Birthday Dinner at Zoya’s

We spent the night in Tremblant at my awesome friends Zoya and Marc's this weekend. As usual, we ate royally. But this time was extra special for two reasons. First, I got to meet Céline, Zoya's sister-in-law, who also enjoys good food and loves to cook. I'd only ever spoken to her through my blog as she often makes my husband's recipes. She is a fantastic woman and we really enjoyed spending the evening with her and her husband. I'm hoping there will be more of those get-togethers in the near future. And second, since my birthday is on Monday, Zoya decided to make me a birthday dinner. Each course and ingredients were all specifically chosen and carefully planned in my honour. 

Now, she always outdoes herself, but this time Zoya really went over the top, pairing each dish with wine and making things that she normally wouldn't even eat herself. Like our first course, a mango and dill, salmon ceviche. This delicious fruity mixture was so cooling and light, just enough to get your taste buds going but not so much that you were afraid to be too full. In fact, this 5 course meal was so perfectly put together, each portion was just right. This exceptional salmon was served with a 2007 Sauvignon Blanc – Stoneleigh from New Zealand. 

Course number two was equally amazing. Camaronne com piri piri (Portuguese spicy shrimp) and Portuguese chorizo. The spicy homemade sauce for the shrimp was piquant but not too much and tasted fantastic. Marc's dad actually made the chorizo from scratch and they were seriously to die for. They had a marvelous smokey flavour to them and just married up perfectly with the shrimp. The wine we had with this one is one of my favourites and a regular at home, Duque de Viseu from Portugal.

For our main, we had lamb lasagna. A long time ago, Zoya made me a lamb spaghetti sauce and I never forgot it it was so good. So she thought she'd do that again but in a lasagna instead. This dish was so comforting and satisfying I just melted into my chair as I ate. She paired it up with some lime and mint infused asparagus – YUMMY! Wine for this course was a huge treat, Amarone della Valpolicella. Amarones are by far my absolute most favourite wines. She had gotten this one as a gift and had been saving it to drink with me which made me feel super special!

As we continued to sip on this rich wine, out came the next course, a baked cheese, paté and fig concoction that tasted out of this world but unfortunately didn't photograph so well. I decided to not show the photo of it as it really would not do it justice.

Dessert was a sweet rosewater mascarpone with raspberry sauce. A fantastic way to end a meal fit for a king. Thanks so much Zoya! You rock!