Much to my chagrin I spent both Thanksgiving and my birthday tucked up in bed, swathed in blankets as I sipped tea, watched old movies and tried to feel better.

I was very sad to miss out on all the festivities, so it was doubly special when my lovely friends in the CEG (Culinary Experimentation Group) made up for it with a fantastic French birthday dinner. 🙂

Amy and Don brought French red wine and Toby assembled crackers and brie to tide us over while we cooked. Kat and I tackled Gourmet’s Lemon Zucchini Vichyssoise (more on that tomorrow!) and I attempted a sharp cheese sauce with a particularly stinky cheese a new friend in France sent home with me. Toby stirred while I followed the recipe to the letter. In spite of our best efforts we ended up with an amazingly awful French glue that stuck to teeth and gums and wouldn’t come off without much prying. 🙂

On the bright side, we managed not to ruin the arugula and tomato salad, a simple little dish with a lively dill and lime vinaigrette. Deborah and Kat made a lovely stove-top ratatouille with eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and onion, and Cameron smoked gorgeous scallops with his own savory blend of spices. The grand finale was Darren’s marvelously rich chocolate mousse with rum and espresso. Yowsers!!

It was a perfectly wonderful birthday! Thank you, dear friends! 🙂