A Traditional Christmas Dinner with the Kings

David called it a “Christmas lunch” but by all definitions, this one was a dinner, a NINE course dinner!   We were invited to join David and Michelle and their family and friends for a traditional English holiday meal to top all meals.  With the exception of the salad and desserts, David prepared every single complicated course, an amazing feat to begin with!

He and Bill scoured their cellars for wines to go with the extravaganza, so we not only had a different wine with each course, we often had 2-3 wines!  Seven hours later, we staggered home after washing a few dishes and glasses.  

Curious?   Here’s the menu:

Shitake won tons with hoisin beurre blanc

2002 Bonville Vuvé Les Belles Voyes Brut Blanc de Blanc

Jim’s Dungeness Crab with fuerte Avocado, crab bisque ikura & Benton’s bacon

2006 & 2009 Paul Pernot Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatiéres

Jerusalem artichoke soup with trompettes de la mort & crème Fraîche

2004 Marc Morey Chassagne-Montrachet Les Vergers

2008 Henri Boillot Puligny_Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere

Cured foie gras “a la Kinch” and quince cubes with mache & balsamic

2001 Château Doisy-Vedrines

2007 Château Raymond-Lafon

Wellshire Farms smoked ham with Cara-Cara Orange, star anise & vanilla glaze

Glazed chestnuts and crispy mustard spätzle with chantrelles

1997 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonneuhr Auslese Goldkapsel

2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehliner Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel

Ballotine of Goose, foie grase and chestnuts with goose demi-glace

Duck fat roasted Brussel sprouts

1988 Château Mouton Rothschild

1999 Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin

Salad of Baby Greens

Sandi’s Pear Tart Tartin

1990 & 2001 Château de Fargues

Tartine’s Bûche de Noel

N V Campbells Grand Rutherglen Topaque

The shitake won tons were a David creation after he and Michelle had some at a restaurant and his successful attempt to reverse engineer them.  The hoisin beurre blanc was what piqued their interest and as with many “appetizers,” I could have made a whole meal of these wonderful little bites.

We sat at the wine glass laden table for the next course of Dungeness Crab with the avocado, crab bisque ikura and crispy bits of bacon.   I like the 2009 Puligny-Montrachet but others like the 2006.  David opened another bottle early and liked the 2008 Puligny-Montrachet the most with the crab dish.   It was a delicate dish that combined the lighter crab and avocado with the crunch and sparks of salty bacon.  Divine, David!

I loved the small taste of the Jerusalum artichoke soup, accented with the black trumpet mushrooms and a tiny dollop of crème fraîche.   I tend to avoid sunchokes because they are such a hassle to peel but David said he just buys more than he needs and shaves off the knobs….now why didn’t I ever think of that?   We were treated to two more bottles of my favorite white burgundy.  As I mentioned, David opened one with the 

second course and then added the 2008 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet Clos de al Mouchére.   The wine pairings were spot on so far!

Now we get tot he first of the richer courses.  David has prepared the foie gras torchon from Thomas Keller's cookbook before many times, but for this dinner and because of the recent release of David Kinch’s cookbook, Manresa, he tried Kinch’s version.   Kinch’s version requires 10+ days to prepare so it was definitely a plan ahead dish.  David did not cure it for the required 10 days but for 8 days but it was time to take it out of the duck fat it had been sitting in and slice it for serving.   And, of coure, it was served with two sauternes:  2001 Doisy-Vedrines and a 2007 Chateau Raymond-Lafon.  I preferred the Doisy-Vedrines but other’s like the Raymond –Lafon.   This version of torchon had a very different texture than Keller’s.  We liked the texture of the Keller version but it may be because the one this evening didn’t cure the full 10+ days.  Bill and I think David needs to revisit this recipe and we are volunteering to be guinea pigs for his efforts. ;-)  David bought a bucket of duck fat for this dish that he generously shared with me so I see pommes frites in our future!!

Our next course was the Wellshire Ham and although I love ham, Bill and I rarely 

eat it because a side of ham is just too much food for just the two of us.  I am so glad when it’s served at a buffet or dinner because I can get my ham fix!  This one was moist and perfectly cooked.  It wasn’t too salty and the glaze with delicious.  The chestnuts added the English touch to the dish.  I’m not a big fan of spätzle so it’s hard for me to describe the ones in this dish.  Since it’s not really a noodle, pasta or dough, I can never figure out what to make of it.  With the ham, David and Bill selected Ausleses to counter the saltiness and richness of this course.

Now we get to the star of the meal - - THE GOOSE!   This one is deboned and stuffed with chestnuts and foie gras.  You can see in this photo how the foie gras is in the center of the stuffing but as it cooks, it melts into the stuffing so in the sliced goose photo, you can’t really see it.   The goose was delicious and very savory.  It had a wild taste to it that I really liked.   The Brussel sprouts were a perfect side dish to the goose, roasted until crispy in duck fat.Initially, the Burgundy tasted better than the Bordeaux but after the Bordeaux had aired for a while, the veggie quality disappeared and I liked it much more with the goose.   After all, what’s not to like with both a Burgundy and a Bordeaux?

