Saturday night M.S. Auction dinner event was spectacular. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves thanks to great food, great wines and great company. As Al Olson gave thanks to a wonderful dinner, all raised their glasses to salute the chef (and the sommelier) to a fantastic evening.

So here is the breakdown of our evening:

I had wanted to present some interesting wines so the theme of Magnums soon came into play.

We started with some outdoor canapés and a refreshing and light magnum Giusti Prosecco Brut. We lingered in the garden for a great hour as Mother Nature certainly gave us her blessing. 

So when my wife/chef called us in for our first course, everyone's palate was more than ready.
Our first course consisted of a delicious Tuna Tartare with Avocado, crispy shallots and soy- citrus dressing. While this has been a regular in our house, this time I paired it with a magnum of  2013 Caves d'Esclans Whispering Angel, a beautiful light yet refreshing rose from Provence. It was such a success that I have to rethink about my past classical pairings. It' so encouraging to think outside the box!

Our second course was Duck Confit and Parsnip Risotto with sage-garlic brown butter paired with a 2012 Rombauer Chardonnay from Sonoma, California. While we normally use Canaroli rice, this time Sibeal decided to use my favourite (because it comes from the Veneto) Vialone Nano, a smaller rice with less starch, so one needs to pay more attention during the cooking process because it can turn on you much quicker. The creamy textures of the rice combined with the full flavours of the confit married beautifully with this medium oaked chardonnay. 

Our palate cleanser was one of Sibeal's favourite: Lime & Indian Assam Tea Sorbet served in a lime ice bowl.

At this point we were to wait for a while for the main course to arrive. Too many times the main arrives as the previous plates are cleared but we like to wait (blame it on the tenderloins "resting"). So when I saw the glasses empty I had two simple choices: allow our guests to riot, or offer more wine. The solution was simple enough, open another magnum. So down I went to the cellar and brought up a 2009 Isole & Olena Cepparello, a bit young but full of black fruit flavours that will become delicious in another few years. Luckily I have another few bottles.

For our main, my wife presented a Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon with a Cognac cream sauce, lobster mash and asparagus. All commented our perfectly medium rare the tenderloins were, but I was more impressed with the brandy cream sauce. Because it's beef, many will use a beef stock to make the sauce, but Sibeal loves to use a veal demiglaze with of course lots of cognac. . The dish was paired with two very different wines. 2005 Dierberg "Star Lane Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon from Santa Ynes Valley, California vs. 2001 Bodegas Muga "Seleccion Especial". Each presented different flavours and each brought out different components when paired with the dish. While the majority favored the Cabernet, I and only a few other favoured the Spanish wine. But both were stellar.

For dessert, Sibeal tried a vey first. "Volcanic Eruption" consisted of a iced chocolate parfait filled with a raspberry coulis, topped with Calibaut chocolate sauce and crisp sea same biscuit, served with sautéed pear in pear brandy. While it was a first for Sibeal, everyone thought presentation and flavours were fantastic. And, for the people who know me, I could not resist not presenting my family dessert wine created by my cousin Emanuela Bincoletto. The 2005 Azienda Tessere "Rebecca" is a sweet, rich Raboso Passito, that balanced the dark chocolate with the rich sweet berry like flavours of the wine. Great match!

As the evening dwindled to a close, there were still a few guests that had some digestifs (Murray wanted a beer), then the cabs arrived, and we all said good night. 

Sibeal and I looked at each other, gave ourselves a high five, then just crawled into bed, forgetting how much cleaning up there would be the Sunday. We are right now in the middle of getting our kitchen back in order with tons of dishes and about 100 Riedel glasses to wash

Until the next time, cheers!