Jean Claude in SoHo

Contessa, RRR and I headed to Jean Claude, a delightful small French bistro in SoHo for dinner the other night. I've been to Jean Claude a few years back for a date and while the date was unsuccessful; the meal was certainly memorable!

On this repeat visit, I began with a lovely mesclun salad with goat cheese croutons and vinaigrette dressing that I shared with RRR. The goat cheese was toasted and melted on to the croutons and while not as amazing as our salads we enjoyed in France last year, it was certainly tasty.

I followed with a roasted breast of Duck with ragout of white beans, shitake mushrooms and rosemary sauce. The duck was thinly sliced, perfectly cooked and the thick sweet rosemary sauce was simply magnificent! Almost as good as the duck was the white bean ragout. The best part of the beans was the head of garlic that was sliced, roasted and placed in the middle of the ragout. As I plucked the brown soft cloves out one by one and mixed them into the beans and mushrooms, I kept thinking this is pure paradise!

RRR had the sauteed red snapper with artichokes, leeks, and basil oil and the fish was cooked perfectly with a nice sear on the outside. Contessa's roasted leg of lamb with eggplant, zucchini, peppers and puree of potato looked beautiful but she was a bit disappointed in the sauce; this saucy lady likes her sauce on the subtle side!

For dessert we split a creme brulee that was just right and not too sweet, a crime often committed by French bistros across the city. I must say "split" is a term I use loosely since yours truly ate far more than her share.

A true gem in SoHo... Jean Claude will make you feel like you are in on a (not so well-kept) neighborhood secret!

McCatering at McCain

Please excuse the lack of posts recently, it's been quite hectic for Ms. Foodie. While I certainly have been eating, it has been tough to find time to put together a proper post.

One of the things that has kept me busy was a recent trip to Manchester, New Hampshire where I worked on one in our series of Presidential Dialogues, this one with Senator John McCain.

Manchester was a quaint town, but my culinary experiences didn't get further than a daily trip to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee and a peanut butter on whole wheat bagel and an evening trip to the sports bar across from our hotel.

One of the highlights was our two days of catering courtesy of the staff of Southern New Hampshire University, our host school. The first meal was a Mexican theme; with ground beef, refried beans, Spanish rice and all the usual taco fixin's. I've learned from past production catering experiences that Mexican on a closed set isn't always the best option (for gastro-intestinal reasons) but it was actually pretty decent. The oatmeal raisin cookies were really the standout item in this meal!

The next day, the theme for lunch was Italian. Pasta with marinara sauce (this Italian girl passed), eggplant parmigiana, chicken parmigiana and some bland green beans filled out the offerings. Once again, dessert was the highlight... brownie sundaes with ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream! Snow be damned, Ms. Foodie needs her sugar fix!

For the grand finale (aka dinner), the ladies stepped up their game. Curried chick peas with onions in tomato sauce was really quite delightful and the yellow rice was flavorful as well. The veggie blend (carrots, string beans, squash) was better than lunch's green beans and the chicken was passable. For dessert, it was apple crisp with whipped cream. Not bad and the chick peas really took me by surprise!

After the show was wrapped, a large group headed over to the Red Arrow Diner. On the recommendation of Lambert's Army, I decided to celebrate with the grilled chicken bomb. This sandwich was pretty much a chicken cheesesteak with peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese but topped with a side of sweet potato fries and it was delicious!

The pies that a few of my co-workers ordered were giant slabs of custard and whipped cream but I was able to control myself and passed since as you can tell, I had my fill of dessert for the day!

Of course, the best thing about these remote productions is spending time with an amazing group of talented people and getting a job done, often in close quarters and challenging situations. A New England snow storm added to the fun of the weekend and needless to say, left some people a little stir crazy!

Brian and Ron got Married!

I can not put into words how wonderful it was to see two of my dearest friends be able to (legally!) declare their commitment to each other. After a beautiful ceremony with traditions incorporated from both of their cultures, it was time to celebrate and even more importantly time to eat!

The Landmark Loew's Theater in Jersey City was the perfect backdrop for this art deco vintage affair and the evening included sushi passed by women in geisha attire, live music, a dj, gaming tables and a visit from the cake diva.

A good time was had by all but I'll let the pictures do the talkin'...