[Sca-cooks] Christmas French dinner - post mortem

[Michael Gunter]

I did the "French" dinner for friends at Christmas and I have to say the whole experience
was better than last year's. Of course, having half the people to cook for always helps.
 
We are hoping to go on a two week wine and culinary tour of France this year so I based
France as the theme of the dinner. 
 
The menu:
French Onion Soup
Salad of frissee and lentils with a poached egg
Roasted duck breast with mushroom sauce
Gratinee of Scallops
Sautee'd green beans with pecans (in lieu of walnuts)
Pan roasted cherry tomatoes with herbs
 
Dessert was tarte tatin and birthday cake with vanilla ice cream.
 
I then found out that one diner cannot eat meat or dairy. Le sigh.
She can have small amounts of chicken so I made the following substitutes just for her.
For the French Onion Soup she got a garlic soup with tiny pesto ravioli and a crouton.
For the main course I made her a baked acorn squash with Morroccan vegetarian couscous.
She seemed happy with it.
 
The good:
The soup was great. It kept tasting too sweet even though I used just ordinary white onions,
possibly because of the spash of sherry. I messed with it a lot and finally added a good shot
of soy sauce and that seemed to fix the flavor. 
 
The scallops were very good. Coquilles St. Jacques, basically scallops poached in water, white
wine, bay leaf and lemon juice then mixed with mushrooms fried in butter. Over this is poured
a basic bechamel sauce, topped with buttered breadcrumbs and baked.
 
The vegetables were quite good and a fresh counterpoint to the rich meats.
 
People were surprised with the poached egg on the salad but really liked how the yolk mixed
with the vinegarette and added to the overall richness of the dish. A couple poked dubiously
at the egg but decided to give it a try and wound up really enjoying it. 
 
The sauce was very good. Mushrooms and herbs cooked in butter and duck demiglace with red wine then
finished off with cream.
 
The tarte tatin came out very good but kind of odd. I think it was because it was made simply with
apples, butter and sugar. There were none of the usual "apple pie" spices. A cast iron pan was thickly
coated in butter and then a cup of sugar was covered over the bottom. Peeled, cored and sliced Gala
apples were placed in the pan standing up and then cooked on the stove for around 20 minutes. Then
put in the oven for another 20 minutes. Taken out and a round of puff pastry was placed over the top
and tucked down around the edges and baked again until golden. Removed and let sit for another 20
minutes or so and then flipped onto a plate. It was homey and peasanty and really nice. I need to
make more.
 
The bad was the duck breast.
I'd tried the recipe before and it came out amazing but I made a tactical error this time. These were
huge 1 lb suckers so I cut crosshatching through the fat and seasoned. I placed them fat side down in
a cold frying pan and turned the heat to medium and cooked for 20 or so minutes, draining and saving
the rendered fat. I turned up the heat for five minutes to give them a nice dark crust. Then flipped 
and put in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes. Removed and set to rest, tented with foil.
I prepared the other dishes while they rested but I think things took too long. When I did my test breast
it came out medium rare with a crunchy fat layer. These came out more medium and the tenting had
made the fat layer soft and flabby. They were a bit too cool when served and had a more livery flavor.
I was very disappointed.
 
The other problem was the wait between the salad and main course. People had a good time talking and
enjoying themselves but I wish I could have brought it out 10 minutes earlier. 
 
The guests were almost too full to enjoy the desserts. Elizabeth's birthday cake was a total delight. She wanted
something whimsical with no red roses or poinsettas. She got a winter wonderland cake with penguins singing
and having a snowball fight and an igloo made from Rice Krispy treats. White and chocolate cakes with a layer
of strawberries. 
 
Overall it was a nice evening and the dinner was a success. I think next year I'm eating out!
 
Gunthar