Fresh Tart

Cassoulet, Parts III & IV

FreshTartSteph — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:25:18 PST

The big day finally arrived! We actually got to eat the damn cassoulet, a dish I've become very familiar with over the last several days that it's taken me to prepare it. Let me say right off the bat - it was well worth the effort. And for more reasons than the obvious deliciousness - including the excitement of my fabulously foodie guests (Debbie & Stu the Wine Genius Williams and Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa), the beauty of the completed casserole, and the satisfaction in finally preparing such a classic dish (it's been on my list for a long while).

So, I left off on Friday having prepared the bean and lamb stews, as well as pulling apart the duck confit and browning the sausages. Yesterday I made fresh bread crumbs, and roasted the duck skin, first cut into thin strips, to make duck cracklings (pictured above). Oh my, those cracklings, so rich and decadently crisp, reminiscent of perfectly fried bacon, except...ducky. Divine.

About an hour before I planned to assemble it all, I heated both the bean and lamb stews to simmering. I set out my duck pieces, duck cracklings, and sausage. I pulled out my 50-lb. (at least it seems like it weighs 50 lbs.) Le Creuset 5-quart casserole and muscled it onto the stove top. I preheated the oven to 375 degrees F.

I put together an aioli platter for a light appetizer - raw mushrooms and radishes, paper thin slices of salami, cornichon pickles, olives, and tiny boiled potatoes. John lit a fire in the fireplace - always lovely, except if the flue is closed (our furnace guy had stopped by a couple of weeks ago when our new furnace didn't seem to be keeping the house warm; he latched windows and closed the flue, without telling us, yeah). Soon clouds of black smoke were filling the living room, sending me running for a pitcher of water and John scrambling to open windows and the front door. We aired the room out the best that we could and soldiered on, a glass of Veuve Cliquot firmly in hand. (Recipe for aioli here.)

After that drama (see below), I rushed back into the kitchen and got to work building the dish, the cassoulet, my reward for three days of preparation, smoke-choked dining room be damned, and it felt great. Here's the deal: I first spooned in a layer of beans, then a layer of lamb, duck, duck cracklings, and sausage. More beans. More meat. I finished with a last layer of beans, a generous topping of fresh breadcrumbs, and several ladles-ful of the lamb and bean stewing liquids. I then heaved the now 100-lb. pan into the oven and prepared for our guests to arrive.

Debbie & Stu arrived first, walking in the still-standing-open front door, commenting on how lovely it was to be greeted by an open door and the rustic, cassoulet-appropriate smell of a roaring fire. I love my gracious friends. Ana & Rudy came next, with the same cheerful take on the smoke, and we settled into the kitchen for champagne and aioli.

While we sipped and chatted, the casserole was transformed into crusty, golden cassoulet. I opened the oven, admired its beauty, and began smacking the crust with a spoon, pushing it down into the beans - what? Yep, that's what you do, then you put it back in the oven and let the crust form again. And then you admire, smack, and bake it again, and again, until at the very end, after all the chopping and browning and braising and layering and baking and smacking, a most awesomely masochistic dish emerges, to the delighted oohs and ahhs of anyone within 100 yards of the thing, because it is nothing if not impressive.

I served a simple salad as a first course (greens, apple, dried cherries, hazelnuts). I then lugged the cassoulet onto the table, and spooned crusty, juicy servings into warmed, shallow bowls, and we dug in. My first impression - rich. Meaty, garlicky rich. The soft beans absorb all of the strong, disparate flavors - gamey duck and lamb, spicy sausage, smoky bacon - and throw it back at you mellowed, blended, perfected. The chewy, smooth, and creamy textures complement one another, brought together by that glorious, golden crust. We ate more than half of the cassoulet, in the end, a stunning feat. With what remained, I happily made up packages for my guests to enjoy today.

We even pulled off eating dessert, the cherry almond tart I'd made earlier in the day. John had luckily for us ordered several pints of Jeni's Ice Cream, including Salty Caramel, arguably the best ice cream on planet Earth, especially with cherry almond tart. Alongside, we sipped Boston Bual Madeira - the cherries in the tart beautifully complemented by the cherry flavors in the Madeira. A great end to a great evening. (Recipe for cherry almond tart here.)

