Dinner with Cheree and Josh

I always neglect to take pictures of the food at these onslaughts.





Our good friends Cheree and Josh attended one of the legendary dinner parties at our place last night. It had been awhile since we'd seen them and they'd been wanting to experience the madness since the first time we did this. So, with a long weekend at hand, I set forth to build another wine-paired menu for the four of us.

We began at their arrival with some bubbles, of course: Andre Robert Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc from Le Mesnil sur Oger. 100% sustainably-produced Chardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards and a reserve blend of three vintages. At the price, this is really amazing a terrific value. Probably retails for about $40-ish. Lots of minerality and, as it warms in the glass, the ginger, orange marmalade and lemon rind comes out. Great chalkiness in addition to the standard toast and ginger flavors. Definitely my new "house" Champagne!

After a leisurely cocktail hour, I strapped myself in for the cooking process. We began with some oysters: Shygokus from the Pacific which are reputed to be somewhat rare. They were very clean tasting with significant brine. Only slightly larger than Kumimotos, they were packed with delicate flavors. I served these two ways: traditionally with no decoration and also as a "Chesapeake Bay Shooter". The shooter included vodka, olives, shallots, garlic and lemon zest. I'm a purist, myself, so, while the shooter was fun, I totally dug the pure oyster. And especially with the Pascal Cotat 'Les Monts Damnes' Sancerre 2008. The wine was crisp and citrus-y, but also leaning into some tropical notes aromatically. Wonderful old-world minerality that clings to the palate. Terrific oyster wine and should be interesting to taste again with some age as I know these wines can go the distance.

The second course was a real hit: Pad Thai served with the Weinbach 'L'Inedit' Riesling 2006. I love Pad Thai, in general, but this recipe rocks my world. Not overly saucy or overly sweet and very fresh and integrated flavors that come together like a beautifully balanced wine. Which can also be said for the Riesling. The 'L'Inedit', in my experience, is always so delicately put together and offers so much flavor and substance in a bold package, but without feeling overblown at all. It's like watching a really great action movie that has really well-written dialogue and a well thought-out story. When does THAT happen...?

Next, we ventured into a Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing and a Goat Cheese Cake on top. I love this salad. Bacon is the great equalizer with wine pairing and this course allowed me to break into red wine, despite it being a salad course. I paired a Russian River Pinot Noir from Arista winery 2005 called 'Longbow'. The wine was balanced and drinking at its peak with solid red fruits and moderate body. Not overly complex, but servicable with the salad. This was my least favorite wine and pairing of the evening, but nothing at all to complain about, by any means.

For the main course, I broke out the Beef Wellington and some Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts. We've done the Wellington before, but it's always a hit. As I often do, I eliminated the foie gras and substituted a mushroom and bleu cheese mixture inside the puff-pastry. It was an excellent bridge to the funky earthiness of the Cos d'Estournel 2001. Cheree smelled it and immediately said, "barnyard poopy". I love that! Though an off-vintage, I've been loving this wine over the years. Still youthful, it has a significant life ahead and I will abstain from popping another cork for probably five more years, despite how well it is drinking now. Lots of rich black fruits, plenty of earth and dirt, Brett and florality.

As usual, no one ever makes it to dessert and I'm quickly learning to always have one ready in the wings, but to not go to any extra efforts. I hade some of my homemade vanilla ice cream prepared and I picked up some bananas to have a Bananas Foster. Kara and I were kind of excited about it so we made it anyway about an hour after company had left. It was absolutely the best I've ever made this dish and we both devoured it. There's nothing better than homemade ice cream and the caramel sauce and dark rum were just taking it to a whole other level.

All-in-all, another successful dinner extravaganza and everytime it gets smoother, faster and easier to execute. A perfect way to spend Sunday evening with friends!