Valentino Dishes

I can be very repetitive - when I really love something, a film, a book, a place, a dress... I can return to it over and over again without getting ever getting bored.  One of my favorite books is Nan's Kempner's entertaining book R.S.V.P. 

R.S.V.P. 'Menus for Entertaining from People who Really Know How' was written in 2000 by Nan Kempner and lushly photographed by Quentin Bacon.   I keep it at our beach house and I can pick it up on a cozy fall afternoon in front of the fire and take a visit with Nan to Anne Bass' country house in Connecticut and have a lunch (with Bill Blass) of seared pork loin with herb lime butter, Jack Daniel's Yam purée with buttered pecans and an apple far with maple cream.  

On a summer day, from our deck, I can go with Nan to Tuscany to visit Robin Hambro's Tuscan farmhouse and have fried sage leaves with anchovies, a toasty bruschetta with tomatoes and basil and fresh figs with lavender infused cream.  For all of the many delicious sounding recipes, I have actually only made the fried sage leaves with anchovies so far for some reason (they were delicious!)... but I can be almost as happy to read about food as I am to make it... almost...

Nan and I can also spend the day on Valentino's yacht, the T.M. Blue One, with the pugs.

"Valentino has a remarkable sense of flavor and textural combinations.  His food is imaginative and creative, and he designs his menus in much the same way he designs his fashions.  For each meal, he prepares a menu book for his chef, sketching out what he wants.  He then spends time on the kitchen developing the recipes for the chef, specifying ingredients and discussing how to realize the dish he has in mind - not just how it will taste but how the dish will be presented."

Nan Kempner

So on the T.M. Blue One, we had barley seafood salad, fresh seafood ravioli with sea bass sauce and a caprese cake.  Delicious food, in a delicious setting.

Above photos by Quentin Bacon from Nan Kempner's book R.S.V.P. Menus for Entertaining from People Who Really Know How.

I was very excited to read that Valentino, the Emperor of stylish fashion, stylish homes and stylish food has a book coming out in the fall on just that!  Valentino: At the Emperor's Table will be published by Assouline on October 28th.  The photographs are by one of my favorite photographers, Oberto Gili.  So let's get ready for Gstaad, London, Rome, New York, Paris and another visit to the T.M.Blue with Mr. Valentino.  Recipes included!

Valentino At The Emperors Table.  Photos by Oberto Gili.  Published by Assouline.

love, kisses and see you on the T.M. Blue One, Juliana