A family friend is graduating from college, and Jacques needs no better excuse to create a splendid al fresco buffet lunch.
A delicate Smoked Trout with a creamy Egg-and-Pepper Salad is just right for a sunny June afternoon. And Jacques classic Chicken Galantine - a boneless chicken stuffed with pork, black mushrooms, pistachios and armagnac, poached in a rich stock and served in its own aspic - is a decidedly elegant picnic food. A succulent baked Ham Georgia with a tangy apricot-mustard glaze and a deep, sweet-savory peach sauce is paired with a simple side dish of buttered Red Swiss Chard. For the cheese course, we learn how to make creamy fresh-herb Fromage Blanc served with roasted garlic. Two marvelous desserts complete the buffet - Chocolate Cloud Cake, a spectacular layered confection of fluffy sponge cake, cognac whipped cream, and crunchy chocolate cookie crust, topped with a bittersweet chocolate glaze, and a Cherry-Raspberry Pillow of fresh cherries and berries baked in a puff-pastry pie.