Mussels Meuniere!
A very quick, simple dish to prepare. Add a baguette and you're good to go.

Mussels Meuniere
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cups white wine
1 stick butter, cut into cubes
2-3 dozen mussels
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
In a saute pan, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, saute the shallots and garlic. Add the bay leaves and thyme. Add the wine and butter. Bring up to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Add the mussels to the wine and cover. Simmer the mussels for 5 to 8 minutes or until the shells open. Discard any shells that do not open. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Divide the mussels between two bowls and serve with crusty bread.
Jane

Bistro food is down home cooking in a pot. Long cooked things that can be kept hot and served up on demand.
Some say that the word Bistro originated with the Russians where the word means "fast".
You say french Bistro, but there is also Italian bistro food as well as American.
Typical bistro foods are soups, stews, casoulets, long braised food like lamb shanks.....all served up with copious amounts of vin ordinaire and some good bread.
Julia child's Boeuf Bourgoine would ba a great example of French bistro food.
Linda C

Google it and you'll get a bunch of nice restaurant menus. Lots of sandwiches and omelets.

It's casual. So you may want something more formal for a special dinner.

Here is a link that might be useful: I want to go here

Jane, would you serve the mussels as a starter or the main course. I do want to fix mussels sometime, maybe a practice meal before I do the special dinner.

Linda, some of my most favorite foods are cooked a long time in a pot. I thought about Beef Bourguignon or Coq au Vin.

Teresa, I have done both - a small bowl - maybe 8-10 mussels - (depends on the size - they vary greatly) for a starter, or one of my husbands and my favourite meals - a big bowl of mussels and a crusty baguette and a bottle of wine!
Jane

Anthony Bourdain has a cookbook out, the Les Halles Cookbook.
It's strictly bistro type cooking. Here's a recipe from that cookbook:

Gigot de sept heures (Seven hour leg of lamb)

1 leg of lamb, about 6#
4 garlic cloves, sliced, plus 20 whole garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
2 small onions, thinly sliced
4 carrots, peeled
1 bouquet garni
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup flour, 1 cup water

Preheat oven to 300 F. (If necessary, trim most of the external fat off the lamb. Some legs of lamb will come with a heavy fatty connective tissue, called the "fell", covering a lot of its surface. Remove as much of it as practical--leaving it on will make the dish gamier because a lot of the gamy flavor is in the fat and connective tissues.) Make many small stab incisions in lamb and place slivers of garlic in each incision. Rub lamb well with olive oil, season with salt & pepper. Place it in Dutch oven and add onions, carrots, bouquet garni, garlic, wine. Put lid on Dutch oven. Combine flour and water, make a 'caulk' and use it to seal the lid to the dutch oven. (Note: That's not necessary if you have a casserole or Dutch oven with a fairly snug-fitting lid.) Place it in the 300 oven and cook for 7 hours. Yes, 7 hours. NO PEEKING--leave it alone. A half hour before it's done, fix some noodles or rice or couscous to soak up the juices.

And, to get you in the French Bistro mood, here's one of my favorite passages from Hemingway's 'A Moveable Feast'. Here he's been starving in Paris and finally sells a story and has a little cash. He promptly goes to Brasserie Lipp and...well, let Papa himself tell you about it:

...I sat down on the bench against the wall with the mirror in back and a table in front and the waiter asked if I wanted beer and I asked for a distingue, the big glass mug that held a liter, and for potato salad.

The beer was very cold and wonderful to drink. The pommes a l'huile were firm and marinated and the olive oil delicious. I ground black pepper over the potatoes and moistened the bread in the olive oil. After the first heavy draft of beer I ate and drank very slowly. When the pommes a l'huile were gone I ordered another serving and a cervelas. This was a sausage like a heavy, wide frankfurter split in two and covered with a special mustard sauce.

I mopped up all the oil and all of the sauce with bread and drank the beer slowly until it began to lose its coldness and then I finished it and ordered a demi and watched it drawn. It seemed colder than the distingue and I drank half of it.

barnmom just posted this link. Looks terrific. Bound to be a few good ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paris patisseries

Just so you know - Bourdain's 7 hr lamb is a lot better cooked 5 hrs only, because American lamb tends to be young and a lot more tender.

Good wine and very good coffee are very important for a bistro meal.

dcarch

Rue de Jean in Charleston is a wonderful place for mussels. They are so good, we (DD#3 and I) always order them for lunch. And yes the crusty bread (probably from Normandy Farms) and a glass of wine and I'm in heaven. The first place I ever ate mussels was a little bistro in the Lenox Mall in Atlanta. DD#2 and I ate until we were embarrassed. They just kept bringing the crusty bread which we kept using to "sop" up the broth. They also served wonderful fries with their mussels.

No mussels tonight though. We're having our left over carryout from last night's dinner tonight.

I'll be looking to see what your final decisions are. Sounds like fun and I know it will all be good. And I bet I know where the good crusty bread will come from!

jude

I have a small cookbook called "Table for Two in Paris". It has several recipes in it that may fit your needs

Quiche Lorraine
Ratatouille
Gratin Dauphinois (potato gratin)
Bouillabaisse
Mousse au Chocolat
Soupe au Pistou
Tourte aux Asperges (asparagus tart)
Les Haricot Verts et Pommes Gratinees (gratin of green beans and potatoes)
Boeuf a la Mode (beef braised in wine)

And many others.

I also have another called Marie-Pierre Moines French Kitchen. Here are a few from that one, it also has variations of some of the eabove recipes.

Veloute a la Tomate (winter tomato soup) this one is T&T
Gratin de Legumes a la Provencal (baked mediterranean vegetables)
Haricots a la Bretonne (bean stew with vegetables)
Chou-Fleur Mornay (cauliflower with cream and cheese sauce)

I'd be happy to share if you see one that interests you.

