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Capitol Cider Pairing Dinner

Apples Get Paired is a monthly dinner held at Capitol Cider. Hosted by 6 chefs, each prepares one of six dishes and pairs it with a glass of cider. This was the fourth iteration of the dinner. The featured local cider maker was Alpenfire Cider, and the six featured chefs included Aaron Wilcenski (of Zig Zag Cafe), Autumn Swenson (of Capitol Cider), Jason Scherer (of Rock Creek), Erik Jackson (of Chop Shop), Josh Nebe (of Radiator Whiskey) and Matthew Woolen (of The Old Sage). The dinner courses, all gluten-free, included a couple of unique items including oyster leaf, a green with the flavorful essence of oyster, and duck nuts (as in the testicles of ducks).

Check out select photos from the evening below!

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2005

The year Aplenfire hard ciders became certified organic [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-fifth"]

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Amount of duck "nuts" served to each guest [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-fifth"]

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Production years for Alpenfire Cider [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-fifth"]

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Varieties of apples grown by Alpenfire Cider [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-fifth" position="last"]

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Chefs and courses at dinner. [/tw-column]

Curious items on the menu: oyster leaf and duck nuts. The first, oyster leaf, is a smooth, green leaf small in size that has the distinct, natural flavor of tasting exactly like oyster. For a long time, this curious, foraged plant was highly sought after as it only grew wild on the coast of Scotland. However, oyster leaves are now cultivated and are beginning to find their ways onto restaurant menus from time to time. The second oddity were what the menu called duck nuts, which ended up being duck testicles. Unlike the testicles of mammals, duck nuts are internal organs and they are commonly referred to as white kidneys. They're rather small in size and to me had the texture of liver, with a more delicate flavor.