Friday Night Dinner Chez Amis

For a while now I have been thinking that, except for large holiday parties, entertaining at home was a thing of the past.  Most people I know meet for dinner with their friends at restaurants instead of hosting dinner parties.  Who has time for all that organizing, decorating, cooking and serving anymore.

Well apparently a few still do, and thank god for that.

Reggie Darling recently hosted an Autumn black tie dinner party and posted about the planning and the execution of it here and here.  Note how elegantly his table is set. 

And Privilege hosted a virtual housewarming dinner party on the patio to celebrate the launch of her new blog.

A posts about holiday table settings showed up at Greige and A Gardner's Cottage.

Am I sensing a stay at home and entertaining trend here?

 Of course the recipe for successful home entertaining calls for delicious food and charming guests. 
An awesome home is not required, but certainly adds the special je ne sais quoi to the party.

Last night I attended just such a soiree, a sit down dinner party for 25.
The Thanksgiving inspired meal, prepared by a talented young private chef was delicious and healthy, a soup course to start, a salad, turkey roulade for the main course and cold lemon souffle sided by a brownie for dessert.
The guests, friends and neighbors of the hosts, were an eclectic mix from young couples in their 30's to couples in their late 60's, or maybe even early 70's, I didn't ask.  But the mix in age and backgrounds made for lively conversation.

And the house was perfect for entertaining. 
A 1960's California ranch house, up in the hills, remodeled and decorated with perfect 1960's style.
It was uber groovy.
From the city view to the sunken bar, to the open fireplace, to the step up dining room, to the earth colors and patterns of the fabrics and wall coverings, to the palos verdes stone, to the outdoor fire pit...
it was like stepping back in time to a house from my early Southern California childhood.
Classic California architecture.
I could have imagined my parents and their friends sipping cocktails, smoking cigarettes and partying it up in such a house...because that's what they did back in the day.

Am I inspired get out my china and crystal and start entertaining?
No not really. Not only do I not have the house for it, I don't have energy with my day job and all that. 
I will leave the sit down dinner parties to the ladies and gentlemen who can host them with the proper savoir faire. 
Hopefully though, I will remain on their guest lists, because I do so appreciate being invited.
Are you inspired to entertain at home this season?

Film, France, Friends and Food

I finally got around to seeing Julie & Julia, a charming film,
and it made me wistful for France
OK maybe not the real France of strikes, traffic jams and car-b-cues
but certainly my fantasy of France
which is all about L'Art de Vivre
fine cuisine, elegant decor, chic fashion, intelligent conversation, fun people
and a strong dollar
you know what I mean
the France of post war Paris where Julia Child lived and learned
like I said...it's a fantasy
Fortunately, on my vacation last month, my fantasy became my reality
with fun people, intelligent conversation, chic fashion, elegant decor
and of course fine cuisine
so here comes the food porn

Let's just start with my stop over at Charles de Gaulle airport where I ignored the Hermes scarves and the Dior perfume and went straight for the food.

The choices were just astounding

how could I not linger over the Ladurée counter with luscious treats in pretty pastels

And jarred yumminess of foie gras

and vin et fromage

Certainly a large part of the pleasure of L'Art de Vivre is L'Art de la Table

where the table setting and presentation is as important as the food being served

White linens, good stemware and Christofle silver add so much to the ambiance

Even this simple lunch of mélon et jambon, at the antique filled apartment of my dear friend Patrick, a retired business consultant and chef extraordinaire, was made sumptuous by virtue of his beautiful table.

Perhaps it it time for me to consider dusting off my old tattered copy of Mastering The Art of French Cooking, pressing some napkins, polishing some silver and getting to the task of entertaining a few friends in my petit pied-à-terre.

Happy Easter - Butterflies and Bailouts

I had a tough time getting into the Easter mood this year.
No church, no brunch with friends....not even a hike in the hills.

I suspect that my miserable mood had something to do with a trip to my accountant on Saturday to go over my taxes all the while knowing that Federal bailout money is going to complete nonsense like the Italian American Museum and vintage street lights for the city of Alameda...not to mention the the bonuses paid to Wall Street executives.

Yep, I was bummed out all weekend until about noon on Sunday when I rallied and decided to put together a little Easter dinner for the de Ville kids.

So, yes I did the marketing, arranged the flowers and set the table with the Queen Victoria china and got to the cooking.

Herend Queen Victoria China at Neiman Marcus

The menu was rather yummy and luckily I had a little help from Miss de Ville.

kir royale as an aperitif

salad of mache and beets dressed with a light vinaigrette

roast lamb, asparagus and roast potatoes with herbs de provence served with cote de rhone

cheese and baguette

individual chocolate molten lava cakes with whipped cream

Obviously, no one was on a diet....at least not last night.

Roberto Coin Butterfly Brooches in 18K at Beladora.com

The dress code chez moi is always casual, but keeping with the butterfly motif on the china these butterfly brooches in pink and yellow sapphires from Roberto Coin would have been perfect.

Can I Get You A Drink?

Watermelon Daiquiri

I'll leave the sipping of Sherry to Oxford Dons and Jerez locals.

My drink of choice for these hot summer nights is a Watermelon Daiquiri.

I'll be serving it at home especially now that I've learned of the Viagra like effects of Watermelon.

Here's the recipe

Ingredients
4 cups frozen watermelon, cubes
1/2 cup light rum
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup triple sec
2 cups ice cubes
Directions
1Combine the watermelon, rum, Triple Sec and lime juice in a blender and process until smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally.
2Add the ice in batches and process until smooth.
3Serve in chilled glasses.

Care for a cocktail?