Columbia Crest is making party planning a whole lot easier by taking the guess work out of wine pairing. They have paired up with Chef Bobby Flay for exclusive menus, with simple wine pairing recommendations, and easy entertainment tips. You can check out all the menus and tips at Cork and Fork . And get Bobby Flay’s menus, recipes, and shopping lists in the palm of your hand. Cork and Fork is Mobile! They have an app for the phone!
How cool is that???
And now, Columbia Crest andFoodbuzz have also paired up, and I was one of the lucky Featured Publishers who was selected to host a Columbia Crest Cork & Fork Party.
And I had the perfect theme.
A four course, beach-side, seafood dinner, paired with the great wines of Columbia Crest on the beach of Bodega Bay!
Before The Hubby’s family came up for Our Big Portuguese Bash, we had a week of R&R with some friends at Doran Beach.
We stayed in our 5th wheel down by the jetty, #104.
It’s referred to as ”The Honeymoon Suit”!
The campsite opens up to the beach and you can see the sea lions playing in the bay.
We have to make reservations a year in advance to get this premo site. But it’s so worth it!
With coastal weather being uncertain, I waited for the perfect day to host my party!
The wind had died down to a soft sea breeze and patches of blue littered the sky.
I felt very lucky having the perfect seaside weather because I have been there before, when they have had very strong winds.
After spending the day golfing, our famished guys returned to camp, presented with their very own little cheese platter.
How cute are these?
There was a Lavender Swiss, a Rosemary Cheddar and a cranberry dessert like cheese. The little baguettes slices were awesome! One little toast had a Pear Paste with Blue Cheese while the other was a Quince Paste with Lavender Cheddar. An umbrella held a few rolled up slices of salami.
Of course we opened our first bottle of wine at this point! A Columbia Crest Chardonnay!
Our first course was Crab Cakes and I paired it with the recommended Chardonnay.
The recipe for the crab cakes can be found at the Cork&Fork site.
I wanted to actually make crab cake lollipops for the appetizer, but they were to flaky and didn’t stand up to the challenge.
So I sprinkled them with some Mediterranean Lemon Sea Salt that were huge flakes. I love my gourmet finishing salts!
Hey, who invited you Mr. Seagull?
Our second course was a salad of fresh greens dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette. I added sliced pears, Blue cheese, and candied almonds, and served it with an ice cold Riesling.
A perfect (pearing!) pairing! 
Time to open another bottle of wine. Red this time!
For dinner we had Cedar Planked Salmon with Merlot Reduction and Wild Mushrooms served on a bed of Polenta Cakes. To ease things up on party day, I made the reduction sauce the day before. I also used a mixture of dried mushrooms that I got from Marx Foods a while back. This was served with Columbia Crest Merlot.
Now, just for the record… I know the above dish has some bad food styling going on and it’s a a bad photo to boot. You try cooking, styling, and photographing while starting on your 3rd bottle of wine. Let me tell you, this was a delicious hard assignment. But someone had to do it!
Now…, no dinner is complete without a little something for my sweet tooth.
We had Cabernet Spiced Chocolate Molten Cake with fresh churned Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
Isn’t that a mouthful? My sweet tooth didn’t complain, or anyone else for that matter.
Served with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignion!
Thank you Foodbuzz and Columbia Crest.
Cheers to you!
Molten Spiced Chocolate Cabernet Cakes
Recipe by McCormick’s
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon Cabernet Sauvignion or other red wine
1 teaspoon vanilla Extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
6 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Ginger,
1/8 teaspoon Cloves, Ground (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter 4 (6-ounce) custard cups or soufflé dishes. I sometimes use a cupcake pan to make six smaller servings. Place on baking sheet.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute or until butter is melted. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in wine, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and yolk. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour batter evenly into prepared custard cups.
3. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute. Carefully loosen edges with small knife. Invert cakes onto serving plates. Sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar. Serve immediately.
Make Ahead:
The chocolate mixture can be prepared up to 10 hours ahead of time. Pour the batter into prepared custard cups; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2cups half and half or whole milk
1cup (packed) dark brown sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
- Combine heavy whipping cream, half and half, and 3/4 cup sugar in heavy large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Meanwhile, whisk yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in large bowl until very thick, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Do not boil.
- Strain custard into large bowl set over another bowl of ice and water. Cool custard completely, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Cover and chill overnight.
- Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
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Why couldn’t my name be “Hubby’s Family” or “Friends at Doran Beach”?? Wow, I want to try all these dishes – and the wine, too, of course! I think the crab cakes and the ice cream are going to be a must. As for the pics, they are certainly fantastic enough to make me salivate! Excellent post and I’m going to be heading over to check out “Cork and Fork”. Maybe I will try all of this out when we take our 5th wheel to NM and CO next week! Can’t wait!
Your beachside dinner looks incredible — especially those crab cakes and cabernet cakes.
What a feast! Great post Megan…I really enjoyed all the photos too.
Megan, you created such a beautiful meal for you and the hubs. Looks like a super evening sponsored by foodbuzz. Perfect food, great views and loved ones by your side—what could be more top notch than that!
Good food, good wine, good company, and breathtaking views. Wow. An amazing event. Your photos really captured the day.
The food looks as wonderful as the setting. Its always extra special when the wine compliments the food.
What a great job. Everything looked perfect. Hope to meet you in November – Foodbuzz
What a splendid setting. So glad you enjoyed yourself!
Wow, an incredible dinner, excellent wine pairings, and a gorgeous setting!
Beautiful dinner, and wow, that is one romantic setting!
*kisses* HH
Megan…If I could…I would have a whole vacation based on this feast alone!
Everything looks wonderful.
The spicy choco moltens are particularly of interest to me…thanks for sharing it ;o)
Very pleasnat post. Thanks.
Flavourful wishes, Claudia
Everything looks amazing … love the cabernet cakes . N the umbrella parasol that doubles up as a skewer is simply outstanding !!!
- Smita
http://www.littlefoodjunction.blogspot.com
( fun food ideas for picky lil eaters )
Those crab cakes look so good!
awesome job…excellent pairing….yum!
What gorgeous, delicious food and beautiful scenery. I’m a wine enthusiast myself. I wish I was there. Love that campsite! My parents go everywhere in their fancy 5th wheel. I’ll have to give them a heads up. : )
What a wonderful event and food, mmmm more good wine.
Cabernet cakes this is amazing!
I’m far to these type of foodie meetings..
All the best,
Gera
Beautiful place, beautiful meal and beautiful wines. What a great day. Love all the recipes.
What a lovely post! Now I need a vacation and some wine.