What fun, a French themed dinner party!  Really, a great excuse for celebrating a trio of consecutive birthdays with a little ‘Joie de vivre’.  An intimate party, consisting of my mother, sister and my mother’s dear friend, Amy, escorted by her beau, Brad.  Not too many and not too little- just right for what we wanted to do.

Coral roses to match the voile tablecloth

Beautiful French Bistro Dishes

I shopped for Roses to match the toile table cloth and was able to find some beautiful organic blooms at Whole Foods.  I searched among Mom’s glass bottles and jars and found a few that would do the trick, so I could arrange the blooms simply along the table.  Sometimes a few glass bottles with a flower or two looks best.

The bistro plates were the perfect choice, so pretty and elegant- perfect really.

The table awaits it’s guests

Appetizers consisted of a trio of Tartines- toasted rounds of sliced Bread topped with different yummy things:  mashed fava beans mixed with mint and served over a spread of goat cheese, tapanade topped with chopped tomatoes, basic & olive oil, and mushrooms sauteed with chopped garlic, creme fraiche and butter. Quite wonderful, all of them. We sipped a light, bubbly Prosecco as we tried each of them.The Soup Course was next:  Pea puree swirled with creme fraiche and mint, topped with fresh chives and croutons.  My mother proudly served the soup she had made to everyone.  Delicious!

We served French Lemonade to cleanse our palettes.

French Lemonade

Next came the Entree:  Lobster Vol au Vent with orange cognac sauce- devine!  Crunchy little bowls of puff pastry stuffed with lobster, shitake mushrooms and a cream sauce boasting orange and cognac. Melted in our mouths!  The sauce was creamy, but light and the lobster spilled over the little cups.  For the garnish I served roasted green beans with herbs de Provence and slivered almonds.

Lobster Vol au Vent with Orange Cognac Sauce

Of course, we had to have wine and Amy brought 2 beautiful bottles of French wine for the guests to sample.  Conversation flowed along with the wine, and we enjoyed each other’s company as well as the food.

Mom likes this one best

I loved this one best.

Clean plate club

And then Dessert !  Lemon Scented Madelienes topped with Vanilla bean Gelato, Dark Chocolate sauce and Orange scented homemade whipped cream.

madelienes with gelato, dark chocolate sauce and whipped cream

Jill, Mom and me

Good food, good friends and a good time!  A bientot- lets do it again soon!