Need help putting together a multi-course meal

[Transplant_DK]

I'm planning a small intimate dinner party for my husband's 50th birthday in December, and he would like "lots of courses that take hours to eat". I like to do some kind of complicated/impressive things when we have guests, but am having trouble thinking of what goes together, foods that won't be too heavy for 5-7 courses, etc.

So far, I have a first course planned with a thin slice of rye bread, tiny bites of smoked eel, and a few carefully placed condiments (capers, "sea foam", etc).

I think one main should be a small fillet mignon--maybe with Madagascar pepper sauce (his favorite) or possibly a dollop of crab meat and a drizzle of sauce, which is something I made for another event that went over well.

Any ideas what would work with these?

[escondido123]

How many people will make a difference. There has been much discussion here on how to cook/serve many courses in your own home while remaining part of the party. You should consider having something you can make at least a day ahead of time, something that can be served cold out of the frig, something that can be served room temp and something you can have all ready to go before the evening starts. That has nothing to do with specific menu items but it does help it all to go more smoothly. (In my opinion, it also can mean one really special item that you do not make at all but buy from a specialty shop--great pate or smoked fish or caviar if the budget allows it is an excellent way to go with that.)

[Transplant_DK]

So far my husband is stuck on just inviting one couple, and I will be doing most of the cooking. You're right that I'll want some do-ahead items on the menu. The "boys" are going out to do some adventure stuff during the day, so my sister in law will be helping me in the kitchen. We've made pasta, sausages, and things like that together, so I know she enjoys playing in the kitchen.

I'm all for having buying somethings from a specialty shop, although we also smoke meat and fish ourselves so things like that would be easy enough to put on the menu.

He's never really had a birthday party, and this is a biggie, so there's really no budget if something dear will really add to the experience. And of course, I have to be able to procure it in Denmark ;-)

[katecm]

I'd stick with the pepper sauce for the filets, and do something as a separate course for the crab. You could pre-form crab cakes ahead of time and cook when ready, or do a nice crab soup since it'll be pretty chilly that time of year. Definitely garnish whatever you do with some snow crab legs or king crab legs, since he wants a long meal. That will help take up time.

I'd also add a salad to that, maybe with apples and fennel, since that sounds like it would go with your appetizer. And that app is plated, no? So let's maybe add some finger food for when they get there. Deviled eggs with caviar?

Then, since you have a seafood course and a beef course, perhaps add in one more with poultry. Could you get duck in Denmark? Duck confit could be nice, maybe some sort of play on an updated cassoulet that you could keep from being toooo heavy.

And of course, dessert could probably take up its own thread!

[Dcfoodblog]

If you've made pasta before, three perfect crab ravioli would be divine before the meat course. You could do a beurre blanc as the sauce.

[tastesgoodwhatisit]

I think the key will be to do mainly things that can be prepped or made ahead of time, so you're doing as little as possible during the meal.

What about

Course 1; Amuse bouche - some small bits of appetizers, pre-made. Get creative with how it's served, like a bite sized something served on a Chinese spoon, or something in a shot glass.

Course 2; Appetizers. This is where you can fit your rye bread with smoked eel. You can assemble this just before your guests arrive.

Course 3: Salad. Do something with some high quality or slightly unusual ingredients (rather than just a garden salad). Maybe shaved fennel, or an orange and celery and walnut salad. Can be made and plated ahead of time and kept in the fridge.

Course 4: Soup; hot or cold, something fairly simple but elegant. Maybe a rich cream of pumpkin soup, or cream of asparagus. Can be made ahead and just served when the time comes, with a few croutons, or a drizzle of cream. You can make it the day ahead and just heat it up.

Course 5: Seafood; Maybe skewered grilled shrimp, or crab or fish cakes with a home-made sauce. Can be assembled ahead of time, and cooks quickly.

Course 6: Meat; I think I'd go with something that's not too time critical. Stewed pork belly can be absolutely delicious, and doesn't take much tending (and takes hours to cook, anyways). Maybe with a spicy mustard sauce, and served on a small pile of mashed potato (rice cookers are great for keeping mashed potatoes warm). Keep the portions small, so as not to over fill people. You could also do something cold, like a terrine served with good bread. You can start the meat cooking and do the mashed potatoes before your guests arrive, or cook the meat the day ahead and reheat.

Course 7: Something vegetable and starch based - maybe a cold Thai inspired noodle salad that could be made ahead.

Course 8; Dessert and coffee. Something like individual fruit tarts, or squares would work well.

