This past Saturday night, Wendy & I hosted a few people for a 'let's roll into the holidays' dinner at our house. The meal also served as our 'official' unveiling of our new dining room (we decided because of the type of entertaining we like to do, that we should switch our large-and-mostly-unused living room with our small-and-often- used dining room). Wendy set and decorated a beautiful table, glittering with crystal and candles, and I created the menu and prepared the food.

Here's what we had:

* Foie Gras over baked apples: A rich welcome. The foie gras was a surprise, even for us. We were drooling over the foie gras at Jungle Jim's, and the guy at the meat counter offered us a deal we could not refuse.

* Baked goat cheese with garlic toasts. Martini Asti Champagne set the mood.

* Apple and Chestnut Soup with Spiced Cream: A recipe of my own, this is a great warming soup for colder weather. We served a 2003 Adler Fels Gewurztraminer with this.

* Roquefort Salmon with North African Glazed Carrots and a Wild Mushroom Risotto with Asparagus & Sun-Dried Tomatoes, served with a 2003 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier.

* Dessert 1: Molten Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Melba Sauce. We had a really nice Malbec (Norton 1999) with this.

* Dessert 2: Vienna Cherry Cheese Torte with (one of my favorite dessert wines), a Cascinette Vietti Moscato d' Asti (2002).

It was a lot of food, drink, conversation, and fun, and a really nice way to head into the holidays.

drew---i'm pretty stunned reading the menu. it looks amazingly delicious. holy cow!

congrats on the new living room too!

Drew, that sounds grand. My mouth is watering as I type this.

BTW, Moscato d' Asti is my favorite dessert wine too--I've never tried the Vietti though. The Coppo Montcalvina is excellent if you can find it!

And speaking of wines, the Adler Fels Gewurztraminer is now on my list of wines to find. I'm always looking for good Gewurztraminers. Have you ever tried the Spy Valley? It's fermented in stainless steel barrels which appeals to me because sometimes Gewurztraminers give me a headache...

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into a wine thread.

The dinner sounded awesome. Did you take any pictures of the place settings, or of the new dining room?

m

I'll keep my eyes open for the Coppo Montcalvina... Thanks for the tip!

We liked the Adler Fels -- it's a bit (tiny bit) sweeter than a 'regular' Gewurzt, which was perfect for our needs last night as it handled the richness of the soup very well. I'm yet to try Spy Valley, but will keep an eye open for it.

No pictures, darnit. I wish we had... We'll get some shots of the new rooms once the finishing touches are done.

mmm... sounds yummy (except for the fg&s). but it truly does sound fantastic.

roll on!
~fff

Wow Drew! I'm insanely impressed by your menu. And i can't seem to stop drooling over the chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Yum! I'll have to try the Malbac. i've never had it before. How would you describe it?

I really like the raspberry sauce... It's got a very bright flavor and isn't overly sweet. Nice counterpoint to the deep richness of the chocolate cake.

Malbec (I speeled it wrong the first time as Malbac; Malbec is correct! Sorry for the mess-up.) is described here like this:

The ripe, lush black grape variety Malbec was once popular in Bordeaux as a blending component. It’s still used for blending with Bordeaux varietals worldwide and at times, in varietally labeled bottlings in the U.S., but now it’s better known on its own. Argentina, where wine drinkers like potent reds, has made Malbec into a real national specialty.

Malbec’s rich, inky color and fat, juicy personality make it brilliant with mellow, long-simmered dishes like braised red meats and stews. The deep legendary “black” wine of Cahors, traditionally matched to such rib-sticking dishes as the hearty cassoulet, is a splendid example of Malbec.

"Fat, juicy" are good terms for Malbec.

Hey Dan... Would you guys eat a soup made with chicken stock? I tried the Apple & Chestnut soup once with a vegetable stock and didn't care for it -- kinda weak & watery tasting.

Wow! This sounds very very tasty.