Le Fondue Party

Served on Monday, 16 December 2024 at Chez Kim-Martin

Le Menu

Entrée

Oysters and sauce mignonette

Plat

Celery Salad with tart cherries and toasted pecans in a zippy vinaigrette

Fondue Neuchâtel

Served with bread, roasted potatoes, sausage, cornichons, and mustard

Dessert

Trou Normand

Homemade apple sorbet topped with a splash of Calvados

Wine

White Bourgogne Aligoté

Romaine and I decided to make fondue on a cold, snowy December evening when our friend Joe would arrive from NYC. The day of, Romaine grabbed some oysters and last-minute groceries before picking up Joe from the train station, and I began my mise en place, washing and chopping the vegetables for the meal. I popped the mushrooms, potatoes, and sausage in the oven. Then, I made a bright, zippy salad with celery I wanted to use up from the fridge and tossed the celery with chopped dried tart cherries, freshly toasted pecans, herbs, and a bright vinaigrette. I grated Emmental and Gruyere cheese in the food processor and cleaned up. Romaine pulled out the ice cream maker to make apple sorbet with local Vermont apples. We’d later top the sorbet with a splash of Calvados to make a Tru Normande for dessert, though usually, it’s a palate cleanser served between courses thought to aid digestion. 

Joe set the table, and Gaston pattered around, sniffing excitedly. I melted the cheese gradually on my stove in my bright orange aluminum pot and brought the melted cheese to the table. I lit the Sterno, and the blue flame gently appeared, contrasting beautifully with the orange pot. I speared a piece of potato and dropped it into the pot, swirling it around to mix the cheese. I lifted my fondue fork, twirled the cheese around the potato to avoid drippage, and lifted the exquisite bite to my lips. I sat silent momentarily, appreciating and reveling in the cheese and wine. I eventually returned to the table and joined the conversation again, the three of us joyfully dipping into the communal pot while the fire in our wood stove crackled merrily.

You can read more about my adventures in learning how to make fondue at home in my recent letter here.  The recipe for the celery salad is here, and the fondue Neuchâtel is here and linked in the menu above.

Brunch: French Omelette & Ma's Home Fries

Menu 

Ma’s Home Fries

French Omelette (or eggs however you like them)

It’s gorgeous in Paris today. The sun is shining, flowers are beginning to bloom, and the air smells of spring. Romaine and I took a walk this morning along the Seine River to soak up some much needed sunshine. The mood in Paris is somber. Non-essential businesses in Paris have closed starting today—per government mandate. It seems that there are fewer people out and about in our neighborhood. At the boulangerie people have self-organized and spaced themselves one meter away from each other. I left Romaine outside the boulangerie, grabbed our baguette, and hurried home to prepare lunch. 

After thoroughly sanitizing our things, taking a quick shower, and washing my hands for 20 seconds, I began to cook. I made a French omelette and one of my mother-in-law's home fries (I am fortunate to have two lovely mother-in-laws ), and sauteed some white asparagus and mushrooms that I needed to use up. If you have eggs, an onion, potatoes, some dried spices, and cooking fat, then you too can make this simple comforting meal. 



Le Hangover Brunch

Breakfast Nachos

Cold Brew Coffee

Lacto-Fermented Hot Sauce

Mimosas (a good thing to ask your guests to contribute)

Sometimes she hosts brunch, and sometimes that third (or fifth) glass of wine from the evening before can quickly turn into a hangover...listen, dahling, this is 32. Yet, she is a lady of her word and if I’ve invited my friends over for brunch, then you better trust and believe that she shall host that brunch. Making breakfast nachos is a quick and crowd-pleasing brunch option because it’s easy to prepare ingredients in advance! The day before the brunch, I grate the cheese, wash and chop/slice the produce, filter my cold brew, and set out all of my equipment. I also try to have some advil and Gatorade around for the morning...just in case. 

This menu is a collection of no-recipe recipes that you can easily tailor to your preference. As I learn more about cooking, I find that recipes are merely suggestions and ways to document the general ideas about how to cook a certain dish. So, with that said, I hope you enjoy this low-drama brunch menu!

