09 June 2012

Découverte

The lunch we enjoyed Thursday in Bracieux at the Rendez-vous des Gourmets — read part 1 here — began with a small hors d'oeuvre called an amuse-gueule that wasn't listed on the menu. It concluded with little mignardises — sweet treats — that were unlisted as well, but were brought out with the coffee we ordered.

Les amuse-gueule : purée de courgettes, rondelle de concombre,
rillettes de thon, et quartier de tomate ;
chou farci avec des rillettes d'oie


The "mouth-teasers": zucchini puree, slice of cucumber, tuna salad,
and tomato wedge; cream puff filled with potted goose meat



Velouté glacé d'Asperges vertes « Chambord » et Mousse de Sole

Chilled "Chambord" cream of green asparagus soup served
with a dumpling of Dover sole mousse



Homard et Saint-Pierre cuisiné « Meunière », Coulis de Crustacés

Lobster and John Dory fish cooked in the style of
the miller's wife and served with a shellfish coulis


Intermède glacé

"Icy interlude"
(a scoop of pear sorbet bathed
in
sweet white Coteaux du Layon wine)


Filet de Bœuf et Foie Gras chaud, jus réduit

Filet mignon of beef with warm foie gras, reduced pan drippings,
and girolle (chanterelle) mushrooms


Bouquet de Salade et Assortiment de Fromages frais et affinés

Bouquet of lettuces and assortment of fresh and aged cheeses


Douceurs des Gourmets, Assortiment de Petits Desserts

The Gourmet's sweets, an assortment of small desserts


Friandises (pâtes de fruits, financiers)

After-dessert treats (candied fruit gumdrops, almond cakes)
served with coffee


Photo credits: about half these photos are mine and the others are CHM's (with thanks).

We are off to Blois this morning. CHM will catch his train there and ride back to Paris. It's been a short but action-packed adventure!

19 comments:

  1. That looks like a two hour lunch to me.

    The Lobster dish looks especially good.

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  2. Wow, all look appétissant. I will forgo breakfast on occasion like that because I would want to enjoy my lunch.


    Bon voyage à CHM

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  3. What an amazing meal.

    I would have been happy with the soup, the cheese, and the sorbet. But that beef looks pretty wonderful as well. OK, throw in the creme brule too.

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  4. The food looks fantastic. I've made a note of the restaurant - for a treat! Our list of places to go, things to do and food to eat is getting longer by the day.

    The joys of blogging...

    Bon weekend and I hope CHM arrives safely in Paris.

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  5. Cousine and Gaynor, thank you for your kind travel wishes. I hope all goes well because I have a lunch appointment in Paris today with Martine, Vera and Mats, before they head back to they respective countries. Thinning crowd by the day.

    That lunch was Ken's and Walt's belated wedding gift from an "old" friend!

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  6. What a wonderful sounding lunch. And I bet Annica and Gerard are feeling pretty proud reading about it as well!
    Sue

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  7. The food looks superb! The soup and lobster dish look especially fantastic. Hope CHM has a smooth trip baclk to Paris.

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  8. Yum !!
    I love all those extra bits and pieces that come with the aperitifs and the coffee.
    A restaurant for us to try one day !!

    It's a shame we didn't quite get to meet CHM, everyone says what a really nice chap he is !!

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  9. what a beautiful meal! and great pix - i especially love the sweets at the end. and the cheese! wow! thanks for sharing :-)

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  10. wow that food looked fantabulous.....bon voyage to chm

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  11. chm, what a lovely wedding gift! Everything looks scrumptious.

    What cheeses were in that selection?

    Judy

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  12. Hope to meet the other bloggers next year. Same time, same station! LOL

    Judy, we had a great time and a great lunch. As Ken said it will probably be memorable. Cheeses are left to right, Sainte-Maure, Brie de Meaux et St-Nectaire fermier [whatever that is?]. Each of them was perfect in its own right.

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  13. After reading this, my stomach died and went to heaven!

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  14. So that is what a Gourmand eats when one isn't rushing to the next museum or famous place in France! Am I to believe that each of you was given that square dessert plate or was that to share with everyone at the table?
    I, too, will be making a note of that restaurant. What a terrific meal that must have been.

    Mary in Oregon

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  15. Mary, each one of us got that dessert plate. It was rice pudding, strawberry crème brûlée, raspberry sorbet, pear financier cake, and fondant au chocolat. Whew!

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  16. That not only looks great, but it's incredibly inexpensive!

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  17. Beautiful pictures of beautiful food; just looking at them is a meal in itself. Adding that restaurant to my little list. Bon voyage à CHM.

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  18. You ate like kings! I enjoyed reading your translations of the French menu. I am not always sure how to say many French dishes in English.

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  19. I was feeling pretty preased with my lunch of fresh fruit and cottage cheese until I started catching up with my blog reading. First up was your belated wedding lunch with CHM. The contrast The contrast between the two is amazing. Definitely a meal you'll remember for a long time to come.

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