GourmandeMom™

Holiday Parties: Ridgelea Does It Again (and a reminder to support your local musicians)

My neighborhood has an adorable holiday tradition of "The Parents Party"--to distinguish it from the myriad of other awesome neighborhood parties (where we can drink and eat to excess and just walk home), such as "The Kids Party," where Santa makes an appearance and delivers presents to kids of a certain age.  

One year that party was at my house, and Santa nearly fell down my stairs, and I never hosted that one again.  Now that I've grown up and out of the Kids Party, I have been delighted to have had the Parents Party chez moi for three years in a row now.  Last night was number 3.   

Every year the dynamic is different: one year we were singing Journey and the Rolling Stones; next year we had jazz pianist Rich Harney and a drunken group selfie on my front porch; this past year (last night) we had a little bit of everything:, including two jazz musicians: vocals and piano--both women--and gracious underwriting of the live music element from my posse of music guys in the hood.  

We started around 7pm for this annual potluckof food and wine, with folks wandering in around 7:30 and onward, and did not wind down really until midnight.  I started to email my gratitude to our awesome group this morning, but decided why not turn it into a blog post.  So here goes, along with a photo essay of some really phenomenal food:

Dear "RidgeleaMoms" (term of art given the composition of the group):

It was a delight to groggily wander downstairs – just now at 11 am – to find a clean house.  I was particularly in awe of – seriously – the pristine nature of my floors.  Not a single crumb.  Tara really went to town with the sweeping. I learned a lot from her.  Like I need an inside broom and an outside broom.  And never shall one be used in place of the other.  Never.

Thank you Amy for diving into my "drawer of shame" in the kitchen (the junk drawer) and helping me feel not so awful by announcing you found what you needed right away.

Given the deficit of energy and time I had because of work stuff this past week, I owe a big thank you to all of you and especially Mollie for assisting with the forward motion of the party getting planned and started last night.    With her ample food donations, outsourcing the kitchen clean-up and other tasks – Mollie really helped make the fiesta happen.   EVERYONE’s food was out of this world – in quantity and quality. And Gina’s flowers were totally over the top.  Gorgeous!

Our help for the evening: Kendall takes coats, wine.  Jazz vocalist Karen Tennison and pianist Peggy Stern starting out with jazzy rendition of  "Let It Snow."

Thank you Grant – for helping to underwrite the music and providing the music as well.  I look forward to our Godspell and Lionel Richie musical montage one year. (Remind me to stop drinking Mollie's cranberry ginger "Holiday Margaritas" earlier in the evening though if we do get that organized.)

And to Jesse as another music underwriter – thank you for counseling me on (1) music concert ideas for future house concerts and (2) my party anxiety issues and telling me to chill and take it down a few notches on my concern for making sure everything was going ok.  It's just a neighborhood party after all. 

  Ridiculously gorgeous "cheese tray" spread thanks to, again, Mollie. Stunning presentation.  New standard for the cheese board.

Thank you Dan for (1) getting together for me at the last minute the slide show of our neighborhood "camping" trip to Port A – we’ll show those another time in better conditions (we thought about a screen outside with a loop of the slides); and (2) figuring out that despite your intense efforts my Dell laptop does not like to be connected to my TV.  And of course the smoked salmon you made for the party, despite a very late night out the night before....much appreciated.

Soul food I got from new business owner and entrepreneur Leslie - seriously; this is ridiculously awesome macaroni and cheese. And her meatloaf with "brown gravy" was really a rich sauce with green bell peppers, onions, and sliced mushrooms. I overheard someone say this was the best meatloaf they had ever had.  I agree. Thank you Foundation Communities for featuring Leslie and helping get the word out about her awesome food.

Thank you Mollie for over-doing with your generosity.  This "salad" may become a mainstay in my party planning.  So lovely with those parmesan shavings and all the overflowing abundance on that white serving piece.

It was good to see new faces – but with so much going on, I am sure I will not remember your names.   Please don’t take it personally:  I’m pushing 50 you know. 

Funny how at one point in the week, it looked like we had pretty much no desserts that would be arriving for the potluck.  I don't know why I worry about this. Ridgelea folks you kicked it up several notches with some bad ass desserts.  (I'm talking to you in particular, Stephanie, and this Pavlova with raspberry coulis and fresh whipped cream)

Indeed, what would a neighborgood party be without Kevin and Stephanie bringing their signature homemade bread and Kevin outdoing his previous years' efforts by making exquisite artisanal chocolate.

