One Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Five Years

The venue: our front porch at sunset, of course!

The table was set by D with care...

...complete with an arrangement of my French countryside favorites- sunflowers (we have fields of these in bloom throughout the summer around our house- it's gorgeous- reminds me of Monet's paintings) and a lavender flower- I'll be making a dried flower wreath with these! Watch out Williams-Sonoma!

The appetizer

D's chilled cucumber soup creation- garnished with mint leaves!

Pretty impressive, huh?

The entree

Filet de Boeuf a la ficelle et fleur de thym

(don't ask me to translate that- it was delicious steak with a side of pea puree prepared with olive oil and lemon juice, and a delicious sauce prepared with several yummy spices!)

The dessert

Strawberries, chocolate, and champagne!

Unfortunately, as the sun went down, I didn't get pictures of the rest of the courses, but I realized that my husband has discovered a new hobby- Provencal cuisine! I am so pumped, because now we can learn together to prepare all of our favorites- with Herbes de Provence, olive oil, and all of the delicious, fresh produce that we have available here.

After dinner he surprised me with a dvd version of our wedding video which we watched as is our anniversary tradition.

Check out this link from my friend's blog for a movie review of the new Disney film named after a traditional Provencal dish, "Ratatouille", and a great explanation / description of the French and their fascination with food. http://flidstickdig.blogspot.com/2007/08/ratatouille.html

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I plan to. Also, I am starting to realize how this French food fetish became a part of my husband when he lived here before. I think it is contagious, because I too am starting to get the bug!