Dinner Party Menus – Dining With DINKS

What do you do with a magnum of Bordeaux that is ready and MUST BE OPENED? You cook a bunch of French food and invite a few friends over to share.

Le Menu:

OOH LA LA BORDEAUX WINE DINNER

Hors d’oeuvres

Smoked salmon with cognac-caraway creme, cucumber, toasts: I made my own homemade mayo for this. ROCK STAR appetizer!

Soft-cooked eggs with fresh lemon mayonnaise: another use for homemade mayo. The stuff is delicious and can be eaten with a spoon. It tastes NOTHING and I mean NOTHING like the jarred crap. Make it yourself and you shall see.

Marinated olives: easy to make, easy to eat.

Foie gras and jam sandwiches: these were just plain fun.

Principaux

Boeuf Bourguignonne: no intro needed here.

Greens with mustard vinaigrette

Crusty bread

Dessert

Bittersweet chocolate mousse with fleur de sel: OH. MY. Where has this recipe been all my life? This is a chocolate lover’s dream. It’s also gluten-free and dairy free of all things. Just chocolate, water and muscle!

I thought I was so cool and prepared. I made just about everything the day before the party — mayonnaise, sauces, marinades, dessert, even the beef (it’s better the next day anyway). I also did all the shopping and was calm as can be the morning of. I went to the gym without a care, knowing that I had very little left to do in terms of party prep. Or so I thought.

My darling husband didn’t properly shut our refrigerator door the night before. Gone. Everything tossed. And I mean everything. Our fridge was 80 degrees so out went all of my homemade jams, pickles, sauces, curds, not to mention everything I had made for the party.

Alas, we did a remake! And everything came out even better in my opinion. Crazy day, but certainly a fun evening with friends.