Guilty Pleasures Menu
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 1:52 pmIt is my turn to do a wine dinner for a small group I belong to. We have done various themes based on wines and/or food from specific regions, verticals, horizontals etc.
I decided to do a 'guilty pleasures' dinner, where I provide my favourite dishes and match wine (some from each participant and more from me) with the food, regardless of origin and cuisine, although almost all of my dinner will be French inspired.
I wondered if anyone here just let's themselves go and indulges their sybaritic tendencies when they plan a dinner, as opposed to following more traditional menu themes?
If you've done this, or thought of doing it, what foods and wines were/would be included in your perfect sybaritic dinner?
FWIW, my upcoming dinner is appended:
Champagne (15 year old nv Brut - they develop some very nice complexity at that age) with a couple of amuse bouches.
1998 Rieussec (full bottle) with a slab of seared foie gras (whole lobe among 6) served on caramelized apple slices with nutmeg and Armagnac
Palate cleanser (necessary, I think)
Beef tartare (I like the Les Halles prep method/recipe - and anyone that grinds the beef is a Philistine without skill or energy for the proper kinife work!) served with a 1981 Palmer and 1981 Domaine de Chevalier - alive or not? We shall see.
Lamb Tour d'Argent (seared tenderloin sliced and served on veal stock with spinach and chanterelles, and I add a bit of Madeira to the veal stock)
With 1996, 1998, and 2000 Clerc Milon
Creme Catalane - I prefer this to creme brulee as it has a simpel chilled custard with no sugar at all (in my version), but with the addition of citrus peel and cinnamon. I am not a fan of sweet desserts, so I take mine 'straight' while the others will no doubt opt for the usual broiled sugar finish on top, or would prefer to have sugar in the custard as well.
Serving this with a rare one I found (it wasn't on my cellar list!) in my cellar, a 1976 Richter Boltendahl Eltviller Sonnenberg Riesling Beerenauslese
I decided to do a 'guilty pleasures' dinner, where I provide my favourite dishes and match wine (some from each participant and more from me) with the food, regardless of origin and cuisine, although almost all of my dinner will be French inspired.
I wondered if anyone here just let's themselves go and indulges their sybaritic tendencies when they plan a dinner, as opposed to following more traditional menu themes?
If you've done this, or thought of doing it, what foods and wines were/would be included in your perfect sybaritic dinner?
FWIW, my upcoming dinner is appended:
Champagne (15 year old nv Brut - they develop some very nice complexity at that age) with a couple of amuse bouches.
1998 Rieussec (full bottle) with a slab of seared foie gras (whole lobe among 6) served on caramelized apple slices with nutmeg and Armagnac
Palate cleanser (necessary, I think)
Beef tartare (I like the Les Halles prep method/recipe - and anyone that grinds the beef is a Philistine without skill or energy for the proper kinife work!) served with a 1981 Palmer and 1981 Domaine de Chevalier - alive or not? We shall see.
Lamb Tour d'Argent (seared tenderloin sliced and served on veal stock with spinach and chanterelles, and I add a bit of Madeira to the veal stock)
With 1996, 1998, and 2000 Clerc Milon
Creme Catalane - I prefer this to creme brulee as it has a simpel chilled custard with no sugar at all (in my version), but with the addition of citrus peel and cinnamon. I am not a fan of sweet desserts, so I take mine 'straight' while the others will no doubt opt for the usual broiled sugar finish on top, or would prefer to have sugar in the custard as well.
Serving this with a rare one I found (it wasn't on my cellar list!) in my cellar, a 1976 Richter Boltendahl Eltviller Sonnenberg Riesling Beerenauslese