Chef`s Table dinner

On June the 30th I will host my first Chef`s Table dinner @ Pias Bakery.
It will be a theme from the Provence and we will tantalize your senses with a nice Charcuterie and Crudites, a wonderful fish stew and a cheese plate and as dessert we will have a honey lavender ice cream with madeleines. My husband, who is excellent in matching the wine with the food will be the somelier.

I hope I will get enough people together to make it a success and also fun for everybody, it is going to be like coming to our house for dinner and our dinner parties are always a  hit.

salmon and a green herb sauce

Salmon is a fish that I actually do not like that much anymore. It is a delicacy in Germany, so very expensive and so we only had it once in a while. Then we moved to Canada and here it is cheaper, so I bought it all the time...got bored with it.
I combined a very German sauce with a seared salmon and I now like it again, not too often...
I take a fillet, about 150 g and sear it in a very hot pan und put it in the oven after until it is just done, maybe a little bit more pink in the center.
For the sauce( Frankfurter Green Sauce) you need:
7 herbs( Parsley, dill, sorrel, chives, thyme, tarragon, cilantro)
1 cup of Mayonnaise
1 cup of sour cream
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and pepper

You should chop the herbs, but I take the blender, add the mayo and the sour cream and blitz it for  a short time and add the salt and pepper, almost ready.
Now I add the small chopped onion. Done
It is super light and delicious with a glass of Chardonnay and a green salad.

It is now available at my store and bistro, Pia's Bakery.

charcuterie and crudites

There is nothing better or simpler than a good plate of charcuterie( it took me a little time to understand what it means when spoken with an English accent), but my daughters told me that it sounds arrogant when you pronounce it in French, but whatever....
A variety of wonderful salamis, maybe ham and pate, little cornichons and some pearl onions and fresh radishes, mustard, butter and wonderful country bread, simply delicious, of course  you have to enjoy with a nice Pinot Noir( my favourite red, most of the time. And my all time favourite Pinot is from Oregon, believe it or not)
The vegetarian version is crudites, an assortment of fresh raw vegetables, usually served in a basket with butter, a wonderful vinaigrette or a beautiful dip and fresh country bread.  A feast for the palate with a crisp Rose wine from the Provence .

tulips

This year the tulips last so much longer because of the rain...

Rain

Rain and more rain....
nothing that can be done but still to enjoy spring, greenness, smell and taste...

fresh spring greens, asparagus, green peas, put together in a salad or a spring veggie stew
all available at Pia`s...
inside today, maybe on the patio tomorrow

Well, the weather looks bad again. However our patio is open, maybe it will force the sun to stay..it is worth a try.

We changed the Spinach Salad to a Salade Nicoise. A nice summer salad, a meal in itself. Fresh greens, tuna, olives, potatoes, avocado and tomato, a fresh vinaigrette and some nice baguette, soon to be enjoyed with a glass of fresh white wine, how does that sound for a lunch, on the patio, under the umbrella, you might think you are somewhere else, in France, maybe?

Crepes with Wild Leeks

If you are lucky like me and have a forest next to your bedroom, literally, go out before it is too late and look for wild leeks, nothing better this time of the year.
I enjoy making a Wild Leek Soup or Crepes with these lovely things.
For the crepes you need:
3 eggs
1 cup flour( pastry flour works best)
milk
half a stick of unsalted butter, melted

put the flour in a mixing bowl, add the eggs, stir and add as much milk as you need to get a creamy consistency and then add the butter. Let rest for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, wash the leeks, best twice, as there is a lot of sand in them. Dice and saute in some butter until just wilted. Add to the crepe batter and bake, one at the time in a crepe pan. Add salt and pepper, a little green salad and you have a lovely dinner, of course much better with a glass of light crisp white wine.