our dessert, rhubarb crisp with oatmeal streusel, strawberries, and Jeni's Honey Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Lemon Yogurt
Well, I finally pulled off my first dinner, and I think it went okay. The worst complaint I received was that there was too much food, so I guess that's okay!
First, a caveat - I sort of didn't take pictures of everything, so it isn't all pictured exactly as served.
We had 16 guests, which was the perfect amount for the first time, I think. I learned a lot and I think I have lots ideas about how to make the next RW Sunday Supper even better. I am tentatively planning the next supper for sometime in mid-July, although I am tossing around some sort of local potluck idea in the meantime, so we'll see how that goes.
For my first Supper, I enlisted the help of my favorite up-and-coming chef, Seth, who made everyone swoon with the mushroom pasta (Seth! it's your first mention! Woot! and everyone is asking about you!), also my fabulous busser/whipping boy, Patrick, who poured his first bottle of wine during the dinner. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. Also helping was my friend Shelley, foodie and neuroscientist extraordinaire, and Husband, of course, who provided the wines.
I was pleased by the diversity of the crowd, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people came solo, because I think my shyness would prevent me from doing that! When my mom and I were discussing the dinner she said "maybe you'll spark some romance for some of your single guests!" Who knows? Lisa the Waitress Matchmaker. I like it.
I will be printing the recipes and wine descriptions separately, but I will link to recipes below for things which have been on the site before.
Husband suggested I hadn't spent enough time with the guests, so I think one major difference for the next dinner will be I will set an extra place at each table and eat one course with each table. It's a little weird for me to think that "total strangers" would want to hang out with me, so it didn't even occur to me! But I know that to my readers I'm not a stranger - every time I meet a reader, they are like "I feel like I already know you so well!"
So, here's the menu with wines (pictures follow):
Restaurant Widow Sunday Supper
8 June 2008
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Canapes
Omega Bakery Baguettes with Homemade Snowville Creamery Butter and Wayward Seed Farm Heirloom Radishes
&
Freshwater Farms Smoked Trout
2007 Bio-Weingut Hofer Grüner Veltliner Trocken
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Salad
Elizabeth Telling Farms Lettuce, Wayward Seed Farms Mesclun Mix with Wishwell Grape Tomatoes, Blues Creek Bacon and Buttermilk Herb Dressing and Oakvale Gouda
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Pasta
Spaghetti with Toby Run Shitake Mushrooms in Sage Vermouth Cream Sauce
2006 MikaelBouges Touraine "Les Cots Hauts"
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Entrée
Blues Creek Farms Skirt Steak with Sauce Cartel Lacuna Mayan Compound Butter
Wayward Seed Farms Arugula
H-W Organics Red Potatoes and Wayward Seed White Turnips
2006 Domaine "La Garrigue" Côtes du Rhône "La Romaine"
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Cheese
Duet of Lake Erie Creamery Goat Cheese
Fresh Goat Cheese with Ike’s Bees Autumn Honey
Blomma with Homemade Cherry Jelly
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Dessert
Lisa’s Favorite Amish Rhubarb Crisp with Oatmeal Streusel, fresh Rhoads farm strawberries and Jeni’s Ice Cream
2007 La Spinetta Moscato d'Asti "Vigneto Biancospino"
salad, pictured without the bacon and tomatoes:
Pasta:
Okay, I didn't take a picture of the dinner, but here is a picture of my test run, at home. At the dinner, we had arugula instead of asparagus. And this is a flatiron steak, with the same compound butter, potatoes and turnips:
Cheese:
