Tonight I am preparing a 6 course dinner for 16 people using lots and lots vegetables I was able to buy at the market. 

Let's start!

1-Brochetta de Gambas (shrimp skewer) on a bed of Pisto Manchego (Spanish ratatouille)

Shrimp croquette with tomato tartare and fried capers

For the tomato tartare (on the left) it takes about 3 1/2 hours to roast the tomatoes in low heat in order for the flavors and the sweetness of the tomatoes to shine.

For the pisto Manchego, red onions, red bell peppers, and eggplants are roasted for about an hours and chopped into small chunks.  It is tasty and it goes well with the grilled shrimp.

First course is served.

Left: Minh and Loan (partly covered),Tuan, Doan, Hanh, Maily, Tuan, Spencer, Nicky, Huyen, Ha, Trung, and Hoa (back on head only).

Phuc, our personal sommelier is in the back ground (behind Trung) organizing what wine should be served!

2-Asparagus Vichyssoise, roasted asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, Quiche with caramelized onion and mushroom

To make the corn milk I used 12 kernels of corn.  The raw corn are shuck off the kernels then put the food processor until Liquidy, then strained to form corn milk.

Corn milk will thicken while cooking.  This dish is also labor intensive but I enjoyed the sweetness of corn and brightness of the clams.

4- Home made cavatelli with chard meatballs and fried eggplant.

It took me at least a few hours to make the cavatelli but it is worth all the effort as I really enjoyed their texture.

Chard are added to the meat balls and I served it with a spicy tomato, basil, eggplant sauce.

5-Grilled lamb chops marinated in red wine, mustard, soy, salt, garlic, pepper, and oil.

6- Honey/soy roasted Cornish hen for those who cannot eat lamb.

Dessert

For dessert I prepared a crepe soufflé with grand Marnier served with crème Anglaise.

I also asked Maily to make a panna cotta with mango.

Panna cotta is really easy to make but it is always delicious and refreshing.

Ending the meal with coffee and Tea.

Okay so that was my take on preparing a Farm to table meal using fresh, local, and seasonal vegetable.  I bought about 6 pounds of tomatoes to make the tomato tartare and the pisto de Manchego.  I also used lots of asparagus, eggplants, mushrooms, corn, chard, etc... It was a fun experience to go to the market!  However, to turn all these vegetables into something delicious, it takes a lot of work but I am really happy how the meal turned out.  Most of my friends love to eat meat, including Hoa so I make sure the menu is well balanced so they don't feel like eating a vegetarian meal.

Filed under: Dinner Parties