Thoughts on the meal

After dinner (and a few more glasses of wine), some of the guests felt compelled to give their thoughts on what we ate. Or maybe they just wanted to say nice things on camera so they'd get invited over again. Regardless, it sounds like the Tomates a la Provencale were the hit of the night!


Bethany:

Cyndi:

Katie:

Catharine:

Finally

Finally, it was time to eat!

Aubergines Farcies Duxelles (Eggplant Stuffed with Mushrooms):

Tomates a la Provencale (Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Herbs, and Garlic):

Moules a la Mariniere (Fresh Mussels Steamed Open in Wine and Flavorings):

The pot that the Ratatouille was in (it didn't last long enough for a pic!):

Group shots!

Cheers!

Bon Appetit!

A Crowded Kitchen

With much help from our guests, the mussels were soon ready to be steamed. Julia says to cover them in a kettle and toss them so the juices distribute throughout. I'm not sure this is exactly what she meant, but I had a whole lot of fun doing it.

I guess everyone worked up an appetite during our mussel debacle, because once the word travelled to the living room that dinner was almost ready, one by one everyone left their post on the couch to come take a looksie into the kitchen and offer their services.

The Mussels

Once everyone arrived and started snacking, I sat down and sighed. After all, everything had been prepped and just had to be put in the oven. And I had to steam the mussels. I had left the mussels for last because, after all, you just had to throw them in with some wine and butter, right?

Wrong.

Once I looked at the page preceding the mussels recipe in "the book," I knew I was in for it. Mussels have to be scrubbed with a brush, de-bearded (who knew mussels had beards?), and then soaked in water to get rid of sand and grit.

Luckily I had some enthusastic guests who were eager to help.

Soon (well, after a few glasses of wine), the mussels became stars in their own right.

Later that day

I asked my sister, Bethany, to come over a bit early and help me prepare. My first round of Canapes aux Epinards (Spinach and Cheese Canpes) had gone ok, so I set them out as it got closer for time for everyone to arrive.

Once Bethany arrived, things started getting a little crazy. I had to put myself together, which led me to multi-task on an insane scale. All this led to the misfortune of the second round of canapes that were forgotten about in the broiler. By that time, our friends Katie and Anthony had arrived, and caught the whole incident on tape.

Eggplant and more

By noon, things were getting pretty hairy. Jeff's and my system of clean as we go (he cleans, I keep going) started backing up.


Luckily, I married a patient man who doesn't mind standing over the sink for a few minutes (hours).

So while he cleaned away, I started on the stuffed eggplant. My first encounter of the day with the broiler went relatively well, as you can see from the brown tops. Unfortunately, my good luck streak with the broiler didn't last all day--but more on that later.




Now the sight of a ruler in the kitchen did make our neighbor (and dinner guest) Bill laugh, but really, when Julia tells you that you need bread 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 by 3/8 an inch thick, what are you supposed to do, just guess? I thought I'd be a bit more precise when making the spinach and cheese canapes. In the end, my measurements really didn't matter that much (spoiler alert--the canapes are what I forgot under the broiler!)

The Next Morning

That evening, the cooking went on until about 1 AM when I fell into bed.

The next morning, I woke up at 9 AM (an early hour for me on a Saturday--I know, I know, I like to be lazy. It's a luxury I afford myself). I turned on some Edith Piaf and sharpened by knives.

As you can tell from my onion chopping face below, things got pretty gnarly pretty fast.




I started putting together my Tomates A La Provencale next. Apparently, my discerning eye for firmness and ripeness like Julia recommends (and $4 tomatoes--thank you, Whole Foods) paid off--they were a hit that night. But more on that later. Here I am stuffing them.