This is a do-over from a blog from February 2020. Boy did our world change over the following year. As the world starts to get vaccinated let’s hope it isn’t too long before we can get the Secret Sauce working again.
For me, the Secret Sauce is getting together with good friends with good food and good wine. When you can get those three together, you are sure to have a great time.
We had a great sauce (see recipe below) and the Secret Sauce working in February 2020. Lucien and Ela Vendome visited Memphis from Poland and we took advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with a few old friends from Kraft Food Ingredients. Lucien Vendome, Mike Taylor, Jody Driver, Pam Gray and I got together along with our significant others. It was a perfect forum to tell a few of our favorite stories:
Mike Taylor, Lucien and I were driving from Frankfort Germany to Reims France several years ago. I am driving and struggling to stay awake. To keep a conversation going, I asked my car-mates to describe what their mothers cooked for meals on a daily basis.
Lucien growing up in the south of France, started with: The day would begin with a baguette and confiture…
Mike growing up in east Texas, started with: We had beans and then we had beans and if times were really good we had beans and tamales…
As the French would say “Viva La Difference!”
Jody Driver and I were at the IFT trade show quite awhile back. Jody did a masterful job of managing and enormous enterprise-wide effort. One year I can remember her being 9 months pregnant with her son Gregory (Now 25) and sneaking off to a quiet corner of the booth to sing Happy Birthday to her then 3-year-old daughter Lindsey.
Pam Gray was always our style guru. Back in the day when Manolo Blahnik shoes were all the rage, Mike Strauch and I would have an annual over/under bet on how many pairs of shoes Pam would bring to the week-long IFT event.
The over/under was 12 and the safe bet was the over
The KFI Team back in the day
The meal we had Thursday night was a lot of fun. The old joke is: How do you cook for a world renown French Chef…You let them cook. Lucien and I have been cooking together for years. When it comes to sauces, he is the master and our meal this week was All About The Sauce!
Le Menu
Entrée
- Citrus Melon Napoléon
Le Plat Principal
- Rack of Lamb Provençal
- Pommes Frites
- Haricot Verts
La Sauce
- Roasted Garlic a la Vendome
Dessert
Peach Cobbler A La Mode with Raspberries
(Note: Citrus, Melon Napoleon)
Le Plat Principal – Rack of Lamb, Pommes Frites and Haricot Verts
Lucien and I doing the “Culinary Shuffle”
The KFI Alumnus…Pam, Jody Lucien, Mike & Paul
Click here to watch the Culinary Master At Work
Roasted Garlic Sauce A La Vendome
Lucien called it a simple sauce. I counted over 15 ingredients and close to 7 processes. Of course, for Lucien it was simple, but the flavor was amazingly complex. By layering in flavor with:
- Sautéing the mirepoix with herbs
- Reducing the stock, wine and base with tomato paste
- Roasting the garlic
- Sautéing the shallots
- Adding the roux
- Condensing with immersion blender
- Top noting with mustard and butter
The lesson is that with repetition, even the most complex task becomes simple. The sauce was magical and the evening, with its Special Sauce was memorable
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.