This past weekend we were really thinking about starting a whole new cooking theme, but the week got ahead of us so that will have to wait for a few more days, but stay tuned for a wonderful set of cooking pages to come soon. So when all else fails, we fall back on one of our favorites, Spaghetti alla Puttanesca. I have long ago modified the original puttanesca recipe, for many reasons. Pasta sauce recipes call for finishing the sauce by placing the pasta into the pan of sauce. The issue here is that on Shabbos this is really not the best way to serve this for us, as it does not last long this way, and two of us will not finish the dish. We do this so that we can have leftovers, but again, that does not match the recipe format. Also, I like to add things to the recipe, like ground tofu and vegetables. You can find the revised version of the classic recipe here.

Since the official recipe calls for spaghetti, we were more than happy to oblige with whole wheat spaghetti. We cook the two parts separately and we finish them at the table not in the pan, as otherwise, the spaghetti would be mush when we reheat the puttanesca for Friday night. We paired it with a lovely fresh green salad.

We went looking for a lovely wine to pair with this treat and we found a bottle of the 2005 Four Gates Cabernet Franc. We have spoken many times before about how Cabernet Franc just never seems to get any respect, while all the while continuing to consistently turn in great scores. Maybe Cabernet Franc is the Rodney Dangerfield of wine varietals.

The particular vintage has changed a bit overtime. The oak is more pronounced with lovely red fruit and green notes, though the cool floral notes seem to be gone.

2005 Four Gates Cabernet Franc – Score: B+ – A-
This wine has changed a bit since the last time we tasted this. This time around the floral notes are gone and the oak is more pronounced and rich. Still the wine is a real joy and one I will continue to go back to for a couple of more years. The nose on this garnet to purple colored wine is super rich and opulent with a ton of dark chocolate, rich oak, raspberry, cherry, plum, and follows on with classical franc notes of bell pepper, along with mint and eucalyptus. The mouth on this complex medium to full bodied wine has really calmed down and now shows velvety smooth tannin along with cherry, raspberry, mint, and currants. The mid palate is flush with fruit and balanced almost perfectly by bright acidity, chocolate, silky smooth tannin, and rich oak. The finish is spicy and long with layers of vanilla, cherry, rich oak, raspberry, chocolate, and mint. The vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, plum, and rich oak linger long.