Underground Gem: A Parisian Cocktail Lounge

A speakeasy of sorts in the trendy St. Germain area has the perfect prescription for you. Don't ask me how we stumbled upon Prescription Cocktail Club, considering this underground lounge had dark windows with closed curtains, a big black door that was closed, and it was off the beaten track -- but thankfully before we left Paris for Provence we got a taste of the cool side of the Left Bank of Paris.


As you enter this cozy, expat lounge you wonder if you will bump into Hemingway or Picasso's ghost, except it almost feels even too hush hush for the types of them considering they loved the limelight. First off, the bartenders are mixologists. I don't throw around that word often, nor do I tend to blog about bars or lounges or else one would assume I know too much about them, but I had to make an exception for Prescription Cocktail Club, and more specific for Axel the mixologist who was so unpretentious and welcoming... even for the French! (P.S. The food may be superb in Paris but so far the service has been horrible and has completely earned its reputation -- other than Axel that is).

Great list of cocktails with exotic liquors.

Happy to have found two seats at the small bar on the first floor, we nestled ourselves in and ordered off of the creative and impressive cocktail menu. Charles hadn't been able to find a perfect dirty martini in Paris so he went for it, while I decided to try the Very Old Cuban. I knew from the start these drinks were going to be reallllly good considering the sip straws next to the glasses were for the bartenders to try the cocktails before serving them to make sure they are up to par. Also, the method of preparation was fantastic from chilled glasses, different kinds of ice cubes for each appropriate drink, to freshly made mixers and the perfect shake. Oh, and don't bother asking for Grey Goose because even though the vodka is from France you'd never guess. Axel did show us the vodka they used for Charles' dirty martini and it was really smooth. Although I don't remember the name right now I can tell you it is made with some quinoa -- go figure!

The "Very Old Cuban," a take on the mojito using
Very Old Rum, Strained Mint but with Champagne -- Oh Yeah!

Not only were the drinks delicious, but the music was also spot on from some old school soul mixed in with some current hip hop and pop. Hence, while in Paris you MUST stop by Prescription Cocktail Club for an authentic Parisian experience.  

Jardin du Luxembourg

Woke up early today to go to one of the largest, organic food, open-markets in Paris called, Marche Raspail. On our way over we stumbled upon Jardin du Luxembourg


What a beautiful public park with tennis & basketball courts, a track amongst nature, and gardens. There were various sitting areas covered in shade by tall beautiful trees to gaze upon astounding sculptures.





Other than the gardens, there is the Musee du Luxembourg which looked like there was a really cool exhibition, but decided to pass since we already had enough museums on our list of the hundreds Paris offers.






With the architectural beauty, culture and history Paris offers, it is a given that no matter where you walk or get lost for that matter, you will surely stumble upon majestic sights in this glorious city.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Rue de Seine,Paris,France

First Find: Le Macaron

Upon the day of arrival as we walked alleyways of antiques throughout St. Germaine, there on Rue Royal was the first patissiere that beckoned me. Laduree, "Maison fondee en 1862," was a small shop of beautiful colors, smells and tastes, and come to find out one with much history in Paris. 

Although every scrumptious sweet behind the glass case called my name, it was an easy decision to go straight for my first macaroon in Paris. They're "Macaron Collection" comprises of delicious flavors such as orange blossom, frambiose (strawberry), lemon, chocolate, and caramel with salted butter. I chose my favorites, Rose Petal and Pistachio.  As you can imagine, they were light, airy, full of flavor, and so far the best macaroon I have tasted. And as they should have been considering it was the maison of the shop, Pierre Desfonatines, in the early 20th century who invented the modern Parisian macaroon we now know of today. 

