My wife belongs to a wine club. They meet once a month and go the the Vu and out to dinner and drink vodka tonics and make merry and take cabs home and whatnot. Most are professionals and moms and don't get out as much as they used to; so they make it count. And once in a blue moon their activities even involve wine. This month's installment also involves me slaving away in the kitchen but hey, that's usually a pretty good time.
So what's on tap is this, an 11-or-so course small plates menu with paired wines. I've picked most of the courses for ability to make ahead or quickly. I'm thinking there'll be about ten gals. Here's what I have as of now, with paired wines in italics. Some things may be added or subbed out based on what we get Thursday from the CSA.
antipasti
Roederer A/V Estate Brut
Mumm Napa Cuvee
sliced fresh vegetables with three dipping sauces
goat cheese-stuffed piquante peppers
olives and parmigiano-reggiano
Chateau Souverain Sauvignon Blanc
goat cheese truffles with herbes de provence
gazpacho
three bruschetti
Da Vinci Chianti
caprese
lardo
salt and olive oil
the rest
Riesling
deep fried pork belly with pickles and horseradish mustard
Byron Pinot Noir
Firesteed Pinot Noir
lamb koftas with tzatziki sauce
Shotfire Ridge Barossa
grilled marinated skirt steak with mizuna and parmigiano
served with summer potatoes au gratin
Warre's tawny port
chocolate ganache (truffles)
communal passed wines as needed:
Martin Codax Albarino
Alta Vista Torrontes
Gabbiano Chianti
Francis Coppolla Rosso Shiraz
Roederer A/V Estate Brut
Mumm Napa Cuvee
sliced fresh vegetables with three dipping sauces
goat cheese-stuffed piquante peppers
olives and parmigiano-reggiano
Chateau Souverain Sauvignon Blanc
goat cheese truffles with herbes de provence
gazpacho
three bruschetti
Da Vinci Chianti
caprese
lardo
salt and olive oil
the rest
Riesling
deep fried pork belly with pickles and horseradish mustard
Byron Pinot Noir
Firesteed Pinot Noir
lamb koftas with tzatziki sauce
Shotfire Ridge Barossa
grilled marinated skirt steak with mizuna and parmigiano
served with summer potatoes au gratin
Warre's tawny port
chocolate ganache (truffles)
communal passed wines as needed:
Martin Codax Albarino
Alta Vista Torrontes
Gabbiano Chianti
Francis Coppolla Rosso Shiraz
Sources are as follows:
World Harvest: olives, hummus, all cheese, piquante peppers, tzatziki, balsamic
Hy-Vee: watercress, radicchio
Root Cellar/local farmers: all vegetables and fruits
Hoss': prosciutto
Cream: Weiler Dairy
Pork belly: Crocker Farms
Skirt steak: Mizzou Meats
Lamb: Suzie's Grassfed Meats
Chocolate: Patric Chocolate
Lard: homemade, from Newman Farms pig
Wines: Floyd at Patricia's
The food courses were selected on a pretty much whatever-sounded-good-and-quick basis, without any real eye to wine pairing. That part's been the toughest element, putting the right wine with the right dish. At the same time, if you're drinking good wine and eating good food with good people, you can't go wrong no matter what the pairing.
Still, comments and suggestions please! Especially regarding a good cab and a pairing for the pork belly. I probably also need to sack up and throw together some shrimp and grits just to get some seafood on there.
World Harvest: olives, hummus, all cheese, piquante peppers, tzatziki, balsamic
Hy-Vee: watercress, radicchio
Root Cellar/local farmers: all vegetables and fruits
Hoss': prosciutto
Cream: Weiler Dairy
Pork belly: Crocker Farms
Skirt steak: Mizzou Meats
Lamb: Suzie's Grassfed Meats
Chocolate: Patric Chocolate
Lard: homemade, from Newman Farms pig
Wines: Floyd at Patricia's
The food courses were selected on a pretty much whatever-sounded-good-and-quick basis, without any real eye to wine pairing. That part's been the toughest element, putting the right wine with the right dish. At the same time, if you're drinking good wine and eating good food with good people, you can't go wrong no matter what the pairing.
Still, comments and suggestions please! Especially regarding a good cab and a pairing for the pork belly. I probably also need to sack up and throw together some shrimp and grits just to get some seafood on there.