[Emme]

just a few thoughts to add to the discussion... and happy birthday!

for app bites... thinly sliced roasted rosemary beets with a dollop of goat cheese and chives; raw ahi cubes on rice cracker squares with a seasoned soy vinegar glaze

definitely a salad... i like the fennel idea, maybe with some grilled onions or sauteed mushrooms or roasted tomatoes

i like the idea of soup, but only if it's a tiny shot glass portion, as liquid is stomach space :) you could do a sip or two portion of wonton soup with one dumpling or egg drop soup or straciatella

i'd like a veggie course... stuffed mushrooms or courgettes or miso glazed eggplant slices

if you do some sort of poultry along with the filet, i'd do a ceviche in between -- temperature and texture change to clear the palate

cheese course -- with caviar and a few crackers

dessert -- a few different bite-sized tartlettes, along with some chocolate dipped citrus peels, or maybe a gelato tasting...

...just my ten cents! again, happy 50th!

[hotoynoodle]

cheese with caviar? after dinner? that's a new one and not a direction i'd like to go. tiny twice baked potatoes with sour cream and caviar would be nice though before the eel. and the eel would do well in a lettuce cup or endive leaf, rather than bread.

[chowser]

You've gotten some great ideas already. To add on to some suggestions:

App 1: your rye/smoked eel idea.

Salad: a basic greens salad w/ some cold roasted vegetables. I love using this as a base, all can be done ahead. It's very good w/ candied nuts and frico on the side.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Cauliflower-and-Radicchio-Salad-230966

Soup: love the pumpkin soup suggestion, or butternut squash w/ a dollop of creme fraiche

Main: filet (or beef wellington so you can make it in advance and bake when everyone arrives Tyler Florence has a good recipe w/ a nice green peppercorn sauce: Beef wellington would require less kitchen time away from guests.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ty...

Side: glazed chestnuts with haricot verts (skip the candied nuts in the salad if you do this). I love this recipe, especially the glazed chestnuts. It's an easy go to for dinner parties because, again, all parts can be done in advance and all you need to do is a quick heat.

Dessert: I could go on and on here but go w/ your husband's favorite. Winter makes me think ginger cake.

[thimes]

Sounds like a lovely idea for a 50th dinner. First, I wouldn't worry about "things that are too heavy for 5-7 courses". If something seems heavy but you or your husband really likes it, you just serve a smaller portion of it. That is the nice part about lots of courses.

As far as what goes together, you have a lot of flexibility here. My only opinion is I am not a huge fan when courses wildly change "nationalities". That is my opinion, others may like this. So I don't like an Asian course, followed by an Italian course. I would keep the flavors in the same part of the world.

In general - start with "light" flavors and go heavier. This doesn't mean "weak" (no flavor) just "light". So given the two ideas you already have, I'd go seafood - poultry - beef.

Course one - could be a cold crab dish
Course two - smoked eel
Course three - vegetable soup puree (I like these for segue, maybe carrot with spices to play off the rye bread)
Course four - duck (could do something with confit, warm or cold - could bridge nicely back to the caper flavor from the eel - easy to have mostly done ahead and holds well)
Course five - fillet with pepper sauce
Course six - small cheese course with fruits too
Course seven - dessert

[Transplant_DK]

Thanks so much everyone! Wonderful, wonderful ideas and suggestions. I am sorting through them and taking notes and have been mentioning some of the ideas to the birthday boy. I'm not sure why, but he thinks he should be able to vote on what is served ;-)

I love the idea of the crab ravioli, but he would rather a shot or small portion of a creamy seafood soup I make often. Honestly, getting good local crab meat might be iffy for December anyway, so probably better not to count on it. The soup is easy enough to make after the prep work and making the stock. Could be fun to garnish with something like snow crab, altho we're doing smoked shrimp and possibly some other smoked seafood the night before when the guests arrive (they'll be here for the whole weekend).

The app is plated. Actually, it's the plating that made me want to include the recipe. It's a super thin slice of "rugbrød" (Danish dark rye) that is baked on a waved baking sheet until crispy, then the tiny bites of smoked eel, capers, egg cream, and rose hips are strategically place on the waves. I'm doing a trial run this weekend.

I also love the salad suggestions and he does as well. He especially enjoys nuts and fruits in salads, so will likely go with one of those options. Shaved fennel would be nice, as I grow fennel in my garden. I also like the idea of a confit or maybe a country pate made with duck or goose (I can get both free range from a neighbor)? for a 2nd or 3rd course, before the beef. We adore pork belly, but it's the traditional meal for Christmas--just a week after his bday, so I'd like to stay clear of that. Otherwise a lovely idea and would certainly be a plus not to have to worry about grilling steaks at the last minute. The wellington might be a workaround for that though. Haven't done that in years.

