethren, we denizens of Flyover country agreed to gather in memory of our dear colleague SFJoe on a Saturday conducive to us all. Initially a gathering of the Usual Suspects (myself, Nathan Odem, Fillay, Lars Makie and Matt Latuchie), the event took on grander proportions when Josefa Concannon agreed to host it. Josefa and I both had the idea of celebrating Joe's memory by preparing moles, in her case her famous mole Poblano and in my case a mole negro de Oaxaca, a tribute to both Joe and the Mexican city we both loved. Josefa also provided tortillas, rice and beans, and the others agreed to provide meats and assorted other goodies as befits such an occasion.
In my case, events overtook me and I ended up having to prepare my mole the night beforehand, but determination and a profound disregard for sleep led to a successful conclusion and the mole was in hand by the morning of the event. I arrived at Josefa's a bit on the late side to a full house, including not only the aforementioned conspirators but also Mark Lindzy. The party was happening out back, with a few bottles already opened. In the spirit of Joe, I had decided to eschew taking any notes that night and focusing instead on the food, wine, company and the storytelling. Fortunately, Matt was taking notes so I'm cribbing off his CT entry.
On arrival, we had:
??? Ulysse-Collin Champagne - quite nice, though a tad warm when I got to it
2005 Agrapart CHampagne L'Avizoise - Wow, racy, lithe yet structured. Yummy
2002 Luneau-Papin L D'Or - An old friend, still in great shape, classic Muscadet profile though perhaps a bit rounder than I recall
2004 Clos de Briords - An interesting counterpoint to the '02 L D'Or: intensely mineral with still vivid acidity and just a touch of roundness. Really good.
These wines accompanied chips, a delicious guacamole made by Mark and two salsas provided by Josefa and Mark. I couldn't keep my hands off these goodies.
A second round of whites made its way into my glass:
2006 Clos Rougeard Brézé - a bit mute for me with some evident sulfur, but beneath it lies a quite lovely Chenin of fairly big proportions
2012 Huet Le Mont Sec - another superb dry Chenin, light yet rich with a lovely mineral note. Not as appealing as the Clos du Bourg '12 sec that I'd had the week before, but fine in its own right
2014 Puzelat-Bonhomme Vin Rosé - vibrant, fruity rosé of the glou-glou variety. The obligatory Puzelat for this event.
2003 Overnoy/Houillon Pupillin Vieux Savignin Ouillé - Halelujah! An ouillé wine that's not too oxidative for my tastes. Certainly, it's got a nutty, smoky character but also enough citrusy fruit and floral notes to keep it appealing for me
2013?? Dashe Grenache Blanc - a contribution from Mark, and an interesting homage to SFJoe: crisp, restrained and melony.
With these wines, Lars produced a loaf of bread and a wedge of Comté which we proceeded to devour. By this time, we had all told our various "How I met SFJoe" stories and the reminiscing proved to be difficult for several of us still coming to grips with the reality that we'd lost Joe from our lives. Tears were shed, more stories were told, and Mark fired up the grill for the food, all the while recalling the famous SFJoe "Line of Death." Fillay produced a bag of interesting sausages that Mark threw on the grill prior to the pork that Nathan had brought along.
While munching on a selection of grilled sausages, I started in on the reds on offer. I was virtually ordered to begin with the:
1997 Allemand Cornas Chaillot - what more need be said? silky, lush, meaty Syrah
2007 Gonon St. Joseph - quite the contrast with the Allemand, but mostly in terms of its youth. Still primary but showing lots of promise for the future
2002 Clos Rougeard Les Poyeux - great Cab Franc, herbal, leathery but with vibrant fruit
1998 Foillard Côte du Py - gorgeous, floral Gamay, deep yet silky
2005 Overnoy/Houillon Pupillin Poulsard - classic Poulsard profile of strawberry and meat, light yet intense
At this point, the pork was done, so Josefa repaired to the kitchen prepared taco makings. We all filed in and loaded our plates up with rice, beans, warm corn tortillas, grilled pork and the two mole sauces. Ever catholic in my tastes, I went for both (on separate tacos, of course). Josefa's mole Poblano was warm, soft and rich in flavor. My mole negro had a distinctive smoky, roasted flavor offset by the spices and chocolate. Both proved to be great with the food and wine.
As evening turned into night, a few more bottles were opened:
??? Causse Marines Marcillac - Lars, recalling our shared love of Fer Servadou, brought this along, but alas it was slightly corked. Beneath that, however, was a lovely example of Marcillac, a wistful reminder of what was
??? Clos Ouvert Pipeño - a contribution from Josefa, who informs us that it's an LDM import from Chile (who knew?) and a mix of Pinot Noir, Carignan and Cinsault. Funky, red-fruited and light on the palate, it's an interesting counterpoint to my usual skepticism about Chilean wines
2013 Ganevat Madelon Vin de France - Beaujolais from Ganevat; don't think I tasted it
2012 Bellaurd Mondeuse - another wine that I must have missed
At this point, fatigue, food and wine combined to tell me that the end had come. Fortunately for me, Josefa and Mark had kindly offered up a room to stay in, so I unceremoniously collapsed therein and so ended the night.
Chicagoland Disorderlies once again proved their mettle, offering up a splendid array of food and wine, but also providing plenty of conversation that propelled us through the evening. And many thanks to Josefa and Mark for offering up their house for the event, preparing such wonderful foods and for being such all-around wonderful folks. As I noted during the event, SFJoe is able to bring people together for good food and wine even now, a remarkable achievement. Josefa also provided a wonderful epigram from P.G. Wodehouse:
As we grow older and realize more clearly the limitations of human happiness, we come to see that the only real and abiding pleasure in life is to give pleasure to other people.
