So big thanks to my friend Eileen, a local businesswoman and young professional with her own wine events business, who wrote the following guest blog. Visit her web site and follow her @wine_know on Twitter!
Thanks also to Moe, a dear family friend, expert networker and talented photographer, for allowing me to borrow her beautiful photographs for this post.
Stay tuned for more guest posts soon!
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Equi-librium, a therapeutic riding and driving non-profit for children and adults with special needs, hosted their first “Pairings” event this past Sunday, November 4th, at The Bank Street Annex in Easton, PA. In recent years their major fundraising event was the Lehigh Valley Brewfest and I have to admit, I was at first disappointed the LV Brewfest was not going to take place this year. It had become somewhat of a tradition for a number of my friends sporting our pretzel necklaces, but there were some challenging weather conditions the past couple of years. I can understand how having an indoor event eliminates that risk. In addition, if you’ve ever been responsible for fundraising you know that there comes a time and place when a major event needs a change.
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| Learning about Equi-librium between pairings |
After enjoying the fine food, wine and beer at The Pairings this past Sunday, I’m ready to return next year with even more friends. The event was designed to allow guest interaction with chefs from 10 local restaurants and catering businesses presenting a tasty offering paired with wine and craft beer. The fact that there was a beer and wine option for each tasting was impressive and immediately set it apart from other tasting events I’ve attended. Often times either the wine drinkers or beer drinkers are left out. Here both were available and if you enjoy wine AND beer like myself you had options. I am the “Wine-Know” so I tried mostly wines throughout the evening, but I did try a few of the beers and got feedback from others in my group. The number of chefs was nice because it did not overwhelm the guests and it wasn’t over crowded so I felt I had time to actually savor and enjoy every bite and every sip. Also, the quality in presentation of each offering was obvious. The chefs were there to impress and they did just that and I was more than satisfied by the time the event ended.
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| Weyerbacher's Easton-made beer was a popular pairing |
I attended the event with my husband and two of our friends. I asked the three of them to tell me their favorites and one that all four of us and ranked high was from Balasia located in Hereford, PA. Chef Wendy prepared a curried butternut squash dish with poppadom and habanero infused coconut flakes for an extra kick. This tasty vegetarian dish even wow’ed two “meat-eating” men. A great wine selection was made offering Hermann J. Wiemer Semi-Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes in New York. I visited this winery a few times and it is one of my favorites in that region. As the “Wine-Know” I highly recommend a visit to this area and in particular this winery. Lake Placid Brewery’s IPA was the beer selection for this dish, and interestingly enough another place I had a chance to visit. Also a beautiful area and a fun local brewery worth visiting. Balasia offers vegetarian, vegan, organic and local food. Check out their website to see local farmers markets they sell at and to learn more about their vegan supper club, The Honey Underground.
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| Wendy from Balasia shows off her vegan spread |
The perfect “melt in your mouth” tasty dish was Sette Luna’s Pork Ossobucco. This Easton gem located on Ferry Street is one of my local favorites as well. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve dined there. I know most of the staff and I’ve tried just about everything on the menu. However, they had something new and yummy to try. Once again they did not disappoint. It was delicious so I put in a request to see this on the menu in the near future. The Pork Osso buco was paired with Bigi Vipra Rossa, offered by the quartino (a glass and a half) at the restaurant, and Abbey des Rocs Grand Cru, a tasty brown ale. Both guys commented that this was probably one of the best beer pairings.
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| Bigi Vipra Rossa |
If I had to have my top three favorite pairings, the third would be from Wegmans on Easton/Nazareth Pike. They offered the perfect comfort food dish, which was Steakhouse Chili served in a pretzel roll. The rolls were the perfect size and added to the presentation. Matched with Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel I immediately saw myself stopping here on the way home on a crisp fall or winter night for take out. Wegmans does a great job with quick, fresh and healthy options for occasions when you don’t have time to cook. I dream of the days we have one in the Phillipsburg area, just as Megan dreams of the days we have a Trader Joe’s in the Lehigh Valley. Listen I certainly hope for that day too, but one grocery store hurdle at a time.
