Poisson Dinner
Poisson for the last two 5-course dinners before heading off to surgery
January 5th and 7th, 2020
This dinner sold out within a couple of hours once I posted it. So, I added another one on Tuesday, two days later with the same menu.
A festive time was had for both dinners. My guests were greeted with sparkling rosé from Elk Cove Vineyards (thank you Elk Cove and Shirley Brooks!). Kevin and Denise generously contributed a Charles Heidsieck champagne. We started in the salon with mussels on the half shell with a cilantro vinaigrette. I love these little things, and so does everyone else! I got the original recipe from a food and wine magazine more than 10 years ago. I jotted down the ingredients, and have made it every year since.
For both dinners, the menu was the same, but the wine changed. Elk Cove Vineyards supplied wine for both nights, and some guests contributed other wines. Thanks to Elk Cove for gifting this lovely La Bohème Brut Rosé each night! Plus, Kevin and Denise offered a lovely Charles Heidsieck on Sunday.
The Dinner Menu
My guests sat down for the first course -wild mushroom bisque with herb toast
See the top photo as my guests enjoy this vegetarian mushroom bisque. Depending on which night, one or both of the below two lovely chardonnays were served with the wild mushroom bisque.
The Main Dish - Tuscan beans and crispy skin black cod
The Tuscan beans were tossed in a gremolata and a lovely Sicilian olive oil before serving. I kept the greens bright by making two flavored olive oils, keeping the lemons separate from the greens, then tossed together at the last minute. This kept the greens bright and pretty.
I found I liked working with the same menu two times in a row. I learned from the first dinner, and was able to make adjustments for the second. Both were sublime, just a few tweaks helped me perfect my craft. Another tweak was to cut out the bones in the black cod. If you’ve ever tried to pull the bones out with tweesers, like you would with salmon, you’ll quickly find out it’s much more difficult with black cod. I was butchering the flesh on Sunday’s fish, so left them in. On Tuesday, I cut out the whole section of the flesh with the bones which made it much nicer for my guests!
Two Pinot Noir’s were poured with this course, as well as the Chardonnays from above.
Salad and cheese came next
On Sunday night, my guests enjoyed Elk Cove Vineyards Estate Riesling, and on Tuesday, they had a choice between Elk Cove Estate Pinot Gris (thanks Elk Cove Vineyards and Shirley Brooks!!) or Masi Masianco Pino Grigio (Thanks Chick!)
Dessert!!!
Vanilla Ice cream, noccino liquour drizzled on top, thanks to Stone barn Brandyworks, and a cookie, thanks to Santha!
I want to thank my guests for coming and contributing, Elk Cove Vineyards for giving the gifts of wine, Chick and Jeff for adding to the gifts of wine. Also, a special thank you to my kitchen help, I couldn’t have done it without Santha, Kevin and Laurie! And another special thank you to Vonda for helping me organize these dinners!
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Very Warmly,
Karen