So there it is. Cassoulet, baby. The recipe is here, with the modifications I made as I went along (mostly to clarify where I thought things were confusing). I followed for the most part a Julia Child recipe from Julia's Menus for Special Occasions, but I also incorporated ideas from my father-in-law John's cassoulet recipe (never had his cassoulet, but given how delicious all of his recipes are, I trust that it completely rocks). All in all, a grand adventure, I highly recommend giving it a try. If you do, you must let me know how it goes (here, on Facebook, or on Twitter).

Here are the beautiful wines we tasted:

Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Brut

Château Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay 2007

Kitchak Cellars Scherzo Napa Valley Rose 2007 (Stu & Debbie)

Roessler Ridges Ollie & Hazel’s Block Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2006 (Rudy & Ana)

Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee 2003 (Stu & Debbie)

Turley Hayne Vineyard Napa Valley Zinfandel 2007

The Rare Wine Co. Historic Series Boston Bual Special Reserve

Cassoulet, Parts I & II

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:16:21 PST

So, tomorrow night we're hosting Debbie & Stu the Wine Genius Williams and Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa for dinner. Remember our recent dinner at Heartland, where I mentioned I'd like to tackle cassoulet? Well, I put the plans into motion that night for tomorrow night's feast, and started getting down to business yesterday.

Cassoulet is a hearty French white bean casserole/stew, loaded with rich meats like duck or goose confit, lamb or pork shoulder, salt pork or bacon, and sausage. The beans, meat, and stewing juices are layered together and topped with fresh bread crumbs, then baked until the top is insane-crusty-perfection. I've taken a couple of days to prepare the dish, which in effect is bean & pork stew (day one), layered with lamb stew (day two), layered with sausages and duck confit and topped with bread crumbs (day three). You could make the bean and lamb stews on the same day - neither are difficult - but they are time-consuming. Since entertaining is supposed to be, you know, fun, to me it's worth the extra planning to start a few days ahead so that I can be relatively relaxed and enjoy my guests.

I started in an unorthodox manner - by browning the bacon (I chose bacon over salt pork). Most recipes have you layer un-browned salt pork into the casserole, but I knew the flavor of lightly browned bacon would be lovely with the beans, so that's what I did. Mon dieu, I know, I know. Into the bacon, I stirred onions and a bouquet garni of parsley, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. And then I stirred in the beans, of course - I used navy; flageolet are traditional, but I couldn't easily put my hands on them, and many recipes just call for navy anyhow. Last I stirred in water, just enough to cover, slowly adding more to keep the beans covered while they simmered, until they were just-tender, about an hour and a half. I added salt and pepper to taste a couple of times throughout the cooking process, although carefully, knowing that the forthcoming lamb and sausages would add saltiness as well.

Today I made the lamb stew, with a lamb shoulder roast. Since I couldn't secure a bone-in roast, I added a beef marrow bone to the stock pot along with the browned-in-duck-fat lamb, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, tomato paste, and beef stock. A slow braise in the oven for about two hours produced a beautifully rich, meaty stew.

I also dug into the (purchased) duck (legs) confit today - I pulled the meat from the bones into bite-size pieces, and pulled the skin from the meat. I also diced and sauteed the beautiful French garlic sausages I bought - I almost hate to put them in the cassoulet, they're so delicious on their own (nibble, nibble). But in they'll go, I swear. Tomorrow I'll make cracklings by roasting the duck skin until crisp.

OK, that's all I've got for now, other than the menu (below; recipe will follow after I make note of the adjustments I've made). Notice that we're pretty much just having crudite for an appetizer, and a simple cherry tart for dessert - no cheese, cassoulet is just too rich (shucks, I love an excuse - aka a party - for a cheese course; ah well, next time). Stay tuned for wine - we haven't nailed it down yet:

Aioli platter with raw mushrooms and radishes, boiled potatoes, thinly sliced salami, cornichon pickles, and olives

Watercress/frisee salad with apples, toasted hazelnuts, dried cherries, goat cheese, shallots, and hazelnut oil/apple cider vinegar vinaigrette

Cassoulet

Cherry Tart

So Long Montana, Hello Puppy Louis

FreshTartSteph — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:02:43 PDT

Good-bye summer! It was a chilly 45 degrees at 3 o'clock this morning, autumn is definitely in the air. If you're wondering why I know the temp at 3 a.m., it's not because I was out partying. It's because we got...a new puppy! Puppy Louis, a mini goldendoodle (will be 45 lbs. full grown), and he is about as sweet and cute as puppies can be. But since he's also little - 9 weeks old - he needs a bathroom break once in the middle of the night for a few more weeks. Ah, yes, good thing they're so cute, and good thing he seems so incredibly trainable - all is going very well.

