A Tasting Menu
 

So it is my wife's birthday and my son and I are planing on making her dinner on Sunday.


The menu at this moment looks like this:

Avocado and Salmon salad
* a small stack of avocado, with a hint of lime, topped with smoked salmon and snow pea sprout garnish and a mango dressing

Thai Mussels
*fresh New Zealand mussels served in a broth of coconut milk and typical thai ingredients (lemongrass, ginger, fish sauce, etc.). Accompanied by some crusty baguette.

Zuccinni Sticks (deep fried)
* one of her favourties, I am going to serve them with a little creamy garlic sauce and a tomato relish

Mahi x 2
*One will be a pepper crusted and seared tuna steak and the other will be served raw (it's sushi grade). the sashimi will be on a bed of wild rice with a wasabi infused oil and the other on a bed of greens (rocket or something peppery).

A selection of birthday cakes
*my son is going to bake three or five small birthday cakes (odd numbers are better) each a different flavour but all looking the same (shape-wise).


I need help. I can't decide on what wines would go best with these dishes... Can someone suggest some pairings?

I also need to come up with some cool names and descriptions for the menu. All suggestions are welcome

Wow, that's an impressive menu Charlatan. I didn't know you were such a gourmand and a chef. I would suggest white wines for most of your dishes (the seafoods). Chardonnay would be fine. Actually, any Californian white would be good. Another good addition would be some sake (served chilled) and/or soju especially with the Mahi Mahi.

Good luck and be sure to post pics and let us know how it turns out.

you shouldnt post things like this when you know im fasting Ramadan!!

Thanks Jorgeolito... good call on the sake. Someone else suggested that Pinot Gris would go well with the mussels.



If it helps, we won't be eating until after 7 so that's sunset.

oh thanks.. right about now you're eating (singapore is 4 hrs ahead of dubai time), so i guess you're enoying those mussels, and im sitting salivating for the next 3 hours.

ohh..and dont do what jorge said..DONT TAKE PICTURES AND POST THEM!!!

dlish, don't look at the following pic:

http://www.ledopizza.com/photos/menu...D3AAA64B5D.jpg

I love smoked salmon and lightly cooke mahi mahi. Maybe is just me, but I prefer a table red with red meat fish. Especially smoke salmon. It kind of makes me feel like a viking.

not looking that that dlishs looking salmon with grilled melted cheese in a crispy bread. not looking all. not thinking about the time...not thinking about anything right now..EXCEPT that salmon roll!!!

i know what im having for dinner tonight!

That's salmon? Looked like a pizza pocket to me.

Charlatan, the menu looks fantastic, are you going to post recipes in the cooking forum?

It is, it's a pepperoni calzone.

I'm in the same boat, stuck at work, haven't had breakfast. So I torture myself as much as dlish.

I would still like to see pics, but it's probably down the gullet now.

My friend Paul cooked dinner for me a month or so ago and did a similar first course, making it with pan-toasted olive baguette and roasted cumin rather than the sprouts. It is one of my favorite foods now.

Although sweet, and perhaps unusual, I might like a riesling after the zuccinni.

Happy birthday to your wife.

Hey guys, it's not Sunday in Singapore yet, so there's still plenty of time to make suggestions for Charlatan.

As for me...I really like pinot noir with salmon.

I'm no good with wine suggestions because I don't drink much of it.

However, your menu has gotten me drooling. A few times. I think I might need to go out and buy some more fresh food and set aside more time to cook in the evenings. Yum.

I would probably do a Semillion Blanc or Champagne with 1&2, Reisling, Gewurztrameiner or Rose Champagne with 3, and Sauvingnon Blanc or Pinot Gris, or a demi-sec sparkling wine (like Asti, could also work with 3) with 4. I like a Bordeaux reds or Rose Champagne, maybe a Zinfandel, with anything chocolate or sweet for desert. For a celebration, it's hard to go wrong with Champagne.

Champipple!

For sesert I've always been a fan of Chocolate Layer Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting - here's a sample recipe:

German Chocolate Cake Recipe - Recipe for Chocolate Layer Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting

Just something about the richness of the chocolate with the sweetness of the coconut...

Ratman! Brilliant. I have a bottle of Veuve Rose in the pantry... I also have a nice red that I think I will serve with the tuna.

I just got back from doing the groceries and am off in a few minutes to get the tune. I also need some cilantro (called Chinese Parsley here) they were (unbelievably) out at my local.


The menu has changed slightly:

Avocado and Salmon salad
* a small stack of avocado, with a hint of lime, topped with smoked salmon and snow pea sprout garnish and a mango dressing

Thai Mussels
*fresh New Zealand mussels served in a broth of coconut milk and typical thai ingredients (lemongrass, ginger, fish sauce, etc.). Accompanied by some crusty baguette.

Zuccinni Sticks (deep fried)
* one of her favourties, I am going to serve them with a little creamy garlic sauce and a gazpacho

Mahi x 2
*One will be a sesame crusted and seared tuna steak and the other will be served raw (it's sushi grade). the sashimi will be on a bed of wild rice with a wasabi tomato salsa and the other on a bed of wilted spinach.

A selection of birthday cakes
*my son is going to bake three or five small birthday cakes (odd numbers are better) each a different flavour but all looking the same (shape-wise).

