58th Birthday do Chez Moi

 Last weekend, we celebrated my birthday cum friends visiting Raub with a lunch do chez moi. Well since everyone is kind of in a relaxed mood, it was decided that it will be rather Mediterranean-inspired (also the weather so hot these days)....

To begin, setting up the table the day before...

when everyone arrived, we started with some apéritif : Campari + Martini Rosso + Orange juice on ice and a tray of charcuterie:

a simple tray of garlic cream cheese, olives, cherry tomatoes and some charcuterie....

served with slices of Turkish bread and a small shot glass of cocktail to open up the appetite. A few tidbits were served alongside...

tartelettes with bacon bits & ....

a bowl of organic Avocado dressed with double cream, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper...

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The first course was pretty simple: slivers of warm poached saucisse de Morteau with potato puree...

I was supposed to poach the sausage with slow bubbling water for 40 minutes but forgot and ended up with a 1h30mins do. But the end result was still good...

The meal was washed down with a bottle of rather new rosé from Provence. 

The poulet a la provençale was easy to make and easy on the palette. We paired it with a crisp Chablis...

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Then it was the cheese and salad - again I have decided to go simple as some guests are new to this...

a slice of aged Comte and Brie can never go wrong...

And then the tiramisu to finish with a cup of infusion ...

A Christmas meal on Boxing Day

Last Christmas, we had our usual Christmas meal with friends on Boxing day...

This year, the table setting was more on theme than usual - with a centre piece made of fresh Blue Gum, Noble fir, Hinoki Cypress and pine cones

some tidbits

a terrine of pork served with cucumber salad and pickles

boeuf bourguignon with puree of potato and poached cabbage

Recipe for the potato puree:

800g of Chat potatoes, boiled in salted water and pressed through a riser,

250g of French butter (le Gall is suited for this)

1.5 cup of double cream

fleur de sel and white pepper to taste

The ingredients must be incorporated with a whip while the potato is still hot and went through the riser. It is not necessary to pass the puree through a sieve (only if a very fine silky texture is desired), a bit of rustic feel is more easy to handle.

Salad with cheese

Simple pound cake with Chantilly cream and chestnut cream

A day to remember

 On 6th December 2023, I was conferred the Chevalier des palmes académiques by the French Government - something which I never envisioned when I started teaching French back in 2008 having completed my studies in France a few years back. What an adventure it was to have a rewarding experience culminating to this...

the pinning ceremony

the medal

friends and family

with my dear students freshly came back from Francce