Beaujena’s French Table
March11
This entry was made by a dear GF who celebrated her first wedding anniversary with dinner at this St. Boniface restaurant. Chef Randy sent her the details of the menu that night which I have included below. She selected the corresponding pics as she did wish to diminish the specialness of the evening with photo taking.
“The whole evening was AMAZING and the atmosphere was casual yet romantic. The staff were incredible making you feel more like family rather than customers. Definitely would recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting a nice evening out with amazing food and company! ”
“A shrimp cake with green apple salsa and a crab/mahi mahi cake with tarragon aioli. The two cakes were similar in some ways but very different in others. The green apple salsa had a tartness that went well with the sweet potato base of the shrimp cake while the tarragon aioli enhanced rather than over-powered the subtlety of the crab/mahi mahi cake.”
“Cream of mushroom soup. No, not like the kind that comes in a can. This soup used crimini and shiitake mushrooms, sherry and very little cream. It was actually kind of light.”
“Coriander rubbed and seared tuna with white beans and spinach. This was a recipe I got while visiting Costa Rica. I seared the tuna for exactly 30 seconds per side then served it on white beans over spinach. Diners really appreciated this dish, saying that they had never had tuna that tasted so good. That’s in large part because most restaurants over cook fish and dry it out.”
“Chicken with apple and leeks on a bed of parslied pasta. The sauce contained apple cider which, along with the apples themselves provided a hint of sweetness to an otherwise savoury dish. The pasta was, as always home made.”
“Braised lamb shank with a savoury bacon and olive cake. This lamb was cooked in the oven for three hours in a red wine marinade. Lamb can be gamey tasting but this preparation mellowed those harsh flavours in addition to making it fall off the bone tender. As for the cake, what isn’t better with bacon?”
“Spring greens with French lentils and diced red beets. A simple Dijon vinaigrette dressed this salad which served as a nice, light palate cleanser. “
“Chocolate upside down pear cake. Everyone has heard of pineapple upside down cake. Use your imagination.”
My friends also chose the five glass wine pairing. Menu prices, hours, address etc. are stated in this link: Beaujena’s.
Kathryne’s note: In the month of March their menu is inspired bu Northern Italy and Southern France. Since my husband and I holidayed there this fall I think we owe it to ourselves to check it out. I promise I’ll take my camera (romantic dinners went out the window when I became a blogger!).
Kath’s quote of the day: Escargot – “Nobody is sure how this got started. Probably a couple of French master chefs were standing around one day, and they found a snail, and one of them said: ‘I bet that if we called this something like “escargot,” tourists would eat it.’ Dave Barry
