Thursday Club 12/07/06

Our 25th Thursday Club meal! Yikes! It seems only like yesterday that he approached Adam & me with the idea of 'importing' the Thursday Club to American shores...

I might sound like somewhat of a broken record, continually tooting Teddy's culinary horn, but this was, in my mind, a meal executed to perfection & the best Club to date.

Le Menu:

1. Martini a la Teddus: In other words, whatever I feel like shaking at that moment.
2. Potted wild Scottish salmon: Homemade pickled cucumber and toast.
3. Muscovy duck breast stuffed with foie gras, apples and chestnuts, wrapped in smoked bacon, Celeriac puree and Calvados sauce.
4. Sticky toffee and date pudding: whisky toffee sauce and crème fraiche.
5. Aged English Stilton with Port.

I'll have to admit that I'm not much of a Martini fan, so I really can't discuss Teddy's opening drink, but I can tell you that it was a Hazelnut Martini.

The opening dish was nothing short of delicious & was complimented well by the bottle of white that we eagerly tore through.




Now here's where things get complicated. I'm having trouble putting into words exactly how good Teddy's duck dish was. Every bite was like an explosion of flavor in my mouth (hmm. Never thought I'd say that). I spent a good deal of this course just staring at my plate & shaking my head. This was the perfect dish. The duck was tender, flavorful, stuffed to the bursting point & accompanied with the Calvados sauce, Teddy might have seasoned the duck with crack, because all I wanted was more...

By this point, I was fuller than a fatted calf, but after seeing the effort Teddy made on the dessert & getting a whiff of the toffee slowly bubbling on the stove, I couldn't resist & I'm glad I didn't!





The cheese & port that followed ended a great night...




A few more preparation & finished product pics:


The Salmon & pickles. Yum!

Let the searing begin!

Browned to perfection!

The duck filling.

The toffee bubbling away - it was soon it's trademark brown color.