Bordeaux: 10 Bottles While Cooking Lunch.

We got back from the farmers' market in Creon, and set out to begin cooking our lunch for that day. It was about 11am, which meant it was perfectly acceptable (by stodgy American standards) to begin enjoying some of this as we prepped and cooked...

I really enjoy rose and white wine, though my preference is for red. But when it's hot out, and the Sun is up, that's the perfect time to enjoy rose.

And it went well with our snacks...

Two different kinds of sausage... One with Roquefort in it. YUM!

My job was to help slice the tomatoes for a vegetable tian we were making.

Such gorgeous color! It was already tomato season in Bordeaux. And when you sliced into these, they smelled beautiful and looked perfect.

And they went well with the wine I was drinking. Crazy, I know... Wielding a knife and drinking wine? I managed quite well though. And was completely mesmerized by this yellow tomato I sliced in to...

A surprise of coral inside!

We got through a lot of tomatoes...

And then began putting the tian together. Someone had sliced zucchini and red onion for us to incorporate.  

It was actually an easy dish to put together. Sliced veggies with olive oil, and then you roast it in the oven?

We also rolled veal with prosciutto and filled it with a dried tomato and cream cheese mixture, then baked it. We also filled grilled eggplant with the cheese mixture as well. And while we did all of this, the clouds started to form and it sprinkled on the terrace where we were going to eat...

But it ended up just being a passing shower. The table was saved, as was our perfect table.

We had made a vegetable terrine the day before, and our hostess had made a salmon one as well. We combined with with the roasted red pepper gazpacho and a salad to make a delicious starter course...

And... we had so many leftover tomatoes that one guest made a stunning red and yellow tomato Caprese salad.

Such a beautiful food plate...

I was ecstatic to be having veggies! Fresh food made with fresh veggies!

And of course, there was more of this...

We were tasting two whites with our lunch. And one of my favorite habits picked up in France is putting your bread right on the table. No bread plate needed. It's placed on the table. Charming!

The cooked food came out and was perfect...

Eggplant... Veal saltimbocca... And the vegetable tian.

And then dessert...

Our hostess had made a Sauternes ice cream for us, and we paired it with strawberries and a Sauternes to drink. (What else?)

It was such a wonderful lunch, and the day was moving along... But our host decided to open a massive bottle of exquisite Armagnac his wife had given him.

It's like Cognac... But from a different area in France.

It was a beautiful perfume, though quite strong. I could only have a few sips before my throat was on fire. I sipped my espresso instead.

Of course, we had been drinking water all along while cooking and eating. But I did feel a little tipsy. However, when I looked at the bottle count of what we had drunk over the three hour period of cooking and eating...

We went through EIGHT standard bottles and ONE magnum, which is really TWO bottles. So 10 bottles total! Amongst 13 of us!

Plus we then had the Armagnac!

We enjoyed every second of it. The cooking, the drinking, the laughter, the conversation, the learning, the rain, the eating... And all the while, the dog ("Easy") kept watch over our silliness...