Saturday, May 23, 2009

A Fun Afternoon

One of the continuing pleasures of blogging is actually meeting some of the people whose blogs we read and who read our blogs. On Thursday, Leesa (News From France) and her husband Alex came down from Paris for lunch.

Alex and Ken on the deck enjoying wine and nibbles.

I met Leesa and Alex back in February while they were on a trip to near-by Cheverny. Ken was in North Carolina and missed their visit. So we agreed that they would come back for lunch one day when the weather got better.

Apéritif fare: nuts, olives, and foie de morue (cod liver) on toast.

Well, Thursday was the appointed day, but the weather did not cooperate. We had thunderstorms all morning and our plan to sit out back and barbecue got scrapped. Still, the rain stopped and we were able to have our apéros out on the front deck.

Leesa took this photo of me and Ken.

Lunch started out with an entrée of sliced smoked salmon rolled and stuffed with céleri rémoulade and fresh herbs. After that we had oven-roasted chicken marinated in white wine and shallots (that was supposed to be grilled, but for the rain), and bow-tie pasta in a radish leaf pesto with chunks of local white asparagus. We followed it with a green salad and some local goat cheese.

Leesa and Alex as we begin our walk in the vineyard.

After lunch, we took a nice walk out in the vineyard. Leesa loves to take photos and post them on her blog -- I encourage you to look through the photos she took on Thursday here, here, and here. Leesa had a good time taking pictures of Callie!

Leesa, Ken, and Alex inspecting the vines.

One of the many highlights of the day was the lemon cheesecake that Leesa made for our dessert. She also brought some tasty strawberries that she sliced and marinated in honey to top the cake. It was divine!

Leesa's home made cheesecake. A real treat!

Ken took more photos of the food than I did, and he'll be posting them on his blog over the next few days. You can see the first installment here.

13 comments:

  1. Hey! Fun day... and great eats!! I certainly DID have fun taking pics! And such great company we shared with you all! Thanks for showing us some good 'ol Provincal hospitality! We hope to come back again soon to visit! Hugs, Leesa et Alex

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  2. hohoho
    it is worth meeting you two simply for the food !

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  3. I haven't eaten "foie de morue" since I left France. I am surprised that Leesa didn't bring any "cupcakes". How wonderful to be able to meet other bloggers and have picnics...

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  4. looks like you all had a great day....Barb

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  5. Yes, I agree with Nadege that it's cool to see you guys meeting up with other bloggers and readers :) That cheesecake certainly does look lovely, Leesa!

    Walt, your presentation of apéritifs looks so fabulous... and I really love that table, too. Is it terra cotta tile?? That patio/deck is so great, too.

    Now... as for the foie de morue... is it good??? Okay, silly question *LOL*... but, I was actually going to ask you today what it was that you had served so appetizingly on the toasted bread. I was thinking that maybe it was rillettes or something more meat-y :))

    I bet that roast chicken with radish greens pesto was fabulous!

    Judy

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  6. How awesome! It looks like you all had a great time. I am hoping once I am in Paris it will be easier for me to swing down and FINALLY meet you both.

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  7. What is it about simplicity and ease that makes me happy. It looks like one of life's grand moments!

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  8. Walt

    I've just noticed that the bowl for the olives comes with its complementary sister for the pits ( noyaux). That's great to have :-)

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  9. I gained weight just reading that post.

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  10. Oh my, that pasta sounds amazing!

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  11. leesa, it was great fun!

    urspo, just drop on by the next time you and Someone are in the Loire Valley!

    nadege, I never knew it was so good!

    barb, except for the weather, it was very nice.

    judy, yes, the table is terra cotta tile, I got it in San Francisco. And the cod liver is very good!

    justin, one of these days!

    lewis, it must be the simplicity and easiness ;)

    beaver, yes, the two are fused together. We got that in the south of France many years ago.

    mark, hehehehe! Nothing a quick walk around the block won't cure!

    evol, it was really tasty!

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  12. My meetings with fellow bloggers have also been very positive. Maybe we'll meet up someday? You two really must see Aveyron!

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  13. when I come to the Loire Valley, I want to visit the vineyards, and taste the white wines

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