French Night

In honor of (none of) our heritage, as well as using it as an excuse to drink excessive amounts of wine on a weeknight, some friends and I decided to have a night in celebration of the French.

The TablesKape:


Notice the French wine, the French cookware (blue Le Creuset 2 -qt oval oven, plus bonus blue Le Creuset small spatual-spoon - I absolutely will NOT call it a "spoonula" like screechy ho), the cover page to my "Classic French Cooking" book from cooking school, the sea salt (imported from France), the French wine bottle-candle, and, most importantly, the traditional French condiment - Heinz ketchup (you can't tell, b/c the picture is small, but the label IS in French). Technically, it was imported from Canada, so we have some legitimate French items and one semi-ho, French-Canadian item. I think the combination of legitimate and semi-ho is the base for any TablesKape. Although I guess I should have gone the other way - maybe, say, 70% semi-ho and 30% legitimate?

The Menu:
Again, notice the sign, proclaiming the food as "classic French cooking."

Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots (I promise I'll post the recipe later, no time now, I have to go to Happy Hour)
Mushrooms Sauteed with Shallots, Garlic, and White Wine
French Baguette
Herbed Brie
Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc



Some closeups of the food:

Roasted Vegetables - delicious and nutritious, especially when covered in olive oil. Also notice the platter warming in the oven - it's important to warm your plates before serving food on them.









Food Prep - Golden-brown chicken? Check. Chicken Jus reducing on the stove? Check. Delicious sauteed mushrooms? Check. Bowl of disgusting chicken fat and impurities? Check. Horribly filthy stove - the result of drinking pinot noir while cooking dinner? Check and double-check!









A closeup of the dismembered chicken:

Here, it's important to see the garnish (thyme sprigs) was also used when preparing the chicken. Nothing is worse than an giant rosemary tree sticking out of a bowl of Pad Thai. Just because the herb is pretty doesn't mean it belongs on your platter. The garnish should match the food. Hear that, T.G.I. Friday's? That being said, I didn't use cell phones in the recipe, so ignore that part of the garnish. Also important - I was three glasses in when I carved that mofo, so apparently my dismembering skills are still intact!

The Entertainment:
Initially, we thought we would watch "Sideways," figuring that, despite the fact that it's not really French or even remotely related to France, it's at least about wine, which the French seem to like - and, to be fair, we like it, too. So, clearly, win-win. However, by the time we ate, bashed N.P., and watched assorted episodes of "30 Rock" season 1 on DVD, (solely to squee about how cute Jason Sudeikis is in the show - God, his dimples are INSANE!!!! - see examples below:





also, this example, b/c it's adorable, even without the displaying of the dimples):


we decided it was best to further delay watching the movie, perhaps saving it for German Night (yes, I know, even LESS related to the movie than French Night) or Ed's Birthday celebration next week. The rest if the entertainment consisted of "A Daily Show" (brilliant clips of young Jon, before he had entered this "thankless untenable situation") and The ColberT ReporT (GOP primary roulette, anyone?). In fact, Stephen IS French-Canadian, so actually did watch something marginally French-related. French-Canadian for the win. Strong night all around.