April Dinner

Gastronauts' April dinner was hosted by food bling, Brisbane and was inspired by a French theme.

After a big day in the kitchen, we all enjoyed the following fairly indulgent menu:

Oysters with mignonette

Les oeufs en meurette

Four-hour roast Bangalow sweet pork with Roquefort, chestnut, witlof & potato gratin

Moroccan mint tea granita

Lemon tart with mascarpone & lime sorbet

Chocolate & almond rochers

Dark chocolate & macadamia truffles

The oysters were served simply with mignonette and a glass of Champagne - the perfect start to any evening.

Next up were oeufs en meurette - eggs poached in red wine. This is a dish I enjoyed on a trip to Burgundy, and the extremely rich sauce (based on pinot noir) was duly mopped up with slices of crunchy baguette.

Main course was Frederic Anton's four hour roast pork, served with a deliciously rich gratin. The slow cooked Bangalow sweet pork was meltingly tender, and the sweetness of the Roquefort gratin was a perfect accompaniment to it.

After all the rich food, a small serving of Moroccan mint tea granita pepped up everyone's tastebuds, in anticipation of the dessert which was to follow.

Dessert was a lovely, wobbly lemon tart, inspired by a dinner at Banc in Sydney years ago. The mascarpone and lime sorbet complemented the citrus flavours of the tart, while the mascarpone also made for a great contrast in textures.

By this stage of the night we were all feeling more than content, but it just wouldn't be right to finish off a French inspired dinner without petit fours. The evening ended with coffee, served with bite sized almond rochers and decadent dark chocolate & macadamia truffles.

Another great Gastronauts dinner! We're hoping you can join us for the next one in May.