Category Archives: Blog

Planning Isn’t A Panacea, But It Helps

Planning is my security blanket. Hosting a dinner party can be stressful. Planning is a critical tool to manage the stress. If you think through the detail, and lay out the detail, your stress level should come way down. Having your mise en place set up and then lay out a plan execution becomes a lot easier.

If planning doesn’t help your stress level…go straight to the vino! (Check out the feature image)

The dinner party we just had included a menu of:

  • Crudité with Two Dips:
    • Caramelized Leak & Gorgonzola
    • Horseradish Dill
  • Spring Greens With Homemade Croutons & Gorgonzola Vinaigrette
  • Rack of lamb Provençal
  • Salsa Verde
  • Cheese Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce
  • Roasted Romanesco Cauliflower and Broccoli with Garlic
  • Sorbet With Chambord Infused Berries

Mise en place means having everything that can be done in advance set up, and consisted of:

  • Blanching vegetables for crudité
  • Preparing two dips
  • Making the crumb mixture
  • Prepping the lamb racks
  • Prep salad
    • Clean greens
    • Make croutons
    • Fry bacon
    • Make vinaigrette and grate Gorgonzola
  • Assembling the Salsa Verde
  • Making the Sage Brown Butter Sauce
  • Prepping the Romanesco Cauliflower and Broccoli
  • Marinating the fresh berries

Check out the Mise En Place video

The final plan included:

  •          5:45           Decant wine
  •          5:50           Roast broccoli
  •          6:10           Lay out Crudité
  •          6:15           Stage salad
  •          6:10           Take broccoli out of oven
  •          6:30           Heat water  for pasta          (GUESTS ARRIVE)
  •          6:35           Preheat Grill
  •          7:00           Grill lamb
  •          7:05           Cook ravioli
  •          7:08           Warm sauce
  •          7:10           Turn lamb
  •          7:12           Drain pasta (hit it with olive oil) then place in sauce
  •          7:30           Serve Salad (Make a toast and return to kitchen)
  •          7:40           Apply crumb and finish in oven
  •          7:45           Pull lamb from oven and let rest
  •          7:50           Plate, broccoli, salsa verde and ravioli
  •          7:55           Slice rack of lamb and plate
  •          8:00           Dress with fresh herbs and serve

Do I actually follow this plan… NO WAY, but having it written down really helps me. When I was in high school, the way I learned to study was to develop “cheat notes”. I would develop a consolidated list of key information on an index card that I could easily hide. The funny thing was that developing the list was all I needed. I never really needed to use it during the test (But I knew it was there, if I needed it). It is the same with my dinner party plan. Having it laid out really helps. I might reference it during the big rush or as the French would say: “Coup de feu” or rush hour on the cooking line. I will reference the plan just to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.

Have I ever forgotten something? You know I have. It is tradition in my family to forget the cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. The biggest risk is to overcook something because you forget about it. Planning isn’t a panacea, but it helps.

If planning doesn’t help your stress level…go straight to the vino! (Check out the feature image)

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

 

 

 

 

Is The Memory Better Than The Reality?

So much of what makes a dinner party great is the people. Our friends Amy and Joe Chaudoin were part of our original Impromptu Friday Night crew. Joe worked in the medical device industry and traveled extensively. Back in the day, we would decide to have party at 3 pm on a Friday. Calls would go out at 4 pm and  9 times out of 10 our group of “Usual suspects” would show up at 7 pm for a fun time and wonderful meal.

Amy & Joe have just finished building a beautiful home in Scottsdale Arizona where Amy grew up. My buddy Joe, is not a shy kind of guy. He is a big guy. Some would say larger than life. I know for a fact that he has been bragging on our Impromptu Friday Night dinner parties to Amy’s family for years. We hosted a dinner party for Amy’s family and we knew we had a lot to live up to. Would the memory be better than the reality? If you are lucky:

The reality becomes a fantastic memory!