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| Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zin... their motto is: no wimpy wines. |
The most unique and impressive presentation would have to go to Chef Mimmo from The Mint, a relatively new gastropub located on W. Broad Street in Bethlehem. “The Egg” was served with Vitiano Vermentino and Bethlehem Brew Works Hop Explosion. The chef used the sous-vide technique which is a French term that means under vacuum. Sous vide is a culinary technique in which vacuum-sealed food is immersed in a water bath and cooked at a very precise, consistent temperature. This technique allows you to cook food to perfection, and eliminates concern of overcooking. They eggs were cooked between soft boiled and hard boiled creating a “pudding like” texture. The pork belly served with the egg was extra tender from this method of cooking. The result was a very savory and decadent dish.
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| Chef Mimmo from The Mint prepares "The Egg," an item often found on the restaurant's menu |
I really enjoyed Pearly Baker’s tasty house-made duck ham served cold on a crostini. It may sound relatively simple, but trust me, it was delicious. I haven’t seen this option on their menu, but perhaps in the near future. Wine and beer selections included Dopplebock Thomas Creek and Wild Horse Pinot Noir. Pearly's does a great job at offering menu options from local farmers, so if you haven’t been it’s worth checking out.
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| Duck ham on crostini |
There was dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth. Warm Sugar from Hellertown offered a cherry chocolate cupcake in her “sugarbaby” size/mini cupcake. She had a few of her other flavors on display in both sugarbaby and sugarmama sizes. You can learn more about her bakery and flavor options on her web site. They were so pretty you almost didn’t want to eat them. Well, actually I had that thought for about 5 seconds and then I just had to try one. I’ve had cupcakes from some of the more well-known bakeries in major cities. No need to travel to NYC. We’ve got better cupcakes in the Valley! I enjoyed the cupcake with Robert Mondavi’s Cabernet Sauvignon and the beer pairing was Old Heathen from Weyerbacher Brewery.
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| No caption needed :) |
Even though it seems the retail world is rushing us into Christmas, Vintage at Morgan Hill in Easton wanted us to savor the season and enjoy the “First Thanksgiving Bite”. This yummy phyllo purse was filled with creamy turkey and sat on cranberry sauce. Offered with Smoking Loon Viognier and Amber DBG from Caron Brewing, this “bite” had me looking forward to November 24th!
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| Yummy Thanksgiving bites from Vintage Restaurant at The Club at Morgan Hill |
Around this time last year I was in New Orleans for a long weekend celebrating my mother -in-law’s birthday. I recommend that city for a culinary road trip. In the meantime if you are craving some southern cooking try Gala Gourmet Catering located in Hellertown. They presented creole shrimp on a corn cake bringing back memories from my trip and paired it with L’Ardi Dolcetto and Sam Adams Imperial Wit.
There were two other chefs' offerings to complete the evening and fill our bellies. Meatballs & Pasta Neopolitan from deLorenzo’s at Knox Avenue on College Hill in Easton were paired with Epic Brewing Fest Devious and Ruffino Chianti. I have yet to dine at their restaurant, but after just one bite I’ll be sure to make a visit in the near future. Bethelehem BrewWorks prepared Cold Smoked Salmon Bruchetta with Brew Works Bagpiper’s Scotch Ale and Hermann J. Wiemer Chardonnay.
Indulging for a good cause is always acceptable. I’ll be looking forward to this event again next year and recommend it to any foodie looking for a true tasting experience. The set up was welcoming and provided an opportunity to interact with the chefs and sit down to savor your tasting. There were many generous sponsors that helped make the night possible. You can view them online and to learn more about Equi-librium’s programs, ways to get involved and/or donate please check out their web site.
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| Cheers! |
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