Ideas for a typical French Meal

[Monika]

I want to invite all my girl friends to a typical drawn out French Lunch but set in England (unfortunately our house is not ready yet to invite them all to France). What could I do, any ideas gratefully received.

Monika

[Tourangelle]

Sounds fun! I think a gratin dauphinois as a side dish cannot be beaten, I've found English people haven't had it before or if they have they haven't had enough of it, and it will happily sit in the oven if your meal gets really drawn out. Of course if you want to be really French then you will have to serve them the salad, then the fish then the vegetable, then the meat... do you want to be that French?! A very light starter is good if you are going to go all out - perhaps a coquille st jacques each. If you are going for real sophistication you could have a vegetable sorbet in between the meat and the fish course.

[Ian Hoare<br>All the best<br>Ian<br>La Souvigne Corrèze<br>http:www.souvigne.com]

Hi,

What fun.

Potage Parmentier (That's a Leek and potato soup)

Terrine de Campagne (get a slice at Sainsbury or Tesco)

Cassette d'Auvergne. Roast leg of lamb cooked on top of a bed of sliced potatoes mixed with lardons

Green Salad (not too sharp.

3 french cheeses

Crème Caramel or Choccy Mousse.

recipes for these are all available. (Yup even the terrine, though I don't think you're going to want to make it as it's expensive and complicated, which is why I suggest buying it!)

That's very much the sort of french meal we serve here. Iy has to be admitted that soup isn't fashionable any more, but it's easy, cheap and nourishing.

[Missy]

[quote]I want to invite all my girl friends to a typical drawn out French Lunch but set in England (unfortunately our house is not ready yet to invite them all to France). What could I do, any ideas gratef...[/quote]

Typical long drawn out French meal...

Aperitif: offer any of the following

Martini

Ricard (LOVELY!! Trust me... as much in a glass as you would of gin or whisky and top up to 2/3 of that with ice cold water. Sorry YUK!YUK! to the pernod and lemonade!)

Pineau or Porto if not any good Amantillado sherry will do

and loads of fresh olives and all these dried up nibbles sold in packets

Starters: Choose from

French onion soup with lashings of cheese on bread (try Jamie Oliver)

Platter of 'crudité' with mayonnaise (Sorry NOT that salad cream stuff, it's dégueulasse!)

Fish mousse with a green salad and vinaigrette. Very easy to make - I'll give you recipes if you want.

Grilled goat cheese yet again with salad.

Platter of 'saucisson'/salami type things and paté. Paté is easy to make. 20 minutes recipe at the ready if you want!

Copious amount of white wine such as Sancerre, Muscadet, Macon blanc, Chablis, Anjou rosé (yes I know not a white wine-but who cares now you should be 1/3 way under the table!)

Main course anything of these

Cassoulet! That will stuff you!

Leg of lamb boulangère with green beans and a medley of celery, carrots and peas.

Poulet! Any which way you like it! with new roast potatoes and seasonal veg, like above.

Copious amount of red wine such as Macon rouge, Bordeaux-Claret to you, Cotes du Rhone, Languedoc, Anjou red. By now you are 2/3 under the table.

Keep some back for your cheeses though

Cheeses (not a cream cracker biscuit and butter in sight but a good fresh baked baguette)and loads of green salad with vinaigrette.

Pudding:

Crème caramel, crème brulée, fruit tart (if you have not become one by now... we all know what it's like girls together!...)

If you lived in France you would have gone to that naughty naughty patisserie in the high street and got their gooiest chocolate cake!

and plenty of Champagne! try to splash out on the real thing for your friends, CAVA just WON'T do!!!!!! Now you are under the table!!!!!

conversation : Anything GOES!!!! Except religions and politics... well you could debate which of the 3 contenders to this forthcoming erection (woops I meant election!) is the sexiest..

Have a nice time!...

[Patf]

Tourangelle - it's interesting that you say the veg and salad etc should be served as separate courses. This would really draw the meal out. I had a meal years ago with a french family and they served the meal like that and said it was typically french. They would never dream of having meat potatoes two veg and brown gravy all on one plate.  Except in composite dishes like cassoulet. Elizabeth David's "French Provincial Cookery" has a lot of info on french styles of cooking and food presentation as well as recipes. Pat.

[Tourangelle]

Patf, you are right, it is so French! Salad/vegetables as separate courses is what French my mother in law would do on a really "special" occasion (so basically any Sunday she has visitors). It does make for a very long meal and lots of dashing in and out of the kitchen. It is nice when we are there with the whole family, but if there are only a few of us it does rather interrupt the flow of conversation...

[Ian Hoare<br>All the best<br>Ian<br>La Souvigne Corrèze<br>http:www.souvigne.com]

Hi Missyessbut

You said

>If you lived in France you would have gone to that naughty >naughty patisserie in the high street and got their gooiest >chocolate cake!

>and plenty of Champagne! try to splash out on the real thing >for your friends, CAVA just WON'T do!!!!!!

Nor will Champagne BRUT. If you serve a bone dry rather sharp wine with anything sweet it's instant indigestion. If you can get it, a Banyuls goes well with Chocolate cake and that's what most french wine lovers would serve with it. If you really want fizz (not that I think a light white goes with a gooey pud) then a decent Moscato d'Asti is excellent. If you MUST spoil a champagne then let it be a demi-sec, which has some sweetness.

[moon]

[quote]I want to invite all my girl friends to a typical drawn out French Lunch but set in England (unfortunately our house is not ready yet to invite them all to France). What could I do, any ideas gratef...[/quote]

Easy..

Two baguettes, some assorted french cheeses, olives and 2 cases of Chenet or other luscious vin.

Breaks down any barriers within three ...bottles...