WWAMD? (What Would Auntie Mame Drink?)

A preview of coming attractions:

While enjoying gobs of Zin up in Dry Creek a while back, The Brix Chix gave me a challenge: Write about what your favorite fictional character would drink for Wine Blogging Wednesday.  I'm taking it a step further: I'm writing about said fictional character's favorite food and wine pairing.

No surprise here, my favorite fictional character is Auntie Mame.  How I'd love to be a rich bon vivant in 1920s New York City!  But since my budget didn't allow for Auntie Mame's favorite food and wine pairing in the 20s, I had to move the meal to the early 30s right after Mame lost her fortune in the stock market crash.  The poor woman even had to get a job!

So how does a formally rich upper eastside socialite eat and drink well when she has no money?  Well, this bon vivant used her Groupon at Kanaloa Seafood to get a whole cooked lobster (since Groupons didn't exist back in the day we can only assume that Mame would have charmed that lobster right out of her fish monger's smelly little hands!)  Since, in my fictional account, we're at the tail end of Prohibition, Mame still can't get her beloved French Champagne - her black market source can only get her bubbly from California (sacre bleu!)  But this bubbly is so good, it wins her over.

My dear friend Kim sent me a fabulous recipe for lobster and fettuccine but since I arrived home after 6 pm, I didn't have time to make lobster stock so I improvised.  What better (and quick) a substitute than a "champagne" butter cream sauce?

Before

With the exception of cracking and cleaning the lobster (poor Mame had to let her cook go), this dish took less than 10 minutes to make.  I simply sauteed the garlic and shallots in olive oil, deglazed the pan with the bubbly, added the cream and brought that to a boil, and then added the cooked fettuccine, lobster, butter, and chopped chives.

During

Opening the bottle of this amazing Mary Elke Brut for the dish gave me the best excuse to sip on a glass before dinner (I also saved a bit of lobster to eat straight with the bubbly).  I exclaimed (in a very unlike Auntie Mame fashion) "man, this stuff is so good I can't stop drinking it!"  I got a balance of crisp green apple and grapefruit on my palate which not only paired beautifully with the brininess of the lobster but the cream sauce as well.

What's missing from the picture?  Well, caviar - Auntie Mame's favorite.  But remember, we were on a (gasp!) budget.

After