China Dinner

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Held to celebrate the guests' impending departures for China. Not previously known to each other, introductions to local others with China in common seems a logical and fun way to have dinner.

Menu
Chèvre in ashes
Brie
Assorted crackers
Fresh, hand-picked blueberries

Boiled dumplings with ground pork and cabbage
Dipping sauce of rice vinegar, soy sauce, scallion

Turkish green beans (cooked very slowly with garlic, chili, and peppery olive oil)
Whole salmon, cooked in salt
Romaine salad with creamy garlic-tarragon dressing
Thickly sliced, local tomatoes seasoned with Algarvan flor de sal, black pepper, and a sweet oil of late-harvest Leccino and Pendolino olives from Tuscany
Local corn on the cob
Sparkling pear juice

Spiced Hungarian sour cherry pie (allspice, brandy; lattice-style, all-butter crust) with crème Chantilly (kirsch, cinnamon) and an assertively cinnamoned sour cherry syrup

Diners
Cynthia and Jon Nordmeyer (dumplings), Shanghai
Gustavus and Atticus Nordmeyer, Shanghai
Lanping Liu, Ningbo
Ethan Birchard and Lacey ___ (cheese platter), Beijing / Qingdao
John Calvi, host
Marshall Brewer, host