The Fox, the Filet and Fellini

Funny how that simple spaghetti dinner the night before turned out to be so much fun. I credit that to the gin and tonics! Little did I know how delicious and interesting the following night’s meal would be! We would grill a fabulous filet of beef, upon request I would make as an appetizer of mushrooms stuffed with spinach and pine nuts (see recipe at end of story!) and we would also have rosemary roasted potatoes and a big green salad with lots of end of summer tomatoes. Of course let the red wine flow! Urs treated us to more grilled sausages and this again proved to be a late night especially when Marian produced an authentic bottle of Absinthe she had drive 2 hours away to purchase from the area of it’s origin Val de Trevers - wow! Absinthe was declared illegal in 1915 due to it’s high alcohol level (90-148 proof!). As of February 2008, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Spain, and the Czech Republic. Because Absinthe is not made with sugar it is called a “spirit” not a liqueur. The spoon is used to place a cube of sugar on it and disolve it by pouring water over and into the glass of Absinthe. Tastes like Pernod to me! Check out my previous post on what is known as the Green Fairy! This drink used to be known to cause hallucinations so were we or were we not hallucinating when this creature came into the back yard at a distance of about 10ft? Hi Foxy Brown (or should I say Foxy Red?!) No, oddly enough we were still sober and this friendly fox visits Marian’s backyard on a somewhat regular basis. And now that Foxy knows what filet leftovers taste like (hey, save that that steak for me!) I don’t doubt it will soon be back! Already feeling I was a part of some wonderful Fellini film it went a step further when Corinne and Marian decided to give us an impromptu classical concert in the living room. A little drunk and a lot COZY we rambled up the steps (a stairway strewn with Marian’s artwork) and went quickly to bed! Tomorrow the train back to Zurich and soon our trip would end and home we would be!
MUSHROOMS STUFFED WITH SPINACH AND PINE NUTS (thank you Sid Hicks for this now internationally loved recipe!)
1/4 lb. large mushrooms
3-4 tbl. butter
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 tbls. pine nuts (lightly toasted)
1 pkg. (10 oz) chopped spinach (defrosted)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Reserve stems.
Saute mushroom caps 2 minute in 2 tbl. butter (top and bottom).
Chop stems and saute for about 2 minutes with the chopped onion.
Stir in the pine nuts.
remove all the excess water from thh spinach (you should have about 1/2 cup).
Stir the remaining butter, cream and half the parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper.
Stuff each mushroom cap and place in an ovenproof baking dish. Sprinkle each cap with some remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.
And as they say in the Bussingy, bon appetit!