Menu ideas for French ex-pats
Our new neighbors have just arrived from Grenoble and they are coming for dinner on Sunday. They're bringing the cheese for dessert. I think I'll start with the white gazpacho and I'd like to include the summer squash gratin--which is as close to a perfect dish as I can imagine. So: I'm looking for ideas for the main. I will have time to cook and there aren't really ingredients off the table, but it is late summer in northern California, so the produce--especially the tomatoes-- are amazing. Ideas?
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12 Comments
Two bruschetta: Broiled figs with blue cheese; butternut squash hash with bacon, sage and and maple syrup.
White gazpacho, with Manchego frico. (The frico was a happy accident. I had some elderly manchego in the refrigerator and it worked perfectly.)
Halibut in parchment with cherry tomatoes and olive oil.
Warm lentil salad.
Summer squash gratin. (I've made this a number of times and no longer follow the recipe, so I don't know how much olive oil I used, but it couldn't have been more than a couple of tablespoons. It's a great dish and was a particular favorite last night.)
Sliced dry-farm Early Girl tomatoes with olive oil and herbs.
Cheese
Macaroons.
https://food52.com/recipes/30116-sans-souci-salmon
Just a note:
If the summer squash gratin you're making is Amanda's recipe (fantastic!) posted on this site (https://food52.com/recipes/12430-summer-squash-gratin-with-salsa-verde-and-gruyere), there are some good tips in the Reader Comments section. One tip, including from me, was to reduce the oil for the salsa verde from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup or less.
Have a beautiful dinner.
Or go classical and a rack of prime ribs, the gratin, lightly cooked green beans..and garden salad. And good yeast rolls.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/the-food-lab-how-to-cook-roast-a-perfect-prime-rib.html
I've substituted fresh chopped tomatoes for the tomato sauce and it's still a delicious dish.