About Me
A lifelong love affair with the French table
My copper, Grant Wood’s ‘Dinner for Threshers’ (a family meal), and my Kitchen Aid under wraps.
Me in front of, well, French doors.
A hobby turned into a passion…
I began watching Julia Child when I was in high school, before I ever boiled an egg. Males did not cook in our house.
When I got to college I started cooking a bit, and then the whole food revolution started in the 70s remember Alice Waters? I got hooked.
I found an apartment with a kitchen and never looked back. My first French restaurant, Chez Vernon, in Oklahoma City, then a honeymoon in France, then gradually easing into cooking for my little family.
France kept calling me back the markets, the bistros, the rhythm of a long Sunday lunch. It shaped everything about how I think of food.
“French cooking is not about complicated techniques it is about respect for ingredients, and the joy of sharing a beautiful meal.”
The French Menu Blog
Where every post is a full menu, not just a recipe
This blog is organized around menus the way the French actually think about food. Not single recipes, but composed meals: a starter, a main, a salad, a dessert. Each post tells the story of a dinner and the recipes that made it.
I have been collecting menus for years dinners for friends, family celebrations, quiet suppers for two. This blog is my way of sharing them, along with the recipes for each dish.
I currently have 15 menus to share with you, containing around 75 recipes. New menus will appear regularly I hope you will join me at the table.
What you will find here
- Complete French menus, course by course
- Recipes for every dish in each menu
- Photo collections from the table
- Stories behind each dinner
- A growing index of 75+ recipes
- An ardoise bistro menu for casual meals