After 7 months of procrastination, I am finally going to start writing.  Why did I even want to start this?  It is for me:  to write what I feel like writing and for my family, especially my son, nieces and nephews.  I am not going to follow the rules of blogs, what for….I rarely have followed rules so why start now.  This is going to be more of a stream of musings, thoughts, or whatever I feel like writing.

So here goes…today was a hectic day with shopping and  preparing for my French style dinner tomorrow night.  A few of my friends requested that I make beef burgundy and I agreed.  I made this once last year and I had forgotten all the prep work needed, the browning of the meat, the braising of onion, sauteeing the mushrooms.  What I did learn from the last time I cooked this:  add more wine!  My butcher Ron at Whole Foods in Campbell (everyone knows this is my favorite WF…everyone is so nice, especially in the fish section), who is a whiz at picking and cutting meats, did a fantastic job of cutting the meat into 2×2…swear he does it with his eyes close and they were very uniform.  Despite my complaints of the laborious steps of preparation and cooking, I put a lot of love into my cooking.  I try to pair all meals with the wines that I believe will complement.  I always start each dinner with champagne.  This is my golden rule when I am hosting.  I love champagne..my favorite drink!

Life is meant to be enjoyed and lived fully so nourish your body with what you love.

The menu for the dinner:

A French Style Evening

Appetizers

Palate cleanse:  Champagne Dom Ruinart

(Blanc de Blanc)

Brie on baguette with medjool  date and organic honey

1985 Taittinger Artist Collection

Smoked salmon on avocado with dill and balsamic

Krug NV Grande Cuvee

Tinned foie gras, caramelized apples and onion

Cattier Brut Rose Kiss

Mains

Boeuf Bourguignon – roasted baby yukons and peas

97 Domaine bouchard pere & fills le corton grand cru, chateau de beaune, cote d’or

99 Volnay les caillepieds domaine de montille 

Chicken with Mixed wild mushrooms, vin jaune and cream

2004 Chateau Chalon, Macle, Jura

Fish in Fines Herbs, braised leeks and oven roasted tomatoes

Sweets and Cheese

Lemon Tarte

Chocolate and Almond Cake

Almond Honey Cake

Fresh Fruit

Cheese:  Dolce Blue, Mimolette, Bandaged Cheddar

1970 Fonseca Port

2003 Rieussec Sauterne

All meat, fish, veggies, fruit are organic and/or wild

So here is what the beef looks like after 4 hours of cooking and at least 1 1/2 hrs of prep.  And I have a nice view from my stove of my Japanese garden.  Now the tomatoes are roasting and I need to pulverize almonds for the chocolate cake.  I will post how the dinner turned out on Sunday.

Live Life Passionately and Passionately Live Life.  This is how I live my life.  Nieces and nephews…are you reading and listening?

Next few posts will include foodie discoveries in Cambodia and Vietnam.    Also, flashbacks of wondrous memories and travels.  All, forgive the misspellings or incorrect grammar…will get better as I practice more!