Michelle prepared a lovely salad that did the trick to cleanse our palate and prepare us for a few of the desserts to come.  The pacing was really well done.  We had time in between each course to digest and savor each bite, sip some wine and enjoy the company of David’s parents, Michelle’s mother and friend, Susan.   Neighbors came and went, joining us for one course or another or to just visit for a few minutes.   This neighborhood is amazing; where neighbors are comfortable dropping in and children run in and out of everyone’s homes, making themselves at home wherever they are.    Many neighborhoods, like ours, are lives lived behind fences, or closed doors.   No one mows their lawns on Saturday mornings, rakes their leaves every fall, or washes their cars in the driveways anymore.   This little enclave of the 60’s brought back memories of our own childhoods.

I brought a pear tart tatin because it is a dessert that goes so well with sauternes.  I didn’t make this one sweet enough and should have brought some caramel to drizzle over it but it was a light dessert that seemed to please everyone.  The crust of the tart was an odd texture as well.  I’ve made this dish several times and in my efforts not to overbeat the dough, I think I under-mixed it.   The sauternes were actually sweeter than the tart so they were the highlight of this dessert!

Our traditional dessert, the buche de Noel from the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco was like a tiramisu, rolled up.  The buttercream filling had a coffee flavor and the cake and chocolate frosting with the sliced almonds had the same elements as a tiramisu.  By this time I was starting to feel full so I didn’t finish my slice but I can say that it was delicious and exactly what I expect from Tartine’s!   We enjoyed a red sweet dessert wine with this dish that held up against the chocolate and coffee in the Buche de Noel.

And, lastly, just in case we still had any space for any more food, I had made my snowflake cookies and few peppermint buttercream chocolate cookie sandwiches for everyone and the neighborhood children.   I was reminded how time consuming these cookies are but they were delicious and added to the festive air of this traditional Christmas dinner.

Thank you David & Michelle for sharing your holiday feast with us!   It was a dinner that paralleled any of our cookbook club dinners that 10 cooks prepared.   You made it sound easy but I know how much work it takes to cook that many courses, even with a great sous chef like Michelle!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

8th Anual Holiday Buffet

While I am watching the 49ers beat the Seahawks (only 3^rd quarter so still a very close game!), I am savoring my memory of the buffet hosted by the Kings.  Go Niners!  Go Cooks!!

We had several appetizers this year to enjoy with two champagnes.  Most everyone chose a recipe from Guy Crosby’s book and found that, although the dishes were very basic, they provide great results.   And, of course, our cooks enhanced the recipes when the results are too basic or bland.

Michelle decided that since she had some garbanzo beans in the house, she’d make the Hummus that I think she said she enhanced with a Moroccan spice, I think it was Zhatar (?) and olive oil.  It was smooth, satiny and very delicious.   Sharon had made some as well but we didn’t try it since Michelle had already presented hers.  Sandy brought the Bacon, Scallion and Caramelized Onion Dip served in endive leaves as well as a dip with crackers.    I don’t normally like dips but this one was so rich and full of caramelized onions that I looked up the recipe when I got home and put a post-it tab on the page to bookmark it.

Bill and David provided the champagnes:  the French champagne from Bill’s cellar was very dry and went really well with the first two dishes.  It was a 2005 Elisabeth Gourtorbe Champagne Brut, Premier Cru.  David provided a California sparkling that I didn’t get to taste but everyone else enjoyed the J Vineyards Sparkling Brut Rosé.  It was that lovely pink that is always so festive as well!

David prepared a Tomato & Mozzarella Tart that was layered with prosciutto and slivers of basil...very delish!   It's one of those simple but delicious and great-presentation-type dishes that we all need to have in our repetoire of recipes.  It also went well with our champagnes, as David and Bill planned!

We served the next two courses at the dining table set for 11, thanks to the innovative seating by the Kings.   Annie made the Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder with Cherry Sauce and the Fennel Apple Chutney.   The recipe calls for the bone-in pork shoulder and although it makes the carving a bit more difficult, it makes the roast more flavorful.   Because the seasoning on the surface caramelizes, it’s easier to carve the roast with an electric knife that makes easy work of it (once the bone is removed, that is).  Annie was going to just bring the Fennel Apple Chutney but it wasn’t very complex so she also made the Cherry sauce that is also pretty basic but added a nice punch of sweetness to the roast.   I agree that the chutney just didn’t come together enough to enhance the roast, even though the imagined combination sounded fabulous.   The roast was roasted to perfection, still juicy and tender.  

