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Pistachio-Armagnac Sabayon with Strawberries and Meringues #Winophiles


Here we are at the July 2017 event for The French Winophiles, a wine-swilling, food-loving group started by Christy of Confessions of a Culinary Diva and, now, jointly coordinated by Jill of L'occasion and Jeff of Food Wine Click. This month, Jeff has us heading, virtually, to Southwest France. Here's Jeff's invitation: here.

If you are reading this early enough, we'll be chatting on Saturday, July 15th at 11am EDT. Join us on Twitter using the hashtag #Winophiles. Or come check out the stream later and try to join us next month.

To the Southwest of France...

We're referring to the region that's inland and south from the Bordeaux and Saint Emilion regions, Marcillac is a small area, but the area vineyards of Cahors, Gaillac and Bergerac are extensive and best known for their reds. The Cahors area produces some of the richest and darkest red wines in France, primarily using the Malbec grape variety, sometimes referred to as "black wine." Had I been able to track some down in time, I definitely would have tried it. But, as it is, I'm still looking!

The Rest of the Crew...
Take a look at all the discoveries made by our Winophiles group!

In the Glass

While researching the area's wines, I opted to go with Armagnac, a distinctive brandy that's distilled from wine and produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, in southwest France.

In the 14th century, clergymen claimed it had therapeutic benefits: "It makes disappear redness and burning of the eyes, and stops them from tearing; it cures hepatitis, sober consumption adhering. It cures gout, cankers, and fistula by ingestion; restores the paralysed member by massage; and heals wounds of the skin by application. It enlivens the spirit, partaken in moderation, recalls the past to memory, renders men joyous, preserves youth and retards senility. And when retained in the mouth, it loosens the tongue and emboldens the wit, if someone timid from time to time himself permits."

Those would all be nice effects of drinking Armagnac. I can't vouch for any of them, but I will say that it was a pleasant sip and added that je ne sais quoi allure to my dish. In the glass, it was a shimmering amber. On the nose, I detected some muted floral notes - think lemon blossom - and honey. And on the palate, it was mildly spicy, but rounded, with a strong taste of licorice.

In the Bowl

I decided to carry the alcohol flavor over to the dish as well and made Pistachio-Armagnac Sabayon with Strawberries and Meringues. This is adapted from A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse by Mimi Thorisson. Actually, since the only thing changed was swapping the Marsala for Armagnac, I'll just send you to her recipe. Enjoy!




Comments

  1. Hope you are having fun on vacation Cam....unplugging and getting away from it all is a nice change of pace.

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  2. Happy vacation!

    I love Mimi Thorensen's work -- what you've done here is lovely!

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  3. This dessert looks beautiful and delicious-- going to have to try it out-- and I love the Armagnac swap. I have yet to get her book, but I love Mimi Thorrison's Instagram (@mimithor) for inspiration!

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  4. I LOVE the sound of this dessert and think the switch for Armagnac would be delightful with these flavours!

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  5. Yum! Your dish looks and sounds amazing Cam! I know next to nothing about Armagnac, so it was great to see your tasting notes. Cheers

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  6. Your dessert looks delicious, and Armagnac!

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  7. Your post has my mouth watering - strawberries and pistachios and Armagnac? I know nothing about Armagnac except for what I've read, and this has prompted me to learn more.

    ReplyDelete

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