Thought I'd post this here for those of you not reading the "other" forum.

The DPAW started because many of us have bemoaned the fact that, unlike many of our European neighbors, we don't make enough leisure time with our friends around a table with wine. In an effort to kickstart our couch potato social lives, we came up with this idea, similar to the TAA.

Before and after the DPAW weekend, we'll all get together and share menus, tasting notes, ideas, etc.

Our first Dinner Party Across the World (DPAW) will be held the second weekend of January, 10-12 January.

The theme will be (drum roll please)... French cooking & French wine.

You can hold the dinner party for brunch, lunch, or dinner. For as few or as many people as you like, as long as you share your menu and wine choices with the rest of us here in Dining & Cooking.

If you have to do restaurant food (too chicken to go it alone?), at least get it as take away and serve it at home on your own china.

The idea is to invite as many people as you feel comfortable with having in your home, their home, etc. Let's all reconnect and get to know each other again. Invite the neighbor you've only ever nodded to or the co-worker who always seems so harried.

Count me in. Whats the date?

Anytime the weekend of 10-12 January.

Sorry LW, I am out of the country that weekend.

So, the rumor was correct. Was I the ONLY 1 Not in on the secret. Welcome Lilac.

sounds like a great idea!

lcc, if there was a secret or a rumor, i missed both. i do wish people would use the same names in both places, though.

seltzer-as john belushi said in animal house, we shall now call you lilacwine2.

Howdy, Miss Lilac. We do French food and French wine all the time here. It's going to be downhill after that.

Youse guys! I was trying to be incognito so that I could start fresh with some of the members here who are, shall we say, not my biggest fans.

Ah well. I'll see if the system will let me change my nick, or re-register.

Now that my secret is out, that is! (sheesh)

Okay okay.

Here I am!

Short and others - don't leave on my account, please. I promise to behave myself.

Have no fear, Lilac.....I'm not going anywhere.

Welcome to Vinocellar. We look forward to your participation.

Lilac, behavior is SO overrated!

Thanks for the giggle Board-O.

Hey gang, Repeat of the WS post, so if you read one, you've read them all. Except I forgot to mention I served roasted garlic with the first course.

Whew! It's done...

Hosted my dinner party last night. Just a scant three weeks after moving into my new house, so I had problems finding the exact pot, knife, the coffee cups, etc., but I did it!

First, the setting: My circa 1920, arts-and-crafts style home made cozy against the 37 degree F, wet, windy, nasty weather. NFL playoffs on the tele for the men folk, plenty of chairs in the generous kitchen for kibbitzing and generally female chat. I must confess to serving folks on plastic plates/bowls, etc., but with normal glasses and flatware. I couldn't find any of my dinner-party ware. Washing up was easy!

Here's the menu:

First Course
Cheese, fruit, crackers, bread.

2000 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Montmains
What a fun wine. All lemony and sweet. It bounced off the tongue and really played nice with the cheeses, fruit, and crackers. An excellent buy at $22. LW sez 88, WS sez 89.

*Baked Brie with crusty French bread (incredible match with the wine)
*Double Glouchestershire (not exactly French, but I love it)
*Roquefort
*Grapes, sliced melon
*Assorted cheese/wine-friendly crackers

Second Course
Salad.

Stayed with the Chablis. It played very nice with the salad, even with the vinaigrette.

Salad Petite

• Bibb Lettuce, torn in pieces
  
• Pecan pieces
  
• Granny Smith Apples, julienned
  
• Roquefort, crumbled
  
• Balsamic Vinaigrette (no time to make it, so I used Newman's Own and it was quite good - gotta pick your battles, ya know)
  

Third Course
Cassoulet, bread, wine.

1998 Domaine Les Goubert Gigondas
Yowza - what a wine. It probably should be cellared a bit longer, but it's drinking very nice right now. I absolutely loved the fruit and acid balance of this lovely wine. And it had enough tannins to stand up to the dish I served. A little highly priced at $30, but worth it if you're a Gigondas freak. Gwen sez 89-90, WS sez 91.

