Last Week's Supper Club

I love and am embarrassed by the fact that my friends know me as the food-partying-entertaining gal. I love good food. I love to cook, I love fine dining and I love, love, love wine. What’s not to love about a great bottle of wine?

Lately, it’s been brought to my attention that many of my friends have been enjoying reading my status updates on Twitter and Facebook. And by “love” I really mean they often despise my updates because I make them hungry.

Last Tuesday, October 21st, I Twitted/Updated that I was going to Cooking Light Supper Club for an evening of food and wine. I definitely got some envious replies, and I also got some inquiries the day after – “how was it?”

So here it is…the answer to “how was it,” while rating the overall evening and the different courses with a five star rating system (1 = “It made me gag,” and 5 = “I died and went to heaven”).


Date: Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Location: Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica – Starlight Ballroom (4 stars)

Description: Cooking Light Supper Clubs, French Bistro Evening – a reader appreciation party hosted by the publisher and its advertising sponsors Eucerin (?), Mountain High yogurt, Kerrygold Irish Cheese, Tillamook Cheese, Gnarly Head Cellars, Potatoes Goodness Unearthed, Mahatma and Carolina Rices, and Tylenol. In the formal setting of the Fairmont Miramar, our Supper Club setting provided a convivial evening of food, wine led by the event planners of Cooking Light and Chef Billy. The Chef entertained us on an upscale cooking stage where a whiz-bang camera operator allowed us to view his tips and tricks via a wall-sized viewing screen. While Chef Billy cooked and meandered through the crowd to visit and get us excited, we sat at our linen-dressed tables while waiters helped take us through the four-course meal. Each course had a Gnarly Head wine paired with it.

Station appetizers (pre-dinner demonstration): Before the demonstration and sit-down meal started, there were a few food stations outside in the ballroom’s foyer. We only stopped at one – the Kerry Gold station where they served Warm Irish Cheddar and Artichoke Dip with toasted pita (5 stars), and Irish Cheddar and Garlic toasts (3 stars).

And now the sit-down portion of the evening…

First Course - Table Appetizers: Mixed Olive Tapenade with Toast (2 stars – not any different than the stuff I can buy at TJ’s), and Country Chicken Pâté served with coarse brown mustard and gherkins (3 ½ stars). Up until this evening, I never had pâté before. I have to say, it was darn good. Unlike my hubby, I had almost all of it. With this starter we were served Gnarly Head’s 2006 Chardonnay (0.5 stars) – I just can’t stand Chardonnay.

Second Course: Caramelized Pears with Blue Cheese salad with a Ginger Gastrique (3 stars). It was just okay. The dressing needed more acid. With this we had Gnarly Head’s Old Vine Zin (3 ½ stars).

Third Course – Dinner Entrée: Pan-seared Beef Filet with Green Peppercorn Sauce (4 stars – AWESOME!) – cooked to a perfect, perfect medium-rare. On the side we had Haricot Verts with Champagne-Shallot Vinaigrette (3 stars), and a Potato Gratin with Goat Cheese and Garlic (4 stars of AWESOMENESS). With this course we had a Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon (3 stars – just really not as good as the previous Zin).

Fourth Course – Dessert: Cinnamon Crepes with Peaches and Cream Cheese (2 stars). First of all, the crepe was just below room temp. Second – according to my hubby – the walls were too thick. The Loredona 2007 Viognier paired with this dessert was odd. The Viognier wasn’t sweet enough for the course – I think a more appropriate pairing would have been Loredona’s 2007 Riesling. Who was asleep when this pairing was made up??????


OVERALL SCORES:

*Venue: 4 Stars

*Food & Wine: 3 Stars (not a fan of the wine)

*Company: 8 STARS! ;)

*One of the reader-guests puking from too much wine in front of the hotel by the valet stand: Priceless. 5 STARS!!!!