Holiday Dinner 2010

My husband and I attempt to rescue at least a few conversations a year from the black hole of spousal discourse known as parenthood. We do this by planning a menu, selecting wines, setting a nice table, and spending several hours cooking multiple courses of what we hope will be some great food. All of these tasks require a lot of discussion, none of which has anything to do with our lovely, all-consuming daughters.

This year we dedicated our holiday dinner menu to dishes from France in general, and Burgundy in particular, as a tribute to our European vacation this summer. Brian was the head chef, and his dishes were divine.

Here's the menu:


Here are a few pictures of the process.

These are carrots that Brian slowly simmered in heavy cream for several hours until they were soft enough to be pushed through tamis to create a sinful carrot puree.

Snails being sauteed in butter, shallots, and garlic.



The Beef that would eventually become a mouth-wateringly tender and delicious Beef Bourguignon, courtsey of Brian working his magic with Julia Child's recipe.


The wine line-up.



We set the table in the living room because an unwelcome odor had taken over our usual dining area just before Christmas and had not yet dissipated. Though nothing says "fine dining" like the scent of sizzling shallots and garlic mingled with subtle hints of decomposing rat flesh, we opted to avoid the smell as much as possible. (Those of you who follow me on Facebook know what I'm talking about. As of the date of this post, the smell is completely gone, and I couldn't be more relieved.)



Brian's family, including two special out-of-town visitors, Caroline in from D.C. and Brian's grandmother in from San Antonio, were our guests. The girls provided the entertainment for the evening. Amanda asked for classical music so that she could dance ballet for everyone. Elizabeth naturally joined in. I think Joan has some video of their dance numbers that I will try to add later.

It was a lot of fun to prepare and, if I do say so myself, delicious, despite our smelly uninvited guest. Time to start planning next year's menu.