“Truffle Heaven” Crostini

“Truffle Heaven” Crostini
Fresh French Black Winter Truffle, Italian Truffle Cheese, Truffle Oil
with Shiitake and Frisée

A framed description of our “black diamond” is placed on the buffet.

This one ounce beauty is from Gourmet Attitude, importer of fresh truffles and fine truffle products in New York City. It is a good year for truffles, ours hails from the Village of Grignan in the South of France. The subterranean treasure was located by three female yellow Labrador retrievers with a family in its fourth generation of truffle hunting. I was told that dogs are preferred over pigs to hunt  truffles nowadays, for one reason, it’s difficult to get a pig in and out of the car! Also, apparently the pig’s love for truffles is as ardent as ours, so she simply cannot stop herself from eating the $85/oz. delicacy. Dogs are much more obedient!

The black winter truffle is available December through March. This Fresh Black Winter Truffle (Tuber Melanosporum Vittadini) has in intense perfume with a bouquet of wet forest, humus, chocolate, and a hint of hazelnut. Our guests are surely in for a treat!

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Gastronomic Wonderland!


Come join me, my friends, in a Gastronomic Wonderland!


Hello my fellow foodies, bons vivants, gastronomes, gourmets, connoisseurs of the finest food and wine! To celebrate the end of a tasty 2010 and to welcome in a delicious 2011, come travel with us to Las Vegas this last weekend of the year and experience some of world’s best food created by renowned chefs, served in breathtaking ambiance with superlative service. Vegas, it’s a food lovers dream-come-true, a gastronomic wonderland!

An Invitation to Taste With The Eyes:

Twist – Pierre Gagnier
Comme Ca – David Myers
Jaleo – José  Andrés
Osteria del Circo – Egidiana & Sirio Maccioni
Mon Ami Gabi – Gabino Sotelino

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A Foodie Christmas Dinner Party

Menu

appetizer

Three Holiday Crostini Served with Bubbly:

Italian Truffle Cheese, Truffled Shiitake, Truffled Frisee
Cambozola, Cranberry Orange Relish, Walnut
Foie Gras Paté

dinner

Lori Lynn’s

Spicy Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Creme Fraiche
Garnished with Toasted Coconut, Chopped Cashews, Dried Pomegranate Arils

Gail’s

Bejeweled Endive Christmas Salad
Radish, Shallot, Basil, Fresh Pomegranate Seed
Creamy Champagne Thyme Vinaigrette

Lori Lynn’s

Roasted Cornish Game Hen
Meyer Lemon, Fennel, Olive, Garlic
Meyer Lemon Cream Fraiche “Gravy”

Pat’s

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Sally’s

Brussels Sprouts with Hollandaise

Lauren’s

Warm Chocolate Lava Cake
Peppermint Chip Ice Cream

A few days before Christmas I hosted A Foodie Christmas Dinner Party for my friends. Everyone was to bring a dish and wine. I had said that I would be making Cornish game hen and the rest of the menu was open. Without any formal planning, the menu evolved and the dinner turned out fabulous! My only direction was to let the cooks know what menu category was available. Since we are foodie friends that have been cooking together for years, it shouldn’t have surprised me that the random menu items complemented each other perfectly.

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“Life is a Cabernet” Christmas

Silver Oak 2002 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Silver Oak 2003 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

100%

We are long time fans of Silver Oak Cellars. Balanced, complex, approachable, fruit-forward, full-bodied – are adjectives that come to mind when describing Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet. This is one of the first wineries to age its Cab in 100% American oak barrels, resulting in a smooth, less tannic wine with a fresh spicy character. American oak aging gives Silver Oak its distinctive fruit-forward flavors and finesse. The Alexander Valley Cab is also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, unlike their Napa Valley Cab which is blended with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The Alexander Valley Cab is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from different vineyards in the valley reflecting the best this appellation has to offer.

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes 2002
The 2002 Alexander Valley has a very dark garnet color and a nose of blackberry liqueur, violets, rose petals and spice. It is extremely rich and concentrated and has great depth and integration of tannin.

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes 2003
The 2003 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant, highly expressive wine that displays great complexity due to the multifaceted climatic conditions of the harvest season. The wine is dark ruby with a purple to red edge. It has bright aromas of black cherry, dark chocolate, black tea, allspice and ginger. In the mouth, it offers a full-bodied attack, a round, balanced mid-palate redolent of cherry preserves, brown sugar and caramel and an extremely long finish of savory ripe fruit.

We were very fortunate to enjoy both the 2002 and 2003 vintages at A Foodie Christmas Dinner Party. And although both vintages were luxurious, the consensus was a leaning toward the 2003 vintage – which one guest described as “liquid velvet.”

Christmas Party: Game Hen, Meyer Lemon, Fennel, Olive

Roasted Cornish Game Hen
Meyer Lemon, Fennel, Olive, Garlic
Meyer Lemon Cream Fraiche “Gravy”

Last week, looking for inspiration for the main course to be served at A Foodie Christmas Dinner Party using in-season Meyer lemons, I googled “cornish game hen meyer lemon” and discovered a fabulous yet simple recipe for a crowd by Robert Gauthier on the Los Angeles Times site here.

Since our meal was to be several courses and the fresh Cornish game hens weighed almost two pounds apiece, I had the butcher slice them lengthwise so each guest would enjoy half a hen. We slipped  thinly sliced Meyer lemon under the skin and roasted them over sliced fennel, mixed olives, thyme, garlic and more Meyer lemons. The sauce was a pan gravy with tangy creme fraiche and brightened Meyer lemon juice.

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