Last Saturday we invited some friends to share our French dinner. I am not entirely sure that the dinner was very French, but at least the wines were! Due to the heat wave that hit Brussels last weekend with temperature up towards 40C, it did not feel right to make a 'Coq au vine', one of my favourite French dishes. Neither was it the time to do another favourite 'Beef Bourguignon'! To hot for the soaring temperature. I settled for scallops for the starter, salmon for the main course and a white chocolate brulée for dessert. Here is the menu.
For starters I did some snacks; watermelon and a square of goat cheese or brie, salty biscuits and three version of tapenade. To this I served a Champagne that turned out to be wonderful.
After mingling with the snacks and the champagne...
...it was time to sit down for the first course: scallops in a creamy sauce made of fried shallot, banana, apple and cream, spiced with curry, honey and white balsamico. It is a very nice dish which I have made many times. It was served with a Gewurtstraminer from Alsace, which goes very well with this dish, since it is slightly 'sweet' taste. The Gewurtstraminer is also 'sweetish', so the two merges very nicely.
I don't know if the main course is really French(!), but at least the name is; 'Carly's Salmon en Papillote'. Salmon baked in brown paper with asparagus and spring onions. I found it very tasty myself. To this I served a white Chateauneuf-Du-Pape wine; Chateau des Fines Roches. I did not know this wine before so I was lucky it did go well with the food.
So to my favourite part of any dinner - the dessert. I was curious about this one. I love Crème Brulée and this is a variation including white chocolate. Does not make it worse as far as I am concerned. And...if I may say it myself, it was very good. At the last moment I added some sugar on top and put it under the oven grill, just for the slightly burned taste!
To the dessert I served a wine which turned out to be quite wonderful. A Vendange d'Octobre from Ardèche. Absolutely lovely! It will not be the last time I buy this wine.
After that coffee and sipping the last of the wine! We chatted into the night and had a very nice evening. Of course this comes naturally when you invite nice people! I hope they all enjoyed the dinner, the wine and the lovely summer evening!
All of this would not have happened without
Paris in July! So thank you Tamara! I think that your dinner invitation will be much more French than mine. Looking forward to hearing about your dinner.
40C That is Australian hot, I am impressed that you managed to prepare such a wonderful dinner, when it gets that hot here, a salad is about all I can muster. The salmon dish looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteYes, during the day I wondered why I had chosen this weekend to do it. However, I had to change the menu for a lighter one, and in the evening, when the sun disappears behind the trees it is more pleasant. The salmon dish was a nice surprise, and I will for sure do it again. The whole dinner was easy to make, everything could be prepared in advance.
DeleteFor the temperature, we rarely have it so hot, really and exception. Since the whole spring and summer have been really cold and chilly we appreciated it nevertheless.
That looks fabulous. I would love to eat French every night.
ReplyDeletehttp://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2015/07/crepes-by-suzette.html
Oh, I love crepes suzette. Why did I not think of that? Well, looking at reality, probably a little bit too hot. And, I don't eat gluten anymore, but I could have used gluten free flour. Next time!
DeleteOh that menu, my mouth is watering. How do I wing an invitation to your dinner parties lol. We are usually cooking in those temps Christmas in Australia but that's when the aircon runs full blast.
ReplyDeleteCome over, it would be nice to have some Aussie guests! Aircon is normally not used in this part of the world, at least not at home. Offices would have. We have to endure it. On the other hand it is very rare, and having had an unusually cold spring and early summer, who are we to complain.
DeleteLooks exceedingly wonderful. Fine French cooking a rarity in the Philippines
ReplyDeleteThanks you, although I am not sure it was very fine French, but tasted good. Well, for me, Asian food is one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteWonderful event and a great post. I think you presented some great items - especially the entrees. I'll post soon on the French dinner I went to last week. I love how French food feels out of reach from the ordinary chef, but it's actually not that hard to find something we can make at home. I would love to see more foody posts in Paris in July.
ReplyDeleteYes, French food always has a special ring about it. It does not have to be that complicated. Looking forward to hear about your dinner.
DeleteI'm sure your guests had a wonderful time, your dishes, and wines, look fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThank you, we had a lovely evening. To be able to sit outside as well, is a treat this summer!
DeleteI am so in love with this post! I must try the Vendage or something similar, since we probably can't find that here in the states or my area. But there are other Vendages and I'm not terribly familiar with them. Your menu sounds terrific -- the appetizers and dessert especially. Actually, so does the salmon but I'm a before and after kind of girl! I have a wine tasting group I'm part of (and post on The Marmelade Gypsy about our Cork Poppers exploits -- there's a tab at the top of the blog) so I'm always fascinated by parties with wine and good food and it sounds like you mastered both! Delighted to visit during Paris in July!
ReplyDeleteThe Vendage is normally a quite nice wine. I am sure you will find another one as good. Thank you for thinking that the menu is nice. I am also a starter/dessert person. I always have problems finding a main course, it sort of spoils it for the other two! I think I read one if your wine tasting posts. I am also, or was, part of a Swedish wine club and I have taken courses on grapes and what wine goes with what food! Most of the wine, except for the starter with the Gewurtstraminer, I was not familiar with. I was happy to discover that the wines went very well with the food. I am already following you on Feedly. Thank you for your nice comment. Looking forward exchanging views on wine.
DeleteSuch an elaborate menu! I'm not sure I have the courage to attempt such an endeavor, but everything looks perfectly delicious.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I love cooking, at least when I have guests. It is the everyday cooking that wears me down!
ReplyDelete