The macaroon history is interesting and I found it most easy to read from Les Petits Macarons. It all begins in the Venetian monasteries in the 8th century after almonds arrived in Italy from the Arabs. That is why the word macaron comes from the Italian verb, "maccare," to beat or pound, which is what they did to the almonds getting that creamy paste to use for baking. It was the nuns of France who were the driving force behind making macaroons popular in France. But as stated above, the Parisian creamed sandwich of today with the two shells joined together with a ganache filling, also referred to as "gerbet," is a more modern invention from Pierre Desfontaines, who was the second cousin of Louis Ernest Laduree. And so the Laduree box of macaroons connotes the same sophistication and excellence as another little green box, from Tiffany's, albeit not nearly as expensive and much more flavorful.  Stay tuned as today I shall explore open-air food markets for baguettes and cheese... 

Blogging on Location, Test Blogging from iPhone

Woooh! Going on my honeymoon. I'm testing the 1st blog I've ever done on my phone so please bare with me...

Flying out tonight on red eye to Paris for 4 nights, day trip to Champagne, few nights in Rhone Valley, few nights in Provence, and finish the trip on the French Riviera: St. Tropez, Nice, and hopefully time for Monaco.




There couldn't be a better place to blog on location about Flowers, Food and Wine! I am so excited, and can't wait to share my finds and loves of France with you.

A few objectives: 1) Find an onion soup that can rival my mother's
2) Smell the Lavender in the fields of Provence 3) Eat a croissant for breakfast, baguette and cheese on seine river for lunch, and chocolates in between... DAILY!

Have an Apple apt. So have to run but hope this post works.
Aurevoir!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Two weeks throughout France

Ringing in 2013 Circa 1950s in Rhinebeck, NY

This year we left the epicenter for celebrating New Year's Eve for a small, quiet town that felt closer to the 50s than ringing in 2013. Last minute, literally on NYE afternoon we decided to rent a car and head north on the Hudson to Rhinebeck. It was a wonderful winter escape that took under 2 hours on a beautiful scenic drive.

We stayed at Beekman Arms and Delamater Inn located on Main Street in the center of town, which we found out is America's longest operating inn (hit the link to the left for the history of the inn which amazingly enough was host to George Washington and played a major role during the American Revolution). Upon entering the lobby is a welcoming fire place with leather couches and wooden beams. So comforting and rustic, like all you want to do is read a book in front of the fire with a hot cup of tea or in my case a hot toddy.

Since our dinner reservation wasn't until 9:30 that night, which also included dancing to a live jazz band playing 20s/30s swing, we decided to walk Main Street and pop into a few of the remaining open shops. When we left the inn we heard live music outside that sounded so beautiful, and to our astonishment under a lit tree on the street corner was a saxophonist. After we tipped the talented musician and crossed the street we saw an old-fashioned department store with wonderful window displays of clothing. A few doors down was a toy shop, antique shop lined with old sleds on the sidewalk and many exquisite restaurants that feature farm to table cooking, small cafes and good-looking bars. As far as Charles and I were concerned we found our little slice of heaven in the country a quick drive outside of the city.

We only had a few hours before heading back to our room to sit by the fire and start to get ready for dinner, so we walked into Liberty Public House, an inviting bar with perfect ambiance. The dining room was set up for dinner with glamorous candelabras and chandeliers all over, yet Red, White and Blue as the color scheme with decorations and artwork -- think Americana meets Marie Antoinette (thanks Charles -- nicely put). The bar side to the right, was an old-world saloon with wooden booths and cowboy looking bar, with awesome old prints of presidents, inventors and nature scenes hung all around, and the occasional moose head plaque or old model airplane. We only had one drink there before taking a fellow patron's recommendation to try out The Local. And wouldn't you know the two couples next to us were so nice to pay for our round! Can you believe it?!?! That only validated that we left the big city for nice people telling the bartender, "We got this round to welcome our guests in town." Thank You Rhinebeck, Mission Accomplished, We felt Welcomed!

So off we went to The Local Restaurant and Bar which was small and scrumptious. Known for its local  products, regional recipes with seasonal changing menu, and acclaimed wine cellar -- one can easily deduce that the owner is also the chef de cuisine. I have to get right to it, the FRIED OYSTERS with BLACK TRUFFLE AIOLI were UNBELIEVABLE!!! I mean so good I need to get the recipe for you my loyal readers or else I won't feel right. Please Chef Wes Dier do me that one favor... How did you make that delicious truffle aioli? (To be continued on the recipe -- hopefully I can share it with y'all). I would take a stab at what was in it, but with the rest of the champagne that followed that evening it has blurred my tasting experience other than remembering how phenomenal it was!

