Dinner at Home 03.01.13

This evening I and C had the pleasure to invite M. Albrektsson and his lovely fiancé for a dinner. M who is a great chef and blogger was visiting Dubai for a few days so a dinner at home was obvious.

We were all a bit "tired" after the previous night in Zuma but after the first sip of NV Bollinger Rosé we were back to life. A rich, food-driven champagne that worked perfectly both as a aperitif and along with the first dish.

A pure mouthful of the ocean was my plan with this serving. Lightly seared, sliced scallop with oyster, seaweed, salicorn, avocado, dill-pickled cucumber and oyster vinaigrette. Fresh start.

Home made ravioli that i filled with dried mushroom, ricotta, nutmeg and shallot. Small pieces of bread crouton to add texture, brown butter to match the oak flavors from the wine and then topped with a generous amounts of white Alba truffle.

As you can understand this dish screamed after a white burgundy. I opened a bottle of 2009 Meursault Sous la Velle from Rémi Jobard. A bit tropical in the fruit but well balanced with a white mineral character and a fresh acidity surrounded with a round mouthfeel. 

From burgundy we quickly moved to California and Napa Valley.

1999 Insignia from Joseph Phelps is a classic american bordeaux blend. This vintage the grapes were 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and 1% each of Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

Mature notes of plums, tobacco and wet soil blended with soft tannins and a deep taste of overripe plums. Far from the finesse and grace of the 1997 I had a few years ago and strangely I felt that this bottle already reached its peak.

Next I cooked ribeye of Australian wagyu, medium rare and served with white beans, celeriac puree, pickled onion, pancetta and oxtail jus. The dish was finally covered with grated black truffle, 10g on each plate to be precise. Not bad at all I must say.

No sweet wine, just dessert.
Vanilla pannacotta topped with cranberry coulis, almond crumble and cranberry jelly. I was really happy with the flavors of this dessert but the pannacotta was a bit to hard in texture. Less gelatin next time.