slkinsey

Right you are. I have amended above. Not quite sure how to list that one, though. And I agree, it's an outstanding Moscato.

I've almost always liked everything by Coturri. Their wines are often funky and unusual. Probably my favorite American winemaker, or one of them anyway. But, yea, they're totally hippies over there. Here are some reviews of Coturri wines. As it so happens, the lead review is of this very wine by Robert Parker, who says: "The bottle of 2001 Syrah Crane Vineyard I tasted was quite stable, dry, and well-endowed, its deep, rustic, chewy, black fruit notes are intertwined with earth and loamy soil characteristics. Fragrant, well made and clean, it should drink well for 4-5 years. Score 87 pts." The really nice thing? 17 bucks a bottle.

My last trip of the day was to my favorite wine shop, Nancy's Wines. I'm one of those guys who loves wine, has pretty good taste in wine, but just doesn't have the time or money to really keep up with what's happening with wine. What I like is having friends and stores I trust that know a lot about wine, understand my tastes, and help me make choices. Nancy's Wines has always fit the bill for me. Their approach is one that accords very well with my philosophies when it comes to wine: good, even great wines don't have to cost a lot; wine is something that is meant to go with food, so choose and value wines accordingly; stray from the beaten path to that unusual wine or pairing when possible. Luckily, these three principles often feed into each other. Funky, largely unknown wines that go great with food are often not very expensive. I usually go down to Nancy's and consult with Evan Springern, who has always helped me choose wonderful wines for Thanksgiving. As it turns out, Evan doesn't work for Nancy's any more (he works for a distributor now), but he hangs out there a few days a week and helps people anyway. It's fun for us, because he always remembers our Thanksgiving list from the year before. What I really like about Evan's taste (although this could be said of everyone at Nancy's) is that he has a real fondness for unusual, undiscovered, funky, underappreciated, etc. wines. Here's what we decided on: Marinated Crudités Cranberry Bellini (Using Cava Brut Riserva, Sumarroca, NV for these. It's a drinkable cava, and only around $11/bottle.) – – – Raw Kumamoto Oyster With Cucumber Granita Mantanía Moschofilero, Tselepos, 2003 (This has in years past been sweeter than what we would ordinarily want, but apparently this vintage is drier and lemony with mouth-puckering acid) – – – Cauliflower Soup With Curry Oil Montlouis Sur Loire "Dionys," Domaine Alex-Mathur, 2002 – – – Tuna Carpaccio With Mixed Herb Salad Rheingau Riesling Trocken, Weingut Robert Weil, 2003 – – – Brussels Sprouts Four Ways - crème brûlée - gratin - sautéed with guanciale - shredded "slaw" Vin de Table Gamay "Le P'tit Tannique Coule Bien," Domaine Thierry Puzelat, 2003 – – – Lemon-Thyme Sorbet Moscato d'Asti "Bricco Quaglia," Azienda Agricola La Spinetta di Giorgio Rivetti, Piemonte, 2003 – – – Turkey Two Ways With Cornbread Dressing, Foie Gras And Black Truffle Carpaccio Vino De La Tierra El Terrerazo "Mestizaje," Bodega Mustiguillo, 2003 Syrah, H. Coturri & Sons, Crane Vinyards, Sonoma Valley, 2001