 Fast forward through a fun dinner at Beekman's, yet with all the talented, local dining establishments I wouldn't recommend the Beekman Arms for dinner. Sure why not have a drink in their great bar feeling like your swilling some ale where the revolutionaries debated what should go into the Declaration of Independence. Maybe even enjoy lunch or brunch in their beautiful front glass atrium, but compared to the other restaurants in town the dining there wasn't up to par. So fast forward: dancing, martinis, midnight kiss, champagne, great discussion, wine and late night partying at the underground bar at Liberty (go figure small town Rhinebeck parties until the wee hours, 4AM WHAT! We lasted to 2AM) we get to New Year's Day.

Other than a great cup of tea in front of the fireplace at Beekman's reading Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (highly recommend you read this monumental book authored from an inspirational woman of the 60s who created what we know today as the environmental movement), went straight to Samuel's for a great cup of coffee. Nothing like coffee to help a hangover, let alone mixed with penny candy and homemade chocolates (cute coffee shop for adults and children alike).

We headed to Arielle's for New Year's brunch. We figured the food would be wonderful because it smelled so good from
a few hundred feet away that the aroma beckoned us over to the French provincial restaurant. A charming setting to sip on a mimosa or bloody Mary with natural light infusing through the front windows on the plank floors and wooden beams of the ceilings. Glorious artwork hung throughout the restaurant, an overall aesthetically pleasing atmosphere for lunch or dinner. Since we were starving and couldn't wait for our main course, we ordered Pommes Frites. Fantastic! They were accompanied with another delicious aioli.

Although we ordered the crispy, skinny French fries to have something to pick on prior to our meals, the meals themselves came out fairly quickly even with a full dining room. They were offering a very reasonable prix fixe which for $14 included several choices for your entree and either a mimosa, Bellini or bloody Mary. Of course I got the Eggs Benedict and couldn't possibly wait for a picture before diving right in for a bite. Than I collected myself and realized I would be blogging about this meal and tried to tidy up the plate (hence the picture below). Absolutely delicious Eggs Benedict, the Hollandaise Sauce was light and fluffy but full of flavor and the accompaniment of mixed greens went well with the richness of the rest of the plate (granted I already enjoyed my potatoes). Not too mention the service was attentive and fast.

After brunch we took a short ride throughout town which was nice to see all the farm land of Dutchess County and the properties sitting right on the Hudson, which includes another well-known hotel called The Rhinecliff with beautiful views of the mountains across the way and the river below. We were happy with our decision though to stay at Beekman Arms since everything you need whether for one or two days visiting is conveniently located in the center of town on Main and Market Streets.

We made it back to an old independent movie theater called Upstate Films, which was playing Hyde Park on Hudson starring Bill Murray. It was the perfect movie to see in Rhinebeck during this brief escape from hectic modern day living, not too mention that FDR's home was only a 15 minute drive away. It's a lovely film that showed the beauty of small town America in the 30s and 40s, and the decorum of politicking before the 24/7 news cycle and some of the fanatics that take office today. It showed how authentic the experience was living somewhere without strip-malls and suburban sprawl, rather local shops where people knew your name and cared to know how you were doing (although it's 2013 I still got a similar notion that Rhinebeck has kept some of those qualities today).

Before finally getting on the road to head out of this wonderful enclave, we went into the local Rhinebeck Smoke Shoppe to savor a rather luxurious Christmas present, Arturo Fuentes Opus X Cigar. We learned that the smoke shop was there from 1929. We had a spirited discussion on the state of America with a fellow who welcomed us in and could have been the proprietor, but probably wasn't. Shook hands and bid farewell for now, as we drove back to Manhattan.

