Spoon & Shutter

Starting the evening with a Magnum of 1996

From Susan: Last night we had the good fortune to be treated to an exceptional dinner at the home of an exceptional couple – wine collectors, great cooks and world travelers who have become dear friends. An invitation to their lovely home is always a special delight; we know we will not only eat well and enjoy great conversation, but we will also be treated to wines of a caliber we could never experience anywhere else.

Our friends have recently returned from one of their regular trips to France, so it was no surprise that we drank exclusively French wines – these make up a major part of their world-class cellar. But the simple, fresh food they served was proof that fine French wines can be thoroughly appreciated outside of haute cuisine.

To start, we shared toasts all around from a magnum of 1996 Pol Roger, Sir Winston Churchill, Champagne (so named because it was the great leader’s favorite), enjoyed with hard-boiled quail eggs dipped in black pepper. This is as much of an hors d’oeuvre as is ever served here, the cook does not want his guests to spoil their appetites! At home, we drink a good deal of prosecco, which we like as an easy-to-quaff aperitif, but I can tell you it has about as much relation to Champagne as a hot dog does to foie gras …

The cook created most of the meal from fresh, seasonal produce. Our first course was an unusual and refreshing salad of red and green heirloom tomatoes, red onion, watermelon and basil, dressed with a simple French vinaigrette. The flavors – acidic (tomatoes), spicy (onion and basil) and sweet (watermelon) melded perfectly and were matched beautifully by a lush, organic, Puligny-Montrachet.

Cutting fresh basil for the salad

The salad

For the main course, the cook had marinated generous portions of wild salmon in honey and soy sauce. These he simply roasted in a hot oven until they were just done, he then topped the fish with sauteed shittake mushrooms. Accompaniments were  roasted baby eggplant and sweet potatoes. The combination was one I never would have imagined, but it worked together deliciously. To compliment all the deep, earthy tastes on the plate, he poured a silky Saint Emillion, 1990 Angellus.

Next came a cheese course, including “contraband” farmhouse cheeses smuggled back from France, presented with a wedge of ripe brie on a board lined with grape leaves from the couple’s garden. The flavor of the French cheeses was so intensely fabulous it made my cheese-loving heart beat like it had fallen in love for the first time! With them, an equally rare and fabulous wine – a 1990 Chateauneuf-du-Pape. We swooned.

Grape leaves from the garden

cheese course

Dessert is generally the domain of the wife, who is a marvelous baker. She explained that the simple fruit torte, made with tiny Italian plums, was her “go-to” dessert, and generously offered me the recipe, copied from a old and obviously well-loved cookbook in the couple’s vast library. In some small way, sharing it here with you is paying a bit of their extraordinary generosity forward.

Italian plum torte

LBK’s Fruit Torte

Note from Spoon & Shutter: this is one of those recipes that assumes a basic baking knowledge. If you need assistance with it, please email us!

Cream 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter

Add: 1 cup flour, sifted; 1 tsp. baking powder, pinch of salt and 2 eggs

Place in 9-inch springform pan.

Add to top and cover entire surface with one of the following or a combination of: 1 pint blueberries; 24 halves pitted Italian plums (skin-side up); sliced apples; sliced peaches

Sprinkle top with: sugar; lemon juice; flour (if fruit is very juicy); cinnamon (use a heavy hand)

Bake at 350 for one hour. Delicious when served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Best served slightly warm. Refresh in oven if desired.