C'etait Formidable!

Last Saturday evening, P & L, our friends & neighbors, treated us and three other couples to a superb feast. I always feel fortunate to eat one of P's dinners, since he's such a great cook.

We started with tasty appetizers - thinly-sliced baguette with different two toppings:
1. A homemade bruschetta spread with the following ingredients:

Muir Glen organic diced canned tomatoes & a pesto of:

·      2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

·      1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese

·      1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

·      ¼ cup cashew nuts & ¼ cup of walnuts

·      3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

·      Salt & freshly ground black pepper 

2. Tasso Tapenade (a delicious commercial product)

The next course was a very nice cold Vichyssoise (potato-leek) soup, with carrots, celery, vidalia shallots, 50% chicken stock/water; salt and pepper to taste; heavy cream

That was followed by an Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) salad of Arugula, feta, cherry tomatoes (which P added to the recipe), watermelon (1 inch dice),  and mint from his garden

It was dressed with a citrus vinaigrette

The main course was grilled butterflied leg of lamb with an Ina Garten yoghurt-mint sauce. P basted the lamb with a balsamic vinegar glaze just before removing it from the grill. The lamb was cooked to perfection and melted in my mouth. The sauce was fantastic! I love lamb & this was some of the best I've had.

The dessert was a terrific concoction called Espresso Jellies from a Giada de Laurentiis recipe available at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/espresso-and-chocolate-jellies-recipe/index.html

It included chocolate chips, heavy cream, espresso powder, and coffee liqueur. P also added a layer of raspberry coulis.

The wines included:

A Korbel rose brut with the appetizers

Zisola Nero d'Avola

Fetzer chardonnay (brought by another guest)

Ecco Domani pinot grigio (brought by yet another guest)