A friend from college started a wonderful thing, a food club called the International Dinner Club here in Chicago. This month was my turn to cook, and I was asked to prepare a French dinner. I decided to take my time on the farm in France as inspiration – thinking that the food there was simple, fast, beautiful, fresh (perfect for early summer) and delicious – and I prepared the following meal, presented simply in pictures:
An aperitif of sparkling white wine (somewhat less sparkly due to my somewhat failed preparation) infused with cherries and mint
Un amuse bouche of turnips with tasty salted butter, followed by the meal of “grilled” (baked) whitefish with lemon, plums, shallots, thyme
Roasted tomatoes and asparagus with rosemary and oregano
“Fougasse,” a sort of French “foccacia” with mushrooms and rosemary
Then the interesting part:
Homemade cheese!
And a delicious strawberry and blueberry vanilla cream tart
…devoured quickly and completely
