There are some that say I can be bought. Our friends Peggy and Phil Rose promised to buy some books if I would come to Nashville and cook for their friends. Guilty!
The truth is that we are on our way to Nashville to visit with our old friends. While we are there we will be catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Phil and Peggy are original members of the Impromptu Friday Night crew. They were one of the five couples that we would call at 4 pm on a Friday afternoon and they would show up for a dinner party at 7 pm. The thing that was amazing was that these were busy people. For example, Phil was travelling the world as head of Supply chain for Pfizer. Yet for 9 out of the 10 times the Rose’s got the 4 pm call they would be there for the 7 pm party. I am not sure if it was the good food/times or just chemistry.
In getting ready for the trip, I called Peggy and asked if there wee any menu requests. She said Phil definitely wants your grilled pizza. For the second night we will have 11 people so I gave Peggy the choice between steak and rack of lamb. She said: “well we can have steak any time but your rack of lamb is special”.
Rack of Lamb Provencal
That rack of lamb is now one Phil’s favorites is just a little bit ironic. I remember the first time we served it to Phil. My good friend and chef Lucien Vendome and I hosted a dinner party for about 25 people. Before the party I told Phil that we were having rack of lamb. He told me that he didn’t like lamb. I can still see Phil as one of the “lamb haters” at the end of the evening fighting for the last lamb chops. A rack of lamb done the right way will turn “haters” into “lovers”.
There are two menus. One for Wednesday night that will be for 6 people. The theme is dinner in Tuscany. Both the Kennys and the Roses have been to Tuscany using the same travel guide so I am building on those memories. Thursday night we will have 11 people and will be built around a French theme and we have a few of Lucien’s creations as the core.
Here are the menus. I promise to write a blog next week to tell you how things work out.
Sending a message out to old friends around the world, promise to buy a few books and start a supper club, just remember… I can be bought!
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