As a result of Louis - who we picked up the day after we got back from vacation, yikes! - I haven't had a chance to write about our fabulous trip to visit my dad and stepmom Susanna south of Bozeman, Montana. We visited last week, with Stacey and Cooper, my cousin Kim, and Debbie and Stu the Wine Genius Williams. Fly-fishing the Madison River, taking in the beautiful views down the Madison river valley, hiking, playing pool, and preparing and consuming copious amounts of delicious food and wine (thanks to Stu & Debbie) is the grand routine, and we had a blast.

The night after we arrived we celebrated my dad's birthday in fine style with the largest prime rib of beef I've ever seen, courtesy of Jay Taylor. Susanna had to trim it to fit it into a roasting pan (steaks for later, yum)! She roasted it using the classic technique of roasting for one hour, turning the oven off for a few hours, then roasting again for a short period of time before eating (I've found so many different versions on the web, I'll ask for her specific recipe). It was perfect. We made caesar salad and crushed new potatoes (tossed with butter and showered with plenty of freshy minced herbs) to accompany, and hot fudge sundaes for dessert at my dad's request. Susanna's brother Jim, his wife Anne, their daughter Farley, and Susanna's cousin Barbara, joined us for a knock-down, drag-out birthday feast.

The next night we made another classic - the Silver Palate's chicken marbella. Ah, the Silver Palate cookbook, my friends and I cooked our way through it in the 90s. It and Bon Apetit magazine defined my generation's newlywed/new home-owner dinner parties. And for good reason - the recipes are terrific, and fun, and I'm thinking I need to revisit my old pal. Especially after re-experiencing chicken marbella, studded with prunes, olives, and capers, holy moly is it a delicious recipe. Easy too, and inexpensive because the key to the whole dish is to use skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, which can stand up to the marinade and roasting, emerging crusty-tender (whereas breasts, I think, tend to dry out). Recipe here.

But now the vacation is over, sniff, and so is summer. I can't seem to manage - yet - both the new puppy (watching, watching, outside, outside) and making anything very interesting for dinner. We're finding a groove, however, and just yesterday I slipped away to spend the afternoon with Birthday Girl Suz. We drove up to darling Lindstrom, shopped for antiques, and downed a totally tasty diner-lunch at The Swedish Cafe. A good session of hooting and hollering and talking about everything from religion to Quick-Curl Barbies was just what my stir-crazy self needed. Happy Birthday my dear Susie, the greatest, most awesome, funniest, kindest friend on the planet!

Today, I'm thinking corn. I've had only one piece of corn-on-the-cob this summer (luckily a particularly delicious one) and it's time for more. Suz and I intended to stop at a stand somewhere along the way and pick some up, but then we got talking...and well, no corn. But today I plan a walk - it's sparkling and cool outside, how could I resist? - and a stop at some local stand to load up. I think I'll grill it (a la the State Fair - their sweet corn completely rocks), and serve it alongside steaks. I'd serve tomatoes from my pots as well but...wasn't meant to be this summer. Luckily Whole Foods has had delicious home-grown cherry tomatoes for the last several weeks; they'll make a perfect salad.

And oh! Definitely check out the very kindly Saturday, August 22, post on The Lighthearted Locavore, by our friend Lexi Van De Walle. In fact, check out her whole excellent blog, about eating locally in NYC and the Hamptons.

More pics of Montana and Puppy Louis below.

Bison, 101 Simple Salads

FreshTartSteph — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:02:22 PDT

I lucked into a delicious dinner at Debbie & Stu the Wine Genius' on Sunday night. After a dry, dusty afternoon spent watching Little League baseball, it was oh-so-nice to sit in their lovely, shady backyard and sip a cool glass of white wine, ahhh. Bill & Karla Forsythe were there as well, with their dachshund Sophie, joining Williams' two dachshunds Margeaux and brand new Sophie (yes, two dachshund Sophie's, ha). All three girls are darling, but Puppy Sophie stole the show with her round, pink belly and happy napping.