Yesterday was the big shopping day. First, we got up bright and early to visit the Greenmarket down in Union Square. There are, to be sure, a lot of problems with the NYC Greenmarket. Many years ago it was one of the best farmer's markets in the country, but the Greenmarket has stagnated under the weight of internal politics and internecine conflict while other markets have caught up and passed it by. It really is a shame when one thinks of how much better it could be. That said, it is still the best place in the City to get really high quality produce fresh from the farm. It's not inexpensive by any stretch of the imagination -- even for New York City -- but I am glad to pay extra not only for the best, but also to support local farmers. So... the first stop was to pick up the cauliflower for the soup and a cabbage for the dressing rolls. These guys down around the bend always seem to have the biggest cauliflowers, so I went looking there first. Look at the size of these things! They also had enormous cabbages. You can barely see that guy's head up to the left there, but it gives some sense of the size of these vegetables. These cabbages are around twice the size of his head! Whereas I might normally prefer a smaller cabbage, which will usually be more tender, it is important for me to have large leaves since I will be using single leaves to roll up little bundles of dressing. Next was over to the other end of the market for the people with the best Brussels sprouts. This was their last say at the market for the season, so it's important to stock up. For the underlayer of the soup, I had decided I would go with either spinach or fennel, depending on what looked better at the market. Well, the fennel looked woody and not so great. On the other hand, this farm was selling huge bags of beautiful prewashed spinach. So it's going to be spinach. After that, it was over to Ronnybrook Farm Dairy for creamline milk and heavy cream. Ronnybrook's milk comes in bottles directly from the farm. It is not homogenized and it is pasteurized at low temperature. The cows are not given hormones. Their milk is so much better than any supermarket milk, it's almost an entirely different product. Any time I am making something where the quality of the milk will make a difference, I try to use Ronnybrook milk whenever possible. After Ronnybrook it was over to Paffenroth Farms, one of the best vegetable farms in the Greenmarket. They had beautiful onions: I also picked up some really nice carrots. In the bast I have used their red carrots, which are red throughout and stay red when cooked, but this time I bought regular carrot-colored carrots: Finally it was over to Knoll Crest Farm for several dozen eggs. These are among the best eggs one can get. I actually prefer the European style, which is largely a function of diet and unavailable here, but Knoll Crest eggs are primo. As you can see, they are very popular. There is always a long line, which is only partially due to their incredible slowness at the counter. Here's the whole haul from this Greenmarket trip, laid out on the counter before being put away. To further illustrate the size of the cauliflower, here is a side by side comparison of a cauliflower and an extremely large ferret. I also bought the following at Fairway, but since I didn't want to be elbowed to death by octogenarian UWS ladies for blocking the aisle, I didn't take any pictures in the store.

It's really very simple. Just chop up a couple of large heads of cauliflower and cook until just tender in the cooking medium of your choice. You could use water -- using milk leaves the cauliflower very white. Then take the cauliflower out and run it through a food mill using the finest disk. Return the puree to the pot and add liquid to make a very thick soup just thick enough to work in the blender. Again, this is a choice: you could use some of the cooking liquid, you could use a little stock, you could use some milk -- all depends on the effect you're going for. Stock, for example, will give the soup a deeper flavor, but it also means that it won't be quite as "cauliflower tasting." Anyway, once you have a thick soup-like consistency, heat it back to a bare simmer, add salt and white pepper to taste and then turn the heat off. Take small batches and run them through a blender until completely smooth. After blending, if you pass the soup through a fine sieve it will be even more smooth and silky. At this point, it's good to store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before service. It should be thicker than the soup you will eventually want (which is good, because it takes up less room in the refrigerator). A bit before service, reheat the soup to a bare simmer on the stove, add milk and/or cream to reach the consistency you like and correct the seasonings. The idea is that you want to cook the cauliflower the minimum amount required for it to soften to the point where it can be made in to a smooth puree. Overcooked cauliflower is yucky. The curry oil is made by heating up a cup or two of good extra virgin olive oil to "not quite hot" in a saucepan with several tablespoons of good curry powder. Let the oil infuse for several hours and then filter through a coffee filter and reserve. At service, soup goes into the bowl and then a drizzle of the curry oil goes on top. The soup should be thick enough to support the curry oil on the surface of the soup without having the oil bleed or run around.

Today I got my knives sharpened in preparation for the cooking to come. I went to Henry Westpfal. Here are the finished knives. They are custom knives I had made for me, using Boye's cast dendritic steel. The knives are extremely hard, with a very aggressive and persistent edge. The handles are Brazilian ironwood. Here is a closeup, which hopefully offers a look at the unique texture of cast dendritic steel:

For bars, the most typical simple syrup is 1:1 by volume. At this ratio, by the way, no heating is required. Just a little patience.

