Maillot Jaune Dinner

[Abra]

We'll be watching the Tour de France come through our region on Friday and Saturday, and I want to make a dinner of the national cuisine of the wearer of the yellow jersey on Friday morning. It might be Evans, and I have no idea about Australian specialties, except to say that there's no kangaroo available here!

Can anybody help me plan an Aussie-oriented menu for Friday?

[Shinboners]

I'd go for the BBQ. Steaks, sausages, prawns, a nice salad.....all washed down with plenty of beer.

Or you could go kitsch and enjoy some vegemite sandwiches, a pie with sauce, and a few Tim Tam biscuits and lamingtons.

[ludja]

lamb burgers with beetroot salsa?

click

If beetroot on a beef burger makes it an Aussie burger, doesn't beetroot on a lamb burger make it a super Aussie burger?

cucumer salad

Australian cheeses or if not available sheep cheeses

Australian Shiraz or if not available a French Syrah

Here is a recipe for a neat sundae in Emily Luchetti's "A Passion for Ice Cream": click

Crushed Meringue Sundae with raspberry-rose water sorbet and vanilla cream

(It would be an homage the Pavlova....)

edited to add disclaimer: I'm not Australian but was intrigued by what I might make in the same situation...

Edited July 17, 2008 by ludja (log)

[Abra]

Thanks, you guys, cuz it is definitely Evans and so tomorrow it needs to be an Australian dinner for 5. Not one single actual Australian product is available here to my knowledge, so it's all got to be improv. Plus, rats, no ice cream maker and a husband who gets nauseated at even the sight of a beet.

Edited July 17, 2008 by Abra (log)

[Reignking]

No marmite? Vegemite?

[Adam Balic]

Lamingtons and Meat Pie.

[Abra]

Meat pie - check. Lamington, probably not, because of the hard time to find coconut and the fact that it's not a favorite with my husband.

Right now I'm thinking of the lamb burger with beet salsa that ludja suggested, hold the beets for picky eater husband, as a main, with some sort of salad, meat pies as an app, and sticky date pudding. Sounds heavy. For some reason that I've never understood it's practically impossible to get raw shrimp here, they're always already cooked, otherwise it'd be shrimp on the barbie.

Any veggie/salad recommendations?

[Cadbury]

Meat pie - check.  Lamington, probably not, because of the hard time to find coconut and the fact that it's not a favorite with my husband. 

Right now I'm thinking of the lamb burger with beet salsa that ludja suggested, hold the beets for picky eater husband, as a main, with some sort of salad, meat pies as an app, and sticky date pudding.  Sounds heavy.  For some reason that I've never understood it's practically impossible to get raw shrimp here, they're always already cooked, otherwise it'd be shrimp on the barbie.

Any veggie/salad recommendations?

←

Hi Abra,

Bearing in mind that I am a "country" girl and not up with the current food scene:

I would have the lamb burgers with lettuce and cheese in the bun/toast perhaps with a good chutney. Suitable salads include coleslaw, potato or watermelon and onion. Since there are regional differences, I will outline what I would put in each.

Coleslaw: finely shredded cabbage, carrot and cheese, onion, currants or finely chopped apple or crushed tinned pineapple. Dressing should be a mayonnaise style.

Potato: cooked cubed potato (sprinkle with finely chopped mint while it cools in a colander), chopped boiled egg, crispy bacon bits, chopped green/spring onion, mayonnaise.

Watermelon: diced watermelon (1 inch cube), sliced white onion, shredded mint.

HTH

Edited July 18, 2008 by Cadbury (log)

[Abra]

Cadbury, thank you! Your potato and watermelon salads are on the menu now. Cabbage isn't yet really in season here and my husband hates pineapple (are you surprised?) so I think maybe a green or tomato salad is more likely.

I also have a nice chutney that I made with apricots and nectarines that I'll offer with the lamb burgers as an alternative to the beetroot salsa.

Does sticky date pudding sound ok, or is that really a winter dessert? It's full summer here in France right now, but I think everyone would find it interesting and unusual..

[Cadbury]

Cadbury, thank you!  Your potato and watermelon salads are on the menu now.  Cabbage isn't yet really in season here and my husband hates pineapple (are you surprised?) so I think maybe a green or tomato salad is more likely.

I also have a nice chutney that I made with apricots and nectarines that I'll offer with the lamb burgers as an alternative to the beetroot salsa.

Does sticky date pudding sound ok, or is that really a winter dessert?  It's full summer here in France right now, but I think everyone would find it interesting and unusual..

←

Sticky date pudding is very heavy and more a winter dessert. What about a fresh fruit salad (strawberry, banana, melons, grapes etc) with cream? Or perhaps a trifle. I put cake at the bottom of mine, a splash of something alcoholic, jelly (jello), peaches (tinned or fresh), vanilla custard, cream and grated chocolate. Usually I do several layers of everything but the cream and chocolate, as that goes on top.

Or of course you could make some meringue nests and serve with a blob of whipped cream and fresh berries or stone fruit.

[Syrah]

Pavlova. Top with whipped cream and whatever fruit you like. Delicious.

[Abra]

The dinner was a great success! I did make the lamb burgers linked to above by Ludja (I wouldn't make them again, though, as the seasoning is quite intense and French lamb is too mild to really stand up to it) and Cadbury's two salads, which were delicious. Pictures and additional details of the meal are here.

Thanks to all for the advice and support - it was a fun opportunity to dabble in Australiana. I was just afraid that the guy from Luxembourg would be in the maillot jaune and then, for the cuisine, I'd have been really stranded!

[ludja]

Glad it was a fun meal and thanks for the heads up on the lamb burgers; sorry the seasoning was off in the dish.

Maybe you'll be making Wienerschnitzel in a few days. An Austrian (no kangaroos) is now in 2nd place at -7 sec... :-)

[Cadbury]

The dinner was a great success!  I did make the lamb burgers linked to above by Ludja (I wouldn't make them again, though, as the seasoning is quite intense and French lamb is too mild to really stand up to it) and Cadbury's two salads, which were delicious.  Pictures and additional details of the meal are here. 

Thanks to all for the advice and support - it was a fun opportunity to dabble in Australiana.  I was just afraid that the guy from Luxembourg would be in the maillot jaune and then, for the cuisine, I'd have been really stranded!

←

Your dinner looks just great.

I think the seasoning for the lamb would probably work on some of stronger flavoured hogget or mutton from our own sheep, but would be too strong for lamb from the butcher. Mind you, lamb has been a little expensive lately so we'd probably eat beef!

[Shinboners]

If the food tastes as good as they look in the photos, then it would have been a wonderful meal.

I got a good chuckle on your comment about Australian shiraz cabernets.

[Abra]

We actually do have mutton here, if you get it from the halal (Muslim) butchers, and I think that would have been better. Personally I love that strong lamb flavor. In France the lamb is almost as mild as veal, and quite pale as well.