Beautiful Rocky Top

Two weekends ago I made a trip to Knoxville, TN to watch what I'd hoped to be a good football game, MSU vs UT. As it turned out it wasn't. UT made a mockery out of all that we did on the field that day. It had been about 8 or so years since I had been to watch MSU play. I was excited for the fact that both teams were struggling and had an unattractive record. This is what gave me what turned out to be false hope for an evenly matched good game. I won't rehash the game since by now it's old news.

On the brighter side the guys I went to the game with and I were able to play golf at one of Knoxville's finer courses. It offered great golf with tremendous mountain views. I will say that up until this point I'd only driven through Knoxville on I-40 in route to other places. From 40, Knoxville is an obnoxiously orange place that I'd never wanted to spend any time. After my most recent, trip my mind has changed. Once you get off of 40 and around the outskirts of the city it's not so bad. (Downtown is disgustingly orange though). And the people are very nice. Except for the handicap of wearing orange a lot, they were great people.

MMMMMM ........... Pork

If you are a follower of the Wife's blog you'll recall that 2 weeks ago we went to a wine tasting at my restaurant. While we were there we tasted a wine called The Oratoire St Martin Cairanne ’06 Rhone. While tasting this wine I had an instantaneous light go off in my head as to what special I would run to match the flavors in this wine. Pork. I had done a dish a few years back that just came rushing to the forefront of my mind.

Braised Pork Shank
Three Cheese Mac n' Cheese, Collard Greens
Jalapeño Coca-Cola Reduction

This dish is so upscale Southern it's ridiculous. My boss at first said it wouldn't sell that much, but I ran out of it sometime late Saturday and didn't have any for Sunday. And let me just tell you it's soooo good!! You need some type of bread to clean the plate.

Beer Dinner

First off, If anyone still reads here, sorry that I haven't posted in forever.

Now onward. Last weekend the Wife and I hosted a Beer Dinner. This is exactly like our wine dinners however each course is paired with a crafted beer. This idea was spurned on by the Wife and I discovering a little hole in the wall called Sam's Blue Light. From the outside it looks just like any other almost ghetto quick stops. On the inside though is the largest beer selection I've ever seen. And it has a very knowledgeable staff to match. The dinner was a new venture for me so I had to enlist help. I have a good friend, Katy, who is very knowledgeable in the field of beverages and she helped me out.

With it being Fall I wanted to feature Fall tastes. So pumpkin was definitely a flavor I wanted. I also wanted to use butternut squash, sweet potatoes and duck. With my general interests found, it was now time to write the menu.


First Course:

Pumpkin Gnocchi
with Frisee Lettuce, Spicy Pecans, Gorganzola, Brown Butter Sauce

Beer: Dogfish Head - Punkin Ale

Second Course:

Duck Con Fit
House made Ravioli stuffed with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese
Sage Cream Sauce

Beer: Unibroue - La Fin du Monde

Third Course:

Pan Seared Duck Breast
Beer Braised Red Cabbage, Sweet Potato Risotto, Cherry Duck Sauce

Beer: Dr Fritz Briem - 1809

Dessert:

Pumpkin Bread Bread Pudding

Beer: Omegang - Three Philosophers

As always the dessert course is made by the Wife. The diner was amazing and the beer matched very well with each course. I'd have to say my favorite was the 2nd course. All of the flavors were extremely well balanced. And the beer chosen to go along with it was perfect. And then the dessert course was amazing. The bread pudding was cooked to perfection and such the perfect combination of flavors to end the night on a great note.