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Upcoming dinner

MatthewB

By MatthewB
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MatthewB

MatthewB

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I'm preparing a dinner to take to friends' home on Saturday evening.

I don't want to have to do much (if any) cooking there. I'd rather relax with our friends.

So . . .

I'm pretty much set on Nigella Lawson's recipes that appeared in last week's NYT.

However, concerning the pasta primavera. There's no way I'm going to get local fresh fava beans or haricots verts.

Should I substitute ingredients? If so, what? Or should I move to a different dish?

(As far as the overall dinner, I'm also going to marinade some olives. Any other ideas for starters? Our friends are providing the wine & dessert.)

Assistance will be appreciated! :smile:

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sandra

sandra

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Instead of haricots verts you could use very fine green beans, and for the fava beans, there are jars of brined beans, usually sold in upmarket grocery stores that would probably work just as well, if not, maybe tinned, if they are a good brand will work -

For starters you could also marinate some button mushrooms to go with the olives... or some small onions marinated in balsamic?

Sometimes I put little cubes of feta cheese in with olives for snacking...

Nice menu...

www.nutropical.com

~Borojo~

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SobaAddict70

SobaAddict70

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for pasta primavera, it doesn't matter what kind of vegetables you use as long as they're in season and fresh. plain old green beans are fine, along with zucchini, tomatoes and peppers. different veggies, different dish, same concept. (pasta, EVOO, garlic, in-season vegs)

for starters, try any of the following:

roasted cauliflower, cod and garlic puree, served with toast points

sweet and sour cipolini onions

tomato bruschetta (I like to do a variation using pureed roasted peppers and caramelized onions)

roasted brussel sprouts, tossed with sauteed pancetta and red pepper flakes

chilled white peach and buttermilk soup, served in wine goblets

babaghanoush, taramosalata (sp) or hummus with toasted pita triangles

tapenade

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MatthewB

MatthewB

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FWIW, here's what I've decided on . . .

Starters: black olive tapenade, marinated red bell peppers, & marinated mushrooms.

Main course: Nigella's tarragon turkey & the dressing, the pasta primavera w/ the best & freshest veggies I can find.

Thanks for the help!

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MatthewB

MatthewB

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Marbled quails eggs

A cold soup (take in a thermos)

Strawberries for desert?

No quail eggs this time. (But in the future!)

Cold soup. I'll have to think about it. Unfortunately, we're only getting radishes & asparagus locally right now. :sad:

Dessert is being provided by the hosts.

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Suzanne F

Suzanne F

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Asparagus!! If you don't mind repeating an ingredient, chunk up some tips for the pasta, and make a soup with the rest -- especially good since you can make a stock with all the peelings and tough ends, then cook the stalks in the stock and puree them, so no one will see them anyway.

And butter-and-radish finger sandwiches!

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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Matthew, if I can't get haricot verts I'll often take Chine long beans and cut them to about the same length on the bias.

Just blanch them, they're a but softer than haricot verts.

And finding fine green beans is difficult because mass is where the money is.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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MatthewB

MatthewB

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I'm going to start cooking later this afternoon.

Here's the final menu . . .

The same as I posted a couple of days ago except between starters & the main course I'm taking Suzanne up on her idea for asparagus soup (I'll warm it up on-site).

As far as the veggies in the pasta, I'll probably drop the fava beans & rely on peas. I'll take up Jin's advice on Chine long beans. I'll see what I can get at the farmer's market tomorrow AM & adjust the veggies accordingly.

Thanks for the help everyone. I just need to do a bit of shopping this afternoon--which includes a bottle of Tavel to tide me over through the cooking. (Not the whole bottle.)

I'll let you know how everything turns out!

Edit: klink, we started the turkey brine last night. :smile:

Edited by MatthewB (log)
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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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Break a leg, suck out the marrow, and walk into the flames. Have fun.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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MatthewB

MatthewB

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Break a leg, suck out the marrow, and walk into the flames. Have fun.

Thanks, Jin. :biggrin:

While the cooking will be fun, the best part will be the company. My friend had a stroke recently--at 39--and thankfully he's recovering very well. So, we going to have an al fresco dinner on his & his wife's deck overlooking Lake Michigan. The weather here is beautiful & the sunset should be wonderful.

It will be a dinner to say to him: "We love your presence. Here's to you being with us."

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aliwaks

aliwaks

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edamame is a pretty good substitute for fava beans...I've used them when favas are unavailable(umm like almost always) I love favas but tres expensive for restaurant purposes so we've taken to throwing in edamame .

"sometimes I comb my hair with a fork" Eloise

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Suzanne F

Suzanne F

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While the cooking will be fun, the best part will be the company.  My friend had a stroke recently--at 39--and thankfully he's recovering very well.  So, we going to have an al fresco dinner on his & his wife's deck overlooking Lake Michigan.  The weather here is beautiful & the sunset should be wonderful.

It will be a dinner to say to him:  "We love your presence.  Here's to you being with us."

Now you got me all teary-eyed. (Well, that plus your adorable puppy-dog avatar :raz: ).

That's what cooking for people is all about. :wub:

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MatthewB

MatthewB

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The company (& dinner) was wonderful.

Nearly perfect day on Lake Michigan--mid 80s, little humidity & little wind & very few clouds. Beautiful sunset. Gorgeous!

The starters all turned out well but the hit was the tapenade. (I used Wells' recipe in The Paris Cookbook. The marinated peppers & mushrooms were from there, too.) Our hosts started us off with a young Italian white that had a hit of apricot with a slight bit of underlying saltiness. They also added a plate of melon wrapped in prosciutto. (Some guests staying at their B&B joined us & a bottle of Viognier was added.

At a leisurely pace, I warmed up the soup that I made--leek, asparagus, & herbs. The hosts opened a bottle of lightly-oaked Chardonnay.

The main course was served & our hosts opened a bottle of Italian red-- 90% Sangiovese & 10% Merlot. The turkey turned out very well--the 36 hour brining helped quite a bit. The hit was the salad. I followed Nigella's recipe using canned Fava beans, frozen peas, & fresh Asian long beans (the long beans standing in for the haricot verts--thanks again, Jin). Otherwise, everything else was fresh & according to her recipe. I'll definitely be making variations of that salad as summer continues.

Dessert was a summer berry pie w/ vanilla ice cream & cups of strong Italian coffee.

By then we were all tired. :biggrin:

Thanks again for all the help! Everything worked out, as they say.

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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Sounds like it was a wonderful time, Matthew.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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