Three Little Pigs at Taberna del Alabardero- Event Number 533

The Society's 533rd event was held on Tuesday, February 10th, at Taberna del Alabardero.
Passed hors d’oeuvres began at 7:00 pm. Dinner at 7:30 pm.
Passed tapas featured jamon serrano, jamon iberico, dates wrapped in bacon, and a marinated medallion of pork loin and peppers. For appetizers, the menu was chestnut soup with cranberries marinated in sherry and pork belly (slow cooked for 24 hours) succeeded by pork trotters carpaccio with sauteed shrimp and capers sauce. For main courses, pork tenderloin over sweet potato and wild mushrooms. A seasonal field green salad followed the second entrée: a roasted suckling pig with crackling skin. A selection of Spanish cheeses were topped off by a dessert of fruit sorbet and jamon salt.










Tapas-
Jamón serrano, Dates wrapped in Bacon (to die for) and Marinated Pork Loin Medallion with Red Pepper. The Chef explained that the Bacon wrapped dates originated from Morocco.






































Conde de Subirats Cava- This Spanish Sparkling wine had an earthy and mineral nose, on the palate, it was light with a slight sweetness that complemented the passed Hors d’Oeuvres.










Appetizer-
Chestnut Soup with cranberries Marinated in Sherry and Pork Belly- The soup had creamy consistency with smooth sweet taste of chestnut. "Very simple to make", as was explained by the Chef.









2005 Van Duzer Oregon Pinot Noir- This wine had a red clear color, with nose of cherries, on the palate, smooth and refreshing. The marriage was not one made in heaven (the caper sauce clashed with the wine)









Pork Trotters Carpaccio with Sauteed Shrimp and Capers Sauce-
Refreshing dish with crunchy shrimp.
















2006 Erial Ribera del Duero- This wine exhibited a deep, intense red color, on the palate smooth and the tannins complimented the Sherry sauce. Very good marriage.










Main Course-
Pork Tenderloin over Sweet Potato Puree and Wild Mushrooms-










2000 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape- This wine had a light clear red color, the nose had wild red fruits and on the palate, big and bold with strong back bone that stood up firmly with the sweetness of the potato and earthiness of the wild mushrooms.










Green Salad with Olive and Iberian Ham Oils-
Well presented dish with delicious ham.









Roasted Suckling Pig with Crispy Skin- Big earthy dish with tender pork meat that worked well with the pieces of the pork crispy skin.










2005 Agricola La Bastida Letras Rioja- The color of this Rioja was dark red with massive amount of fruit on the nose.









Dessert-
Spanish Cheese Plate- The cow cheese (la peral), goat (los cameros) and the sheep (manchego al romero) were quite different in texture and taste.









2006 Alceno Monastrel Jumilla- This wine had a purple redish color that was opaque, the nose had hint of raisin stems, on the palate, sweet, round and smooth. Complimented all three different cheeses.







Fruit Sorbet and Jamon Salt-










Espresso and Cigar....









Dinner Committee-
Leland Harrs- Chairman
Richard Sugarman
Hugo Linares- Wine Committee
Anthony Tu-Sukine and Andy Adelson- Of Counsel
Steve Greenwald- Ex Officio

General Manager- Javier Velzquez
Executive Chef- Dani Arana
Sommelier- Gustavo Iniesta

IW&FS Where is the Beef? Event Number 532 January 13, 2009

To help our members ease the post holiday blues, the IW&FS’s January 2009
‘Where’s the Beef?’ Dinner was held Tuesday, January 13th at the Park Hyatt Hotel, 24th and M Streets at 7:00 pm with passed Hors d’Oeuvres and champagne. The five course dinner began at 7:30 pm.
For the past 23 years, Brian McBride has been the chef at the Park Hyatt Hotel, consistently serving some of the finest food in the Washington area.


Hors d’Oeuvres-



Chef's selection of passed hors d'oeuvres including mini crab cakes, tuna tartar, chicken balls and anchovies mini tarts with black olives.

Muscadet, Chateau de Chasseloir 2007-



This wine is from the region of Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine where a collection of vineyards, scattered between 23 communes around the confluence of the Sèvre and Maine rivers as they flow towards the Loire. This region produces 81% of the Muscadet and many contend this region produces the best Muscadet.

This wine has a pale straw color, very fresh with aromas of earth, fruits, apple and citrus with good amount of crisp acidity. It was a good complement to the mini crab cakes, though clashed with the tuna and the anchovies.

First Course-


Grand Plateau of Fruits de Mer-


Fresh platter of scallops, shrimps, clams, lobster claws, mussels and oysters on ice with cocktail sauce, shallots and vinegar, and green mint sauce.



