Julia Child 100 BD Party at Hexagone, San Diego
Last night we attended a 100th birthday party for Julia Child. It was our second visit to Hexagone in San Diego, a wonderful French restaurant that has been flying under the radar. The menu developed for a full house last night was wonderful and the Chef shared the salad dressing recipe for his Tarragon Vinaigrette, a favorite for all. Of course I had to convert this to regular home usage quantities as the recipe he shared was for 8 cups of olive oil.
Bibb Lettuce with Goat Cheese Gratinee and Tarragon Vinaigrette
Tarragon Vinaigrette
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/8 teaspoons finely chopped tarragon
1 cup olive oil
This was delicious served over Bibb lettuce.
The entrées also received rave reviews. The sea bass had just a light flavor of pickled ginger. You almost had to know it was there to detect it. It was devine.
Sea Bass Mediterranean with Pickled Ginger
There were many participants at the dinner with our AIWF (American Institute of Wine and Food) group who knew Julia personally and told some great stories about her. Apparently when she was last in San Diego in 2000, she addressed a group of up and coming chefs at the Marine Room and her bit of advice to them was
“Don’t get too fancy…food is food.” Another birthday party guest shared her account of the three worst meals she ever had:
#3 American Airlines #2 McDonalds #1 Beth Israel Hospital
My favorite Julia quote of all time is, “I love to cook with wine. And sometimes I even put some in the food.”
Happy Birthday, Julia. Wish you could have been at the party!!