A Simple Lunch for a Few Friends

[OzPiper]

A small lunch with 3 of our best friends - my best mate and drinking buddy, Wayne and great friends Stuart and Caroline.

My wife and I met Wayne when we were learning French at the Allianz Francaise all those years ago.
I wanted to learn enough to decipher a French menu and order a bottle of wine or two. Without making a total fool of myself.
Wayne had booked a skiing holiday in France and was hoping to learn enough to chat up a few mademoiselles apres ski.

Wayne was working with Stuart at the time.

A great coincidence - Stuart and Caroline and my wife and I were married on the very same day.
We actually met AFTER our respective weddings.

Anyway, onto lunch -
Simple hor d’ourvres and a glass of champagne


Main course of roast lamb shoulder, roast vegetables and a ragout of (dried) morels

A 100%grenache Côtes du Rhône, Chateau Gramenon Ceps Centennaire



Finished off with a cheese platter and my wife’s lemon cupcakes

A most convivial afternoon

 

[Ahi Ka]

Looks tasty. From the title I was expecting Vegemite sandwiches

 

[beetlejockey]

If this is the simple lunch I can only imagine a proper one

 

[OzPiper]

Looks tasty. From the title I was expecting Vegemite sandwiches

Love Vegemite, but prefer Marmite. Like you lot across the ditch
My wife can’t stand it.

 

[OzPiper]

If this is the simple lunch I can only imagine a proper one

Starters, all bought.
Only mains had to be prepped and cooked.
Cheese bought.
Wife baked yesterday.
And only 2 bottles of wine.
SIMPLE

 

[georged]

When are you going to stop with the simple stuff, and show us your bone-in leg of Iberico Bellota in its carving stand, Cuchillerías Simón slicing knife, and kilo can of Beluga caviar that you snack on like popcorn between sips of 1945 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti while shaving the ham?

 

[OzPiper]

When are you going to stop with the simple stuff, and show us your bone-in leg of Iberico Bellota in its carving stand, Cuchillerías Simón slicing knife, and kilo can of Beluga caviar that you snack on like popcorn between sips of 1945 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti while shaving the ham?

How did you get into my dream ?


I was invited to a lunch where the piece de resistance was a jeroboam of 1983 La Romanee Conti.
It was surreal sitting there with a decanter of Romanee Conti in front of each of the 10 diners.
As I’ve alluded to previously, very generous friends.

 

[admin]

Looks like a great Sunday lunch or dinner.

 

[OzPiper]

Looks like a great Sunday lunch or dinner.

Thank you.
The company made it so.
Having a small number of guests means you get to interact with each one all the more.
Our kids grew up together, so it was really nice to catch up with news of them and how they are all getting on.

 

[Brendan]

Any idea where the lamb came from @OzPiper ?

Edit; besides the butchers of course.

 

[OzPiper]

Any idea where the lamb came from @OzPiper ?

Edit; besides the butchers of course.

I’d love to say from Cowra, but it was really from Woolies

 

[dd57chevy]

Just curious , Oz , where did you get the Morels ?

 

[OzPiper]

Just curious , Oz , where did you get the Morels ?

I usually buy dried French morels.
But these came from a Chinese supermarket
Large uniform size, and good texture and flavour. Farmed rather than foraged ?
I’ll be buying again.

I have only come across fresh morels once ever about 20 years ago. Hard to come by in Oz.

 

[woodsroad]

A small lunch with 3 of our best friends - my best mate and drinking buddy, Wayne and great friends Stuart and Caroline.

My wife and I met Wayne when we were learning French at the Allianz Francaise all those years ago.
I wanted to learn enough to decipher a French menu and order a bottle of wine or two. Without making a total fool of myself.
Wayne had booked a skiing holiday in France and was hoping to learn enough to chat up a few mademoiselles apres ski.

Wayne was working with Stuart at the time.

A great coincidence - Stuart and Caroline and my wife and I were married on the very same day.
We actually met AFTER our respective weddings.

Anyway, onto lunch -
Simple hor d’ourvres and a glass of champagne
View attachment 384000

Main course of roast lamb shoulder, roast vegetables and a ragout of (dried) morels

A 100%grenache Côtes du Rhône, Chateau Gramenon Ceps Centennaire
View attachment 384001View attachment 384002
View attachment 384005

Finished off with a cheese platter and my wife’s lemon cupcakes

A most convivial afternoon

I can’t wait for Easter. The next day, leg of lamb gets marked down 50%.
I usually buy it all and pop it into the freezer.

 

[OzPiper]

I can’t wait for Easter. The next day, leg of lamb gets marked down 50%.
I usually buy it all and pop it into the freezer.

It used to be that lamb was the cheapest meat.
I recall a friend saying that growing up, only his dad got to eat beef as he went to work and brought the money home. Everyone else ate lamb.
These days you have to check your bank balance before buying lamb cutlets.

 

[woodsroad]

Jews have always eaten lamb. I grew up on it. We had beef just as often, but I always preferred lamb. Chops, stew, leg (especially when brined with apple cider, garlic, onion, rosemary, bay leaf…), grilled over hardwoods…yum!

 

[Brendan]

I’d love to say from Cowra, but it was really from Woolies

Nothing wrong with that.
We save cowra lamb cutlets for special occasions. I usually get our lamb legs/shoulder roasts from Coles anyway.
For supermarket meat I still think we have it pretty good in Oz.

 

[OzPiper]

Nothing wrong with that.
We save cowra lamb cutlets for special occasions. I usually get our lamb legs/shoulder roasts from Coles anyway.
For supermarket meat I still think we have it pretty good in Oz.

Whenever we visit a country town, I love window shopping at the local butcher shops to reacquaint myself with what prime meat looks like

Our local Harris Farm Market has a butcher shop with pretty decent meat.
Otherwise its Woolies or Coles

 

[gervais]

Looks delicious brother, and having a meal with family and friends...there is nothing better than that. Question for you about Australian lamb: is most of it "Pasture raised" to some degree? Or are there alot of feed lots there as well? At our costco here in Canada, we have Australian lamb and I was curious about that

 

[OzPiper]

Looks delicious brother, and having a meal with family and friends...there is nothing better than that. Question for you about Australian lamb: is most of it "Pasture raised" to some degree? Or are there alot of feed lots there as well? At our costco here in Canada, we have Australian lamb and I was curious about that

Most Aussie lamb is pasture raised
@Brendan may be the best person to ask as he comes from a prime lamb region.

Aussie beef on the other hand is labelled as grass fed or grain fed (ie feed lot)