Valentine's Day Dinner at the House- 2/14/2011

It has become a tradition in the family to have the Valentine's Day dinner at the house instead of going out and fighting traffic and long waits at restaurants. This year, Chef à la maison, Alinda Iman, put together a fabulous dinner menu. Attendees were Consuelo Durand, Alinda, Sina, Arman and Karim Iman.


First Course-
Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Granny Smith Apples-
These lovely duck liver fat patties were seared for 30 seconds on each side on a hot skillet and were served with caramelized Granny Smith apple slices. The classic pairing for this dish is my favorite late harvest wine from Sauternes region south east of Bordeaux France, the 2007 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau.

I purchased a case of this wine about 2 years ago and my intentions were to cellar for 10 years, but ever since the case was delivered, I have been looking for an excuse to try a bottle!

Beautiful golden clear color, the first nose, honey, the second nose, saffron, roasted vanilla, on the palate, medium body with just the right amount of acidity and sweetness. Perfect marriage with the Foie Gras.


Second Course-
Seared Duck Breast with Potato Gratin and Haricots Verts-
One does not want to over cook these duck breasts, as these were cooked to perfection.

1970 Chateau Talbot, Saint Julien-

What inspired me to open this old bottle of wine was a tasting dinner that we attended about a week earlier where the owner of Chateau Talbot was in town and Calvert Woodley, my favorite Saturday afternoon hangout wine shop, arranged a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House in DC. At the end of this dinner, Talbot was selling their recently bottled 1970 and 1994 vintage wine in Magnum format. Since I had heard a lot of accolades about this vintage, I purchased some. Since I had one 750 ml bottle in my cellar, I thought it would be a good idea to try it. It is always a challenge to try uncorking a 40+ year old bottle of wine. It is almost like a ritual. One has to bring the bottle from the cellar a week prior opening and stand it up allowing all sediments settle on the bottom of the bottle. Removing the foil, examine the cork condition, in this case, the first 1 mm of the cork was completely rotted:

If the bottle has not been re-corked, the case here, then one has to slowly insert a cork screw avoid pushing the cork in. Then slowly pull the cork out. In this case, the cork came out 3/4 way and then broke off.

After carefully removing the last piece of cork, I decanted the bottle and served immediately.

Clear light red/copperish color, the first nose, musty red fruits, the second nose, roasted oak, china ink, on the palate, medium body and smooth. Perfect marriage with the duck!


Dessert Course-
Chocolate Mousse with Crème Anglaise and walnut brittle-

This dessert was one of the best that Alinda has ever made. What was different was the addition of the roasted nuts with caramelized brittle that gave the mousse an added dimension.

A glass of Cognac and a cigar in the patio were the only sensible thing to do after this dinner!