|
|
 
Text by Linda
Lauby — Photos by Gayle T. Tiller
|
Plans
for this issue’s wine dinner seemed solid enough: take an
offshore fishing trip, catch some Gulf Stream fish, and plan a spectacular meal
around the day’s catch. Those plans didn’t quite materialize. Charter
trips were planned, deposits made, cameras loaded. The trips were scrubbed
because of hurricane threats. We didn’t even get out on our own boat; it
sat in dry dock throughout the fall. |
| During Hurricane Floyd, while the
storm’s eye granted us brief respite from the wind and rain we’d been
experiencing, a number of neighbors took advantage of the hour of calm and
stood on a dune deck, watching the ocean and discussing the storm. As we talked
about various ways to grind coffee beans without the benefit of electricity,
the idea began to form for an alternative wine dinner plan. |
| Powerless Presentations is a dinner made
without the benefit of electricity (or even gas for that matter).
Our cooking
appliance was a Weber grill, and we employed a lot of candles. |
| the
Menu........................... |
S o u p
{Gazpacho garnished with
jumbo lump crabmeat, chives and sour cream} |
A p p e t i z e r
{Sushi-grade tuna
on mesclun greens with wasabi cream} |
E n t r é e
{Tenderloin
fillets stuffed with bleu cheese, with dried cherry demi-glace and grilled
onions} |
D e s s e r t
{Grand
Marnier-injected strawberries and Amaretto-injected pineapple dipped in melted
Lindt chocolate}
............................................. |
 |
| Sushi-grade tuna on mesclun
greens with wasabi cream |
As we did in last year’s wine dinner article, we solicited
recommendations on pairing food and wine from a local restaurateur, a wine
retailer and a wine purveyor, and assigned different price ranges for each
course. Even though our panelists sometimes strayed from their price
assignments, you’ll basically find a wine under $15, one priced between
$15 and $30, and one over $30. Our panel has also chosen musical accompaniments
for each course. Even though you may look longingly at that Mark Levinson
system with the Martin Logan speakers when the power is out, a battery-operated
boom box will do the trick just fine. |
| We asked Ann Runnels from Miriam’s restaurant in
Corolla, Kris Mullins of The Good Life Gourmet in Kill Devil Hills, and
Outer Banks wine purveyor Liz Mackler to suggest libations. Liz and her
employer, Mark Yonce, of Mark Yonce Wine Merchant, approached their assignment
as a team, while our own sales director, Greg Bailey, jumped in with
recommendations as well. |
O U R P A N E L I S T S
|
 |
 |
 |
| Ann Runnels, chef-owner of
Miriam’s restaurant in Corolla, has an interest in food that goes
way back to her roots in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rumor has it that even as a child,
she preferred excerpts from Larousse Gastronomique to more traditional bedtime
stories. All night, visions of souffle, beurre blanc and veloute danced in her
head. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York,
Ann has worked with such masters as Chef Larry Forgione in Manhattan and Chef
Mark Milatello in Miami. She owned and operated Osprey Gourmet in Duck for six
years before opening Miriam’s in the summer of 1996. |
Kris Mullins has a degree
in graphic design, although he succumbed to the restaurant business’ siren
call 15 years ago. Originally from San Diego, Kris moved to the Outer Banks 10
years ago, and is co-owner of The Good Life Gourmet, The Blue
Point Bar & Grill and Ocean Boulevard.
Greg Bailey, sales director for Outer Banks Press, has
also had an illustrious career in the restaurant business. Greg gets thoroughly
into the spirit of our wine dinners, lugging heaping armfuls of herbs, crockery
and cutlery, musical selections, camera equipment and of course, wines, to each
event. He wouldn’t have missed the chance to participate in the following
recommendations. |
Elizabeth Mackler, wine sales
consultant for Mark Yonce Wine Merchant and veteran of 19 years in the
wine business, is a graduate of Boston College’s Graduate School of Social
Work. Liz finds that her background in social work uniquely qualifies her for
selling wine on the Outer Banks. When not selling wine, she’s swimming
with the dolphins.
Mark Yonce, owner of Mark
Yonce Wine Merchant, is a wine and beer importer/distributor for North
Carolina and Virginia. Based in Durham, North Carolina and in the wine business
for 23 years, Mark is a graduate of UNC and has owned his own distributorship
since 1989. Among Mark’s passions are tennis and college basketball –
as well as drinking fine wines and micro-brews. |
Doug Brindley, president of B&B on the Beach,
provided us with fine accommodations for preparing and enjoying our meal, and
went so far as to create our artichoke candleholders! Getting into the full
spirit of the event, he chose a Pine Island oceanfront house named
Oz. |
| Ken Whidbee of Wanchese Produce
supplied us with all manner of greenery and edible flowers for the meal. He
even whittled the black and natural bamboo skewers we used in our tuna
appetizer. |
 |
| Gazpacho garnished with jumbo
lump crabmeat, chives and sour cream |
|
