Clinic: what foods would you serve with Sauternes and Ports?

[Jenise]

In two weeks, my dear friend Annabelle is doing a tasting group dinner wherein they're providing all the wine from their considerable stash of vintage ports and Sauternes and most of the food. I'll fly in several days early to be Annabelle's sous chef and am helping her now design the menu.

Here's what I know:

The Wines
The wines will be served in four flights of three wines each evenly divided between the two styles of wine. I do not know yet which wines they're serving, but it's somewhat safe to presume that they'll be pulling some grand older wines like 77 Fonseca and 83 Rieussac as well as several younger candidates.

The Food
We know that one guest is bringing boudin blanc, and another is bringing some blue cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon. I have volunteered to contribute a foie gras terrine. We envision a small plates style dinner wherein all the courses are different but equal, and where we serve at least two taste sensations per flight.

The Venue
The dinner will be at their home and the guests will number 16. We have ample tableware available, but one very odd constraint. This gorgeous home with the million dollar view only has one oven, and get this: a committed, non-cooking bachelor when he built the home 20 years ago, Annabelle's partner John specifically sought out the dinkiest, sorriest little oven you've ever seen. It's about one step up from an EZ Bake. It's only about 13" wide and deep, and conventional roasting pans don't fit. It's a serious pain in the ass to work around that every time we do a do a big dinner at their house.

To pull this off effectively, a lot of foods with very little last-minute prep requirements are needed. After all, we aren't just the cooks, we're participants too.

Annabelle and I spent an hour on the phone last night just brainstorming foods that have or can lean toward a salty-sweet or tangy-sweet profile. I mentioned that for a Sauternes flight I'd love to do a really elegant dish that is glorious little baked packets of diced butternut squash, ginger, green onion and cream, but alas that friggin' oven won't allow it, which made Annabelle suggest a squash soup. Not a bad idea at all, and served in demitasse cups, it would pair easily with almost anything. It could even be a third item.

I suggested rolls of phyllo dough baked around a filling of chevre cheese and cherry compote for a Sauternes idea, and for port wondered aloud about doing something with duck, hoisin sauce and little onion pancakes--Annabelle's Chinese, so adding some Asian elements to her hospitality would be especially fitting. Also, Korean or Chinese style ribs wouldn't be a bad choice, and some tasty honey-glazed bao would be fairly spectacular. Annabelle wondered about the savoury-sweet Chinese dish that is shrimp with glazed walnuts.

And then, of course, there are the desserts, but that's the least of our worries.

So anyway, that's the situation. Would love to hear suggestions for dishes you would consider if you were cooking for this type of meal.

I'm going to repost an old Sauetrnes dinner that I posted years ago. Hope you get some ideas.
The Philly-based wine tasting group the Enophillies repeated our yearly celebration of the Millennium, this year celebrating 4000-3000BC with the 6th annual celebration of good food, great wines and wonderful company. We all generally agreed that 2004 wasn’t the best year and are, almost to a person, glad that it is soon over. So to help sweeten our outlooks for 2005, the theme this year was the wines of Sauternes and Barsac. Yes, you read that correctly, we had Sauternes and/or Barsac with every course-held at the Alisa Café in Cherry Hill, NJ. Here are my notes, such as they are:

1-Veuve Clicquot NV Demi-sec Champagne. Medium yellow. Nice medium-sized bubbles. Nose was very nice, fruity, hints of yeast. Taste was modestly sweet, but the added dosage just seemed to add to the wine’s overall balance. Nice start, and one of my favorite demi-secs. 14/20.

The first course was Pan-seared Foie Gras with Sauternes Jelly.

2-1983 Rieussec. Deep gold. Unfortunately off/corked. NR.

3-1989 Rieussec. Gold. Rich, full nose, touch caramel, apricots. Mouth was mellow, perfectly balanced, caramel, honey. Delish. 17/20.

4-2001 Rieussec. Pale gold. Oh my god nose that smacked you in the face. Pineapple initially, a touch of Elmer’s glue. Mouth was overwhelmingly sweet, huge, mouthfilling. Finish went on and on. This wine is HUGE. 19/20. Boy, do I want to retaste this wine in 10 years!

