Une soirée à la campagne

Ok, so Port Perry, Ontario is not even that far from Toronto but it truly feels like you are deep in the country. It’s so much more autumn-y there already – the air smells crisp and more leaves have started to turn. But probably too close to the city for it to be really called the country. For this city girl, it’s country enough!

Our good friends, Lynne and Ian, live there and we go to their house a couple of times a year for what is always a lavish meal, good wine and great company. Lynne is an excellent cook and made the bread for the BLT challenge. Of course, since it’s so far away, we stay the night there so that when you are about to fall into a food-induced coma, you literally just have to stumble up the stairs to bed.

Saturday night, we made our annual autumn pilgrimage to Port Perry and enjoyed another exceptional meal and some fun times (hi Wendy and Bob!). I mean, when you walk into the kitchen and the first thing you see is this:


you know you are in for a great meal. Can we have a close-up of the butter please?


On the stovetop, I spotted this:


and wondered “could it be… crêpes Suzette for dessert?” and tried not to get my hopes up…

Lynne always sets a lovely table:


and since we’ve all got a bit of British blood in us (Lynne by association), we started the evening with an old classic:


A wonderful baked brie:


Some onion jam:


and some spicy chili pepper jelly:


along with “just a bit” of hummus! LOL!


all spread on lovely olive oil brushed toasts:


All together now:


And oh,the meal… Sigh… Perfection on a plate!



Gratin “dauphinois” (umm, I could have just eaten the whole dish of this. Creamy, buttery yum).

Pan juices made the gravy:


and you know, you can never have too much butter:




Throughout the evening, wine and conversation flowed:


And cheeses were brought out to come to the right temperature:


Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, the dessert was being made in different stages. This was the inspiration:


(from the Williams Sonoma Desserts cookbook).

First the crêpes were made:

Then they sat for a little bit:

The filling was all ready to go:

A dollop in the centre:

And spread out:

All folded up and nowhere to go!



Then we reheated them in the big pot of yellow deliciousness above!



Then it was flambé time!


So, so good:


What was that I said about a food coma?


Thanks Ian and Lynne for another wonderful evening! Thankfully for our waistlines’ sakes, we don’t have many friends who can put on a spread like that but we certainly do enjoy our visits to you.

(Did you know??? ELTW is a finalist in the “Best New Blog” category at the Foodbuzz Food Blogger Awards. After just shy of five months’ blogging and at just under 200 posts, I think it’s an impressive achievement if I do say so myself!!! Click here to vote for me!)

28 thoughts on “Une soirée à la campagne”

  1. Wow, this meal looks AMAZING! The crepes and cheese platters literally look like they're straight from a magazine!

    Reply
  2. This looks like an amazing dinner! I can't believe all the food (and butter)! All of these dishes are what I would love to have for Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  3. Simply Life – thanks – it was so beautiful!

    Natalie – yup!

    Fresh Local – actually I had pretty small serves of everything to make sure I tasted it all! For once I did not leave the table feeling like I ate too much! Unlike SOME people… And since we didn't have a proper Thanksgiving, this certainly made up for it!

    Reply
  4. Totally agree that they should open a restaurant. One of those places where there's no menu, you just go in and sit down and trust that whatever comes out will be magnificent. How nice to have such talented and generous friends who share your passion for food!

    Reply
  5. Thanks for the kind words Mardi. It truly is a pleasure to cook for people who enjoy food as much as you and Neil.

    Lynne

    Reply
  6. what a lovely dinner! good food and good friends are the perfect combination. of course, a good babysitter is key as well if you're at our house . . . 😉

    Reply
  7. Chickenless – that's a great idea!

    Mom in France – That's why it tasted so good!

    Penny – I love a good dinner party!

    Lynne – thanks again – look at all these people impressed with your talent!!

    Best Family – we probably would have had roving reporter Charlotte filming the whole thing!!

    Rebecca – thanks!

    Dawn – the best!

    Barbara – thanks!

    Brie – I wish!!!

    Reply
  8. Kablooey – probably!

    April – I agree!

    traveleatlove – I think they would have people queuing out the door if they did open a restaurant!

    Reply
  9. Yum. Amazing. Yum. I could not be trusted with that bowl of hummus, it would magically disappear before your very eyes.

    I aspire to someone one day also commenting that I set a lovely table!

    Reply

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