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Culinary Olympics preparations in Omaha

Event Report: An Evening of Fine Wine & Food at Salted Edge - A Stag Event.

Best of the Cockle Bur compiled & edited by Harry B. Otis, 3rd President 1973-1974

“There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an Idea whose time has come.”

Victor Hugo

Omaha is playing a part of the Culinary Olympics and World Cup

Metropolitan Community College is hosting, for the first time, the USA’s full culinary team as it prepares for the world-wide culinary Olympics in Luxemburg this autumn. The National Culinary Team consists of 15 or more chefs with about 10 professional chef instructors who have been perfecting their technique at Sage Student Bistro. A graduate of MCC-ICA, Chase Grove, is in a leadership role as we make a try for the gold. The last time the USA won the gold medal was in 1984. Diners can experience the fixed menu that the team is perfecting. Besides finger food and bread, there is a Starter Course of Poached Flounder, Crispy King Crab, and Cucumber & Petite Salad; A Main Course of Prime Roasted Beef Spinials, Braised Veal Cheeks, Butternut Fondant with sautéed mushrooms, turnip and asparagus, Layered Potato; and a Currant & Praline Entremet with port-cassis sauce for dessert. A tour of the kitchen is included, with coffee and mignardises upstairs afterwards. The presentation is gorgeous for every course, and the food is great as well. Guests of groups of four or fewer are welcome. If you are interested in experiencing the practice sessions of the national culinary team, call Kathryn Thompson at 531-622-2563 or email her at kkthompson@mccneb.edu. Ask for information on the National Culinary Team USA Dinner.

Event Report: An Evening of Fine Wine & Food at Salted Edge - A Stag Event.

Story by Tom Murnan

We were back for our third consecutive event at Salted Edge. Chef Joel Hassanali never disappoints, so I was glad to sign up. We basically had two highend wine tastings for the evening, one a sit down tasting of two vintages of Château Leoville Poyferré, and the other, during the Third Course, two icons of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons. Leoville Poyferré is one of three Saint Julien properties, all made Second Growths in the 1855 Classification. The other two are Leoville Las Cases and Leoville Barton. Originally all the Leovilles were one large parcel of land owned in 1638 by Jean de Moytié, a Bordeaux nobleman and parliament councilor. It was divided after the French Revolution to the three properties we know today. All the tasting wines were double decanted the evening before, then again when they arrived at 4:00 pm. They came from our host, Dan Thrasher’s cellar. The 1996 wine was brick in color, smooth, suave and elegant with low tannins. The 2016 was just shedding its baby fat and becoming a teenager. Still purple, with ripe tannins, it was well balanced with a lot of stuffing, slowly revealing its charms. Both were quite nice, deserving of their Second Growth status.

The Kale Salad paired with a Domaine Wachau Achleiten Grüner Veltliner (GV) Smaragd 2022 proved to be a good match for one of the best GVs I’ve ever had. High in glycerin, it was minerally and acidic. The ones I tried before were weak and watered down. Smaragd is the highest and most prestigious classification for dry white wines from the Wachau Valley. Literally translating to “emerald” in German, the term refers to the rare, emeraldgreen lizards (Smaragdeidechse) that sunbathe on the region’s steep, terraced vineyards. Our Second Course was Wild Boar Tortellini with a Livio Sassetti

Photos by Tom Murnan

Pertimali Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016. This was a spot-on pairing, with the herbs, roasted apple, garlic, juniper berries culminating in a very earthy dish that matched with wine flavors.

The Third course was Red Wine Aged Tenderloin, with Potato Pave, Bone Marrow Bordelaise, and Charred Endive. As mentioned above, it was our second tasting of the night. We compared a Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena 2006 and a Shafer Hillside Select Stags Leap District 2007, both from Dan’s cellar. The 20-year-old 2026 was fantastic, deep, complex and balanced. A wower. The Shafer had deep cabernet flavors, was still purple at age 19, and seemingly has another 20 years left in it. An interesting connection from guest Matt Brown was that Spottswoode historically sold fruit to Shafer from the 1970s into the 1980s. Both wines were a tour de force, enhanced by the food. The pair got my nod for the best of the evening.

We finished with Vanilla Bean Brûlée Cheesecake, piped Cardamom Goat Cheese cream topped with Fresh Berries, surrounded by Almond Crumble. The wine, a Château Coutet Barsac, was not as sweet as the dessert! Barsac is one of four other Sauternes sub-appellations of Sauternes in Bordeaux. The others are Preignac, Bommes, and Fargues. Typically, they are lighter bodied and higher in acidity than Sauternes, which tend to be richer and more powerful. Many thanks to Dan Thrasher for organizing this delightful dinner and sharing his personal cellar with us. Thanks as well to Chef Joel and his crew for great service. When the food was delivered to table, they typically used four wait staff at once to deliver the plate to the diner for a nice, elegant touch.