 

Trying to fit that lemon meringue show-stopper pie in the fridge was quite a challenge. Thank you, Sally and Tim, for bringing that by yesterday afternoon, even if you could not make the party. We missed you!

Housekeeping matters:

For those of you who forgot your monies for the clean-up donation, feel free to drop that off at my house – in the black mailbox by my front door - when you get a minute.  We fell short of our projections, so our neighborhood holiday party accountant (Mollie) told me.   

Leftover:  A lovely silver cake slicer, with ornate handle, and a straight edge for cutting and wider rest of the thingy for serving. 

But seriously, thank you everyone for everything, including just enjoying yourself in my home.  I love sharing it with you - even if you love to hang out in that narrow passageway near the icemaker.

Happy holidays.  

Drink responsibly: with friends, at home.  

And support local musicians.  Have live music at your next party.  

Moore's Crossing - Dinner Party via Candlelight on an 1844 Iron Bridge: Inherit Austin's Somewhere in Time Dinner

It is the Fourth Annual, but it was my first time dining al fresco, on a cool if faintly humid evening, on a red iron bridge suspended over Onion Creek:  Moore's Crossing was the site of Inherit Austin's fourth annual fundraiser, which they appropriately entitled, "Somewhere in Time."   

Per the Inherit Austin site for the event, "Built in 1884, this iron bridge was part of the original Congress Avenue Bridge. In 1910, it was placed in storage and then rebuilt over Onion Creek at Moore’s Crossing in southeast Austin in 1922."

And sure there was a lot of neat information we heard about the bridge, after the appetizers were passed, such as the bridge's role in national and local architectural and other regular historical history, but all I wanted to do was step back from the crowd and watch the light change over the table and the delicate red iron work, and then wait impatiently for the servers to light the jumbo tea light votive candles on the long table extending all along the bridge.

We met some new best friends during the pre-dinner-party party.  I think some more fabulous parties are afoot for 2014.

Say la V, who did the catering, did a good job of getting those appetizers out fast. Experience shows, from my attending too many not-well-executed events like this, people want two things when they show up--and fast:  (1) alcohol and (2) food.  

If you get the invitees fed and watered this way--and early--warm happy feelings about the event are a foregone conclusion.  These folks really did a good job.  (See what getting the food and wine out fast does to a person?)

Music on vintage phonographs, courtesy of Austin Phonograph Company, also helps soothe the hungry masses.

Sure the Figs with Blue Cheese Espuma on Fennel Cracker were nice and charming to behold for their visual appeal.

But I could have sat down with a platter all to myself of the "Chickpea & Salt Cod 'Fries' with Piquillo Ketchup."   No pictures. Ate them too fast. 

The courses, once we were excused after the speeches to make our way politely to find a seat---felt like musical chairs a bit--were served family style.  So the way to go for these things.   The first course served on a giant square white platter: Tuscan Kale Caesar Salad with Giant Ciabatta Croutons, Roasted Garlic Dressing and Grana Padano.  That dark, dark green again the white platter, plus the tangy garlic and those chewy garagantuan croutons....makes me think that kale will be back in rotation at my house very soon.

Somehow the Roasted Carrots & Zucchini with Walnut Gremolata never made it my way.  I did not miss it.  I was riveted by the love story of the 50+ somethings next to us: hthey have 6 kids; she, a busy executive of an arts/design company, is having surgery soon.  

I managed to inhale dessert -- Polenta and Almond Cake with Pears and Honey and Chilled Marsala Zabalgione.  It was so lovely, but I neglected to ask the servers to leave some for my GFs who had gone to Los Baños, and I heard all about that when they returned.  But I was seriously lost in the story-telling of the people around me.  I wondered if I would someday have a story as charmed as theirs.  Maybe I already do, and I don't even know it.

Tonight was an abundance of riches for Austin food events in and around architectural gems. It also was the night for Pearl Dive at The Plant, which broke my heart not to attend and help out those Rude Mechs for their fundraiser and spend an evening immersed in some Lake|Flato architecture at The Plant.  Who knows what I missed not making that event.  But for now, I'm just glad I did not miss out on dinner at Moore's Crossing with Shelly and Mollie.   And our many new best friends.  