Ya better let us know how it turns out, and what wines you used! Veuve Rose...yum... I would love to see some recipes, especially the wasabi tomato relish.

i like a light, sweet moscato d'asti to finish off the evening lately.
and the pinot noir-type wines with the salmon sound perfect.
i think you've got this. :)
what time is dinner again?
my whole vicarious living antennae are vibrating....

i just love noodles! ;)

I agree, that would be perfect... if his wife were a 16-year-old girl.:no:

I went with the malt liquor... it worked.

Thanks King!

The dinner was a success.

I spent much of Sunday doing the prep for the dinner and getting all of my mise en place together.

The first dish was the Avocado and Smoked Salmon Salad with a Mango dressing. It was quite simple to put together. Chopped avocado in the juice of one lemon, salt and pepper to taste. This is topped with some smoked salmon and some Baby Dou Miao. The mango dressing is just some mango, lemon juice and some orange juice wizzed.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/...a0cce06cc9.jpg


The second dish was Thai Mussels. I've never made mussels before so this was a bit of gamble for me... it work out really well. The green on the mussels is because they are New Zealand green mussels.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3087/...abba038009.jpg


The third course was deep fried zuccini sticks with gazpatcho. The sticks were one of my wife's favorite things when we were in univeristy. I thought this might be a way to make them a little more fancy... She was pleasantly surprised.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/...952425fdd8.jpg


The fourth course was tuna two ways. I served raw tuna on a bed of wild rice with a side of wasabi salsa (I made regular salsa and added some wasabi). I had wanted to find a way to introduce wasabi to the dish in a way that didn't leave me with a dollup of green paste on the dish. The other side was seared sesame crusted tuna on a bed of wilted baby spinach and asparagas. I wasn't happy with the seared tuna. I thought I'd over cooked it. It did taste good though. Sorry, I didn't take the photo so you can't see the rice and the salsa has dribbled...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2233/...b05a4fcae0.jpg

Finally the dessert, created by my son, was three birthday cakes: Chocolate, Vanilla and Lemon. The centre piece of the three is made with hokey pokey toffee.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2355/...cd56bf2c43.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/...4844136b16.jpg


The champagne went over very well... and was damn tasty. So much so that I didn't open the red I had planned for the last course.

The dishes look amazing, although the first two courses portions look huge - did you share them or was that a single portion?
-----Added 15/9/2008 at 09 : 06 : 16-----
Also I notice that the Tuna is not the deep red colour that sushi grade usually is (the type I normally buy when serving raw or near raw). What type of tuna did you use?

Wow Charlatan!! That's looks great! Good job all around there. It looks like Charlatan Jr. had a good time too. I really like how you incorporated "local" Asian foods like dou miao. Not many westerners/white folks know what that is. It's also in season I believe.

What wine/drinks did you go with in the end? Did you take my suggestions?

While I would not have eaten one single thing you fixed, other than the cakes.....your planning and execution is to be commended!!!

Yum. It all looks so delicious. Reading about it in the first place made me drool, and it's even worse now that there are pictures. Well done, Charlatan. Your wife is one lucky lady. And your son did a great job with the cakes! The mussel shells are really pretty, by the way. I like the coloring.

Hey Daval: the portions were actually quite small. The camera makes it look big. The first course would fit in the palm of your hand and have room the spare. The plate it's on is quite small. The mussels look like a lot but they are quite small inside the shells (unlike the plump ones we get in Canada).

Jorge, the dou miao is usually available in my local shop, so I don't know if it's in season right now. I ended up going with the Rose Champagne (I had a bottle on the shelf) and was going to go with a Chianti Classico for the final course. In the end we just skipped the red and stuck with the Champagne for the whole meal.

Thanks Shani.

Hey Snowy... I was really proud of my son. He did a great job.

Charlatan,
I love you.

Will you take me out and dine me?

Fly me to Iceland and I am all yours...

I can't speak to the reds, since I can't drink them, but otherwise, Ratman makes some nice suggestions.

For 1 or 2, a nice fume blanc would have worked as well - clean, crisp, tart. I personally DESPISE Chardonnay, but it can be tasty if you can get the oak free sort. But even then... what a boring grape to me.

Boy, I should finish the thread before I respond. Sheesh. That does look amazing, Charlie! Very impressive.

Including me, rather than wiki it, can you tell me what it is and what it tastes like? It looks like a cross between parsley and sprouts.

I'm guessing massive sex took place later in the night.

Dou miao is also called Snow Pea Shoots and they have a taste not unlike a cross between italian parsley and bean sprouts.

And no on the massive sex... unbelievable as that may sound.

Chump.

Kids.

Can't you sell them for good coin over there?

aint i glad i saw these pics after ive just had dinner

I don't know about snow pea shoots specifically, but pea shoots in general were all over the farmer's market this spring. I'll have to get some next spring and try them out.

The leaves are especially tender and have a mild taste. They are typically served sauteed with garlic as part of a typical meal. Very delicious. Tends to be a bot expensive here in the states. You can find it in season in places like Ranch 99.

It's funny I just use them in salads... mostly because they are cheap and plentiful... and they add a nice crunch. I added them to the salmon salad above because I thought the tiny leaves were cute. Looking at the picture, I think I will trim the stems a bit more next time. I don't like the way they look.