Last night, my cooking group made a terrific dinner out of Barbara Tropp’s The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. We began with the Yellow Hawk Cellar Rosato, which appears to be a rose of lemberger. A bit oaky for my tastes (it’s Walla Walla…), it’s still great to see dry rose taking hold in Washington State. 
The first course was Tropp’s velvet corn soup, served with thin strips of BBQ pork rather than crab (allergies within the group). Cheryl added key lime chunks as a last-minute inspiration, and the soup was phenomenal. Most of us had seconds, and I wanted to cart the rest home in a thermos. This was accompanied by a Washington Viognier, intensely floral and terrific with the soup. I need to ask what the producer was…sadly, did not write it down. I brought a Fevre 2002 Chablis to drink early, and we ended up drinking it alongside the soup and then during the pause where Rick finished off the tea-smoked duck. 
The main course was the duck, cut in traditional style chunks with heavy shears, served with a vegetable fried rice, a dish of brussels sprouts and ham, and red peppers stir fried with garlic and cilantro. These dishes went OK with three Pinot Noirs (Erath, Rodney Strong, and Clos du Bois), but even better with the Kiona 2002 Lemberger (the latter balanced well with the smokiness of the duck).
Dessert was our "Mendocino" lemon tart (from Tropp’s "East-West Desserts" chapter), with a shortbread crust and almond/mint leaf garnish, served alongside strawberries macerated in cognac. First up on dessert wines was Lynn’s Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d’Asti, a terrific light, peach-scented half-sparkler. To finish, we served the 1995 Felsina Vin Santo, which was candied nuts and honey, with an incredible finish. A terrific wine. And a terrific dinner!
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