 

 

 

Purification Update * Austin Dinner Lab * 3 Quarts of Ozarka Water

The last Dinner Lab that we attended, "Tour de France," struck a much better chord with my taste buds than did the beef tongue from my first Dinner Lab--Regional Mexican Cuisine.  That this Dinner Lab was French food (and included a cheese course!) does not mean I am being irrationally biased in favor of it.  

Had a nice chat with co-founder Drew Barrett beforehand.   We talked about New Orleans, Dinner Lab's big plans for expansion, their business model, revenue projections, etc.  We talked about some of the biggest challenges the concept faces. A big issue for Austin DL is finding venues.   Owners of various spaces in Austin are addicted to the financial high from South by Southwest venue rental rates they are able to get, so finding a space at the right price for Dinner Lab Austin is tricky.  New Orleans, by contrast, no problem. Good to know that sometimes you can use your Dinner Lab membership elsewhere.  Victoria will be using hers in New Orleans here soon.

For the night's "Tour de France" menu, every course was more of a hit than a miss with our group--save dessert.  I enjoyed checking in with Chef Jacques Richard for a French fix and really enjoyed his food, though as another writer notes, some foods are just difficult to prep for 50 (and she agrees that dessert did not work out so well).  

Today is Day 7 of the Purification Cleanse (it's really about purification after all: all organic foods, spring water, raw or very lightly cooked egetables, etc.).  I'm down 7 pounds as of this morning's weigh-in, and jeans that barely fit on the return trip from France are now starting to slip down to rest loosely on the hips.  Forgot how good that feels.  

I needed to increase the water intake on Monday, so I aimed to consume an entire large plastic jug of Ozarka spring water: the 3-quart one.  Drank the whole thing in the course of the day.   Between that and another supplement array with water before bedtime, I was up and out of bed between 3 am and the 5:30 am alarm for 4 visits to the WC.  Granted, due to the miracle of the purification process, I went right back to sleep, but half-hour spans of sleeping in between so many noctural treks to the WC do not lend themselves to solid sleep.

Not that barely steamed cauliflower and pretty bowls of zucchini/squash/peppers are getting old (only 15 days to go!), I am starting to look forward to working my way back into the food world in 2 weeks.

What timing that we get today the announcement of new Dinner Lab events.  Here's what they look like, text-wise, when Drew sends the announcement to the membership. I signed up for Modern Vegetarian: my first Dinner Lab post-cleanse. Wednesday night is not workable that week, alas, as  "Ciao Curry" sounds fantastic.

Cuisine: Ciao Curry

Wednesday, September 11th

This menu epitomizes why the word “Lab” is so important to us.  We were approached by Chefs Sandi Reinlie and Alex Dean (Sandi - pastry chef at Vespaio, and formerly with Congress, Walton’s and Bess Bistro; Alex - sous chef at Vespaio) to do something a little bit different; something that you wouldn't normally think to do . . . . . 8 courses of Italian cuisine featuring classical Indian spices.  Sandi in particular is obsessed with the flavors of India, and wants to combine her love of the Med with her love of the sub-continent.  Not convinced?  Take a look at this menu, and we know you’ll be as curious to try it as we are.  Green curry risotto here we come.

 Event Menu* (We can accommodate vegetarian diets for this event. Please notify us in advance via email to request this substitution.) 

Roasted Tomato Papadum - Curried aioli|olive chutney|minted salsa verde 
Seared Paneer “Caprese” - Crispy chick peas|curried tomato|fresh herbs 
Green Curry Risotto - Spiced shrimp|coconut|kalamata oil 
Braised Lamb Ravioli - Cashew almond cream|cilantro|macerated onion 
Sorbetto - Fennel|orange 
Spiced Semolina Torta - Roasted carrot ganache|mango omani lime mousse|cashew
Rose Panna Cotta - Pomegranate|plum|raspberry gelee|macaroon crumblew
Mignardise - Cookies|candies|nuts|fruit|fudge

Cuisine: Modern Vegetarian

Friday, September 13th

We find it a little ironic that a kid from Fayetteville, Arkansas (home of the Razorbacks) approached us to do a menu featuring modern vegetarian cuisine, but Chef Reed Faitak (Parkside, Mulberry) is a man who knows his veggies.  This menu is representative of what he enjoys cooking at home for his friends and family, but with an elegant, sophisticated flare. You asked for it, and we listened.  Seven full courses of awesome vegetarian cuisine that, even as carnivores, has us longing for this date to get here.  Enjoy.

