Dinner-October 21, 2011
Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables and French Apple Tart
This evening we fixed dinner for 8 persons and had our last dinner party of the year in our garden. The garden is still lovely with its zinnias and snap dragons in bloom and a fresh bloom of lavender.
In the morning we picked turnips, carrots and beets from the garden. We cleaned them and I spent several hours chopping them into cubes and then chopped the parsnips and some garlic and onions and potatoes and placed them in water to hold their tenderness and color (I filled a large pot with the unused freshly picked, cleaned turnip and beet greens and put it aside for later).
Later in the afternoon, Suzette tossed the vegetables with olive oil and roasted the 7 or 8 pounds of chopped vegetables in the oven in a large roasting pan for about 1 ½ to 2 hours while the pot roast (we purchased at Costco October 20, 2011 ) cooked. Suzette updated the traditional Lipton’s cream of mushroom soup cooking medium by making her own cooking medium with chopped mushrooms and onions sautéed in butter and olive oil with salt and pepper and then stewing the sautéed mushrooms and onions in beef bouillon with fresh chopped sage. Suzette then put the pot roast into a large roasting pan covered it with the stewed mushroom, onion and beef broth medium, wrapped the pot roast up with aluminum foil, and put the large roasting pan into a 350°F oven for 3 hours or from 3:00 pm until 6:00 pm when our dinner guests arrived.
While the meat and vegetables were cooking, I snapped the ends off about two pounds of the green beans and Suzette made a cranberry sauce with cranberries, orange slices, chopped Jonathan apples, and sugar.
I also made a last minute run to La Montanita Coop for some heavy cream, vanilla ice cream and a loaf of fresh French bread (a double baguette from Parisian Bakery). I then made a Frozen Horseradish Sauce (Joy of Cooking page 312) with 1 cup whipped organic heavy cream, ¼ cup fresh orange juice and 1 teaspoon of sugar and a dash of salt.
Mark Dawson arrived first around , bearing a bottle of Château d’Aqueria, Tavel 2010 by S.C.A. Jean Olivier, which had been the Dawson Rhone wines. The label indicated that it was a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Clairette varieties of grapes. Almost a tangy flavor. Really interesting.
Bill and Regina Turner also brought a bottle I had never drunk before; a 2010 Riesling from Corrales Winery, which was put aside for later and a plate of chocolate chip cookies.
Suzette’s best friend, Debbie and her husband, Jeff, also joined us for a total of 8 persons.
Suzette made plates up with meat, roasted vegetables, blanched green beans, and cranberry sauce and I poured Valréas, Cuvée Prestige, Cote du Rhone Villages 2008 bought at Trader Joe’s. The Valréas was 75% Grenache and 25% Syrah and went particularly well with the roasted meat. We passed around the Horseradish and Au Jus Sauces and bread.
After the main course we ate a cheese course with goat cheese, brie, and Collier’s Welsh Cheddar (from Costco) with more Valréas and more bread. The wine and cheese went well together as suggested on the wine’s label. The cheese was a lovely second course after the meat.
Then Suzette brought out her French Apple tart (October 20, 2011) and served slices of it with an organic vanilla ice cream (from La Montanita Coop) and I poured shots of the new Calvados Prestige, Menorval, (Imported by Halby Marketing, Inc., Sonoma , CA
We served dinner in the garden from about to in the half light of evening and candle light. It was a lovely warm evening until about , when the first chill of the evening sent us back inside.
After a discussion between Mark Dawson, Bill Turner and Bob of New Mexico water and litigation history fueled by more shots of the light, young and smooth, yet tangy Calvados Prestige Menorval, while Suzette and Regina cleaned up the dishes and food, we parted company around 9:30 pm. (the traditional after dinner evening of men in the library with their drinks and women in the kitchen, I fear)
Suzette said it best. She was happy we took the day off work so we could cook a proper meal.
This meal is also a good example of how we shop and cook for a medium sized dinner party. I often do most of the shopping for ingredients because of Suzette’s demanding work schedule and because I like to shop for food. We each assume responsibility for different dishes, although there is often a sharing of labor and the recipe decision on large dishes, such as the vegetable dish, with both of us picking and cleaning the vegetables from the garden and then me doing the cutting and prep and Suzette doing the cooking. Suzette does most of the real time cooking on the stove or grill, such as watching the meat and vegetables and cooking the cranberry sauce for this meal, while I prepped the horseradish sauce and ran to the store for the last minute ingredients.
I salute the great French artisans who made the Calvados as I sip the last drop of Calvados of the evening and I write this final sentence.
Two more interesting things occurred today. Suzette had a throw down with her pastry chef, Armando, in a head to head competition of French Apple Tarts. Suzette lost because Armando knew the trick of enforcing the edge of the tart pan with a double layer of crust so it would hold its shape when cut and his extensive decoration with sliced strawberries and mint sprigs, but her tart was recognized as having the best flavor with its apricot-honey glaze.
The other, more interesting, event was a great review of the Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery in the Friday, October 21, 2011 , Albuquerque Journal “Venue” insert. The Journal restaurant reviewer, Andrea Lin, gave the Bistro her highest rating of four stars. I told Suzette that based upon my experience as a restaurant reviewer, a four star rating is worth $25,000 to $50,000 of extra revenue. What a wonderful surprise! Go to the Greenhouse Bistro and Bakery site if you wish to read the review.
Bon Apetit
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