I miss long sleeves already...

Se BON!

Quebec, though not OFFICIALLY a nation, has a culture all its own. Ethnic Supper Club honored that culture this weekend, led by our own Lac St Jean native, Sophie!

I was in charge of poutine, which is a dish not unique to Quebec, but still one that is taken VERY seriously. French fries with gravy and cheese curds. I made homemade cheddar cheese curds for the first time, fried the potatoes TWICE (once at 325 and once at 375) to get that darker color, and made too little gravy. But I think they were a hit. No ketchup needed, here. 

 Here is our own 'bleuet' which is the French word for blueberry, and the nickname of people from the Lac St Jean area. She made tourtiere, which is like a meat and potatoes pot pie, very rustic and often made with wild game. This one had beef, pork, deer and something else.

 Denise and Jay, self-professed onion haters, took on French Onion soup and NAILED it! It was wonderfully rich, sweet from the carmelized onions and I did everything but lick the bowl.

Entree looked something like this--blueberry and red wine braised wild boar, pickled beets, salad a la creme, and traditional tourtiere.

Not pictured here were the desserts, Pouding chomeur and beignets. The latter were a huge hit with the kids, big and small! 

Curiosity, or something more

I lost my cat, Millie, this week. She had enjoyed spending more time out of doors lately, and I was helpless to refuse her. Ultimately, she was declawed, old and not tough enough to be outside. I found her this week, and will miss her terribly, but know she was happy until the end. It is somewhat easier than Max, because she didn't suffer, and I didn't have to make the call on ending her life. But it is still really hard.