Are you kidding?

[Florida Jim]

Or at least, that was my response when Diane told me what we were having for dinner last night. It did not sound appetizing, although I supposed it would be “good for me.”

The side dish was a layered concoction of mashed potatoes, mushroom pesto and beet greens and beet green stems. The entrée was fish cakes made with leftover salmon and Mahi-mahi. She made a white sauce with capers for the cakes.

Okay, . . . what wine goes with that?

I chose a 1999 Belle Pente, Pinot Noir Willamette Valley.

When I opened the wine it smelled predominantly of burnt stems with a touch of red fruit hiding behind all the vegetation. On the palate it was better but nothing to get excited about with moderate red fruit tones and just a touch of that earthy/stemmy quality. It was texturally pleasing and light on its feet but “wow” was not the first word that came to mind.

But then, we had the meal with the wine in accompaniment.

I can’t remember a better meal with more delicious and complex tastes or a wine that more perfectly balanced and complimented the food. I’m talking three-star stuff here. The fish cakes had a wonderful texture and a crisp, brown crust; the sauce accented the taste but did not overwhelm. And the potato-based side dish was just exquisite – perfectly balanced flavors; elements of bitter, bland, earthiness along with different textures – it was utterly sublime.

With the food, the wine blossomed into a lovely, lilting, bright fruit extension of those flavors. It was a perfectly balanced pairing; better than any other particular pairing I can ever remember. I was blown away.

Great food is, indeed, the first enjoyment of life.

For those of you that know me, you also know that I am given to poetic license. But, in this instance, I swear; I take no license with these words – that was as good a meal as I have ever had.

No kidding.

Best, Jim

PS There are no recipes as such; both these dishes came from what we had in the house, including leftovers and Diane’s sense of what worked. ‘Sorry; I can’t tell you how she did it. Ain’t that always the way with magic?