levite

Well, I don't believe in the death penalty-- at least not in such a way as to permit last meals. And if I knew I was going to die, I personally wouldn't eat, I would fast.

But my first meal after being rescued from a desert island would be:

Pre-appetizer: Za'atar Malawach (a kind of crispy filo-like fried pan-bread common to Israel and many Arab countries, served hot and sprinkled with a dry herb mixture), hummus, pickled vegetables.

Palate cleanser: honey and orange blossom water sorbetto

Appetizer: Machchi Pakora- an Indian dish of morsels of fresh fish (in this case, sea bass) dipped in spiced gram flour and deep fried, served with a selection of sweet and sour chutneys.

Palate Cleanser: lemon sorbet

First Course: Medallions of duck breast and quartered cipollini onions, sauteed in duck fat, and served with crispy duck skin, with a small dipping sauce made of brandy, candied apricot, and caramelized garlic; garnished with lightly steamed sugar snap pea pods, tossed with sea salt and cracked pink pepper.

Palate Cleanser: sassafras and anise sorbetto

Second Course: Short ribs of venison, braised to finish in a reduction of good Burgundy wine, allspice, and juniper berries; garnished with lightly steamed fresh baby asparagus.

Palate Cleanser: Blood orange granita

Third Course: Shepherd's Pie: a crust of mashed baby Finnish yellow potatoes mixed with rendered goose fat, and garnished with crispy lamb bacon, served over a stew of leek, baby carrot, and black truffle, around tender cuts of bison sirloin.

Palate Cleanser: Moscato and sour kiwi granita

Fourth Course: Grilled fillet of elk, rubbed with garlic and rosemary, and served with a dipping sauce made of reduced port, shallot, black raspberry, roasted garlic, and cracked black pepper; garnished with steamed hearts of baby artichoke, stuffed with mashed celery root cooked with goose fat and onion.

Palate Cleanser: key lime and candied ginger sorbet

Dessert: Forest berries and fresh pineapple, marinated in Cointreau and Framboise, with clove-infused simple syrup; Karidopita (a Greek walnut cake soaked in simple syrup); and marzipan and caramel dark chocolate truffles.

__________________
Dull sublunary lovers love,
Whose soul is sense, cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
That thing which elemented it.

(From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)