I'm not saying that it doesn't eventually brown things, I'm just saying that it's not very good at it compared to other materials. This is because enamel does not have good properties for browning. Try this: Get out your LC French oven, slap it on the stove and put some heat under it. Do the same thing with a saute pan with a thick aluminum disk bottom or a nice heavy fry pan. Brown a few chicken thighs in each one. See which pan does a better job. I've already done something like this, in case you're wondering. It's fine to brown something in an enameled cast iron cocotte if you're later going to be using it for a braise. That said, if I know I need to brown off a whole lot of lamb shanks or something like that before braising in enameled cast iron, I do tend to brown the meat in a separate pan with a metal surface. It just goes a lot faster that way. When you brown something in an enameled cast iron cocotte, you're taking advantage of one-pot-cooking convenience. But there is a tradeoff: the browning isn't as easy and thorough, but you get the ultimate pan for the braising part. Seems like a good tradeoff to me. On the other hand, I think it would be a mistake to buy an enameled cast iron pan in a shape (e.g., a skillet) that is used primarily for browning, because other materials do that job better and for less money. Again, it is of course not impossible to make a delicate sauce like Hollandaise in enameled cast iron. Heck, it's possible to make a delicate sauce like Hollandaise in an empty coconut shell over a pan of simmering water if you try hard enough. The point is that enameled cast iron is not a material that lends itself to these techniques. When making a delicate sauce, it is advantageous to have very precise temperature control and a pan that is quickly responsive to changes in the heat source. As anyone who has made enough Hollandaise knows, a few degrees can make the difference between the perfect sauce and a pan of scrambled eggs. Heavy cast iron is the exact opposite of responsive, and for this reason it is not recommended for making sauces.

FistFullaRoux has the right idea: use a smoked turkey leg in place of the smoked ham hock. Tastes very similar.

Keep in mind that enameled cast iron for the stovetop is really only useful for low/slow cooking. It's not very good for browning, and it's actively bad for any applications that require temperature control. I would never want an enameled cast iron skillet, nor would I want an enameled cast iron saucepan for actually making sauces (although I do have a tall, conical Le Creuset saucepan that I use for holding sauces at temperature and other low/slow kinds of tasks).

Eunny hit the nail on the head. Seriously undercooked pasta (if using fresh pasta, I only blanch mine for maybe 30 seconds and then shock in ice water and blot dry) and overall dry ingredients. The sauce you use should be very dense and thick -- much thicker than what one would normally use on pasta. If you want to use ricotta and have to use the watery supermarket stuff, drain it overnight so it loses as much water as possible. But the #1 problem that leads to soupy lasagna is using too much filling and not enough pasta. For example: if you've been doing 3 layers of pasta, try six. Since you don't have an infinitely tall baking dish, this means less filling as well -- another reason to make sure that your fillings are as dry and dense as possible, because that's where the flavor is.

I think I mentioned this before, but I also have the advantage of having a kitchen that is open to the dining room. So I can continue to communicate with everyone even while I am in the kitchen. That said, the table often does fall comparatively silent when I am away, but this is simply because I have a very loud voice. One of the hazards of being in the opera business. I remember doing some of the reading at a friend's Passover seder with his family, and as soon as I got done the first thing he said was, "um... he's an opera singer, so that's why his voice is like that." My forgotten things time is that morning and I send out the scout for those things. He's a very good finder. ← Ah, if only Dave the Cook were going to be here. There is nothing more I would like to do than send Dave for some last-minute shopping at Fairway around, say, noon on Thanksgiving day. Fat Guy sent Dave to Fairway on an errand the afternoon of New Year's Eve last year, and when he got back several hours later he said something to the effect of, "was this some kind of New York City hazing ritual?" Believe me, the last place you want to be on Thanksgiving day (or eve, for that matter) is Fairway.

It's true that the appetite isn't as strong when you're doing the work on a dinner like this. This is, no doubt, how most cooks are able to keep from getting fat and how most bartenders are able to stay sober. That said, since the portions are plated and not very big, I imagine I'll be eating around as much as everyone else.

