Menu for Romance: Vote for the Menu!
I’m about to write the scene when the board for the charity Meredith and Major are planning a black-tie benefit for are coming in for a tasting to choose the final menu for the dinner. Since I like all the dishes on the menu, I thought my dear readers could help in choosing the final menu for the Hearts to H.E.A.R.T.S. benefit (raising money for the cardiac unit at Bonneterre’s University Hospital). And believe it or not, I actually found heart-healthy versions of all of these recipes!
The point of the tasting is to narrow the menu down to the choices that will be presented to the guests at the banquet. So if you were attending a black-tie, $500/plate benefit (dinner, dancing, silent auction), what would you want to see on the menu? (Click on the menu to enlarge)
KayeDacus.com 
OK, I’m about to reveal how uncouth I am: I don’t recognize most of the dishes on the menu! Apparently I need to get out more 🙂 I will say that I’m partial to filet mignon–and not just because I know what it is.
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I’m making my choices based on the John Folse dinner Kent House hosted last in Nov ’06. We charged $65 a plate.
Meats: The duck and the filet mignon topped with crawfish. Two very Louisiana meats and the filet mignon is making me wish this event was real!
Poultry: The last one with the pecan crust, even though I have no idea what it is.
Seafood: Oysters or the shrimp. I’d be partial to the shrimp myself since I could live on Gulf shrimp.
Vegetarian: The zucchini.
Vegetables: Sweet potatoes and broccoli. Not a very heart healthy thing to have two starches being served side-by-side.
Salad: Spinach and Snow Pea.
Chocolate: Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding.
Non-Chocolate: Poached pears. Louisiana grown pears are wonderful!
Fruit: The peaches. Ruston peaches are the BEST!!!
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Makes my dinner look pathetic…
Red Meat: The pork and the duck
Poultry: Capons
Seafood: You know me, go back to the first list and eat some Filet Mignon.
Vegetarian: Zucchini
Sides: Sweet Potatoes and Wild Rice
Salad: Cucumber and Spinich
Chocolate: The Praline Pie
Non-chocolate: Kiwi Mango Tart
Fruit: Berry Salad
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LOL–I should probably have explained better . . . the guests will get a menu with two red meat dishes, one chicken dish, one seafood dish, and one vegetarian dish listed on it. They then choose the ONE main course they wish to have.
The Pick 1/Pick 2 is just for the menu tasting so that the board members can narrow it down for the event menu. The guests aren’t getting two red meats, chicken, seafood, and vegetarian!
Same with desserts.
So, a guest’s meal would actually be four dishes:
Spinach salad
Duck
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Rice Pudding
Mercy! I’m hungry now.
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Main dishes: Lamb, Filet Mignon, Capons, Oysters (this is in a cold month, not summer, right?), Zucchini
Sides Roasted Veges, Lentils
Salads: Chicory Salad, Cucumber Salad
Dessert: Chocolate-Praline Pie, Plum Tart, Peaches
Sounds YUM!
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I adore rice pudding–I sprinkle mine with brown sugar. Now I’m hungry too! Where do you get this great menu ideas?
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Hon’ this is what I do! I think about food all the time. LOL. Actually between all the cooking shows I watch and the duty of choosing recipes for Ideals Magazine and the three or four seasonal anthology books we do for Guideposts every year, I’m constantly putting together menus in my head. Why do you think I’m writing a chef character???
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Okay, I’m going to vote for the following on the menu:
Lamb
Pork Chops
Chicken w/ Ricotta and Goat Cheese
Red Snapper
Fetuccine w/ Red Pepper-Feta Sauce
Jewel Roasted Vegetables
Herbed Lentils
Cucumber Salad
Spinach Salad
Chocolate Praline Pie
Pear Ginger Crumble
Grilled Tropical Fruit
YUM! I’m hungry now…
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Mignon and Duck
Chicken with Goat Cheese
Snapper
Portobello
Roasted Veggies
Risotto
Beet Salad
Spinach Salad
Gateau
Plum Tart
Grilled Tropical Fruit
Got recipes?
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I think I kept the links to the recipes for most of them, the others would be really easy to find! 🙂
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Filet mignon, broccoli, sweet potato, spinach salad & chai-spiced flan
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