Happy Fourth of July!

I miss celebrating the Fourth in the states- the flags, the fireworks, the beach, the parties!  I especially miss being where I grew up.  One of the local towns puts on a huge fireworks display on the river on July 3, and it is a wonderful show!  If all works out according to plans, Kenny and I might be able to celebrate in the states in a year or two…

 Fireworks on the river where I grew up:)

Even without a long weekend, we had three nights of over-indulging.  We started the weekend at Bar Boulud with some friends.  I didn't expect much from the restaurant, but the meal and the service were surprisingly very, very good.  The friend who arranged the dinner has a connection with the chef, so were greeted with the restaurant’s signature Degustation de Charcuterie.  It was completely decadent- five different terrines, hams, pâtés, pork crackling, etc!  I thought my fish entrée would counterbalance the charcuterie, but that was not the case (back to the pool).  It probably didn’t help that we ended the evening at the Fifth Floor Champagne Bar at Harvey Nichols. 

   

Bar Boulud

  

Champagne Bar    

The next morning we pulled ourselves out of bed to prepare for our BBQ.  Even though a BBQ sounds like an easy breezy party to organize, it is not.  Half way through the morning I told Kenny to remind me of how hellish all of the prep work is when I decide to host this damn thing in 2012.  He stared blankly, not sure whether I was kidding or not.  Anyway, La Fiesta wound up being a wonderful success.  We had about 25 friends, and everyone left full and happy.  My dishes were well-received, and I had enough variety to please carnivores as well as vegetarians (I will post recipes later)!    

Kenny’s birthday was yesterday, and we just took it easy.  I cooked a roast beef tenderloin for him rather than going out to dinner on a Sunday night.  I thought this recipe was perfect to get the tenderloin to a nice medium rare on the inside and seared (without being disgustingly charred) on the outside.  Tomorrow is his real birthday celebration, and we are having dinner at Dinner.  It is the new hot restaurant in London and is owned by Heston Blumenthal (famous for his other English restaurant, The Fat Duck, which has three Michelin stars).  It took me seven hours of calling on April 1 to secure a July 5 reservation, so this better be good!