Event Menu* (We can accommodate vegetarian diets for this event (duh!)) 
Amuse - Watermelon Vodka Sorbet, Smoked Lemon Confit, Arugula Syrup 
Soup - Poached Eggplant, Farro, Peanuts, Fresno Chili, Mint 
Cold - Fingerling Potato, Corn & Chevre Custard, Green Beans, Walnuts, Peach 
Hot - Roasted Red Cabbage, Grilled Okra, Blistered Cherry Tomato, Garlic Confit Yogurt, Rye Flatbread 
Main - Gnocchi, Beets, Swiss Chard, Egg Yolk, Pistachio, Persian Lime 
Fruit Cake - Smoked Eggplant Cake, Peaches & Cream
Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Truffle, Mango, Coconut Milk

Sounds good, right?  Or if not good, interesting enough to want to check it out.  Dinner Lab New Orleans is sold out; memberships for Dinner Lab Austin still available. For now though, it's just me and my 3-quart Ozarka jug of spring water.

Dinner Lab-Austin: Thematic Supper Clubs and the Joys of Dining with Strangers (the Regional Mexican Cuisine Dinner)

Any food-related event that has its origins in New Orleans, my mom's hometown and the crux of my gourmandise thing with food, is going to start out on a good foot with me.  Dinner Lab in Austin is just that thing, having started in New Orleans and branching out to Austin a few months ago.  It recently started up in Nashville, TN.  A $100 annual membership gets you the right to get the emails about the dinners.  You have to move fast to buy a ticket or two to the dinners once that email goes out.  New Orleans has done much re-inventing and soul-searching post Katrina to be sure: its food scene was rocked to the core when the infrastructure for any type of restaurant dining was almost wiped out--forever it seemed back then.  It came back with a vengeance, but still some things were not quite right. For some.  Dinner Lab co-founder Brian Bordainick found something lacking in the New Orleans food scene: certain ethnic foods were just nowhere to be found.  Dinner Lab was created to meet that diversity challenge. 

The idea is getting disparate bunches of people together, for culinarily thematically-themed dinners, with undiscovered yet aspiring talented chefs in a funky surprise venue.  As I have over the years never scored a seat at the Paris supper clubs that were all the rage for a time (granted I did not try overly hard), I considered this a great consolation prize.  And at $50 or $60 for an interesting meal, plus wine and gratuity, the price per dinner ticket seemed pretty reasonable. 

Not until August would the calendar actually work out for my attending one.

Quelle coincidence my first Dinner Lab would be "Regional Mexican Cuisine."   The choice of a guest was obvious. That would be my friend of 30+ years Melissa, food history/cultural anthropologist Ph.D., phenomenal cook, and expert on Oaxacan food culture and traditions. I brought a ringer on "Regional Mexican Cuisine."

Melissa, being more kind than I, and open to learning from the diversity of tastes and experiences that lead to people making the food they make, or making the drinks we shall drink, had the sangria (also gratis, included in the ticket price), whereas I stuck with red wine.  I did not want to be disappointed with anything less spectacular than Melissa's sangria recipe, which her mother, when living in Spain, received from a gypsy and handed down to her daughters.   I call it Gypsy Sangria.  It is a sangria that will make you hallucinate after the 8 glasses you will have because it is delightful, but deadly.

She pronounced it good.  This is high praise.

We checked out the art.  Mexic-Arte Museum on Congress Avenue was our dining venue after all. And then we were summoned to take our seats at whatever seats we had scoped out earlier.

Food events are really about the people behind them.  Setting and the set-up for the food makes us feel and act a certain way--whether it's at home or at a restaurant.  So what is really fascinating for such events as Dinner Lab is the happenstance of with whom you will be dining -- and trying beef tongue for the first time, as in my case.

Pick one particular seat, you might spend the evening in boring silence or awkward grasps at conversation starters, like a bad date.  Pick another seat, and you meet people who seem like you've known them forever, or completely different people with very different back stories.  There you are, randomly crossing paths that one night based on what the universe determined shall be the proper dose of serendipity for the day.

