Yesterday, our menu consisted of a steak tartare verrine served on top of a mango passion fruit chutney, followed by tartelettes of praline, a Lyonnais specialty. It was my very first experience with steak tartare, and I have to say, it was quite delicious! I was somewhat amused by the fact that a macho boy in our group was hesitant to dig into his raw meat while I polished off my verrine in pretty orderly fashion.
But the highlight was certainly the dessert. While our crusts were not quite as presentable as those I pass every day in the vitrines of the countless patisseries that dot the city, our praline filling was simply exquisite. Not the cavity-inducing sweetness of your typical praline tart, this filling highlighted the almond flavor of the candy while also tempering it with the smoothness of cream. Our crust was also a new experiment for me, using confectioner's sugar instead of granulated to create a more sandy texture that was just buttery enough to crumble on your tongue.
