Looking back at 2013, it has been a good year full of new friends, new recipes and old wines. If there was a single highlight (difficult to choose between several that spring to mind) it would be the discovery of Julie’s Salmon & Prawn with Lime, which our neighbours, Terry and Julie, introduced us to just a few months ago but which has now figured several times when we have entertained guests.
Close on its heels was Bruno’s “Double-take” apple flan that just melted into a utopian black hole as we polished off the whole plate in minutes!
One of the recipes we’ve enjoyed introducing other people to was Rich Gravy Lamb Shanks (though I confess that we more normally use a leg of lamb rather than lamb shanks). This is a deeply rich dish that almost cooks itself. The lamb comes out tender and succulent while the gravy has a ‘secret’ ingredient that adds a surprise element to the dish.
December 31st saw us out on our 4th floor balcony at midnight, watching the antics of the local ‘yoof’, who had got hold of the biggest Chinese Crackers I’ve ever seen – some of them lasting well over two minutes. M-D’s sister, Christine (from Lille) is staying with us for a few days so we invited their aunt Susanne who lives near Versailles to come for lunch on New Year’s Day
Now ‘Taty Susanne’ can out-talk anybody I know (in fact, my nickname for her is “the machine gun” because of her continuous rapid fire!), so I was happy to spend my time in the kitchen preparing the meal while the ‘girls’ chatted (or Susanne talked and M-D and Christine listened!). When, eventually, I could squeeze a word in edgeways, to announce that our lunch was on the table, Susanne decided it was time to go to “the little corner” and we all sat looking at each other as the silence rang in our ears for a couple of very peaceful minutes!
Even eating didn’t stop her talking, though it did slow her down a little as our lunch started with foie gras (as you do!) served with a lovely crisp 2005 Sauternes from Chateau Roumieu. Even M-D’s aunt showed a bit of respectful silence for that one! Following that, we got stuck into the main course of Médaillons de lotte à l’orange (or Monkfish Medallions in Orange Sauce to us Anglophiles!), served with Braised Fennel and a two-tone potato stack! Yep, that’s two different coloured potatoes!
At this time of year, Vitelotte Potatoes (also called Vitelotte noire, Négresse or Truffe de Chine) are available in France. Vitelotte is a gourmet variety of blue-violet potato that has been cultivated in France since the early 19th century. In fact, they come in white, yellow, pink, red and violet, but the violet variety are the most common and, though they taste just the same as ordinary spuds, they are fun to use, offering a great alternative presentation on the plate.
The main course was served with an excellent Menetou-Salon which, though a red wine, is very light and can easily be served with fish. We skipped the cheese (having filled up on succulent monkfish) but Susanne had brought with her a hand-make chocolate cake from a pâtisserie near Versailles so we did some wilful damage to that, served with a glass or three of Mas Amiel Vintage.
Mas Amiel is a lovely ‘vin doux naturel’ sweet wine from Maury in the far south Roussillon region of France. It’s an inky black wine made from 100% Grenache grapes. Rich with a nose of tobacco and garden herbs, it is complex, sumptuous, dense and concentrated – with fruit and spice flavours dominating. It’s perfectly balanced and is probably the only wine that truly works with chocolate. If you like wines that are a bit different (and you’ve got a plate of hand-made chocolate gateau in front of you!) Mas Amiel is probably the only real choice. It also happens to feature in the world’s best Michelin Restaurants!
Tonight, Taty Susanne is back home and we have a beautiful fillet of beef that we can enjoy without the 100mph running commentary! …. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together!!!