|
 | | | |
| | Issue #20.03 :: 01/17/2007 - 01/23/2007 | The Trouble With Truffles
| BY RON AIKEN
| Is that, as perhaps the world’s rarest food, you just don’t get exposed to them often enough in the course of one’s culinary expeditions. Unless, like me, you had the wits to attend the ridiculously inexpensive ($45) Truffle and Wine dinner last Thursday sponsored by USC’s Wine and Beverage Institute.
Hosted by the truly incomparable chef Jules Pernell, from the champagne reception to the four-course meal, the entire affair was beyond marvelous. After a brief opening discussing the history of the coveted tuber mushrooms (did you know only female pigs hunt for truffles?), Pernell and his staff served a pate de maison paired with champagne, a Marquis de Perlade. Next up was a dish of scallops with champagne truffle cream sauce, accompanied brilliantly with a 2003 Louis Latour La Grande Roche. The English language’s store of adjectives cannot begin to describe the sensual luxury of that cream sauce paired with a scallop made unearthly with shaved truffles liberally sprinkled throughout.
Pernell followed that with a filet Perigord (a region of France), a lush cut of hormone-free beef in a reduction that had been simmering for 12 hours. The 2003 Chateau Coufron Haut-Medoc that came in tow was superb in its subtle ease, and the blend of the two was masterful in every sense. Finally, and this is where I’m going to rub it in that my job is better than yours, for dessert Pernell delivered a truffle bread pudding with a white chocolate truffle ice cream sprinkled with cocoa powder. Matched with a Graham’s Six Grapes Reserve Port, the dining room, loud with conversation until this point, quieted suddenly as everyone became enraptured by the silky, sweet pleasure.
All of this is by way of saying that USC’s Wine and Beverage Institute and the accompanying Culinary Institute regularly host such classes, and the cost is reasonable enough that even an undergrad could afford it. To get a list of upcoming events, go to www.hrsm.sc.edu/uscwine/courses/schedule.html. Also, students in the program will resume serving their fantastic lunch buffet starting this week. It’s one of the best-kept secrets in town for the quality and price from the culinary stars of the future.
Become a BBQ Judge
This is a no-brainer for those of you who love barbecue. Sponsored by the ever-growing S.C. Barbeque Association, for $55 you can begin the process of becoming a certified barbecue judge. Thanks to the state association, South Carolina’s judges now are the most highly trained in the country. Find out why from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Dan Ramage Conference Center at the State Farmer’s Market.
While there, you’ll learn about the judging scale and cards used and hear from other certified judges who will walk you through the process. The $55 gets you a one-year membership in the S.C. Barbeque Association, and — I know you were waiting on this — a catered lunch served directly off the pit by an award-winning barbecue team pit master. To sign up, contact SCBA president Lake High at 782-9595 or e-mail High at lhigh1@sc.rr.com.
Palette to Palate on Main St.
Coming off the successful Palette to Palate event in the Forest Acres area, the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties is bringing the event to downtown Columbia on Tuesday night from 6-8 p.m.
The idea is to promote local artists and locally owned restaurants by pairing artists with venues for a night of event-crawling. Here’s the lineup: The Whig (food special: Taco Tuesdays, artist: Rodger Boykin); Hennessey’s (food special: TBA, artist: Byers Grier); Villa Tronco (food special: pizza appetizers, artist: Alicia Leeke); Capital Café (food special: shrimp and grits, artist: Judy Johnson); The Mariott (food special: various samplings, artist: Suzanna Wilkins); and Mac’s on Main (food special: peach cobbler, artist: Eboni Ramm).
These events are a great way to support the arts through food, and the spread each place puts out is wonderful. And, best of all, it’s free. | |
|
| |
|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|
|
Comments (0)
