Wine Dinner

In our Chef's Table class, my group had to create a menu for a Zinfandel dinner. The wines for the 5 courses were chosen by the beverage manager and our chef instructor assigned us a list of proteins, starches and veggies that we had to use. We could add other ingredients, but had to use the ones on the list she gave us. BTW, it was a 5 course dinner. We were responsible for the first 4 courses and the Plated Desserts class was responsible for the 5th course.

We tasted the wines during lecture a week before the dinner and took tasting notes and decided which of the proteins would be the best match for each of the wines. We then met before class the following day and discussed in detail what we would prepare for each dish. At lecture that day, we presented our menu to our chef instructor.

The following week, our dinner was served to a group of 26 people who had made reservations. It was a huge success. We didn't get to taste our dishes with the wines until two days later, but when we did, it confirmed that we had made wise choices when designing the menu. Our chef was very pleased with our menu and we all received an Exceed Standards for this portion of the class. :-)

The photo is of Chef Lynnette helping us plate up the souffle.

Here was our menu:

1st Course:
Game Hen Consomme with Game Hen and Brasied Cabbage Ravioli
Edizione Pennino Zinfandel, 2002, Rutherford, Niebaum-Coppola Estate
2nd Course:
Bayley Hazen Blue Cheese Souffle with Radish Salad
Hendry Block 7 Zinfandel, 2003, Napa Valley
3rd Course:
Monkfish Osso Bucco with Golden Beet Fettuccine, Chestnut Gremolata,
Marrow and Zinfandel Sauce.
Rosenblum, San Francisco Bay Zinfandel, 2003, Carla's Vineyards
Intermezzo:
Raspberry-Zinfandel Sorbet served in a Tuile Cone
4th Course:
Veal Breast Roulade & Grilled Lamb Chop
Roulade stuffed with Veal Sweetbreads and served with Tomato Jam
and Pommes Anna. Lamb served with Cranberry-Cherry Chutney and
Baby Root Vegetables.
Ridge, California Zinfandel Late Picked, 2001, York Creek
5th Course:
Fig & Pinenut Beggars Purse, Poached Fig and Zinfandel Reduction
Rosenblum, Rosie Rabbit, California Late Harvest Zinfandel