DIY Degustation.

Despite the serious nature of my previous posts, the whole blog won't be quite so heavy! Many of you will know that despite being a strident atheist, general sceptic and somewhat of a nihilist (my new thing as of today) - I do enjoy a tipple and a great meal. I love to cook, entertain and try my hand at a decent wine when I get the chance. My friends will also know I like to pull together the team for a good night out, day's activity or night on the lash , so I recently came up with the idea to invite a bunch of people around to my house for a degustation style dinner.

Now, as I am not really flush with cash I can't really afford to put on a 7 course dinner for 14 people, so I thought I would challenge everyone to bring a delicious meal with, of course, a matching bottle of wine. If you're unfamiliar with the degustation experience, read the wiki. For some highly recommended authentic options here in Auckland you can try The French Cafe, Dine by Peter Gordon, or Mollies (when you're lucky).

Anyway, our version was a little less sophisticated, but I can't imagine the posh versions being any more enjoyable. We had great company, great food, and delicious wines to match. And in the end it's those experiences that make any good dinner when you go out - no matter the cost. The concept was to invite 7 pairs of people (be they couples or mates), and each was to bring a course of food that they prepared themselves with a matching wine. Of course this required a little bit of research, but 5 minutes on the interwebs will provide you with a glut of recipes and another 45 seconds will give you an idea of what wines will go with your allotted course.

The format was thus:

Entrée 1 Soup (Although this was originally planned as a cold entrée)

Entrée 2 Warm

Entrée 3 Warm

Main Course 1

Main Course 2

Dessert

Chocolate/Cheese platter

An email was sent out beforehand to ensure that everyone knew where their course fitted in, and the rest was (fairly) easy! I was going to rate all of the meals but I wouldn't want anyone to accidentally finish up last, because everyone actually did a great job. Here's how it went down in the end:

Entrée 1 - Roast Vegetable Soup with Crusty Bread

I was going to attempt to get all of the recipes off everyone for this blog, but since there has been a bit of a delay between event date and this post that has fallen by the wayside. None the less... the roasted vegetable medley compiled for this little number was seemingly standard at first glance, but the resultant blended soup was a revelation. One of the tastiest, creamiest soups I have ever tried and got the evening off to an awesome start. It was matched with the excellent Cable Bay Chardonnay - and even the Chard haters in the group enjoyed the pairing. Presentation was great and well thought out by Mel.

Entrée 2 - Surprise & Delight Mushrooms

Ollie and Yuan had a feeling that their course might have had some noses turned up at it if they announced all the ingredients, so we were dished out a plate that was a slight mystery. A great blend of flavours - a meaty Swiss mushroom, shallots, garlic, fresh herbs -and the mystery ingredient? A snail... Escargot! Personally I think this was my favourite course. Annoyingly our oven didn't cook everything evenly so the first one I had wasn't cooked sufficiently, but the second was epic. Matched with a Waipara Hills Sauvignon Blanc which was pretty without being awesome.

Pancetta wrapped Zucchini w/ Feta & Basil stuffed Mushroom

Speaks for itself - bacon is always a winner, and although I'm not a huge fan of basil, the sharpness of the feta cut through it nicely. A side of mayonnaise as dipping sauce ensured it was a great hit. Emma insisted it was the best course and kept pressuring for a vote all night. I'm glad we didn't - as I said earlier I think it better that we just enjoyed the night and didn't make it a competition! Rangi and Emma had easily the best wine pairing of the night though with their Saint Clair Pinot Gris. Usually I'm not a big fan of these girly wines, but this one went down so well with the saltiness of the bacon and the creaminess of the mayonnaise, it really was awesome.

Main Couse 1 - Miso Chicken with Edamame & Corn Salad

Personally this was a close run second for my favourite course of the night. Although I am a little biased towards the Japanese flavours. Black Miso marinade over succulent chicken thigh pieces went down an absolute treat with a Shingle Peak Pinot Noir, and the Asian-infusion salad underneath. Everyone loves a bit of Edamame!

Main Course 2 - Spicy Barbecue Ribs on a Potato Gratin

This was mine and Dan's course. I think everyone expected me to do something wanky and complicated, so I wanted to go low brow and do a bit of comfort food. The trick to doing the best ribs is to actually use Beef Short Ribs. Pork ribs are delicious but ultimately not as meaty and more of an appetiser than a main. Make sure the short ribs are boiled off first to soften up, then they're baked in the sauce made from scratch. Garlic, onion, canned tomatoes, Jack Daniels, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, oregano, fresh chili, chipotle spice (and one or 2 other things I plucked from the fridge). The gratin was made from thinly slicing kumara and potato, and layering it with leek, onion, tasty cheddar cheese and fresh cream. I decided to pair it with a Solar Viejo Rioja. A nice dry Spanish red to compliment the richness of the barbecue sauce and cheesy potato.

Dessert - Cheesecake

Unfortunately Cat and Ian had a bit of a rough day and didn't have a chance to put together their desired course of Banoffee Pie, and at the last minute she had a bring along a bought cheese cake. None the less it was yummy (one would hope so being from The Cheese Cake Shop). It was paired with a Gewürztraminer from the very popular Nelson vineyard Seifried.

Platter - Chocolate & Fresh Fruit

I expected by this stage that everyone would be a bit boozed to enjoy a memorable course, and although everyone was quite boozed - I was wrong. Steph put together a yummy platter of home made chocolate & rum balls accompanied by strawberries and apples. Was a great way to finish an awesome meal, and their wine pairing was also a favourite - the Penfold's South Australian Cab Sauv.

That was it for the food, but the highlights continued... Rangi and Emma managed to cause quite the fuss when attempting to change the tunes. A tumble and a smashed glass had some humorous results. The occasional attempt at a food fight was quashed by yours truly, and thankfully we eventually made it out to town without too much trouble.

Overall an awesome night. Everyone came well prepared, and although we had to do some dish and cutlery management between each course, we had enough cutlery and crockery to accommodate 14 people over 7 courses. No doubt thanks to the help of Ben, Dan and Hayley who all did more than their share of cleaning over the night.