Dinner at home

On friday night, we had a dinner party at home.  We had invited friends who have done many favours for us in the past, but because of my cough, the event had been postponed; however, I reached the point where, cough or no cough, I decided that we simply had to start living again!   I tried to make the menu as simple, but as tasty as possible.  As usual, the camera was forgotten at critical moments, but I did remember to take photos from time to time!!

The table ready for our guests. I have given up putting wine glasses on the table, as everyone seems to already have a glass in hand when we sit down to eat!!

We started with home-made celery soup; I used celery from the garden and the recipe I used was published HERE a few months ago. 


Of course, there was plenty of fresh French bread  to accompany the second course of fish mousse/pate, made to my recipe which I published very recently HERE.

The main course of beef casserole was not recorded by the camera!  I made up the recipe for 6 people, more or less as follows!  I fried up a few lardons, sliced onions and leeks, then added  2 kg of meat cut into chunks, together with a couple of sliced carrots. I cooked it all, turning the meat until it was browned.  Then I stirred in a couple of tablespoons of flour and  a bottle of red wine was added, still stirring until the mixture started to bubble.  I then seasoned with salt and pepper and some herbes de provence (mixed herbs); finally, I added a packet of quartered fresh mushrooms and a tablespoon of tomato paste.  I allowed the casserole to simmer very slowly, until the meat was tender.  It was just a case of adding what I felt it needed for flavour, very DIY!  We served the beef with mashed garlic potato, cooked chestnuts, peas and carrots.

This was followed by the cheese course, for which I again forgot the camera, but I have tried below to re-create the cheese board, with the some of the selection of cheese left in the fridge!

On the platter above are  (clockwise)- Emmental Français, Morbier, Coulommiers de caractère (mature), Petit Munster Géromé,  with  a morsel of Saint Agur in the centre.  The Comté was finished!

We finished off with a quince and apple tart.

Again, there was no recipe and it was very much DIY.   I lined the pie dish with bought pastry (I like saving time), and I blind cooked it for 20 mins.   I then filled the pie with quince that I had frozen last year, when I had so much from our tree.  I did cook it up lightly beforehand and I added a little sugar and cinnamon to taste.  I then sliced three large apples and cooked them very gently in a large non stick frying pan, in a mixture of lemon juice, a little butter, cinnamon and sugar.  When lightly cooked, but still holding their shape, I placed them on top of the quince.  The tart went into the oven  at 180C (350F) when we had our main course and by the time we had finished the cheese, it was ready to eat.

The dinner went well and it appeared that everyone went home more than satisfied!

I have also just updated My Life Before Charente.

Apple Cobbler

Having been housebound for the last couple of weeks due to the ice-covered roads, the normal exploring and photo-taking activities have been on hold. We have also not tried any recipes worthy of passing onto our faithful followers, so this is a recipe from the archives which I hope you will enjoy.

APPLE COBBLER QUICK AND EASY

Ingredients

8 medium apples, peeled, core removed and sliced ( My apples were all fallers, so they were not perfect. Good apples; probably 6 would be enough)

1 cup sugar

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Method 

Combine apples, sugar, orange juice and 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Cook until apple is soft.

Meanwhile combine flour, salt and baking powder, stir in milk slowly mixing all the time, then add remaining butter melted separately.

Combine the batter and the apple mixture mixing well and pour all into greased baking dish.

Bake at 190C (375F) for about 30 minutes or until batter browns and rises.

There is no crust on this cobbler, but we enjoyed it. It would taste great with ice cream, cream or custard.

Onion Savoury Tart

I have guests coming for aperitifs on Thursday, so I decided to try a new tart or quiche. I use courgette and chard normally, but as neither are ready in the garden yet, I decided to experiment with what I had in the house.  This turned out perfectly and I will definitely make it again on Thursday.  Meanwhile, I have a few meals for myself.

Onion Savoury Tart

Ingredients

I pkt pastry -  shortcrust is probably best, but I only had puff!

25g butter

2 tbsp olive oil

800g onions, halved and thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves

3 medium eggs

250ml Crème fraiche or double cream

Salt and pepper

Cayenne pepper or paprika optional

50g grated parmesan cheese

Method

Heat oven to 190C (375F) or fan 175C (337F). Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line a deep 26cm flan tin that has been sprayed lightly with non-stick spray.

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan, then gently fry the onions, covered, until completely softened, but still pale in colour. (About 30 minutes on simmer). I grated the garlic cloves into the onions during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Beat the eggs and cream together in a bowl, add the cheese and some seasoning to taste. Stir in the onions, then spoon the mixture into the flan case.  Lightly sprinkle with cayenne pepper or paprika if required.  Bake for 25-30 mins until lightly set and browned.

Eat hot or cold.

Baked Apple Tip


I had one lone Granny Smith apple in the house, so I decided to core it and put it in the microwave.  I cooked it for 3 minutes on high and then removed it and filled it up with home made cherry jam.  It was very yummy :-) Sorry I ate it before I thought of the camera!!