Wine Pairing at Fresh Salt with Joel Gott Winery

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We were finally able to attend one of the amazing dinners as part of the Cuisine Series at Saybrook Point's restaurant, Fresh Salt. We've been downright drooling over every menu that we've viewed from this series - so to finally be able to partake in this wine tasting and dinner pairing that was featuring the wines from Joel Gott was a dream come true!

The Joel Gott Winery features wines grown from the short and cooler growing season of California, Washington, and Oregon, giving a crisp and clean flavor to their wines.

As always, Fresh Salt's beautiful ambiance added to a pleasurable meal, as well as dining with friends Wendy and Greg from ConnecticutLifestyles.com. In addition, we were fortunate enough to be seated with Robert Rustico, sommelier from Connecticut Distributors (who distribute Joel Gott Wines) and Jeremy Doyle representing Joel Gott Wines. It was truly a wine educating experience!

Here is a photo pictorial of our Fresh Salt and Joel Gott wine pairing dinner.

Cheese Table and Passed Hors d’oeuvres

Lamb Meatballs Pops, Crabmeat Cannoli, Lobster Arancini

Our hors d’oeuvres were paired with a delicious Pinot Gris - which was actually my favorite wine of the evening!

Pinot Gris, Joel Gott, 2015, Willamette Valley, Oregon

First Course

Duck Confit Taco

Duck Tacos with Dark Cherry-Chipotle Salsa, Crumbled Goat Cheese

This delicate dish paired beautifully with Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc, Joel Gott, 2015, California

Second Course

Steel Head Trout

Steel Head Trout with Shiitake-Leek Tart, Passion Fruit-Ginger Sauce

This was my first time tasting Steel Head Trout. Wow! It was so good - a bit reminiscent of salmon.

Chardonnay, Joel Gott, 2015, California

Third Course

Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon

Filet Mignon served with Butternut Squash Ravioli, Morel Mushroom Sauce

I wish my photo could do justice to this delicious filet - it was incredibly tender - and literally cut with a fork.  Paired with the Pinot Noir, it was a win-win!

Pinot Noir, Joel Gott, 2014, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Fourth Course

Olive Oil Poached Halibut

Halibut with Valencia Rice, Roasted White Asparagus, Fennel Saffron Sauce

This hearty fish went well with our Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon, Joel Gott, 2012, Napa Valley, CA

Fifth Course

Seven Sins Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Frosting, Chocolate Ganache, Black Cherry Sauce

I'll confess that I'm more of a milk chocolate lover than a dark chocolate lover - but this cake, the ganache, and the black cherry sauce made me a convert - and with the grenache wine (another first for me) I'm calling this my favorite pairing of the night!

Grenache, Joel Gott, 2014, California

After all this beautiful wine and food - we took a walk of the beautiful grounds at Saybrook Point Inn before heading home for the night with some new favorite wines to enjoy this season!

Visit Fresh Salt to learn more about their upcoming events 

as part of their  Cuisine Series 

http://www.saybrook.com/saybrook-point-inn-cuisine-series/

Fresh Salt at Saybrook Point

2 Bridge Street
Old Saybrook, CT 06475
860.395.2000
http://www.saybrook.com/restaurant/

About Saybrook Point

Situated along the picturesque shores of historic Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Saybrook Point features a collection of 100 elegantly-appointed guestrooms, a rejuvenating full-service SANNO spa, and casual fine dining restaurant Fresh Salt, as well as a unique waterside Lighthouse Suite. In addition, the historic Three Stories and Tall Tales luxury guesthouses offer exquisite rooms that convey the story of famous local residents. The pristine Saybrook Point Marina, a landmark boating destination conveniently located at the mouth of the Connecticut River, serves as a focal point for the Inn. More information is available at www.saybrook.com.

About Joel Gott Wines

Since their start in 1996, they have selected the best fruit from growing regions in California, Oregon and Washington, blended to create more balanced, clean, complex, and elegant wines. Joel Gott Wines are all geared towards giving their customers expressive and food-friendly wines at great prices. Try one soon! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did - and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: We were invited to the Joel Gott Wine Pairing dinner by members of Saybrook Point's marketing and management team, however, all opinions expressed are our own.

Ella's Fine Food and Drink - Fall 2016

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Blogger Dinner at Ella's in Westerly Rhode Island. 