Going to look into a veggie course too, thanks! I usually just end up putting them on the plate with the meat, but I think I'll stick to just a bit of garnish and maybe a tiny potato something or other, then do something in a separate very colorful dish. I have wonderful winter squash and pumpkin from my garden, so those would be good options. The beans with glazed chestnuts sound marvelous!

We'll do a cheese course for sure and my husband hasn't put in any requests for dessert, so not sure what I'll do there. It will definitely be a do ahead. Gelato tasting could be fun--but it's hard to get here and I don't have a machine for making my own.

Again, thanks so much everyone!

I definitely want to find an amuse bouche to add.

[chowser]

Let us know how it goes. It sounds like it's going to be an amazing meal.

[Transplant_DK]

I hope so! My husband has never had a real birthday party, if you can believe that! I'd planned one for his 40th and bought him a bottle of special 30 or 40 year old whiskey to open with his guests, but there was a death in the family and we had to cancel. He decided to wait until his 50th to crack it open, so I figure dinner should also be special!

[katecm]

Can you get grapes? I think grapes rolled in blue cheese and pistachios would complement a lot of your flavors.

[Transplant_DK]

Up until just a month ago, I had homegrown grapes in my greenhouse. They are gone now, but I'm sure I can find them at the market. I love the idea of grapes, BC and pistachios!

[herby]

Here is Martha Stewart's recipe for the grapes: http://www.cafenilson.com/2008/09/roq...
I have not made it in a while but when I did, everyone loved it.

[Transplant_DK]

The problem with planning far ahead is that changes are inevitable. The birthday boy has really gotten into the spirit of his party, which has now turned into a weekend with his favorite brother and sister in law. I have a few gaps in the menu I could use some help filling, and would also love some feedback as there are only a few items the BB insists on:

Friday afternoon/evening--casual and relaxing time to catch up, dinner in the breakfast nook, mostly finger foods intended for hours of snacking: Cocktails, Bob's Spicy Cheese-Olive Balls, spicy nuts, smoked shrimp with some kind of dip, stuffed jalapenos with bacon, New Orleans BBQ shrimp with french bread, mini BBQ ribs, potato skins. Either Maida Heatter’s Santa Fe Brownie sundaes or Nick’s brownies with ice cream.

Saturday brunch: Grits, fried eggs, homemade sausage, biscuits
Saturday afternoon: ??
Saturday evening: Amuse bouche (?), scallops with chilli thyme butter on arugula, Crayfish, crab, and corn bisque, smoked chicken something or another? (thinking rillettes with chutney and cornichons but not sure), salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, walnuts and orange dressing, beef tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce, souffle potatoes in ramekins, plate with local cheeses and condiments, crepes suzette.

Sunday brunch: mimosas, blueberry pancakes, home cured bacon.

If some parts of the menus seem odd--I'm from Louisiana and my husband (and the guests) are Danish. My husband adores cajun and very spicy foods, plus we have a lot of local products that we like to use (beef, cheese, some veg and fruits). Still, please let me know if there are any major clashes or if there are things that could be improved on!

[Emme]

sounds good! since there are only four of you, i'm not sure how relevant my suggestions will truly be...
friday night, personally, i'd want something veg too... like chilled marinated and grilled veggies or seasoned roasted veggies. or stuffed endive leaves. or marinated tomatoes and/or mushrooms... etc.

saturday brunch, i'd only maybe add some baked apples or cut up fruit or fruit salad tossed with a lime syrup, and maybe some roasted tomatoes.

you may not be hungry saturday afternoon... and may want to save stomach space for the evening :) but... maybe some simple chicken or egg salad, some fruit and cheese and crackers, kale chips, etc.

for dinner, maybe a mushroom based amuse? a simple mushroom dumpling drizzled with a miso glaze? or a rice cracker chip with a mushroom tapenade and a little roe?

happy birthday to BB!

[iL Divo]

thinking you need something lite after the smoked eel.
classic iceburg wedge, perfectly placed small chunks of blue cheese and a lite thin blue cheese vinaigrette topped with a small pepita brittle stuck into the wedge. basically this can be done in advance and pretty much ready to go. [make the vin in advance, brittle in advance or store bought and portioned out -same with cheese chunks, have the iceburg already cut into the wedges],

[Transplant_DK]

We ditched the eel in favor of the scallops and are planning the salad with the goat cheese, roasted beets, etc. I modified the menu on my latest post ;-)

I'm curious what the pepita brittle is tho...off to google!

[iL Divo]

I had this salad at a favorite restaurant. the crunch of the ice cold lettuce, the bite and creaminess of the blue cheese the snap of a sweet treat is a wonderful contrast. pepita aren't overpowering and are a clever idea to add to a brittle. nice and different presentation.