French Dinner Party

The day finally arrived after much procrastination mainly due to the fact that finding a spare Saturday night was très difficile. A marvellous time was had by all and the hosts finally got to bed at 4am. I'm not going to write up recipes for everything we had as I would be here all night and we all know I just haven't got the motivation or the inclination for that sort of nonsense.
Although I haven't detailed the recipes if any readers would like recipes for any of the dishes please don't hesitate to email me, the address is at the top of the page.

Sans guests



Avec guests



Menu

Entrees

Cheese Soufflé – Gruyere Cheese

Escargots wrapped in pancetta with garlic, thyme and shallots in a white wine and stock reduction.

Pate – free range organic duck liver with Cointreau

Mains

Duck - with cherries and Pinot Noir sauce

Or

Poussin - stuffed with roasted pistachio and pine nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, herbs and lemons

Mains served with lentils from Le Puy, baby carrots and asparagus

Dessert

Chocolate mousse with baby toffee apple and vanilla seed rose water merangues

Cheeses of France with biscuits, dried cherries & figs

A selection of random food shots.







French Quiz (winners John & Nellie with 24 from 29! congrats)

1 Alexandre Gustave Eiffel designed the Eiffel Tower. What other famous structure did he design?
2 Where does L’arc de Triomphe sit?
3 Which river flows through Paris?
4 Who plays Marie Antoinette in the new movie ‘Marie Antoinette’?
5 Who is the current president of France?
6 Who wrote ‘Les Miserables’?
7 Who sculpted ‘The Thinker’?
8 What do the French call the English Channel?
9 If you were eating fois gras what exactly would you be eating?
10 On what island in the Atlantic did Napoleon Buonaparte spend the last six years of his life?
11 What famous Paris hotel did Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel call her home for more than 30 years?
12 Which famous French general said ‘How can anybody expect to govern a country with 325 cheeses?’
13 What is the approximate population of France, 60 million, 80 million or 100 million?
14 Where would you view the Mona Lisa?
15 What do a famous statue in The Louvre and a popular New Zealand drink have in common?
16 The line ‘Vote for Pedro and all your wildest dreams will come true’ comes from which movie?
17 A French man might become quite upset if you called him a ‘grenouille’ why is that?
18 Which French impressionist painter painted a famous series of paintings of water lilies?
19 According to Vincent in Pulp Fiction what do the French call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in McDonalds?
20 What does FCUK stand for?
21 France have won the soccer world cup just once, in which year?
22 The Tour de france started in which year, 1903, 1913 or 1923?
23 As a champagne maker what you be doing if you were ‘riddling’?
24 What is the highest number of Michelin stars a restaurant can be awarded?
25 One point each for naming the countries surrounding France, there are eight.
26 What was the name of Asterix’s canine companion in the comic book series?
27 What was the name of Tintin’s dog?
28 Which French philosopher, mathematician and scientist born in the late 16th century has been dubbed the ‘Founder of Modern Philosophy’?
29 Who wrote the theme music to the film ‘The Pink Panther’