Celebrating Spring

At this month's dinner party we tip our hats to Spring. We worked on finding the freshest ingredients we could find. The tarragon came from my garden, the first herb to grow after this winter. Mark and I shopped in the early afternoon and then got down to cooking the meal. It is a lot of fun to cook together however we are looking forward to selling my other house so we can get our new kitchen in place. The current layout does not lend itself to the easy maneuvering of the Chef and sous-chef. We are versatile in this regard as we switch roles depending on the dish. All of this will go much smoother when we have the two sinks and a larger range for creating these meals. It takes us about a week to plan the meal, going back and forth around which foods and wines to prepare together. We also like to make sure we prepare dishes that will require little time in the kitchen once the meal begins. Our guests were a delight to have. Each had been given an assignment to bring a particular style of wine. Some requested that we tell them exactly what wine to bring which suits us well as we often know exactly which vineyard will have a great match. Others we let surprise us with what they find in a particular style. Steve Dworetsky came with these beautiful Irises in hand, the fragrance is stunning. Neil Weiner brought the champagne, which paired well with our appetizer that a contestant on Top Chef created in honor of the Movie, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. Putting white chocolate, wasabi and celery root together sounded like a disaster waiting to happen, yet it was spectacular. Rey and Pete brought the unoaked Chardonnay. Steve brought an over the top Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. We had the other Cab and we always of course have Clairette de Die. Rich March brought the Port. Everyone took their shopping tasks to heart and did a terrific job.

Menu for April 2008

First Course
Hors d’oeuvre
Salmon Sashimi smoked with cherry wood, dusted with ginger, cayenne and sesame seeds, served with a white chocolate wasabi celery root sauce and faux caviar
GH Mumm Champagne Brut

Second Course
Amuse-bouche
Korean melon and Goya melon each wrapped in Prosciutto with lime juice and black pepper

Third Course
Spring Vegetable Soup with Tarragon
Bishop’s Peak Eden Valley Chardonnay 2005

Fourth Course
Oven Roasted Lamb Chops with Mint Chimichurri served with a snow pea Thai pepper almond salad
Penley Estate Phoenix 2005 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Fifth Course
White Chocolate Coated Grapes with Orange Curd
Traditional Clairette de Die

Sixth Course
Stilton Cheese
Porto Barros LBV 1997