Food Night started as a two person gathering. The Host searing a couple 6oz beef tenderloins with a red wine reduction. The guest providing a couple bottles of exceptional wine to share. Curiosities were peaked. Fires were stoked. This was a thing that needed happen again. After all, the Host liked to cook, and the guest had a stash of obscenely excellent wine.
And so it went. The group grew to a core of four. Durden, Tommy, Alex and the Host. Roughly every 6 or 8 weeks they would convene and embark upon a night of pure culinary hedonism. Friendships were forged, indelible memories made, even t-shirts (below) were produced to commemorate “Food Night”. Food Night was an EVENT. It was something to look forward to, to plan for, to budget for, to anticipate, and to remember.
Then life happens, people get new jobs, people move to different cities, and it becomes more difficult to get the band together on a regular basis. But, Food Night perseveres.
So, what exactly is Food Night? The Host had a conversation with his uncle while sitting at the bar of a local restaurant, and the topic of Food Night came up for some reason. Uncle James has been a huge inspiration in the Host’s culinary pursuits, and they dine together on a frequent basis. Between bites of the most delicious, salty, crispy, moist chicken, James chimes in that… “Any night can be a Food Night. Heck, this right here is a Food Night”.
And that’s a distinction the Host had lost track of. There need not be a formal occasion to enjoy a proper meal and/or bottle with the right people. Food Night happens whenever, and for whatever reason. With the right people, or with no people. Food Night can be you on your patio on a Tuesday night with an ear of grilled corn and a Pabst. That’d be a helluva Food Night, actually.
So when Friend of Food Night Dr. Tom sent the Host a text that read “Any interest in a Food Night at my place on Friday August 10th?“… the Host’s one word answer was…
Yes.
Food Night perseveres.
As a huge aficionado of the entire "food night" concept, a reader of this blog, and as it so happens, a friend of Tommy's, I was the one who may have prompted that text...looking forward to opportunity to share a great night!
ReplyDeletePaul
Pasta recipe...please...that dish was simply unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteYou got it, it is forthcoming, in the process of getting the pictures.....
ReplyDeleteHere is the wine list (roughly in the order we drank them) and my impressions. I wrote this a couple of days after the dinner. Still missing a few wine details
ReplyDelete1993 Dom Perignon: toasted almonds, soft, delicate, delicious (91)
2000 Louis Jadot Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru: super funky nose early, almost barnyard, with immediate interest and yum on palate. After an hour in the glass, nose mellowed to ultra rich chocolate and plum, and became sublime on the palate (94)
2001 Cos d’Estournel: 4 hour decant, hugely expressive on palate, depth, character elegance (92)
2007 Barbaresco (need winemaker): delicious, nice mouthfeel (90)
2004 La Gerla Brunello: yum, rich (90)
1997 Altesino Riserva Brunello: 7+ hour decant. Deep dark rich tobacco nose, sublime on palate (94)
2004 Bodegas y Vinedos Alion Ribera del Duero: Explosive fruit and yum on the nose, immediately, and even better on the palate. Simply delicious (95)
2002 Joseph Phelps Ensignia: Great fruit on nose and palate, super long finish, perfect with the beef. (92)
Rose and the other wine (Petals?) I didn’t drink much of…
Paul