Latest Matherne’s wine dinner features River Road Recipes

Matherne’s Supermarket on Highland Road is beloved among local oenophiles for its regular wine dinners, but next week’s event features a new twist. Chef Regan Hounshell’s multi-course meal will include seven recipes from River Road Recipes IV, Warm Welcomes, the next installment in the Junior League of Baton Rouge’s celebrated cookbook series. Its first volume, published in 1959, is still required reading among local cooks and is loaded with emblematic regional eats like spinach Madeleine, oysters Rockefeller and crabmeat ravigote. It went on to become the nation’s top-selling community cookbook.

From Warm Welcomes, Hounshell will prepare crawfish supreme, corn and crab soup, pasta with pesto, beef tenderloin and blue cheese mashed potatoes and, for dessert, blueberry crunch. Jason Johnson of Purveyor of Fine Wines has paired six different wines with the dishes, including a non-vintage Monmousseau Brut Rosé with the crawfish supreme and the 2009 Ehler Estate Cabernet Franc with the blueberry crunch. Diners will receive a complimentary copy of the book and reduced pricing on featured wines. Tickets are $75 per person. Seating is limited and reservations are required. The event will take place in Matherne’s private wine room. For more information, call 767-0074. —Maggie Heyn Richardson