A guest blog from Golearnto- who specialise in cooking holiday experiences.  They work with a number of different chefs and have chosen a French menu.

French cuisine is great for providing plenty of wow factor at a dinner party to impress, but this menu will hopefully avoid the hassle of spending too much time in the kitchen as lots of the preparation can be done in advance, leaving you more time at the table. This dinner serves 6 – or 4 hungry people!

Starter

Potage de deux poivrons (Red and Yellow Pepper Soup)

Main Course

Cassoulet

Dessert

Chocolate Mousse

This starter is a simple soup but the colours and flavours really come into their own in the presentatio.  The key is to  keep the different colour peppers separate when making the soupand how you combine them in the bowl is up to you!

The main course needs to be prepared a day or two in advance to allow everything to soak up all the delicious flavours, but it’s worth the effort and the end result will be something really tasty. Use  a large deep pot and cook slowly for a delicious rich French casserole.

Chocolate mousse uses few ingredients but the way it’s made is the key to its success. Tips for a good mousse: Use really fresh top quality free-range eggs. Never over-heat chocolate as it will ‘seize’ i.e. split and turn grainy. When whisking the whites, make sure that all the equipment is spotlessly clean and make sure that absolutely no yolk finds its way into the whites. When combining the chocolate and meringue use a large sharp-edged metal spoon as this helps with the ‘cut and fold’ technique. A wooden spoon will bash out all the air you’ve taken so much trouble to retain.

We are on week 21 of 52 in our years challenge to find the best dinner party menus.  Have you got a formula for success you can share with us?

Fancy learning to cook fresh pasta in Tuscany, making tarte tatin in France or tapas in Spain? www.GoLearnTo have a variety of cookery holidays in destinations worldwide, all hand-picked for quality, authentic, inspiring cooking experiences, great flavours, fun and friendly chefs and wonderful settings in some of the world’s best culinary locations.

www.GoLearnTo.com are specialists with a great range of inspiring holidays around the world where you can learn a new skill or pursue an existing hobby from dancing, photography, painting or jewellery making to cooking, wine tasting, yoga, Reki, guitar playing, language courses, horse riding and much more.