DC10 - Codeword: Bread!

Last Wednesday marked the 4th meeting of the DC10 and the evening's belly-filling theme of "bread" as the secret ingredient was a huge success! The night began with a "yeasty" cocktail, a Garden Varietal Black Velvet that combined St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Clavelin Cotes du Jura Sparkling and Fee Bros. Rhubarb bitters. A play on the classic cocktail known for it's velvety texture and dark coloring, it way surprising light and the inclusion of rhubarb bitters made the concoction refreshingly fruity a great match with the home made perfectly spiced Crawfish Bread in honor of Jazz Fest!

Kerry and I had cold appetizer this time and with everything going on at the shop, we had little time to prepare. But I think we pulled it off pretty well and got lots of complements on our Spicy Coconut Fish Cakes with Panko Breadcrumbs Wrapped in Grilled Banana Leaves. They had a sort of egg custard like texture and the exotic flavors of Kaffir lime leaves, cardamom, coconut combined really well with the grilled banana leaves (even though Kerry tried to talk me out of using them!) adding another layer of complexity. Kerry prepared a hot and spicy chili relish and a little Asian cucumber salad to accompany the cakes that we topped with her home grown Daikon Radish Sprouts. We chose a Vouvray from the Loire because we felt we needed something with high acidity to cut through the rich coconut milk and the off-dry musky floral notes of the Domaine Ausbuisiere Cuvee de Silex worked beautifully with the spicy heat of the dish.

On to the the adventurous Lavern and Shirley got high marks for their presentation of Les Oeufs en Meurettes, a classic French dish of poached egg in a red wine sauce with sauteed mushrooms and shallots on truffled French bread. Beautifully plated and deliciously elegant the dish was a classic down to it's pairing with the 2006 Domaine Camille Giroud Bourgogne Rouge.

Our hosts went out on a limb and paired their shrimp topped Flat Bread a La Ooh Wah with the powerhouse Paradigm Zin. They pulled it off well as the wonderfully honey, spiced shrimp with rosemary and mint accentuated the herbal spice notes of the Zin. The homemade flat breads were great and the purple slaw seemed to pull everything together with the only complaint being that we were getting too full to eat all of the bread!

Couple 5 did an amazing job with dessert and was it probably my favorite of the night (if I don't count our dish, which I have to admit I really liked...)Their New Orleans Levee Blackberry Gingerbread Cobbler garnished with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Crystallized Ginger accompanied by Basil Haydens Bourbon was divine! With freshly picked blackberries from along the London Avenue canal, and a hint of cinnamon to tie it in with the bourbon it was a perfect end to another amazing DC night!

May brings a simplified "anything goes" picnic theme as Lavern and Shirley are running off to get married next month so they won't be able to attend! But we'll be back up to par in June for our "Wacky Wines" night hosted by the newlyweds!