One of my favorite parts to Rhinebeck was its overall unpretentious, laid-back style even though its clearly an affluent community with a hip restaurant scene, high property values, beautiful views and an assortment of anything one wants from salons to boutiques -- heck even Chelsea Clinton got married there. 

Christmas Dinner Menu from Breakfast to Dessert

This Christmas I became a grown-up. Yes, I stopped believing in Santa a long time ago (except when I still watch Miracle on 34th Street), but this was the first holiday meal that I hosted for my family at my place. It may be because my mother always does such an amazing job not only with the cooking, but being such a warm, loving host that we've never wanted to change it. It may also be because I live in a studio apartment that may total 300 square feet if we count the fire escape. But this year it was time for a new generation in my family to step up to the plate. And I've learned that it's not about how much space or square footage you have, it's about who you have in your life to share it with. Even in our small home, we still made quite a feast and enjoyed each other and the meal, creating lasting memories.

Here was our Christmas Dinner Menu: 

Smoked Ham with a Madeira Glaze

Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Raviolis, Brown Sugar and Black Truffle Oil Sauce

Arugula, Gorgonzola, Candied Pecans and Tomatoes with Balsamic 

I got the ham from Ottomanelli and Sons Meat Market in the West Village on Bleecker Street. These gentlemen have a first class butcher shop. Even amongst the chaos and craziness of the holidays you will still get friendly, helpful service, let alone as always their quality meats. The reason I chose ham was my small oven is lacking for roasting or baking; it pretty much only broils on top and bottom. So the ham was already cooked, it was just a matter of heating it and basting it to give it flavor. They also provided a wonderful recipe for a glaze, that my brother and I slightly improvised.

Inside the Old-School Meat Market

Long line around the corner to the butcher shop

Mission Accomplished: Day of Food Shopping 

We put the ham in a 3" inch deep roasting pan, and added 1/2cup of Madeira wine and some water. We then poured some more Madeira wine on top of the ham in addition to a little olive oil, and rubbed some butter and brown sugar on it. We put that in the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, to prepare the glaze, we mixed 1/2 cup of Dijon mustard (we used Grey Poupon) with a cup of brown sugar and since I had some apricot preserves I added a 1/4 cup (even orange marmalade would have been nice). We continued to mix the glaze adding some more Madeira wine to bring it to the right consistency. We took the ham out and poked some clove spikes all around it with some juniper berries, and basted the ham with some of the glaze. We cooked it on 375 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour, consistently basting it.

Since I couldn't use my oven to prepare anything else, I opted for fresh raviolis. I chose two: wild mushroom and aged goat cheese. On the same block as Ottomanelli's is a wonderful Cheese and Italian Specialty Shop called Murray's Cheese. They have quite an assortment of pastas, chocolates, cheese, olives, bread, spreads — it's wonderful! I also learned that they offer classes for cheese learning and gift making. Since we've now eaten the raviolis I would highly recommend the circle raviolis stuffed with mushroom, but would pass on the square raviolis. The goat cheese ravs let the stuffing out when put in the boiling water (my brother chef told me it was because they were prepared without enough flour). I also got some black truffle oil from Murray's which we used in the sauce for the raviolis.

Thankfully my brother took over for the sauce and prepared it with butter, Madeira wine, brown sugar, pomegranate berries and thyme (I believe he also added a little flour to it as he was sauteing it to thicken the sauce). When the sauce was finished, he tossed the raviolis in it, he then added the truffle oil on top to bring out the flavor... DELICIOUS!

As a starter we had an arugula salad with amazing Gorgonzola cheese from Murray's called Gorgonzola Mountain from Italy. First I toasted the pecans in a hot saute pan and added brown sugar, hence candied pecans (super easy and smells great). Other than some sweet cherry tomatoes, the dressing was just olive oil, balsamic, salt and a pinch of pepper since arugula already has a peppery quality to it.

Lastly were the Brussels sprouts that we would have preferred to 

roast, but due to our oven dilemma we decided to pan saute. My brother got a hot pan with some olive oil and butter, salted and peppered the Brussels sprouts after cutting them in half and put them in the pan for about 10 minutes, letting them get nice and crispy on the outside.   

