After Tony and I ran into Leo and his friend Dale at Dupont Circle Saturday afternoon, we decided to throw together a little home cooked meal back at Leo's and my place. This necessitated a run to the Harris-Teeter grocery store in Arlington for food and suitable wines. Leo and Dale decided they would be in charge of the food and they left the wine selections up to me.
Leo's private chef
Dale has professional cooking experience, not to mention a nifty white jacket, so he took over the cooking responsibilities from Leo.
We started with a soft goat cheese spread with cilantro, lime, and garlic, slices of Asian pear, and crackers. Next was a New England clam chowder. The main course was a roast pork loin studded with rosemary and garlic and a pan gravy, accompanied by mashed turnips with cream, roasted fresh asparagus spears, and braised Swiss chard. Dessert was a white layer cake with pistachio cream and sliced strawberries between the layers frosted with pistachio buttercream and encrusted with chopped pistachio nuts, fresh strawberries, and vanilla ice cream. For wines, I selected Dry Sack sherry (I thought a fino would be too dry for the sherry-beginners) for the appetizer and soup courses, then Concha y Toro's Casillero del Diablo 2004 (a Chilean cabernet sauvignon) for the main course, and for the dessert course, an Italian white sparkling wine: Tenuta Santa Anna Prosecco N.V.
Dinner
Dessert
All in all, it was a very fun and delicious evening, even if I did have to wash dishes and Dale cooks like he thinks a crew of Mexicans is there to clean up after him. And, given how much we spent on this dinner, it also helps prove that at least in D.C., it is often cheaper to eat out than to buy groceries and cook at home!
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