The meal got an fantastic jump start with a call from Amy’s brother Freddy and sister in-law “Chatty” Cathy. They asked us to use the produce form their vegetable garden. Talk about a kid in a candy shop. Their garden was packed with amazing vegetables and herbs that prompted an immediate menu re-write:

  • The crudité featured an amazing Romanesco Cauliflower. This vegetable reminded me of an Escher drawing. It looks like a work of art and tastes great (See photo below)
  • The two dips for the crudité featured caramelized leeks and fresh dill from the garden.
  • The crudité itself was made up of kohlrabi, snap peas, blanched Romanesco Cauliflower and broccoli.
  • The salad featured a cornucopia of greens. Wonderful red and green leaf lettuces and an unbelievable arugula. The flavor of the arugula will knock you over. It was unlike anything you can buy in a market. It reminded me of the arugula from my cousin Virginia’s garden on Maui. Truly memorable!
  • The Ravioli with a Sage Brown Butter Sauce featured a Variegated Sage that again combined work of art beauty with fantastic taste.
  • The Salsa Verde featured a combination of fresh mint, dill, Italian parsley and cilantro. The combination delivered a salsa that was packed with flavor and perfect color.

Chaudoin House Christening Menu

  • Rack of lamb Provençal
  • Salsa Verde
  • Cheese Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce
  • Roasted Romanesco Cauliflower and Broccoli with Garlic
  • Sorbet With Chambord Infused Berries

The evening was a huge success. Joe and Amy’s new home features a wonderfully open living space that combines a perfect kitchen with a large living and dining area. Amy’s family was a very appreciative audience. They have been hearing Joe brag on my food for years and hopefully the meal held up to the hype.

Every once in awhile you get lucky with Supper Club dinner parties and build memories that live up to the reputation. The reality of the evening was that it was a real fun combination of great people and amazing food in the perfect setting. The combination led to:

Reality Becoming A Fantastic Memory.

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

I Don’t Drink Tequila….

I Don’t Drink Tequila….Because every time I do…I wake up in Mexico.

This was one of my college roommate’s classic lines from our University days. Back in the day, we drank a lot. While we did not drink much tequila, we did drink more than our fair share of cheap beer. Ironically, we have both developed a taste for finer wines. Getting together these days is a chance to explore our wine collections and test out new recipes.

My buddy Ron Iles and his wife Amy live in Manhattan and have been working on a business opportunity nearby  us in Memphis. A few weeks ago they spent the night with us. I got to try out a new menu and an old bottle of wine.

Menu

Wine

  • Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Col d’Orcia 2002

There more than a few big hits in the menu:

The Acorn Squash Ravioli with a Brown Butter Sage Sauce was really good. I have been on a kick of making ravioli.  My son says I am obsessed. The lightness of the homemade pasta sets the stage for a multi sensorial treat. The combination of the squash with the brown butter/sage sauce was special. Both the pasta and the sauce were light. The combination had everyone fighting over the last ravioli.

The Grill Roasted Rosemary Chicken is an old standby for us that is simple and a real crowd pleaser. I preheat the grill, and then cook the butterflied chicken on a bed of fresh rosemary. The combination of the char grill and roasted rosemary develops a wonderful flavor.

The bottle of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Col d’Orcia 2002 was special. We bought it at this Tuscan vineyard back in 2016. I had forgotten about it and when I saw it, I remembered the vineyard being so proud of their organic wine and thinking:

Organic = No preservative = Questionable shelf life

It turns out that my fears were unfounded as this 17 year old bottle of wine was fantastic. Ron has graduated from our days of drinking Genesee Cream Ale and Baby Labatt’s in the North Country to having one of the best wine collections of anyone I know. He lives in Manhattan and keeps a few bottles there, but has a wonderful wine cellar at their weekend place in the Berkshires. He has been traveling the world and buying cases for years. He is trying to get their kids to buy shares in his collection. I want to get adopted.

Note: Ron & Amy’s wine cellar in the Berkshires

This Impromptu Friday Night turned into a wonderful combination of Old Friends, Great Food and Fine Wine…and nobody woke up in Mexico.

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.