Bon Appetit!

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A couple of weeks ago we had such a great experience, I have to share!   I am always thankful for good friends and this time was no exception.

A few weeks ago, Mrs. Tennessee called me from her cell phone and hurriedly instructed me to not make plans for the 25th of July. Okey-Dokey, no problem there.  We are not usually the kind of couple witha full social calender!   Turns out, Mr. and Mrs. Tennessee were the winner, winner chicken dinner of a fabulous night with a visit from a professional chef.  The chef came from Chicago to their home and the Tennessee’s had to invite two couples over for a night to be remembered, and remembered it will be!   We were lucky enough to be included, along with Matt and Nancy.

The Cornell's

The Tennessee's

 

Mr. T. and I

I am a lover of food.  Good food.  Expertly prepared food.  I looked forward to this night all week long and called Mrs. Tennessee mid week to see if there was something I needed to bring.  I am lying.  I knew I did not need to bring anything, I just wanted to see if I could get her to spill the beans on the menu selections for the night!

We were told to arrive around 6PM for a cocktail hour.  For one of the few times in my life, we were right on time!  Maybe even a few minutes early, as I did not want to miss a single minute.  When we walked in, the chef was in the kitchen, dressed exactly as a chef should be, in a white coat embroidered with her culinary school logo and her name. 

The kitchen was busy and she had the center island full of fresh herbs, carrots and plenty of utensils and bowls.  A quick introduction was made, and we made our way to the patio for drinks.

When it was time for the first course to be served,  Chef  Jennifer from Chicago came out to the patio and let us know.  We filed into the dining room, found our seat and this is what we were presented with:

The first course, lemongrass, ginger and bean thread carrot consomme garnished with Asian spiced shrimp.   Not only was it beautiful, it was delicious as well.   The chef was alerted to my shellfish allergy ahead of time, so my consomme was served sans shrimp.  I didn’t miss it!  The consomme was light, refreshing, crisp and delightful!  A perfect way to begin a meal, and tease our taste buds.  The chef also included wine pairings with each course, and the consomme was served a dry white wine.

The next course was something that I think I will remember for the rest of my life.  If you have ever seen the Food Network Show, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”, this is the course that would definitely be featured as my selection!

Herb crusted beef tenderloin with garlic Gruyere potato flan and caramelizedport wine and thyme red onions.  Can we just pause for a moment, please? (Pause, pause, pause.)  The. Best. Meal. Ever.  The tenderloin was like butter, so tender and moist that it melted in your mouth.  The potato flan?  There are no words.  I have made it my mission to try to duplicate the potato dish at some point in my lifetime.  They were a creamy, cheesy, rich and decadent.  Comfort food at it’s best and a fantastic compliment to the beef.  All of this was topped with the caramelized  port wine and thyme red onions, which added just the right amount of sweetness to offset the richness of the potatoes and beef.  Mr. T. is not a fan of onions, but after a taste of them, he was ready for seconds.  And thirds!  I think we talked about this course for the remainder of the night, it was that good. 

Finally, the third course. Dessert.  I come from a long line of dessert connoisseurs, so let me just start by saying that I know a good dessert when I taste one.  I can sniff out a store bought cake or a box mix from a mile away.  I am critical and not very forgiving.  I scoff at Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines and Funfetti cake mixes are taboo in my home.  I am a baker that uses all fresh ingredients and am known to spend double digits on a few ounces of imported Madagascar Bourbon vanilla.  Chef Jennifer did not disappoint!  To cap off an already fantastic evening, we were then served this:

Chocolate Mousse torte with raspberry puree.  The mousse was so smooth and silky and the raspberry puree was fresh and so good, we all joked about licking our plates clean.  Well, some of us joked, some of us actually did!  I am not naming names, though!   The dessert course was served with a type of wine called Muscat.  That was new to me, and although I am not much of a wine drinker, I really liked it!  Definitely a dessert wine, maybe that is why I liked it so much. 

Muscat

What a fantastic evening shared with good food, good wine and even better friends!  Is there anything better than that?  I think not.

Here is to good friends!

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Tags: dinner party, food, friends