While Sophie played musical laps, Stu grilled bison tenderloin and ribeye steaks. I've eaten a fair amount of bison in my day, and certainly enjoyed it, but this version (from Whole Foods) was positively divine - tender-yet-beefy-beefy-beefy (despite being, technically, not beef), I imagine it tastes the way steak is supposed to taste. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to throw some on the grill, rarrr. Stu and Debbie plated the sizzling steaks alongside roasted potatoes and asparagus (I forgot my camera, and Stu hadn't pulled his out yet, so I missed the gorgeous pic of all three piled on the same huge platter, set down in the center of the table, shame). Stu poured a delicious Cote du Rhone alongside, Andezon 2004 - get this, it's $10/bottle!

For dessert we dug into two pastries (pictured above) from divine Rustica Bakery - a chiffon cake and a berry tart, served with a scoop of melty vanilla ice cream, so good. Thanks to Debbe & Stu for another fab meal and evening!

Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times

On another note...you must check out this Mark Bittman article titled 101 Simple Salads for the Season which popped onto the NYTimes website this afternoon. What a jewel! Completely genius, do not miss it - in fact, print it out (I linked to the printable version) and get ready to hit your farmer's market this and every weekend for the rest of the summer. Made my whole day - nice.

La Belle Vie

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:26:56 PDT

Date Night, Bar La Belle Vie, all good. We skipped wine and sipped truly yummy summer cocktails - tasties such as Old Cubans (Mount Gay Rum, Fresh Mint, Bitters, Fresh Lime and Cava) and Prince Alberts (Earl Grey Infused Bombay Sapphire Gin, Fresh Lemon Sweet & Sour And Soda). We sat down at the bar and both said, "Gosh, I wish we'd invited Stu (the Wine Genius) and Debbie" and lo and behold, in walked Stu and Debbie and Debbie's awesome sister Michelle, no kidding.

We munched on the best - The Best - bar burgers in Minneapoils, the mini-lamb burgers, topped with a spicy pepper and yogurt sauce, juicy, lamb-y, spicy-creamy perfection, they kill me, seriously.

We also noshed on crispy-salty pommes frites, and downed a mache-baby artichoke salad tossed over a pool of cumin-yogurt and slices of artichoke that was particularly divine with swipes of pommes frites.

Fry this, fry that, shake this, shake that, all fab, yum.

A drive home around lovely Lake of the Isles and despite the cold (it's 58 degrees out there as I type, nice July, puhlease), a gorgeous night.

Chapa

FreshTartSteph — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:40:38 PDT

I'm really enjoying the concepts and recipes in my new cookbook, Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way, by Francis Mallman. In particular, I'm a bit obsessed with cooking vegetables on a chapa - (from the book) a flat piece of cast iron or a cast-iron skillet set over a fire. I'm using my big Le Creuset cast-iron skillet, set on my Weber gas grill. I preheat the grill until it's very hot (600+ degrees F), then lay the pan on the grate and preheat it until it's hot too. Most of the recipes in Seven Fires are cooked on a chapa, which quickly sears and caramelizes food - perfect for vegetables. I mean prrrrrfect. I've created two insanely simple and delicious dishes so far - one Friday night for my friend Michelle (alongside salmon), the other tonight for just John and me. Tomorrow? Yep, but more on that in a second.

Let me back up a bit and explain the two dishes I've already made. The first was Burnt Fennel and Zucchini with Parmesan, Lemon, and Basil (recipe here). The technique is to thinly slice the vegetables, separately toss them with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, then cook them separately (fennel first, pictured above, then the zucchini) on the hot (unoiled) chapa until tender and blackened in spots. The warm vegetables are tossed together and finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, chopped fresh herbs, and crumble of Parmesan cheese. I plated the vegetables over a slice of grilled whole-grain bread, and served alongside salmon fillets that I also cooked on the chapa (Arthur, if you're still looking for a way to achieve crisp salmon skin, this may be the answer, since the pan is so much hotter than you can achieve indoors).

Tonight, armed with my new technique/experience, I rustled around in the cooler and unearthed wild mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, English peas, and spinach. I grilled each vegetable one at a time, scraping into a serving bowl as I went along, finishing with a handful of quickly-toasted nuts, minced fresh herbs from my pots on the deck (basil, mint, oregano), a crumble of Parm, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Frankly, that was dinner - whole-meal-worthy and truly yummy.

