THURSDAY-Dinner at La Ferrandage

Our concierge recommended this place for our first real dinner in Paris. The appetizer was a
squash soup (not a favorite of mine, but we're in Paris, i might learn something) that
knocked my socks off.











Seriously laden with cream, perfectly seasoned, and garnished with chive, scallions, and a magnificient lightly garlic crouton made from a baguette. Yummers. Great.















Jeri's entree was a perfectly prepared piece of perch broiled under a layer of tomatoes and
prawns. Also amazing and just a hint of smoke from the grill. Great stuff. Side note: her side was mashed cauliflower garnished with some puffed wild rice, she was sure they were worms at first. Honest, they really did look like little larvae of some kind.

I got to order one of the oldest French recipes on the books: Boeuf Bourguignon. It's a nice cut of beef roast slowly braised with carrots and seasoning in a bath of red wine. Magnificent.

The beef becomes a buttery treat that just holds onto the texture of meat. The carrots are tender and citrusy from the wine, and the resulting sauce... fragrant, deeply textured with loads of flavor that run the gambit from the sophisticated to home cooking that takes you back to your childhood. It's worth getting for the sauce alone. It's served over some wide pasta.

Dessert was a delight. Jeri got a series of items that were small tastes of several desserts with an espresso. There was a light, smooth custard, a compote of preserved apples, cherries, and plums, a tiny eggy cake with chocolate chips, and a milk chocolate mousse with coconut (she's not a fan of the coconut. I had to eat it for her. :) )







Mine was a coconut dacquoise (think layers of chocolate cake and that same coconut chocolate mousse chilled to firmness), a 70% cocoa mousse, and coffee jelly.





The dacquoise was yummy, the cocoa mousse was amazing. It was ice cold and so darkly chocolate, and a bit thin on the mouth feel compared to a standard mousse. Wonderfully chocolately in a very pure way. The coffee jelly was an amazing surprise. The consistency of jelly as you'd think, but like coffee candy on the palate. A great companion to the other two items.