Dinner Party

Bartending, on the other hand, is a job
full of thanks and contact with people.
Photo by Don Watts

Being a cook is not an easy job. You work in a small, hot, dangerous space for a long time, and if you're doing things right nobody who is consuming your food should interact with you for more than a few minutes when, and if, you go out to take your curtain call—because, in truth, there is not a single soul who does not like to be applauded.

When someone appreciates your work, therefore, it is always a remarkably pleasing experience, and to be asked to produce a dinner party is a sign of confidence and a recognition of talent. Being a cook can be a rewarding job.

I've been asked to create a simple dinner party for the most frequent and prolific customers of Off the Beaten Path Books. Five courses at the most, simple, but delicious. It's scheduled to go off on the 25th of this month, three weeks from today.

It's a chance to strut my stuff for paying guests, to push the limits of the space in which I will cook, and—of course—to make delicious food with a historical flair.


Having given it consideration, therefore, I have determined the following meal shall go forth:

Appetizer

Lamb Purses
Zchug – Garlic Sauce

Soup

Apple-Butternut Velvet Soup

Apple Crisp – Nutmeg Crème Chantilly

Salad

The Practical Housekeeper's Winter Salad
Romaine – Butter Lettuce – Endive
Celery – Beet – Scallion – Egg
Vintage Vinaigrette

Entrée

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs of Beef

Vegetable Polonaise – Creamy Mushroom Polenta

Dessert
Victorian Tea Trifecta

Earl Grey Panna Cotta – Rose Tea Gelée – Lavender Honey Ice Cream
Rosemary Chocolate Sauce – Lavender Tuile