The Omaha
FEBRUARY 2024
Event Report: IWFS Holiday Party- A Traditional Country Club Celebration Upcoming Events.
What’s New
The Omaha Metro Branch combined forces with the Omaha Branch for our Holiday Party at Happy Hollow Club. 94 members and guests attended, a great turnout. John Fascianella (son of Leo) provided entertainment by singing a wide range of songs, solo, ending up with Frank Sinatra. Attendees decided on what Holiday Attire meant, so there was a range attire from tuxes down to shirt sleeve only for the guys. Which is to say, a very relaxed atmosphere. We returned to the basics with the cuisine, plating traditional country club fare. After a 45 minute quaffing session with wines from both Branches, and Smoked Salmon Cones, St. Andre Apricot Tarts, and Crispy Braided Short Rib Croquet, we sat down to our assigned tables. Patti Hipple was awarded the André Simon Bronze medal after years of work for the Council Bluffs, now called the Omaha Metro branch.
Dinner started with a Classic Thunderbird Salad with its famous dressing, with two wines to compare: an Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2022 and a Dog Point Vineyard Chardonnay Marlborough 2020. The salad was a bit soggy but tasty, the Sauvignon Blanc grassy, and the Chardonnay a bit wimpy for the salad. The Astrolabe was the best pairing. Lobster Bisque was next: warm, rich, slightly sweet with the cream base. In an unusual move, two Pinot Noirs were served. Unfortunately, I felt that this was not a match made in heaven as the reds were dry and earthy, while the soup was sweet and of the sea. They did not quite mesh, although on their own, everything tasted great. Our entrée was Koji Rubbed Filet of Beef, Cast Iron Roasted Creamer Potatoes, Spice Glazed Carrots, Golden Beets & Asparagus with Chestnut Mushroom Sauce. This was delicious. Both the Inglenook Rubicon Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2012 and the Château Sansonnet Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion Bordeaux were stellar. Sansonnet went through a steep decline in the 1960’s and lost its Grand Cru Classé status. But in 2009, new owners took over and restored the vineyard and rebuilt the demolished château back to its Grand Cru Classé status in three years! It is a bargain still because of its past travails, plus the word of its great quality hasn’t gotten out much. Dessert, a Caramelia Mousse Bomb, Strawberry Compote on a Sponge Cake, was much sweeter than the accompanying Guiraud Sauternes 2009, breaking the usual prohibition that the wine should be sweeter than the dessert. It was extremely rich. Thanks to organizers Rhonda & Mike Wilke, and Hill & Joe Goldstein for a very nice event. Cheers! Tom Murnan
very great achievement was once impossible. E Best of the Cockle Bur compiled & edited by Harry B. Otis, 3rd President 1973-1974