FICS President Yann Henrotte (standing, at left) welcomes the evening’s guests.  This event attracted new attendees to a Society gathering – underscoring the FICS’ growing popularity and an increasingly active membership.  During its Alsatian Rendez-vous, the Montsouris restaurant’s staff maintained an eastern French theme throughout the dinner, including serving the main meat course in hand-painted casserole dishes imported from Alsace.

A typical Alsatian selection of charcuterie was served as the appetizer, with saucisson à l'ail (garlic sausage), saucisson sec (dried sausage), copa sausage and jambon (smoked ham) accompanied by cornichons – the traditional French tart pickles made from tiny gherkin cucumbers.   The French term charcuterie is derived from the words chair (flesh) and cuit (cooked), which was used to designate 15th century France shops that sold pork-based products.

The starter plate was presskopf, a French pâté de tête (pressed head sausage) prepared with meat from a pig’s head and tongue, molded with gelatin.   Wines served during the FICS’ Alsatian Rendez-vous dinner were a Cotes de Ventoux red from the Domaine de Font-Sane in France’s Côtes du Rhône region, and a Saumur white from the Domaine de la Guillotiere.

An Alsatian baeckeoff was the meal’s main course.  This lamb, pork and beef casserole was prepared in white wine with potatoes, carrots, leeks and onions.  Chef Leza said the specialty dish’s name comes from the French phrase for “baker’s oven,” reflecting the tradition of families leaving their home-made Sunday casserole at the local baker while going to church, returning later to pick up the cooked plate along with their bread.

Chef Marsoni puts the finishing touches on the other main course, which was available for those who preferred an alternative to the baeckeoff meat casserole.  This vegetarian plate was a beet-flavored pearl pasta risotto, accompanied by roasted baby carrots, asparagus and tomatoes, and completed with a reduced balsamic sauce. 

The dinner was completed by an apple pie with caramel ice cream and a mint flourish – a classic recipe that French chefs learn while at cooking school.  For the Alsatian Rendez-vous event, the Montsouris restaurant lived up to its reputation as being one of Washington, D.C.'s "true" French bistros, offering a mix of good food and authenticity in a convivial ambiance at the city’s bustling Dupont Circle.

Chef Leza (in the foreground, at right) and Chef Marsoni take a moment’s pause from their dinner preparations.  Leza is one of Washington D.C.’s busier chefs, being a co-owner of Montsouris and another of the city’s French restaurants – Montmartre – which is located in the Eastern Market area of the nation’s capital.   The Parisian-born Leza worked at Alsatian restaurants for six years, which enabled him to provide a true regional flavor for the FICS dinner.  Chef Marconi is a native of central France’s Auvergne province.