The Farmers Market brings wonderful surprises

to wine-pairing dinner

Sure, going to a wine-pairing dinner at Ingredients Café practically guarantees you will have a great meal, but, it was still exciting to see what Chefs Ben and Tony whipped up for the Farmers Market dinner on July 29. Even they didn’t know exactly what they would be serving that night. The guys had a ball at the Roseville Farmers Market and brought back some great stuff. They concocted five ad hoc courses based on general themes – salad, soup, fish, meat, and dessert. And we, the patrons, awaited each unveiling with our forks at the ready. We began the adventure with a “Just-picked Salad,” built upon a huge yellow tomato plank with arugula, radishes, marinated mozzarella and sherry vinaigrette. Accompanying it was an almost green tasting wine, Höepler Grüner Veltliner. It had just the right sparkle to accent the freshness of the tomato.
The second course was so creamy, who would guess its main ingredient was in the ground that morning? The carrot soup was a dream, with just a hint of citrus tang. Topped with a buttery crouton and a dollop of goat cheese, the humble ingredients came together into a decadent creation. I wonder if the chefs would part with the recipe? Most people either love Riesling wine, or they hate it. However, nearly everyone could agree that the J&H Selbach Riesling went perfectly with the Soup du Jour. The wine was slightly sweet, but still dry enough to not compete with the sweetness of the carrots. The great thing about halibut is that it can stand up to any sort of treatment and is a great base for practically anything you want to pair with it. When teamed up with “Market-fresh Veggies,” it becomes a truly hearty dish. Diners were treated to their first taste of the season’s sweet corn, served creamed, with asparagus, patty pan squash, wax beans, more carrots and a generous swirl of dill. The Zaca Mesa Chardonnay that we sipped with it was a rather conservative wine. It minded its manners, not being to buttery, or to oak-y. It was refreshing to taste while the vegetable mélange took center stage.	The carrots were so yummy.
If you want to talk about hearty, then the fourth course has the other courses beat, hands down: Beef tenderloin with deep-fried beet curls with a cauliflower puree. Delicious, sweet and satisfying. The Nalle Winery Zinfandel provided a tart counterpoint to the meat, accenting the richness of the cut. If people had room for dessert, they got to partake in a wonderful summer treat: pound cake with raspberries. Of course, the dish was more than just that. It contained a refreshing rhubarb compote as well as delicate lavender honey ice cream. The freshness of the actual raspberries strewn on the plate was echoed in the very special wine that accompanied the course: St. Croix Vineyard Raspberry Infusion. I believe this was the first Minnesota wine that has been served at the wine dinners, and it was a hit. Join us 6:30 pm, Tuesday. Aug. 26, for our next wine dinner.