Here is another that is T&T. No idea where I found this recipe, I have had it for decades and it's delish. I haven't made it in a while, I may have to make it again soon!

Croutes Aux Champignons

4 slices bread
1/2 c butter, divided
12oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1T flour
1/2c stock (I use beef)
1/2c dry white wine
1/4c heavy cream
parsley

Saute onion in half the butter until tender. Add mushrooms and cook until
liquid has evaporated. Stir in flour, gradually add stock and wine. Stir in
cream and simmer until thickened. Meanwhile, butter both sides of bread, and
toast on griddle until golden brown on both sides. Spoon mushroom sauce over
bread slices, serve warm sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Linda

Thanks for all the great ideas and recipes!

I was all set to make a beef daub when I remembered my sister doesn't eat red meat. So here is my menu, first draft, subject to change or whim:

Starter: Mussels Meuniere (if I like them after I do a trial run)

Salad: Mesclun or Butterhead Lettuce with French Dijon Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese Croutons

Entree: Provencal Chicken or Herb Chicken Sauteed in Wine, Gratin of Potatoes, Carrots Vichy or fresh green beans

Dessert: Ina's French Apple Tart

Any thoughts? changes? wine suggestions? Too much? Not enough? What DO you eat mussels with anyway...a seafood fork?

Thanks for any help!
Teresa

You need to play some classic French songs in the background, like Piaf, Trenet, etc.

To eat mussels you can use a seafood fork, but it is more fun to eat the first one and then use that shell like pinchers to eat the rest!
Jane

For a starter....might I suggest my way.
Sautee 3 or 4 cloves chopped garlic in 2 Tbs olive oil, add about 2 tbs chopped onion and a like amount of chopped celery...sautee a few more minutes and add a can of chopped tomatoes ( 10 oz) or if you like spicy....make it a can of Rotel. Add a cup of white wine and simmer about 20 minutes.
Add 2 dozen mussels, cover pan and simmer about 5 to 7 minutes until all are open.
Portion out into coupe soup bowls and serve with a crusty loaf.
Menu sounds divine....I would vote for green beans rather than carrots......and a tiny dab of vanilla ice cream with the tarte!
Wine? What do you like? I know you are making a "French" dinner but the Aussies make some lovely white wines!!

It sounds lovely. One essential change, though. Serve your salad without the croutons AFTER the chicken, with the cheese course. Then, you can finish with the tart.
We eat mussels either with the empty shell or an ordinary fork. For a main course, it's almost always served with chips (fries to you!)
Here's a link for you to print off your lovely menu and pretend you're the Brasserie Chartier in Paris. Tr�s chic!!! Don't forget that Entree is the starter, not the main course!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Menu link

Islay, thanks for the suggestions! Could I serve some cheese with or on the salad after the chicken? I'm thinking small balls of marinated goat cheese or shavings of Gruyere?

I had forgotten that you could eat the mussels by scooping with a shell.

Ohhhh, the angst of the wine! My BIL may even bring a bottle from his cellar, but he likes chardonnay and I do not. He is a connoisseur, I drink what I like. On hand, I have a Fume Blanc (gift from the BIL), a chardonnay, and a Riesling. I guess I could chill both the Fume Blanc and the chardonnay and offer either.

Thank you all for your help!
Teresa

Serve your cheese board at the same time as the salad. We don't eat crackers with cheese, just salad and some bread.

I cook mussels often using the same method as Lindac - yummy.
We prefer smaller mussels. Serving them in individual bowls, include a small seafork fork in your setting & a small plate for the empty shells. Also, some of your warm delicious crusty bread. Easy - easy!
Your menu looks delicious. I like carrots - why not make both?

Enjoy!

Background music: Piaf, Aznavour, Trenet...or if you want something a little more upbeat, the soundtrack from 'French Kiss'. Actually has a very decent version of Trenet's 'La Mer' (known to Bobby Darin fans as 'Beyond the Sea', but it's Trenet's song) sung by, of all people, Kevin Kline.

Also has a drop-dead-gorgeous version of 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' sung in French by Beautiful South. I once got home early from work and decided I'd surprise my wife. I poured some wine, and when my wife got home I handed her a glass, cued up this beautiful song and started dancing her around the room. She looked at me and said, "Honey? Did you lose your job today?"

Here is a link that might be useful: French Kiss soundtrack

Here's that song. If this doesn't get you in a Francophile mood, you got problems.

Here is a link that might be useful: les yeux ouverts by Beautiful South

A few friends and I were relaxing in a Bistro in Paris. It was a nice day and we were outside. Just as we were having coffee, a street organ grinder came by. He started to play some standard French traditional oldies. We all sang alone with all the other customers. Songs like: La Vie En Rose, Frou Frou, La Mer, Hymne A L'amour, Le Temps Des Cerises, Comme D'habitude, Sous Le Ciel De Paris ---------------.

It lasted more than an hour. The organ grinder made good money that day.

I have a collection of several thousand French songs. E. mail me if you have a special one that you need.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful:

This sounds like a delicious meal. Pictures are humbly requested. The faux menu link is terrific, I will do that myself sometime - merci bien, mme corbel.

We are going to France for 5 weeks , last week of May and all of June. Your menu had me wishing it was tomorrow.

Sounds wonderful except I would likely have Creme Carmel for dessert. It's my absolute favorite dessert!

Chase, will you be anywhere near Brittany?

Islay, the closest we come is the Loire Valley. We are staying just outside of Samur for a week.

How lovely! Last summer we spent a couple of nights at Montreuil Bellay, just south of Saumur - a fairytale castle and fab wine! Have a lovely time.