The Master's Society Lunch has been held annually for the last eight years as a thank you to the leading benefactors to the College in the previous Financial Year, or in the case of some, over time. Beffiting such a special occasion the menu was designed to impress!
We began Saturday's lunch with a smoked salmon, mozzarella and basil terrine with a pink peppercorn dressing. This unusual starter came from one of my favourite cookbooks, Terrines and Verrines by Frank Pontais. To-date we have tried seventeen of his recipes and all but one have been a success.
The terrine is made by first brushing layers of smoked salmon and mozzarella with olive oil and lemon juice, after which the terrine is weighted down and pressed until set.
For the main course we played it safe with fillet of beef cooked sous vide at 57C for three hours. The beef is first sealed in a hot pan to create a browned and carmelised finish before being chilled and vacuum packed.
We return the beef briefly to a pan to crisp the skin after the sous vide stage is complete and before slicing. The resulting finish is similar to roasting but with evenly cooked meat, full of flavour and very tender. To accompany the beef we served a fondant potato, steamed spinach, pumpkin puree and a red wine jus.
For dessert we served Warm Pomegranate Sangria with Poached Fruits and Elderflower Ice Cream. This is a lovely recipe from another of my favourite cookbooks Pier by Greg Doyle. Pier is an award winning restaurant in Rose Bay, Sydney Australia. The sangria is made by mixing orange juice, red wine, brandy and pomegranate juice with apples, pears, oranges and figs.
Coffee and petit fours followed the dessert and finished off a highly successful lunch!
On a related note, Dr Madsen Pirie, president of the Adam Smith Institute was a guest of the Master on Saturday. Dr Madsen co-authors the food blog Another Food Blog, and is a far better writer than I am. Dr Madsen posted a review of The Masters Lunch earlier today with accompanying photographs and comments.
I was fortunate enough to have the chance to attend The Master's Lunch on Saturday and am sure that you did indeed impress all of the benefactors present!
ReplyDeleteAs I'm a vegetarian who eats fish and seafood, it was a hard choice between the smoked salmon, mozzarella, and basil terrine and the goat's cheese (?), courgette, and pepper terrine. Choosing, in the end, the vegetarian option, I was able to thoroughly enjoy all the different textures and flavours of the cheese and roasted vegetables, and to see all seated nearby devouring the delicious smoked salmon terrine as well!
And each course improved upon the one before it - judging by how quickly the beef sous vide disappeared from the plates surrounding me, it must have been excellent, tender, and as full of flavour as it looked! My wild mushroom risotto, however, was full of so many different delicious ingredients competing for attention, I would be hard-pressed to single them out, but the full effect was truly stunning.
After the main course, I thought it couldn't get any better, but the dessert surprised me again! The sangria's tangy sweetness perfectly complemented the poached fruits and contrasted (both in colour and in flavour) with the elderflower ice cream so well.
All of the Pembroke graduates in Hall couldn't help but mention how delicious the food at Pem has become since their times here, saying that they hadn't thought students anywhere in the world could eat an incredible, waited meal like that offered by your kitchen! I feel so lucky to be at Pembroke!