Grilled Artichoke Wine Pairing Recipe--and Jesusita Fire Santa Barbara

GRILLED ARTICHOKE WITH GRATED CHEDDAR:
4 large artichokes
3 lemons: 1 lemon cut in quarters, 2 lemons halved
about 1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated hard white cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
paprika, salt and pepper
Cut the artichokes in half, cut out the choke (the thistles at the heart of the artichoke), and trim off the sharp ends of the leaves. (Using kitchen scissors for the leaves is much easier than cutting with a knife.) Rinse the artichoke halves and shake dry. Rub with the cut lemon all over (this keeps the color of the artichokes)
Steam for 15-20 minutes--until an outer leave pulls off easily and the stem can be pierced with a fork. As soon as they are done, plunge into cold water to stop the cooking and drain. Coat all over with good quality olive oil (the quality of the oil will make a difference in the final taste of the dish).
Preheat the grill to medium. Shake off excess oil (to avoid oil dripping on the flame or coals and causing a fire!) and place the artichokes face down. Cook about 5 minutes, watching and turning them as needed. You want the  outside lightly charred but not burned and the inside warm.
Platter the artichokes with the centers up and sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve with the lemon mayonnaise below. Serves 8 as a side dish.
Grilled Lemon Mayonnaise:
While you are grilling the artichokes, grill the lemons face down for about a minute. Let them cool a bit, then squeeze the juice into the mayonnaise. Stir well, season to taste with the salt and pepper and sprinkle with paprika. Serve the grilled artichoke with the lively 2005 Thumbprint Cellars Cabernet Franc.

THE SANTA BARBARA JESUSITA WILD FIRE:
The grilled artichoke recipe was chosen last week; this week the idea of grilling anything is far from the minds of Santa Barbarans. We're in day four of the Jesusita wildfire and the ashes of the houses of our friends and neighbors fill the smoky air, wafting down like snowflakes and covering our cars and decks. The darkened sky thrums with the sounds of helicopters and planes making a loop from reservoir to fire, dropping their payloads at the edge of this monster that has caused tens of thousands to flee with the few things they could grab as they evacuated.

This Jesusita wildfire started as just a slim wisp of smoke near some power lines in the foothills above Santa Barbara on Tuesday, which was an uncharacteristically hot day in this city with near perfect temperatures year round. When I first saw it on the news, it was just two acres at 2 pm and could easily been doused by air drops. But it takes a disaster before a State Of Emergency is declared and full resources can be deployed. So when the winds picked up in the afternoon, the fire quickly ripped across the foothills above the heavily wooded Mission Canyon neighborhood and became a menace. Then the winds abated, and by the morning the fire looked like it was just a thin ring around the burn area and the smoke was light. But looks are deceiving and all bets are off when 60+ mph winds drive oxygen into flames. The dreaded sundowner winds created monster 100' flames that spit embers for miles. An enormous column of smoke rose above town, visible as far as Thousand Oaks. For about half an hour, when the winds were at their peak and were blowing right toward downtown, we feared the historic downtown might catch the embers and ignite. Fortunately, the capricious wind changed direction, but not all were spared, our friends' house in the photo was burned that night. They had just escaped the Tea Fire which had taken houses right up to the neighbor to their east. The Jesusita fire took only one home on their street--theirs. They found their Vespa intact and several paintings that firefighters had kindly removed and set on their driveway. Many thanks to the brave firefighters who are sweating and toiling to save our beautiful city! Thursday morning, again, the fire sat down and waited for the winds. This time, their whim was to blow west, scorching miles of scrub and homes set in the canyons above San Roque and San Marcos pass. Strangely, while the winds and firestorm raged in the foothills just five miles from us, we sat out on the deck in perfectly calm weather looking at the moonlight on the ocean. It was a surreal juxtaposition of Southern California and Currier & Ives because huge "snowflakes" were gently wafting down--"snowflakes" of ash. Today the fire rages unabated above Santa Barbara from San Marcos pass to Montecito. If the wind turns again towards the ocean, we are in dire danger because the fire line is so long, maybee 5-6 miles, that if it pushes into town, nothing short of a miracle will stop it. Keep us in your prayers!
Our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes and to all who have taken refuge. We have six fire refugees staying with us, every available bed and couch is filled extra blankets and pillows borrowed from neighbors.

Since this blog is supposed to be about wine and food, let's talk about what to feed a houseful of people. Luckily we had stocked up on Edna Valley Chardonnay during the last Wine Clearance Sale (subscribe to the FREE, no-obligation wine newletter Online Grapevine to hear about future sales). The wine paired well with smoked chicken sausage, Italian Tofurkey tofu sausage, steamed homegrown beets and greens with butter and lemon pepper, crusty bagette and a Greek salad. The 2006 Midlife Crisis Chardonnay from our Wine Cellar would pair well with this meal.