French Bistro Menu - Impromptu Friday Nights

One has to be a fan of French Bistro dishes. The classic French Bistro has a relatively small menu of items that are made to perfection. The chef knows what his customers like and he knows what he can make well. Consequently, it makes excellent supper club fare. This menu combines some old favorites with a few new items.

The problem with the menu is that it calls for a lot to be done at the last minute. The solution is:

1. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

2. Make as much as you can in advance (Mise en place)

Canapés

What is not to like about the combination of classic flavors that can be consumed in one bite? These canapés are a little different in that they are low carb with the Parmesan Crisps replacing the traditional bread or cracker.

Bistro Clams

The goal here was to recreate the classic flavor profile of escargots in a simple format without the polarizing snails. The best part of this dish is garlic herb butter. It is recommended that you drizzle the plate with a little extra butter and provide a crusty piece of bread to sop up the butter. The beauty of this dish is that it can be made in advance and quickly baked and served.

Grilled Steaks

Steak is a cornerstone of the Bistro menu. This version is different in that it calls for a 2-inch-thick steak. The thicker steak takes a little longer to cook, but the window to get the perfect medium rare is wider as well. Paring it with Mushroom Aus Jus sauce works really well. My buddy Lucien, the French Chef, hates that I use the packaged sauce, but it is simple to make and delivers a wonderful flavor complement. Plate with 3 slices of steak.

Pommes Macarre

This dish is an old standby that was Scotty Flora’s favorite. It incorporates all the basic food groups, potato, butter, onion, bacon and cheese. What is not to like? We should probably have French Fries with this menu, but Pommes Macarre can be made in advance and if it was good enough for Scott, it is good enough for me.

Roasted Asparagus Et Jambon

This is a dish that combines a classic French cooking method (Large pot blanching) with roasting and ham. It just works. It is also great in that 90% of the preparation it can be done in advance with the final step of roasting done at the last minute.

Baba au Rhum

This was my buddy John Argiro’s favorite. John was our Sales Manager for Europe who grew up in the south of France (The actor Yves Montand was his first cousin). John couldn’t pass a patisserie that had Baba au Rhum in the window. The recipe is from Ina Gartner, the Barefoot Contessa who lives on Long Island, but is a real Francophile.

Staging

With the exception of the steak, everything can be delegated. I recommend designating one person to do the grilling and another to do manage the broiler. This way while the steaks are grilling you can first broil the asparagus to crisp the jambon and then broil the clams. When the steak is done:

Spoon on the compound butter and let the steak rest for 15 minutes
Get everyone to sit down
Serve the clams while the asparagus and potato are being warmed in the oven.
After the clams are done, plate the main course
Plate the main course with a spoonful of the bearnaise sauce under the steak
Enjoy

French Menu Production Plan

Delegate

Asparagus
Pommes macérer
Baba au ruhm

Make ahead

Compound butter
Garlic parsley butter
Parmesan crisps
Cucumber/Celery/Scallion Mélange
Waste cream

Saturday Final Prep Plan

Between 2 and 5 pm (Mise en Place)