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Gourmet Dinner Fundraiser at my church - Printable Version

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- wondersofwine - 02-10-2003

A committee of five put on a fundraiser with a strictly limited number of tickets at $30 per person. The menu:
Appetizers: tuna tartare, shrimp cocktail, hot crab dip with crackers wine: a premier cru white burgundy from Chassagne-Montrachet;
Salad: mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, mandarin oranges, red onion, and walnuts with IK's recipe Raspberry-Hazelnut Vinaigrette (except I had to substitute Walnut Oil for the Hazelnut) wine: village Gevrey-Chambertin (picked for its raspberry
aroma/flavor)
Entree: Roasted Cornish Hen with cranberry chutney, white and wild rice, green beans and glazed carrots wine: Sancerre rouge from
Francois Cotat--comes across as a rose wine
Dessert: 14-layer cake with chocolate icing between layers wine: Cockburn 10-year Tawny Port
Everyone loved the food but they differed in their opinions on the wine. (Most are pretty inexperienced with wines and some prefer sweeter white wines. Overall I think they liked the white burgundy and the port the best.) If we do this again (possibly three times a year) with a different menu and wines I will be sure to include a sweet German wine with dessert--would have this time except that the chocolate goes better with port.


- Georgie - 02-16-2003

Wow! What a great-sounding event! It must have been a lot of work! I hope you did well. Sure beats anything I've ever been to at my Methodist church! (yes, some of us Methodists drink wine...we're probably headed you-know-where!)


- wondersofwine - 02-18-2003

It was fun for both the committee and the guests. If it hadn't been for the committee members contributing the groceries (and I contributed the rice and carrots and all the wines), we wouldn't have made much profit. If we attempt this again, we may have to scale back a little to smaller portions to economize.


- Auburnwine - 02-18-2003

You may be amused by the descriptions that I gave for our two items at this year's church auction:

Il Contessa Chiede: A Tuscan Dinner for Six
The Contessa requests … that the six of you dress appropriately, for she suffers neither fools nor informality. The domestics have polished the silver and the crystal. Cook has been singing since dawn, always a portent of delectable cuisine and impeccable wines. And what treasures has he prepared: panzanella with roasted peppers, contorni, risotto ai porcinii? Surely, there will be a tender, roasted pork in a savory sauce. A tiramisu, perhaps, with a lovely old port?

When the Contessa requests, you must comply.

Rendezvous With Red: A Wine Tasting for Six
The Spaniard has everything you long for, with its deep color, its rich, ripe aromas and its bold fruit essence. God, it is so much like you: focused, passionate, complex! And the others? They are its equals, fascinating and intricate. Some are supple and seductive, bursting with strata of juicy plum and black cherry. Some display naked vigor and zest, shaded with spice. Are you courageous enough to begin your initiation here - or take this next step on your journey of beauty and delight? Yes, you will know and your heart will fill with joy.

Six outstanding red wines, served in the privacy of our villa, with appropriate finger foods.


- Georgie - 02-18-2003

Those are some adjectives....did you say you attend the Church of the Harlequin Romance? Yikes!


- hotwine - 02-19-2003

Sure like Wow's idea.

We had a potluck men's dinner at our church a few years ago for which I had smoked brisket and chicken, and contributed the wines. Wife of one member "just happened to come by" (it was in the fellowhip hall) to see what her husband was up to, spotted the wines, and without saying a word, grabbed him by the ear and marched him right out of there. Such dinners ceased.

We've moved on to another church.


- Georgie - 02-19-2003

That's a riot, HW! There ain't no wine drinkin' allowed in my church either! We just move the wine parties to private homes! Kind of silly, I guess. I have lots of Methodist friends (including the pastor) and not one of them is a teetotaler!


- hotwine - 02-19-2003

That was a Presbyterian church. We've since become Methodists. Don't know if there's much difference in their views on wine, but these folks are at least fiscally responsible, unlike the former group.

Don't know if ol' Fred ever got that kink out of his ear.

[This message has been edited by hotwine (edited 02-19-2003).]


- Innkeeper - 02-19-2003

Our pastor makes a distiction between what we can do in the church vis-a-vis what we can do in the "hall." All socializing is confined to the hall. Still haven't been able to get any decent wine in there despite trying. We had a monthy "social program" which at one point was supposed to include wine tasting, but the program got cancelled before they got to me. We had for a few years a Seder run by the Jewish husband of one of our parishioners. All they served was Manischewitz. I volunteered to get the wine next time, and there wasn't a next time. Just a week ago they had an anniversary event for the pastor at which they served Carlo Rossi. I asked why they didn't ask me to get the wine, and they said they forgot! At least I had them all toasting, "In Vino Veritas", with the Carlo Rossi!


- ShortWiner - 02-19-2003

Bah, they obviously don't know what they're missing, IK. An invaluable resource, wasted! I grew up on Manischewitz on Passover, and have taken great pleasure in updating the ritual in recent years. Good god, it's nasty stuff! I think of it and shudder every time a poster asks for a "sweet red" recommendation. Tongue


- Georgie - 02-19-2003

The Methodist church affirms abstinence from any type of alcohol. I grew up thinking we had grape juice at communion because of this practice. Just recently, I've found out that it has more to do with the Welch's grape juice company pushing it! I know I checked this out with a couple of knowledgeable people who confirmed it. I forget all the details, sorry. Manischewitz makes me think of some wine I had from PA's Mt. Hope Winery. They have one called "Concord" which tastes just like Welch's with a kick! I have to admit, I really liked it! But then, I'm a newbie wine drinker! Most of you would probably gag on it!


- hotwine - 02-19-2003

(Choke, gasp, croak....)


- wondersofwine - 02-19-2003

I want to bid on Auburnwine's next dinner!
I have in the past auctioned off a wine tasting at my home (half proceeds to church operating fund and half to AIDS/HIV patients in the community--referred to us by social workers) I prepare appetizers and bake or purchase a dessert from a bakery. I have score cards for rating the wines and tell a little about the grape variety, region, etc. I usually throw in a "fun" wine such as a Maui Blush I brought home from a trip to Hawaii or even an Arbor Mist one year (most of you are now gagging). One year the clear favorite was a Valpolicella Amarone. I think a German Riesling was favorite another year.


- Auburnwine - 02-19-2003

If I think of it, I will post the link to next year's auction catalogue. It is an absolutely delightful event. Our minister is Isabel Allende's sister-in-law and this year I got two signed first editions. Waaay cool.

For several auctions, I have made a very inspiring (or at least lubricating) "For-Bidding Punch."

For my wine tastings (when I am dealing with true novices), I always get a jug wine and have them taste it blind next to a decent wine: "What do you like or not like about this wine? Compare and contrast." It's the best intro to basic tastings that I know.

[This message has been edited by Auburnwine (edited 02-19-2003).]


- wondersofwine - 02-19-2003

My prize "take home" from previous church auctions were two less than full-size handmade quilts. One year I bid on it as a gift for my sister and was allowed to select the pattern and colors that would go in her bedroom. The next year I bid on it for myself and have a lovely cream/navy/green quilt that goes with both my living foom couch and my guest room bed.


- Georgie - 02-19-2003

Boy! Y'all know how to do church things right down there in the south! I'm impressed!