I was needing a just-vegetables dinner after Saturday's not-moderate feast, uff. Stacey, Debbie and Stu The Wine Genius Williams, and Michelle (here for the weekend) joined us for a pool-n-grill Saturday, sunny and hot and perfect for a barbecue. I slow-braised two spice-rubbed pork shoulders pretty much all afternoon in the oven, then finished them on the grill, crisping up the exterior and slathering them in barbecue sauce. We ate the pork pulled apart on rolls, with a side of blue-cheese coleslaw, fresh farmer's market snap peas, and apple pie a la mode for dessert. The wine - thanks to Stu, so delicious. Blast!

So tomorrow, more chapa vegetables, this time to toss with pasta. I'm thinking more swiss chard, garlic, and sweet onion, as well as the one little slice of pancetta I have left from last week's Springtime Fava Bean Salad with Poached Egg (like I said, I'm seriously digging this book). Stay tuned...

Party Time

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:08:40 PDT

Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams and Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa arrived around 6:30 this evening (menu below). Great to see them and to have time to catch up and to solve the world's problems.

Have a good weekend!

Prep Time

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:27:14 PDT

We're hosting a dinner party tonight - Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams and Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa - so I'm hopping to it. Here's the menu:

Radishes with butter (Hope Creamery, of course)
Dates wrapped in bacon
Roasted new potatoes with aioli

Roasted chickens (on the grill, using two genius Weber Poultry Roasters)
Wild mushroom sauce
Bread salad of chard, onions, pine nuts, and currants

Cheeses, Brownies

I'll fill in wine details after I figure them out, but I think we'll open with champagne and a white burgundy; pinot noir or French burgundy(s) with dinner; sauterne with cheese/dessert. Stay tuned...

One Cold, Blustery, Thursday Night...

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:49:08 PST

John and I had plans to hit Grand Cafe for dinner last night, but a serendipitous end-of-day exchange in the copy room of Henson & Efron changed all that. Instead we were invited to dine a la chez Williams, with Debbie and Stu the Wine Genius, and we gratefully accepted. I threw together a quick tray of cheeses from our fridge (luckily some tasty things - roquefort, a firm, sweet goat's milk, and hand-dipped ricotta from Whole Foods), roasted red peppers, and crisp flatbread from the pantry, and we were out the door.

Once settled in Debbie and Stu's lovely, cozy kitchen, we dug into snacks (said cheeses plus olives and a delicious truffle mousse pâté Stu set out) and got around to sipping some serious wines. We opened with the 2007 vintage of a memorable Gewurztraminer that Debbie, Stu, and I enjoyed at Bouchon in Napa Valley a few years ago - Lazy Creek Vineyards Anderson Valley. We moved on to the most delicious Viognier I've ever had, a lush 2007 Melville Verna's Estate Santa Barbara that was selling for around $22/bottle until Robert Parker gave it 94 points and it basically disappeared, poof. Of course Stu had purchased it before all the fuss, so I count myself lucky, once again, that I got to try a wine with Stu that I'd never try otherwise.

Ditto for the two reds we tasted, both Saxum 2004 Syrah blends, one a James Berry Paso Robles, the other a Broken Stones Paso Robles. It was so fun to taste these wines side-by-side and note their (to me, pretty subtle) differences - as Stu pointed out, if we'd had them on separate occasions we'd think they were quite similar. Both were incredibly delicious, a huge treat. (Note in the pic that Saxum, like Stu-Fave Sine Qua Non, changes their label with every vintage - Stu pulled some bottles to illustrate. The two we tried are on the left. And speaking of Sine Qua Non - the papers lying in front of the glasses are Sine Qua Non catalogue pages for an upcoming wine auction.)

In case you were wondering, yes, we did eat something other than cheese, olives, and pâté. We had a delicious dinner of crusty, rosy pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes, and steamed broccoli. We finished with slices of pear and blue cheese, along with a glass of champagne that hooooey! put me right on over the top. Yeah, baby, it may have been cold outside, but I was plenty warm and toasty.

Thank you to Debbie and Stu for another lovely evening!

Commanderie de Bord...oh!