Happy Camper

One of the best parts to the meal was the Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010, courtesy of mom, aka Val. We have now been spoiled by my mother that for any holidays or special events we are enjoying her favorite wine -- and Caymus sure does know how to put the "special" into something. 

Dessert:

Homemade Greek Christmas Cookies, Courtesy of my Yiayia Golfo: Melomakarona & Kourambiedas 

Edible Fruit Arrangement

Variety of Small Cheesecakes

Worst Yule Log EVER (Bought from Zaro's in Grand Central Station) 

I will only write something negative if it warrants the review, only as a means to prevent others from having to experience it. I wouldn't feel right not to mention how disgusting the yule log from Zaro's was in Grand Central Station. It was hard to believe that something so beautiful, coming from such an established bakery could be so horrible. I had purchased Christmas Cookies from Zaro's and they were delicious, so I couldn't believe the yule log was so bad. There was no buttercream to it whatsoever, even though it was advertised that way.                     

                                                                                 All you tasted was sugar and wafer -- no cake and certainly no nice textured frosting. Thankfully I had other desserts which came to our rescue. 

Breakfast:

Rustichella d'Abruzzo Panettone

Amarena Cherries 

Cheese Charcuterie

Pillsbury Croisants (Just had to!)

Scrambled Eggs & Salami

Fresh Fruit

Most of my breakfast also came from Murray's. The panettone was so moist and sweet, such a delicious fruit bread that went perfectly for breakfast. I'm glad I took the advice of the sales person and bought the Amarena cherries which only come out once a year, and are now completely sold out. The Amarena cherries are in a syrupy consistency that can be eaten as is, or spread on bread. They went well with the variety of cheeses and panettone. Out of all the cheeses my favorite was the Hudson Red from Twin Maple Farm (rich and semi-soft). I also had a wonderful sharp Cheddar that paired well called Prairie Breeze.

My advice is try to get as much done and prepared in advance so you can enjoy the company you are eating with and the time shared together. I specifically chose the menu that I did because overall it wasn't too time consuming or stressful, while offering such nice festive flavors. By the end of my 2+ years living in our tiny studio, I will have some of the greatest memories -- which goes to show that it isn't about the space or stuff you have, but what you make of it. Thank you to my family for making this Christmas so special. I hope everyone had a magical and blessed holiday. Here's to a Happy and Healthy 2013!

    

Quick, Easy, Affordable Christmas Flowers

 A quick post on inexpensive floral arrangements for Christmas. Since this is the first Christmas I will be hosting in NYC I have been running around to get all the details taken care of. Of course for us that means number one, FOOD & DRINK, and then in a close second, flowers.

This was a pre-Christmas celebration with our uncle and aunt who came into town for the night. We did dinner out at Good in the West Village, and as usual it was fantastic. Good is a great local spot that never fails and is always consistently... well... Good :) On a side note but worth mentioning, the happy hour at Good is great. Bar bites are a few dollars for happy hour between 6-8PM, and all their scrumptious cocktails which are premium liquors are half price, meanwhile the wine and beer are somewhere around $3-5.

After Good, we came back to our place to do an early Christmas! What fun, Christmas squared! Presents, pie, spiked egg nog, stalkings twice, and even D.C.'s Christmas Spectacular on TV. But the point of this blog was to share a centerpiece idea I came up with.

White roses, berries & Christmas Greens

Firstly, I wanted something that would last the whole weekend onto Christmas. Many of us are having holiday get togethers throughout the weekend onto the actual day on Tuesday, so I wanted something that wouldn't wilt and would look fresh. I also wanted to make it myself, keep it inexpensive and something short that I could use on the dinner table on Christmas Day (there is nothing worst than tall flowers on a dinner table blocking views and making cross table dialogue difficult).

