Joe, your Marseilles Seafood Dinner in the Menu section sounds wonderful.

[richard-in-cincy]

Just got through reading through it and it sounds absolutely perfect for a hot-weather dinner party. Now I just need to find a spot on the calendar to fit in a dinner party between construction, travel, work, life, etc! LOL I was planning a Bouillabaisse dinner in September, I think I might just have to substitute this instead. Thanks for sharing.

 

[joe]

You're welcome! I made this very menu on Saturday. It was a charity auction item and I donated for

6 people. I added a cheese course with a green salad after the main dish. They asked for wine suggestions and so I put my wine expert friend Gary on it. He suggested 2 or 3 possibilities per course, assuming they'd pick just one. When I arrived they had bought every bottle! They loved their dinner at the time, and I hope they still remember it.

I've added the wine suggestions to the menu.

The soupe de poisson is a nice do-ahead way to enjoy the flavors of bouillabaise without going through the big production.

 

[richard-in-cincy]

Thanks for the heads up about the wine list. A big help.

When I'm doing a dinner party, I usually take my menu to the wine store and go over it with the one of staff (these guys receive intensive ongoing international training) to have them select wines that will compliment each course. It makes such a big difference.

 

[joe]

Richard, I'll bet you're their favorite customer!

In any business, clients who appreciate quality and are open to suggestions are rare.