First, Jennifer delighted us with her Pre-Dinner Drink of home infused cucumber gin blended with homemade lemonade.  An unlikely pairing that worked so deliciously.

And Pam had gotten wind of the gin which helped inspire her simple, yet highly traditional and very balanced and tasty hors d' oeuvres.  Homemade oat crackers with a perfect slice of cucumber and a piped swirl of cream cheese topped with caviar (one of a few “firsts” for some of our chefs, who now like caviar.)

Kathleen Dooley continued the traditional flavor with an authentic Yorkshire pudding.   Tender slices of beef perched atop a succulent eggy pastry filled with horseradish cream.

Next up, the soup course.  John’s presentation of his creamed carrot and celery soup, speckled with shaved carrot and celery and dried basil, and a side of his soft and flavorful homemade rye bread.  Yum.

Suzy provided another first for many as she presented her delicately cooked sweetbreads.  When done poorly, these are not tasty.  But when done well, these can be heavenly.   These were perfectly divine.  Tender, full of flavor and covered with a perfect blend of capers, lemon juice and wine sauce on a bed of fresh spinach leaves.

Gail announced that “Releve” (her part of the meal) means “joint of meat” so she took on creating a rack of lamb (another first for the CT)

Served with a mushroom pilaf.  Despite a little glitch with the thermometer, the lamb turned out tender and tasty, forcing many of the lovely “ladies” to take off their gloves to gnaw on the bone and suck up the juices.

My roast course was generously provided by my neighbor Glen, who had hunted back in November and had trimmed his own deer, giving us two cuts of loin that are the most tasty and high priced cut of meat.  The marinated medallions were served with a Darjeeling tea sauce and a red wine and juniper sauce.  Also with a side of wild mushrooms and sage and a fan of sliced apples with a pomegranate orange wine reduction.

As we know, Michelle doesn’t do thing simple.  She gets a part of the meal called “Entrement” which is the transition from dinner to dessert.  So she provided two parts of her dish.

The first part was Broiled Cauliflower with béchamel sauce and cranberry cheese, sharing the plate with a custard tart and a cheesecake filled tart.  Both tarts were flaky and delicious.

But there was more.  And her palate cleanser of granny apples soaked in honey and calvados sorbet was the perfect way to end the meal.

Or rather, to begin dessert.

Steve placed in the center of the table a glorious Trifle.  Three layers of pound cake, frango choco raspberry liquor, cheesecake custard, a dusting of dark coco powder, blackberries and raspberries and then whipped cream.  Three layers,  mind you.  And to top it all off, it was garnished with a beautiful red rose.

Seconds (and perhaps even thirds) were had by many.

But of course we couldn’t end it at that.  There was also a second dessert from our second newcomer Shawn Dooley (no relation).  His contribution was a surprisingly moist and light bread pudding (which are typically dry and heavy).  Perhaps it was the bourbon that aided that, along with apples,  cinnamon and a cranberry custard, topped with a lovely whiskey and orange sauce.

And they had also brought along a sumptuous bottle of port that they shared with us.

The perfect ending to a perfect dinner.

(In fact, thanks to our resident Somilier Steve, and his new partner in wine, Kathleen, we had a different—and perfectly paired—bottle of wine with each dish.  Thank goodness the portions of everything was small.)

Everyone brought their A game.  Everyone raised to the challenge and brought delicious food, presented beautifully and tied in with the theme.