Got any menu ideas?

[Chad Aaland]

So my girlfriend and I are going to be cooking for her parents, brother and sister and their significant others on valentines day (who would have thought I'd get that night off?). Where I work we do a lot of traditional stuff (ie bordelaise, S&P only on meat, beurre blancs etc), so I want to do something different that you wouldn't regularly see on a menu. These people like food and have a well balanced albeit uneducated palet. I have to have one fish for someone who doesn't eat meat...and I prefer not to have chicken unless it's something really good. Anybody have any ideas?

[greenawalt87]

do a stuff filet with crabmeat wrapped with bacon and for the none meat eater just do a crab dish

[Chad Aaland]

Got any sauce ideas that don't use stock or demi? I'm going to be making this at her house.

[Chad Aaland]

Anyone else?

[chrose]

I hate to sound like a broken record and that this is the only thing I know, but I still like to say that compound butters are an all around quick gourmet fix.
Here's a suggestion to make your life easy and still impress. This is just one idea of flavors you could do anything you like.
Take a single serving salmon filet and top it with a mirepoix about 1-1/2 cups worth. Ahead of time take about 3 oz of whole butter softened and season it with some salt and pepper, Lemon Zeste and Thyme. Chill it. Put the salmon and mirepoix in a papillote a sprinkle of wine and lemon and top with the butter. Bake it while you are cooking your meat dish. They should come out the same time serve it with a starch or baguette.
The same idea with the meat I would make a compound butter maybe of thyme and hazelnut and put that on the meat after cooking let it melt on the way to the table. If you are serving beef try topping it with a small handfull of King Crab, and the butter, 2 oz each of crab is plenty. Look and tastes fancy and stays within budget.

Just a thought.

[Chad Aaland]

Originally Posted by chrose

I hate to sound like a broken record and that this is the only thing I know, but I still like to say that compound butters are an all around quick gourmet fix.
Here's a suggestion to make your life easy and still impress. This is just one idea of flavors you could do anything you like.
Take a single serving salmon filet and top it with a mirepoix about 1-1/2 cups worth. Ahead of time take about 3 oz of whole butter softened and season it with some salt and pepper, Lemon Zeste and Thyme. Chill it. Put the salmon and mirepoix in a papillote a sprinkle of wine and lemon and top with the butter. Bake it while you are cooking your meat dish. They should come out the same time serve it with a starch or baguette.
The same idea with the meat I would make a compound butter maybe of thyme and hazelnut and put that on the meat after cooking let it melt on the way to the table. If you are serving beef try topping it with a small handfull of King Crab, and the butter, 2 oz each of crab is plenty. Look and tastes fancy and stays within budget.

Just a thought.

I like that...simple flavors and easy. Thanks!

[Panonthefire]

Originally Posted by Chad Aaland

So my girlfriend and I are going to be cooking for her parents, brother and sister and their significant others on valentines day (who would have thought I'd get that night off?). Where I work we do a lot of traditional stuff (ie bordelaise, S&P only on meat, beurre blancs etc), so I want to do something different that you wouldn't regularly see on a menu. These people like food and have a well balanced albeit uneducated palet. I have to have one fish for someone who doesn't eat meat...and I prefer not to have chicken unless it's something really good. Anybody have any ideas?

how about a virgin sauce to start?? fresh lemon juice, evo, tomato dice and fresh basil.

from this base you can do a lot of other sauces, you can substitute the herbes or acide, you can play with it.

I like to use top notch hazelnut oil with an aged balsamic vinager over a pan seared fish. mmmmmmmmmm lovely.

Butter sauce like a beurre blanc as a base can be fun to work with, you can basickly add whatever you want to it to make your sauce.

one pan with beurre blanc, red pepper purrée, red curry paste, and dry raisins, the other pan, beurre blanc, yellow pepper purée, yellow curry, diced apples... lots of prep but fun to work with.