I asked Janice to prepare something green since we were eating a lot of savory dishes so she was kind enough to make a Haricot Vert & Sugar Snap Pea Salad that added some balance to our “pot luck” and was the healthy side to the roast.   Sugar snap peas are so wonderful in salads, adding just that nice green touch of sweetness to the salad that brings out the other flavors in the dish.

The roast was further enhance by a 2004 Rochioli Pinot Noir, Little Hill,  Russian River Valley and a 2001 Grans-Fassian Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Spåtlese.  The Pinot was chosen for the Cherry Sauce and the Spåtlese for the Chutney.   They were both great picks for our main course.  We always love Rochioli pinots and everyone raved about the Spåtlese!

I was afraid that we weren’t going to have any desserts so I changed my choice over to a dessert and when Michelle gave me a choice between two dishes (one savory and one sweet), I asked her to bring the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling.  The cupcakes were decorated by her daughter and arranged in a Christmas Tree formation for our dinner.  They were very moist and had enough frosting to satisfy any chocolate cravings.

Since everyone chose a recipe from Crosby’s book, I decided to use a recipe from the French Laundry cookbook.   I made the Strawberry Sorbet Shortcake with Crème Fraîche.  It was a pretty easy recipe.  Because strawberries aren’t really in season right now, although always available, I added some strawberry balsamic vinegar to ramp up the strawberry flavor of the sorbet and chopped strawberries.   I was disappointed in the shortcake biscuits.  They were very tender but I think I was expecting more of biscuit but his recipe called for bead sized pieces of butter in the dough so I decided to do exactly as directed but in the future I think I’ll get a more flakier biscuit with larger dime or nickel sized butter flakes in the dough (as Guy Crosby recommends!).   The sorbet was perfect and David helped me with the quenelles.   Keller’s instructions called for quenelles made with a single spoon and I tried to follow his instructions (and he that clearly said it takes practice) but couldn’t get nicely egg shaped quenelles with just one spoon.    It was the perfect dessert to end with because, being a Keller dish, it was eaten in one or two bites! (note: the plate in photo is only 3" in diameter).

We also came up with a list of cookbooks for 2014.  In honor of Judy Rodgers (Zuni Cafe, SF restaurant) and Charlie Trotter (3 different cookbooks, his Chicago restaurant is no longer in business) who passed away this year, we’ll cook from their books as well from a new cookbook by our own local star chef, David Kinch, Manresa.    Several others books to chose from will be Jerusalem (Israeli and Arab recipes), SPQR (Modern Italian, SF restaurant) and Boulevard (Nancy Oakes, SF Restaurant).

As you can tell from the long list of cookbooks, there will be some changes to our cookbook club.  I am not going to coordinate the group any longer.   It’s gotten more difficult and is not as much fun for me.   The group was given some options: 1) disband 2) someone else coordinate or 3) rotate the coordination.  Here is what the group decided:

1.  Our dinners will be every 3 months on the first Saturday of that month.  So now you can mark your calendars for the future.  Our first dinner will be Saturday, March 1, 2014 and the Kings have volunteered to host. (2014 dinner dates:  March 1, June 7, Sept. 6 and Dec. 6)
2. The host will be able to select which cookbook (listed above) we will all cook from for their dinner.
3. We will continue to select cookbooks at our Holiday Buffet and/or edit the above list.
4. Sharon will now be the e-mailer who will send you reminders and keep us on track in terms of RSVP and entrés.
5. You will now be expected to send Sharon your entré choice at least 1 week prior to the dinner.
6. Sandi will continue to create the menus once Sharon sends them to her
7. Bill, David and Jeffrey will continue to provide wines from their cellars.  Sharon will send them the list of courses a week ahead of time so they have time to dig into their cellars and to coordinate the wines between them.
8. For the time being, Sandi will continue to write the posts for our blog but hopes that others will pitch in for future dinners.  Sandi, Sandi W or Willy can post what is written onto the blog for you.
9. Until Willie returns to the group, Sandi or Sandy will take photos of our dishes.
10. We didn’t discuss field trips but anyone can decide to coordinate one.  

An aside:  I have agreed to write a chapter for a book that is being written by two local women, Cindy Roberts and Elizabeth Softky.  Our chapter will be on cookbook clubs.   Sharon has committed to write a few paragraphs about her own experience.  I invite you to write a paragraph or story about your own experience with the club and I will incorporate it into our chapter.   You will get to review it before I submit it and as it gets edited by the book’s editors.   Please let me know if you are willing to write something.  I will submit our first draft by the end of January.  It’s due to be completed by the end of November, 2014.

We exchanged our kitchen gifts and found some innovative gadgets and devices to share.  There is a new crowing rooster to keep our mascot company too…although it may not return to get shared in the future.

A fun evening with a great group of cooks and friends!  Thank you for 8 years of cooking and growing!

Cook on!

Sandi