Philosophically, I struggle with big big meals between two trends: 1) reuse ingredients in as many dishes in as much as possible and reincorporate flavors, and 2) have a good amount of novelty in each dish. For example, I might pick arugula in my salad and also use arugula later as the main green in a sauce. Curious what people's thoughts are here.

Cooking and my boy are my great loves in life, and I'm going to do this during my spring break so very labor intensive dishes are okay!

He's vegetarian and don't care much for tomato. I don't eat dairy as a structural ingredient for the most part, but we feel fine eating bivalve mullosks.

I'm looking for an overarching theme but the overall pacing looks like this:

6:30 High-concept appertizer + Apertivo
6:50 Little soup or someth
7:00 Moderate course
7:30 Fruit

7:30 Entertainment intermission

8:00 High-concept appertizer (Like a one biter)
8:30 Cocktail
8:45 Heavy Course
9:00 Salad

9:10 Smoke Break

9:20 Dessert
9:30 Coffee

I really really like citrus, and in general my recent cooking interest has been using fruits in a savory way. It being Winter wrinkles that plan somewhat. Tentatively, I wanna end on scallops over some sort of risotto. I see the whole budget being about $60 + $20 of various drinks.

Kinda thinking about making spiced limoncello and using that six different ways. Just gotta pick a central theme.

  • MattsAlt [comrade/them]
    ·
    9 months ago

    You could do a lot with citrus as those are in season during the winter months. That or pears / apples. A nice citrus forward salad has been something I've done in the past for a home Valentine's menu. Pomegranate is another. A lot would lend themselves to multiple courses too.

    For example, a pomegranate reduction sauce for the main and then the seeds on their own in a salad or in desert. Citrus supremes with a salad or appetizer and then the juice in the cocktail.

    I might be wrong but I think I've seen people dissolve away all the connective tissue in a grapefruit supreme to use the little juice capsules as faux caviar. I'll have to search for it

    • MattsAlt [comrade/them]
      ·
      9 months ago

      I'll have to search for it

      Can't seem to find it but you may be interested in attempting it with molecular gastronomy, I've been interested in trying that and might be inspired to try it now.

      That or if you can find finger limes the kernels are already caviar shaped

      • EndOfHerstory [she/her]
        ·
        9 months ago

        I’ve used pectinase to dissolve the pith of citrus, and then just broken them up into pearls by hand. There might be a more involved method that breaks less of them, though.