Our Tribute to Lilette

When my brother comes home for a holiday, we try to crowd into my parents' kitchen and cook together. This Christmas was nothing different except that we added a trip to Atlanta to food shop before we began cooking our meals. Jay and Dad didn't make the shopping trip but mom, Jon, and I took the Wednesday before Christmas and made plans that included shopping at Ikea (not for food, but just for the fun of it all), Trader Joe's, The Whole Foods on Ponce, and the Dekalb Farmers Market. We also planned to stop for lunch at a great Thai place called Little Bangkok (www.littlebangkokatlanta.com), but as we pulled into the parking lot, we found them to be closed between lunch and dinner. So we ate at Whole Foods instead.

Our meals this year included some of the following:

Jon's Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo

Pan Seared Venison Tenderloin (fresh from Jay's hunting excursion) with the best demi glace/bourgandy reduction sauce that wasn't made by someone who graduated from Cullinary School.

Toast Points with Truffle Butter and melted Parmesean- A tribute to Lilette's "White truffle parmigiano toast with wild mushrooms, marrow and veal glace" (http://www.liletterestaurant.com/dinner.html)

Potato Gnoccho with Parmesan/sage cream sauce- also a tribute to Lilette's "Potato gnocchi with sage brown butter and parmigiano cream" (http://www.liletterestaurant.com/dinner.html)

A delicious fresh fruit tart with berries and kiwi.

Fruit Tart is a picture taken by Christy Stanfield:http://christystanfield.smugmug.com/