cwdjrxyz wrote in news:834baadc-63d1-4c25-bc1d-
:

On Nov 1, 1:45*pm, cwdjrxyz wrote:
Another Yquem
match is with Timbales de Sheepshead a l'Ambassadrice(does anyone know
what goes in this dish?).

Sheepshead is a fish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheepshead_(fish) .
I could not find the dish made from this fish, but I did find a dish
called Timbale of Fillets of Sole from the late 1800s that may
indicate how such dishes are made. A timbale paste is made from 1
pound of flour, 3/4 pound butter, 5 egg yolks and some salt and water.
This is used to bake a large timbale shell using a special timbale
pan. The inside of the baked timbale is glazed( I would guess that a
fish or chicken glaze would be used). The sole fillets are poached in
butter with salt and lemon juice. Then allemande sauce with minced
truffles and mushrooms is added to the sole and this mixture is used
to fill the timbale shell. Crayfish are used to garnish the top. There
also is another garnish in the form of little pasta cakes with yet
more truffles. Such a dish would be extremely rich and would require a
wine of great intensity not to be over powered by it. Yquem perhaps
has the needed intensity, but I am not sure the match would please
some modern tastes.



Google Books shows page 190 of Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Wine:
"Grilled lobster; Timbales of Sheepshead with Sauce Ambassadrice {a type of
porgy or drum fish molded and sauced with a chicken stock and cream sauce
into which a chicken puree and whipped cream are blended}; and a Tomato
Salad; with Chateau d'Yquem"
Which looks like it might be the same Delmonico's menu? (page 189 isn't
shown).
http://preview.tinyurl.com/y99nfqh

Hi Mike,
coming in a bit late (some might say better never than late)

On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:05:09 +0100, Mike Tommasi
wrote:

True, having said that, the count of Lur Saluces thought that drinking
his Yquem on its own was ok, but drinking it with
food was much better. He suggested oysters would be a great
match.

I can't reach the Count's levels of conspicuous consumption but the idea
of *any* sweet wine with oysters is abhorrent to me. You might as well
drink coke or lemonade!!

I never tried it. However, it seems no worse than the idea of sweet wine
with foie gras. I suppose if acidity is high enough, it may pass, but
the idea of fat+sugar or seafood+sugar is indeed strange.

Do you remember a meal you otganised in Turin on the occasion of the
Slow Food jamboree to showcase sweet wines? The one with the
pre-eminent local chef who was so far up himself that his idea of a
food/wine match was to use some utterly unsuitable sweet wine in the
sauce and then claim it made a match?

Well... unless I'm greatly mistaken he served a sweet wine with
oysters as nibbles before the meal. Maybe you refused to have anything
to do with it, but I did try a couple. I think I'll stick to
Amphibolite from Jo Landron.

Coming to the original question. I have to admit that while in general
I adore drinking sweet wines with desserts (on Thursday it will be
Jacquie's Tarte Tatin, probably with the Cuvée de l'Abbeye Monbazillac
'95) I don't feel that top German sweet wines are at their best when
served with food. Actually, it's hard for me to think of any food that
would taste better when accompanied by a Beerenauslese of great power
and complecity either.

Finally, to come to your comment about sweet wine and foie gras. It
can work, I feel - think of that Sapros meal with Vinexpo where Henri
Gagneux did so well. But where I have my reservations is over serving
this combination as an entree (to USAians, I use this word correctly -
as an entry into the meal - starter) . There's no way the meal can
unfold with harmony after that. However I have, and do serve foie gras
wih a sweet wine VERY successfully before the cheese and dessert.


--
All the best
Fatty from Forges