November 18th, I headed out to Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain for their 2nd dinner of the current Hollywood Bites dinner series.
Philip Rosenthal, creator and the executive producer of the hit comedy – Everybody Loves Raymond, joined Chef Charles Wiley, executive chef of Scottsdale’s Hotel Valley Ho, for an unforgettable evening.
The dinner was held in the breathtakingly gorgeous Praying Monk room with fabulous mountain views. As with any dinner hosted at Sanctuary, table service is top notch coupled with a meal that just might make your Top 10 list.
Throughout the evening, the hosts kept the room laughing with commentary from popular Everybody Loves Raymond episodes. Since the dinner, I’ve rekindled my love for the show and have been eyeing its re-runs on my cable guide!
The menu for the evening:
Prologue
The Prologue consisted of Prosciutto de parma with honey served with a five spice, poached pear, local arugula and a grilled goat cheese crostini. What a lovely starter! The grilled goat cheese crostini was especially delicious and I only wish that there would have been more on my plate to savor the salty prosciutto with. The Prologue was paired with Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc 2009
Scene I
Scene I featured a trilogy of duck. Duck confit, pistachio-crusted duck schnitzel and foie gras nestled high on the plate surrounded by a pink pepper caramel. Scene I was paired with Chris Ringland Shiraz 2007.
Scene II
Scene II consisted of bacon-wrapped filet of beef, potato and leek galette, chanterelle mushrooms with asparagus and a black truffle ragu. The filet was tender and delicious. The galette was particularly salty, which I loved, and was a nice uptake on ‘steak and potatoes’. Scene II was paired with PurVine Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and complemented the filet beautifully.
Scene III
Scene III, the dessert course, was a salted caramel panna cotta topped with roasted peanuts and cracker jack corn. It was fabulous. Having had panna cotta several times that week, I can honestly say – this one was my favorite to date. I love a good salty/sweet combo and this dessert was exactly that. The caramel covered popcorn topping the panna cotta was brilliant and I couldn’t get enough of it.
Sanctuary will be planning more Hollywood Bites dinners for 2011. Keep an eye out for an announcement in January!
Sanctuary Resort | 5700 East McDonald Drive | Paradise Valley, AZ | 480-948-2100
*This meal was provided to us complimentary as a part of a media invitation. However, this has no effect on our opinions and comments regarding our experience. View our Disclosure Policy for further explanation.