Un dîner “les coudes sur la table”

To have a meal les coudes sur la table means in France an occasion for close friends to linger over their food, chatting comfortably, with plenty of time to enjoy each dish. And this menu of hearty dishes is just the sort for such a warm and informal gathering.

The first course is a fairly substantial dish made with creamy mushrooms and a little soft scrambled egg wrapped up in pastry, which can be refrigerated overnight before baking. The fricassee of veal is gently flavored with paprika, and is served in a sauce of the reduced cooking liquid finished with sour cream. This kind of stew is ideal for entertaining because it can only gain in flavor by being made in advance and reheated. To accompany the veal is one of the best purées I know, a very delicate purée of celery root, with a little potato to give it body. It is useful to have this kind of dish in your repertoire, since, as the reheating demands no attention at all, it is the easiest way to do a vegetable in advance. A green salad is really all you need to follow the main course; if you would like a green vegetable with the veal, the concombres au beurre would go very well.