12 August 2012

What a glorious weekend! The weather has been perfect with just a little chill at night, and it feels like the long, hot summer may be winding down. Wednesday, August 15 would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday, and restaurants across the country are celebrating with special menus. Of course, I had to get in on the action, so tonight's Sunday Supper is a tribute to Julia!

The main course is perhaps Julia's most popular recipe, Boeuf Bourguignon. I have always wanted to make it, so tonight's the night! I am serving it with her Pommes Parisienne – potato balls fried in clarified butter and a caprese salad from the first large heirloom tomato from the garden. For dessert, Jeff and I made her Mousseline au Chocolat, better know as chocolate mousse.

Cory and John joined us for the occasion, and they brought a lovely bottle of 2009 Bourgogne Ali Pelson - Pinot Noir from Domaine David Clark. We are also doing a comparison between this true Burgundy and an Oregon Pinot which is the same latitude as Burgundy.

We dined like kings on the side porch. Thank you, Julia, for all of the inspiration, and especially for this great quote: "Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in in." These are true words to live by, in and out of the kitchen!

Bon Appetit!

The Menu:

- Julia Childs' Beof Bourguignon

- One Britt Caprese Salad

- Pommes Parisienne

- Mousseline au Chocolat

05 August 2012

Our trivia team, Scorpions in the Ivy, competed in the finale tournament today. The team included me, Jeff. Jennifer Dunn, Carmen Slaughter, Jessica Carter,  and Gary Mullet. We did pretty well, especially on the last bonus round, but it was not enough to place in the end. We had fun though and look forward to the games ahead. Due to the tournament, I did not get back in time to cook Sunday Supper. However, we had some dear friends over for a pool and dinner party yesterday. Amado Grabiel and Steve Martin came down from Blue Ridge, and Steve's brother, Rick, was in town from Seattle. It was a cloudy afternoon, but we had great fun in the pool! Cory and John joined us later in the afternoon, and I prepared a couple of great snacks for the pool. For starters, I picked fresh basil and figs from the garden. I drizzled the figs with balsamic vinegar and wrapped them in the basil leaves. It was a fresh and delicious combination, and you can't get much more local than your own back yard! Next, I prepared a charcuterie tray with sopressata, hard salami, Manchego cheese, cornichons, walnuts and parmesan reggiano.

For dinner, I went pretty simple with burgers and hot dogs. The grass fed hamburger came from Mountain Valley Farm in Ellijay, and it is always great. I wrapped the hot dogs in local heritage bacon from Mountain Valley, and they were quite divine! I bought a local watermelon at the Canton Farmers Market, and made a watermelon and basil salad as a side. I used the rest of the fresh figs from the garden to make a fig tart with creme cheese crust, and it was off the charts! We had dinner on the Side Porch and talked and laughed late into the evening. There is nothing better than spending time with life-long friends who stick with you through thick and thin.

I hope your weekend was filled with good friends, great food 

and lots of laughter