La Tartine Gourmande
May 13, 2006

Diner entre amis à la maison, avec Thomas Keller- Dinner at Home with Friends and Thomas Keller

No, Thomas Keller was not a guest or the chef cooking at our house if this is what you are thinking.

But it will be no surprise if I tell you that I love to host dinners, cook and try new recipes all the time. In case you had not yet noticed! What about I show you what it is like (you are curious, aren’t you?) when I prepare a special diner with friends.

A week ago, P. gave me a new beautiful cookbook by Thomas Keller: its French Laundry cookbook. I have never had a meal at French Laundry but when you read so much food-related material, it is impossible not to know or feel as if you had already eaten there. Now if there is one cookbook that impresses me, it has to be that one. I had only started to read a few pages and I could already feel the obvious love for food expressed by the chef, Thomas Keller. This book is simply a true celebration of beautiful food, featuring dishes that are not rushed, those that require time and ask for a strong respect for processes and quality ingredients. A pure beauty. A week prior to receiving my birthday gift, I had arranged a diner with friends. Thought occurring in my head “thinking thinking!” I decided I would select dishes for my menu from my new cookbook. No matter what.

Lucky that we were, amongst our lovely friends was R. who belongs to the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. And do you know what this means when it happens? The wine is going to be excellent, and from Bourgogne. It did not fail. We drank a Rully “La Perche”, Bourgogne 2004 from the Domaine de Belleville, which was a truly lovely white wine.

The challenge in dinner events like this one is for me to remember to take my camera out and pay attention to the pictures I take. Since I was cooking (and drinking wine), I had zillions of things to think about and only took a few shots when I remembered.

Hence, you will notice that the pictures are not the best shots you can hope for, and that they will not win a prize (as P. would put it!) But they are real of what the evening was like. I hope you enjoy the ride! Thank you Mr Keller for the delicious food you designed. I surely did not equal your talent while making your recipes, but I loved the whole process and learned a ton! And they tasted fabulous.

So here is what our menu was like:

Appetizer:

Cucumber Jelly with Dill, topped with Crab in Mustard Chantilly and Mixed greens with Daikon in Olive Oil, recipe from French Laundry cookbook.

Gelée de concombre et d’aneth, crabe à la chantilly aromatisée à la moutarde en grains et salade variée avec daïkon arrosé d’huile d’olive, recette tirée du livre from French Laundry.

Main course:

Red Snapper in Vanilla Green Olive Sauce with Marinated Fennel Salad and Steamed Fingerling Potatoes, recipe adapted from Starterscookbook (I will talk more about that other loved cookbook in another post).

Vivaneau et sauce à la vanille et aux olives vertes sur lit de salade de fenouil mariné, avec pommes de terre à la vapeur, recette adaptée du livre Starters.

Dessert:

Shortbread with Fresh Strawberries and Raspberry Sorbet with Cream Vanilla Sauce, recipe from French Laundry cookbook.

Sablé et fraises marinées, sorbet à la framboise et sauce crème fraîche vanillée, recette tirée du livre French Laundry.

How comes it can take so long to prepare a meal and it disappears in no time?

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32 Comments »

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  1. Dinners like this is why it is important to know someone who loves to cook.

    Comment by Natalie — On May, 13th, 2006 at 3:54 pm

  2. Bea, you have some very lucky friends. What a fabulous meal.

    Comment by Audrey — On May, 13th, 2006 at 6:33 pm

  3. Dis Béa tu veux bien être mon amie ?????

    Comment by Framboise — On May, 13th, 2006 at 7:05 pm

  4. Bea,
    Bravo on a gorgeous and successful dinner! Can I tell you I am drooling over the food and coveting all your dinnerware at the same time?
    P.S In a very funny coincidence, guess where I am going for dinner tomorrow…:)

    Comment by Anita — On May, 13th, 2006 at 9:57 pm

  5. Bea, What a lovely blog…I have become a regular visitor daily. You photos are beautiful. Would you please share where you get your great dinnerware.

    Comment by David — On May, 13th, 2006 at 11:03 pm

  6. c’est vraiment magnifique!!!!

    Comment by Audrey — On May, 14th, 2006 at 12:08 am

  7. i’m speechless.

    Comment by Krysten — On May, 14th, 2006 at 1:30 am

  8. Je reste muette d’admiration! bravo!

    Comment by Choupette — On May, 14th, 2006 at 1:50 am

  9. rien n’est laissé au hasard, tu as une imagination incroyable, le sens de la mise en scène de tes plats (la table est magnifique), je suis en totale admiration.

    Comment by AnneE — On May, 14th, 2006 at 2:43 am

  10. it’s nice to see someone cooks from that book!

    Comment by David — On May, 14th, 2006 at 2:49 am

  11. wow, bea! what a nice dinner party. your photos look so delicious!

    Comment by kat — On May, 14th, 2006 at 3:22 am

  12. Waou, it’s so beautiful, amazing ….

    Comment by Fabienne — On May, 14th, 2006 at 3:32 am

  13. le temps que tu dois y passer, la créativité, le souci du détail, la beauté de tes plats, et sans compter la saveur, je n’en doute pas… tu as vraiment du talent, on sent que tu travailles dûr. J’espère qu’un jour tu auras une reconnaissance autre que la nôtre, tu le mériterais.

    Comment by Lilo — On May, 14th, 2006 at 5:30 am

  14. C’est magnifique! qu’il doit faire bon être de tes amis, c’est digne d’un grand restaurant (c’est le compliment qui tue, dans ma famille :-)) Bravo !

