We have invited a group of friends for dinner with us later this month-- all the people here in Knoxville who came to visit us while we were living in Provence. Including a couple of guests, there will probably be 15 of us for dinner.

We have a big great room and our kitchen area is totally exposed to the dining/living areas. I need to plan a meal that can be cooked and prepared in advance and then served buffet style. I haven't decided whether I'll try to set up two tables or have more informal seating, which could involve some people eating with plates on their lap. So I need a menu that is simple, doesn't require cutting, and isn't too saucy or messy.

Oh, and I have promised everyone it will be a "Memories of Provence" meal... if not true Provencal, it at least needs to invoke the spirit of France.

Any ideas of what I might serve?? Merci beaucoup!

Kathy

This time of year, a beef or veal daube sounds awfully good and would be very easy to do in advance.

An assortment of good olives for nibbles before? Salad with baked goat cheese? The first food that always comes to my mind when I think of Provence is that wonderful Cavaillon melon, but I've never found anthing here that compares, even in season in California. Maybe something like a cherry or pear tart for dessert?

I just flipped through two Patricia Wells Provence cookbooks and now I really can't wait to get there!!!

Chris, these are all great ideas! Like you, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it...

Want to come and help us eat?? Oh wait, you might actually BE in Provence... eating the real thing!

Kathy

This is my variation on a Cooking Light recipe, so I don't know if this is sufficiently provençale, but it's really easy to make ahead and it's nice on a chilly night.

Provençale Potato Ragout With Green Olives

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion
3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped seeded tomato
4 cups cubed peeled baking potato (about 2 pounds)
1 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
9 thyme sprigs
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 bay leaves
3/4 cup sliced green olives

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 10 minutes or until soft, stirring frequently.
Add tomato; cook 10 minutes or until the liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Add potato and next 8 ingredients (potato through bay leaves); bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in olives; cook an additional 5 minutes. Discard thyme and bay leaves.

I thought I would report in on my "Provencal dinner," which was last night... and I think a great success!

We had 15 people ihncluding the 3 of us. Seven of our friends had visited us in Provence, and five were there to share in the experience. I had two tables set up, using my Provencal table linens. One table I had set with my Terre e Provence pottery, which was our "big" purchase from our trip. The other table I actually had set with some of my vintage Fiestaware. Many of the colors are amazingly provencal.

We started with aperitifs and little snacks (tapenades, almonds, small cheese crackers). The kir royales were giant hits (one friend drank three!) and everyone also liked the Lillet, which was recommended to me on ST. We also had pastis (Pernod), but no takers!

I decided to forgo serving an entree separately, as I didn't think everyone was up for the three hour dinner... plus I didn't have enough plates! So I served entree and my main course at the same time, buffet style.

I used my new birthday-gift French cookbook by the author Joanne Harris (My French Kitchen and it's a wonderful cookbook!) for my salad course-- a white bean and tomato salad.

I made a beef daube (a two-day process!) from Patricia Wells' At Home in Provence cookbook.

I created my own recipe for Provencal chicken, as I realized the day before our dinner that one of our guests didn't eat beef. I modified a recipe for tarragon chicken, cut up the chicken in chunks, used herbes de Provence instead of just tarragon, added two kinds of mushrooms, and then reheated in a casserole in the oven. Everyone loved this.

I made a potato gratin usingthis EASY recipe from the French Food and Cook website . This was my favorite dish. I love this website.

I also sauteed a couple kinds of mushrooms as a second side dish. I should have made more, as this was very popular!

We managed to find some reasonably-priced wine here in Knoxville from the area where we lived in Provence.

I also had a cheese course-- five kinds of French cheeses. Not near the selection of course as we found in France. This was a new experience for our friends who hadn't visited France. If (when!) I do something like this again, I will consider ordering from www.fromage.com.

I wimped out on dessert... had grand plans to make a tart as Chris suggested, but ran out of time and energy. Instead I let Kelly be a dessert chef and she made wonderful ice cream desserts with raspberry chocolate ice cream, raspberry melba sauce, fresh rasperries, and whipped cream.

I'm going to fix CarpeDiem's potato ragout another time... it sounds great!

We do have leftovers and are having our French tutor (who worked with us before our trip) over for dinner tomorrow! But I actually had some of my potatoes today for "brunch"!

Thanks Chris and Nicole (CarpeDiem) for your advice!

Kathy