Tuesday-Night Take Out.

The first week back to work after two weeks off is always an adjustment.  I got back into the office with emails backed up, dust on my keyboard and cobwebs on my brain; that’s the kind of person I am.  It takes me a second to get from the slow lane and back into the fast lane.

There is another breed of human that is the exact opposite.  They woke up on Monday the 5th and realized that two weeks had gone by and had disappeared from their calenders forever.  Upon that realization, they freaked out and frantically tried to make up for lost time by expecting to make things happen instantly with no ramp-up time.   Dealing with people like that makes me cranky, an during weeks like this there’s generally no time for enjoying a good meal.

Just when I thought that last night would be a night of cup-o-noodles, my good friend Jeff stopped by with some CPK, or California Pizza Kitchen.  If you’re not familiar, this restaurant chain has a lot of fun ‘California Cuisine’, including a killer BBQ Chicken Salad which was just what the doctor ordered last night.

Since Jeff was kind enough to bring the food, I reached down into the wine fridge and pulled out a bottle of 2005 Pellegrini Milestone.  This is a wonderful cuvee from the Pellegrini Family Vineyards in Sonoma.  Its a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

This is a ripe but balanced wine.  Flavors of  cherry, chocolate and vanilla were dancing in my mouth with the underlying flavor of rich oak.  A looooong finish too.  A really special, California cuvee.

Frankly it wasn’t the perfect pairing for a BBQ chicken salad, but it was the PERFECT bottle to thank a good friend for bringing a little relief to the post-holiday blues.