    Comment by Alhya — On May, 14th, 2006 at 6:24 am

  15. Hi Bea,
    i have to wish you a happy belated birthday then!
    Je suis née le 2 mai.

    Sinon pour cet article: les photos sont sublimes (je suis vraiment admirative).
    Et maintenant j’ai vraiment envie de m’acheter The French Laundry Cookbook.

    Comment by fanny — On May, 14th, 2006 at 7:35 am

  16. C’ est absolument superbe , bravo, bel équilibre ….

    Comment by mercotte — On May, 14th, 2006 at 7:52 am

  17. It looks wonderful! With just looking at it makes your mouth water.

    Comment by The Queer Chef — On May, 14th, 2006 at 1:49 pm

  18. Wow!

    I think Mr. Keller would hire you right away if he saw this. What a lovely dinner and how I wish I could have been there to enjoy!

    Brava!

    Comment by Ivonne — On May, 14th, 2006 at 2:00 pm

  19. Wow I would have got so fat! x
    Beautiful, well done.

    Comment by fjl — On May, 14th, 2006 at 3:34 pm

  20. Stunning!…is all I can say. What a beautiful table, but more importantly, what beautiful food!!!

    Comment by rowena — On May, 14th, 2006 at 6:19 pm

  21. Thanks Natalie and Audrey! Sweet note of yours

    Framboise, mais que oui, avec plaisir! :-) Alors, je passe commande chez toi aussi!

    Anita, merci! I cannot wait to hear what you think of the restaurant!!!!

    David, thanks a lot. Sure, my plates come from Ligne Roset, which, if you do not know them is a French design company, mostly furniture, but also house accessories. A few places in the US carry their products. You can check their website according to where you live.

    Merci, thanks Audrey, Krysten et Choupette!

    Anne, merci beaucoup de ton gentil mot!

    David, it is a great book indeed. There are so many things I want to try even if some dishes are a bit intimidating. But it is like skiing, if you do not fall, you are no longer learning anything, so….

    Thanks Kat and fabienne!

    Lilo, tu es trop gentille. Je suis touchee! La reconnaissance que j’ai de mes amis, ma famille et de personnes comme toi par exemple, c’est deja beaucoup pour moi! Mais comme qui dirait, tout est possible, il faut continuer a garder des reves!! Et j’en vis un beau pour le moment!

    Althya, ahahh, merci!

    Fanny, funny indeed, you and I are close in the Bday dates. I have two other friends on May 2nd! ahah, let me know if you get the book, I think you will enjoy it a lot!

    Mercotte, merci bien a toi!

    The Queer Chef, thanks a lot. Sweet.

    Ivonne, well, you are too nice, I think I have still TONS to learn, especially from chefs like Keller, but it surely is nice to try more elaborate dishes like his. Some are really time-consuming, but rewarding.

    Thanks fjl. Not fat at all, no worries ;-) Pretty light actually!

    Thanks Rowena. You are very nice!

    Comment by Béa — On May, 14th, 2006 at 7:22 pm

  22. you set a beautiful table, bea. your guests are very priviledged to have eaten in your home! what fun!
    and once again, i am inspired. (i think more ikea purchases are now in my future!) :)

    Comment by iamchanelle — On May, 15th, 2006 at 10:08 am

  23. I’m am completely impressed, Thomas Keller needs to see this!

    ~Dianka
    http://na-zdravi.blogspot.com/

    Comment by Dianka — On May, 15th, 2006 at 2:11 pm

  24. Bea, everything is perfect! nothing more to say…

    Comment by relly — On May, 15th, 2006 at 2:28 pm

  25. [...] Starters cleverly features recipes, with attached attractive pictures, with the following suggestion: the dish is either served as an appetizer (a starter), or an entrée. Or finger nibbly food, just the way I love it. In one go, you get ideas of how to use the same recipe at different times in a meal. Pas mal comme idée, non? (not a bad idea, don’t you think?) I have only had the book for 2 weeks or so and I already cooked 4 recipes from it, which all turned out great, from my pumpkin soup with crystallized ginger, to the red mullet with vanilla sauce and fennel salad, a great crab salad to the dish featured in this post. [...]

    Pingback by La tartine gourmande » Blog Archive » Gnocchi poêlés et réduction de tomates à l’estragon - Sautéed Gnocchi with Tarragon Tomato Sauce — On May, 15th, 2006 at 8:44 pm

  26. Everything looks lovely!
    I’ve thought about making that strawberry shortcake. How was it?

    Comment by maura — On May, 15th, 2006 at 10:02 pm

  27. I want to move near you so I can be a regular guest.

    Comment by MM — On May, 15th, 2006 at 11:22 pm

  28. Quel beau dîner. Bravo

    Comment by bonheursdesophie — On May, 16th, 2006 at 8:06 am

  29. fabulous meal bea!

    Comment by clare eats — On May, 17th, 2006 at 4:59 am

  30. Tout est équilibré : la table, les plats, les couleurs. Je te prends juste le pichet, il est trop beau.

    Comment by menus propos — On May, 17th, 2006 at 9:44 am

  31. You definitely have to go to the French Laundry, if only for the experience.
    We went last year for my 40th b’day and, because most of the trip was company-paid, it was the only real expense.
    I learned, to my surprise, that you really have to read his directions before you get the ingredients.
    But, the food, like your dinner, look amazing.

    Comment by Michel — On May, 18th, 2006 at 1:30 pm

  32. I dream of eating at your table Bea!
    Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!
    And Happy Birthday sweet!

    Comment by bron — On May, 20th, 2006 at 5:02 pm

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