SO A PLATE OF PASTA WITH THE SIMPLEST SAUCE served with frozen rolls tossed under the broiler and gussied up a bit with some butter and garlic might not have been the most traditional or memorable New Year's Day dish, it satisfied the appetite of travelers returning home, especially when consumed along with a bottle of Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava that had been chilling in the fridge for, well, months, awaiting some special occasion.
And while the meal our sparkling wine accompanied might not have been anything to write home (or blog) about, the evening's that preceded it was nothing short of wonderful. And where had we been for New Year's Eve? Why, the Loon Lodge in Rangeley, Maine, a lovely town just under a three-hour drive from the Northeast Kingdom, hugging a beautiful lake and surrounded by ski slopes and endless miles of parkland.
I had the roast duck half atop a stuffing of cornbread, cranberries, chorizo sausage, mandarin oranges and pecans, with an orange and cranberry ginger sauce. My dashing escort dined on one of the evening's specials, a succulent Pork Wellington. A modestly priced Graffigna Malbec (Mendoza Argentina) went down very smoothly, I might ad.
Cornbread stuffing is nothing new, but the wholesome corn combined with two fruits and the unexpected spice of sausage lifted the ordinary to sublime. We'll try some variation of this soon and report back.
In the meantime, we hope you'll break open a bottle of whatever bubbly strikes your fancy and get a head start on the loveliest year ever.
Loon Lodge, a Yankee Magazine 2008 Editors' Choice: www.loonlodgeme.com
.
No comments:
Post a Comment