Discussion
Thought I'd post this set of pics that I took yesterday over lunch & dinner.
Lunch - at her Grannies house.
Aperatif. Champagne, foie gras on brioche, radishes and some little cubes of laughing cow cheese.
A delightful chablis for with the starter (which was a seafood salad of sorts)
My son enjoying the bread!
The main course, a duck cassoulet (made the lazy way)
'95 Cotes de Nuits Villages - the perfect accompaniment.
The cheeseboard after it had been largely demolished
A bottle of Rose from their department. Not bad. Although on reflection, i'm unsure as to why we opened this after the meal, I think I was getting a bit pissed by this point
Dessert. Yumyum.
The end. (Of lunch).
Now, the next pic is the only one I had of this - by this point it's fair to say i'd had a bit to drink and really A) couldn't be arsed with pictures and B) Forgot anyway.
Dinner - at her uncles place.
Aperatif: More champagne. Lots infact. Saucisson, smoked duck breast and good old ready salted crisps.
Starter: Frogs legs fried in butter, garlic & shallots, sprinkled with parsley and served in the frying pan. Very sticky. Lovely. Wine was a white Beaune of some description.
The main: roe deer flambed in cognac and served in a reduced cream sauce. Utterly, utterly amazing. Gevrey-Chambertin with it. The bloke in the picture is my uncle-in-law, it's fair to say that he's a cracking cook as well as butcher (this is the bloke who gives me the boar & venison, gout etc)
Cheese: Gruyere, more Gevrey-Chambertin.
Dessert: Chocolate cake and the french equivalent to birds custard (the aunt-in-law got slaughtered for daring not to make her own creme-anglaise).
To finish: A degustation of various 'gouts'. Mirabelle, Kirsch & Poire. Plus some random Genepi necked just because we could.
I was so full after all this and despite the amount of food consumed, quite, quite pissed. All that said, I woke up today feeling absolutely fine - no headache or ropey stomach feeling at all.
One day we'll move here. Happiness truly resides in good food, good wine & good company.
Lunch - at her Grannies house.
Aperatif. Champagne, foie gras on brioche, radishes and some little cubes of laughing cow cheese.
A delightful chablis for with the starter (which was a seafood salad of sorts)
My son enjoying the bread!
The main course, a duck cassoulet (made the lazy way)
'95 Cotes de Nuits Villages - the perfect accompaniment.
The cheeseboard after it had been largely demolished
A bottle of Rose from their department. Not bad. Although on reflection, i'm unsure as to why we opened this after the meal, I think I was getting a bit pissed by this point
Dessert. Yumyum.
The end. (Of lunch).
Now, the next pic is the only one I had of this - by this point it's fair to say i'd had a bit to drink and really A) couldn't be arsed with pictures and B) Forgot anyway.
Dinner - at her uncles place.
Aperatif: More champagne. Lots infact. Saucisson, smoked duck breast and good old ready salted crisps.
Starter: Frogs legs fried in butter, garlic & shallots, sprinkled with parsley and served in the frying pan. Very sticky. Lovely. Wine was a white Beaune of some description.
The main: roe deer flambed in cognac and served in a reduced cream sauce. Utterly, utterly amazing. Gevrey-Chambertin with it. The bloke in the picture is my uncle-in-law, it's fair to say that he's a cracking cook as well as butcher (this is the bloke who gives me the boar & venison, gout etc)
Cheese: Gruyere, more Gevrey-Chambertin.
Dessert: Chocolate cake and the french equivalent to birds custard (the aunt-in-law got slaughtered for daring not to make her own creme-anglaise).
To finish: A degustation of various 'gouts'. Mirabelle, Kirsch & Poire. Plus some random Genepi necked just because we could.
I was so full after all this and despite the amount of food consumed, quite, quite pissed. All that said, I woke up today feeling absolutely fine - no headache or ropey stomach feeling at all.
One day we'll move here. Happiness truly resides in good food, good wine & good company.
Bill said:
escargot said:
I'm with you on that. We wouldn't have it any other way with Cedric. Eating at the table is a pleasure, not a chore.
And the only concession to your child's palate seems to be the Vache qui rit
L'anglais, ils mangent la merde, oui?
Cedric had a little bit of duck mashed up with the beans. He also tried a bit of frogs leg too. He's definitely 50% French.
soad said:
Duck cassoulet and doe deer both look absolutely delightful. My mouth is actually watering after viewing those photos. 
The deer dish is extremely simple to make and in terms of effort vs reward, it's got to be right up there. It was made all the better by knowing that approximately a month ago it was shot & butchered by the chap in the pic.What is also always made abundantly clear to me every time we come to visit is that really, presentation matters not a jot for them. It's all about the flavour. I can go along with that considering my artistic streak is non-existant.
Edited by escargot on Monday 12th April 12:33
Liszt said:
They are actually called Apericubes and are little silvery foiled cubes of loveliness.
The staple of the aperitif, with sliced sauscisson, pate en croute and a few of the little cheese and herb biscuits.
The world would be an infinitely worse place had the aperitif and accompanying sauscisson been overlooked.The staple of the aperitif, with sliced sauscisson, pate en croute and a few of the little cheese and herb biscuits.
I'm determined that his first words will be "Tu voudrais un apero papa?"
"Oui mon filston, allez!"
Recipe for the deer:
butter and a splash of oil in a big pan (this is important, don't use just one or the other, the butter imparts a nutty flavour and the oil stops it burning)
add the cuts of deer/meat and brown
add a really decent glug of cognac (don't fanny around at this point, a decent amount is required)
ignite (be careful)
let the flames go out, turn the heat up and reduce right down.
Add cream (double) enough so that after reducing by 50% you're left with a bit of extra sauce.
Reduce until it coats the back of a spoon
season to taste
it should come out a similar colour to the version in my pic, if it's lighter, too much cream or not enough cognac. If darker; the opposite.
As you can see, ridiculously simple, but very decadent and rich. You need only serve it with a baguette for mopping sauce.
butter and a splash of oil in a big pan (this is important, don't use just one or the other, the butter imparts a nutty flavour and the oil stops it burning)
add the cuts of deer/meat and brown
add a really decent glug of cognac (don't fanny around at this point, a decent amount is required)
ignite (be careful)
let the flames go out, turn the heat up and reduce right down.
Add cream (double) enough so that after reducing by 50% you're left with a bit of extra sauce.
Reduce until it coats the back of a spoon
season to taste
it should come out a similar colour to the version in my pic, if it's lighter, too much cream or not enough cognac. If darker; the opposite.
As you can see, ridiculously simple, but very decadent and rich. You need only serve it with a baguette for mopping sauce.
Workshy Fop said:
Escargot said "Today's lunch? Andouille avec frites."
Did you manage to keep that down? I'll try anything but that had me beat. Not the frites part obviously.
I used to struggle with it I must admit. Nowadays though, i've acquired a taste for it. It's particularly good barbecued (as is the slightly smellier Andouillette).Did you manage to keep that down? I'll try anything but that had me beat. Not the frites part obviously.
I do similar with pork fillet (and onions and mushrooms).Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff