My Birthday landed on the hottest day of the year! I changed the venue at the last minute because it was 116 degrees in Portland!! Thank goodness for air-conditioning!
I’ve cooked paella for as many as 45 people for a birthday dinner party, and as few as four in the countryside of Germany. Generally when I make paella, it’s for 12 to 25 people (see recipe at the bottom). This past week I took my paellera and fire set-up to the south of Portland for an elegant dinner of eight in which I was not only the paella chef, but I was also a guest.
I’ve missed cooking for all of you during this pandemic. This was a fun way to cook together and see you all in your own kitchens!
Combining Thomas Keller’s roasted chicken brine with cooking on a rotisserie on the big green egg made the most sublime chicken !
Brining or not has been a big question for many, including me. Well, it really depends on what kind of time you have. To me, air drying is more important.
Poisson for the last two 5-course dinners before heading off to surgery
January 5th and 7th, 2020
This dinner sold out within a couple of hours once I posted it. So, I added another one on Tuesday, two days later with the same menu.
Boeuf Bourguignon was on the 5-course dinner party menu served with potato parsnip purée
December 15th, 2019
Wow, what an evening! I had a blast in the kitchen with two of my favorite girlfriends who have so generously offered their time to help me pull off this Fine French dinner!
I'm planning my summer trip to Europe and have been thinking about Nice. When I'm at my France studio, I need a vacation from the countryside. It's an easy drive to Nice in which I spend a lot of time. I love the markets on Cours Saleya and I love Old Town Nice!
Ten lovely guests came for an evening of delight this past Valentine's evening. People seemed to have a great time! I know I had a great time preparing all of the food. Especially because my friend Santha came and helped. We had so much fun together in the kitchen making this fabulous feast!
This winter, I met a friend in a wine group that knows everything about every wine made! I wanted to host a dinner with the flavors from Provence, and asked my wine friend, Chick Wells, to pair each dish with wine. It was fantastic.
I love the sweetness of roasted carrots. These glazed carrots are put in a sherry syrup and butter after they were roasted, adding another depth of flavor and sweetness. The recipe is based on Portland's Beloved Naomi Pomeroy from Beast. She roasts them first to get a little char.
I’m surprised how much I love these little green French lentils, also known as puy lentils. When I was a child, I hated lentils, mostly because of their texture. So, as an adult, I never took the time to prepare them. For whatever reason that I can’t remember years ago, I decided to give them another try.
Portland has a lot of great mixologists. In my neighborhood, I visit Aviary regularly. They have a beautiful bar menu and a great staff! One of my favorite drinks on the Happy Hour menu is the “Rattlesnake”. I love the frothiness from the egg white. They pour over ice in an old fashioned glass rather than up.
I love starting with a cold soup to get the pallet warmed up for the meal. You could use the puréed soup recipe with other vegetables if you want. But I longed for the flavors of Provence, and fennel is one of them! I served it with fennel fronds and a chive-parsley oil. It was paired with a chenin blanc.
I love quail, and decided it was the perfect food for this special day. The one above I made in the spring with fresh morel mushrooms.
What a lovely savory dish that seems to be perfect every time. This method of cooking duck came after I made a slow roasted Duck with Green Olives in Provence. I wanted to perfect the recipe once I came back to Portland. But here in Portland, I made a wild mushroom sauce instead of a green olive sauce, and a demi-glace, which is simply divine!