A French-Inspired Meal, A Better-than-Bachlorette-Inspired Weekend

On Friday night we went to Paris. The occasion? Bachelorette does not describe it, although we were celebrating a bride-to-be. There was no gaudy outfitting and masquerading around town. We simply ate our way through her favorite places without leaving the most peaceful party house in the woods there is.

We started with fancy cheese and a French red.

(The next night our resident charcuterie artist worked her magic in Italy, but it was so pretty I had to put it here amidst France.)


This was our menu for the weekend. From Paris we went to the bride's breakfast room for waffles and cheddar cheese (yep, you heard me right) and then to our beloved city for chicken salad and the best fresh whole wheat bread and hummus, plus Caramel Brownies. And then off to Italy for a Guiseppe's-inspired Vegetable Penne with Feta Sauce that the bride declared better (and lighter) than its inspiration. We wrapped things up in Cajun country with a frittata and these frozen chocolate croissants Trader Joe's sells that rise overnight and taste bakery fresh and therefore had me talking about their wonder nonstop all morning. No menfolk meant we carbed and veggied and desserted things up like crazy.

Anyway, back to Paris. We simplified a Salad Nicoise, which some research revealed involves placing veggies in different sections of a platter and drizzling dressing on top. We skipped the anchovies, and the tuna, and wintry veggies that would have to be boiled (potatoes and beets). And that was all we needed because our protein and carbs came from...

Housemade crepes filled with a chicken-asparagus-cream sauce mixture and topped with more of the same, only prettier. I mastered sweet crepes a while back, so I wasn't too scared to try this savory variety with my trusty nonstick pan. Ahhhmazingly delicious it was.

And now for the crown jewel that proved the bride has the best kind of friends because they all scraped and even licked their ramekins. Pots de Creme, y'all. It's a little high maintenance with the individual portions that must be bathed and baked for forever and individually covered and THEN chilled in the fridge (or the freezer to speed things up). But the decadence of chilled chocolate custard  that emerged had us all only talking about its amazingness during the duration of this course. It's kind of like a chocolate creme brulee without the torched top. Cut the richness with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and not one but three strawberries slices (thanks to Helen the hand model), and you will never eat dessert out again.

Indian Butter Chicken

The name makes this wonderfully aromatic tomato cream sauce sounds scarily fatty, but fear not. I cut back on butter and used yogurt (yogurt idea stolen from Life's Ambrosia) instead of cream, and I believe the dish was all the better for it. When you've got ginger and garam marsala and cardamom and garlic and chili powder, why do you need extra butter and cream?

I'm pretty sure the recipes I based it off of had to be somewhat Americanized because my not-always-adventurous fellow eaters were called it "delicious" and "different." Generously adding the right spices kept it from being bland like my one other attempt at Indian cuisine, hopefully getting the final product somewhere closer to authenticity. It was also pretty quick prep for weeknight dinner.

I just need a Trader Joe's nearby (please, Trader Joe's powers that be) next time I make it so I can grab some naan. (Naan is an Indian flat bread sort of like pita bread but better.) Or I need to stop by an Indian restaurant. Or something so I can complete the full sauce-rice-naan Indian food trifecta.