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

A sejour at Angers, France

 Last year, from Nov-Dec 2022, I had the occasion to be present in France for a training and it was at the city of Angers in the prefecture of Maine-et-Loire in the region of Pays de la Loire. It is the home of the famous liqueur Cointreau and the dukedom of Anjou that had given rise to a dynasty of French kings.

Behind the chateau d'Angers, a fortified medieval castle that had never been taken in its history.

Catholic University of the West or UCO where the training was conducted...

autumn scene near a bus stand...

at the city centre of Angers...

inside a circular shopping mall on the outskirt of Angers called l'Atoll...

at the farmers' market in the city...

Swiss chard of multiple colours

pumpkin and garlic

oysters - the hallmark of the Atlantic ocean

oysters (ballon)...

frisee and chicoree - my favourite winter salads

nice stalks of Amaryllis lilies

the market...

through the window of the university's training room...

Post Christmas lunch 2022

 After a couple of years suspended from gatherings and dinners with friends, we decided to host a Christmas lunch with some friends while seizing on the opportunity to catch up on some pending issues at hand...

After having thought of the recent adventures in France, I was inspired to go a bit more "natural" with the menu...

A more simple setting with a wreath as a decor element was chosen...

Comfort food - velouté de légumes served with a dollop of sour cream. To obtain a flavourful broth. the vegetables (red bell peppers, onions, pumpkin, potatoes) must be pre-baked in an oven with a drizzle of olive oil and then cooked in a chicken broth with a bouquet garni. 

Boiled artichoke with a soft-boiled egg, sauce Béarnaise. 

Chicken baked with rosemary, garlic and butter. Served with potato puree, red wine sauce and poached vegetables.

To make the puree: 1 kg potatoes (soft meat type like Chat or Ratte which has a nice texture), 350g (facultative) of French butter, 2 cups full cream, pinch of salt.

Boil the potatoes and pass them through a riser. Fold in all the butter and then the cream. To obtain an onctueuse puree, it could be passed through a fine sieve using a soft spatula. 

 

Simple garden salads to be eaten with bread and cheese (below)...

A soft truffle-infused cheese from Bourgogne: le Crémeux de Bourgogne.

A fruitcake inspired by the city of Angers - orange flavoured with Cointreau (instead of using orange peels)

Ingredients: 1.5 cup of flour, 1 cup of almond powder, 4 eggs, 1 cup vanilla scented sugar, 250g French butter, a pinch of salt, selection of dried fruits (cranberries, black raisins, diced apricots, ginger confit, black cherry)

Soak the dried fruit mixture overnight with a cup of any brandy (Hennessy or Martell) and half a cup of Cointreau. Line a baking tray with butter and flour and the base with a piece of baking paper. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar, splashing a teaspoon of vanilla extract to help with the emulsification. Slowly fold in the eggs and half a cup of Cointreau into the mixture. Next fold in the sifted flour with 2 teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt and later the almond powder. Lastly fold in the soaked dried fruits. Bake at high heat for the first half an hour and medium heat for another 30 - 35  minutes until done.

In a separate bowl, squeeze and filter the juice of 10 - 12 oranges. Cook this juice with a cup of fine sugar until syrupy. Add half a cup to 1 cup of Cointreau to the mixture. Once the cake had cooled off overnight, slowly drizzle the syrup over the cake until it has saturated. Keep in an airtight container to mature for at least a month before consuming.

and for the little sweet something at the end, a specialty from Angers - the Quernon d'ardoise, which is a slaty blue chocolate with nougatine centre - made to imitate the bluish slate roof tiles of the region as a hommage to the slate quarry workers ... https://quernon.fr/la-maison-du-quernon/

They have a stand in the Christmas market in the city centre of Angers (starting 01 Dec 2022 for Christmas sales)