Note on the food-this is one of the classic Sauternes matches, and this went well-but the chef was a little intimidated by the wine we think, and cut back on his usual spices. So my grade on this match was “B”.

The second course was Sauteed Shrimp in Green Curry sauce served with Jasmine Rice.

5-2001 Villefranche. Nobody had ever heard of this wine before. Pale gold. Lemony/lemon curd type nose. Rich, sweet, citrus mouth. Quite a surprise, and speaks quite well for 2001 as a vintage. 15/20.

6-2001 La Tour Blanche. Gold. A very distinctive nose of cloves, pineapple. Rich, almost over the top mouthfeel. Very distinctive, but again 2001 shows its pedigree. 17/20.

7-2001 Laufaurie-Peyraguey. Pale yellow. Pineapple, citrus. Mouth was very rich, but seemed more in balance than the previous wine. Always a favorite of mine, but this clearly takes it up a notch. Wow. 18/20.

Note on the food/wine match. A big surprise here, the spice of the curry counterbalanced the sweet richness of the wine. A success. “A-“

The third course was Medium Rare Duck Breast with Shiitake Mushrooms and Zinfandel Sauce.

8-1977 de Fargues Gold. A charred wood taste that I get in Fargues sometimes, but with more air and time, corked/off. NR

9-1988 Guiraud. Gold. Apricot jam nose that just expanded exponentially in the glass. Mouthfeel was more elegant than the 2001s, delish. Apricot, allspice. Delish. 17/20.

10-1998 Yquem. Gold. Wow, the layers of the nose went on and on. Spice, lemon, apricot. Mouthfeel was hugely sweet, clearly needs time for the mouth to catch the nose. Huge like the 2001s. A monster in the making. 18/20.

Note on the food/wine. This was one of the more controversial matches. I liked it, the sweetness playing off the richness of the duck/sauce. Some felt that the Sauternes overwhelmed the duck. “C”

The fourth course was Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese-Brandy Demi-Glace.

11-1986 Raymond-Lafon. Gold. Nice middle-aged Sauternes nose of caramel, apricots, clove. Rich initial mouthfeel, that seemed slightly short on the finish. Overall, nice. 16/20.

12-1986 de Fargues. Gold. Initial charred wood smell that quickly blew off. Caramel, citrus, apricots in both nose and mouth. Balanced and nice. Only a hair better than the previous 86. 17/20.

13- 2001 Doisy-Vedrines. Pale gold. Taffy, candy nose. Weird. Sweet almost bubblegum mouth with pineapple thrown in. 15/20. Some liked the uniqueness better than I, but there was no denying it had personality.

The food/wine match was eye-opening to some. Again, the richness of the beef, the touch saltiness of the cheese played off the sweetness of the wines. I liked. “A-“

The fifth course was cheese-Roquefort, Aged Gouda and Farmhouse goat’s milk Gouda.

14- 1988 Sigalas-Rabaud. Gold. Rich caramel/apricot/coconut nose. Rich balanced mouthfeel, with coconut, tropical fruits. Mouth was full, rich, mouthfilling. Just about everything I want in a Sauternes, and one of the bigger surprises tonight. 18/20.

15- 1988 Suduiraut. Gold. Nose of raisins, apricots. Bitter heat initially in the mouth, but mellowed and spread out over the tongue with sweetness, apricots, allspice. I liked it well enough, but I was a hair disappointed. 16/20.

16- 1988 Yquem. Gold. The nose opened like a genie’s lamp after pulling the stopper. Just magnificent. Liquid crème brulee initially in the nose and mouth. People were tasting all sorts of things, spices, tropical fruits, nutmeg, on and on. It just had layers and layers that one hopes the 2001s will gain with 16 years of cellaring. Clearly the class of the night. 20/20. One can only imagine what the 2001 Yquem will be!

The food/wine match was classic and perfect to most attending. “A”

The last course was Warm French Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream.

