Just the 2 of Us: An Evening of Food and Wine

This weekend was a weekend of eating. We left for Reno Friday afternoon, staying at the Grand Sierra Resort. Friday night we had dinner at Charlie Palmer Steak which was excellent as usual. What we actually went for was the Evening of Food and Wine which was being held on Saturday night. It was a special dinner put on by Charlie Palmer with foods from his two restaurants the Steakhouse and Briscola. The invitation said it was an interactive evening of food and wine. The dinner was held in the Grand Ballroom..interactive meant buffet. It was an amazing amount of food and wine..all of it delicious..plus they had a martini bar completely made of ice..open bar. Each station had a beautiful ice carving representing the foods being served.

The Briscola antipasti station: assorted cured meats, marinated olives and roasted peppers, cheeses, chutneys and house made crackers.
Penne pasta with house made pancetta, summer squash,cauliflower, red bell pepper, shaved Parmesan Reggiano.
The wine being paired was the Chiarolo Barbera D'Asti "Piedmonte"

Coffee crusted Angus tenderloin of beef, cabarnet

reduction, mashed potato bar: Yukon gold, Peruvian and Winnemucca potatoes, assortment of Forest mushrooms and truffles.

Paired with Beailieu Vineyards Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

Pan seared Hudson Valley foie gras, red onion marmalade, toasted brioche.
House cured salmon, corn blini, creme fraiche, caviar
Paired with Rombauer vineyards Chardonnay, Napa Valley.

Fresh shrimp, oysters and crab martini bar.
Accompaniments: Cognac remoulade, spicey cocktail sauce and drawn butter.
Pan seared scallops,blood orange marmalade, salsa verede.
Paired with Kenwood Vineyards Pinot Gris

Asian hand rolls, sushi, nigiri, wakame salad and
Bang-Bang chicken salad, Ahi tuna, salmon, yellow tail sashimi.

BBQ pork steamed buns with roasted plum sauce and scallion

International cheese selection: Raclette, Asiago, Bel Paese, French Brie,Camboloza, Vermont Sharp Cheddar, Emmental, Humbolt Fog, and Manchego.
Assorted gourmet crackers, fruit and chutneys
Paired with Whitehall Lane Merlot

Hand crafted chocolates, pound cake with warm fruit compote, vanilla ice cream .

Ice bar- Martini bar

This was an amazing assortment of foods..all you can eat, drink and all delicious. Charlie wasn't looking forward to this dinner. Since we didn't know what to expect, he was thinking he was going to get tiny bits of food. He was blown away, he's been raving about the food and the whole evening. Me, I was thrilled with the Foie Gras and probably ate my weight in it..the scallops were amazing and there was a huge selection of sushi and sashimi all were fresh and delicious. There was so many things to try that I just went for my favorites. Deserts..I had one of each.
Charlie Palmer and his staff did an amazing job. Hopefully he'll have another event like this soon.
Here are just some random pictures of a few dishes.
I have to apologize for the photographs..it was fairly dark in there so the pictures didn't come out very well.