The act of breaking bread with family or friends (or business associates) and enjoying energetic conversations and maybe a laugh or two—those are shared experiences to enjoy and cherish.
That was my goal when I held one of my milestone birthday celebrations at Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach.
My plan: Rent a four-bedroom villa at Pelican Hill for my birthday weekend (Friday through Sunday), invite a few friends over for a Friday night wine tasting, and on Saturday hire a private chef to cook dinner for 10 close friends.
Yes, I was throwing my own party, but part of the fun was planning the details and seeing the evening come to fruition. I knew the wines I wanted to serve at dinner, most purchased during trips to Paso Robles, Santa Ynez, Napa and Sonoma.
I hired one of the best French chefs in Orange County to cater my birthday event: chef Pascal Olhats, who has owned and operated a handful of restaurants during his 30-plus year career including Café Jardin at Sherman Library & Gardens. Chef Olhats planned the menu, matching his cuisine to my wines.
We began with 2010 Dom Perignon to go with hors d’oeuvres: seared peppery ahi tuna with marinated fennel over butter lettuce, chilled poached oysters on tender leeks with dill cream and caviar, caviar served on sliced steam organic baby potato with shallot crème fraiche and Provencal onion marmalade tartelette. We also enjoyed a Scharffenberger Cellars Crémant from Sonoma before sitting down for dinner.
For the first course, chef paired my Grgich Hills Chardonnay and Windward Pinot Noir Rose with his award-winning thyme crusted seabass with tomato concasse and seafood essence sauce. A terrific combination.
Next, to pair with 2016 Windward Estate Pinot Noir from Paso Robles, chef Olhats offered his steamed beet salad with herb goat cheese, roasted walnut and Dijon vinaigrette over baby arugula and crispy frisée. The heavier-style pinot paired perfectly with the salad.
We matched a 2014 Tobin James Blue Moon Syrah (one of my favorites) with roasted California ranch Poularde breast with foie gras truffle sauce and wild mushrooms. It was an incredible dish, again pairing perfectly with the heavier Syrah.
Finally, to pair with a 2016 Tobin James Blue Moon Zinfandel, Chef Olhats served mustard crusted lamb chops with herb jus and shallot butter asparagus. What a way to end the meal.
Chef brought a dream team trio with him that included two chefs to help prepare the dishes and a server. The villa has a large gourmet kitchen, perfect for an intimate dinner party.
Best of all, my guests stayed that night at the villa, which sleeps 10, so we were free to indulge, which we did. And yes, we are still talking about that dinner four years later.
Pascal Olhats: pascalcuisine.com.
