Sanibel Travels to the Fort, Summer Wine Dinner

Now that season is over, and things on Sanibel Island are slowing down a bit, chef and restauranteur Melissa Talmage of Sweet Melissa's fame, is able to cross the causeway and hang out in Fort Myers for a night.

But she won't exactly be taking time off. Talmage is hosting a pop up dinner at Harold's. The talented chef is not only pairing her creative dishes with wine but specialty cocktails for an evening of food, fun and friends ($88). The four course meal without beverage pairings is $56.

Each course has several choices rather than just one. The second course consists of NOLA style shrimp and grits, steamed mussels or beef tartare. Course number three; fish stew in tomato saffron broth, roasted lamb chop, grilled smoked beef tenderloin or pan seared cobia with banana lentils. The only bad thing about this dinner is having to choose just one item in each course.

Seatings are at 5:30 and 8:00. Harold's is a small place and there are only a a few seats left, so make a reservation ASAP for the June 25 soiree. 239-472-1956



In other summer wine dinner news, the TasteMaker Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouses nationwide last week featured some beautiful wines from the award winning Chateau Montelena. I attended one in Bonita Springs.

At this dinner, some of the wines poured were those that most of us would never have had access to unless physically visited the winery. A Potter Valley Riesling (slightly viscous but crisp with the food) for the first course was paired with a sesame grilled chicken and udon noodle salad. Thumbs up around the table.

Above is the second course; seared scallops in citrus bacon buerre blanc--I wanted to lick the plate. It was artfully and perfectly served with a 2014 Napa Valley Chardonnay; a Burgundian style wine, kissed with oak not drowning in it.

The zinfandel below was served with a hearty, Portuguese white bean and chorizo stew. The wine comes from 120 year old vines and pays homage to the chateau's labels from the 1920's. The combination of old vine zin and newly planted primitivo creates a velvety wine with dark fruit, tobacco and chocolate.

No dinner at Ruth's Chris would be complete without a succulent piece of meat. Ours was a petite filet mignon with cipollini ragout and a cauliflower mash. Pulled out of the vault and shipped special for this event, the 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon had wild berries, soft tannins and opened nicely the more it sat in the glass...I wish I had more.

Dessert was indeed a treat. A teeth staining, winery release only, the Napa Valley Petite Sirah was lovely with the chocolate dacquoise torte, with praline crunch.

Manager Peter Hyzak, Gina Birch and General Manger Aleks Kunov

The staff at Ruth's Chris is known for professionalism and this dinner was a great example. Peter and Aleks (above) are not only professional, but also fun. The next nationwide TasteMaker Dinners are in August (Champagne) and October (Marchesi Antinori). Cheers.


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Reserve a Seat for the TasteMaker Dinner with Chateau Montelena

Pan seared scallops, bacon citrus beurre blanc and chardonnay

Summer in Southwest Florida is a gold mine for wine dinners and special events. That may seem counterintuitive since our population drops drastically with the flight of our winter residents and visitors.

However, this is when local restaurants put out the welcome mat for local diners, with incentives on both food and wine. It's also when chefs have a little more time in the kitchen to prepare special meals to pair with the many special wines that are distributed on our area.

There's one this week at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse featuring a name most food and wine aficionados know quite well, Chateau Montelena. If you'll remember the 1973 chardonnay from this winery is widely credited with putting California on the world wine map in the so-called Judgement of Paris.

This special TasteMaker Dinner is taking place at restaurants across the country this Thursday (06/15/17) so if you're not in Southwest Florida, you can still enjoy the spoils of this event. As you might expect the chardonnay will be poured along with the well-known cabernet sauvignon (2006).

Petite filet mignon, cipolinni ragout, roasted wild mushroom,
cauliflower mash and estate cabernet

Even those familiar with the Chateau Montelena brand may not have tried the others being served: Potter Valley Riesling, Calistoga Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. The menu is impressive.

Sesame grilled chicken and udon noodle salad in Thai peanut dressing with riesling

This is the fourth in a series of TasteMaker dinners by Ruth's Chris. Future events feature Moet Hennessy and Marchesi Antinorri.

Throughout the summer I'll be featuring these special food and wine events hoping to see you at some.