Here is a tentative timeline, to be updated as I figure out other things that need to be done: Tuesday 11/16 Send knives to sharpener (Henry Westpfal) Wednesday 11/17 Order turkey (Citarella) Friday 11/19 Pick up knives (Peter Westpfal) Saturday 11/20 Greenmarket trip for everything but herbs (reserve herbs from favorite herb guys) Fairway trip for everything on the Fairway list, plus foie gras and muscovado sugar from Citarella Buy wine (Nancy’s Wines) Get haircut Sunday 11/21 Make pie crusts Make cornbread Make cucumber granite QA cucumber cups Monday 11/22 Make pecan tart Buy brioche at Zabar’s Buy additional cutters and ring molds at Zabar's Pick up additional glassware from ewindels Make cranberry puree for bellini Give ferrets bath Tuesday 11/23 Pick up Turkey (Citarella) Debone turkey, marinade dark meat, brine white meat, start turkey stock (overnight) Make lemon-thyme sorbet Pick up additional silver items from ewindels Buy candles bergerka to Whole Foods in search of Ame (nonalcoholic wine-like beverage) and nonalcoholic beer Wednesday 11/24 Greenmarket shopping trip for herbs and anything forgotten Chelsea Market for oysters and tuna Make cauliflower puree Make curry oil Pluck/wash herbs for salad Assemble Brussels sprouts gratin Make dressing Take chairs/leaves of table/glassware out of storage My parents and bergerka's parents arriving Wednesday evening -- schedule 30 minutes to freak out with stress since they have never met before, despite the fact that we have been living together for something like 8 years. Think up something at the last minute to entertain them. Plan on getting drunk to deal with nerves. Thursday11/25 -- pre-dinner (in order of completion) bergerka to supervise house preparedness/cleaning/arrangement details Make/chill Brussels sprouts crème brûlée Make soup underlayer puree, reserve at room temperature Braise dark meat, reduce braising liquid, set aside both at room temperature Freeze slates Render guanciale and brown halved Brussels sprouts Prepare cabbage/stuffing rolls Shred, blanch and shock Brussels sprouts for Brussels Sprouts slaw. Make dressing for slaw Make carpaccio, plate and place in refrigerator Make custard and bourbon caramel for bread pudding, pre-assemble bread pudding Remove breasts from brine to dry surface of meat Take shower Clean as I go! bergerka to supervise last minute cleaning of my mess and mop kitchen floor while I am in shower Thursday 11/25 – dinnertime execution I'll get to that next.

Absolutely, I take the time to eat. A big part of my logistical planning (which I will describe in detail later on) is to create situations in which things can be getting ready and I don't have to be in the kitchen watching over them. For example, since the caullflower soup will be made ahead of time, I can just have it sitting on a back burner of the stove on low heat coming up to temperature. Since I'll be heating it up in a heavy Le Creuset French oven, I don't need to be concerned that it will burn or anything like that. When the time comes for service, I only need to crank the heat for maybe a minute to get it to break a simmer and be ready to go into the bowls. As for the white/dark meat portioning, this is described somewhat in my post of the recipe up here. Each plate gets a base of braised dark meat and a few pieces of white over that.

So, the next thing to do is organize a shopping list by location: Citarella 14 pound turkey (turkey two ways) 1 block foie gras (turkey two ways) dark muscovado sugar for filling (pecan tart) Citarella or fish place in Chelsea Markets (to avoid crowds on Wednesday) 1 dozen Kumamoto oysters (oyster course) sushi-quality tuna -- around 2 ounces/person (tuna carpaccio) I really need to get t6he oysters as late in the game as possible. I'm hoping that the lines at Chelsea Market’s fish place won't be as bad as at Citarella on Wednesday, since a lot of people will be picking up Turkeys at Citarella on Wednesday. Fairway 5 ribs celery (turkey two ways) (no celery at greenmarket) celery for the dressing (turkey two ways) (no celery at greenmarket) 4 English cucumbers (cucumber granita) chervil for garnish (cauliflower soup) portobello mushrooms for the dressing (turkey two ways) curry powder (cauliflower soup) milk to make cornbread for the dressing (turkey two ways) sour cream for crust (pecan tart) butter: 1 lb Butter (turkey two ways) butter (bourbon bread pudding) butter for crust (pecan tart) 1 loaf sturdy white bread for the dressing (turkey two ways) bread crumbs for gratin, or bread to make bread crumbs (brussels sprouts four ways) gruyere for gratin (brussels sprouts four ways) Parmigiano-Reggiano for gratin (brussels sprouts four ways) 1 jar "Black Truffle Carpaccio" (turkey two ways) dried porcini mushrooms for the dressing (turkey two ways) pecans for filling (pecan tart) olive oil: olive oil (cauliflower soup) olive oil (mixed herb salad) olive oil for shredded salad (brussels sprouts four ways) white wine vinegar for shredded salad (brussels sprouts four ways) 2 containers Fairway lemon sorbet (lemon-thyme sorbet) 1 bag cranberrys (cranberry bellini) 1 container cornmeal for the dressing (turkey two ways) flour: flour for the dressing (turkey two ways) flour for crust (pecan tart) sugar (bourbon bread pudding) superfine sugar for crème brûlée (brussels sprouts four ways) Fairway is a great market, but almost always a chaotic, overcrowded madhouse -- especially near the holidays. A plan of attack is absolutely necessary. I have ordered the items on this list according to the layout of Fairway. Produce aisle first, spices on the trip up to the to the dairy section, then right up to bread section, then across to the cheese area, pick up the porcini and truffles on the way down to the pecans and then over to the olive oil and vinegar section. This leads directly to a bottleneck and then to the next room where I can go all the way over to the frozen section for the cranberrys and sorbet, then down a narrow aisle for the sugar, flour and cornmeal. The aisle leads directly to the line for the cash register. Greenmarket 2 large heads cauliflower (cauliflower soup) spinach or fennel (cauliflower soup) 1 large head cabbage (turkey two ways) 2 large carrots (turkey two ways) 2 medium yellow onions (turkey two ways) onion for the dressing (turkey two ways) shallots (cauliflower soup) crimini mushrooms for the dressing (turkey two ways) herbs: chives for garnish (oyster course) bunches of tarragon, parsley, basil, cilantro, etc. (mixed herb salad) herbs for garnish (brussels sprouts four ways) 1 bunch thyme or lemon thyme (lemon-thyme sorbet) parsley, sage, thyme for the dressing (turkey two ways) 1 bouquet garni (turkey two ways) lots of Brussels sprouts (brussels sprouts four ways) dairy: cream for crème brûlée (brussels sprouts four ways) cream (cauliflower soup) milk (bourbon bread pudding) eggs: eggs for crème brûlée (brussels sprouts four ways) eggs (bourbon bread pudding) eggs for filling (pecan tart) I’ll get everything but the herbs on Saturday; herbs on Wednesday. Salumeria Biellese guanciale for sauté (brussels sprouts four ways) Zabar's 1 large brioche (bourbon bread pudding) Somewhere cheap 1 bottle dry red wine (turkey two ways)