The jicama salad was lovely and fine, not exceptional.  There were more courses, more conversation starts and stops. (Portions were on the small side, but this is from someone with portion-control issues.) 

The music level was a problem at first. Before the crowd really got revved up, it was too loud for the conversations to get going.  At least at my table.  I went over and almost turned the music down myself over at the speaker disguised as a vintage suitacase.  A Dinner Lab helper intervened.

And then something happens that makes all the conversation click, if it's going to click at all.  

Some of the bursts of conversation occur with new folks in between the pauses while they are dining with long-time friends.  Some bursts occur while others are meeting new friends (Melissa told a couple every inch of Mexico City they should explore (when they asked), where to get the best coffee, and where to find the best spices). I, at some point after the jicama salad, would find out some interesting information about the group of women to my left.

Our chef for the evening, Brandon Byrd, formerly of Lenoir, explaining to the diners his approach, philosophy, and the interview process to get this dinner event and how it relates to his exploration of regional Mexican cuisine

Turns out the woman on my left was a microbiologist looking at post-doc work, who had just had an intereview with a certain prestigious research institution in Paris, one I had had my eye on for tech transfer issues.  She knew not much about Paris.  I offered to help her out with that.   Another woman, across from me, runs event planning for a French cooking school.   We should be catching up soon.

The next Dinner Lab I am signed up for is a French-themed one: a culinary "Tour de France."  I hope I can be as gracious, when confronted with different approaches to a cuisine about which I have strong opinions, as Melissa was with the sangria and the rest of the meal.  But what I am really looking forward to, far beyond the (small-ish portions of) food, are the people with whom I will randomly choose to be seated. Could be a bust.  Could be life-changing.  I'm fine with either path.  So long as the music is at the right level--for an apparently increasingly cranky GourmandeMom.  

 

 

 

Parisians Cooking For You In Paris - In Their Homes: Paris Startup "Cookening" (Day No. 4, Trip No. 18)

Imagine the Airbnb platform.  Imagine if Airbnb were applied to the dinner party concept.  For those of you who don't know or don't do Airbnb (and frankly I'm not all that keen on it; have never figured out how to work it), this is Greek to you.  But this new non-restaurant dining-out concept in Paris can still work for you.   If you are a certain kind of world traveler, as in an interested-in-the-world-and-people traveler, then Cedric Giorgi's Paris-based food startup Cookening may be just the thing for you.  A friend and I checked it out this past Sunday night.  And it just so happened that the BBC was doing a piece that night for a technology show -- and filming us at a Cookening dinner -- about the "cookening" concept.  

(Paris, late June 2013)

Cookening, which just launched four weeks ago, is the brainchild of Cedric (and his co-founders).  The company, whose name connotes "cook" and "cooking" and "evening," has created a platform for travelers to enjoy a home-cooked meal, in a Parisian person or couple's home, with other guests from other countries.  Part of the magic here is the multi-cultural interchange and dialogue that occurs over dinner, including lessons about French gastronomy and the traditions that infuse everyday eating in France.  But of course a common language is necessary, or none of that can happen very well.  As our BBC friends did not speak French, English was spoken at our dinner.

Signing up for the dinner is easy.    

1.  Go to the Cookening.com web site.

2.  Note the countries and cities in which you may find a host at whose house you may dine.   There are possibilities in Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy.  Paris is the only city I am familiar with for this procedure, so I will refer only to how this works for Paris. 

3.  Once you pick the city, then you get to see the selection of various hosts.   There are profiles.  This is part of the "sharing economy" after all, where trust is important (as in the Airbnb culture), so it is important for folks to feel comfortable about where they will be eating and with whom.  There also are costs for certain types of meals at certain hosts' houses listed.  The hosts decide what type of meal they want to prepare, and then price it accordingly.  I knew I wanted to try out Cookening.com with Cedric and his adorable wife Jennifer, so I did not shop around at all on price.  The price for a dinner with him was 36 euros, total, per person (including the 6 euros per person administrative fee).  

There are other types of dining options, including brunch, a "tea time," or a simple "apero" (apertif time), with the simpler formats (such as tea time) available for a lower range of prices.

