First & Famous – Wine Pairing Party
What did I just get myself into?
A charity auction started my adventures in wine pairing recipes. My mother asked if I could make a few appetizers for a wine pairing party she was contributing as a silent auction item for her Rotary group. Of course, I agreed (mom + charity = moral obligation). I thought it would like a small Mystery party I had helped her while back.
I was at this auction, and to my surprise, she had a sign-up sheet for at least 20 spots. It was described as Wine Tasting paired with “(my name in bold here)’s famous appetizers”. Um, okay? I went back to my table and had another glass of wine.
Goodness, how do I live up to the hype?
Twenty guests, two hosts, and a wine “sommelier”, myself plus the “just in case” a few more heads more. We rounded it to 30 people with 6 courses. I had never before cooked so much for so many at once.
My plan of attack was to do what I knew how to make really well, throw in a couple “easy” dishes and make ahead anything that I could.
No whining about the wine.
Alas, I didn’t get to choose or taste the wine ahead of time for this wine pairing party. Seems a miss in hind sight. I did get tasting notes from my brother, who has a long career in wine and alcohol distribution, thus was volunteered as the sommelier (same mom+charity equation applies). It wasn’t ideal, but tasting notes are a good place to start.
My mother and brother came up with a wine list to find budget-friendly, yet tasty wines – a mix of 3 whites and 3 reds. We started with whites and with each course progressed through the richer wines.
An event to repeat
All in all, it was a very successful event. So much so, that we started doing a wine paring party about every year. All the dishes came out as planned, guests left very sated, money was raised, and several folks asked what my catering company was. Which I don’t have. It’s hard to explain the mom+charity equation verbally.
I was utterly exhausted by the end. However, I made some mental notes that night on what to do differently. Mostly how I wanted to really hone the pairing and up my plating game. And that is basically how I finish each event, revving up ideas for the next one.