Back to the Fearrington

Prince Charming and I have now been married for 10 years. We had two weddings in the year 2000 to accommodate a timely green card application. The first was in April - a small affair in San Francisco. Immediate family and a few friends gathered at City Hall in the morning to witness our legal union and we had 50 guests join us in the evening to enjoy the food, wine and the view at the Carnelian Room at the top of the Bank of America Tower. A few months and a green card application later, we had a grander get together of 1,400 guests in Chennai, India for our Hindu wedding with two receptions and that encompassed meals prepared by a famous chef of that time, Arusuvai Natarajan, and a gala dinner at the Fisherman's Cove Resort that ended with fireworks. Yes, fireworks.

You might remember that we went to the Fearrington Inn back in April to celebrate our SF wedding (see Picture! Picture! Picture!). Well, as creatures of habit and nostalgia, we decided to go back to the same place for our August anniversary too. Once again, it was perfect. The weather was a cool 73⋅F, the gardens gorgeous, and the food simply impeccable.

Everything went like clockwork, and we chose the wine pairing to go with our three-course meal again. The sommelier, Max, did a remarkable job once again and paired each dish with a nice wine. What I liked was that he chose wines that I had not heard about, but what surprised me was that they were mostly sweet! Gerwurztraminers and Rieslings! And an Austrian wine I had not heard of but whose name just rolls off the tongue - the Grunerveltliner. As we analyzed why the sweet wines went so well with our beef carpaccio with pesto creme, Charming's foie gras with English ginger cake, my lobster tortellini with lime and vanilla dressing, we realized it was because every dish had a good dose of .... sugar. Don't worry, I am not complaining (see post on sugar). Just observing. Anyway, with each glass of wine, I found it harder and harder to remember the names and vintages, and Max was kind enough to write them down for us and I have attached it here for you ... and me. I am not very good at filing paper away.

Look at the list. Who in today's fast paced lap-top tapping world writes like that? That writing is more from times past... In any case, it's going to keep us going back to the Fearrington for future anniversaries.

Cinnamon

Picture, Picture, Picture!

I am foodie first, blogger second. As much as I remind myself that I have to photograph the food that I've ordered to prepare for my weekly blog, when it arrives, the visual attraction usually triggers my Pavlovian response to consume the food, short circuiting the reminder in my brain to take the photograph first. Hence, if you were to scroll through all past photos on this blog that I have taken, you will notice upon careful inspection that at least one bite has already been taken. Thus, on our recent trip to Fearrington Village this past weekend to celebrate our 10th anniversary, after having forgotten to photograph my brunch of eggs benedict with smoked salmon washed down with mimosas, and high tea of fragrant Darjeeling tea with finger sandwiches, scones and carrot cake served on a tiered-plate stand, my husband and I were determined to remember to photograph first and eat second for dinner at the Fearrington House Restaurant.

If you have been to the Fearrington Village (http://www.fearrington.com/house/), you will know that it is one of North Carolina's best kept secrets. The hotel is top notch - spacious rooms set within the village, which itself is scattered with the best of English gardens. It was a visual treat, with tulips, pansies, and a host of other spring-time flowers. The dinner at the restaurant, a highlight during our stay, followed with the theme of visual beauty. As the first course of vanilla panacotta topped with elderflower jelly surrounded by beets and sweet onions arrived, my response to dig in was in full force as I cut into the smooth panacotta only to be stopped by my husband's cry of "picture, picture, picture!" Alas, it was too late.

My second course was house-smoked bacon served with vanilla creme fraiche and lobster. The bacon was something from heaven - crispy on the outside, and soft and creamy on the inside, very much like foie gras. Our German waiter from Detroit (who also fit in with the theme of visual beauty at the Fearrington, objectively speaking, of course) had very kindly pointed out that my choice of lobster for the third course would pair quite well with my second, and so, I had to have the lobster with a pepper cream sauce served with a potato dumpling. You will notice that all three courses were served with micro-herbs (has anyone heard of such a thing? I had not!) grown in their backyard.



I had refused to order the fourth course of dessert, and so felt obligated to my blog readers to try some of my husband's chocolate souffle, which was definitely the best of its kind.


We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Fearrington, thanks to our neighbors who had shared their secret with us. My husband and I informed our gentle waiter that it was the best meal we have had in 10 years, comparable only to dinner at Gaddi's at the Peninsula in Hong Kong.

Cinnamon