Doug hosted a rather chic dinner party chez nous last night. The main event was a showing of The Descent, which I took no part of because I don't do horror flicks. Luckily, I could still partake of dinner. The menu theme was the color red, after the bloody fare of the movie.
We had:
- Fennel, red onion, blood orange salad with pomegranate seeds and a red wine vinaigrette
- Cream of tomato soup with roasted grape tomato "eyeballs"
- Chicken salad with blue cheese on crostini, with roasted red pepper habanero sauce
- Homemade beet and goat cheese ravioli with butter, poppy seeds, and red dye
- For dessert, red velvet cake of course
The palate cleanser was a really lovely surprise: Wine Cellar Sorbets Sauternes sorbet, served with fresh raspberries. The sorbet was a huge hit -- fine, soft and almost slushy, sweet but not cloying, like a grown-up frozen margarita. It apparently has 5% alcohol, so don't try to serve it to your preggers guests. It would be the perfect end to a Valentine's Day dinner, served in a classic wide champagne glass with crunchy cantuccini. Our friend Sammy picked up a pint from Blue Apron Foods in Brooklyn, but the Wine Cellar Sorbets website has a list of other stores that carry their stuff all over the city.
That Doug sounds like quite the culinary catch. Is he single?
That's awesome, I think I may pick some of that up for V-day dinner. I haven't decided what to make - any suggestions? Thanks!
Claude, re: your query--
DOUG: You must reply in the affirmative.
Interested Y-chromosome carriers may email him at doug [at] eatdrinkonewoman (dot) com.
I am such a sucker for color-themed meals! AND SO don't do horror flicks. I would have nightmares!
Glad to have found you!
Hi Janelle,
Doug's original plan, before settling on The Descent, was a blue meal. I'm glad he went with red. I should say that his favorite dish was the salad; mine was the cake, a recipe from Cook's Country with cream cheese frosting.
Ah, we do love a themed meal, don't we? I have alphabet dinners for New Year's Eve every year. This year was H - halibut and noodle soup (Thai style, haricot vert (also Thai style), herb and garlic focaccia, Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream with harvest cookies, and Heidsieck and Company Monopole Blue Top Champagne. We watched Harvie Krumpet, an animated short, and Hotel Rwanda.