Sauvignon Blanc, Dog Point Vineyard 2007-
Clean nose, vibrant and fresh a complement to the sea food platter.
Very pale color. Pungent, nuanced nose combines tangerine, lemon, anise and pepper. Dense and sappy, with terrific breadth and depth to the ripe flavors of tangerine and Meyer lemon. Finishes broad and long, with noteworthy energy.

Second Course-


Roasted Bresoala Wrapped Striped Bass, Celeriac and Celery Leaves-
The presentation of this course was very original, the Bass was firm and bresoala gave the Bass an added taste dimension.


Puligny Montrachet la Pucelles 2003, Olivier Leflaive-
The pale yellow color with an unmistakable nose of a great Montrachet. Ripe stone fruits and hazelnut on the nose. Quite rich, almost exotic, in the mouth, showing the ripe, fat side of vintage 2005. This is atypically rich for this cuvee wonderfully layered wine but today I find more grip in the Combettes. This was great from cuve, notes Pierre Morey, but it has been more affected by the bottling than the estate's other premier crus.

Third Course-


Warm Terrine of Short Rib, Jerusalem Artichoke Cream-


Clos de Vougeot 2002, Louis Jadot



Very ripe and incredibly earthy aromas lead to perhaps the densest flavors of any wine tasted today. The flavors are also extremely ripe with notes of chocolate, coffee and obvious torrefaction yet like many extremely ripe '02s, the buffering acidity keeps things fresh if not altogether typical. This is extremely concentrated, almost thick and while there is obvious rusticity and a touch of youthful austerity along with stunning length. To be sure, this is no model of elegance but it's impressive in its fashion with big but completely buried tannins.

Fourth Course-

Porterhouse Steak with Bernaise Sauce and Roasted Marrow Bone, Root Vegetables-
The presentation was inviting with the bone marrow, 3- slices of the steak and the potatoes. The bone marrow was rich and sweet, the meat was tender and the potatoes were cooked just right.



Cabernet Sauvignon, Dunn Howell Mountain 1990, Dunn Vineyards-
The color was intense red, the nose of this wine reminded me of an old grand cru Burgundy, on the palate, intense and multidimensional with long finish, though not a big body.

While Dunn's Cabernets slumped in quality in the difficult vintages of 1988 and 1989, the 1990s exhibit exceptional richness, depth, power, and ferocious tannins. The massive 1990 Howell Mountain exhibits huge tannin, but immense concentration. The richest Dunn Cabernet since the 1984s? Anticipated maturity: 1999-2020. At this early stage, it does not appear to be as super-concentrated as Dunn's wines from the early and mid-eighties. It is slightly more tannic. It does possess a tell-tale mineral, cassis, flowery nose, and a rich, full-bodied, dense, highly extracted, tannic personality. Score: 96. —Robert Parker, October 1993.

Dessert Course-

Fresh Pineapple Soup with Coconut Parfait-
The presentation was Chef McBride's signature. Refreshing sweetness that does not overwhelm the taste buds.


Brachetto d’Acqui 2006, Giacomo Bologna-
Nice light and flavorful but a bit more acid would help balance out the sweetness. Went well with the dessert dish.
Dinner Committee:
Illy Coffee

Dinner Committee
Fred Deutsch- Chair
Henry Greenwald- Wine Committee
Mel Greenblat- Wine Committee
Ed Sands- Wine Information
Steven Greenwald- Ex-Officio

Christmas Eve Dinner 2008

We usually have a family Christmas Eve dinner at the house with the boys. The menu was Lobster Bisque, Margret de Canard and Gluten Free Dark Chocolate covered cake; of course all made from scratch by Alinda, Chef de Cuisine à Maison!

First Course- Lobster Bisque-










The Lobster Bisque is a pain staking ritual to prepare, it takes eight hours for the bisque to slowly simmer; basically, all day. And for the lobster meat; which is my department to pull all the meat out from the big claws (pretty easy) and the rest of the Lobster (pretty hard). What is so memorable about this dish is the combination of the lobster meat pieces with the creamy bisque. For this year, I opened a bottle of Muscat with this dish. The sweetness of the wine complements the spices used in the Bisque and it does not work against all the flavors.

Robert Mondavi 2006 Moscato D'oro Napa Valley 375ml-









Perfumed notes of honeysuckle, peach, and citrus weave through the aromas and flavors of Robert Mondavi Winery Moscato d'Oro. Served chilled, the wine's lush, sweet flavors are refreshing.

