casual dinner with friends

The evening was cooling off a bit, so we had drinks on the deck, accompanied by a white bean, lemon and rosemary spread served with paper thin toasted pitas. Dinner in the kitchen, enabling us to look out at the garden. We started with a platter of mixed yellow and red tomatoes interspersed with sliced melon, strewed with dwarf basil and tiny signet marigolds and drizzled with a lovely olive oil. On to the main course, scallops cooked with garlic, parsley and lemon juice - this was mixed with spaghetti not quite fully drained, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with toasted bread crumbs - it was devoured - delicious. Dessert - ah, dessert. A french tarte de granmere, an almond flour crust filled witht he most luxurious cherry preserves I could find, enhanced with a bit of lemon juice, topped with big pastry stars, and painted with an egg wash. I could barely restrain myself from cutting a slice. There were moans of pleasure - and guess what I had for breakfast the next morning. A truly extraordinary tarte.