The Festive Dinner

  As Christmas is fast approaching, I thought it would be nice to go dine on one of the many festive menus available in Glasgow this month.   I chose La Vallee Blanche.  Their menu appealed to me the most.  There  was Christmas crackers on every table, and a Christmas tree seen the moment you walk in.  Originally we were going to be sat at a table by the wall, but as we were about to sit the manger on duty decided to sit us at one of the round corner booths.  These booths are my favourite place to sit.  They're a bit more private, and usually for larger tables.  I was very pleased.  As we were looking at the menus and about to order champagne we were brought over two glasses of Perrier Jouet.  On the house because it was the festive season, or so we were told.  I thought it was a nice gesture.

This was the back of the Festive Menu.

 When it came time to order I had trouble choosing between the starters.  I liked the sound of all of them.  In the end I went for the Warm Salad of Wood Pigeon, roast young turnip and Candied Beetroot, Sherry Dressing.  My husband went with the Cream of Parsnip Soup, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Pumpkin Seed Oil.  For our mains, there was only one choice for me.  I went with the Guinea Fowl Breast, Pommes Puree, Roast Parsnips, Baby Onions and Chestnuts with a Puy Lentil Sauce.  My husband went with the special, a 10oz Chateaubriand.
As we waited for our starters to come, our amuse-bouche arrived.  It was a Hot Smoked Salmon Rillet on Crisp toast.  The amuse-bouche was delicious.

Hot Smoked Salmon Rillet.

  Shortly after our table was cleared, the starters arrived.  They both looked amazing.  My pigeon salad was beautiful.  The pigeon was perfectly cooked, just a little on the rare side.  The candied beet root was perfect.  The turnip was delicious, and the radish was crisp and delightful.  The walnuts were toasted to perfection.  I also found that the pigeon dipped in my husbands soup was amazing!

Warm Pigeon Salad.

  The parsnip soup was amazing.  It was my second choice for a starter.  I almost wished i had chosen it for myself.  It was perfectly seasoned.  It was creamy and sweet.  The pumpkin seeds went perfectly.  I could easily have had this soup as a main course.

Cream of Parsnip Soup.

  The mains arrived in good time.  My guinea fowl looked amazing.  The pommes puree was perfectly smooth, the parsnips were sweet and delicious, the chestnuts were just amazing.  The fowl itself was perfectly cooked.  It was juicy and the skin perfectly seasoned.  The puy lentil sauce was the perfect companion.

Guinea Fowl Breast.

  The Chateaubriand I did not try.  It was a generous portion. It was ordered medium rare.  It came with a small fondant potato, green beans, mushrooms and roasted shallot.  It also came with a small jug of a jus of some sort.  The entire Chateaubriand was consumed, and very much enjoyed.

10oz Chateaubriand.

  As we were both very full after our meal, we decided to share a dessert.  We went with the Winter Fruit Salad, Pedro Ximinez jellies, Almonds and Granny Smith Sorbet.  The salad looked amazing.  It contained cinnamon poached apples and pears, blackberries, blueberries orange segments and a micro-herb of some sort.  There was a sesame seed tuile in the sorbet.  The jellies, which intrigued me the most, was the only part of the dish I did not enjoy.  The jellies just tasted a bit too licorice like for me.  The rest of the dish was amazing.  The sorbet was airy and the apple flavour shone through.  The apples and pears were delicious.  The blackberries and the blueberries were sweet and delicious, and the oranges were just tart enough.  The tuile was crisp and delicious.  I do love sesame seeds.  Unfortunately we could not finish it.  We were just too full.

Winter Fruit Salad.

  I must say I was very impressed with my festive meal.  I was also so very happy to get to eat on one of the many available at this moment.  Five stars once again La Vallee Blanche!

M.