Main Course- Magret de Canard-

This is Alinda's favorite dish (and mine too), the breasts are Canadian duck breasts that are sold individually and can be found at Balducci's, sometimes Giant carries them too, but the ones from Giant are not as tender as the ones from Balducci's (less expensive as well). The key in making a great Magret de Canadrd is of course the duck breast quality and not over cooking the meat. These breasts are first placed on the meat side and the fat surface is scored by a sharp knife in a diamond pattern. They are then simply seasoned with sea salt and pepper. Next they are placed on the fatty side in a very hot skillet which then are seared for 10 to 15 minutes; depending how thick the breasts are. If done correctly, the fat is rendered down and the fatty side becomes crispy. They are later removed form the skillet and sliced thinly (using electric knife) and immediately served.


This dish was served with pan seared (extra virgin olive oil) asparagus, roasted garlic, salt and pepper. The second side dish was gratin de pommes de terre (thinly sliced finger potatoes with garlic, onions and cream.)











1994 Joseph Phelps Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon-

A wine that always works well with this course is a Saint Julien, one should not use a big Bordeaux or a big Cabernet with this dish as the wine can over power the succulent duck breast flavors. This year, however, I opened a 1994 Joseph Phelps Cabernet. This wine has aged gracefully and is not as over powering as its big brother, Insignia, but one can tell that they are related.

The bottle requires decanting since there is a lot of sediments. It is best to remove the wine from your cellar and let the bottle stand up for a week in room temperature prior to decanting. The color is clear dark red, the nose has aromas of black fruit and cassis, on the palate smooth, elegant with sweet under tone.











The Dessert Course- Gluten Free Chocolate Covered Cake-

Our Chef de Cuisine has been experimenting with the Gluten Free flour mixtures for about a year now. She finally discovered the right mixture so that the cake does no come out to be grainy and brittle. One cannot believe that this cake does not have wheat flour! The mixture is white rice flour, potato starch and Tapioca flour. But the secret, she found to be, is to double up on the egg yolk and the butter when mixing the mixture for the cake!











Cognac and Cigar, as usual, followed this meal!

IW&FS Game Dinner at Bistro Bis- Event Number 530 November 11, 2008

Event Number 530- The month of November, traditionally, has been set aside at the Society for Game Dinner theme. And this November was no different. The venue was at the George Hotel restaurant, Bistro Bis on E street, NW in Washington D.C.

Amuse Bouche
Chef's selection of passed hors d'oeuvres including mini crab cakes and salmon tartar.

Chateau Pavi Macquin, Le Rosé de Pavie Macuin, 2007
The rosé had a medium rose color, served at the right temperature (about 45 degrees F) was mouthful, delicious and easy to drink.

1st Course- Smoked Oyster Stew- Accompanied by Yukon gold potatoes, artichokes and brioche croutons. Presented with two small slices of toasts, the soup was medium bodied and creamy, did not have a strong taste of smokiness, oysters were plump and juicy.









Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils, Valmur 2005 Chablis Grand Cru-

Pale yellow-greenish tone, vanilla nose medium body and crisp. Good marriage to the stew.













2nd Course- Ballontine of Guinea Fowl Normande- With glazed apples, butternut squash and cider-calvados sauce. The presentation of this dish was well done. The meat was a bit too dry for my taste.











Domaine du Tunnel, Saint-Péray, cuvée Prestige 2006

Pale yellow clear color, clean nose, though as the wine warms up in the glass, aromas of spring flowers emerge, on the palate, full bodied wine with mineral taste and easy to drink. Good marriage with the dish.

3rd Course Fricassee of Rabbit Chasseur- slow braised leg with white wine, mushrooms and herb spatzle.

The rabbit was cooked to perfection with sweet gamey sauce.

Louis Jadot, 1er Cru Les Boudots, Nuits-Saint Georges 1996

4th Course Carbonnade of Boar- Tender braised boar with bacon lardons, pearl onions, glazed carrots and creamy polenta.

Domaine Bernard, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1998

Dark red cloudy color, may have had to be decanted. Aromas of red berries, on the palate, smooth with balanced tannins.

Dessert- Opera Torte- with valhrona bittersweet chocolate sorbet

"Warre's Vintage Port 1983

Espresso and Cigar- Cohiba 1966-2006 Reserva Cuban- Torpedo

The dinner committee:

Azer Kehnemui

Joe Levy

Earl Copp- Chair

Wine Committee: Ed Sands

International Wine and Food Society, DC Chapter, Inc.

Chef Jeffrey & Sallie Buben, Proprietors

Joseph Harran, Chef de Cuisine