In mid-October we received an invite to visit one of our favorite Rhode Island restaurants just over the Connecticut border, to Ella's Fine Food and Drink, in Westerly Rhode Island.

It was such a perfect fall day for a drive and the 'leaf peeping" foliage along I-95 was breathtaking. We couldn't have planned a better day to travel up the Connecticut coastline and have a leisurely drive on some of Rhode Island's side roads in search of some great food.

Fall Foliage in Connecticut

We were also looking forward to meeting up with some other Connecticut bloggers at Ella's!

Joining us for dinner were food and travel blogger Ron from Ron's Food Trips and Wendy and Greg from Connecticut Lifestyles.  In addition to the Connecticut contingency was RI based recipe blogger Jennifer from Savor The Thyme.

The Connecticut Contingency in Rhode Island!

Needless to say, when bloggers get together at a great restaurant there is much fine food and drink to be had - and lots of pictures to be taken! But before we start our food picture show, let me tell you a bit about Ella's Fine Food and Drink and owners Chefs James and Jeanie Roland.

Chef Jeanie Roland is a seven-time James Beard nominated Chef, who owns and operates both Ella's Fine Food and Drink in Westerly, Rhode Island and The Perfect Caper in Punta Gorda, Florida together with her husband and business manager, James Roland.  The Roland's Westerly venue features French-Asian inspired fare where everything is made from scratch, and local food is showcased.

Each month they feature a Saturday cooking demonstration highlighting their love of everything local and fresh. I attended their August "Lobster Life" cooking class (recap HERE) and let's just say that I've worked in enough kitchens in my life to attest that Chef Jeanie Roland is the REAL DEAL!!  It's no surprise that she is one of the few to beat the legendary Bobby Flay on the Food Network's hit show "Beat Bobby Flay" with her winning dish of Moules-Frites and its amazing Red Thai Curry Broth and array of dipping sauces.

And, let's just say Taylor Swift and Lorde agree with me and the 'Beat Bobby Flay' judges - as they are also big fans of Chef Jeanie and the Westerly Rhode Island Restaurant, having taken a cooking class themselves with Chef Jeanie at Ella's!

Photo Source: Ella's Fine Food & Drink

Enough with the fan gushing! Let's move on to Chef Jeanie's amazing menu! Here's a bit of what we sampled on this trip to visit Ella's Fine Food & Drink:

Cocktails at Ella's Fine Food & Drink: 

Cocktails at Ella's Fine Food and Drink are bold and flavorful -- think Mad Men-esque with a creative spin. Some of the cocktails available are the PAPER PLANE, made with Woodford Reserve, Aperol, Amaro, and lemon juice; the CAPERNOITED with Fernet Branca, Luxardo maraschino liqueur (YUM!) Buddha spiced simple, cardamon; the FROTHY SWINE made with Dave's Blind Pig espresso, Van Gogh Espresso Vodka, and Kahlua.

What? You want to hear about more?? How about the DIRTY LAUNDRY with Dorothy Parker Gin, olives, serrano chili, caper berry, and dirty juice (this was so dirty good!); the SHINSEN made with Tito's handmade, muddled cucumbers, ginger infused simple syrup, shaken and served up (what would 007 say?); the FRENCH CONNECTION made with Grey Goose Vodka, elderflower liqueur, fresh and grapefruit juice; and finally, the LONDON TYPHOON with Bombay Sapphire, sake, muddled ginger, yuzu juice, and ginger syrup.

I loved my cocktail, the "Capernoited" (the dark elixar pictured in the champagne glass) and the Luxardo maraschino liqueur it was mixed with was amazing!

Appetizers at Ella's Fine Food and Drink

Appetizers run the gamut from a seasonal charcuterie to pate to the Flay-beating moules frites! My personal favorite was my own dish of the the Sweet and Spicy Calamari, which lived up to its name with a tasty sweet start and end note of savory heat.

Appetizers we sampled!

WILD MUSHROOM CROSTINI
warm crostini with ricotta-parm-pec cheeses, sautéed wild mushrooms,
saba & fleur de sel drizzle, white truffle oil, topped with arugula. 

SWEET & SPICY CALAMARI
flash fried squid, tossed with cilantro-green onion, crushed peanuts. 

TUNA TARTARE
cool miso soup, avo, cucumber pickle, local pea tendrils.

