Julia Dinner

Inspired by the recent movie and subsequent reading of My Life in France, Parker took on the task of researching and creating a dinner party homage to Ms. Child. She poured over Vol. 1 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and the debate began. Our dilemma quickly became to Thermador or not to Thermador. In the end, we could not bring ourselves to commit homard-icide. The menu was all-Julia paired with French wines and an all-French assiette du Fromage. My role was strictly as sous-chef, but included some exciting moments, specifically related to the sauce moussiline. The food was all excellent and highlighted some of the differences between the French and American palates.

Le Menu
Potage Creme de Cresson
Quenelles de Poission avec haricots verts et sauce moussiline
Boeuf Bourguignon
Assiette de Fromage
Salade verte
Tarte aux Poire a la Bourdaloue

The Menu (in tongue in cheek American-style)
Watercress Soup
Fish dumplings with green beans and hot fluffy mayo sauce
Beef stew with fancy wine
A Bunch of Cheese
Green salad
Pear tart

Of course, the guests were the real stars and the best pairing for all good food and wine is friends. I will refrain from comments on the wine, since I do not drink, and leave those to Ray, whose comments you might find here - http://www.rayjohnsononwine.com/blog/. The non-drinkers (of dietary ethanol) started with the Duche de Longueville (non-alc), which is beautifully bright and dry, especially when compared with other sparkling apple ciders. The Navarro Gewurztraminer juice was amazing with the Quenelles. I have never had a juice pair with food in such a favorable way. The acidity of the sauce with the delicate fishy-ness of the quenelles blended with the sweetness of the juice was astounding.

Bon Appetit!