Last weekend we were in Minneapolis visiting Dusty’s dad, Dean and stepmom, Julie before I get overly busy with the end of the semester and Dusty gets inundated with last minute details for Big Omaha.  Dean and Julie have some good friends, Bret and Jon who we have become close with, in part because they love food just as much as we do (if not more).  Bret recently traveled to France and lead a culinary tour around the country, including Provence, where they went to the former home of Julia Child.  He also runs private events and classes in the Minneapolis area as well as in his home.

It just happens that this past weekend Bret and Jon were having some friends over for a little day of cooking, eating, and drinking, and we got the privilege to attend.  We got some excellent culinary lessons from Bret (who is an excellent teacher by the way) and then ate the beautiful masterpieces we had created.  One of our prep jobs was to be in charge of choosing the wines to pair with each dish and I must say we did an excellent job.  Minneapolis had this great wine shop, France 44, that had an excellent selection of French wines.

Here’s a look at the menu we prepared:

Aperitifs
Anchovy Tapenade with Crackers
Kir Royal (a popular French cocktail made with creme de cassis–black currant liqueur topped up with champagne)

Plat
Cuisses Poulet farci avec la saucisse avec jus (Stuffed Chicken Thighs)
Pomme de terre parisienne (Parisian Potatoes)
Steamed small carrots

Salad Vert
Fromage

Dessert
Tartelettes au chocolat individuels avec des framboises et crème à la pistache (Individual Chocolate Tarts with Raspberries and Pistachio Cream)