Katherine Bish
The Korybuts' Voices for Children Benefit
Chefs: Marc Felix and Elisabeth Ottolini | Menu: Reception — Cheese Fondue, Cock-a-Leekie Pies, Goose Mousse Pâté, Rosemary Lamb Chops, Truffle Popcorn, Lychee Bellinis With Gosset Champagne & Bollinger Champagne; First Course — Blue Crab Ginger Bisque, Au Bon Climat, Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay 2002; Second Course — Seared Scallops Over Saffron Risotto, Au Bon Climat Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay 2002; Third Course — Stilton Encrusted Tournedos of Beef, Potato Dauphinois, Garlic Confit, Dry Sack Demi Glace, Claredon Hills Australian Syrah 2001; Dessert — Valrhona Chocolate Tart, Quinta Das Heredias, Portugal Port (aged 20 years)
The hostess, Caroline Korybut, is eight months pregnant and swathed in a black dress. Gracie, the Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix, is anticipating a second round of knee surgeries, having torn a ligament in the pre-party fervor. Two year-old Kate is upstairs in a sparkling tutu, practicing pliés for her evening performance.
The smells of fresh bread and rosemary-infused lamb waft into the foyer of Michael and Caroline Korybut's century-old Central West End home and provide a sensory introduction to what will be an intimate and decadent affair.
"We're calling it 'An Evening for Family,'" Mrs. Korybut says, having conceived the event with her friend Stephany Kniep as an auction prize in support of Voices for Children. The organization advocates for foster children in the city of St. Louis through its legal staff and community volunteers, such as Mrs. Korybut, who investigate and monitor the circumstances of each child's life to provide the courts with a fuller picture.
After vigorous bidding, the dinner fetched a generous donation from the Korybuts and eight of their closest friends.
Before anyone arrives, Marc Felix, formerly executive chef at Red Moon, presents the dining room with a flourish of his hand. The inspiration for all that he and collaborator Elisabeth Ottolini will create already rests on the table. It's not the butter from Isigny, a region of France known for its land nourished by sea salt carried with the fog. It's not the candlelit display or the sourdough baguettes that Mr. Felix claims, as he breaks one in half, "You must hear to describe."
It's the dinnerware.
"To do a wine pairing, five courses," the chef snaps his fingers, "that's what I do all the time."
But not necessarily with the small treasure Mr. Felix discovered in the Korybuts' den — monogrammed silverware with mother-of-pearl handles and gold-plate china bearing the family crest. Passed through generations and collected by Mr. Korybut's grandfather, a United States diplomat and prolific entertainer, these heirlooms, like the right glass of wine, will enhance every bite of the seared scallop over saffron risotto and the Stilton encrusted beef, the chef contends.
"It might sound a little weird to cook some food to pair with the silverware," the chef concedes. "Yes, it's for the first time. It's never happened before. But lift it up. Hold it. Feel the history. It's not how you match — it's how you enjoy."
"Who knew we could get so excited about silverware in this house?" Mrs. Korybut says.
Back in the kitchen, the chef places his toque atop the young ballerina's head. Kate laughs as it catches on her ears and covers her face.
"It's not another dinner," he says, finger raised. "It's not another blue ginger crab bisque. Tonight, our guests are going to walk away with memories to pass on. And if you don't have that for your children, what else do you have?"
As 20-year-old port is poured amidst laughter and cheers, Mr. Felix finds a few delicious words to pair with the evening — "An extravagancy of pleasure."
Classic Cheese Fondue
1 loaf French bread, cubed
1 1/2 pounds Swiss cheese (half Gruyere, half Emmenthaler)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons Kirschwasser
1 clove garlic
1 cup dry white wine (Riesling or Chardonnay)
Grate the cheese into a bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch and toss to coat.
Peel the garlic and cut it in half lengthwise. Rub the inside of a cooking pot with the cut surface of the garlic, then discard the remainder of the garlic.
Add wine to the pot, and heat over medium heat until bubbles just begin to break the surface. Do not boil.
Add cheese mixture, one handful at a time, stirring continually until each addition is melted and smooth. Do not let it come to a boil.
Add the Kirschwasser to the cheese fondue while stirring.
Light the candle or burner in the fondue stand. Serve fondue immediately at the table. Adjust heat so the cheese does not burn.
Lychee Bellini
1 can lychees in syrup
1/8 teaspoon grenadine
1 bottle Prosecco Italian sparkling wine
Pour lychees, syrup and grenadine into blender and purée. Strain through a sieve using the back of a ladle to help push liquid through. Divide lychee purée between six champagne flutes, then top off with Prosecco.
Truffle Butter Popcorn
1/4 cup black jewel popcorn
1 tablespoon black truffle butter
1 teaspoon black truffle oil
1/2 teaspoon black truffle salt
Pop popcorn in hot air popper. Drizzle melted truffle butter over popped corn, tossing to coat. This works well with two people. Follow with truffle oil and truffle salt, gently blending well. (Ingredients can be found at igourmet.com.)
Harbin Blue Crab Ginger Bisque with Pork Dumplings
1/2 cup toasted sesame oil
1 pound live blue crab
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 ounces fresh ginger root, sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, sliced
1 bottle Harbin beer
7 ounces shrimp paste
1 quart heavy cream
sea salt
Chop the blue crab in half, and place the pieces in a colander to drain the juices. Heat the toasted sesame oil in a large stockpot over high heat, and sauté crab shells and meat for 15 minutes. Add onion, garlic, ginger and lemongrass, and sauté for another 15 minutes. Add Harbin beer and shrimp paste, and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Strain the mixture through a large colander first and then through a sieve. Add heavy cream and sea salt to taste.
Risotto Con Punte de Asparagi (Risotto with Asparagus Tips)
Serves 6
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds asparagus, smallest available
6 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
sea salt to taste
additional Parmigiano
Heat chicken broth in a medium saucepan. Melt ¼ cup butter in a large saucepan. When butter foams, add onion. Sauté over medium heat until pale yellow.
Add rice and mix well. When rice is coated with butter, add wine. Cook, stirring constantly, until wine has evaporated. Stir in one or two ladles of broth, or enough to cover rice. Stir over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Add more broth as liquid is absorbed.
After 10 minutes add asparagus tips. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding broth a little at a time until rice is done, about 10 minutes more. Rice should be tender but firm to the bite.
Add cream, ½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and remaining butter; mix gently. Season with salt. Spoon the risotto into a warm dish and serve immediately with additional Parmigiano.
Potato Dauphinois
1 tablespoon garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons butter, softened
4 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 pounds Russet potatoes
Preheat oven to 400.
Combine garlic and butter, and rub inside of baking dish, bottom and sides. Combine heavy cream with nutmeg, salt and pepper in large bowl.
Peel potatoes and place each one in a bowl of water to keep from browning. Slice potatoes very thinly on a mandoline, and layer in bottom of baking dish. Spoon cream mixture over the potatoes, just to cover. Repeat with next layers until finished. Cream mixture should just cover potatoes.
Bake for 30 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350 for 15 minutes until browned on top. A small knife inserted in center should meet with no resistance.