17- 2000 Weinbach Gewurztraminer Altenbourg Clos des Capucins Cuvee Laurence. Yes, yes I know this isn’t a Sauternes, but I have always held that Sauternes is a great dessert wine, but is a poor wine WITH most desserts, so I planned this threesome. Pale gold. Nose was textbook Gewurz, rose petals, lychee. This was MUCH drier than the Sauternes previously. Drier mouthfeel with the slight bitterness I get (and like) with classic Gewurz on the back of the tongue. A nice wine that wasn’t good with the dessert. 16/20.

18- 1995 Raymond-Lafon. Gold. Medium hot nose of spices, cloves, apricots. But seems a little weak in this night’s company. Mouthfeel had an odd ‘iron’ feel, very unusual. Not the best example. 13/20. Oh, and mediocre with the dessert.

19- 2002 Baumard Quarts de Chaume. Pale yellow. Initially an odd earthy/mushroom nose that had me question corkiness, but it blew off quickly. The nose opened in the glass beautifully, all sweet, but more candy-like. Mouth was rich and sweet, but if Sauternes is Beethoven, this is Bach. Lovely. 17/20. Went the best with the dessert, but I think I proved my point.

Rants
Sauternes does go with lots of differing foods and courses, I think the message was received by most attending. But doing many Sauternes in one night isn’t something I want to repeat soon. Perhaps too much of a good thing?
The most uniformly good year tonight were the 88s, 2001 a close second.
WOTN was the 88 Yquem, 2001 Rieussec was second.
Surprises of the night were the 88 Sigalas-Rabaud and the 2001 Villefranche.

[Jenise]

Harry, thanks so much for taking the trouble to post that. How shocking the fourth course was--never in million years would I have thought of pairing a beef dish with Sauternes, even with the blue cheese element. I'll forward a copy of your post to Annabelle.

The Humboldt Fog dessert that we routinely make (a slice of Fog laid on a plate topped with slices of figs and drizzled with orange blossom honey) is absolutely the most seamless match to Sauternes that I've ever experienced.

FWIW.

[Jenise]

Stuart, that's brilliant. With Annabelle's approval, that goes on the menu. We were looking for a way to put some cheese in without making a formal cheese course, and prep-wise this couldn't be better. Thanks.

I love a classic pithivier with Sauterns. They are easy to make in small individual portions and taste great at room temp.

rwj

Edited to say: Jenise, I have made a single portion pithivier that was perched atop a cardamom poached peach fan. It was delicious and went quite well with Sauterns. Peaches aren't in season but you could come up with something else.

Sauternes: blue cheese and pears

A lot of good suggestions here. I would just add:

--there are recipes for Squab with sauternes sauce and a sauternes-olive oil cake in one of the Chez Panisse cookbooks.

--If you need a salad, spinach with toasted walnuts or pecans, dried cherries and duck cracklings would be good with port.

--with the less rich and more acidic Sauternes, there is a nice Catalan recipe that goes something like this:

In a heavy stewpot or dutch oven, brown cornish game hens or pheasants in olive oil. Remove and add a chopped onion and bay leaves. Saute until wilted, deglaze with a couple of cups of white wine and a cup of orange juice. Add back the hens, two oranges (peeled, pithed and sliced), 12-24 peeled whole garlic cloves, salt and pepper to taste. Cover tightly and braise or simmer until done.

To help deal with our oven limitations, the braised hens or pheasant could be done at home and reheated, methinks.

It also occurs to me that the Boudin Blanc could be seared with apple slices, then deglazed with a sweet wine or white port and a bit of Garam Masala or Allspice. I think this would be good with Sauternes.

[Jenise]

Christian, thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, the venue of this event AND the oven problem is at their home, and we have no offsite means of getting around that. I'm not coming from home myself (the location is So Cal and I'm flying down).

I love love LOVE that olive oil and Sauternes cake, I've made it many times. Thanks for reminding me--I hadn't suggested it to Annabelle, but will do so immediately. I also like your suggestion of a spinach salad--even when the wines don't call for it, I always feel compelled to serve a balanced meal and a meal never feels balanced to me without green fiber. It's a girl thing.

Re the boudin, I'll have to ask Ines how she's going to prepare it. I know she'll bring a finished, ready to serve dish.