Celebrating with Southern Style Spaghetti

Southern Style Spaghetti and 2007 Francis Ford Coppola Shiraz: 5/5

With a busy restaurant comes long, tiring shifts, and as I looked at my schedule for this week, I had no idea when dinner was going to fit in. But alas, on New Years Eve, with a shift during the day, I had the evening free for some food. What’s that? No crazy party charging $45 at the door for a complimentary champagne toast at midnight? No thank you, I had my fare share of tourists this week, I didn’t need to spend New Years with them too.

So as I was debating dinner, I gave Michael a ring on my way home, where he told me he had everything to make his southern style spaghetti, if I just wanted to stop and grab a bottle of wine. Sweet, I didn’t even have to go home and cook.

Now what makes Michael’s spaghetti southern is the smorgasbord of untraditional ingredients. The sauce starts with some sauteed garlic and onion, nothing out of the ordinary. Then comes green pepper, stewing tomatoes, celery, ground hamburger, tomato sauce, spices, and the kicker, ketchup. Once the ingredients are combined the sauce cooks over low heat for 30-40 minutes, and then 10 minutes before serving, mushrooms are added.

The result, a mix between spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, and stew. Is it delicious? Of course. Is it traditional? Not at all. But as Michael will tell you, that is how his MeeMaw (Grandma) used to make it, and that is what he grew up with. So, who am I to say any different.

As I entered the grocery store to get some wine, it looked like a post apocalyptic scene from a zombie movie, most of the shelves were bare, and the remaining customers moved silently and quickly, seeing as the store was closing in a few short minutes. Making my way to the liquor isle I found the entire population of the east side of Chicago, trying to make last minute ‘09 purchases, to help ease the pain of yet another new year. Luckily most people were after hard liquor or bubbly, so I didn’t really have a problem when it came to red wine.

Since Michael’s spaghetti is sweeter rather than savory and garlicky, I wanted to find a red that would compliment, instead of overpower the sauce. If it were a traditional spaghetti sauce, a heavier bodied merlot or cabernet would work just find, but I wanted a nice medium body.

I’ve seen lots Francis Ford Coppola wines in the store before, but after I read another blog ranting about celebrities that choose wineries based on location rather than quality I have always been apprehensive to try any of the Coppola wines. Now price doesn’t always mean quality either, especially when a celebrities name is pasted on the merchandise. Coppola wine are no different. Usually costing $12-$22 in stores, the price screams scam to me. But surveying the isle my eyes rested on a bottle of 2007 Coppola Shiraz, with an alcohol content of 13.5%, meaning the wine would have a nice medium body. The price? $9. Feeling the human walls closing in on me, I thought the wine was an excellent choice, grabbed a bottle of bubbly, and made my way to the check out.

When I got home the house sung of onions, garlic, and herbs. Since I work from late morning to dinner, I am usually left ravenous when I get off of work. So to my stomach, the house smelled like heaven. Michael weaved around the kitchen, adding more ingredients to the pot, while I plopped down on the couch to rest my tired legs.

When it came time to eat, I popped the cork on the bottle, only to discover some seepage. For those of you who don’t know, some problems that come from using cork, and a reason why the Australian and some American wineries are switching to screw tops, is that corked bottles have a greater chance for spoiling. If you have ever ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant the waiter should present you with the cork, this is done so that you can see if the wine has seeped up the cork. If seepage occurs there is a likelihood that the wine has been exposed to air and has spoiled. Seepage can occur from storing the bottle on its side for too long, or using a poor quality cork. The seepage on our cork did not extend all the way to the to the top, but as I poured a glass I was a bit nervous that the wine would be spoiled.

As I soaked in the aroma of the wine, I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. The nose was heavy with black cherry and toasty oak. With a swirl I watched the legs of the wine streak down the side of the glass, just for a moment, indicating a nice medium body. To check the color, I held the glass over my white napkin. With a ruby reddish translucent hue, by the looks of it, the wine was going to pair splendidly.

With a sweet tartness, and a strong acidity, the spaghetti rung in my mouth, before giving way to the flavors of tomatoes and herbs. With little crunchy accents, the celery added a homeyness to the sauce. With two large slices of garlic bread to soak up the sauce my first plate left me wanting more.

Together the wine’s body did not over power the sauce, and was able to subdue some of the acidity, with its low level of tannin. The sweetness of the sauce rounded out the flavor profile of the wine, cutting through some harsher bitterness.

As we plopped on the couch and waited for the New Year, Michael and I were full, healthy, and happy. What better way could there be to bring in a new year, than with a man that is just as much in love with you as you are with him. Yet another perfect pair.