FOIE GRAS
pan seared foie gras on house made brioche,
applewood smoked bacon, tomato-apple jam, Meyer lemon-citrus aioli. 

BEEF SAIGON 
marinated tenderloin, watercress, lime, cilantro, red onion. 

And, of course, the perfect palate cleansing salad, topped with shaved cheese was delightful!

Entrées at Ella's Fine Food and Drink

Ella's entrée menu features pasta dishes, as well as a "by land or by sea" - and of course, with Chef Jeanie's classic training, one of her specialties is duck. A tour of her kitchen uncovered a huge chafing pan of duck fat, that I may or may not have considered putting in the car to take home with me.

Of course, I went with the duck. Perfectly prepared the way I love it, a bit on the medium to well side, with that amazing blackened skin. Heaven. On. Earth.

DUCK RISOTTO
pan seared duck on wild mushroom risotto with frisee & parmesan.

Others went with the seafoods and traditional pasta, and the men went with the lamb (Greg) and the NY Strip (the cowboy). There were happy faces all around!

CRABBY SCALLOP
jumbo lump crab topped grilled scallops, coconut-cilantro infused forbidden black rice,
Shanghai bok choy, mirin-yuzu apricot beurre blanc.

STEAK FRITES
classic with 14 oz. new york strip & truffled frites.

SUMMER CAPELLINI

MISO SALMON
pan seared miso-infused salmon, toasted coconut dusted forbidden black rice,
 chili bok choy, ginger sesame butter

PAN SCALLOP -
summer corn risotto, corn-basil sauce, heirloom tomato confit, watercress greens. 

MOROCCAN SPICED LAMB
seared, spiced half rack of domestic of lamb, oil cured olives,
fingerling potatoes, sautéed kale and honey drizzle

And yes...after all this delicious food we somehow saved room for dessert!

Dessert at Ella's Fine Food and Drink

Ella's doesn't disappoint when it comes to desserts, and Chef Jeanie herself said it's one of her favorite things to develop and create, stemming from her experiences at the Culinary Institute of America, in the days when women were often relegated to the pastry duties, because, well, that was a secondary skill that the women should do. (That's funny!!!).

We're thankful to all the male chefs attending CIA at that time, because Chef Jeanie certainly showed them, didn't she ... and she created a heck of a dessert menu!

We sampled some amazing cakes, tarts, and custards, but the winning moment goes to the cowboy when his eyes glazed over and he may have shed a tear at the sight and sound of a gingerbread ice cream sandwich - and was wowed by the spun sugar crown upon it!

Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwich
Spicy Gingerbread with Dulce de Leche ice cream

Just Chocolate Cake
Layers of Chocolate Torte, Chocolate Ganache and
White Chocolate Cheesecake
Drizzled with Chocolate Sauce

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Toasted Gingersnap Crumble
and Whip Cream

And my lemon tart did not disappoint either! The silky sweet lemon curd was garnished with a tart raspberry sauce - giving it the perfect balance of flavors!

Lemon Tart 
Creamy Lemon Curd Tart with Fresh Raspberry Sauce

Without any hesitation I would recommend Ella's Fine Food and Drink for any occasion! A date night with a loved one, a special celebration, or a gathering of bestie friends (and bestie bloggers!) - Ella's is the place to go to enjoy great food and drink!

Thanks to Chef Jeanie and Chef James for being the consummate hosts and to the fabulous culinary crew in the front and the back of the house for a wonderful time!

Ella's Fine Food and Drink

2 Tower Street
Westerly, RI  02891
401.315.0606
http://ellasfinefoodanddrink.com/

About Ella’s Fine Food & Drink

Ella’s Fine Food & Drink, located at 2 Tower Street in Westerly, RI, opened in 2011 by Chef Jeanie Roland, a seven-time James Beard nominated Chef, and her husband and business manager, James Roland.  A premier dining destination for coastal, southern New England, Ella’s features French-Asian inspired fare imbued with Chef Roland’s passion for cooking with the freshest seasonal ingredients. In her pursuit of perfection, everything is made from scratch, from breads to desserts and everything in between, and menus change frequently in an effort to highlight the best available ingredients and to challenge Chef Roland and her culinary team. She has been quoted as saying that perhaps, "she has yet to create her best dish!"

Disclaimer: I was invited to this event by members of Ella's management and marketing team, however all opinions expressed are entirely my own. 

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