4.  Pick a few potential dates that work for you from the ones the host has indicated as available. 

5.  Wait to hear from the host and whether he/she "accepts" the invitation.  It is not a done deal for dinner until the host accepts.

6.  Once the host accepts, the payment logistic become relevant.  I was able to pay with a credit card, not just PayPal.  

7.    Contact information for the host will be given upon payment.   No binding agreement is reached, however, until you read the fine print and agree to the terms and conditions, of which there are many--not surprising, and for good reasons.  

Now the really good part:  the meal.  Dinner hour in France is more like 8 p.m., and believe me, when in France this seems very ordinary, and on the early side actually for restaurant dining. 

We began with an aperitif, a lovely tradition in the French culture of a before-dinner drink and some small tasty items.   It is culturally ingrained in the French that you do not drink without something to eat.  

Cedric and Jennifer had selected a Loire Valley sparkling wine, of Domaine de Portaille, which allowed for conversation about sparkling wines in various countries, this particular wine, and the beauty of the Loire Valley region. 

(Host and Cookening.com co-founder Cedric Giorgi...regaling us with a story about the meal preparation as we are about done with aperitif time)

Cedric had the menu written on a chalkboard and brought it out, post aperitif, to give us some history and context for the dishes.

The first course was lovely, light, elegant - yet rich.  A bavarois of salmon and asparagus.  The bavarois refers technically to the creamy fluffy interior, but there was a very fresh piece of thinly sliced but still substantial salmon molded over it to form a classic and very "French-looking" presentation.  Tasting proved it divine: rich and creamy, yet light and fresh at the same time. 

One of my very favorite French foods made it to the menu: confit de canard, or duck confit.  (There is an option on the site to select the foods you like and to indicate any food dislikes or food allergies.  I mentioned I liked foie gras and confit de canard.)

Cedric makes a beautiful presentation of of the confit and the accompanying potatoes, on this platter that we learn he and Jennifer purchased during a trip to Morocco.

More conversation ensues.  Including about the red wine especially selected -- whereupon we discuss the challenges to les Francais when they order wine elsewhere.  French wine is organized and named by region (Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Bourgogne).  In the US, ordering a wine requires identifying a particular grape (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio).

The topics of conversation ranged from history of food markets in London (I invited a food historian, Robyn, to check out Cookening with me) to the French attitude towards foie gras and the making of a confit.

It is appropriate that portions are moderate because a French dinner has many courses.  I could have had more of that tender, tasty, moist duck, but pacing is necessary.  I did help myself to a small second helping of steaming hot ratatouille.

Next came the cheese course.  This generated a completely new converation, including learning about what types of cheese Cedric and Jennifer like and why, and how they selected the cheese for this cheese plate.  From another dinner guest we learn childhood stories about Middle Eastern food traditions and his own cheese-making experiences.

Still not done with the dinner!  There is dessert.  

Dessert is simple yet heavenly.  Strawberries.  But not just any stawberries. These are Gariguette strawberries, smaller and with intense sweet flavor.  They are prepared simply, with fresh lemon juice and mint.  The result is a tart, faintly herbal yet charmingly sweet little sauce over the berries.  (If you see these strawberries at a market in France, run, do not walk, and get some. Even if it means being a little pushy and overly assertive at the market.  They are really something special.)

Alongside the fresh Gariguette strawberries, a huge bowl piled high with freshly made madeleines.  I am reminded I should get out that madeleine bakeware at home.

More conversation, and slowly the evening winds down.  The BBC team sets up for some final scenes they need.  We start saying goodnight all around.  We all promise to catch up and follow up some other time.  And I am pretty sure we actually will.  

 

Related articles

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Cookening opens up to the public to turn your home into a restaurant

The Confit de Canard French Dinner Party...and those show-stealing Parisian macarons...but really it was all about the cheese plate and the refreshing non-etiquette of cheese-eating

I just wanted to have another French family dining experience.  But even I could not have imagined this French Dinner Party experience would be so formidably elegant, yet so completely casual and warm.  A formidable feast it would end up being: melt-in-the-mouth confit de canard; pommes de terres sarladaises (classic side dish for confit de canard: thinly sliced potatoes cooked in the (duck) fat from the duck confit); a salmon tartare with watercress before that, preceded by champagne (the real deal: Veuve Clicquot).  But there was more.  Way more.

