We’ve dined out often in the small plates places, it’s trendy here. Many dishes are impressive and requires a lot of research. One of the most memorable small plate or rather amuse bouche I’ve eaten: leek in vinegar, pickling and slightly fermented, served with brown butter (beurre noisette) which gives a nutty aroma contrasted with the sweet acidity flavour.
The charcoal grilled BBQ leek was put in a ziplock or vacuum bag with beet juice, balsamic vinegar and sugar. It is sous-vide 5-6 times for 2-3 days so that the color of the marinade permeates the leek without turning the core to purple colour. The leek is topped with brown butter, and beet.
At home, I’ve made maximum 6-course meal. they are smallish plates, I’ve to be absent often from the dinner table to finish the cooking and to plate, which is fine when there are guests that can talk to each other with my absence. I’m interested what dishes OP will choose to cook, and the organization.
Nobody seems to talk about the ending of the meal, desserts are important, especially a date.
The appetizers are often more interesting than the mains. In order to attempt to watch my portions, I often get 2 appetizers or an appetizer and a side.
I tip fairly well- to show the server I appreciate their service- and that I’m not ordering less because I’m trying to short them in some way.
I probably wouldn’t return if a server made me feel less welcome because I wasn’t ordering a main (or booze).
This way, if your guest does not like a specific small plate, she has 5 or 6 others from which to choose.
I would avoid “beans” as they could tend to make one “gassy” and this should be avoided.
Hummus is a nice idea however, there are so many wonderful tapas, antipasti or Mezze – one has a large selection to choose from.
Keep it light and definitely a phenomenal bread and assorted crackers for dipping ! and a gorgeous selection of cheeses with breadsticks and cracker breads. Perfect for a glass or 2 of wine.
For a simple but nice vegetarian meal, I think of ratatouille, optionally with pasta or rice or just good bread on the side. Or a vegetable curry. And maybe some frozen baked crunchy appetizers to go with it.
(I don’t get to make ratatouille much, because my wife doesn’t like bell peppers, and isn’t thrilled with un-fried eggplant, but if you don’t have those limitations it’s a nice dish.)
Hi @poptart, I didn’t follow a recipe too closely. This one has 3 leftover potatoes, 3 leftover roasted beets, a carrot, half a a cup of peas, some chopped onion, some capers, 3 dill pickles, parsley, dill, 2 eggs and roughly 1/3 cup mayo , 1/3 cup sour cream, and a tbsp of lemon juice. A lot of Russian and Ukrainian recipes call for a full cup of mayo.
Very interesting. I am Russian, all of my family on both sides, and we all immigrated here, so I have grown up eating plenty of Russian foods. We had 2 salads - olivyeh and vinagret. Similar-ish. First was a potato/egg/pickle/onion salad with mayo. Second was a potato/pickle/beet/carrot/onion salad w/vinegar and oil and no mayo. Yours seems to combine them. And then the capers are random. That isn’t a Russian ingredient.
I’m Lithuanian . Love to hear your vegetable ideas for inspiration. . One of my favorites was my grandmas borsht. Yes it did have a meat stock. Dill and sour cream added.
My grandparents used to make a red and a green borscht depending on the season. I never liked the green one. And I heard rumors of beef being a sometimes ingredient, but our own recipe was vegan.
The beef was more like a luxury. I met her once .Flying from san francisco to new York . 1964 . Uncle fritz picked us up in his convertible. I was in awe looking at that 3 story house in Ansonia , conn
. My grandma spoke no English. That borscht was the for dinner the next night. I’ll never forget that meal . I was eight years old.
Our family recipe is vegan. Just various veggies and oil. A couple of spices. Sour cream was commonly served as an optional topping/mix in among my Russian family. None of the Americans in my family (husband, kids) like sour cream. At least they are ok with dill. I love dill. They most often get it with boiled potatoes, garlic, dill and evoo. Or with a dill and lima rice pilaf (Persian dish not Russian).
Might you share an approximation of your family recipe? No need to be exact about quantities, cooking time, and such.
Beets in our fridge are giving me the stink eye. They know I’m not a fan, but they hitched a ride in our CSA box. I need to try another way to use them.
Glad to. With modern shortcuts (ie all your shredding and dicing in the cuisinart) Take 2-3 carrots, shredded, with a large onion, diced, and brown them in some oil in a big pot. Then add an entire small can of tomato paste, salt, pepper, sugar to taste (I could use up to 2 tbsp), and incorporate it all. Fill the big pot 1/2way with water. Add to it: a couple of chopped bell peppers, an entire shredded green cabbage, beets that you have roasted peeled and shredded (I use about 4-6), and another 8 or 10 med size peeled and chopped potatoes. A bay leaf or two. Cook the whole thing for an hour or so. Serve with sour cream, dill, and garlic powder. Every so often, if we’ve bought the beets with greens, we’ll wash and chop those and throw them in too.
I tried roasting the beets I have and using them in salad but that didn’t work because they are beets that our CSA stored for the winter. Tough beets. Hoping that borscht will be the magic trick.
Take 2-3 carrots, shredded, with a large onion, diced, and brown them in some oil in a big pot. Then add an entire small can of tomato paste, salt, pepper, sugar to taste (I could use up to 2 tbsp), and incorporate it all. Fill the big pot 1/2way with water. Add to it: a couple of chopped bell peppers, an entire shredded green cabbage, beets that you have roasted peeled and shredded (I use about 4-6), and another 8 or 10 med size peeled and chopped potatoes. A bay leaf or two. Cook the whole thing for an hour or so. Serve with sour cream, dill, and garlic powder. Every so often, if we’ve bought the beets with greens, we’ll wash and chop those and throw them in too.