A Pleasant Memory...



The color of the writing is turquoise, becouse turquoise was the color of the table clothes at the Restaurant Le Tamerici.



The Restaurant Le Tamerici was sold at the beginning of 1997, in a painful period of my life.

Raffaella & Alessandro were frequent clients and, as it happens with the nicest frequent clients, we became friends.
We haven't heard from one other for about 20 years.
A few days ago I got a nice surprice: Alessandro found me on FB and, the day after, Raffaella sent me a kind email with a moving surprise.



This is the menu of the New Year Eve Dinner 1988.
She took it aways as a memory after the......  memorable meal.

Raffaella: you do  not imagine the great pleasure I had: this made tears coming up to my eyes. 
All that study, preparation, pressure, stress, rush and then the emotion of the final clap of my clients and my cry at the end, just a few minutes after midnight....with the lights off and the candles lighted and the people kissing and wishing a Happy Year to one other and clients-friends going to thank  me.


Thank you Raffaella. 


PARIGINI  CREMA DI PISTACCHI E TARTUFO NERO
PARISIANS WITH PISTACHIO CREAM AND BLACK TRUFFLE



Ingredients for 4:
For the pastry (choux):
3 dl water (1 1/4 cup)
100 gr (3.5 oz) butter
160 gr (5.6 oz) flour
3 eggs
Boil the water with a pinch of salt and the butter. Add the flour, all at the same time, and mix. Cook for 20 about minutes, until the pastry releases from the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and add the eggs, one at a time.
Make little balls with a pastry-bag on a large baking pan. Bake 20 minutes at 200°.

For the filling:
150 gr (5+oz) green pistachios
a little piece of butter
milk
salt
“Blanch” the pistachios in boiling water for one minute, so that the skin comes off easily. Mash them. With the butter, heat just enough milk to make a creamy filling. Salt.

For the Sauce Mornay:
70 gr (2.5 oz) butter
50 gr (1.75 oz) flour
½ liter (2 cups + 1 Tb) hot milk
30 gr (1 oz) grated gruyere
30 gr (1 oz) grated parmesan
2 spoons cream
salt, pepper
Melt 50 grams butter in a saucepan; add the flour and whisk. Add the hot milk. Cook, continuing to stir, until the sauce starts to bubble and get smooth. Salt and pepper. Add the two grated cheeses, the remaining butter, and the milk cream. Mix in and turn off the heat.

For assembling:
Fill the little “choux” with the green pistachio cream.
Spread a thin layer of Sauce Mornay on the bottom of a baking pan. Lay the filled choux on top. Sprinkle flaked or grated truffle on them   then cover with the remaining sauce. Bake in a pre-heated oven until the surface is golden.




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