Valentines Dinner

Scott and I celebrated Valentines Day on Thursday, Feb 11th. We had made reservations for a 5 course French tasting and wine dinner, which was on the 11th, so we just made that day our Valentines Day. Our meal was so good- it exceeded all expectations. It was at the English Grill in the Brown Hotel. Here is the menu for the night:

Each course was paired with a wine from the Vidal Fleury winery. Also, the wine maker from the winery was there as well, and before each course he talked about how he made the wine, and how it should compliment the food for the paired tasting.

1st tasting: Crawfish a la Nage- Trout Mousseline Tomato Fumet.

Accompanied by Cote du Rhone Blanc 2008

This was a fluffy trout mousse in a creamy tomato bisque-like sauce. Trout mousse sounds kind of weird and French, but it had a sweet, non fishy taste, and had a smooth velvety texture. It was divine! (No, I did not eat the Crawfish scavenger on top). My brother in law Ben always asks us to rate things on a 1-10 scale, so I would rate this dish a 9.

2nd tasting: Sauteed Quail- Glace de Volaille Artichoke Provencale.

Accompanied by Cote du Rhone Pigeonnier 2007

This was literally the best quail I have ever had. It was perfectly seasoned but not overly salty; and the artichoke provencale reminded me of a moist Thanksgiving dressing, with artichokes. It was my favorite dish of the evening. On a 1-10 scale, I would rate this dish a 10.

3rd tasting: Roasted Beef Loin Strip- Pont Neuf Potatoes, Zucchini Tian Daube Sauce.

Accompanied by Crozes-Hermitage 2006.

This dish, while delicious, was not my favorite. The flavor of the beef was amazing, but it was over cooked for my taste. I like a nice rare to med rare temp- this beef loin was definitely a solid medium. When it's over cooked like this, it just tastes dry and chewy to me. The Zucchini Tian Daube- whatever that means- was definitely the star of this dish. It was like a little zucchini french toast stick... it was so good! I made sure to sop up all that delicious sauce with it (yes, I live in KY. We say sop here). I'd rate this dish a 7 on the 1-10 scale.

4th tasting:Warm Goat Cheese- Micro Mesclun Verjus Vinaigrette.

Accompanied by Chateaneuf-du-Pape 2006.

This isn't a great picture, but if you look under the micro greens you can see a little bit of the goat cheese. It had a fluffy, cheesecake like texture and was goaty and delicious. I'd rate it a 10- I absolutely love goat cheese. My mother's standing joke when any reference to goat cheese or goat milk is made- "It's not too baaaaaaaaaaa-d".

That was for you, Mom.

5th tasting: Almond Cake with Figs, Lavender Ice Cream.

Accompanied by Muscat Beaumes de Venise 2007

This was a different dessert than what I would normally get. Mainly because it's not dessert if it's not chocolate in my opinion, so I would never have know what this tasted like if I had been able to choose my own dessert. However, since I was not able to choose my own, this one was extremely good. The lavender ice cream had a distinct yet delicate lavender flavor- it was truly delicious. There are two reasons I am rating this an 8 on the 1-10 scale. 1, because the almond cake was just a tiny bit dry, and 2, there was no chocolate drizzle on the plate. Which would definitely have MADE this dessert!

All in all, Scott and I had a wonderful evening and would rate the whole experience a 10 out of 10.

Happy Valentine's Day!