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Beard House White Truffle Dinner Recreation -


Dante

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Recently the Hanover Inn duplicated the Beard House's White Truffle Indulgence Dinner as recently presented by Chef Jason Marrill, and my household and a couple of guests had the honour of attending. My lovely S.O. acted as photographer for our party, giving me an opportunity to do my very first review with pictures.

As we entered the Daniel Webster room we were greeted by servers carrying trays of hors d'oeuvres and wine. We had three different hors d'oeuvres in all:

Smoked Salmon with white truffle foam on apple chip- quite delicious, the apple lending a delightful sweetness.

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Foie Gras with pickled onion and microgreens on brioche. V. good with just the right amount of each ingredient for each to speak for itself without intruding on the others 


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Caviar and creme fraiche on biscuit with pine nuts. Initial taste creme fraiche with some caviar, followed by hint of salt from the biscuit. Pine nuts came through in the finish. 


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Then, after an introduction from Chef and Sommelier,

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the dinner began:

White Truffle Ristotto with Shaved White Truffles and Fèlsina I Sistri Chardonnay 2006

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Wine was oaky, a bit acidic, very crisp bouquet. Much bolder than expected. Worked much better as a pairing with the risotto, which it complemented perfectly, than by itself.

Risotto was wonderfully creamy, almost melting, done properly as the rice definitely was the main flavour, with the cheese accenting it, the truffle standing out without stepping on any of the other flavours. Quite excellent.

Nantucket Bay Scallops, Shaved White Truffles, Roasted Corn Chowder, and Candied Thyme with Truchard Roussanne, Napa/Carneros, 2007

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This was a major standout among the courses. Scallops has a perfectly creamy texture, with the corn and potatoes both having distinctive flavours of their own, making an excellent accompaniment to the flavour, with the cream serving as a perfect background. The candied thyme made for a most unexpected sweet/savoury contrast that I feel I must learn to duplicate.

Poached Wild King Salmon, Savory Tomato Tart, Winter Truffle-Saffron Emulsion with R. Stuart Autograph Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, 2006

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This one was the closet we came to a disappointment. Quite good, mind you, but the best I could conjure to say about the salmon was "It's definitely salmon." It definitely would not have been a let-down of any sort if it had been served by itself, it was just within the context of the previous quite excellent courses that it didn't stand up. The tomato tart was quite tasty - bringing out the delightful sweetness of the tomatoes. The truffle/saffron emulsion added an interesting lemony sourness to it. No knife was needed for the salmon or for the shell. The Pinot was nice, tho with an odd tingly mouthfeel to it. 


Cavendish Farms Pheasant Crepinette, White Truffle-Wild Mushroom Strudel, Apricot Demi-Glace with Casa Agricola Roboredo Madeira, Douro, Portugal, 2006

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The pheasant was wonderfully moist, very tender (though I still did need a knife to cut it- the only offering that evening that I had to do that with. Not a criticism), rich and not overly gamy- as pheasant should be, it was very much the highest expression of poultry. The apricot demiglace was quite exciting the apricot flavour being quite pronounced but not overwhelming. The strudel was perfectly tended and the mushrooms lent a splendid earthy tone to the dish.

Duo of Braised Veal Cheeks & White Truffle-Dusted Veal Loin, Celery Root Puree, Heirloom Beets, Au Poivre Sauce with La Posta Malbec, Angel Palucci, Mendoza, Argentina, 2007

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The veal cheek was a true standout here- so very tender, almost falling apart, with such an excellent, strong flavour and delicate mouthfeel- chewing seemed almost unnecessary. This was one of those rare occasions where I felt the need to wait for the flavour to leave my mouth entirely before having anything else. Simply put- Best red meat ever. The loin was quite good as well, tender and juicy, excellent subtle, roasted flavour. The celery root puree was quite intriguing, milky flavour and very smooth texture (neither of which I've never managed to accomplish on my own). The beets were nice as well- fresh earthy flavour. All in all I'd call this the highlight of the evening. 


Warm Apple Cider Doughnuts, Steamed White Chocolate Milk, Sambuca-Cherry Tart, Black Pepper Ice Cream with Burmester Jockey Club Reserve Porto NV

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The doughnuts were the standout for me- apply, cinnamony, sugary, delicate texture, not too heavy in any respect (so good we got extras to take home). The milk was obviously high quality, fresh and local, blended seamlessly with the white chocolate. The ice cream was quite excellent as well, the pepper flavour present enough to have a voice yet to not intrude on the rest of its context. I enjoyed the sambuca-cherry tart, despite my not having much love for sambuca, the flavour was just there enough for me to like it. My health issues with sugar made it difficult for me to finish this course, despite my intense desire to. (not a criticism of the dish itself).


for the full set of pictures, go here.

All in all, this was a truly outstanding experience. Thank you, Chef Merrill, for doing this and making it available to us. :)

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