Another gourmet dinner prepared by accomplished cooks who know how to make the dish shine in spite of issues with the recipe. It was a very impressive meal that began with my appetizer, Paté de Canard en Croute (Boned Stuffed Duck Baked in Pastry Crust). Since I took you step-by-step through the process in my previous post, I won’t repeat it. I did not have enought time to totally chill the dish and the crust was very tough when I cut through it to remove the top. Almost inedible. Willie’s photo shows you what it looked like on the plate sans crust. You might notice that the skin over the paté is almost non-existent. Remember how the trussing strings created a puffy loaf before it went into the pastry crust and oven? All gone! Bill chose a bottle of Regnie 2009 Beaujolais Domaine Des Braves that turned out to be the perfect pairing for the savory paté. This Beaujolais was very hardy and spicy and stood up to the paté and accompanying grainy Dijon mustard and cornichons. Bravo Bill!
The good news is that it turned out pretty well and everyone liked it. We discussed ways of making it without the “en croute” part or without the duck skin since it is such a time consuming recipe. Maybe if we baked it without the pastry crust at a lower temperature, it might work? The pastry makes a very dramatic presentation but is it an unnecessary step? The duck skin is a much better covering than pork fat or the cowl fat, in MHO, anyway but, again, deboning and removing the meat from a duck is very time consuming. I suspect it is all done with a purpose and the crust was much more palatable once it had chilled completely by the next morning.
Our next course was a traditional French dish that we’ve all grown to love. Soupe A L’Oignon Gratinee (Onion Soup) that Annie prepared. The soup was rich with onions that were caramelized for an hour and topped with a crispy thickly sliced crouton and cheese. We got a second slice of baguette with which to sop up any soup left in the bowl…slurp! Bill chose a rich chardonnay to go with the soup and he succeeded with a Bernardus, 2008, Chardonnay from Monterey County. Another perfect choice!Our next course was a combination of several dishes that I thought would complement each other:
Daube de Boeuf A La Provencale (Braised Beef with Wine & Vegetables, with a Garlic & Anchovy Sauce)
Pommes Anna (Potatoes Anna)
Navets A La Champenoise (Turnip Casserole)
Choux de Bruxelles Braisés (Brussel Sprouts Braised in Cream)
Our timing was a little off so we served Marianne’s beef dish with the potato. The Braised Beef was very rich and the sauce was thick with delicious vegetables and spices. It was marinated in wine overnight and then braised for hours so you can imagine how all the flavors were melded. Annie was surprised that the carrots hadn’t disappeared after all that braising and were still there in small pieces. 
Willie’s Pommes Anna was such an artful presentation and pretty easy to prepare so, speaking for myself, will be a way I'll make them more often. What can go wrong with potatoes, butter and salt & pepper? Yum-m-m. You can see from the photo that it also made a beautiful presentation on the table! It went well with the beef. Julia recommends a rice pilaf that would be a nice accompaniment too. Bill poured a very unique wine for these two dishes and again, a good choice. Bill was batting .300 tonight, and selected the best wines to compliment each dish! For this course, it was a Chapelle De Maillac 2007 Grenache Rhone. I typically don’t like Rhones but this bottle may change my mind. Young Rhones are usually too harsh for me and I avoid them, preferring Rhones that are at least 20 years old. This one was spicy, rich, full and well-balanced with fruit and smooth tannins.
We had the two vegetables dishes together. Sandy made the Turnip Casserole with Rutabagas instead of yellow turnips. I love rutabagas so I wasn’t unhappy with her choice. I was very curious about how this dish would taste. It is made with cubes of pancetta and even has a little flour in it to make the sauce thicker and allow it to cling to the rutabagas. I liked it a lot and I think everyone was surprised with this dish. The Brussel Sprouts that Jeffrey prepared was what its title implies…creamy, rich and soft brussel sprouts. It’s not easy to pair any wine with brussel sprouts and especially since the wines were chosen for the 4 dishes to be served together. Bill selected a 22-year old Forman Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa to go with the main course and sides. It did not go well with just the vegetables but as a wine, it was wonderful! Bill had selected it to go with the combined dishes of beef and sides and it was the perfect choice for those combined flavors. Ric Forman makes his wines in a Bordeaux style that I love. It still has the signature California fruit but in his wine, the fruit is not forward but tastes more like a blended wine. He is a very careful vineyard master and winemaker. He doesn’t produce a lot and as a result, he is able to exert maximum control over how each lot is made. It definitely pays off.
Bill gave each of a genetic chart of wines and we learned that all wine grapes originated from a grape variety called Traminer. It was an fascinating chart showing how each variety morphed into new varieties.
After this short break, we were served our desserts. Sharon made a Gâteau Á L'orange Á La Créme D'orange (Orange Sponge Cake with Orange Buttercream Filling) . She made this cake three times and was unhappy with the results but brought it anyway. She didn't like how grainy the frosting looked. I thought the sponge cake was light and the Orange Buttercream recipe a delicious and easy way to make a buttercream. She made the orange curd for the filling and then added a softened cube of butter to a cup of it to make the frosting. I liked it enough to try making it myself for the next time I bring a dessert somewhere. Post-note: I did try it on Wed. and doubled the icing recipe and heated an off-set spatula to smooth out the frosting once it covered the cake. I think that worked.
Sandi made a Tarte au Citron (Citrus Tart with Glazed Lemon Slices and Lemon Peel) from Julia’s dessert cookbook. (sorry, couldn't find an online recipe to link to for you) She tried the Lemon Tart from Julia’s “Mastering the Art of…” but didn’t like how that one tasted. This one had a lemon marmalade glaze that actually used apricot jam as the sweetener. I liked the tart slices of the Meyer lemons layered on top. She said it was a difficult tart to slice because the curd clumped rather than sliced like a custard. It was probably hard to slice through the lemon slices as well. It was delicious and everyone enjoyed it and really didn't notice the presentation problems the two women had with their desserts. The wine star of the evening turned out to be the Italian wine that Bill found to complement the desserts, Nivole 2004 Moscato d’Asti Michael Chiarlo. Everyone loved the wine and found that the spritz and the citrus-y flavors cleansed the sweetness of the desserts on our palates. Even Sandy like this wine!
Once again, a memorable meal and we all took home our favorite leftovers as a faint memory of another feast. Willie took a photo of all the wines we tried this evening. It helps to know what the label looks like if you decide to try any of them. AND, the best news is because her recipes have been around since the early 60’s most of them are online albeit sometimes in an abbreviated format but the ingredients are always the same. To view the recipe, click on the the title of the dish. Also to see a larger image of any dish in each of the posts, just click on the image.
Our next challenge is a Mexican dinner a la any Rick Bayless cookbook.
¡Buen provecho!
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