wined and dined with tamanend winery

In conjunction with Uncork, York, the darling wino duo of my close friend and I journeyed to the outskirts of Lancaster to indulge in a denched winemaker's feast of Tamanend Winery. Catered by the Fenz Restaurant, a local love to many in the area, the exciting evening was spent pairing delicate courses with twice the amount of deliciously versatile wines.

The adored (and engaged!) winemakers, Linda Jones McKee and Richard Carey entertained their packed warehouse space with incredible class and sass, and not a dear soul could even remember by the night's end of how incredibly dreary it was outside their pleasurable place.

Below, is a pictorial recap of my dashing date of fine food and drink, as well as the friendly faces of the affair.

Winemaker Linda Jones McKee and I, who I now absolutely adore!

Tamanend's Lab Manager Beth Hess who shared our dining space with us and was such a wonderful companion to the evening. Here, she allows us to sample both the orange and lime margarita wine.

The feisty first course of a miniature corn quiche splashed with red pepper coulis and arugula pesto. Wines: Ole & Cardinalis

The saucy second course with a perfectly-prepared, seared scallop plopped in a luscious lobster sauce and topped with an adorable potato crisp. Wines: Moonstone & Irresistible

A nicely roasted duck rounded out course three, dosed with a cherry and green peppercorn reduction. Wines: Alleluia 2004 & Alleluia 2006 (seen below)

With beautifully-served beef being one of my most favorite things, it is no surprise that the short ribs braised with red wine demi-glace and sided with roasted root veggies was my utmost adored course.

Wine: American Beauty 2003

To graciously note, saying that we were skimped on wine would be a ridiculous thing to mention, and completely untrue. I would love to thank our new friend Leann (seen here on the left) for taking care of us sloshed, silly girls.

Finalizing our feast was this fancified flute pumped with a pear panna cotta. Wine: Azul D'Oro

And also, hello to our other dashing dining companions, this dear couple who are smartypants in the health service field.

Sadly, I couldn't make it to the after dinner drinks, since I had already exceeded my petite frame's limit, but I hear what was served was a succulent ending to an overall incredible evening. Wines: Altissimo 2008 & Cerise Amour

To conclude, I beg of you to give Tamanend a go, ASAP!

sampling the sweet-and-savory of top chef's jen carroll

It is an understatement to say I am fond of Top Chef.

As pathetic as it may sound, I look forward to Wednesday evenings most during the ongoing season, and if I am unavailable to watch the current episode that evening, I must go online to spoil my anticipation by peeking to see who was sent home.

There's an appealing flare to Bravo's hit series, but what is more appealing is when Philadelphia-based cheftestants premiere on the nationwide series. It would be almost unfair to not side with a homegrown star, especially if her cuisine easily screams on its own.

Jen Carroll, the Chef de Cuisine of 10 Arts of the Ritz-Carlton, sashayed her way through the competing contestants, proudly standing until the final four. Soon after Tom Colicchio and Padma politely gave the local chef the knife, her work's comforting kitchen decided to promote her exit off the show by offering a three-course tasting menu that embraced not only the best fall flavors, but also showcased the best of her on-air skills.

Off of an appetizer tasting menu boosting with ten selections, I choose the warm goat cheese salad (seen below), paired with cutesy cubes of baby red beets, frisee and orange confit. The creamy cheese, delicately fried into decent-sized rounds, melted so perfectly in my mouth, and was just an energizing entrance to Ms. Carroll's cuisine.

My dining partner, one of my closest friends who also shares my Top Chef obsession, selected the Kabocha squash soup (seen below) to begin her courses. Swirled with spiced pepitas, superb-tasting pureed squash and chunks of honey crisp apples, the soup paired sweet and spicy in the utmost class, and was almost too addicting to just sample a few slurps.

For the second course, I was torn between what protein to pick as my main dish. What I loved about the chef on television was her no-fear attitude toward cooking all forms of meat. (Yes, sometimes they weren't always successes, but I blame that on the stress of competing.) I opted for the her scallops (below), served with the most delicious truffle butter I have ever laid eyes on. The pieces of fish were prepared ideally, and with the sauce, a delicious duo was created.

The meat of the braised short rib (seen below) was light and tender, and the best texture of a beefy dish that I've ever chomped on. Served with a comforting side of baby veggies and mash potatoes, and a red wine sauce, this plate did home-cooking better than any mama could wish to perform. Of course, dessert is always the best part, and at 10 Arts they were sure not to fall short on their third course. The sweet potato cake, an upscale version of the holiday's best cake, was served with a mouth-watering cream cheese mousse and hazelnuts, and scoop of sweet potato sorbet. Gorgeous and light, I even tried to weasel a recipe from Carroll for this one!

The milk chocolate parfait breached borders because of its pairing with caramelized bananas. One of my favorite things in the world is combining chocolate with bananas, and this dessert platter did not fall short on doing just that, quite swimmingly.