Since I knew my linens had holiday plaid and would be colorful, I wanted something simple and festive for the flowers, hence the white roses. Initially I wanted to keep it monochromatic with just white roses, but then I came up with this quick and easy way to make the centerpieces multidimensional while also adding some holiday cheer.  What's great about this is you can use glassware you may already have instead of fancy vases. I personally used a margarita glass and round wine glass, that way there was different heights and shapes involved.

What's Needed:

• Dozen Roses (I chose white, but red would work as well)
• Holiday Mix Greens (Balsam Fir, Holly, etc.)
• Red Berries
• Glassware that can be used as vases

Dessert Setting. Pecan Pie from Amy's Breads in Chelsea Market
and Lenox Holiday Setting which is proudly made in America

First I cut the roses to know how many were needed for both arrangements and to what height. Then I cut the greens to fit into the vases and make sure the stems were cut off so you only saw greenery. I added water first, and then arranged the greens sideways in each vase. That way the bottom of the vase that you normally would only see stems, now appeared to have floating holiday greenery.

The trick to keeping the berries in place and not all floating to the top is to purposefully place them in the greens so they stay in place. I took some berries off the stem and had them individually placed among the floating greens, while I also took some small branches of berries and placed them in the floating greens. The flowers were purchased from my local bodega.

What I really like about these arrangements is you can make as many as needed for whatever size table you have, and to whatever height and shape preference for the vases. Whether it is two or ten, the motif would look chic and festive on any size table. On the picture below you can somewhat see the height dimension. Plus, while mixing the centerpieces with candlelight on the table it adds another dimension as if there is candlelight glowing in the vases.

Living in Manhattan the total cost for the dozen of roses and greenery was $25, but elsewhere I imagine it could be even less. I already had the glassware for vases which made it easy as well. Plus I had plenty of left over greenery and even a few roses, so I continued a similar theme for the rest of the rooms which in my situation isn't many (bathroom and windowsill, we're talking a studio apt).

I was also quite excited for the first part of my holiday hosting because I got to use my new and first ever China. For the holidays my mom got us the classic Holiday Lenox Dinnerware. It's American designed and MADE In the USA (go Lenox). So excited for my dinner setting for Tuesday, the 25th.

On a parting note, other than a decadent pecan pie from Amy's Breads in Chelsea Market, which was phenomenal, the overpriced egg nog was soooooo well worth it I am going to buy another pint tomorrow. For $10, you can get such delicious egg nog it tastes homemade except it isn't, other than coming from the local, organic farm called Ronnybrook. If you don't buy much this year, you need to buy this egg nog... It was even voted "Best Thing I've Ever Had" from Food Network. So convenient, the local Duane Read Pharmacy sells it.

I will be posting a Christmas Dinner post going over the menu, but just early inspiration for the flowers which truly sets the tone. Merry Christmas and God Bless!

My husband Charles with our Aunt Jaci and Uncle Larry! Love you guys & thanks for a fantastic early Christmas

Culinary Masters... Les Amis d'Escoffier Society

First Escoffier Dinner I attended    
at Union Station in Worcester, 2009 

Myself, Brother Christos & Mother Valerie James

Lucky for me I am surrounded by chefs and foodies in my family, so not only do I get to enjoy amazing holiday meals and be the guinea pig for delicious new recipes, but I get to accompany them to their fabulous culinary escapades. One of these in particular has become an annual event in our family for the past fours years, where we not only get to feast on a superb five-course meal, but it is all in celebration of the cuisine and talent behind preparing it. It began with my mother who was inducted into the renowned Les Amis d'Escoffier Society five years ago, think Skull and Bones of the culinary world (not exactly but exclusive and full of rich food tradition and history). Since then we have been her faithful followers to these decadent dinners that get hosted by a different New England member restaurateur each year. Last year my brother was also inducted into the New England Chapter of Les Amis d'Escoffier, and we were so pleased to ring in the new honoree at The Castle Restaurant in Leicester, where he also apprenticed in the kitchen under owner and Chef de Cuisine Stanley Nicas.