These words summarize both Joe's lasting influence on us all and the perfect way to remember him as he would want us to.
Mark Lipton
pictures of mole construction:
roasting the chile seeds for the black mole
four purees prior to combination: toasted chile seed, nut, tomatillo and fried chile
assembled mole negro prior to straining
the aftermath
In my case, events overtook me and I ended up having to prepare my mole the night beforehand, but determination and a profound disregard for sleep led to a successful conclusion and the mole was in hand by the morning of the event. I arrived at Josefa's a bit on the late side to a full house, including not only the aforementioned conspirators but also Mark Lindzy. The party was happening out back, with a few bottles already opened. In the spirit of Joe, I had decided to eschew taking any notes that night and focusing instead on the food, wine, company and the storytelling. Fortunately, Matt was taking notes so I'm cribbing off his CT entry.
On arrival, we had:
??? Ulysse-Collin Champagne - quite nice, though a tad warm when I got to it
2005 Agrapart CHampagne L'Avizoise - Wow, racy, lithe yet structured. Yummy
2002 Luneau-Papin L D'Or - An old friend, still in great shape, classic Muscadet profile though perhaps a bit rounder than I recall
2004 Clos de Briords - An interesting counterpoint to the '02 L D'Or: intensely mineral with still vivid acidity and just a touch of roundness. Really good.
These wines accompanied chips, a delicious guacamole made by Mark and two salsas provided by Josefa and Mark. I couldn't keep my hands off these goodies.
A second round of whites made its way into my glass:
2006 Clos Rougeard Brézé - a bit mute for me with some evident sulfur, but beneath it lies a quite lovely Chenin of fairly big proportions
2012 Huet Le Mont Sec - another superb dry Chenin, light yet rich with a lovely mineral note. Not as appealing as the Clos du Bourg '12 sec that I'd had the week before, but fine in its own right
2014 Puzelat-Bonhomme Vin Rosé - vibrant, fruity rosé of the glou-glou variety. The obligatory Puzelat for this event.
2003 Overnoy/Houillon Pupillin Vieux Savignin Ouillé - Halelujah! An ouillé wine that's not too oxidative for my tastes. Certainly, it's got a nutty, smoky character but also enough citrusy fruit and floral notes to keep it appealing for me
2013?? Dashe Grenache Blanc - a contribution from Mark, and an interesting homage to SFJoe: crisp, restrained and melony.
With these wines, Lars produced a loaf of bread and a wedge of Comté which we proceeded to devour. By this time, we had all told our various "How I met SFJoe" stories and the reminiscing proved to be difficult for several of us still coming to grips with the reality that we'd lost Joe from our lives. Tears were shed, more stories were told, and Mark fired up the grill for the food, all the while recalling the famous SFJoe "Line of Death." Fillay produced a bag of interesting sausages that Mark threw on the grill prior to the pork that Nathan had brought along.
While munching on a selection of grilled sausages, I started in on the reds on offer. I was virtually ordered to begin with the:
1997 Allemand Cornas Chaillot - what more need be said? silky, lush, meaty Syrah
2007 Gonon St. Joseph - quite the contrast with the Allemand, but mostly in terms of its youth. Still primary but showing lots of promise for the future
2002 Clos Rougeard Les Poyeux - great Cab Franc, herbal, leathery but with vibrant fruit
1998 Foillard Côte du Py - gorgeous, floral Gamay, deep yet silky
2005 Overnoy/Houillon Pupillin Poulsard - classic Poulsard profile of strawberry and meat, light yet intense
At this point, the pork was done, so Josefa repaired to the kitchen prepared taco makings. We all filed in and loaded our plates up with rice, beans, warm corn tortillas, grilled pork and the two mole sauces. Ever catholic in my tastes, I went for both (on separate tacos, of course). Josefa's mole Poblano was warm, soft and rich in flavor. My mole negro had a distinctive smoky, roasted flavor offset by the spices and chocolate. Both proved to be great with the food and wine.
As evening turned into night, a few more bottles were opened:
??? Causse Marines Marcillac - Lars, recalling our shared love of Fer Servadou, brought this along, but alas it was slightly corked. Beneath that, however, was a lovely example of Marcillac, a wistful reminder of what was
??? Clos Ouvert Pipeño - a contribution from Josefa, who informs us that it's an LDM import from Chile (who knew?) and a mix of Pinot Noir, Carignan and Cinsault. Funky, red-fruited and light on the palate, it's an interesting counterpoint to my usual skepticism about Chilean wines
2013 Ganevat Madelon Vin de France - Beaujolais from Ganevat; don't think I tasted it
2012 Bellaurd Mondeuse - another wine that I must have missed
At this point, fatigue, food and wine combined to tell me that the end had come. Fortunately for me, Josefa and Mark had kindly offered up a room to stay in, so I unceremoniously collapsed therein and so ended the night.
Chicagoland Disorderlies once again proved their mettle, offering up a splendid array of food and wine, but also providing plenty of conversation that propelled us through the evening. And many thanks to Josefa and Mark for offering up their house for the event, preparing such wonderful foods and for being such all-around wonderful folks. As I noted during the event, SFJoe is able to bring people together for good food and wine even now, a remarkable achievement. Josefa also provided a wonderful epigram from P.G. Wodehouse:
As we grow older and realize more clearly the limitations of human happiness, we come to see that the only real and abiding pleasure in life is to give pleasure to other people.
These words summarize both Joe's lasting influence on us all and the perfect way to remember him as he would want us to.
Mark Lipton
pictures of mole construction:
roasting the chile seeds for the black mole
four purees prior to combination: toasted chile seed, nut, tomatillo and fried chile
assembled mole negro prior to straining
the aftermath