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Follow us on TwitterWhat a weekend starting Thursday night with dinner at Haven Restaurant and then we capped the night off with drinks at the St. Regis hotel. Then our Julia Child’s dinner at home on Friday night, VIP tickets to Sir Paul McCartney concert on Saturday with friends and overnight stay at the W Hotel midtown.
The Julie Child’s dinner in celebration of the movie “Julie & Julia,” and Julia’s Child’s birthday last week (she would have been 97) was fabulous. It’s always fun getting into the kitchen and cooking with ‘Wendy Squared.’ It’s a perfectly un-choreographed duet of cooking, eating and drinking. Here’s what we prepared and the wine pairings with each course. Thanks Xavier from Sherlock’s Wine on Northside Parkway for selecting the wine pairings…you hit a home run on everything and the sparkling wine with the dessert was the crème de la résistance.
We started with assorted cheeses and herb butter with crackers, champagne grapes, radishes and cherries.
Wine Pairing: Choice of champagne or white wine
Moules à la Marinière – Fresh mussels steamed open in wine and flavorings*
Wine Pairing: Falanghina Dei Feudi, Di San Gregorio, (White Wine) Naples, Italy, (2007)
Mixed Baby Greens and Arugula Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette***
Wine Pairing: We continued with the Di San Gregorio
Filet Mignon with Béarnaise Sauce accompanied with Match-Stick Pommes Frites and Green Beans with Almonds and Thyme**
Wine Pairing: Chateau de Lescours, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, (Red Bordeaux), France (2005)
Tarte Tatin***
Wine Pairing: Saint Evasio, Moscato D’ Asti, (sparkling wine), Italy, (2008)
* Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking
** The French Chef with Julia Child, 1968
*** Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, 2000
The most wonderful part of the day was pulling out my grandmother’s perfectly seasoned cast iron skillet in which I inherited through my mother. It’s jet black and has been lovingly used over the generations.
The most wonderful part of the evening was sharing a wonderful dinner in my home with friends. Wendy and Guy also saw “Julie & Julia” so we had a lot of good movie discussion. The guys did the dishes and there were lots and lots of pots, pans and dishes—not to mention a slew of wine glasses.
Note: Most all the food came from Fresh Market. I purchased a half beef tenderloin because it was more reasonably priced than the individual filet mignons ($10.99/lb. vs. $19.99/lb). Tim was able to cut off four two-inch filets with one leftover for another evening. Wendy Squared and I both recommend adapting the mussel recipe by adding lots of fresh minced garlic.
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Wendy,
Well the Julia Child theme must be burning its way on I-75 between Tampa and Atlanta. We saw the movie the weekend it opened, which led to me making Beef Wellington (w/ Portobello mushrooms, carmelized onions and Maytag blue cheese) at a friend’s request for a dinner party this past Saturday night. Ok, so they’re not French, but they were awesome. It’s a 3-night ordeal for me…prepped the ingredients Thursday night, assembled the individual “wellies” on Friday night and froze them solid before baking on Saturday night. I cooked with the sound track to Les Miz on in the background…no joke…it was as close to France as I could get!