Boston Wine Expo 2011 Part I

Last weekend was the Boston Wine Expo 2011, an extremely popular event that draws thousands. This year it was actually not quite as mobbed as last year, making it much more navigable. We tasted some great wines, ran into lots of food friends and met with lots of food product vendors. Most of the two days were spent in the two Culinary Theaters that had been set up for Chef demonstrations and tastings. Here is Part I of our recap.


We kicked off the day with this Spiced Winter Orange, Avocado and Lobster Salad prepared by Chef Jeremy Sewall of Island Creek Oyster Bar. Lobster is always a nice way to start a full day of tasting!


Chef Scott Robertson of Grafton Street preparing his dish.


The Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs and Polenta served up by Chef Roberston.


Puerta Bonita red was served with the braised ribs. This is from one of the many rejuvenated, small family wineries in Spain that are producing exciting and interesting new vintages and mostly run by a younger generation of vintners in their 20s and 30s.


Brix Chocolates was one of the products we sampled. These are made especially for pairing with wines.


Chef Dante DeMagistris of Dante and Il Casale on stage with Billy Costa, who hosted the cooking demonstrations.


The incredible home-made meatballs (his Grandmother's recipe) served up by Chef Dante.


Chef Ming Tsai, another crowd favorite.


Ming served Asian Sloppy Joes made with ground beef and pork.


The students at Le Cordon Bleu provided all the prep work and assistance at the Expo, including pouring this sparkling rose we enjoyed with Ming's taste.


The crowds at the Culinary Theaters were overflow all afternoon.


The ever-popular Todd English prepared Drunken Shrimp, cooked with plenty of tequila. The crowd absolutely loved it (and the tequila shots). Unfortunately, we somehow missed a picture of this plate.