On A Sunny Afternoon

There's nothing like getting together with a good old friend, is there? Baby and I hadn't seen dear Penelope in what felt like ages or at least months. We finally rallied 'round to have lunch together at our place. And like the best friendships we know, if we are lucky to have them, we caught right up and resumed our conversation like we had only left each other moments ago.

I wanted to pull together something simple but elegant to befit our fabulous friend. While considering what to make, I set an appropriately seasonal table, sort of like a lawn party (note the AstroTurf coasters!). As other friends had just brought over glorious pinkishly tinged gerbera daisies with greenly vibrant leafy stems, that was a finely inspired scheme to lay out the luncheon, with green Patrician Depression plates, wooden bowls, matching hand-stitched floral napkins, and brightly colored shades of Laguiole serving ware with buzzy bees on the hefts that seem to summon summer.

Refreshing Tanqueray gin cocktails straight up with St. Germain elderflower liqueur and thyme sprigs got the ball rolling before we settled into a relaxing afternoon of wine and roses with a bottle of a Domaine de Paris Cotes de Provence rose wine.

 

 

My comments in italics!

The Afternoon's Menu:
Celery Victor Such a gorgeous dish! I traded up a few things here. I used court bouillon stock for extra flavor when simmering the celery, and then made the dressing with a cube of dissolved chicken bouillon. 



Open-Faced Whitefish Sandwiches Adapted from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living, what I made was a riff on a recipe from the Everyday Food publication where smoked trout with a Greek yogurt-cucumber-dill dressing is what's called for. I didn't have the time so I just cut to the chase and bought really good whitefish salad, already made. Slices of sturdy bread are brushed with olive oil and lightly toasted in the broiler before being topped with leaves of either butter or Boston lettuces (the actual recipe lists romaine) and a scoop of the salad. Cubed beets and chopped chives as an additional garnish is my own suggestion--and very good looking, by the way!



Mustard Potatoes Also from Everyday Food, these potatoes were very easy to make. Boil 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes in salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. When they have cooled down, cut in half. Whisk together 2TB olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 2TB mustard (I used Roland's extra strong Dijon, not whole grain) and 1 TB hot water. Toss all together and put in a little salt and pepper while you're at it. A great side dish.



Strawberries and Blueberries with Coconut That's all you need to know. Shop for the best berries you can find, snip off the tips if need be and throw in some shredded coconut.
 

Soundtrack: Quincy Jones, Hip Hits; Stephan Grappelli, Shades of Django; Herbie Hancock, Gershwin's World; Dave Brubeck, The Essence of Dave Brubeck; Ella Fitzgerald, The Best of the Songbooks

Celery Victor

Although scrambled eggs was the first dish that I was taught and made successfully when just a little nipper, there was another dish before it that I made quite unsuccessfully, quite on my own. I used to watch a strange little cartoon called The Oddball Couple (based on Neil Simon's The Odd Couple) featuring a dandy cat named Spiffy and a slobbering dog named Fleabag. I remember thinking it was an absolute riot. So moved was I by one episode where Spiffy (the Felix Unger character) cooked something or other, I hightailed it to the kitchen to make something of my own: sauteed celery doused with Worcestershire sauce and served on wheat toast. It was truly gruesome. I couldn't even eat it.

Well, it turns out that not only hope, but celery too springs eternal. When I made Hoppin' John stew on New Year's Day, it required a stalk of celery, as so many soups and stews do, and like so often before, I found myself wondering what to do with the rest of the package. Single carrots are easy enough to find but not celery. And as much as I sometimes think I might like a snack of celery, I find Ants on a Log to be exhausting and just end up throwing the balance of the bunch out.

I turned to epicurious.com to look up something to do with my celery. Thoughts turned to celery soup, but I didn't have all the ingredients and didn't want to go out again. Suddenly, there it was--Celery Victor! Wary at first, this ended up being a light, elegant and extraordinary dish that felt French, even though its origins are to be found in San Francisco's Hotel St. Francis at the hands of chef Victor Hirtzler. One bunch is an ample amount for two people, presented at lunch, so pretty on a serving platter with celery leaves as a garnish alongside a few glasses of pinot grigio.

The dressing is wonderful--try it on asparagus too--but don't substitute vegetable oil instead of Canola oil as I did the first time out (horrible!): just cut to the chase and use extra virgin olive oil. Also, Celery Victor may be served with anchovies, but I just added about 1 teaspoon or so of anchovy paste into the dressing. Victorious!

Celery Victor

Adapted from Gourmet March 2002, courtesy of epicurious.com

Makes 6 first-course servings

Ingredients
3 celery hearts (1 1/2 lb total), leaves reserved and ribs cut into 3-inch-long pieces
About 3 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
Preparation
Arrange celery ribs in 1 layer in a 12-inch heavy skillet and add just enough chicken broth to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently, covered, until celery is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer celery and broth to a bowl and chill, uncovered, until cold, 2 to 3 hours. Whisk together mustard, sugar, and 3 tablespoons celery cooking broth. Whisk in oil and season with salt and pepper. Stir in chives, then chill vinaigrette, covered, until ready to serve.
Transfer celery ribs with a slotted spoon to 6 plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette and scatter celery leaves on top.

Cooks' notes: Cooked celery can be chilled up to 1 day. Cover chilled celery after 2 hours. Vinaigrette can be chilled up to 1 day.