A Circle of Friends

Recently, a Chef friend of mine and I cooked a 6-course meal for a dinner party a friend of mine was hosting. There were 9 people in total and the dinner was absolutely fantastic! The dinner itself was one of the most fun nights I've had in a good, long while - everyone was laid-back, down-to-earth, welcoming, generous and full of laughter.

Each course (with the exception of the first and last) was wine paired; Here's how it went:

1st course: A small, one-biter of deviled egg. The yolks were whipped with onion, salt, pepper, habenero hot sauce and heavy cream then garnished with crispy bacon bits, scallion and hungarian paprika.

2nd course: A "New England Clam Bake" - of sorts. The dish was a modification of the traditional feast and came with sauteed clams, mussels and shrimp, baked cod, a confit of new potato with garlic and onion and a fresh corn puree. It sounds like a lot of food, especially for the second course, but the portions were small and the guests did all but lick the bowls clean! Apparently it's a dish I need to do again, because nothing but compliments were received! The Clambake was paired with Champagne (yes, real Champagne!) which complimented the dish perfectly.

3rd course: Vanilla-poached Ahi Tuna served rare with coconut-lime risotto. This is a dish that my chef friend and I created together and I do have to say that it is pretty damn fantastic! Vanilla pods (sliced open) are infused in olive oil for 2 days. When ready to cook the tuna, the oil is slowly brought up to temp so as not to burn the vanilla and the tuna is added. Because the tuna is served rare, it doesn't need to poach in the oil long - and when the tuna is removed, it is speckled with the vanilla bean. The tuna is complimented perfectly with the coconut-lime risotto which is also lightly garnished with mint. We served this with Fiddlehead Cellars Sauvignon blanc and it was magic!

4th course: Duck Roulade. This is a creation of my Chef friend and it is absolutely delicious! It is a combination of duck legs and chicken thighs seasoned with various spices, wrapped in pork side and served at room temperature. It was complimented with a small salad of frizeè and mixed greens tossed with evoo and rice wine vinegar. We paired this with Stag's Leap Chardonnay and the creaminess of the wine paired perfectly with the richness of the roulade.

5th course: Short Ribs. If you've had short ribs, then I don't need to tell you how delicious they are! These ribs were braised for 12 hours in brining liquid and then pressed. A rich, delicious and velvety sauce was made from the brining liquid and complimented the ribs nicely, but the perfect compliment to the dish was the celery root purèe that went with it! The dish was paired with Napa Cellars Cabernet. I think people actually did lick their plates on this one!

6th course: Lindor White Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake. I'm not giving too much away on this one, because it happens to be a specialty of mine, but it is indeed a Lindor White Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake with butter cookie crust topped with goat cheese sauce and a fresh split cherry!

All-in-all, the dinner was a hit and my friend and I were told that we should start a catering business together, which was a fantastic and most welcomed compliment. The night was topped off with laughs and stories and wine and an awesome memory of a great time...