Dinner with friends

Last Saturday, some friends from KL came for a dinner which was promised and hopefully delivered...I chose the theme of autumn because it was my first impression of France many years ago...

 The table was set to my usual liking, plain and white...

 Amuse bouche or tasters to begin: home-made terrine of pork with balsamic glaze...Terrines and pâté are so much part of autumn and festive winter in France as it would be the season to buy them from stores ahead of the festivities. It is difficult to source good terrines from the market in Malaysia so it is actually easier to make one....

 Quartered vine-ripe tomatoes with tuna bits.

 Liked this one: Pernod-vanilla flavoured pan-fried shrimp. This is quite a simple yet surprisingly flavourful delice:

Shell and devein large shrimps or prawns (keep the tail). If it is a taster, one prawn per bite. If it is an entree, it can be eaten with toasted bread or potato puree and a light salad. marinate the prawns with a tablespoonful of Pernod and a dash of Madagascan vanilla. Salt and pepper to taste. In a large casserole, heat two tablespoon of soften unsalted butter with a dash of olive oil. When it is hot and at the point of browning, throw in some fresh thyme. Some spitting and crackling will happen with this action but it is normal, just be careful of the hot oil. Pour in the prawn with its marinade and cook till both sides are just done. Serve at once.

Velouté of pumpkin (potimarron in French) with bacon and parmiggiano reggiano chips on a twirl of crème fraîche: This flavourful taste of late summer/early autumn is made with 2 different kinds of pumpkins. I used Jarrahdale pumpkin for its sweetness and its deep orange flesh as well as Butternut pumpkin for its nutty flavour. 

Ingredients (serves 6)

1/5 of a medium-sized Jarrahdale pumpkin (probably around 400-500g)

1/2 butternut pumpkin (around 500g)

1/2 cup fresh tomato pulp

1 cup good quality chicken stock

round bacon (I used Italian prosciutto)/1 piece per serving

Parmiggiano cheese

crème fraîche

seasoning

Oven roast the pumpkins until golden with a simple dressing of olive oil. Remove and steam it on a steamer to soften the pumpkins. In a large container, scoop in the pumpkin flesh and mix the tomato pulp and chicken stock. Heat the mixture to a boiling point. Remove and blitz the mixture with an immersion blender until it turns smooth and silky to the taste (you may have to blitz it in batches). 

In a large and flat baking tray, lined with baking paper, lay out the bacon and bake till golden brown. It will shrink a bit to form a small rosette. Conserve the bacon oil. For the parmiggiano chips, just grate the cheese and put a teaspoon each on a ring mould on a lined baking tray. Bake for a few minutes until they start to turn golden and fragrant. Remove and cool.

To serve:

Scoop a ladle of hot soup on an "assiette creuse" or soup plate and squeeze a dollop of crème fraîche in the middle. Over the creme, ply the chips and garnish with fresh chives. Drizzle with the reserved bacon oil.

Pan-seared salmon on a bed of fava bean purée, salad of bean sprout.

Oven roasted duck with orange and juniper berries. Served with potato puree, braised cepes mushrooms and baby carrots.

A simple salad of red chicorée, sugar loaf cabbage, fennel and mache. Served with comtois cheeses: Comte and Morbier.

A dessert to end the evening: old-fashioned carrot cake with orange syrup, orange-perfumed chantilly (with orange blossom water) and raspberries.