It’s been over a year since we’ve entertained people in our home. Before the pandemic we would have frequent, small dinner and holiday parties. Vincent would prepare new adventurous recipes he had found which were always a success. We would clean and straighten the house, bring out our special glasses, dishes, and serving platters and go to the market to buy fresh flowers.
Vincent and I have had two vaccines and our good friends Susan and Claude, also had them. We figured since all of us received the double vaccine we would be good to go and able to see each other. Usually, we do dinners because of our work schedules, but had to change it to lunch because of the 7pm curfew in Paris, so we invited Susan and Claude for Sunday lunch.
I went the day before to the Baudoyer market near my house, and there’s a stall that has a good selection of beautiful flowers at reasonable prices. The flowers from them always last at least 7-10 days if I change the water and cut the stems frequently. On Saturday there was quite a big variety and it was hard to choose. I finally selected two bouquets of hyacinths, one purple, the other white. Vincent put them in a clear vase which showed off the stems swirling around the water. I forgot how incredibly fragrant hyacinths are and the perfume permeated the entire room.
Usually, Vincent does all the cooking but in recent months I have entered the kitchen again after a long absence. In case some of you didn’t know, I was a chef and caterer in NYC for 21 years before I moved to Paris in 2005, and once I moved, I didn’t want to cook again.
The lunch was a joint cooking venture; I made the soup and dessert, and Vincent prepared the main course and the salad.
Susan and Claude arrived about 12:30 and it was beautiful, sunny spring day, with the light pouring thorough the windows. We poured a rosé first and enjoyed a snack of hummus and creamy artichoke spread on little nubs of bread. For the next few hours, we feasted on the fantastic food we prepared, along with a robust red wine. We laughed, reminisced, talked about music, art, culture, and our current favorite television shows. Although we have known Susan and Claude for over 15 years, I didn’t know that much about Claude’s upbringing in Belgium and his family history, and he generously shared about it.
Below is the menu, along with recipes- I knew in advance you would be asking for them.
Butternut squash and apple soup-Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/butternut-squash-and-apple-soup
Tomato pappardelle pasta with broccoli rabe, Swiss chard, and ricotta -NY Times
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013075-pappardelle-with-greens-and-ricotta?searchResultPosition=1
Salad of roasted beets, prosciutto and Chèvre – Vincent
Slice roasted beats and discs of chevre and arrange on a platter and add thin slices of prosciutto. Add salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Dark chocolate polenta cake served with fresh whipped cream and strawberries
https://www.cooked.com/uk/Leiths-School-of-Food-and-Wine/Quadrille-Publishing/How-to-Cook-Cakes/Whisked-cakes/Chocolate-polenta-cake-recipe
Wine: Rosé- Figuiere Magali Signature -Cote De Provence 2019
Red- Haut-Rian -Cote de Bordeaux 2019
Left to right: Claude, Vincent and moi
Beet, chevre, and prosciutto salad
Chocolate polenta cake
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I have updated my Etsy shop with 15 new photos in addition to my other classic photos from before. In addition, I can make a print of almost every photo you see on Eye Prefer Paris.
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