To get this experience state-side, I bid enthusiastically at a fundraiser to earn two seats at the dinner table of a French couple, who would prepare and host an authentic French Dinner Party for 8 persons in their home.  No way I was missing that.  My favorite, most heart-warming, interesting meals in France have been with friends at their homes.

For the pre-dinner ritual there were many lovely coupes of Veuve Clicquot.  There was a warm and effervescently bright green pea soup in tiny glass tumblers with long sprigs of chives laid across them.  There was the ultimate indulgence:  foie gras.  A heavenly moment of gourmandise.  

But yet, out of the corner of one's eye, one could not miss, standing out, crying out for attention, over on the enormous white marble kitchen island, a burst of hot pink. That hot pink blast was in fact rows of shocking bright pink and red confections -- raspberry macarons -- set out just so, with a single red rose petal set asymetrically atop each one of them. These would be our desserts.  Prepared just for us by a soon-to-be chef/proprietor of a new French patisserie in downtown Austin. (More on that later.)

These sassy macarons, Jezebels really, cried out for attention.  From every angle they were gorgeous. And they knew it.  They loved the camera.  And I loved them.  I snapped a series of macarons photos.  Could not get enough of them.  Photo of solitary macaron. Macaron with serving fork.  Trio of macarons, viewed horizontally.  Long tray of macarons, viewed at an angle. Up close.  Far away.  

They almost stole the show.  

But then we sat down to la table.  For the first course - very light and spring-like: pale pink salmon, a spray of watercress.  Perfect counterpoint for the heartiness of what was to come.  

We learn that for our main course we will have confit de canard, straight from France.   And we not only will have a gratin dauphinois (huge weakness for me: potatoes, cream, cheese, garlic, all browned in the oven for grand finale), but yet another potato dish.  (Uncharacteristically excessive for a French dinner party!)  For at the last minute, someone called an audible and insisted on the classic confit accompaniment: pommes de terres sarladaises, potatoes cooked to go especially with confit de canard, as they are cooked in the very same duck fat that has preserved the duck. And then a nice ratatouille alongside as well. 

I tried to eat slowly.  Really I did.  But the duck...so tender, with a few crispy bits here and there from its final cooking to warm up and crisp up.  (Even my vegetarian friend is agog at the deliciousness.)  Seconds were offered. Oh, if you insist....

And then the cheese.

The French cheese plate has always intimidated.  Only because I know there is ritual and there are rules to be followed.  And I do not know my cheese well enough to really get this nailed down just right.  I admit out loud this intimidation, and yet, no one else really knows what I am talking about.  Sure, our French hosts do.  But between their time living in Spain, Argentina, Brazil, such rituals are not necessarily the bread and butter of their days, so to speak, in the US.  No one really followed the rules, but for starting with the mild and working one's way to the super strong one of the night, which our host warned us about in advance.

And really it was not fair, not nice at all, to include so many cheeses.  So many choices.   Caprice des Dieux; a Brillat Savarin; and of course a bleu cheese.  At least three or four more in there.  

Now, after much anticipation, having devoured the macarons with the eyes earlier in the evening, it was, finally, time to enjoy them by eating them.

More photos: macaron on my plate before consumption.  Macaron partially destroyed upon commencement of destruction.

But wait.  There was more.

Seated in the living room for digestif time, there were yet still more delicacies set out on the table. Miniature chocolate eclairs.  Just casually, elegantly hanging out to be adoringly viewed. 

I could not help it.  They looked so cute.  I had one.  I had another.  I had some Armagnac.  I had some coffee.   We, or some of us, launch into Spanish when relatives of our hosts arrived, an adorable and very interesting couple from Ecuador.

At the end of the evening, we were given charming little gift bags and gift boxes: take-away macarons lined up all tiny and pink in the little box bearing the name of the soon-to-be new patisserie in downtown Austin (I am so in trouble), and a bag of crispy buttery flaky palmiers.

So many lessons.  

All those rituals and rules...in the end, the only real rule about enjoying French food despite the centuries of history and tradition is to just enjoy.  And be gracious.  I am again reminded that my favorite French meals are still with friends and family, around a table at home, with lovely food and lovely people.  But now I realize that this can happen not just in France -- but also in the US.