About 100 guests milled about the wine tasting gala at the Miele Showroom on Route 1 on Thursday, Dec. 6. A wide array of tempting hors d’oeuvres and desserts filled tables amongst the wine vendors, refrigerators and such. Furnished in an ultra-modern style to compliment the European-designed Miele appliances, the showroom is the perfect place for this gourmet/social evening.
The tasty eats were donated by a handful of community activists, as well as businesses: Café Calore, Cheng Garden, Capriccio’s, Fuji, Pierre’s, Ruth Chris, Romeo’s, Sens, Tre Piani, Stop & Shop, and Wegman’s. Choices included delectable penne vodka, Chinese dumplings, sushi, spring rolls, fruits and cheeses, and bread pudding and assorted pastries. Yum!
Sponsored by Miele, Inc., Eno Terra Restaurant and Wine Bar in Kingston, and Viking Buy-Rite Liquors in Monmouth Junction. About half a dozen wine vendors were featured. Merlots, pinots, chardonnays, cabernets, and more were tasted, as well as Bailey’s new hazelnut cream liqueur (which may have been the most popular tasting spot!).
Bart Jackson of Prometheus Publishing was on hand to sell and sign copies of his book Garden State Wineries Guide.
After sampling the appetizers and wines, many guests moved on to the kitchen classroom for a cooking demonstration by award-winning Chef Christopher Albrecht. With the aid of wide screen monitors overhead, he demonstrated how to prepare eggnog pannacotta to start, followed by braised pork shoulder with farrotto, grilled apples and root vegetables.
Chef Albrecht is executive chef of the Terra Momo restaurant group and has worked with well-known culinary celebrities including Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse. He has participated in the Music, Merlot and Miele for several years now. The Terra Momo group includes the Eno Terra Restaurant & Wine Bar in Kingston.
Following the demonstration, Chef Albrecht served each “student” a generous warm plate of the meal. Trays of the eggnog pannacotta cups were carried through the showroom gala by wait staff for distribution to everyone’s delight!
Heard over the eating, drinking, mingling, and clinking glasses was live piano music provided through the Princeton Music Connection. As always guests also enjoyed the beautiful voices of the South Brunswick High School Concert Choir under the direction of Ginny Kraft.
Possibly the most exciting point of the evening was finding out who would win the coveted Miele vacuum! (a generous donation to the cause to be sure!). The prize drawings are done at the end of the night. Local artist/master gardener Art Lee was the random winner of the vacuum, which he held high above his head, obviously very happy to be chosen! The prize drawing also included numerous other prizes, all donated by local citizens and area businesses.
It was an exciting and delicious evening for all concerned. The Library Foundation is grateful for all of the support that was given to make the evening a success. In addition to this annual benefit, the Foundation also hosts the Book & Author Dinner Gala, which just took place in October, and the Beef Steak Dinner, which is anticipated for April 29, 2013. Tickets to Foundation events can be purchased at the Library or online at http://www.sbpl.info. Watch the Library’s Compass newsletter and website for details of upcoming events.
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