Paris Bistro

Tonight I went to my first cooking class. It was so much fun! It was about three hours long, which included a a very nice meal at the end! This class was for classic french "bistro food". Here was the menu:

Celeri-route Salade avec Piquant Mayonaise (Celery root salad with Piquant Mayo dressing)
 Pate de Foie Maison ( House liver pate)
Soup a l'oignon (french onion soup)
Ratatouile (vegetable provencal)
Coq au Vin (chicken in red wine)
Chocolate Fondant

We also learned some little extras like how to make your own mayo.
I worked on the ratatouile with my new friend Judy.  It was actually quite easy.

And I think this was the first time I had ever had any of these dishes! (Except the soup.) It was all really nice. And yes, I tried pate. This is actualy quite popular over here and I made it 2 1/2 years without having to eat it. But tonight I thought I would take the plunge! It didn't taste bad but I take issue with "meat mousse" in general. It did help that it was served with crusty bread and "onion jam" which was really quite delicious despite making me think of "toe jam"!  Ok, does it look like I might have some issues?

Here's the instructor, Riki, demonstrating how to make the fondant (which was scrumptious!). You make it in 2-3 inch ramekins and I wanted to eat about 10 of them! (I guess that's the difference between Americans and the French!) I'll be adding the recipes to my blog as I make my own little tweaks to them.

Despite having lots of fun and making new friends, I missed my men lots! Our friends Anna and Amber watched True for a little bit while Alan played volleyball. When Alan picked him up True took 3 big steps on his own! He's been doing a lot better with one or two steps here and there, but this is a bit more than usual. (Go figure I'm with him 23-7 and it happens in my "off" hour!) Here's a few pics of him to mark 11 months!

He is really such a happy little boy- I just can't wait for all of you to really get to know him. Lately he has been very into books, he still pushes stuff around the house, and he likes to drum on everything. I joined a toy library and i think i will have to get a little drum next time i go.

That's it for now! Just need to wish Lauren, Jack, Emily, Mimi, Anna, and Dad happy birthdays! Love you all! We'll celebrate in person next year- promise!