The Home Front: The Finisher

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From the lavender roses to the pistachio-encrusted organic lamb to the string quartet, this party was perfection incarnate. But more than anything, it had heart.

By Stefene Russell
Photography by Katherine Bish

The Details

The hosts: Tony Sansone and family

The cause: Peggy Sansone Special Angel Foundation 

The location: Sansone home, Town & Country

The entertainment: Clayton Symphony Orchestra; More Fools Than Wise; Alison Lee, solo vocalist

The florist: Barb Wehking, Bloomin’ Buckets

The invitations: Cheresse INK

The featured speaker: Dr. C. Robert Cloninger,  Wallace Renard Professor of Psychiatry and Genetics, Washington University; author, Feeling Good: The Science of Well-Being

The chef: Marc Felix, assisted by Elizabeth Ottolini and Hamid Subasic

The wine director: Mark Lazar

The sommelier: Oliver Lee


It’s a big house, but it feels distinctly warm. “That’s all Dawn,” grinned Tony Sansone, referring to the decorating acumen of his fiancée, Dawn Jensen. He was also quick to praise her “heart and spirit” for pulling together a  small—but ambitious—dinner party for the Peggy Sansone Special Angel Foundation. A total of 51 friends, some who’d flown in from as far away as New York, stepped into the Sansones’ foyer, where candles and fairy lights left marble tiles and sand-colored walls awash in a coppery glow. After having their photos taken, they retired to heated tents on the patio for golden flutes of Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and chamber music performed by members of the Clayton Symphony Orchestra.

In the kitchen, Chef Marc Felix was all focus. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s make it flow,” he called to his staff, clapping his hands, as they organized plates and put finishing touches on hors d’oeuvres. The chef,  a stickler for fresh, organic food, insisted that everything be made on the spot, which added considerably to the intensity in the kitchen (though, in a rather tender moment, he still found time to show Mr. Sansone’s youngest daughter, 9-year-old Lilly, how to stuff a fig with caviar). 

All seven Sansone kids—Tony III, Mike, Christine, Carrie, Deby, Nikki and Lilly—were in black-tie attire, minding the door and greeting guests, exhibiting a grace that belied their youth. The dinner’s proceeds were earmarked for an organization they established with their father in 2002—the Special Angel Foundation—named in honor of their mom, Peggy, who took her own life in 2001. Rather than suffer alone, the Sansones decided to do what they could to help other families affected by depression, and they partnered with Dr. Robert Cloninger of Washington University, a pioneer in the field of depression research. He is now head of the University’s Sansone Family Center for Well-Being, which treats depression and mental illness from a mind/body/spirit approach. “We also want to defrock the stigma of depression,” Tony Sansone said, “because it’s just like cancer or diabetes—people should feel like they can come out and get treatment.”
 
As guests were seated for dinner, limoncello sorbet in globes full of ice appeared at the table; a Wash U. student choral group, More Fools Than Wise, quietly tapped at the back door and tiptoed into the hearth room, which became an impromptu greenroom. After the main course was served, the songsters assembled in the main hall and, illuminated by candlelight, began with Tallis’ “If Ye Love Me,” their voices rising and falling, warming the room with what almost felt like a hint of Christmas.

“That’s what I need!” Chef Felix proclaimed happily as they began to sing. “I want to be inspired.” 

Later, when Dr. Cloninger stood to speak, it was so quiet you could almost hear candles flickering. “What we’re trying to do is integrate the practical sciences with art and music—science, medicine and spirituality,” he explained, noting that learning about the huge, creative lives of people like Leonardo da Vinci provides examples to follow. But most importantly, he said, well-being hinges on “working for others, giving to others—finding a purpose bigger than yourself.” It seemed that there wasn’t a person in the room who disagreed.

As Chef Felix and his assistants readied the chocolate torte and French Press coffee, singer-songwriter Alison Lee, who had flown in from Miami to perform, stood in front of the room’s mantel, candles flickering behind her, and began to sing. Mr. Sansone asked his guests to pay special attention to the last song, his favorite, “Beat of My Heart.”