Cassoulet
This is a hearty, Southwestern France stew of beans, sausage, and meat. It was perfect for the weather we were having here last night (today). Hearty, a bit of spice, and warm in the belly. Here's the recipe I used - thank you Emeril Legasse. The recipe is a little vague in a couple of places, so you'll have to use your intuition. Also, I couldn't get veal shank at my local grocers, so I substituted another cut of bone-in veal - forget which one now (senility has set in). The Gigondas was a perfect match.

Dessert Course
Piroulines, cheesecake with blackberry coulis, coffee (Celebes Kalosi, of course)

2000 La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi Moscato Bianco
This wine was the only disappointment of the entire evening, and I suppose I should have known better when I bought it. It had some slight effervescence and nice enough citrus, white fruit. But it started short on the nose and finished short on the tongue. A real yawner and not worth the $14 I paid for the 500ml bottle. Gwen sez 83. WS not rated. I hope it was just an off bottle.

wow

TJ - don't get too impressed. The only difficult part of the evening was the Cassoulet.

The cheese plate couldn't be easier: take cheese packet, remove plastic, place on plate next to cheese knife. The brie and garlic were simple to bake.

The salad was simple and I put the "fixins" all in little ramekins next to the bowl of lettuce pieces - let people make their own - including the store-bought vinaigrette.

The cheesecake came from a local bakery, as was the bread.

The blackberry coulis comes frozen in large plastic jars at the "gourmet" shop nearby. No prep other than thawing.

The Cassoulet was an investment in time and effort, but was very worth it (I say as I munch on the even better left-overs).

All in all, I didn't work too hard yesterday. I spent most of it humming "Have you seen the Muffin Man", puttering around in my PJ's.

Interestingly enough, it was the cassoulet that made me say 'Wow.'

Besides, you aren't supposed to let us know that!!!

We had our dinner Friday night with good friends, so the fact that it was pretty damn poor is tolerable.

The first course was Basque, St. Andre, and baked Brie with a 1997 Chablis Grand Cru "Les Clos" from Jean Moreau, my favorite Chablis producer. The cheeses were fine, but the wine, like the two that followed, was disappointing. The color was a light green-gold and the nose was closed, with a hint of the Chardonnay grape perceptible. There was some bitterness on the finish and the wine lacked concentration. 86 points.

The next course was coq au vin, asparagus, and a Shi-take and Portobello risotto, accompanied by a 1989 Chateau Talbot and 1975 Chateau Montrose. The asparagus and risooto were fine, but I overcooked the coq au vin. The meat was falling apart when we removed it from the pot, and it was dry. The Talbot's color was little light, but no browning. The nose was redolent of cedar, but on the palate it was thin with soft tannins and greatly diminished fruit. It was disappointing, probably beyond its peak, unlike the other '89s I've had. 84 points.

The wine of the night was the '75 Montrose, amedium-dark purple wine, with a nose of cedar and very reminiscent of Port. It was light on fruit and tannin. I've had several times over the years and it's never been outstanding. 87 points.

I hope you all did better than I did.

WOW in comparison to you guys my efforts were well...modest.

I had three firends and my girlfriend to cook for.

Had Bollinger to start.

First course Foie Gras, lightly panfried served with toast with a very light brandy sauce.

Wine match - was a 1997 Ch Climens (very lemonady)

It matched well but I should have gone with an older vintage wine. Probably not as developed as I had hoped (considering I had this only two monthes ago this would rate as a Homer moment-ah duh.)

Second Course- Coq Au Vin ( utilising Rhone Wine)served on boiled potato's and roast garlic. I had allowed the chicken to soak in a light red wine and balsamic vineager before cooking which seemed to help when I browned it to seal it.
Wine- 1995 Domaine De Pegau Chateauneuf

This worked extremely well with the wine intergrating and dealing to the rich sauce and flavours. The garlic seems to help me deal with the youth of the wine.

Dessert Course- Creme Brulee (yeah I know but a favourite so how could I pass this up.)
Wine Match- This was really hard so I ended up going with a Albert Man Grains De Nobles Furnstentum Riesling 1990.

Awesome wine I must say. I made the brulee up the night before and put the crust on just before service (yes I have a torch.) It worked well but the wine was too sweet for the dessert.

Thoroughly enjoyable evening, alot of fun and a heap of tall tales and good jokes.