kimbaby
Executive Chef
just suppose you have been asked to make a very ellegant dinner for a very famous person,what would you make?just the menu only (no recipes needed)
pdswife said:Well... I would figure that the very famous person had fancy dinners all the time and that he needed a simple good home cooked meal.
I'd make him or her a bowl of my world famous ( ok...it's only famous in my house) clam chowder and serve it with some good warm French bread and a spinach salad. Dessert would be a Lemon pie and Earl Gray tea.
Or Greek Leg of lamb with roasted potatoes, Greek salad, Greek zucchine, Rice and berries and for dessert Baklava and Greek Twisty cookies!
Either way.. he'd leave happy and full.
What would you make Kim?
thumpershere2 said:Good ole beef roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, baby carrots creamed and cole slaw. home made dinner rolls and apple pie.
I agree the server truely makes it ellegant or not...Robo410 said:you know, often it's not what we make, but how we serve it. A fancy dinner of many courses may not have a whole lot more food than an American family dinner, but the service is different. A soup course, a salad course, a first, a main, etc.
One could start with a cup of corn or clam chowder, then a light salad, followed by a simple pasta (even a form of mac and cheese) or fish item, then the main meat with green vegetable, (which could be baked ham and sauteed broccoli).
I mean, what's more festive and fancy than what we serve for Thanksgiving?
However, what I like to serve begins with a light salad often with sauteed shrimp or milanesed swordfish medalions. (that's two courses right there.) for the primo, I like to do a light pasta such as putanesca or in brodo (broth)with sauteed cabbage and prosciuto. The main could be a hunters stew with meat and lots of root vegetables, or a simple elegant salimbuco. (sauteed meat wrapped around herbs and cheese.) Desert...crepe with fresh fruit! bingo
jpmcgrew said:Sounds delicious Constance.
I cook alot for other people,my job and they love it but have you ever got tired of your own cooking? I know I do even basic scrambled eggs taste better to me if I didnt hafto to make them.Sometimes I work so hard at a menu the shopping the prepping the final cooking of meal that Im not impressed with myself or the meal. I know its good but just can not get into it.By that point Im not even hungry anymore
I might hafto start a new thread on this subject.I dont live in a place where I can just go out and eat 45 miles one way to a really tiny town so I cook all meals at home if we have a pot luck at the ranch I am in heaven when there are other people cooking different dishes.
Your menu made my mouth water but you would hafto make it, I would be in heaven especially if I didn't hafto help with cleanup afterwards.
Constance said:I'd start the meal with fresh asparagus, sauteed in olive oil with minced garlic, S&P, then steamed by squeezing fresh lemon juice over the top, reducing the heat, and covering with lid. When crisp tender, I'd serve on a bed of pretty lettuce with a few pimento strips and a sprinkle of freshly grated or peeled parmesan cheese on top.
Along with that, I'd serve crostini with a choice of two toppings: Creole mushrooms, or venison salami with a good mustard.
Since we have such nice venison available, I'd probably make pan-seared venison medallions simmered in a light tomato/wine sauce and topped with caramelized sweet onions. With that, I'd serve oven-roasted vegetables (sweet red peppers, baby Yukon Gold Potatoes, and baby carrots).
My dessert would have to be apple crumb pie a la mode. It's the best thing I make.