“If you should ever feel like giving in,” Ms. Lee sang in a sweet, smoky voice, “just stop and feel the beat of my heart.” Tonight was all about just that—heart.

The Menu

1997 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé

Hors d’oeuvres
Chicks in a Blanket
Caviar
Norwegian smoked salmon
Asparagus, hearts of palm, white truffle mayonnaise
2002 Joseph Drouhin Chablis les Clos

Palate Cleanser
Limoncello sorbet

Dinner
Pistachio-encrusted rack of lamb with garlic confit
Potatoes à la Dauphinoise
Sautéed broccoli
2003 Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Dinner
Arugula salad, ginger pear chutney, candied walnuts, parmigiano reggiano

Dessert
Bittersweet chocolate torte
Tahitian vanilla crème anglaise
Selection of cheeses
2001 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino
Biscotti
French Press Sumatran coffee
1977 Warre’s Porto

The Recipes

Courtesy of Marc Felix and Elisabeth Ottolini

Chicks in a Blanket

1 package frozen puff pastry
1 package Whole Foods sun-dried tomato and chicken sausages
Dijon mustard
1 egg

Thaw puff pastry in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut sausages into 1/4-inch thick slices on the diagonal. Roll puff pastry dough out on a floured surface. Cut pastry into 2-inch squares, place a drop of Dijon mustard onto each square and place a sausage diagonally on top. To make egg wash, mix egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Wrap two pastry corners across sausage and use egg wash as glue to hold in place. When finished wrapping, place each one on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and wash the outsides of each with egg. Bake for 12–15 minutes until golden brown and puffy.


Pistachio-Encrusted Rack of Lamb with Garlic Confit

2 racks of lamb
Sea salt
Pepper
Olive oil
2 tablespoons mustard
1 cup pistachio nuts, shelled and chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. In large sauté pan, sear racks of lamb on all sides until browned. Set aside to cool. Cover bones in foil; spread 1 tablespoon mustard on outside of each lamb chop; dredge in chopped pistachio nuts to coat. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. This allows juices to settle and makes the meat tender. Cut into double lamb chops and serve two per plate, with bones upended and intertwined.


Garlic Confit

Garlic cloves (you choose how many)

Atop the stove: Place peeled cloves in a sauté pan. Add olive oil to cover and sauté the cloves, watching carefully that they don’t burn.

In the oven: Place peeled cloves in a baking dish. Cover with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove the garlic from the oil and place the cloves around the lamb. (Keep the oil for garnishing or making salad dressings.)


Potatoes à la Dauphinoise

1 tablespoon garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons butter, softened
4 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 pounds russet potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine garlic and butter and rub inside a large baking dish, coating bottom and sides. In a large bowl, combine heavy cream with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Peel potatoes and place in a bowl of water to keep from browning. Slice potatoes very thin on a mandoline and layer in bottom of baking dish. Spoon cream mixture over potatoes, just to cover. Repeat with next layers until finished. Cream mixture should just cover potatoes. Bake in oven for 40–50 minutes until top is browned.


Bittersweet Chocolate Torte

Crust:
1 pound flour
2/3 pound butter
1/3 pound sugar
2 egg yolks
Ice water

Filling:
1 pound bittersweet Valrhona chocolate, chipped
2 whole eggs
1 2/3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk

Crust: Mix flour and sugar together, then add butter and yolks and blend together with pastry cutter. If the crust looks dry, then add water, a little at a time. Shape into disc, wrap in plastic and chill.

Filling: Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. As it melts, blend in the milk and cream. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and add the eggs. Mix together. Let the filling cool.

Set the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough for crust to 1/4-inch thickness. Press into bottom of tart pan. This recipe works for two 9-inch tart pans or ten 4-inch pans. Place tart pans on a half-sheet pan and pour filling into crust to just below rim. Bake for 35 minutes or until center is set.