5th Dinner Club Meeting – Autumn Harvest

03-Jan-2005

October 2003

R hosted our 5th meeting. This marks the end of our first round of hosting! That means, as of this meal, we’ve each had a chance to contribute an item in each of the categories. It’s been so much fun!

As you may have noticed there was a slight shift in theme for this meeting. In the past, the themes have been by country but this time R chose something a little more ambiguous. What is really odd about this, is that I have next month and was also planning on doing something similar! Our themes are different enough that I think I will still do mine but I’m jumping ahead! Back to this month ~

Our menu for this gathering is as follows:

Appetizer: Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Tart with Fresh Herb Salad
Cocktail: Dry Apple (recipe below)
Salad: Asian Pear and New-Crop Walnut Salad (from Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters)
Main: Roast Duck with Prunes and Wine Braised Cabbage
Side: Goat Cheese and Thyme Potato Cake
Dessert: Dahlia Pear Tart with Caramel Sauce (from Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen)

Wow! This was a really great dinner! The Wild Mushroom Tart was so earthy, warm and satisfying and the Dry Apple was a great contrast – clean and crisp. Several the members have used this recipe on various occasions and once other friends have tasted it, they want the recipe, too. You should give it a try.

The salad was a nice, light note. The pears and walnuts evocative of a fall day and the dressing tasty but not overbearing.

The duck was heavenly – good thing that R made two of them for the five of us! The cabbage was a brilliant jewel red – gorgeous AND tasty. I can take or leave cooked cabbage but I even had seconds! And the nice part about the cabbage is that it can be made a day or two ahead of time and then just warmed before serving.

The Potato Cake with Thyme was extremely fragrant with that lovely herb. And it provided another texture in contrast to the duck and cabbage.

And then there were more pears for dessert but these were entirely different! The caramel and almond cream added layers of rich decadence but the pear and fluffy puff pastry added a lightness and feeling that you were eating something very good for you. :-) Okay, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it. They were yummy.

Several of tonight’s courses could be made entirely or partly ahead of time – always a nice feature when you are planning a dinner party.

Dry Apple