My brother Christos James Inducted 2011  
at The Castle Restaurant with Stanley Nicas

I was so grateful to recently sit with Dr. Stanley J. Nicas who is the National Chapter Chairman of Les Amis d'Escoffier and his son James S. Nicas, the New England Chapter President, to discuss the rich history behind the society, and learn even more about their family-run, fine dining establishment from 1950, The Castle Restaurant.

First I must state for the record that the art of conversation is alive and well when sitting with Dr. Nicas. It was fascinating hearing an insider's view on working with some of the culinary greats of the past century, let alone his own fantastic adventures from serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II surviving a kamikaze attack to his aircraft carrier the USS Bunker Hill, to arriving in New Port, RI learning under the renowned Chef Joseph Donon at the Breakers, to eventually building his own fine dining restaurant and teaching every summer at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park.

Awards & photos at The Castle. Escoffier
in the center oval frame.

Stanley not only colorfully explained how Les Amis d'Escoffier Society originated, but well beyond the dullness of Wikipedia, Stanley enlightened me to the ways of chefs and their incestuous world of mentorship. Stanley relayed wonderful details that only he could know since his mentor was Donon himself, and Donon's mentor was the legendary Auguste Escoffier.

Julia Child inducted into Les Amis d'Escoffier
Society at The Castle Restaurant by Stanley Nicas

Since 1936, a year after Escoffier's death, Donon founded the epicurean society with 23 other members hosting a dinner at The Waldorf-Astoria to honor his mentor and preserve culinary traditions from the master, who was considered the "best chef in the world." More than seventy years later there are now several Chapters across the U.S. and international chapters. From the early 50s Stanley has served as the national and international president. Stanley inducted the late Julia Child into the group in the early 70s, and five months prior to Donon's death in 1981, Stanley honored his mentor at an Escoffier dinner at the Castle.

Ceremony inducting new honorees 

At the beginning of every dinner a formal ceremony takes place inducting the year's honorees. The master of ceremonies hits a frying pan with a spoon before presenting a gold medallion to each honoree. The kitchen utensils used in the ceremony signify the tools a chef uses in the kitchen. A traditional saying in French is uttered, which is basically inviting the named person as the rank of commander into the society, as each person shares equal rank in the society.

At each dinner what I usually take away from it other than a few extra pounds and gluttonous ecstasy, is the gathering of food professionals and enthusiasts alike, to enjoy the art of fine dining and each other's company. On the back of every menu states the dinner rules including that men must have the napkin tucked under the collar and,                                                  "Since the Society is dedicated to the art of good living only, it is forbidden under threat of expulsion, to speak of personal affairs, of one's own work or specialty and more particularly to attempt to use the Society as a means of making business contacts."  

Escoffier Society Dinner 2012
Sonoma Restaurant

                                                                    The dinner is intended to perpetuate the art of gourmet cuisine. To enthuse a passion for the craftsmanship of cooking. And beyond all the esteem of creating masterpieces, is to highlight what every meal is really intended to do, whether it is roast chicken or chateaubriand, to bring people together. What is most inspiring about Stanley Nicas is not only his passion for cooking which is seen in all of his years of expertise including these years while he remains dedicated to his legacy at the Castle, but also his commitment to keeping the traditions alive by passing them onto younger generations. Whether it is through his deep involvement and work with the Distinguished Visiting Chef Program at Johnson and Wales demonstrating cooking techniques in front of students with the likes of Emeril Lagasse to Barbara Lynch or having hundreds of apprentices walk through the doors of the Castle to harness their craft. Here's to keeping good cuisine going strong...        Bon Appetit!

Brother Christos James & Husband Charles Moschos

Below is the menu from the most recent Escoffier Society Dinner at Sonoma Restaurant

 in Princeton, MA. A second part to the blog will follow on wine pairings and a discussion with Wine Expert and Sommelier James Nicas.

Ahi Tuna Poke (unfortunately I couldn't control
myself before taking the photo)

"Steak and Eggs" Kobe Beef with Quail Egg

Intermezzo of melon & balsamic 

Cherry Laquered Bone in Pork Belly

Triple Creme Brie

Stuffed Crab Apple with Caramel Rollo Ice Cream