Citarella is a reliable source of quality poultry, and they have several varieties from which you can choose. Better get there quick to order one, though.

So, the next thing to do is figure out a (non-wine) ingredient list, because different things need to be purchased at different times: Marinated Crudités Cranberry Bellini ewindels is handling the crudités 1 bag cranberrys (Fairway) sugar cubes (home) orange bitters (home) Raw Kumamoto Oyster With Cucumber Granita 1 dozen Kumamoto oysters (Citarella) 4 English cucumbers (Fairway) chives for garnish (greenmarket) Cauliflower Soup With Curry Oil 2 large heads cauliflower (greenmarket) cream (greenmarket) oilive oil (Fairway) curry powder (home or Fairway) chervil for garnish (greenmarket or Fairway) chicken stock (home) spinach (greenmarket or Fairway) nutmeg (home) shallot (greenmarket) Tuna Carpaccio With Mixed Herb Salad sushi-quality tuna -- around 2 ounces/person (Citarella) olive oil (Fairway) Sicilian salt-cured capers (home) Maldon sea salt (home) bunches of tarragon, parsley, basil, cilantro, etc. (greenmarket) Brussels Sprouts Four Ways Lots of Brussels sprouts (greenmarket) cream for crème brûlée (greenmarket) eggs for crème brûlée (greenmarket) superfine sugar for crème brûlée (Fairway) gruyere for gratin (Fairway) bread crumbs for gratin (Fairway) Parmigiano-Reggiano for gratin (Fairway) guanciale for sauté (Salumeria Biellese) olive oil for shredded salad (Fairway) white wine vinegar for shredded salad (Fairway) herbs for garnish (greenmarket) Lemon-Thyme Sorbet 2 containers Fairway lemon sorbet (Fairway) 1 bunch thyme or lemon thyme (greenmarket) Farigoule thyme liqueur (home) Turkey Two Ways With Cornbread Dressing, Foie Gras And Black Truffle Carpaccio 14 pound turkey (Citarella) 1 bottle port (home) 1 bottle dry red wine (somewhere cheap) 2 large carrots (greenmarket) 5 ribs celery (greenmarket) 2 medium yellow onions (greenmarket) 1 bouquet garni (greenmarket) 1 jar "Black Truffle Carpaccio" (Citarella or Fairway) 1 block foie gras (Fairway or Citarella) 1 lb Butter (Fairway) 1 large head cabbage (greenmarket) 1 container cornmeal for the dressing (Fairway) 1 sack flour for the dressing (Fairway) 1 loaf sturdy white bread for the dressing (Fairway) milk for the dressing (Fairway) parsley, sage, thyme for the dressing (greenmarket) crimini mushrooms for the dressing (greenmarket) onion for the dressing celery for the dressing dried porcini mushrooms for the dressing (Fairway or Citarella) Bourbon Bread Pudding 1 large brioche (Zabar's) milk (greenmarket) eggs (greenmarket) sugar (Fairway) bourbon (home) Pecan Tart flour for crust (Fairway) butter for crust (Fairway) lard for crust (home) sour cream for crust (Fairway) Steen's cane syrup for filling (home) brown sugar for filling (Fairway) pecans for filling (Fairway) arrowroot for filling (home) eggs for filling (greenmarket) vanilla for filling (home) bourbon for filling (home) Cranberry Cheesecake (?) ewindels Sugarless Apple Pie (?) bergerka Palmiers and Chocolate Truffles ewindels

