This week Steph has rehearsal, during the afternoon, with soloists and orchestra, so she cannot come to dinner….. So if Steph can’t come to dinner, is it still Monday?
We bravely soldiered on and we even have a guest, our dear friend Brian. With his allergy, that means no eggs tonight, but we like a challenge. Brian was delayed slightly, with traffic, but the soup will hold… both of them.
We toyed with the idea of oysters for the first course, but were worried about timing, so we went with Ribolita, a hearty soup made from ham hock and white beans. Nice to have with the spring chill in the air. Recently Brian had gifted us with a lovely bottle of Famille Perrin – Chateauneuf-du-Pape. What better accompaniment to our meal?
With an early rehearsal, we needed to keep a pace, so straight on to the main, Rack of Lamb Provençale, with Ratatouille. The lamb recipe is an improvement on the old method. The lamb is seasoned and seared in a cast iron pan, then roasted for half the cooking time. It is then removed and brushed with a Dijon marinade and rolled in a combination of fresh bread crumbs and fresh herbs, then roasted until medium rare. this gives the meat a nice caramelized flavor and keeps a wonderfully fresh look to the coating.
This was also a different Ratatouille recipe than we have been using. It’s a little more rustic, but fresh and tasty.
We were now back on schedule, to had time to catch up on life, Judith, and upcoming events. It seems we have all been walking around humming the tenor chorus “The heroes of Assur, are like to a host of lions,” and marching to the beat. Which is strange, since I am singing baritone. — There are still tickets available for Judith, in the balcony, Click here to purchase. <end shameless plug>.
We ended our meal with an interesting dessert, A Dark Chocolate Soup, with Carmel Whip Cream. This is a silky, creamy concoction, served just warm. The combination of the soup, with the salted caramel and the different textures seems quite decadent. There are also Szechuan peppercorns steeped into the base, for hint of heat. We decided on a Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port, to go with the dessert, to add to the decadentness.
With our meal complete, we didn’t have much time to get to rehearsal, but even with the early start, the evening didn’t seem rushed. This was our first rehearsal, with full orchestra, soloists and the children. What an exciting night and a beautiful sound. After all of the rehearsals, we finally get to hear CHH Parry’s Oratorio properly for the first time in many decades and the first time on this side of the ocean. A truly moving experience!!!
A fabulous repast, as always. The chocolate soup with peppercorns was particularly striking – first time I’ve had such a thing – lucky me; a new eggless dessert!
Nice meal with a great bottle of wine.
Like that you are using of a cast iron frying pan.
One should use cast iron for almost everything.