Les Victuailles De Vendredi

First, The Carnival of the Recipes is up at Boudicca's Voice.  She did a great job organizing the NUMEROUS recipes that were submitted! 

Second, but I'll be back to add this part, I have to tell you about the incredible lunch I ate today.   It was a three-hour deal, I'll say that much.  I also don't know if I'll be eating dinner this evening.  Check back later for details of the menu.

UPDATE @ 19:45:  Lunch menu follows...

Bernard took me to the best restaurant in town.  I haven't eaten this well in a very long time. 

We had what was called the menu dégustation.  Déguster means "to taste."  It was a menu of small portions, a meal meant to be eaten slowly and savored. 

First we had an apéritif -- a kir, but not made with the traditional crème de cassis.  We decided to try a cherry kir, because we'd never had one before.  It was okay, but neither of us finished our glass -- the wine and liqueur mix became cloying as it warmed up to room temperature.  I definitely prefer a kir made with blackcurrant or blackberry liqueur. 

With the kirs, we were served a plate of hors d'oeuvres: two each of a soft, small roll filled with a lighter version of Boursin cheese; toast points with tapenade, and small canapés slathered in orange marmelade with fennel seeds sprinkled on top. 

Bernard asked if we could have different wines with each course, but the sommelier informed him that their selection of wines by the glass wasn't very large.   So he looked at the wine list and asked me if I liked champagne.

"I never refuse champagne," I replied. 

He ordered a bottle of pink champagne to accompany the entire meal.  Champagne rosé in French.  "Pink" just isn't the word here, and it cheapens the effect.  It wasn't even a rosé color.  There was just a hint of sunset to the normal champagne color.  In any case, it was delicious. 

And now for the meal.  There were seven courses.  I'll list them in French, then I'll describe each one.  Everything was artfully served on a different plate, and as soon as one plate was taken away, another server would come with the necessary silverware for the following course.  The servers also kept our champagne glasses filled throughout the meal. 

Terrine de foie gras aux figues, salade d'herbes aux noix et toast chaud

This terrine was prepared with dried figs in between the layers of foie gras. We each had a perfect slice, which we ate with the brioche-like toast.  If you've never had foie gras, please try it at least once in your life.  The silky texture will seduce you.  There's nothing like it in the world. Accompanying this course was a salad of fresh dill and tarragon leaves with walnuts and a light vinaigrette.  A last touch was a tiny mound of sea salt, with a mound of fresh-ground black pepper on the plate. 

Nage de Saint Jacques et langoustines, gingembre confit et coulis de concombre à l'aneth

One scallop and one langoustine tail swam in a coulis of cucumbers with dill.  Topping the seafood was a mélange of ginger confit and fresh sprigs of dill.  It was fresh and light, and the ginger and dill made for an interesting combination.  The cucumbers offset the heat of the ginger, as well.

Dos de bar finement pané de poivre de Sichuan et de Marjolaine, sa peau craquante et des lentilles vertes

Oh. My. God.  A perfectly cooked morsel of sea bass, coated in Sezchuan pepper.  This fish course was one of the highlights of the meal.  Bernard didn't like the pepper, but I found that it was nicely tempered by the creamy sauce that the lentils were in.  This is the first time I've eaten lentils since...oh never mind.  There was also a bit of crispy, grilled skin (from the sea bass, of course), which gave a nice crunchy contrast to the soft textures of the fish and lentils. 

Canard "Col Vert" en deux cuissons, marmelade de fruits secs et fenouil

I think "col vert" means a mallard duck.  In any case, there were two types of duck on the plate:  magret, or breast, and confit, which is dark meat that has been slowly cooked in its own fat.  I love duck.  I love it almost as much as I love lamb.  Accompanying the meat was a mixture of dried apricots and figs, with braised fennel stalks.  I was afraid when I saw the word "marmelade."  I needn't have worried.  It was not a spread, but rather quarters of the dried fruit.  The magret was lovely, tender, and pink.  The confit, slighty salty, fell off the bone.

Plateau de fromages affinés

The server wheeled out a tray with (I counted) more than 30 types of cheese on it.  Bernard and I made our selections (three cheeses each), and ate them with a crusty, dense bread. 
I can't remember the names of what we chose, but we both sampled a ewes' milk cheese from Corsica.  It was delicious. 

Soufflé à la cannelle, aux pommes, raisins et curry

This tiny cinnamon soufflé was served with an apple, raisin and curry chutney.  At the bottom of the soufflé dish was a sweet, crunchy brown-sugary crust.  Bernard said "I was kind of hoping for a better dessert."  I said "This isn't dessert."

Mousse glacée aux trois chocolats et un biscuit des Jésuites

Three different flavors of iced mousse (softer than ice cream, creamier than mousse) -- white, milk, and dark chocolate -- sat in a delicate chocolate sauce, which managed to fall somewhere between the intensities of the milk and dark chocolate flavors.  Topping the mousse was a flaky biscuit.  It was quite hard, not too sweet, with poppy and sesame seeds baked into the top.  I don't know why it's called "Jesuits' biscuit", but it was a superb complement to the mousse. 

Espresso followed. 

The meal was sublime, and I'll remember it for a long time.

I FORGOT!  (Because it's not on the menu, and I know the menu now because I asked to bring a copy home).  Before the first course of foie gras, we were served an amuse bouche:  a tiny cup of pumpkin soup with a touch of walnut oil in it.  The serving amounted to about 1/8 cup, or 30 ml. 

It was warm, creamy, and full of autumn flavors. 

 

Comments

[Allan]

Mmmmmmm. I can't wait.

[Donna]

Here I was, all excited because I had a Quizno's sub for lunch today. Then I read this...! Wow!

Menu degustations (? or is it just degustations? degustation meals? whatever) are great, but I have to say, I often feel more stuffed after one than after a quote-unquote regular meal.

I so love that you talk about food & recipes here!

(I get the "vert" part, but what's "col"? Never mind, I'll look it up!)

[Donna]

Here I was, all excited because I had a Quizno's sub for lunch today. Then I read this...! Wow!

Menu degustations (? or is it just degustations? degustation meals? whatever) are great, but I have to say, I often feel more stuffed after one than after a quote-unquote regular meal.

I so love that you talk about food & recipes here!

(I get the "vert" part, but what's "col"? Never mind, I'll look it up!)

[Donna]

ARGH! Why is it that when I post, it always posts my comments twice? I only click on the Post button once! I swear!

[Alison]

Col = collar. Green collar. Mallard.

And Donna, I don't know why it happens, but your double comments always make me laugh. ;-)

[Alison]

And I really miss eating subs. Hoagies. Grinders.

[Allan]

My lunch of ropa vieja sammich was very good, but I would rather have eaten what you had.

Wow. Thanks for the imagery.

[Denise]

Allan--I was paging through my Mexican/Caribbean cookbook the other day and almost made ropa vieja. Instead I went for chiles rellenos, from scratch. (Would've been better off making the ropa vieja, as the chiles took me roughly 5 hours. Worth it, though.) So your post made me giggle.

Alison--your meal sounds fabulous. When we were in New Orleans a couple of years ago we went to Emeril's restaurant (have you heard of Emeril Lagasse? Overexposed but still pretty decent chef) and had the degustation. Unbelievable. Having had Papa John's Pizza tonight, I'm pretty jealous!

[Allan]

I had dinner at the Mellow Mushroom this evening. It was good, but I would still rather have what you had. ;)

[Alison]

Denise, yes, I know who Emeril is; I've even seen his show. :-)

Allan, the *Mellow Mushroom*? What a great name.

I'm hungry again.