The holiday dinner

Every year, Sherry and I host a dinner party during the holidays.  It started 5 years ago when we invited two couples over for a semi-formal dinner in December.  Since then, it has continued to grow and now there are four couples who join us for a festive night that is all about food, wine and friendship.

The dinner, which was move to January two years ago to avoid the December madness, has become an event.  While the dress code is very informal, the meal is planned out to the smallest of details.  It is typically four or five courses, each paired with a special wine.  We usually spend months planning the menu and selecting the wines.  There is always a cheese course, which receives the same careful attention as the wine selection.

Sometimes there is a theme and this year it was pears, which were featured in the appetizer, salad, cheese course and dessert.  They were originally in the main course as well but we changed our mind at the last minute and went with cassoulet.  This proved to be the right call.  Serving cassoulet, or any single dish, provides tremendous flexibility.  Instead of the meal being ready a specific time, it is quietly simmering on the stove and is ready when you are.

On Saturday morning, Sherry and are up early starting the prep work.  Another trick for this type of dinner is selecting dishes that can be prepped or even completed in advance so you can spend more time with your guests.  We spent the entire day preparing the meals setting the table, and getting the house ready.

I also spent the day offering teasers of the night to come via today’s modern technology.  Every couple of hours I would text a new photo, like this one of the wine selection, to the group. 

As our guest arrived, they were treated to a sample of pear brandy.  Although it wasn’t the favorite drink of the evening it was a fun way to get things started.  As for the rest of the evening, here is the menu along with each wine served.

• St Andre cheese with gingered pears – 1986 Renaudin L’espiegle Brut Rosé Champagne
• Endive, pear & Roquefort salad – 2008 Domaine Auchére Sancerre
• Cassoulet – 2001 Arrowood Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
• Cheese Board – 2001-2002 Chateau Voiture Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
• Pear & gorgonzola tart – 1994 Vintage Foncesca Port

In a night filled with great food and wine, there were two moments that stood out.  During the salad course we offered a wine comparison.  Since we matched the salad with a Sancerre, a sauvignon blanc from the Loire Valley, we also opened a 2007 St. Clement Napa Valley sauvignon blanc for comparison.  The Sancerre won hands down for being more balanced.  In looking more closely the Sancerre’s alcohol was 12.5% while the Napa Valley wine was 14.1%, which explains the smoothness of the French wine.

The second major food highlight was the cheese board.  We kept this out of site so we could make a big deal of the presentation. We also debuted our new cheese curler, which was a huge hit.  Here’s a list of what was included on the cheese board.

• Petit Basque
• Brillat Savarin
• Swiss gruyere
• Tomino cheese in olive oil
• Humbolt Fog
• Date cake
• Fig cake
• Almonds roasted in smoked salt and Herbs de Provence
• Sliced pears

When all was said and done, it was the perfect evening of food, wine, and friends.  We did not rush the meal but instead let each course unfold at a leisurely pace.   After the appetizers, we sat down to dinner around 7:30 and dessert was served at 11:15.  In between each course there was plenty of laughter and conversation (and wine) to fill the time. 

Since there is a fair amount of wine consumed, in this case 10 bottles for 9 people, everyone spent the night.  The next morning we serve plain and chocolate croissants, fresh fruit, OJ and coffee.  We popped one final bottle of California Sparkling wine and a few brave souls drank mimosas.  Almost immediately, we began to tell and re-tell stories from the night before.

This is one of my favorite events each year.  Between the food, wine, and great friends it is a truly special evening.  With that said, the dinner for January 2011 is already being planned.

Au revoir!