A Victorian Holiday Gala

Dear IW&FS Members –

Thanks, Chris Vrba, with the help of Julie and Terry Lyons, for arranging an amazing Holiday Gala event for us.  There couldn’t be a better venue than the Austin Club to celebrate in the style of a Victorian Christmas.  With a  Dickensian menu created just for us, we will enjoy dishes that recall the feasts and favorites of high society in a bygone era.  We will have dishes that one can’t get just anywhere, such as Classic English Game Terrine; scroll down for the full menu. 

Registration is now open for our Holiday Gala at the Austin Club (110 E. 9^th Street), beginning with passed hors d’oeuvres at 6:00 pm on December 1, 2022.  The cost is $170 per person for members and $240 per person for guests, all inclusive.  Click here to register; the deadline to register is November 17, 2022.   Send your check, payable to IW&FS Austin, to Ruth Ann Plotkin, 1301 West 9 ½  Street, Apartment 300, Austin, TX 78703.  

Parking is available at 823 Congress Avenue for a flat rate of $15 (normal cost for four hours is $36).  Take a ticket as you go into the garage and keep it. Chris will have a voucher for you.  When you go to the payment kiosk on your way out, put your ticket in (it will say $36), and then the voucher (it will say ‘adjusted to $15’).  Make sure not to park in the lot across the street, as the vouchers will not work there and you’ll have to pay full price. 

Dress is black tie, with period dress optional.  Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

In addition to the Victorian feast, the evening will be festive and fun.  We will sip bubbly, enjoy light piano music and sample passed hors d’oeuvres in the Presidents’ Room prior to dinner.  At the close of the evening, we will present the Austin Club with a framed certificate honoring it as Best Venue for 2021.  We will also celebrate its two chefs with framed write-ups about the 2021 event, which appeared in Wine, Food and Friends.  And of course there will be 20 Year Tawny Port to accompany Tiny Tim’s Warm Figgy Pudding with Brandy Hard Sauce!

We are inviting members to help decorate the tables in Victorian style.  Please contact Chris Vrba cv1213@gmail.com if you are willing to bring a small, low Victorian era table decoration (think fruit, nuts, berries, bows, ribbons, Dickens’ hat, pearls dripping off a vase, roses, carnations, ferns, ivy).

Sent by Lynn Jelinski (filling in for Scribe Alyce Richardson, who is in Patagonia walking with the penguins)

MENU 

Passed Hors d’Oeuvres

Angels on Horseback

British-style Shrimp Canapes

Barley- and Rice-stuffed Mushroom Caps

A Demi of Miss Haversham’s Saxe – Coburg Soup (a Brussels sprout soup created for Prince Albert) with Seasoned Toast Points

Taittinger la Francaise Brut Champagne

Seated Hors d’Oeuvres

Classic English Game Terrine with Warm Baguette

2019 Mer Soleil Pinot Noir Reserve

Salad

Poached Bartlett Pear Salad Topped with Gorgonzola Cheese and Roasted Walnuts with Citrus Lime Vinaigrette

2021 Conundrum California White Blend

Entrée

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s

Tournedos of Prime Tenderloin with Shellfish-stuffed Lobster Tail

Broccoli Steaks with a Dollop of Hollandaise Sauce

Pommes Anna

2020 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Dessert

Tiny Tim’s Warm Figgy Pudding with Brandy Hard Sauce

Sandeman 20 Year Tawny Port