French Cooking Lesson

Last year we, with help, advice AND the offer to use their great house and wonderful kitchens from our good friends Brian and Ken, the four of us offered a French Cooking Class/Dinner as our gift item in the Meals on Wheels auction. It was snapped up by the same couples who had won the bids on our French dinners the previous two years.

The cooking class and subsequent meal were Saturday night. We guided six adults through the steps of preparing a five-course meal and then we became the servers for the dinner. The menu follows:

Menu

Amuse-bouche (Appetizers) :

Wine : Pierre Delize Blanc de Blanc Brut, Vin Mousseux (Sparkling wine)

Tapenade aux olives noires, paté de foie de volaille

Black olive tapenade, chicken liver paté

Entrée (First Course):

Wines: Chardonnay de Chardonnay,Vin de Bourgogne (Unoaked Chardonnay)

Villa Chambre d’Amour, Gros Mansang Sauvignon Blanc

Soupe au potiron

Butternut squash soup

Plat (Main Course) :

Wines: Chateau Pegau Côtes du Rhône 2012, Cuvee Maclura

OR Continuation of first course wines

Lapin à la moutarde, épeautre, carottes aux olives

Rabbit in mustard cream sauce, spelt, carrots with olives

Assiette de fromages

(Cheese plate – assortment of cheeses)

Wine: Chateau Pegau Côtes du Rhône 2012

Dessert :

Wine : Mas Amiel vin doux naturel 2011 (Red dessert wine)

Crème caramel

and

Chocolat au piment d’Espelette

Chocolate mousse with chili pepper

We all had a lot of fun and I think that our guests learned some new kitchen techniques and enjoyed some new food items. Curt Kosal at Vine and Brew in Okemos provided the suggestions for the wine pairing. He did an excellent job of matching the wines to our menu.

Cooking in a group can be a wonderful sharing experience. The food plus the aromas plus the wines make a formula for enjoyment. Sharing tasks, telling stories and learning about new food items turned the evening into a seven-hour party. Food with friends is the formula for a great evening.