A Saturday Well Spent

We got up at around 7 am Saturday so Melissa could start prepping the food for our picnic and I could make a brief but necessary trip to the lab. We got out of town at about 12:30pm with Evan and our Canadian friends (Québécois, actually) Etienne and Angelique from the Dana-Farber.

Our first stop was Buzzard's Bay Brewery in Westport, MA, for a tasting and a tour. The brewery is owned by the same family as the Westport Rivers Winery, which we visited in a recent trip to the area. We fully intended to see the brewery that same day but time ran short, and we'd hate to rush such a thing. This time around we didn't need to be in a hurry, so we lingered with the tour guide to discuss the details of fermentation and filtration, and we all enjoyed the brews (the black lager was my favorite). We did stop by the winery to pick up a bottle of Imperial Sec and spread out on a picnic table for an early afternoon nibble. Angelique made a really nice hummus for the day -- we'll have to hit her up for that recipe.

The main event of the day was the first international match of the year at the Newport Polo Club in Portsmouth, RI. Evan and Philippa discovered this club a few years back, and it has since become a favorite summer excursion for us. Spread out on a blanket with a gourmet picnic and a cold glass of bubbly is pretty much the only way Melissa and I end up involved in any sporting event, so for now this is our only gig. The USA team was playing Canada, so Etienne and Angelique had to turn out the support. They (Canada) lost 11 to 9 in the highest scoring match we have seen since we started going a couple of years ago.

The picnic fare consisted of a roasted and stuffed chicken Melissa prepared Saturday morning, bread and cheese brought by Etienne and Angelique, and a mango mousse cake with fresh berries provided by Evan. Melissa's chicken is always wonderful, and this one did not disappoint. Her sage stuffing was a huge hit, and with Boston lettuce, ripe tomato, aged Gruyere cheese and a generous swipe of Japanese mayonnaise (a favorite of Evan's), I have never met a better roast chicken sandwich. We brought along a couple of bottles of Zardetto Prosecco Brut (Conegliano, Italy) and some Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc (Villa Maria and Nobilo), all of which make great summer picnic wines.

Etienne is a talented home-brewer, and he brought a litre bottle of his latest creation for us to taste. The brew got a great reception from our crowd, as evidenced by the smiling faces holding almost-empty tasting glasses -- it was a light ale with a heady aromatic nose and not too heavy on the bitter hops, something I have come to dislike in beer. A very well-balanced brew.

No picnic would be complete without the requisite insect life -- this little creature was taking a rest on my pant-leg in between chukkas (periods in a polo match).

Etienne and Angelique brought what way have been the most heavenly cheese I have ever tasted (we knew leaving them in charge of cheese would be a good idea). This is cave-aged Brillat-Savarin, a triple-creme brie-style cheese made from goat's milk. It was so magnificently melted in the near-stifling heat of the day that it resembled ice-cream left out of the freezer. The taste and texture were not far off that comparison, either. This is so rich and creamy that it's actually worth the $30/lb price tag -- and although you don't need much of it, it can be difficult to stop eating.

The half-time in a polo match is like recess in grade-school, but with drinks. Everyone floods out onto the field to play, socialize and stomp back in the divets made on the lawn by the horse's hooves during play. We may be milling around with champagne and martini glasses, but this is truly a family affair, and even the smallest fans get into the act while the players rest up and strategize for the second half.

We ended the meal with a mango mousse cake and fresh raspberries and strawberries, all compliments of Evan, which were so good that we almost finished it all despite our already quite full bellies. We did share the final serving of mousse cake with the couple seated next to us, much to their delight. What a great day-- even the terrible traffic on the way back to Boston couldn't taint it...