A "Babette's Feast" Dinner

For my daughter's school charity auction I agreed to host a dinner at my home -- where I was chief cook and bottle washer (well, actually, the only cook) and my husband was sommelier, digging out gems from his cellar such as an 1982 Chateau Margaux and several bottles of 1978 (!) Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon from California. The latter far exceeded the former but drinking the former (valued somewhere between $900 and $1900) was interesting, to say the least. It actually improved in the glass overnight -- and we sipped it for breakfast as we continued washing more than 100 plates, every pot in my house, and more than 75 wine glasses. One of my favorite movies is Babette's Feast. I suggest you rent it. You will then understand the title of today's blog. The menu for my 7-course seated dinner is as follows and it includes the hors d'oeuvres and wines also served. Many thanks to Susan Goldberg-Liu and her husband for bidding for the dinner, and to beloved Arthur Schwartz for being our "celebrity" for the evening and for signing his wonderful book The Southern Italian Table to all. Many thanks, too, to Omar Honeyman, waiter and bartender extraordinaire -- a legend on New York's catering circuit.

“COCKTAILS and LITTLE MEALS with ARTHUR SCHWARTZ”

Susan Goldberg-Liu and Simon Liu and friends FOR BERKELEY CARROLL

Hosts: Michael Whiteman and Rozanne Gold

May 24, 2012

Homemade hummus with za’atar and lavash crisps Cracked olives with wild fennel & “fish-sauce” pecans Tiny crostini of red pepper tapenade, goat cheese & fresh thyme Smoked salmon pizzette with lemon & basil

 Fresh corn fritters with cumin seed, wild arugula and lime Venezualan “guasacaca” sauce

   Ginger-Pear Lime Martinis Vinas de Balbo (chardonary-ugni blanc) in magnum, Argentina

M   E   N   U

Chilled Beet Soup with crème fraiche, smoked bacon & lemon zest Michael’s homemade whole grain-rye bread Mia Prosecco, Italy

Sauteed shrimp with shallots and tarragon, roasted garlic flan Pasanella & figlio Bianco, Maremma 2010

Crisped duck magret, roasted grapes & sauteed ramps with potato-cauliflower puree & grape demi-glace Chateau Margaux, France 1982

Falling-off-the-bone pork, vinegar, kale, wild mushrooms and buttery grits Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon, California 1978

Bitter chocolate mousse cake, lemon buttermilk sorbet, venetian wine cake Cockburn’s Quinta do Tua, 1987, Vintage Porto

CHEF:  ROZANNE GOLD