We recently held a themed dinner called "The Menu" which was a success without any unfortunate incidents. We had invited six guests, and the only requirements were that they should have watched the movie and dressed elegantly. While I aimed to stay true to the movie, (except for the dessert, of course), I also wanted to incorporate some new culinary ideas. We served a total of eight courses, each paired with a wine.
The guests began the evening by enjoying a Mango margarita using natural ingredients and garnished with black-rimmed salt. Later, they were served a baked Oyster with fresh garlic, butter, lemon, and bacon on a bed of rock salt along with a glass of Sparkling Rose on The Ship.
Amuse Bouche
Pressed melon with mint and a sorghum vinaigrette
The Island
For this dish, I opted to use a recipe from my childhood in Maryland. However, I wanted to elevate the dish by serving a jumbo lump crab cake on a bed of carrot butter sauce and topped with homemade lemon caviar.
Garnished with a fresh chive flower from our garden.
Bread-less Bread Plate
We created a breadless bread plate with three types of crackers - Cornmeal, Gluten-free, and Matzo - all served with flavorful cheese, honey butter, spicy remoulade sauce, and avocado foam. Although the dish was scrumptious, we portrayed it in a solemn manner to depict a particular mood: Suffering
Memory This is a scrumptious potato bird nest with some fresh pesto, Parmesan Reggiano, and quail eggs. Let me tell you, the texture of those eggs are just amazing - so creamy and delicious!
The Mess
(No firearms required for this version)
I made slow-braised short ribs with a red wine sauce. I served it with roasted root vegetables and baby butter potatoes. The picture may be a little dark on this one. I served it with a medley of roasted root vegetables and baby butter potatoes.
Supplement course Cheese Burger It's safe to assume that anyone who has watched the movie is familiar with this dish. To keep it authentic, I used freshly ground sirloin and American cheese. In addition, homemade pickles, pickled onions, and French fries.
The Final Course
S'Mores -our variation on the "most offensive assault on the human palate ever contrived"
I made some delicious graham cracker cookies with a dark chocolate ganache and a homemade marshmallow. I heated them up a bit and placed them on a bed of red sugar before serving.
More fun pictures:
Good times
My wife, Christina, and I both put in equal effort towards this project. She skillfully described the wine using vivid and elaborate language during the presentation
. The camera lighting was unusual, but it created a pretty cool effect.
I caught my dinner guests off guard, but unfortunately, I didn't have any other pictures of the whole table.
I hope you enjoyed this post and please share it with people who love food!
" Do not eat: taste, savor, relish, consider every morsel that you place inside your mouth. Be mindful. Do not eat. Our menu is too precious for that." Ralph Fiennes as Chef Slowik, The Menu
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