Somewhere and somehow the art of long leisurely
dining with friends has slipped into the abyss of “it used to be…” or “remember
when we…” category in our lives. Why? I
really cannot say. However, I was
recently reminded of the multiple pleasures of such long and leisurely dinners at
a friend’s home the other evening. It
has been far too long since Linda and I have enjoyed such impeccably prepared
cuisine amid lively conversation that extended long into the night. Hopefully, this missive will entice or inspire
others to have similar evenings with their friends.
Our dinner started with a serving of homemade
terrine de foie gras paired with a 1985 Chateau Segur. Savoring a homemade terrine de foie gras or a
1985 Bordeaux are in and of themselves rare epicurean treats. The twenty nine
years that this wine waited to emerge from the bottle softened its bold tannins
to complement the foie’s delicate flavors while still possessing enough body to
coalesce with the foie gras’ rich gel. If
this was all that we had for the entire evening I would still be singing the
praises of a terrine de foie gras made personally by our host and be wistfully recalling the
taste sensations of a twenty-nine year old wine. But this was only a prelude to what developed
into five hours of dining, sipping wine and the telling of European travel adventures.
After the foie, we savored a wedge of a leek
tart brimming with chunks of charred leeks drizzled with a red wine reduction. Immediately following the tart we served
ourselves a helping of fresh-made fish
stew consisting of shrimp, salmon, tilapia, catfish and some diced sweet
potatoes bathed in a thick, savory pink broth, topped off with freshly steamed
clams that were prepared just minutes before we filled our bowls with the fish
stew. For this course I contributed a 2012 Sancerre made by Lucien
Crochet. Although I found this wine to
be somewhat acidic and lacking in the finesse that I expect from a Sancerre it
thankfully did not prevent us from relishing each mouthful of an
extraordinarily flavor-rich medley of fish and seafood.
Then, in a most European fashion we followed
our fish stew with a bountiful green salad that was laced with goat cheese and a
vinaigrette dressing made from a very well-aged mother of vinegar. For the grand finale to our gastronomical
feast we ended our evening of culinary decadence with still more decadence, a
bowl of fresh-made, creamy smooth lemon mousse with blueberries that we washed
down with a glass of sparkling Prosecco.
And so we came to the end of our unhurried culinary
extravaganza. But the Proustian memory of
the luscious foie, charred leeks, braised fish and steamed clams plus the
scrumptious lemon mousse will stay with us as joyful reminders of this
incredible dining experience.
