i spent last weekend at my parents house in chicago, primarily eating or traveling to other eating events.
as per usual, i was welcomed home with the delicious smell of dinner. i sadly do not make it down to chicago frequently, but when i do, i am always surprised by the comfortable lazy feeling i get being home. it’s wonderful.
the other nice thing about chicago is that a large portion of my friends have made their ways there as well. so friday night was a college reunion. you know you are old when a friday night party starts with the returning of tupperware to proper owners from previous get-togethers – a far cry from our friday nights of days past…but i am sooo okay with that.
and to follow up the heavy feasting on friday night, my mom hosted a thirteen person dinner party (a mini family reunion) on saturday night. she does this with the ease of a professional, which i guess she is, as dinner parties are a regular occurance in her household since i can remember. which is why i have such an affinity for dinner parties. thanks mom.
the menu for the party was the type of eclectic assortment that works perfectly: three or four different salads, pates and breads, pumpkin curry soup, chicken baked in wine and cream, the ginger kale gratin i’ve posted about before, and potato and mushroom sides. lots of wine, some fancy desserts, and fruit to top it all off. while i would love to write about everything on the menu that day, i choose the salad nicoise. it’s classic french, like my mother aspires to be (and achieves frequently). without further ado:
- 1 cup small green beans (we used frozen)
- 2 cups mixed greens
- 4 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into wedges
- 1 7 oz. can tuna in olive oil, drained
- ½ tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 16 pitted olives, chopped
- 6-8 anchovy fillets, halved lengthwise
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- Bring salted water to a boil in a small pot. Cook beans for 10 minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse, and cut in half crosswise.
- Arrange lettuce in a dish. Place beans top. Layer with tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, eggs, and tuna. Sprinkle salad with parsley. Arrange anchovies in between eggs.
- To make dressing, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and pour over salad.
recipe adapted from the book of french provincial cooking
[…] written before how my mom is a fantastic cook and dinner party host. most of my culinary influence and desire to cook comes from her. that’s simple. but what […]
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