Sept. 28; Celebration
Back ‘home’ in Geneva we enjoyed a quiet morning which we used to start packing for our return to the U.S. The fun and excitement started late morning with the arrival of the chefs and all their goods. Raymonde’s sisters, Yvette & Josianne, arrived with bags and boxes of food to begin preparing the gourmet meal to celebrate their little sister Raymonde’s birthday.
The table setting for 11, our hosts and 9 guests.
The Menu! Five courses not including the appetizers!
Translation:
- Pumpkin Cream Soup and casserole of chanterelle mushrooms
- Sea Bream on a bed of Spinach
- Pork Tenderloin with morel sauce and a garnish of vegetables
- Cheeses of the house
- Exotic Delights
- Birthday cake and wishes to welcome our American friends
- Champagne
- Coffee and ….. small nap
- (The wine selection is left to the discretion of Michel)
- Vandoeuvres, Sept. 29, 2010
- Raymonde’s Birthday Sept. 26, (1940-2010)
Preparing the salmon tart appetizer.
The morels and chanterelles.
The 2 chefs, tasting and correcting seasoning for the mushroom sauces.
Guests Ginette and Gilbert at the appetizer table.
Raymonde, Josianne and her husband George toasting to health and happiness. Other guests included Michel's brother Paul and his wife Giselle and us of course.
After the Champagne toast it was back into the kitchen for the chefs to prepare the fish course.
1st course, the pumpkin soup and mushroom casserole.
2nd course, Sea Bream on a bed of spinach.
The wine decanters lent even more elegance to the occasion.
3rd course, pork tenderloin with a delicious morel sauce and an assortment of vegetables.
4th course, a selection of cheeses and nuts.
Besides the soft cheeses, hard cheeses and fruit were also served.
5th course, Dessert! The exotic delight of pineapple with vanilla or mango ice cream and a delicious tropical fruit sauce.
The cake to welcome us (the American friends) was decorated as the American flag with whipped cream and raspberries! The Birthday cake was covered with fresh strawberries!
Cake!
Yum!!!!
We can truly say, that was the best meal of the entire trip, and one of the best meals we’ve ever had! It looks like a lot of food here, but the consumption was spread over about 7 hours of conversation, convoluted translations and laughter! The attention to details, from the fresh ingredients, the seasonings, the presentation, even to the warming of the serving plates was impressive. We all finished the evening off with coffee and Kirsch -the homemade cherry or pear ‘Swiss moonshine’!
The Three Sisters!
A reminder that tomorrow is a travel day (and we get to see Mavrik soon). From Michel's extensive model car collection.