Festivus

And there was great feasting and merriment for Pepere was about to turn 65. The whole tribe (apart from the New Yorker) gathered for the requisite celebratory ale and french meal.

Menu

Souffle with pear, parmesan and butter lettuce salad
Coq au Vin
Grandma Rose's chocolate sponge with Glaçage Au Chocolat 

Saturday night was the celebration for Pepere's birthday so the Bear, Memere and I put on a french-themed feast. The main event was Coq au Vin, which I assisted Memere to cook. Actually it was more like observing a Julia masterclass. Apparently it is worth the effort of drying your chicken/meat and the added je ne sais quoi of the dish is flaming it in cognac or brandy - the results spoke for themselves, even Memere admitted it was one of her best CAVs ever. She didn't blink an eye at sauteeing the mushrooms or browning the onions using the separate recipes - possibly because she has done it so many times before she doesn't even need to look at said recipes. I note that she did not blanch the bacon!

My entree was filled with the requisite drama of cooking a souffle and needing to marshall the troops into the dining room at the right time - the recipe was much the same as the earlier spinach and cheese souffle and despite my concerns it rose beautifully!  The balsamic glaze on the pear, parmesan and butter lettuce salad was just right. The only complaint was that there was not enough.

Which meant that we were very hungry for the main event but had to patiently wait while it returned to the oven. Le Gourmand contributed his excellent mashed potatoes to my oven cooked tomatoes and the menu was complete. Memere had spent loving amounts of time properly deglazing the sauce from the coq au vin and as a result the sauce was gorgeous, restrained and not too rich. 

The Bear patiently listened to thousands of helpful ideas and made a fantastic double sponge for dessert following Grandma's special recipe, which left out a few instructions here and there. The Bull and I used Julia's chocolate icing recipe (heat rum and chocolate, beat in butter, allow to thicken beating over bowl of ice and water) and the results were divine.

As all good birthday dinners end, the party ended when the birthday boy - exhausted from a big day at an air show with all of the other men - fell asleep at the table (naturally after the meal).