Ode to Balsamic Vinegar
Tonight, I would like to pay homage (or "give props" as the kids are saying these days) to balsamic vinegar. That sweet, tart and ancient flavor that turns a green salad into a sublime dining experience or a dessert into something with a touch of naughty medieval. I put balsamic vinegar on everything. EVERYTHING: salad, mashed potatoes, rice, hamburger, tofu, you name it, it's better with balsamic.
Part of the reason that I am thinking of balsamic vinegar is that my dear friend (and the godmother to my daughter Penelope) Lisa is visiting and she's the one who introduced me to balsamic vinegar.
Years ago, when we were first getting to know each other, we lived a few blocks away from each other in San Francisco. We were fresh out of college, filled with huge dreams and plans and visions of a future working with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, doing theater for the oppressed. Besides marching in Persian Gulf War protests dressed as dead Iraqis, we also loved fine foods and dining. Now, from the earliest time I could remember, I have adored salads and their assorted dressing. As a small child, my favorite was a mixture of ketchup, mayonnaise and red wine vinegar. As I grew into adulthood, I learned to make a mustard vinaigrette to die for.
But I had never tasted balsamic vinegar.
One night, Lisa invited me over for dinner and I watched in amazement as she swirled together this delicious salad dressing with this new kind of vinegar. If I looked closely into the swirling mass, I would have seen all my preconceived notions of goodness slowly disappearing into a deep purple sea. We ate the salad slowly, pausing to crush peppercorns with spoons to add to our meal. Edith Piaf blared from the boom box, singing of despair and love and heartache and it was a perfect moment. At the time, the recipe consisted of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, garlic, honey, and yeast powder. Yes, yeast powder. Try it sometime.
Over the years, we've shared many salads together. Our friendship has grown as have the salads in complexity and richness. Lisa is now a trapeze artist living in Berlin who's about to retire and move back to this country. The basic dressing recipe has evolved with our lives. For me, it now consists of balsamic, olive oil, garlic, a honey balsamic mustard, and worchestshire sauce. I attained nirvana when I made the dressing with a very expensive balsamic and olive oil.
Recently, my husband and I dined at Olivetto in Oakland and paid $20 for a taste of two amazing 20 year old balsamics. They were served to us in a shotglass and if you like balsamic at all, I highly recommend trying this sometime. Amazing. We didn't put it on food, we just swilled it from the glass, like a fine scotch.
I now have the joy of a daughter who loves condiments almost as much as I do. You'd think the picture below if of her eating chocolate, but it is of her enjoying her first balsamic vinaigrette. A moment a mother will treasure forever.
Live long and dress that salad!
Condiment Grrl
Part of the reason that I am thinking of balsamic vinegar is that my dear friend (and the godmother to my daughter Penelope) Lisa is visiting and she's the one who introduced me to balsamic vinegar.
Years ago, when we were first getting to know each other, we lived a few blocks away from each other in San Francisco. We were fresh out of college, filled with huge dreams and plans and visions of a future working with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, doing theater for the oppressed. Besides marching in Persian Gulf War protests dressed as dead Iraqis, we also loved fine foods and dining. Now, from the earliest time I could remember, I have adored salads and their assorted dressing. As a small child, my favorite was a mixture of ketchup, mayonnaise and red wine vinegar. As I grew into adulthood, I learned to make a mustard vinaigrette to die for.
But I had never tasted balsamic vinegar.
One night, Lisa invited me over for dinner and I watched in amazement as she swirled together this delicious salad dressing with this new kind of vinegar. If I looked closely into the swirling mass, I would have seen all my preconceived notions of goodness slowly disappearing into a deep purple sea. We ate the salad slowly, pausing to crush peppercorns with spoons to add to our meal. Edith Piaf blared from the boom box, singing of despair and love and heartache and it was a perfect moment. At the time, the recipe consisted of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, garlic, honey, and yeast powder. Yes, yeast powder. Try it sometime.
Over the years, we've shared many salads together. Our friendship has grown as have the salads in complexity and richness. Lisa is now a trapeze artist living in Berlin who's about to retire and move back to this country. The basic dressing recipe has evolved with our lives. For me, it now consists of balsamic, olive oil, garlic, a honey balsamic mustard, and worchestshire sauce. I attained nirvana when I made the dressing with a very expensive balsamic and olive oil.
Recently, my husband and I dined at Olivetto in Oakland and paid $20 for a taste of two amazing 20 year old balsamics. They were served to us in a shotglass and if you like balsamic at all, I highly recommend trying this sometime. Amazing. We didn't put it on food, we just swilled it from the glass, like a fine scotch.
I now have the joy of a daughter who loves condiments almost as much as I do. You'd think the picture below if of her eating chocolate, but it is of her enjoying her first balsamic vinaigrette. A moment a mother will treasure forever.
Live long and dress that salad!
Condiment Grrl
posted by CondimentGrrl at 9:06 PM
2 Comments:
Wow, it took you a long time to lose your virginity...er, taste balsamic vinegar. But welcome to the ranks!
The losing of virginity is another posting, but that involves vodka-infused garlic aioli, not balsamic!
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