Pared Festive Brunch

Every time I think THIS is the best Pared menu, and Chef Liz just tops herself again.

This was extra ideal since it was a brunch, and Patience LOVES breakfast foods.

Festive atmosphere...

This was definitely the best Chicken and Waffles I've ever had, and it was smartly paired with Crémant sparkling wine. I'm not sure which was more amazing... the buttermilk brine chicken thigh or the honey butter and apple smoked bacon maple syrup for the waffle. I really would have loved a full portion of this and gone home.

Fried Chicken and Waffles

But wait...there's more!

I easily could have said the same thing about the Lox Doughssant, which was a cross between a doughnut and a croissant. I'm a huge fan of lox and it was laid upon a homemade baby croissant piled with a dill remoulade, cream cheese, and capers. The dry Italian Frappo Rosato (rose) was a great pairing as well.

Lox Doughssant

Another miniature version of Croque Madame (French ham with a Dijon cream sauce on an onion brioche) was just amazing with a sunny side up quail egg and caviar on top! Just killer. This was paired with a glass of French Chablis of course. All of it was quite rich together.

Croque Madame with quail egg and caviar on top

I could have stopped there and been perfectly pleased, but then things got out of hand with a full size piece of Beef Wellington. You really can't cut this small. But I had to finish it. So amazing. Especially paired with Martin Woods Cabernet Franc. (And you know I had to eat all my fries cause that's my favorite thing in the world.)

Beef Wellington with Frite

To finish out the brunch, we had an adorable Cinnamon Roll with custard, jam, and clotted cream, with berries. Unfortunately, I could only manage one bite as I was stuffed. It was not sweet at all and instead, quite savory. Shannon gifted us with a Tokaji dessert wine to pair with this, which was extremely sweet.

Cinnamon Pain Perdu

 

I really need to look into bringing a secret to go box, because every bite is so decadent.

Festive Pared Menu

Resources:

Tenacious Eats = https://www.facebook.com/TenaciousEats/

Pared Mystery wine dinner October

Since Patience had not gotten to go to either of my previous fantastic dinners by Pared's Chef Liz at Work & Leisure, she REALLY wanted to go to this one after finding out it was a "mystery" wine dinner!

No, it wasn't one of those dinners in the dark or surprise menus, although we always can dream about another "No Menu Monday". However, it was a blind wine tasting, which Shannon Behnen loves to tease us with. Patience loves to try and guess the wines, although we really had no chance guessing at this dinner. It all worked out though since the pairings went well together.

Course 1: Chicken Bulgogi Eggroll... I didn't know what to expect with this, but I'm pretty sure if you put it in an eggroll , I will eat it! Probably one of the hardiest eggrolls I have eaten.

Chicken Bulgogi Eggroll

Course 2: Wild Boar and Gnocchi...I am a huge gnocchi fan and love any pasta, especially with cheese on top. I was a little worried about finding room in my tummy for everything else if this was just the second dish!

Wild Boar and Gnocchi

Course 3: Duck Confit with Root Veg Hash...another first time for me on Duck Confit...the prettiest dish of the night!

Duck Confit with Root Veg Hash

Course 4: Lamb Shawarma with Coconut Yogurt Tzatziki... when the meat just falls right off... oh my.. what a dish! And yes I picked up the bone at the end to get all the good bits!

Lamb Shawarma with Coconut Yogurt Tzatziki

Course 5: Chai Spiced Honey and Carrot Cake...there was no chocolate involved, but probably best that it was not an intense dessert.

Chai Spiced Honey and Carrot Cake

Where's the wine? Yeah...forgot to a picture of the wine list at the very end when they were revealed. Much apologies!

Mystery Wine Dinner Menu

The best part is that I RAVED to the bartender about her "orange blossom" cocktail that she made at the first dinner and guess what lovely surprise came to me!!! If you're ever at an event there, this is the best cocktail ever...tastes just like a dreamcicle!

Orange Blossom

Chef Liz keeps out doing herself with these dinners, and Patience ALREADY wants to go to the next one, which will be a brunch! Feel free to join us by purchasing tickets from the Work & Leisure website. 

