For quite some time we have had the date of July 20th on our calendars because it was a date set - between a number of folks who all have busy schedules- to have dinner at Mon & Beth's home. Chris & Nina warned us that Mon is a fabulous cook and has an amazing kitchen but I don't think we really understood what they were trying to convey until we got there.
Within minutes of our arrival Phil and I were bargaining with each other about which tools (toys) we wanted that Mon's kitchen was sporting... I wanted a mechanical table deli style slicer and Phil wanted the holder for the full leg of bellota ham from which Mon was slicing treats....
the appetizers - olives, pate, thinly thinly thinly sliced hard salami (like I love), acorn fed bellota, white anchovies, blood sausage, Philippine style egg rolls, along with a number of things I fail to remember - were all fabulous. AND that should have prepared us for the incredible main courses of stuffed deboned suckling pig, seafood rich paella, and giant prawns in Asian sauce but we were bowled over anyway!!!! LOL
the cheese course had four well selected cheeses and a lovely fruit tart with a cookie crust rounded out the food end of the meal-
the wines- started with several wonderful champagnes and went through at least three Bordeaux wines from the 80s (82 Calon Segur, 86 Margaux, and 89 Pichon Lalande) and ended with a 77 port (a Dow?)
so I know by now you are all thinking "where are the pictures?" - so- I have a couple and you will get the gist of the meal - which really did qualify for the term FEAST....
some photos of the bellota (we all tried our hand at slicing but it was much more difficult and than the pros (including Mon) make it look!
the house made egg rolls!
then some photos of the mains
a guest, John, takes over the carving not knowing the cochinillo is deboned-
the wines- not all but just what I had the presence of mind to photograph...LOL
after the animals (oh I meant to say guests- LOL) got to it-
so now I see why Mon had no trouble cooking for a chef with one Michelin star (Chris Nugent of goosefoot) LOL- he could open his own place! Bravo Mon & Beth for a fabulous meal! Definitely in the Michelin lingo "worth a journey"!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment