Gourmet
Older readers might recall that we are members of a gourmet group that meets approximately four or five times a year at the various houses of the five couples in the group. The goal is to share a five course meal and lots of fine conversation. The host generally are in charge of planning the menu and preparing the entree and perhaps an appetizer while other appetizers, soup, salad and dessert are brought by the other couples according to the planned menu. It is a lot of fun and it has been hard to do without it these last couple years.
This year however with the last of our families fully vaccinated, we have opted to restart them again and recently, it was our turn to host. We had appetizers of roasted squash tarts, a fresh veggie and yogurt spoon with baharat seasoning and a smoked salmon hors d'oeuvre. Next up we had a lentil soup that was quite exquisite, followed by a grapefruit and almond salad. For the main course, my wife and I prepared braised short ribs served with a parsnip puree and topped it all off with a chocolate cake. All of these have specialized names of which I have long since forgotten but which I'm sure my wife will rattle off when she reads this. But remembering those names is just not in my wheelhouse. All I know is that all were delicious and the conversation we had while consuming them over the course of three hours was delightful and missed.
After our guests left, my wife and I spent the next couple hours doing dishes and putting the house back in order. Taking out the table extension, unfastening the extra homemade extension, shining up all the silver and glassware to be put back ready to use a little over a year from now when it is our turn to host again. As my wife and I slipped tiredly into bed that evening, we both agreed that our favorite part of the evening was that it meant we had a little over a year before we had to do it again.
What a nice 'tradition'!
ReplyDeleteWe've really enjoyed it!
DeleteI am pleased to learn that your dinner hosting went well. The menu sounds most delicious.
ReplyDeleteBy the way Ed, I had never heard the expression: "just not in my wheelhouse" before but I like it.
Now you have me pondering where on earth that expression came from. After a quick trip to Google, it wasn't what I would have guessed and is a baseball term.
DeleteI find a table like that intimidating and having to come up with the meal too.
ReplyDeleteComing up with the meal isn't very hard, I just let my wife do it. Hah! She just looks through cookbooks and magazines and when she sees a recipe that would go well with gourmet, she saves it. As for the table, I have a cheat sheet printed off and stored in our silver chest just for the occasion and it tells me where to put everything.
Deletethat's a beautiful table setting!
ReplyDeleteNot very often do I get out all the extra chairs and extend the table to ten feet long. I'm glad we can now relatively safely do it again.
DeleteThat sounds likes a wonderfully fancy meal Ed. And what a lovely idea.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I at least find the best part of such things the fact that they are done.
It is a lot of work for the host family, especially when you consider the week of cleaning that we did before the night of the meal. But it is worth the conversation and the meal that one would never ever attempt just for themselves.
DeleteI have often found having company is the best methodology for deep cleaning the house.
DeleteWow!! How cool is this, Ed you're always full of surprises. The menu sounded wonderful. 🙂👍👍
ReplyDeleteKeeps life interesting Doug!
DeleteThis is a charming tradition and must have been tremendously enjoyed by everyone; especially at this time during Covid. The meal sounds to perfection and your table looks outstanding. My challenge is always getting food to the table while it is hot. What's your technique?
ReplyDeleteReally the only courses that usually need heat are the entrée and most of the time the soup. So we generally have the entree timed to come out when needed in the oven and whomever has the soup heats it up between courses. If an appetizer needs to be warm, the couple who brought it generally comes a few minutes early to warm it up before the others arrive.
DeleteGenerally, the evening starts with a round of drinks and we stand in groups conversing so there it also time to prepare appetizers. We generally end each course with 15 minutes or so of conversation to allow some of us to clear the table and whomever is serving their course to get it prepped. These five courses generally take us three hours to complete so there is no hurry.
My dad and stepmother were part of a gourmet group. My stepmother loved it but I'm not sure my dad was a fan!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about being relieved to be done with "hosting duty." A dinner party is fun but part of me is always happy when it's over.
My parents never had or attended such a thing, at least to my knowledge, but they did go out to other places for dinners I'm sure. Just being away from the kids was most likely a big treat even over hamburgers and green bean casseroles.
DeleteWhat a gourmet meal but the conversation and carrying on the tradition are very important to our sense of normality. I was overwhelmed by the variety of food; I love small plates but these don't sound insignificant, and I would have to try everything. I'm a terror at a buffet. :)
ReplyDeleteWe try very hard, to keep portion sizes small but sometimes we have come out of a meal feeling way too full to be comfortable. This time around, we succeeded and at least I was full at the end but not overly so.
DeleteSo glad to know the dinner parties have resumed! I enjoyed hearing the menu.
ReplyDeleteThis was actually our third one since we halted for Covid but I didn't write about the other two. Mostly because I didn't have a picture to go along with it and don't want to be the one taking photos of every dish while trying to maintain the privacy of the other couples present.
DeleteWhat fun! Parsnips are my favorite! 🍀
ReplyDeleteI really like mashed parsnips. One person in the group said that was the first time he had eaten them which surprised me.
DeleteI know what you mean about not having to do it again for a year. I am such a bah humbug holiday/event person but because I am the mother and have the space for it, I host most of the family gatherings.
ReplyDeleteYour table looked so elegant and beautiful!
Our table is pretty rough underneath the tablecloth which is why we always have a table cloth. It has received a lot of abuse from kids, meals, homework, art projects, etc. over the years plus I have a homemade plywood extension (along with the extension it came with) to make it long enough for all ten of us to sit around it comfortably.
DeleteYour table is beautiful! Lots of work, I imagine, but what a fun and special activity to share with friends who appreciate good food.
ReplyDeleteThe food is definitely a bonus but I most enjoy the conversation. We were vetted a couple times before we were officially invited to be a part of it to replace a departed couple to ensure that we were a good fit for the conversation. Everyone is well read, well mannered in the art of conversation, and due to our diverse backgrounds, we never run out of things to say.
DeleteThe table looks great. It was a lot of trouble, but well worth it (or that's what I'm reading into your narrative).
ReplyDeleteYou read it right Bob!
DeleteYou set a beautiful table! Nice to get back to somewhat normal:)
ReplyDelete