Resources:

Tenacious Eats = https://www.facebook.com/TenaciousEats

Work & Leisure = https://workandleisurestl.com/

Pared wine dinner July

Since the first one was so epic, I decided to go back to another Pared wine dinner! This one was focused on rosé wine pairings as the event was named "War of the Rosés" to make it extra special. 

With the rosés being from all over the world, I was blown away by the extension research that went into these pairings.

You can go back and read my post from a couple of months ago here, as I went into more depth about Chef Liz and Sommelier Shannon there: https://www.stlcheesegirl.com/2025/07/pared-wine-dinner-may.html

Names of the dishes are based on which country the rosé is from!

The first course with a Spanish theme was like a fluffy potato pancake with a small potato chip on top, that held a dollop of salted cream and caviar! Inside the "flowers" were gooseberries!

Tortilla De Patatas Y Caviar

The second course with an Italian theme was an Arancini ball filled with a creamy rice mixture and a small slice of Branzino on top. The charcoal around the plate was a nod to volcano Mount Etna!

Arancini E Branzino

The third course with a French theme was a lamb cassoulet on top of white beans and a baby endive on the side, fig on top. Definitely one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Cassoulet d'Agneau Avec Salades de Figures

The fourth course with a California theme was a pork loin mignon. I'm not a huge fan of piggy, but I could not get enough of the couscous! This was paired with one of my favorite rosés of the night - a Turley White Zinfandel!

Pork Loin Mignon

The fifth course, again with a Spanish theme, was simply a two-year Manchego cheese and charcuterie with compressed watermelon, which was quite the explosion of flavor on its own!

Queso Y Salchicha

Menu for War of the Roses

Rose lineup

Resources:

Work & Leisure = https://workandleisurestl.com/

Pared wine dinner May

Thanks to my friend Beth, I was able to attend the first Pared wine dinner with Chef Liz and Shannon Behnen at Work & Lesiure.

Sommelier Shannon Behnen and Chef Liz

I am a big fan of the both of them as I used to regularly attend Chef Liz's "Tenacious Eats" dinners where she pairs a multi-course dinner with a movie! Then I also have been attending many of Shannon's wine classes at Vom Fass in Maplewood and occasionally at Randall's on the Hill as well.

Since this was the first, Chef Liz went all out and had SIX courses with wine and cocktails! OMG did we get our money's worth! Also, the theme for the evening was female winemakers (with one distillery) and I look forward to drinking more of their wines and gin!

Wine lineup with one gin

The first course was very sweet with cane sugar and macerated strawberries, which I'm allergic to, so I mostly devoured the Cremoso cheese on the side. Paired with a Tapiz Malbec Rose.

Cane Sugar and Macerated Strawberries with a whipped cheese on top

The second course was a cured yellowtail with romaine lettuce, white Shiro miso cream, and toasted pine nuts. Loved the yellowtail!! Paired with a Thistle & Weed Chenin Blanc.

Cured Yellowtail with Romaine Lettuce

The third course was a rabbit schnitzel with a quail egg on top, and spaetzle on the side. Paired with a Furd Pinot Gris. This was a huge course so I knew I needed to save the second piece of schnitzel for another day.

Rabbit Schnitzel with Quail Egg and Spaetzle

Around this time, a huge bread platter arrived and they were all heavenly soft. I tried to stay away since there was already so much food, but this came in handy to clean up sauces.

Bread platter

The fourth course was a Golden pomodoro with toasted fennel, fresh basil, penne noodles, and a crisped guanciale and parmesan on top. Paired with a Tregole Chianti.

I was already so full at this point, but two more courses to go!

Golden Penne Arrabiata

The fifth course was a smoked beef filet with citrus creamed spinach and pickled cherry tomatoes. What a sauce! Definitely wanted to lick the plate! Paired with a Turley Zinfandel.

Smoked Beef Filet

The sixth and final course, for dessert, was a sweet Ube angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Paired with a Koval Gin cocktail, that could have been a dessert course all to itself. One of the best cocktails I have ever had. I wish I knew the name of it...it was just beautiful.

Ube Angel Food Cake

Let me know if you need help signing up for the next one!!

Resources:

Work & Leisure = https://workandleisurestl.com/