Menu Type: Quick and Easy, Plan ahead

How to Party

Timeline for a Saturday 12 pm brunch

Wednesday or Thursday

• Go grocery shopping

Thursday evening

• Start brewing cold brew coffee

Friday evening

• Prep the nacho toppings and set out equipment for the next morning

• Set table

• Filter cold brew

Saturday morning

• Roll out of bed, take Advil and chug some Gatorade (11ish)

• Drink cold brew and luxuriate

• 11:40 am start cooking bacon and heating re-fried beans for nachos

• 11:50 am assemble nachos

• 12 ish - when guests arrive pop nachos in oven and start frying eggs

• 12:15 ish enjoy brunch!

A Peak Summer Vegetarian Feast

Cocktails
Watermelon Agua Fresca with an optional splash of tequila or mezcal

Entrée
Shortcut elote
Toasted sourdough (bought at the farmer’s market) and/or baguette brushed with olive oil topped with sliced heirloom tomatoes with and flaky salt
Zahav's Hummus Tehina - Use 2 cans of chickpeas if you don’t want to cook your own
Smoky Eggplant Dip (Eggplant Moutabal)
Shaved Summer Zucchini Salad

Saturday mornings in the Kim-Martin household are a sacred time during the week reserved for running errands and luxuriating. My favorite Saturday morning activity is going to the farmer's market with our marvelous friend Joe — an artist with a gentle soul and fierce works of art. Romaine and I like to enjoy our cold-brew and stroll to the Brooklyn Central Library, our rendez-vous point. After I drop off my books, the three of us try to predict which produce will be poppin that day and discuss what we’re looking to acquire. We walk through the market, drop off our compost, assess the goods, grab cups of mint iced-tea, and then go in. After we fill our reusable bags (I know. We’re V Brooklyn.), we sit at the tables in front of the library, eat apple cider donuts, and have a proper kiki.

We just had our last Brooklyn farmer’s market date with Joe, and it was bittersweet. While Romaine and I found comfort in the familiarity of our routine, we couldn’t help but feel sad that we won’t get to catch up with Joe at the library every week. Luckily, Joe will continue this tradition for us and send us bomb produce pics. Also, Paris has an abundance of beauty-marchés filled with fabulous treasures to explore so the tradition doesn’t fully end.

This farmer’s market inspired menu is a combination my recipes and some fabulous external ones that can easily be adapted for vegans (use sugar instead of honey in the agua fresca, and use vegan mayo/cheese for the elote). Show your vegetarian/vegan friends that your dinner parties are inclusive moments with these easy and beautiful summer dishes. Or, if you eat all the things like me, simply bask in the fleeting bounty of summer.

Menu Type: Medium Effort, Vegetarian, or Vegan

How to Party

Setting the Table

Set everything on the table with serving utensils so you can sit down and be present with your guests when it’s time to eat. Everyone will need a plate, fork, knife, napkins, and glassware for water/cocktails/wine.

Suggested Beverages/Wines

Agua fresca and summery chilled wines: whites, skin-contact (orange), or rosé. Ask your local wineshop for suggestions!

Timeline for a 7:30 pm Sat. Evening Dinner Party (eat at 8 pm)

Wednesday evening (30 min.) - Make a grocery list and plan your meals for the remainder of the week/weekend

Thursday after work (30 min.) - Grocery shop

Friday - If you’re making your own chickpeas…

• Before work (2 minutes) - soak chickpeas

• After work (1.5 hours) - cook chickpeas and make hummus

Saturday

• 10 am (1 hour) - Shop at farmer’s market

• 11:30 am (1 hour) - Make smoky eggplant dip, mix mayo for elote, shuck corn

• 12:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Clean your apartment and then luxuriate

• 7:00 pm - Assemble zucchini salad

• 7:15 pm - Slice sourdough bread and brush one side lightly with some good olive oil, place on baking sheet and set aside

• 7:20 pm - Set out smoky eggplant dip, hummus, tomatoes, baguette (optional), and summer squash salad on table

• 7:30 pm - Welcome your guests with watermelon agua frescas, preheat oven to 350, set a large pot of water to boil for corn

• 7:50 pm - Boil corn for 8 minutes

• 7:51 pm - Slice tomatoes and arrange on platter, drizzle nice olive oil on top and sprinkle some flakey salt on top — set on table

• 7:55 pm - Toast bread (5 min.) if serving slices of sourdough

• 8pm - Sit down to dinner

Vibes

Listening to: The Big Day

Check out my How to Party post about Farmer’s Market Party Tricks and Etiquette!