Pat and Steve visited Madison on Saturday for a chance to see Sage visibly pregnant and to spend some quality time. We enjoyed a lunch of navarin, a lamb stew with spring vegetables, then took advantage of Steve’s strong back to rearrange some furniture to make room in the nursery, which is going to work out really well. We also spent some time at Happy Bambino, our favorite local baby store. Wow, is there a lot to know about poopy diapers!
The New York Times Magazine had a wonderful article about a group of expatriates living in Paris and their weekly dinners. Made me cry. Read it here before NYT makes you pay for it. - Ben
Mike and Chris came to visit the Monday after Christmas and we made a mighty tasty dinner.
For starters, we opened up one of the artisanal foie gras de canard entier Ben brought back from the Perigord that went perfectly with a bottle of Chateau La Tour Blanche 2001 Sauternes Mike brought from his cellar.
For the main course we made magret de canard with a foie gras and mushroom sauce, and potatoes cooked in the duck’s fat. We paired this with a well-preserved 1997 Domaine de la Janasse Vielle Vignes Chateauneuf du Pape that Mike had brought the year before.
Chris made a delicious kale and avocado salad with a lemon dressing that worked remarkably well with it all. Chris opted out of the Duck products and went for a bbq seitan sandwich from the co-op. He did, however, help us out with a wedge of Delice de Bourgogne that was incredibly decadent and rich.
For dessert, we made crème brulée from the Anthony Bourdain cookbook and using the propane torch I got from my secret Santa (Steve) for Christmas. Turned out great.
All that, and so far no signs of gout!
Cooking with and for the people I love is one of my favorite things. Thanks, guys.
Ben
