Beinvenue a France

Tonight was the first night in my week of international meals and we began our journey in France. I've always dreamed of taking an eating tour through France because I truly believe that the French treat food like artwork. I only wish I'd had a wonderful French pastry to complete my meal tonight. I began with one of my favorite cocktails, the Kir Royal and then hubby and I dined on a wonderful meal of grilled chicken paillard topped with a roasted beet salad. The chicken was absolutely to die for. It was moist, juicy and really melted in your mouth. Alongside the chicken and roasted beet salad, I made a little baguette toast topped with the creamiest blue cheese I've ever eaten. Everything eaten together was the perfect bite. If you're looking to take a culinary journey to another land, I highly recommend this dinner. It was plenty of food without leaving you feeling overly full. What a lovely way to begin the weekend.

Grilled Chicken Paillard with Roasted Beet Salad


For the Marinade:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey dijon mustard

For the Chicken:
sprinkling of salt, freshly ground black pepper and herbs de provence
2 chicken breasts thinly pounded

Beet Salad:
1 roasted beet
mescalin blend lettuces
homemade croutons
saga blue cheese
caper vinaigrette (I used Brianna's brand)

Mix the ingredients together for the marinade in a large baking dish. Sprinkle salt, pepper, herbs de provence over both sides of chicken and add to marinade. Let set for 1-2 hours.

For roasted beet, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash beet and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes to one hour. Let cool, then rub skin off with paper towel. Slice beets and sprinkle with salt, pepper, sugar and toss in the vinaigrette.

Grill chicken over medium heat on grill and cook for 2-4 minutes per side. Take the beet mixture, add croutons, a few crumbles of blue cheese, lettuce and a little more dressing. Toss with hands to coat lettuce with the dressing. Top your grilled chicken and serve with baguette slices topped with more blue cheese.

Kir Royal


Technically a Kir Royal should be made with champagne and creme de cassis but I personally like Chambord better. Fill your champagne glass with the champagne of your liking the add a couple splashes of chambord or creme de cassis. Sit back and enjoy your cocktail.