This is the third of Lisa’s monthly dinners I have been to and I always have a wonderful time. Good food, wine and company, what better way to spend a Sunday evening. It is always a fun and relaxed atmosphere. This time the dinner was held at a new venue: the Wild Goose Creative. It is a lovely space, with exposed brick, artwork and seems to lend itself to so many different kinds of events. I have now been to quite a few there, including beer tasting, cookie decorating and a couple of fun parties. This dinner was Wild Goose at its cosiest.
We started with a glass of brut blanc de blancs (sparkling) chardonnay (Jean Louis Denois) which added a festive air, as sparkling wines always seem to. On the table were pistachios, caper berries and cornichons to nibble on as well as some striking table decorations.
The first course was some duck prosciutto made by the cutting edge chef Drew Garms from Details (although strictly speaking I think prosciutto has to be pork so I guess there must be another name for cured duck) and liverwurst from Thurn’s (I need to go there again) served with mustard, fresh bread from Omega Bakery and home made butter made by Jen from Snowville Creamery. Luckily we hadn’t eaten all the caper berries and cornichons as they went really well with the meats. The Liverwurst prompted much punning at our table sparked when Rachel declared it the best wurst she had ever had.
The second course was a tasty salad of organic arugula from the Greener Grocer with a riesling dressing, tangy dried cherries (home dehydrated – wow!) and servalot from Thurn’s. The name servalot makes me laugh because it reminds me of Spamalot and there was some speculation about how it came to be named. 
This was served with a white Côtes du Rhône (Chateau Nöel St Laurent, 2006) which like the previous wine was imported by Pat and Connie, owners of the local wine import company United Estates wines.
The main course was slow roasted pork and was served with a creamy winter vegetable gratin (potato and rutabaga) and red cabbage with bacon. A hearty dinner perfect for a cold winters evening. This was served with an Ohio wine, the Kincaid Ridge Revelation Red (2006) which was the winner of the first Ohio Michigan wine clash. Each wine was introduced by Mr. Waitress (and expert sommelier Chris Dillman) and he told us that Kincaid Ridge’s are releasing their 2007 wines on memorial day. 2007 was apparently their best harvest, so that it certainly something to look forward to this year.
Dessert was certainly a highlight at our table, a chocolate walnut crust, with chocolate mousse and expresso whipped cream and as if that wasn’t decadent enough it was served with a shot of heavenly hot chocolate.
Another delicious dinner. Many thanks to Lisa, her cheerful helpers and to my hilarious and entertaining dinner companions. I forgot to mention that we were able to take home leftovers – even those of us who had greedily cleaned our plates. What a treat!
