Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 11, 2016 - 29

Edible centerpieces-a colorful crudité
with dipping sauce-doubles as décor
and an icebreaker at seated dinners.

For any entrée, we like to balance the flavors between the wine
and the dish's sauce or vinaigrette by adjusting acidity with fine
aged vinegars. Aged sherry vinegar works particularly well because
it is mellow, complex and subtle-like older Cabernets-and draws
little attention from the fading fruit of the wine. Before serving,
sip the wine and try the dish to see how the two interact on your
palate, seasoning with vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. As salt is
added, the perception of acidity in both the wine and the food is
muted. The adjustment of salt must be closely monitored; just as
the overuse of acid can leave a wine flat, over-seasoning can leave
a Cabernet Sauvignon unpleasantly metallic. The final balancing of
flavors is accomplished in small additions of seasoning just before
serving until both the wine and food are shown in the best light.
Serving a dish that pairs well with both a white and a red wine
also creates an interactive experience for your guests. I like to
serve Grilled Sonoma Quail in a Peach Vinaigrette with Saba
Glaze paired with both a young Jordan Chardonnay and a young
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon. The grilling of the stone fruits
helps complement the subtle oak in the Chardonnay, and the
peaches also bring out the wine's stone fruit flavors. Saba is a very
concentrated Balsamic, so its subtle sweetness will highlight hints
of fruit in the young Jordan Cabernet.

BUILD IN ICEBREAKERS

Another clever idea for dinner parties is incorporating an
icebreaker into your menu. I like using an edible centerpiece or
interactive condiments for the appetizer or first course. During our
Sunset Supper at Vista Point, Todd and I created a deconstructed
caprese salad with five different tomatoes and four different types
of basil, each displayed in its own small vase. We encouraged
everyone to sample all of the tomatoes with the various basils to
see which flavors brought out different nuances in two vintages of
Jordan Chardonnay poured for them. Our guests had a lot of fun
experimenting with the array of ingredients. We've hosted other
meals where a trio of sea salts was served with grilled vegetables
or artisan breads and truffle butter as the icebreaker, encouraging
guests to compare and contrast. This approach starts conversation
and makes everyone comfortable. Incorporating these fun little
details really can make a meal memorable for guests.

The gift of homemade finishing salt
inspires guests to recreate an element
of the dinner menu at home.

EDUCATE WITH ELEGANCE

We always print menus for our culinary events at Jordan, and
that's another easy touch you can imitate at home. Whether it's
a formal dinner party or a cocktail reception with different wines,
just having a list of all the different wines and dishes you served
elevates the affair. I like to use artisan papers with subtle patterns
(such as rice paper or vellum, found at papyrusonline.com) as part
of the presentation and roll the menu into a decorative piece,
wrapping it with raffia or ribbon and a herb or flower sprig from
the garden. Lavender and rosemary are go-to herb choices, as
they don't wilt fast like a delicate rose bud.

ELEVATE WATER SERVICE

In addition to wine service, we always offer a non-alcoholic option
to complete the beverage selections. When hosting a casual
wine country or harvest lunch, fruit- or herb-infused drinks, often
called "agua fresca", are a natural choice. Agua fresca offers a
wonderful twist on water refills. By puréeing a very small amount
of seasonal fruits-French Charentais melons are one of our
favorites-and mixing them into a large pitcher of water with a
touch of honey, you instantly get a little bit of color and flavor, and
it gives the meal a refreshing touch. For a more herbal style, we'll
strip handfuls of lemon verbena leaves from their stems and crush
them lightly to release the essential oils, letting the herbs steep in
cool water an hour before serving.

GIVE TAKEAWAYS

At the end of a dinner party, make a lasting impression by gifting
a memento of the evening. Gifts that include a highlight of
the menu always go over well, such as giving everyone a small
mason jar filled with a dry rub or finishing salt used on the main
course. At Sunset Supper at Vista Point, we gave everyone vials
of homemade sea salts, an ingredient used in the salmon entrée.
Seasonal fruits can also be transformed into an unexpected,
edible gift; Todd places whole fuyu persimmons in a dehydrator
for about 12 hours and then dips the dried fruit in Valrhona Blond
Dulcey chocolate and sprinkles it with Maldon salt. When guests
open the gift, they remember what a fabulous time they had and
may be inspired to recreate the dish at home.

29
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Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 11, 2016

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