Create a tasting menu with numerous small courses. Photo courtesy Pollen Restaurant | Singapore.
We served a tasting menu last night: twelve courses.
How can someone eat 12 courses? It’s easy if the courses are small—just a taste of everything, with artistic garnishes.
Consider creating your own tasting menu: Everyone will have a great time. The small bites may seem like “not enough food” at first; but over the course of the dinner, everyone will be nicely full.
Make anything you like. Here’s what we had, but your course can be anything:
COURSE 1: One oyster garnished with seaweed, pickled onions and cilantro, served with Chablis.
COURSE 2: One or two grilled jumbo shrimp with green (herb) mayonnaise, served with Sauvignon Blanc.
COURSE 3: Small plate of pasta in pesto sauce with one large mussel, served with Chardonnay.
COURSE 4: One small scoop lemon sorbet topped with grated lemon or lime zest, served in a shot glass. Garnish with an optional teaspoon of Limoncello or citrus vodka, or serve it in a shot glass, next to the shot glass of sorbet.
COURSE 5: Soup served in espresso cups, juice glasses, brandy snifters or other small vessels. We served gazpacho garnished with fresh mint, served with the Chablis. We perched a baby carrot with goat cheese dip on the saucer.
COURSE 6: Fresh corn salad garnished with a grape tomato and a side of garlic toast (toasted sliced baguette with garlic butter), served with Sauvignon Blanc.
COURSE 7: Three slices chicken with Asian seasonings, on a small bed of purple forbidden rice, garnished with chives and served with Merlot.
COURSE 8: Three slices grilled Certified Angus beef with sautéed baby vegetables, served with Cabernet Sauvignon.
COURSE 9: One or two small pieces of cheese (total two ounces) on a bed of dressed baby greens, continuing with the Merlot and Cabernet.
COURSE 10: Key lime tartlet topped with crème fraîche and a fresh raspberry.
COURSE 11: One miniature brownie with coffee whipped cream (flavored whipped cream recipes).
COURSE 12: Coffee with optional coffee liqueur and mignardises—miniature baked goods including petit-fours, mini macaroons and cookies, along with small truffles and other chocolates.
It’s not as much work as you’d think: We made everything 2-3 days in advance except last-minute touches like whipped cream.
Where Do You Get All The Plates?
We’ve been collecting lunch, salad and dessert plates for years—six to eight inches in diameter—when we see them on sale (garage sales are a great source of inexpensive plates).
You don’t want full-size dinner plates because the portions are small. But we place the smaller plates on chargers, so there’s a large plate footprint in front of everyone.
The plates don’t have to match. In fact, an array of different designs/shapes will enliven the table.
You can borrow plates from your guests; and you can also purchase reusable quality plastic plates. We like these square plates.
Soffritto is a mixture of minced vegetables and aromatic herbs cooked in extra virgin olive oil. The name means “fry slowly,” although you might think of it as “yummy flavor.”
This healthful cooking ingredient enhances the flavor of many everyday dishes, and is waiting to be your new best friend in the kitchen. The basic recipe combines carrots, celery, garlic, onions, salt and sometimes a splash of white wine vinegar.
You can make your own soffritto and store it in the fridge (we’ve included the recipe in the full review). Or you can buy a jar of Nonna Iole’s Soffritto. It’s a quick, easy and delicious solution to amping up your food. It’s also a nice party favor, stocking stuffer and small ”thank you” gift.
In fact, you can buy boxed gift sets as well as individual jars on the company website. You’ll also find a store locator.
Many recipes call for minced vegetables and herbs. Unless you’re a committed chopper, it can be annoying to cut things so small.
Yet, there’s an easy way to create those tiny pieces—the way professional chefs do.
Here, chef Jim Davis shows us the correct way to mincing onions. It’s well worth your time to watch the video: You’ll use the technique for the rest of your life!
How many ways can you think of to use this crunchy, colorful garnish? Photo courtesy Bemka.com.
If you’re a sushi fan, you’ve seen tobiko (also spelled tobikko). They’re the tiny, crunchy, nutty beads of flying fish roe.
They’re served in a gunkan-maki (battleship roll), on uramaki (reverse rolls) and as a sashimi garnish.
Originally available in orange, the popularity of tobiko has led to a rainbow of options: flavored tobiko in black (colored with squid ink), green (wasabi), pale yellow (yuzu) and red (ume plum), as well as spicy orange.
Tobiko is an asset in the kitchen, where you can use it to add instant festivity:
To sauces
To garnish chicken/shrimp salad, fish and seafood (including ceviche—and we love it with scallops), soups
In risottos
On poached eggs, in omelets
In a plethora of other savory applications—you can even float some on a Martini
Even smaller than tobiko eggs is masago, called capelin roe or smelt roe in English. You’ll also find the larger, more flavorful and pricier ikura, salmon roe.
Tobiko caviar comes from the flying fish of Iceland and the Pacific Ocean. It’s available at better supermarkets, at specialty food stores and online.
So for special occasions, pick up a jar. You’ll get a lot of bang (or is that crunch) for the buck.
