A French Classic--Duck Confit

If it's Sunday and you're invited to lunch in Paris, or in this case, Bougival, you will be in for a real treat. Our lunch hosts, Marc and Virginie, teamed up to create another most extraordinary dejeuner. Marc is the sommelier, Virginie the chef de cuisine. Marc's cellar looks like the wine list at the Tour d'Argent, so we helped select the two St. Emillion wines, 1988 and 2000, for the meal (oops, forgot to mention the white Bourgoune, a 2009 Meursault). A rich wine, ready to complement the blinis with caviar and salmon mousse appetizers. 

The lunch started with a just right fois gras poêlé on a bed of salad, smoked duck breast, and quail eggs. We lingered over this first course through most of the first bottle of the nicely matured 1988 La Domique.

Then came the French Classic, the duck confit....and along with the 2000 Monbousquet, a well balanced wine with more fruit than the first, made for a hand-in-glove pairing. Add to this the beautiful day (another sunny day in the 70s), and tales of the good old days, we were on a roll. 

And as chance would have it, there was more to come. A red berry dessert of crêpe dentelle, raspberry, strawberry and cream that was better than the picture (as with all of the courses). 

 

       As you can see, we all look well fed after lunch...as by this time our lunch stretched into the early evening hours.

Kudos to our gracious hosts, Marc et Virginie!

                        Special thanks to Marc for chauffeuring us back to Montparnasse, with a welcomed detour and stroll through the St. Cloud park.