FreshTartSteph — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:56:00 PST

Ah, good morning. I'm up and at 'em, perhaps a bit on the late side, but in surprisingly good form considering the wickedly not (!) moderate 16 wines I tasted last night. Santé! Yes, as Debbie and Stuart Williams' guest at the November meeting of the Commanderie de Bordeaux, I was on my best behavior and politely drained my glass(es) and cleaned my plate(s), the least I could do, non? Seriously, it was a lovely night, hosted by Commandeur Bill McGuire and his wife Mme. Nadine McGuire, along with their guest, wine expert Kevin Swersey. The evening's wines were chosen from the 2005 (Bordeaux, natch) vintage, particularly for affordability and accessibility as well as for, of course, drinkability. A quick survey of the group revealed that most had tasted exactly none of the wines - Bill and Kevin's secret goal, mwahaha, and not the usual Commanderie experience. So we were off...

But wait, I should take a step back and introduce my tablemates: Debbie and Stu, of course (pic, below, is actually from Napa, as we enjoyed cassoulet at Bistro Jeanty, but that's another story...), as well as Commandeur Mary K. Stern and her husband Gary Stern, and Commandeur Kirt Woodhouse. A delightfully clever, charming group, they very kindly answered my many (naive) Bordeaux questions and kept the conversation hopping from topic to topic, always returning to - what else? - food and wine, baby, food and wine.

Our group particularly enjoyed the opening food-wine pairing, a classic I personally hadn't experienced before but oh, will I be seeking out again: Peking duck with champagne. Yes, turns out that champagne's signature acidity is the perfect foil for every flavor element of Peking duck - the silky, rich duck breast, the paper-thin, crispy-salty skin, the sweet-tangy Hoisin sauce, and even the mild spring onion garnish. All together, ka-blam, taste explosion. Loved it. (If anyone has a recommendation on where to find good Peking duck in Minneapolis/St. Paul, I'm taking suggestions. I found this Strib rave for Yummy Chinese Restaurant on Nicollet - sounds like the real deal, but the review's a bit dated...)

Below is the entire tasting menu with wine pairings. I'd recommend in particular the second two champagnes - both delicious, unique, and according to Kevin, quite affordable (he purchased all the wine at Surdyk's). Find yourself some Peking duck (or make it - you'll see it's a luxury item for good reason, given the unusual and lengthy preparation, although the recipe doesn't look terribly complicated), pour a glass, and bubbly-bottoms up. Quack that. Oh. Yeah.

Kudos to Chef John Thompson and his staff at The Minneapolis Club for turning out such an ambitious, lovely dinner:

Passed Hors d'Oeuvres
Beef Tartar with Mustard Aioli and Cornichon
Chicken Chili Empanadas
Boneless Lamb "Lollipops" with Dried Apricot Chutney
Clarendelle Blanc 2005 Pessac-Leognan

Dinner
Peking Duck
Chartogne-Taillet Blanc de Blancs N.V. 2005 Champagne
Pierre Gimonnet & Fil 1er Cru Brut N.V. 2005 Champagne
Pierre Peters "cuvee de Reserve" Brut N.V. 2005 Champagne

Slow Poached Monkfish with Brown Butter Sauce, Celeriac Remoulade and Wild Arugula
Chateau Ferriere 2005 Margaux
Chateau La Gurgue 2005 Margaux

Seared Oxtail Ravioli with Fig Balsamic Reduction, topped with Crispy Sage
Chateau Haut-Bergey 2005 Pessac-Leognan
Chateau Tour des Termes 2005 St. Estephe

Roasted Rack of Bobby Veal, Braised Sweetbread Strudel, Chanterelle Ragout
Pomerol Christian Moueix 2005
Chateau L Croix du Casse 2005 Pomerol

Braised Pork Cheek, Truffle Potato and Glazed Grilled Carrots
Chateau Quinault L'Enclos 2005 St. Emilion
Chateau Bellevue 2005 St. Emilion
Chateau Clos de Sarpe 2005 St. Emilion

Dessert
Fromage d'Affinois, Cave-Aged Gruyere, St. Nectaire Cheeses with Fall Fruit Jams
Chateau La Gomerie 2005 St. Emilion
Gracia 2005 St. Emilion
"Mystery Wine" El Desafio de Jonata 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

My thanks again to my favorite hosts, Debbie and Stu The Wine Genius Williams, as well as to the Commanderie de Bordeaux and the evening's hosts, Bill and Nadine McGuire. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Moderate it: uh, right.