No pictures from last year, unfortunately. I'll take some this year, of course. As for the timing, etc... This is in a "tasting menu" format, so each course is fairly small. Think something along the lines of "Thanksgiving dinner as Thomas Keller might do it... if he sustained a horrible head injury that knocked out most of his culinary talent." Understanding that, it's a long dinner. We typically sit down for the oyster course at 8:00 to 8:30 and finish the turkey course sometime around 11:00 -- around three hours. This corresponds roughly to the timing of an extended multicourse tasting menu at a restaurant. The small portion sizes and the length of the meal combine to (hopefully) make sure that no one is stuffed to the gills by the time dessert comes around (although I do remember getting an email from a guest after last year's dinner saying: "did you notice that Eric Malson went back for thirds on the turkey?! dude, that's insane!"). It's taken a few tries to figure out appropriate portion sizes, and I think I was largely sucessful last year. Nevertheless, one goal for this year is to reduce the portion sizes even a bit more compared to last year.

So, here is what I have in mind: Marinated Crudités Cranbery Bellini – – – Raw Kumamoto Oyster With Cucumber Granita Wine TBD – – – Cauliflower Soup With Curry Oil Wine TBD – – – Tuna Carpaccio With Mixed Herb Salad Wine TBD – – – Brussels Sprouts Four Ways - crème brûlée - gratin - sautéed with guanciale - shredded "slaw" Wine TBD – – – Lemon-Thyme Sorbet Wine: a sparkling Moscato d'Asti – – – Turkey Two Ways With Cornbread Dressing, Foie Gras And Black Truffle Carpaccio Wine TBD – – – Bourbon Bread Pudding Pecan Tart Cranberry Cheesecake (?) Sugarless Apple Pie (?) Coffee – – – Palmiers and Chocolate Truffles Grappa, Scotch, Bourbon, Etc.

I'll definitely be doing a logistics section here a little later on. For now, I will say that I do write the logistics down and keep the list in the kitchen. I usually have the help of two people in the kitchen, bergerka and ewindels. Three is about all there is room for. Typically bergerka clears the table, and ewindels does the wine while I do the plates. Then the two of them bring the plated dishes to the table while I do whatever has to be done to get ready for the next course. For the final course, I usually have the help of ewindels (an experienced and talented cook in his own right) with the plating. As for the wine, I'll definitely be drinking. As others will tell you, my Scottish ancestry has endowed me with a remarkable capacity to tolerate alcohol without feeling the effects too strongly (perhaps high levels of alcohol dehydrogenase?). Since we will be giving small pours that are accompanied with plenty of food, I'm not worried about that.

As pointed out in the thread on Una Pizza Nappoletana by bpearis, Robert Sietsema has an article in the Voice about artisinal pizza in NYC, specifically Fornino and Una Pizza Napoletana -- mostly about Fornino:

Here's a quote for posterity:

Nice review of Una Pizza Napoletana in today's $25 and under: The review also noted that, at 17 bucks a pop, it's the most expensive pizzeria around. Still... I know I have to go there.

Okay... so, I think I have settled on the salad course. bergerka expressed a preference for tuna, and since she will be doing most of the dishes, keeping her happy is always one of my primary goals. So it's going to be tuna carpaccio with the herb salad on top and maybe a few capers. I've made tuna carpaccio before. It's pretty easy to do, and has some distinct advantages for a meal like this. The big advantage is that I can pound out and plate the tuna sometime in the afternoon, then keep the plates in the refrigerator until service. When it comes time to serve these dishes, I can simply dress the herb salad in a large bowl, place a small handfull into the center of each plate and garnish. Easy to do the whole works in the amount of time it takes to clear the table of the soup bowls and pour the next wine.