Twin Farms and the B.E.E.S Dinner

Monday, March 21, 2011 hosted the arrival of the first full day of spring, winter storm number who-knows-what, and the Barnard Educational Endeavor Society's annual dinner. The event was provided for by a generous, dedicated, and welcoming team at Twin Farms Resort and Spa located in Barnard, Vermont; and it was thanks to a fellow foodie friend of mine, who had kindly told me about the benefit dinner, that I became one of its 60 attendees.
Though I had passed by the Twin Farms grounds many times back when I used to commute between South Royalton and downtown Barnard, this was my first visit onto the premises. The resort is gated and tucked away from public access, specifically to give it that sense of a destination for a true escape. Driving into the courtyard was wonderfully enchanting with white lights lining the path up to the elegant country-inspired entrance. After stripping off our winter layers my friend and I  proceeded into the establishment's adjacent rooms and were greeted by two more friends, two flutes of Champagne, and two delicate canapes. Both the curried turkey skewers with cranberry chutney and the carrot and ginger soup tantalized our taste buds and gave us a hint at the flavors that awaited us behind the dining rooms' closed doors.
Arriving at our table in a Champagnly chattable mood, we met two local couples who were to be our dining companions for the evening. Shortly we were joined by two baskets of house-made bread, which included delectably wholesome squares of Beidler wheat soda bread, a crusty walnut miche, slices of baguette, supremely soft Port Salute pepper rolls, and tangy and spicy Togarashi buttermilk biscuits - all accompanied by Vermont Butter and Cheese "Cultured" as well as Cabot butters, and an herb oil. Next we were graced with the pouring of wine number one, a 2005 Syrah of Novelty Hill with dark aromas and a lengthy finish, which paired well with an equally powerful dish of slow-cooked PT Farm beef with garden polenta, spinach, roasted cipollini, goats cheese, natural jus, and black truffle froth. Though I'm not ordinarily a fan of elaborate cooking methods - such as frothing - I certainly did not object to having a hint of truffle in every mouthful of tender beef and creamy, tangy polenta. The dish worked remarkably well, despite being perhaps a bit too powerful to kick off the meal, and the meat being a bit too dry. Sticking with the same glass of Syrah, the next course of wild mushroom and roasted garlic soup with chive oil and spelt croutons served to remind us just how purely succulent and creamy a pureed soup can be. Supplementing the perfectly smooth soup were the oil, croutons, and lightly sauteed whole mushroom, which each had their own way of bursting with flavor.
Our third course was preceded by a pouring of Raphael Sallet's 2008 Les Maranaches, which I eagerly tapped into, as Burgundy Chardonnay tends to be the only version of that varietal that I find palatable. With our glasses newly filled, out came an elegant plate of hot-smoked salmon with red cress, marinated potato, pickled sunburst squash, pink peppercorn emulsion, and olive oil potato crisps. The combination was again well-thought out and the smoky, flaky salmon enjoyed the company of a crunchy alternative pickle and the firm starchiness of the marinated potato. The emulsion carried the richness of a mayonnaise, and the potato crisp added a crisp dimension to each bite - a near carnival on a fork.
We quickly moved on to the third wine of the evening, a 2007 Rutherford, Provenance Cabernet Sauvignon - a Bordeaux - that was exceptionally spicy and full of body. This we had to accompany a course of sherry-glazed duck breast and confit leg served with local pepperoni lentils, roasted cauliflower, baby carrot, thyme broth, and Vermont alfalfa sprouts. The two pieces of duck were both phenomenally well prepared with the breast ideally rare but still with a tenderness that allowed it to melt in the mouth, and with the confit leg so flaky and moist. I would have preferred the dish without the pepperoni as I felt that it masked the more delicate flavor of the duck and lentils, and certainly over-powered the scent of thyme in the broth. Nevertheless the quality of the meat's preparation did surpass the authority of the pepperoni, and our palette cleanser to follow - a Fable Farm tomato sorbet with an 'Old Chatham' yogurt "Cheese", and a honey, plum and Lapsang jam - certainly provided the necessary essence to prepare our taste buds for the dessert portion of the meal.
Our cheese course was a selection made by four different Vermont producers, and were joined by a glass of a 2003 late-bottled vintage Taylor Fladgate Porto, some house made wheat crackers, and selection of accompaniments. Woodcock Farm's Humble Pie was featured with a plum and muscat jam, VT Shephards' Queso with salt and pepper almonds, Consider Bardwell Farm's Rupert with chile-glazed local popcorn, and Bonnieview Farm's Mossend Blue with apricot and artisanal membrillo. While I had tried each of these cheeses on individual occasions I thought the selection was nicely complementary and playful, with none of the cheeses overpowering another and the addition of accompaniments respectively.
The sweet portion of the meal came in two courses: first we were presented with a plate of four individual desserts including a 'Maracaibo' pots de creme with a Smuttynose 'Robust Porter' foam and smoked Maldon salt, a huckleberry ice cream sandwich with 'Edelweiss' mousse, and citrus crystals, an EVOO chocolate cake on tart cherry compote with gilden nibs pistachios and paint, and a burnt butter financier with tamari caramel caramelized banana peanuts and mint oil. Now to me this seemed like way too many flavors on one plate, and while I appreciated the effort on the chef's part to give us a well-rounded dessert experience and an experimental one at that, I found that my enjoyment of all four of the desserts at once was diminished by the shear quantity of tastes to experience. Regardless, the overall winner of the desserts was definitely the ice cream sandwich, which resembled a French-style macaroon with a filling of a sweet and tart creamy sorbet. Certainly the flavors and textures of the sandwich dessert were the most complementing of each other. In the other desserts the porter seemed too bitter for the dark chocolate mousse, the mint oil was hardly discernable on the palette next to the distinct caramel flavor of the financier dessert, and perhaps all the chocolate cake required to complete it was a small drizzle of an intensely chocolatey. In any case, dessert when it is prepared with care will always fare well with me, and I assure you that my plate was clean when it left the table.
Our second sweet course was a selection of petits fours, a very nice idea and I did my best to take full advantage of the bite-sized treats to round out our meal. We were treated to a currant pate - like a jelly - pecan sandies, grue truffles, pink peppercorn macaroons, chocolate chip cookies, beetroot toffee, and lemon marshmallows. These latter morsels proved to be my favorite as their lemony flavor and light-as-air texture were the ideal finishing touch for my taste buds.
The satisfaction I obtained from the whole experience was definitely attributable to the meal itself, but I must add that the people with whom I shared the night and from whom I received the perfectly hospitable service were themselves a most crucial component. So to the team at Twin Farms, to the B.E.E.S., and to Phyllis, David, Helene, Sarah, David, Mark, Margaret, and David I say thank you for a splendid occassion on a very confused first day of spring!