I was feeling 80% physically the day before and during the 60th Birthday Party we hosted a few nights ago plus our cook had just left for a two week annual vacation… so putting together a sit-down dinner for 12 was much more daunting than usual. Instead of experimenting with something new, I decided to craft a menu with the tried and tested recipes that were relatively easy to do, but still screamed elegant and special at the same time. Here was the menu for that evening. We started with a tuna tartare a la Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin fame. I have made this dish several times before and it has always turned out brilliantly.
The sashimi quality tuna was purchased at the seaside market and we used 1.5 kilos worth of tuna for the first course. Recipe here.
The tuna was followed by a dish with a rather generous portion of seared foie gras served with brandied figs. Very easy to do, and incredibly luxurious. Most restaurants would give you half or a third of this piece as their normal serving. We went through two entire duck livers that evening. Some guests had seconds…
The main course was an entire Angus Rib Roast that was rubbed with crushed black and red peppercorns and salt and roasted until rare, or roughly 120F internal temperature. Yay, they are importing roast beef with the bones in again… for a while, they didn’t allow any beef with bones… This was served with baby potatoes fried in goose fat, buttered carrots and french beans. A green salad course was made available for anyone who wanted a salad.
Finally, we served individual sized (smaller than usual) creme brulees which had a wonderful caramel shell… We also had two different cakes and coffee or tea. All of these dishes have been featured on this blog before. But hold on for the wines served with dinner…
25 Responses
I’m hungry!!!
A place in Estremadura, Spain worth a detour from your usual European itinerary to wipe away all lingering misgivings about foie gras production, here is a great link about a remarkable tasting foie gras producer that does not employ cruelty:
https://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_barber_s_surprising_foie_gras_parable.html
i like the creme brulee…a little of the tuna tartare,..haven’t tasted foie gras and not really a fan of rare steaks :D…but it looks so good that you can give a fine dining resto a run for their money :D
denise… steaks must be savored rare… :) Apicio, yes, I have seen that video, it’s great. artisan, I bet you would have loved the leftovers… at a dinner like this, I barely eat… but I do totally dig the leftovers the day after…
apicio..thanks for the link! had a laugh here at the office “goose whisperer” hehehe..
MM..will try to try it in one of the recommended steakhouses here in dubai :D and yes leftovers for the win! :D
You’re on the money on that! Roast beef on rye, Pasta with olive oil and foie gras, brandied figs and creme brulee to finish….Saaarap!
Apicio, loved the video and its message. Thank you for the link.
hi MarketMan!
i plan to buy foie gras next time i go to manila
where can i get some? i usually stay either in makati or ortigas.
the tuna tartar looks good and will try the recipe one of these days.
thanks
I was about to ask you MM, we had a buffet dinner in a hotel along the bay a few nights ago. Part of the dessert menu is creme brulee. I noticed a staff using torch(with Iwatani cassette gas can) that we use to fire up our grill. I was surprised she’s using this to torch the caramel of creme brulee.Pwede ba ito?
Yum. I love the entire menu.
Standing rib roast and crème brulée always make an appearance in my family’s annual Thanksgiving dinner, which I invariably end up hosting.
If I had been a guest at that dinner you gave, I’d have been your friend for life. I love foie gras and could eat it till I’m sick. Must get my fill before California bans foie gras sale and production in a year or two or three. (Well, the state will ban foie gras made through the tradidional gavage method. If producers come up with an alternate way that’s certified as “not cruel”, production can resume.)
I love everything that you served, and I do a variation of most of these dishes for Christmas dinner except for the foie gras, as I’ve never done made at home. I will try it next time, thanks to you!
MM, you are right in steaks there is not such thing as well done. Good steaks is medium rare or still reddish. Creme brulee is a classic dessert for steak..you have that in all the good steakhouses here in the State.
For dessert wine, my ultimate fave
Trokenbeerenausless (processed from grapes dried out & made into raisins). Troken… known as the pinnacle of the sweet (does not feel cloying) for German wine.
My first experience in eating prime roast as raw as what you had in the photo was a real experience. it was at a very expensive carvery and I did try to put up with the works including eating horseradish with the roast. It was good though but I think I wanted to keep my eyes closed all the time so as not to see the rqwness of the meat.
i mean rawness of the meat
Hi Tricia…here’s a link to discussion on blowtorch
https://chowhound.chow.com/topics/285382
Marketman- your creme brulee recipe was the one I decided to make at home, and it came out brilliantly! I even talked my husband into buying me a real blow torch for my birthday. :)
Rebecca, glad it worked for you. :)
What a great meal! You’re very generous to host this party.
I agree about eating steaks rare/meduim rare. In my humble opinion, cooking a steak well-done is a waste of meat. You can buy the most expensive cut of meat, but if cooked well-done, you can’t differentiate it from a cheap cut. Obviously, I prefer my steaks medium rare. That being said, my husband likes his steaks well-done. Go figure.
Excellent dinner! Love the way you prepared your baby potatoes. Happy Birthday to your Friend again and wish your Friend more birthdays to come!
Rare beef. OMG! Me drooling lots. (I had yogurt for dinner. Serves me RIGHT.)
I love the whole menu for start to finish! It has all my favorites. Who decided the menu Marketman? Really good choice. Wish I was a guest :-)
Artisan, thanks so much for the link.
I would experiment doing MM’s creme brulee with my grill blow torch!:)
Oooohh.. I nearly drooled over my computer! Looks expensive, huh? How much did the menu cost? I want to give my mother a simple yet elegant party that’s affordable but can still impress the guests. Plus my mom is health conscious. Doesn’t want too mush fat and oil on her meals. Any suggestions?
Mrs. S, I decided on menu in consultation with the celebant’s spouse. :)