The Tonys!

Here's the menu from a Tony Awards viewing party I catered. I did a little research and themed the food around the plays. I'll explain as we go:

Sunday June 12, 2011- The Sixty-Fifth Annual Tony Awards

~To Start~ 

"Catch Me If You Can" High-in-the-Sky Mixed Nuts

Roasted peanuts, cashews & pistachios in three flavors:

Sweet Rosemary, Lemon-Thyme and Four Pepper

You know, because Leonardo DiCaprio's character pretended to be a pilot back when pilots were sexy instead of just being so underpaid that it drives them to the sauce. And y'know, they used to actually give people peanuts for free on airplanes (even I vaguely remember those days).

~

"The Motherfucker with the Hat" Mushroom Toasts

Mushroom caps with caramelized onion, e.v.o.o

Cap is a synonym for hat. 
~

"Book of Mormon" Virgin Jello Shots

Citrus-Orange blossom and Elderflower-Thyme Gelees

It is a fairly well known stereotype that Mormon's love Jello. In fact I have it on good authority from several Utahan friends that it specifically applies to green (or "Lime") Jello. This fact confirms for me that Mormon's are the ultimate Americans, but somehow actually makes them even weirder than regular white people. In a relatively feeble attempt to counter the previous slurs I will say that as far as I can tell, Mormons are a pretty good looking bunch if you go in for white guys with blond hair on their lean but not overly muscled forearms. 
Moving on to...  

~Mains~

 "Good People" Boson Lettuce Salad

Buttermilk dressing, Manchego shavings

The play takes place in Southie. It sounds good. Frances McDormand plays one of the leads. That's mainly why it sounded good to me. I like Boston accents too. They're hideous but they remind me of Marky Mark.                     

~

Bunbury's Buns Sweet Potato Biscuits

In "The Importance of Being Ernest" Bunbury is an imaginary friend whose scrapes and escapades serve to allow the protagonist to regale his more proper acquaintances and family with tales of his own misdeeds. And also serves as an excuse for sudden departures. Obviously Oscar Wilde appreciated good buns and good excuses.  Really though, these were a modified Martha Stewart recipe. I truly love Martha Stewart. And I truly deeply love Oscar Wilde. Yes, I know. I know.

~ 

Chicken Paillards 

w St. George's Dragon Fire Chutney

The play "Jerusalem" (which has nothing to do with Jews or Arabs or Jesus or Artichokes thankfully) takes place in Wiltshire, on the Feast Day of St. George. The main character is kind of a derelict. St. George is famous for slaying a dragon. There's a really great painting (I can't remember whom by) with him thrusting his sword and the dragon whipping his head back in his last act of defiance before total defeat and proper submission to God... Look it up. Don't get it confused with St. Michael slaying Lucifer (who usually is depicted with curly hair and a big schnoz...) My mother loves that one. Jew's really like Catholic art. I think it's because we're not supposed to idol worship. Right, so, the chicken...the chutney was spicy. Like fire. From a dragon. Slain by St. George. Tenuous, I know.

~

"Scottsboro Boys" Alabama Collards

Bacon cooked greens

"The Scottsoboro Boys" is a play about the wrongful conviction of black teenage boys for the rape of a white girl in Alabama and nothing about that is delicious. Southern cooking (unlike bigotry and rape) is quite delicious.

 ~Dessert!~

"Sister Act" Nuns' Habit Black and White Custard

Bittersweet Chocolate, Custard, Whipped Cream

I did a standard sweet pastry crust and brushed on the melted chocolate, letting it harden, before adding egg custard and chocolate whipped cream and swirling them. Chocolate and custard are sort of black and sort of white, still less tenuous than the St. George thing I'd say.

Menu

Last night I cooked for ten people between the ages of 7 and 71!
The Menu...
Starting with:
Peppered Bourbon and Orange Water Cocktails
Avocado Relish
Three Olive Tapenade w Sundried Tomatoes
Tomato-Melon Chutney
Served with a variety of vegetable chips and home-baked olive oil matzoh
Then,
Spring Onion Soup w Crispy Shallots and Chives
Followed by,
Sunchoke Ravioli w Tarragon Cream
And the main thing!
Shaved Fennel, Radish and Apple Salad w Kumquats
Grilled Boneless Leg of Lamb w Herb Aioli and Parsley Chimichurri
And and something else...
Chocolate Pots Du Creme with Blood Orange Glaze
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These things were yummy.

~S

Gefilte Fish?

First post, I'm going to tell you about how totally worth it is to make gefilte fish from scratch.
I'm half Jewish. Which means I can eat about half a piece of gefilte fish from the jar before giving up and moving on to something tastier. The only thing about Passover worse than gefilte fish is Manischewitz- which at least gets you drunk (a better state for eating gefilte fish, except for the possibility of a heightened gag reflex).
I'm not a picky eater. I like seafood. I like tuna from the can. I like fishes that aren't salmon. I like sashimi. But I do try to avoid cat food. Gefilte fish though, so full of potential. So constantly a letdown.
Remember that kids' story about the carp in the bathtub and, well, I don't remember, but the gist is that it gets butchered by no nonsense beefy Jewish grandma and made into gefilte fish.
That's how it should be. Really really fresh.
Unfortunately I didn't have a live carp (next year in Jerusalem- with a fish in the tub!) But I did go to Tokyo Fish Market and browse their selection of super fresh and delicious white fleshed fish. I bought cod, sole and catfish. Honestly at this point my self doubt was high enough that I was going based on price, I'll admit that I wasn't trying to be exotic by choosing the catfish. (But it was a good idea because if I do say so myself, my gefilte fish was so damn delicious.)
Well, I looked around at various recipes, using them for advice. I credit mainly a story and recipe on Chow about Firefly Restaurant chef Brad Levy and his gefilte fish process. He had some good advice.
At the end of the day though, it was my battle to keep the dog off the counter, get all the bones out of the fish, get the spices right, and keep the kitchen stink to a minimum. (Also, as it turned out, to keep my mother off the counter. She ate much more than the dog, having both thumbs and wits)
My conclusion, was that making your own g-fish is more than worth it. The 15 month twins we ate passover with even managed to get more in their mouths than their hair or the floor, that's how good it was. For the adults, with a generous heaping of fresh homemade beet horseradish, and a little lemon, it was the highlight of the night. And my koogle ain't too shabby.
-S