Homebody ? You bet !

I am very late posting this but fortunately I had written it on the plane coming back to Dallas just before Christmas, now you know !

The week went by pretty quick as I visited friends and family and tried to do some work on the house ( tried being the key word here ). Today is saturday and also my sister’s BD. Here is the menu for dinner and of course I am cooking it which is fun. My sister is not a cook and has no interest in furthering her culinary know how or lack thereof. Here is the menu with too much details but........

Foie gras en terrine with black tomato compote
Frisee and fenouil
Rose poached Passe Crassane

Farm raised roasted Guinea Capon
Black trumpet farce
Celery root mousseline
Haricots verts

Pears and Bananas Foster

I have prepped for a few hours and my lunch was quick but not light: country ham, pate, munster cheese (the real stuff) pistachio pot de crème and the real baguette that is perfect with it. All the good stuff that’s bad for me but so good to eat. I know, I know, I’ll have to get back to normal asap, for now it’s all good.
Watching rugby and a nap in the afternoon was just great along with a roaring fire place makes it for a perfect winter afternoon. Who cares what the weather looks like ?

I opened all the wines before dinner and was especially surprised at the Sauternes,1984 Chateau Lamothe that I picked out of my cellar without knowing what it was since the whole label was covered with mold but the color through the glass was just perfect. I will serve this wine with the foie gras. Yummmmm ! See the pic below.
It is a 25 years old bottle which has laid undisturbed in the darkness and the damp atmosphere of my cellar which will need some improvements in a few years but is doing the job for now. This is a case where the wait is really worth it. Of course it has a lot to do with the fact that I was not anywhere close by for that bottle to be left alone for that long.

The rest was a Pomerol for the capon and a Haut Medoc for the cheese, champagne with dessert and I did not have to drive, what a deal !
I had done a lot of advance work so doing this dinner was no sweat for me but enjoyed by all. I was really pleased with the terrine which came out great with rich duck flavor and silky texture. the Guinea capon was a first for me but very very good with a good yield of meat, lots of flavor. The foie gras was just deeeeelish and the flavor was all terroir and tradition which means an awful lot to me. The Sauternes with it was truly God’s work and my appreciation for these high quality products is way up there as a Chef and the lucky guy that I am for being born in the thick of it.
I am looking forward to many more in a few years with a few of you . Wait, I am not looking to be the next Peter Mayle but I’ll do all the cooking !
A great evening it was with lots of conversation, laughs and no dissents . What ? Yeah, in my French neighborhood it might be a rarity but it does happen.

Later,

Chef Andre