So I haven't posted a couple of weeks but I'm not really posting for you anyway. My real intention is to have a log of great things we eat and drink.

But I'd like to share anyway... below is one of the possible menus for our wedding dinner, blog back (click on the 'add your 2 cents') and let me know if it sounds good to you.

Ahi appetizer sampler plate
Sichimi seared ahi sashimi, wasabi lemon aioli
Fried ahi poke lumpia, sweet chili nampla sauce
Wok fried toro with a soy inamona jus, kaiware edamame relish

Fresh baked bread with butter

Soup
Gingered duck consommé with Kalua duck chive potstickers, enoki mushrooms

Intermezzo
Kona lobster medallion with ume katsuo boshi konbu ice, sake drizzle, and wasabi tobiko

Entrée
Coconut lemongrass crusted rack of lamb served with a sweet chili sauce, kaffir lime demi glace and Thai yellow curry oil
Shiitake mushroom taro sticks, sautéed Kauai asparagus and sweet potato garlic mash swirl

Salad
Array of Nalo greens in Haula vine ripened yellow tomato, Kilauea guava basil vinaigrette served with goat cheese crostini’s

Cheese board (depending upon availability at time)
Manouri – a semi soft cheese made from whey and sheep’s milk cream
Brie – fromager d’affinois this double crème brie tyle cheese has an incredibly creamy, velvety mouthfeel
Saint agur – semi soft cheese is a blue veined double crème cheese with a meltingly smooth paste that produces a well rounded balance
Smoked gouda – a truly great “it goes well with everyting” type of cheese
Crescenza – a soft cheese with a delicious, buttery flavor with a velvety finish
Lavosh and crostini

Wedding Cake
2 tier suggested, 6” 10”
Flavor and decorations to be announced

Coffee Service

Plantation Iced Tea

Iced Water


Wine to be served with appetizers throughout dinner.

Indigo Restaurant's Wrath of Grapes Wine Club

July 8, 2003

Pinots

Entitled (by Indigo) "In Search of the Holy Grail"

Presented by John Doty of JMD Beverages

[Please note: I will not be having 2 martinis beforehand so I should be able to give a much more detailed accounting this time. I actually didn't end up having any martinis as Brian got there late and I didn't want to drink alone, and I was talking on my cell to my sister.]

I have no idea why the table is way down there. I will try to figure it out, but if you know why - help!

Anyway, you may notice that as we progressed through the wines my comments got shorter (and finally disappeared completely); this is not - mainly - due to the direct effects of alcohol. It is possibly due to the indirect effects, namely, lower inhibitions causing me to initiate conversations with the other people at the table. We met some great people though and that was one of the main reasons for doing this.

Ratings		Wine
B	C
3	3.5	Rene Mure Tokay Pinot Gris '99 (Alsace, France)
		Available at R. Field on Beretania in Honolulu. ~$18 So "Gris" (French, pronounced GREE) and "Grigio" (Italian) are the white variation of the Pinot. Gris (and I imagine Grigio does too) means "grey" as opposed to "noir"=black or "blanc"=white. The Tokay in the name comes from a Humgarian origin, but I didn't catch the whole story. The wine had a fruity aroma; the first taste was fruity and mineraly but acidic. It was good with the Swiss cheese we had and with the Four Fruit Sauce on the eggrolls. It was exceptional with the mustard sauce on the salmon.
2	3	Willakenzie Pinot Gris '02 (Willamette Valley,Oregon)
		Available through Tamura's Kaimuki for $15/btl. Call 735-7100 to order. This was fruity, but much lighter and not as mineraly as the first. It was much lighter in flavor and body than the first. We were told this is the contrast between the "Old World" style and the "New World" style. This was good with the Swiss also.
1.5	2.5	Jayer-Gilles Haute Cote de Nuits '98 (Burgundy, France)
		Not available locally. This had a tarry smell. I tasted a maple-y flavor on first sip. The people around us really didn't like it at all - jokes were make about the grapes being grown next to the place where the bad Firestone Wilderness AT's were burned because of the tar/rubber aroma. It went well with the parmesan bread and it was ok with the mustard sauce on the salmon - it really brought out the salmon flavor.
?	?	Rex Hill Willamette Valley Pinot Noir '00 (Oregon)
		Available at Fujioka's Kapahulu and Tamura's Kaimuki. ~$19. This is a 100% Pinot Noir (as are most Pinots we were told). This one had an antiseptic/adhesive smell to me. The stand-out taste was carmel. It was good with the swiss, but did not "blow me away."
3	3.5	Adelsheim Bryan Creek Reserve Pinot Noir '98 (Willamette Valley, Oregon)
		Available through Tamura's Kaimuki for $31.50/btl. Please call them at 735-7100 to order. This was okay. (All the labels have pencil sketches of different women's faces.)
2.5	3.5	Saintsbury Carneros Pinot Noir '01 (Napa, California)
		Available at Fujioka's Kapahulu, Tamura's Kaimuki, Safeway, Star Markets, Costco. Others at the table said this smelled of allspice or clove to them, but I couldn't smell anything. This was a good tasting wine - drinkable, but we didn't have any foods that really were great with it. The Swiss and the salmon were just okay with it.
2.5	2.5	Siduri Russian River Pinot Noir '01 (Sonoma, California)
		Available through Tamura's Kaimuki for $20.80/btl. Please call them at 735-7100 to order.
4	3.5	Sanford Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County 2000)
		Available through Safeway, Star, Tamura's Kaimuki. This was our favorite. We've been to the winery in Santa Barbara. (All the labels have different flower varieties.)

portobello mushrooms

As a result of the current biomedical direction of my job, I have become increasingly more health conscious.

So last night, Brian and I had Grilled Portobello Mushrooms for dinner. (We also had a fruit salad with honey vinaigrette and deep-fried fruit fritters - cherry and banana. I know what you may be saying - deep-frying is not healthy! - we are working toward it, but are not there yet, and FYI bananas make great fritters. The cherry ones were ok too - taste like cherry pie - but the skin side didn't hold the breading and they introduced cherry juice to our deep-fryer. I'm not sure what that is going to do to it; I should probably clean it out soon and put in some new Crisco.)

The recipe (from 'How to Cook Everything' by Mark Bittman, in my opinion the epitome of a general cookbook - it's got a little bit of everything) was very simple. For 2: 2 portobello mushrooms, 1/6 c. olive oil (pref. extra virgin), 1.5 t. chopped onion, salt and pepper. Mix together all but mushrooms; spread mix onto top and bottom of washed mushrooms. Cook over hot grill for 8-10 min. with top up then flip and cook another 5-8 min. The mushrooms we got were a steal (compared to meat) at Costco - 4 for $6.

They were wonderful - juicy and filling. The onion lended its sweetness to the earthiness of the firm-fleshed fungi. I think I will serve them as a course at my next dinner party (and I suggest you try them too).