It was time for a #WWWSI night for the first time in over three weeks. The truth is, what with the pubs reopen and the British Real Ale Pub Adventure back on the agenda, meeting my friends on a Tuesday, and drinks with Dad on a Thursday, I simply don't have the capacity for red wine, as juicy & fruity (or is that Ribena?) as it might be! I need 'down days'.
This week though, Dad was off on his jollies in rural Cornwall instead.......
..... so a window of Wine, Western & Wotsit opportunity opened up on Thursday evening.
After work, I had a power nap and then did the dice rolls. 4 bags of wotsits, about the maximum I want to roll (5 or 6 packs make me feel ill!) ......
The next wine on my alphabetical list was Cabernet Sauvignon, probably the most famous red wine grape out there!
I could even buy it cheap from Sainsburys. Oh yes, the newly found wine snob in me was half embarrassed! I went for a wine called 'Elegant Frog' by 'Arrogant Frog' , cos I liked the bottle design and it is nice when French people laugh at themselves.
I'd effed up a bit though, as you can see from the bottle, this was a 'blend' with Malbec. Uh oh, is that allowed? Not sure what the #WWWSI rules are in such circs.
Food-wise, I did what my book said and went with steak, which I think is probably the traditional 'pairing' food for Cab Sauv, and wow, for once, this pairing malarkey actually seemed to work!
You could count the number of times I've eaten steak as an adult on one hand. My distrust of it goes back to childhood, when as a Saffron Walden twild in the mid-late 80's, on Saturday evenings, I was sat in front of terrible Doctor Who with a tough steak and a pack of Mint Poppets which set off my nut allergy. All three parts of the sum were terrible!
However, I now work with 'steak' aficionados, most notably #WWWSI followers Emily Keith & Ben Morris. They told me to buy a fillet steak, and do it for 3 minutes each side, getting it to room temperature before, massaging in a bit of oil, salt and pepper, bit of butter in the pan. Serve with chunky chips and peppercorn sauce. Ben even sent me a Gordon Ramsey video link to watch! Medium rare, I now know 'well done' was never right for me. I hate chewing anyway.
Such an utter triumph it was, I simply sat there in total silence (not even starting the film), just savouring every mouthful. My vegan sister would've been horrified. The wine was smooth, vanilla-esque and slipped down far too easily, and suddenly I realised why this is popular and your Bogazkere's of this world are largely unheard of.
The late film start was a mistake when you see I rolled for film #12 on my list, Giant (1956) which lasts 3 hours 17 minutes, making it an overly long-winded epic. I had work the next day, it didn't finish tell about 11:30pm, I was seriously flagging by the end not to mention clock-watching!
Based on a novel by Edna Ferber, it is set across different generations. Liz Taylor is supposed to marry this English bloke, but falls in love with the very non-gay Rock Hudson over dinner and runs off with him instead to Texas, and is upset how mean people are to the Mexicans.
The also very non-gay James Dean plays a surly ranch hand, mumbling his way through every scene but we have to say nice things about him cos he died in a car crash shortly after filming had completed. He gets given some land in a will from Rock's sister (Mercedes McCambridge) who dies deservedly cos she winds up this horse. Jimmy builds himself up to be this oil baron tycoon. Rock and he never get on.
The film handles the ageing aspect by giving Rock and Liz grey hair dye, though they never get any wrinkles. James Dean just wears heavier and heavier disguises!
In the end, James Dean becomes a bit of a drunken fool having once been the one you are rooting for, and they all marry into Mexican families so become tolerant of skin colour, and Rock gets beaten up at a Drive Thru MaccyD's or something for challenging the racist owner (not Ronald McDonald). I'd lost interest by then really.
On the good side, such was the length of Giant, I digested my steak n chips and managed my four packs of Wotsits with ease, not to mention the bottle of wine and about a gallon of water to ward off any potential hangover (NB : I still had one).
It wasn't a bad film, just excessive. But number 12 on the list, no way Jose!
I'll be back in a fortnight because I have a holiday from work so have a bit more free time. Shanghai Noon is the film, lowest fan approval rating yet so will be interesting to see how it fares.
I'll leave you with a highlight from my weekend, I saw a man leaving Tesco Express in Kettering with a six pack of Wotsits and a cabbage ......
What a legend!
See you all in two weeks time.
Si