Fiber Dreams

We have a tremendous group of friends here in southern California—a huge group of fabulous people. We had eight of them over for dinner on Saturday night. Ron and Troy were our chefs for the evening. Everyone always loves it when Ron cooks. Always. The other cook of the evening switches around; sometimes it’s Dave or Mike or Troy. This time it was Troy.

(Troy, in the foreground, is chopping something next to the salad sink. Ron, at the right, is stirring something on the stove, and being silly. Dave, with his back to us, is at the sink washing up. Don’t you love seeing all those men in the kitchen?)

Ron (nearly) always starts the menu planning with choosing the wines. He’s a certified sommelier and works for a wine distributor, so we get very good wines for a minimum cost. Lucky that way. They had a budget of $75 per couple this time, and actually managed to create an incredible five-course meal for that amount. With the wines we had, the quality of the food, a fine restaurant would charge considerably more for this amazing meal. And it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun. Lucky again. I wish I could share with you the smells… Unfortunately, we didn’t get photographs of all the courses to share with you, managed only a few. Too busy having fun with our friends, I guess.

Ron and Troy got here just before 4:30 to finish preparing the food; they did most of the actual cooking at home—or, well, as much as possible, anyway. Everyone else started showing up at 5:30 for our 7:00 dinner. There were cheese and crackers, and cocktails to start. At 7:00 the real appetizers came out, and the champagne was poured.

We started with some of Ron’s signature appetizers, and a lovely French champagne. Steve, Rachel, and Nora are enjoying their champagne. Then there’s Mike, Steve, and Rachel chatting… undoubtedly about how yummy the appetizers were.

That’s Kim there watching the soup being served, but safely out of the way. Steve and Mike are watching from an even safer distance. The soup plates are laid out, and ready for the delicious soup to be spooned into them.

After the appetizers were consumed, we moved into the dining room for our soup course. The specific carrot and ginger soup recipe is one he talked out of a chef at a fancy restaurant somewhere, and was sworn to secrecy. He hasn’t even given the recipe to his mother, something she has evidently not forgiven him for yet. On the other hand, the New Zealand venison was incredible. Dave and I will happily eat the leftovers, thank you.

The table is set, the candles are lit, all we need is food. Food’s laid on, wine’s being poured. Ready to dig in. Mike and Beth are enjoying the evening.

Ron is a master at sauces. He made them all at home, and brought them with him. Great time saver, that. He’d have been here cooking for days otherwise. Not that we would have minded. It’s been known to happen, but that was before he was married to Rachel. He’d rather do all that at home with his family these days—not that a person can blame him. The trio of sauces that went with the poached pears was incredible. Ron always makes such nice presentations of the food. It’s almost a shame to spoil them by eating them. Almost. Not close enough to have stopped anyone.

We had a different wine with each course. Yes, you see nine empty bottles there. There were quite a few more, too, as a lot of wine went into the dinner itself. Dave informed me yesterday that there was a good 1-1/2 bottles of wine in the risotto, along with about four or five cups of stock. No wonder it was so good. Troy made the risotto. That’s one of his specialties.

Reports are in. Everyone had a fabulous time. We always do, though. Hard not to with such wonderful food, wine, and friends. Especially the friends.

The menu

B.L.T. bites are cherry tomatoes with their tops cuff off, seeds out, stuffed with this creamy, bacon-y, totally yummy stuff. It’s an appetizer that we often ask Ron to make. The asparagus in the Course Premier was forgotten. Dave’s been enjoying the delicate spears ever since.

Hors d’oeuvres

B.L.T. Bites
Smoked Alaskan Wild Salmon on Belgian Endive
Besserat de Bellefon Champagne Brut Rosé Cuvée Des Moines, non-vintage en magnum

Entrée

Heirloom Carrot & Ginger Soup
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Grand Cru 2003 Brand

Course Premier

Risotto with Oregon Morel Mushrooms, Asparagus, & Duck Confit
Algueira Ribeira Sacra Rojo 2004

Course Principal

New Zealand Venison Osso Buco with Roasted Heirloom Root Vegetables
Microgreens Salad with Cassis Dijon Vinaigrette
Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva 1998 en magnum

Dessert

Poached Pears with a trio of sauces:
Cinnamon Crème Anglaise, Blood Orange Sauce, & Caramel Sauce
Chateau Roûmieu-Lacoste Sauternes 2001 Selection André Dubourdieu

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