Big meal coming up soon..... what do I do?

[mrdutton]

Have some hard and semi-hard cheeses from Spain and Italy for appitizers along with some home-made Smoked Bluefish Mousse as a dip.

Then have a crown roast of lamb with rosemary, garlic and dijon mustard crust and a stuffing of risotto. Additional veggies will include green beans and garlic mashers. Salad of fresh spring greens and a very nice raspberry-hazelnut oil vinaigrette.

After the meal......... I just might break out the XO to go along with the freshly ground and brewed coffee. No dessert, the meal will have been enough, I think.

What wines would you suggest?

Champagne with the apps? What about the salad and the main course?

Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Bucko]

A big, earthy Pinot Noir from Swan or Mount Eden would work just fine IMHO.....

Bucko

[mrdutton]

Bucko, how about a 1991 PAGOR Pinot Noir? Might that work? Asking because I have one in storage.

[Bucko]

Never had the Pagor -- ?????.

Bucko

[winoweenie]

MrD, Not familior with the Pagor, but every time I`ve tried taking Calif Pinots to the wall since Joe Swan died, I`ve had some funny stuff come up. I drink my pinots from 5 to 9 yars from vintage. Hate for them buggers to be bad. WW

[mrdutton]

The 1991 Pagor Pinot Noir came from Roberto's place. It comes from Santa Barbara and is made by Ed Pagor. Apparently this stuff is the winemaker's extra special reserve.

I'd already quaffed a bottle without food and quickly decided it would be much, much better if matched with something on the table.

I've got it sitting upright and will probably serve it with the lamb. That is beacuse I am getting lazy and don't want to go out tomorrow searching for something else.

Thanks for the input!

[mrdutton]

Well here's the final low down:

Menu started with:

Smoked Bluefish Pate
Truffle Pate
Artichoke heart, sun-dried tomato & garlic pate
Cougar Gold Cheese
Carr Valley 3yr Aged Cheddar (been storage here at the house for two years)

Beer, Jack Daniels, and then a bottle of 1997 Rosemount GSM (Please, not all at once.)

Crown Roast of Lamb with a dijon, rosemary, garlic crust done to medium rare. Yukon Gold roast garlic mashers, french cut green beans, spring green & baby spinach salad with Raspberry Vinegar/Hazelnut oil vinaigrette.

Wine with dinner was a 1997 M. Chapoutier Gigondas.

After dinner we had slim slices of New York Style cheesecake with a light dark red fruit glaze and then some Hennessy XO.

Mr. IK helped me in the kitchen before dinner and Mrs. IK helped Mrs. mrdutton after dinner.

I think we had a wonderful evening together. No pictures were taken!

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 01-17-2001).]

[winoweenie]

Probably a great idea as no threat of blackmail on either party is now on or under the table. WW

[Innkeeper]

Great time was had by us. Mike is a great cook and has a decent "cellar" too. With luck should get home tomorrow.

[hotwine]

Sounds like a really nice evening, guys!

[Scoop]

The 1997 Gigondas sounded like the right choice to me for the dinner. How was it? Ready to drink?

Cheers,

Scoop

[Innkeeper]

Because we had been hauling it around in our pickup for a few thousand miles, we decanted it and let it rest for a couple of hours beforehand. It was very nice, and definitely ready to drink.

P.S. Because of icing conditions in the Boston area, we are staying in Bristol, RI until Sunday.

[winoweenie]

Wussie! We`re driving ALL around the valley this weekend. Sheesh! WW