Dinner Menus – Second Sunday Supper Circle

Menu Restart

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After a bit of faffing about as the saying goes, I’d decided that for awhile, I didn’t want to return to the kitchen professionally. During the previous couple of years one of the things I’d done was go through the basic sommelier’s training program from the Sommelier Society of America, and one day a friend called up and asked me if I’d come help him run the wine program at a new restaurant, American Renaissance. It was my first wine gig, and led to a decade plus of some fairly intensive immersion into that whole world. It did give me a bit more time to restart up the dinner parties, and this was probably the true first dinner of what became the Second Sunday Supper Circle.

Ménage à Thon
Tuna Tartare with Wasabi Vinaigrette
Seared Coconut Pink Peppercorn Tuna
Soy Ginger Preserved Tuna

1990 K. Neckerauer Dornfelder Weissherbst

Sandcrab, Saffron & Vanilla Soup
1991 Pipers Brook Chardonnay

Asparagus Flan with Morels
1991 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Merlot

Pan Roasted Quail with Date Purée and Sauce
Spring Rolls with Caramelized Figs, Serrano Ham and Salmon Roe

1988 Plantagenet Cabernet Sauvignon

Ceylon Mango Tea Sorbet

Sabra Genoise with Blood Orange Curd
Coffee Service
N.V. Gran Duque d’Alba Gran Reserva Brandy

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A Hare-Raising Harvest Happening

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Early on, the dinner parties were a collaboration between myself and my friend Pat Sterling, and at the time we thought we’d keep those going for awhile. This (the 4th) was, however, the last dinner in which she participated as a collaborator, she went and found herself a boyfriend and moved up to the Hudson Valley. Good help is hard to find, you know?

Smoked Trout in
Caramelized Apple & Onion Broth

1992 Domaine Marcel Deiss Pinot Blanc

Rabbit Braised in
Chocolate and Port Sauce
Pommery Mustard Spaetzle

1985 Weinert Cabernet Sauvignon

Devil’s Rain Salad

Butternut Squash Tartlets with
Molasses Cream

1993 Rivetti Bricco Quaglia Moscato d’Asti

The rabbit dish is a South American one from Felipe Rojas-Lombardi’s excellent The Art of South American Cooking. The salad comes from the Nero Wolfe Cookbook by Rex Stout.

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A Tale of Two Cuisines

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This was developing into an interesting series of dinners…. I wasn’t working in the restaurant field, temporarily, having been hired by the owner of a small restaurant to be her chef so that she could “step back” from the day to day management, and then suddenly walked in one day, announced that she’d missed being the chef and person in charge, and suggested I seek employment elsewhere. While looking around for a new gig I was doing some temp word processing work at a law firm, where I met the cast of characters who participated in these early dinners.

Chapter First
The Stilton, Leek and Roasted Garlic Tart

In which we are introduced to the tart in question; examine its French origins; drink a bottle of Tokaji from the Hungarian provinces; and generally relax into the evening.

Chapter Second
The Salmon-Eggplant Lasagna and Black Olive Salsa

In which we look into various fish affairs; the question of the Middle East arises; a bottle of Provençal wine is consumed; and the conversation turns to affairs of art, dance, music and literature.

Chapter Third
The Black Cherry Trifle

In which matters trifling are dealt with; tribute is paid to Her Royal Majesty; just desserts are received; a Marsala from Sicily is opened; and the evening is brought to a triumphant resolution.

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The Rocca-Haggerty Dinner

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The second dinner in the series…

Sautéed Wild Mushrooms Rognon
N.V. Collin Blanquette de Limoux Brut

Rack of Baby Lamb
Swiss Chard & Gorgonzola Ravioli

1990 Palmer Vineyards Cabernet Franc

Selection of Cheeses
E. Lustau Don Nuño Dry Oloroso

Chocolate Cinnamon Frozen Souffle
Saffron Sauce

1990 Peter Lehmann Botrytis Riesling

…which resulted in three of us writing up our impressions… we had way too much time on our hands. In order, written by me, John Haggerty, and then Frank Rocca.

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