The Last Supper

It may not have been even a full week, but it had certainly been a heckuva time with Merlot Boy's visit. Even with a couple nights out, a footy game, Daveyboi's 50th - we were grateful that he was using the Vancouver stop as a bit of a recovery from the Big Apple and a rest before joining up with Daveyboi en Espana.

We all decided to just have a relaxed dinner at home for his last night in town. The lovely Elzee joined up for a bit of BBQ. Back when Boo picked up the camel roast (earlier post for that story), he threw some kangaroo strip loin into the shopping basket as well. Would there ever be a better time to serve it than when our own Roo was staying with us? As Merlot Boy put it, "We Australians are the only countrymen that eat their national animal."

Never having cooked kangaroo before, we weren't entirely sure about the best means of preparation. We decided on some simple olive oil and Aussie pepperberry mix. I had been told that the one thing you don't want to do with roo is over cook it. Since the thought of medium rare roo can be somewhat daunting, we needed to ensure that there was plenty of wine to accompany it.

There was no reason to fear it at all (although I did get a few looks when I took the leftovers for lunch at work).

188. 2007 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz (South Australia)

We had dropped by the local provincial liquor store with Merlot Boy the other day and what does he decide to buy? Nothing but Aussie wines. We tried to talk him into quaffing back a few more of the local wines, but it was a non-sell. I guess you can take the boy out of the Outback but you can't take the Outback out of his wine.

189. 2002 Black Hills Nota Bene (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Some of the biggest laughs we'd shared last night at Daveyboi's 50th involved some heavy bargaining over a bottle or four of Nota Bene - and just how far a particular couple would be willing to pay. Alberta may have the oil patch, but BC still has the Okanagan Valley and our proposal might have been a bit indecent but they were going to have to give over some hefty payment.

It only seemed natural to pull out a bottle and re-live the laughs all over again. Should the discussed payment ever be offered up by our Hurtin' Albertans, a tad more detail may be forthcoming.

I won't give the Nota Bene its due and talk further about it (since there are more bottles to drink), but Merlot Boy was duly impressed by our little BC wine. When it came to the final wine of the evening though, he brought out - what else - a bit of where his name all begins, Aussie Merlot.

190. 2008 [yellow tail] Merlot (South Eastern Australia)

We flopped out on the couch and decided that a little Sex and The City was in order. M.B. had actually taken the tour when he was in NYC the other week and had a blast. Since he was the only gay guy on the tour, he got all of the quiz questions right. Boo, on the other hand, is not enamoured with Carrie and friends, if only because, regardless of who the foursome consists of, when it comes to assigning characters, he's usually paired up with Miranda. Then he just gets annoyed that we won't let him be Big. For those of us that know him, it pretty much goes without saying that Merlot Boy has Samantha tattooed somewhere that you and I are just not likely to see in the light of day.

Alas, as the evening's wines vanished, so did Merlot Boy the following day. G'day mate. Great to spend a little time with you and we'll hope to see you and do a little more adding to The List sooner than later.