It’s hard to believe that we find ourselves halfway through October already, but here we are! For this month’s Full Moon Dinner, Mathayom Private Chefs partnered with Robert Mondavi on our Hunter Moon Menu.
Inspired by the super-moon, Chef Nils and Chef Jeh curated a menu that reflected the rustic feelings the October moon’s name evokes.
The First course drew us in with fresh flavors of a coconut celeriac vichyssoise. The earthy tastes were then topped with a grilled and chilled Caribbean lobster tail that added the subtle hint of brininess. The beautifully dissected pickled okra from the Windy Level garden added that much needed crisp, acidic bite. The pickling spices danced on the palate with the smooth flavors of the vichyssoise.
To top it all off, the snapper escabeche brought you back to the sea element,and added another unique texture to this multilayered dish. The Mondavi Fume Blanc was impeccably paired, with its light acidity and bright notes of fruit.
For the second course, we traveled back to land, to the “Briar Patch”. Here we encountered the most tender, flavorful braised rabbit. This plate was all about bite consistency versus bite variety. The precisely cooked quail egg sat adjacent to the rabbit, over a swipe of Malabar tinted turnip puree.
Each bite allowed for either a different flavor or the continuously “perfect bite” with equal distribution of each component. The pumpkin gnocchi was placed delicately over a bed of kale that was sauteed in coconut oil (a highly recommended preparation). The melted leeks served to round out the braised rabbit with a buttery quality, while maintaining the green color and taste so loved in leeks. The light woody aspect of Mondavi’s Pinot Noir was the optimum accompaniment to this course.
The third course was aptly named “Preservation” and was the chef’s take on charcuterie. Each element displayed a different method of preserving food (even the tiny cornichon). Fortunately for us and all of our guests, Chef Ben recently took a trip home to Mississippi where he tagged a deer. Ben brought his trophy back and from there he meticulously cooked the smokiest, tender venison pastrami. Additionally Chef Ben created a delicious sausage with alligator and frog, also brought to us from the bayous of Mississippi.
The Hunter’s jerky was a hearty chunk of dehydrated house-made sausage, it was ideally salty and married well with the Jackfruit jam. The cohesive element of the entire dish was the grilled bread which allowed for a starchy, crunchy bite with each of the various components. The bread was playfully displayed on wooden blocks with curved copper wire, creating a figure that resembled a bread tree. It was fun and really contributed well to the theme of the dish as well as the overall tone of the evening. This course was a superb match for the full bodied Mondavi Cabernet.
The fourth and final savory dish was the Duck Dynasty course. It was simply plated and well executed. The juicy duck sat atop honey grits, which balanced out the gamey flavor of the bird and the crispy, saltiness of the jamon. The broccoli added the needed vegetable element, giving the plate a lovely pop of bright green. The Maestro, the star of the Mondavi collection, really held up well to the duck and jamon- pushing through with flavors of dark fruit. The dry, oak aged taste was the ultimate finale to our journey through the red wine.
Our crowning course, the Dolly Beauregard was a tasty and aesthetically pleasing dessert. The name is a witty play on the flamboyant appearance of Dolly Parton and the swollen blueberry fate of Violet Beauregard.
The cheesecake was faultlessly prepared, the plum compote drawing on both tart and sweet flavor profiles cultivated a voluptuous dessert. The slightly effervescent Mondavi Moscato was just the right hint of sweet to compliment the house-churned molasses ice cream that topped the Dolly Beauregard. It was an amazing conclusion to a fun, foodie evening.
A portion of our proceeds were donated to http://www.hopeforhaitischildren.org/. Thanks again to everyone who attended and everyone who dug a little deeper to give to those in need in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
Please join us for our next dinner on Monday November 14th, seats have already been sold, so don’t wait to reserve yours! This is a Thai inspired dinner, five courses with four cocktail pairings.
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